Greystar, J.P. Morgan Buy Capitol Riverfront Development Site For $68M
Greystar has just closed on the purchase of a major development site in D.C.'s booming Capitol Riverfront neighborhood.
CSX Transportation last week sold a series of parcels near the New Jersey Avenue and Eye Street SE intersection to entities registered to Greystar and J.P. Morgan Asset Management in two separate sales totaling $67.5M, according to documents posted in the D.C. Recorder of Deeds.
The freight rail operator retained CBRE in September 2017 to seek buyers for the 7.3-acre site, which sits on both sides of Interstate 695 between New Jersey Avenue and South Capitol Street. The brokerage firm marketed the property as a 1M SF development site.
Greystar reportedly went under contract to buy the property in May 2018 before officially closing the deal last week. Along with the acquisition, the buyer obtained a $45.3M loan from HSBC Bank, deed records show.
Greystar filed an application with the Board of Zoning Adjustments in October to develop three buildings on the eastern portion of the site. The plan calls for a 10-story, 200-room hotel and two multifamily buildings with ground-floor retail. The BZA approved the application in February.
The proposed density fits within the site's existing zoning and the BZA application only sought relief related to the project's distance from the property line, so the application didn't include detailed renderings or descriptions of the buildings. The developer is working with R2L:Architects on the project.
The project sits next to the 220-unit Ore 82 apartment building, which Greystar delivered in 2016 and also worked with R2L as the architect. It is across the street from The Collective, WC Smith's three-building, Whole Foods-anchored development.
The site is about three blocks from the Navy Yard Metro station and part of the Capitol Riverfront Business Improvement District. D.C.'s fastest-growing neighborhood, Capitol Riverfront is expected to deliver 2,782 residential units this year and another 2,430 units next year, according to the BID's 2018 annual report.
