Capital City Plans 74-Unit Condo Project Near Rhode Island Avenue Metro Station
A new for-sale multifamily development is planned near the Rhode Island Avenue Metro station, continuing the expansion of Northeast D.C.'s condo market.
Capital City Real Estate is planning to break ground later this month on a 74-unit condo building at 410 Rhode Island Ave. NE, Capital City founding principal Scott Zimmerman told Bisnow.
Zimmerman said Capital City secured a construction loan from John Marshall Bank, and MTFA Architecture designed the project. The developer is waiting for its building permit before breaking ground, and it expects the project will deliver in the second half of 2020.
Branded as Rialto, the 88K SF building will include 3,100 SF of ground-floor retail, Zimmerman said. The units will range from 685 SF to 1,320 SF. Penthouse units will include private roof decks and there will be a common rooftop amenity for all residents.
The developer bought the property in December 2017 for $4.4M, property records show. It is occupied with a one-story building that includes a sign with Capital City's name advertising one- and two-bedroom condos in the $400K to $700K range.
The property sits near the corner of Fourth Street NE and Rhode Island Avenue, less than a half-mile from the Metro station. It is directly to the south of MRP Realty's Bryant Street project, the massive redevelopment of the Rhode Island Avenue Shopping Center into over 1,600 residential units and 250K SF of retail. MRP broke ground earlier this year on the first phase, set to include 490 apartments and 40K SF of retail anchored by Alamo Drafthouse Cinema.
"We see Rhode Island Avenue as one of the last undeveloped corridors in the city," Zimmerman said. "We think it's a great emerging market."
Developers have recently begun pursuing more large-scale condo projects in NoMa and on the H Street corridor, but the Rhode Island Avenue project represents an expansion of the condo development wave into a new part of Northeast D.C.
"There’s really no other new for-sale product in the area," Zimmerman said. "We see a real niche and opportunity for a boutique for-sale product."
Capital City is developing a condo project in another emerging D.C. neighborhood: Buzzard Point. Its 110-unit project, branded as Peninsula 88, is expected to deliver in spring 2020.
The developer has been planning a 180-unit apartment building on the H Street corridor at 1701 H St. NE. But the project has been delayed for over two years after opponents filed an appeal of its planned-unit development approval in April 2017.
Given that delay, an issue that has become increasingly common with D.C. developments, Zimmerman said Capital City is planning to bypass the PUD process for the Rhode Island Avenue project. It will instead pursue by-right development, a quicker process that requires less community engagement but does not allow a developer to build beyond a site's existing zoning.
"All we’re looking at is by-right," Zimmerman said. "It's hard to factor an extra two years into a project."
UPDATE, APRIL 11, 8:30 A.M. ET: This story has been updated to include a rendering and additional information on the project.
