Inside F1RST, The 325-Unit Apartment Building That Just Delivered Next To Nats Park
Grosvenor Americas welcomed residents earlier this month at its 325-unit apartment building in the center of an increasingly competitive Capitol Riverfront apartment market.
F1RST, a JV with McCaffery Interests and Clark Enterprises, sits just across the street from Nationals Park on the corner of First and N streets SE. It was developed alongside a 170-room Residence Inn by Marriott.
The developers have leased out much of the ground-floor retail space, most recently signing fitness studio Solidcore to 2K SF. It has also signed fast-casual options Chop’t, Taylor Gourmet, Chipotle, Roti and Rasa Indian Grill, plus a 3,500 SF full-service restaurant, Declaration.
The landlord has signed about 40 leases and residents have moved into 11 units since the April 1 opening. Bisnow took a look inside to see what F1RST is offering to compete with its Capitol Riverfront neighbors.
Inside the two-story lobby, residents can sit in cushioned chairs by the fireplace or on stools at a high-top table. The ground floor also has a mailroom equipped with a transit screen to help residents get around. The building is just a block from the Navy Yard Metro station, the wise option when Nationals games flood the streets with traffic.
The main staircase leads you up to the second floor, where many of the building's amenities are located. The 6K SF club room features televisions with couch seating areas and can be rented out by residents looking to host big groups. It also includes a coffee station, a wet bar and two giant Connect-Four boards installed on the walls.
The club room leads out to the courtyard, which has a fireplace, a fountain and outdoor seating areas. Many of the units not lucky enough to have views into Nats Park have balconies overlooking the courtyard.
Also on the second floor, the building has a spacious, 5K SF fitness center. It is split into three sections: a weight room, a cardio area and a yoga room. The weight room has a television for those lifters who cannot miss an inning of the Nats game, and the yoga room has an interactive display for instructional videos.
The most popular units so far in the lease-up have been studios, one-bedrooms and junior one-bedrooms. The building has 54 studios averaging 514 SF that start at $1,800. It has 61 junior one-bedrooms averaging 591 SF that start at $2K and the roughly 118 one-bedrooms averaging 744 SF that start at $2,300. The building also has 46 one-bedrooms with dens, 34 two-bedrooms and 12 two-bedrooms with dens.
The building's two color palettes are named after types of beer: the lighter ones on the odd floors are called pilsner while the darker finishes on the even floors are called porter.
Fifty of the units are set aside for those making up to 80% of area median income. About 40% of the units have balconies and all units include washer and dryers.
The rooftop features a pool that is still under construction, but expected to be finished in less than a week. It also has lounge chairs, cabanas and grilling stations. The northern side of the rooftop has a dog park and offers views of the Capitol and the Washington Monument.
The side of the rooftop facing Nats Park has an elevated section with tables and chairs for residents to peer into the stadium. While the views into Nats Park are slightly obstructed by the parking garage, it includes a large television screen with stadium-style seating so fans can keep up with every pitch.
