UIP Expands To Northern Virginia With Multifamily Acquisition Near HQ2
D.C.-based UIP Cos. began a new push into Northern Virginia last week by acquiring a 300-unit multifamily building in a joint venture with Churchill Living.
The 19-story building, located at 1330 South Fair St. across from Amazon's under-construction HQ2 campus, was formerly owned by Clarion Partners. The 12-year-old building, branded as The Millennium, was the first multifamily building completed to overlook Metropolitan Park in Arlington.
KKR Real Estate Finance put a $135M first trust mortgage on the property as part of the deal and UIP raised $78M of equity in the deal in part through CrowdStreet, a crowdfunding platform. UIP declined to disclose the exact sale price.
CBRE's Bill Roohan, Robert Dean, Michael Muldowney and Yalda Ghamarian brokered the deal.
"We've been looking for something to get us started there and we're very happy that this trophy building is going to be the first UIP asset in Northern Virginia," UIP principal Peter Bonnell told Bisnow. "We're really looking forward to expanding and doing more."
Churchill Living will operate up to 150 apartments in the building through its temporary housing business, according to a press release.
UIP plans to embark on a $9M renovation of the building's apartments and amenities. Those plans include converting the lobby at street level into 5K SF of retail space featuring a high-end restaurant facing the park.
The buyers hope to take advantage of the influx of workers that HQ2 will create in Arlington. Amazon plans to bring 25,000 employees to the area by 2030, dramatically increasing the need for housing and community amenities.
“We are going to make these apartments the coolest and most desirable homes on the park,” UIP founding principal Steve Schwat said in a press release. "We envision residents being able to walk into their home and say ‘Alexa, open the blinds.'"
