Tag: luxury homes

By Audrey Hoffer | May 5, 2020 at 7:30 a.m. EDT

Construction workers in lime vests, thick-soled work boots, hard hats and face masks were busy one day last month on all 14 floors of Avidian, a 171-unit condominium building in the Navy Yard neighborhood of Southeast Washington. Stretching from South Capitol Street to Van Street SE, the red and gray brick building is nearing completion, with move-ins expected to begin in a couple of months.

Christopher Hopkins-Gillispie, one of the first buyers, purchased a one-bedroom unit with a den that could become a guest room or an office.

“The area has a lot going on,” said Hopkins-Gillispie, who mentioned the Nationals Park baseball stadium and the Wharf, which offers shopping, dining and recreation on the Southwest Waterfront, as well as Navy Yard’s “restaurants, breweries, ice cream shops, wine bars, and retail.”

“I found the property online and was literally stalking it for a year as I watched it go up,” Hopkins-Gillispie said. He said he went to the opening and met with a sales representative the next day. “I found the unit I wanted, and the rest is history.

Chelsea McGrath and Pedro Rubio bought a sixth-floor unit facing South Capitol Street. The Washington Monument is in view. Rubio looked at design plans and took virtual and in-person tours. McGrath walked around the unfinished building. “Even though I saw only the bones of the structure, I felt like I could put the pictures together,” McGrath said. “We really liked it.” Reagan, their Mini Bernedoodle, will join them. Cassandra Vangellow, who has been living nearby for a few years, said she is looking forward to moving into her “little tucked-away” second-floor unit. “Navy Yard is the best of both worlds. I feel like I’m in a city but also in a small neighborhood. It definitely has a young vibe and a young professional component,” she said.

‘Smart use of space’: A one-bedroom model unit, 410 is a compact 645 square feet. The kitchen lines a section of one wall opposite the bedroom, which has a barn-style sliding door and a horizontal window high on one wall. The unit has two spacious closets. A stacked washer and dryer are behind a closet door in the bathroom.

Another model unit, 618, is 1,048 square feet and has two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a balcony. Kitchen appliances are along a wall facing the living-dining area. The balcony is reached through the larger bedroom, and a window in the smaller bedroom looks out onto it. “Avidian is made for people interested in the smart use of space,” Hopkins-Gillispie said. “It’s very European-like in the design.” The condos are presented in two color palettes. New Traditionalist has white cabinetry with black handles in the kitchen and gray bathrooms with black accents. Organic Modernist has gray-brown kitchen and bathroom cabinets with chromium fixtures.The Gensler architectural firm, designed the building. McWilliams Ballard is handling sales.