The Goldstar Group plans to convert a Virginia Square apartment building that was originally built as for-sale residential units back into condos after acquiring the site May 29 for $40 million.
Goldstar and joint venture partner Finmarc Management Inc. bought 3409 Wilson Blvd. for about $469,000 a unit from a joint venture between Korman Communities Inc. and Hunt Properties. The property was initially developed in 2006 as the Joule condos, and Korman and Hunt have since converted the building into extended-stay corporate apartments branded as AKA Luxury Suites Residences.
CBRE Executive Vice President Andrew Boyer said the property has done well as extended-stay corporate apartments but should deliver well into a new market where condos are still in short supply. The building features a rooftop terrace, floor-to-ceiling windows and a resident lounge, among other amenities. Finmarc and Goldstar plan to launch a $6 million renovation of the property, with condo sales expected to start in September. The partners have retained McWilliams | Ballard to market the units.
Korman set a record when it bought the property in 2007 for $43 million, or $505,000 per unit, which was the highest per-unit price for a Class A apartment project in the D.C. area. That record was broken in 2011 by the TIAA-CREF, which bought the Palatine at auction for $118 million, or more than $540,000 per unit.
The sale comes as the D.C. region’s multifamily market is starting to shift its balance from one heavily weighted toward rentals to one where condos are finding higher demand and a rise in new supply. Irecently wrote about two new condo projects, the Ontario Theatre and the Adamo, both in Adams Morgan. In that article I cited a stat from Alexandria-basedDelta Associates: The number of of condo units planned for sale in the next 26 months is slated to increase to 2,730, the most since early 2011.
