Standard, Trammell Crow Kick Off $290M DC Project

Rendering of the potential office component coming to the Congress Heights site. Courtesy of Standard Real Estate Investments

Standard Real Estate Investments has begun pre-construction work for the first phase of Congress Heights, an upcoming 240,000-square-foot mixed-use development in Washington D.C.’s Ward 8. The $290 million project is expected to come online in 2026.

Standard partnered with Trammell Crow Co. to oversee the leasing and development of the office and retail components. Demolition of the existing buildings will commence on June 19.

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Standard also partnered with NHT Communities, which will develop 179 affordable residential units on the site, meant to accommodate residents earning between 30 and 80 percent of the area median income.

The developers acquired seven parcels on the 2-acre site last year for $12.5 million, Commercial Observer reported. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, Congress Heights Community Training and Development Corp. and CityPartners sold the property. The same source shows that the development costs are $180 million for the mixed-use component and $110 million for the residential one.

A transit-oriented, Opportunity Zone development

Located at 1331 Alabama Ave. S.E., the property is in an Opportunity Zone. The MedStar Health Performance Center, the training facility for the Washington Wizards, Mystics and Go-Go teams is nearby. Additionally, the asset is within walking distance of the southern pedestrian entrance of the Congress Heights Metro station.

According to a recent CommercialEdge report, as of April, a total of 3.9 million square feet of office space was underway in Washington D.C., representing 1.0 percent of total stock.

Earlier this year, Skanska topped out its 17xM project, an upcoming 11-story mixed-use development in the metro’s CBD.