An existing 12-year-old apartment high-rise adjacent to what will be Amazon’s massive HQ2 campus, Metropolitan Park, in Arlington County, Virginia, has been acquired by affiliates of UIP Companies and Churchill Living, and the investors plan a multimillion makeover fitting for HQ2’s panache.
The 19-story building, called The Millennium, at 1330 South Fair Street, was acquired from Clarion Partners for an undisclosed total sum. KKR Real Estate Finance placed a $135 million mortgage on the property. UIP also raised $78 million for the project, some of it through crowdfunding.
Millennium currently has 300 apartments overlooking the two-acre Metropolitan Park. Amazon has committed $14 million to renovate the park, and bring retailers to the first floors of its HQ2 office buildings surrounding it, which are currently scheduled to deliver in 2023.
UIP and Churchill plan to invest $9 million in The Millennium, including renovations of common areas and individual apartments focusing on what they call high-tech and high-end features. It will also convert the street-level lobby and office space to 5,000 square feet of new retail, including an unnamed upscale restaurant with outdoor café facing the park.
“We are going to make these apartments the coolest and most desirable homes on the park.” Said Steve Schwat, UIP founding principal. “Features will include awesome kitchens, spa-like bathrooms with Bluetooth-enabled lighted medicine cabinets … high-end customizable closets, electric roller blinds and more.”
Churchill, which specializes in furnished, extended-stay apartment rentals, will take up to 150 apartments for its government and private-sector clients.
To date, UIP has invested $1.4 billion in the D.C. area, renovating or building more than 50 apartment buildings in the region.
Metropolitan Park will be the first phase of new HQ2 construction when it is completed next year. Phase Two, PenPlace will include 2.8 million square feet of office space, including a Helix-shaped high-rise. PenPlace is scheduled to deliver in 2026. Amazon already has thousands of HQ2 employees working in leased office buildings in Crystal City.
