Washington, DC – July 2020
NOVO Properties (NOVO) received unanimous Planning Commission and City Council approval in June 2020 for its 119-unit apartment development project in Alexandria Virginia, The Grayson. Named after Sarah Gray, a prominent African American educator in Alexandria during the late 1800’s, the project is located on Route 1 within blocks of the Braddock Road Metro Station and within close proximity to Amazon’s new headquarters at National Landing and Virginia Tech’s new campus at Potomac Yards. The approvals clear the way for a projected construction start in Q1 2021.
NOVO purchased the site in July of 2019 with the intent to re-program ground floor retail and daycare space, add residential density and incorporate façade and massing changes to improve constructability. The new design enhanced the layout and accessibility of the daycare space. “There’s a huge unmet demand for daycare in this submarket and even more now as spacing needs are changing due to COVID-19,” explains NOVO Partner, Neil Goradia. NOVO also reprogrammed the ground floor retail space, better positioning it for neighborhood retail tenants. The changes made to the daycare and retail spaces allowed NOVO to capture additional residential density.
The employment stability of that sub-market as well as its “gateway into Old Town” location is where NOVO saw the opportunity. The site sits just blocks from the Metro station in a submarket with several new Class A multi-family projects in the pipeline. NOVO was attracted to the growth trajectory and rental pricing elasticity up and down the Route 1 corridor, where a long-term outlook can pay off. “The impact from the entry of these large employers is creating a demand for tiered apartment pricing,” Goradia points out. “Not every apartment dweller will want to pay up to live in National Landing or Potomac Yards and can live a few Metro stops away for a more affordable rent and we want to capture that demand.”
For more information about this development, please contact NOVO Properties’ main office at (202) 315-1111 or visit the NOVO Properties website at www.LiveNovo.com.