$608,000 a Unit: The Most Interesting Statistics From DC’s Development Report

• November 13, 2013
• 14 Comments

by UrbanTurf Staff

Apartment project planned for 800 New Jersey Avenue SE

UrbanTurf recently received the 2013-2014 Washington DC Economic Partnership report and picked out the most interesting statistics and highlights when it comes to residential development in the city. (A few retail statistics are also sprinkled in.)

Here is a quick rundown:

• DC currently has 60 large residential projects under construction for a total of 10,253 units.
• The most active developer in the city (not limited to residential development) is The JBG Cos. with 18 projects either under construction or in the pipeline.
• The most active architect is Shalom Baranes with 30 projects in the works.
• There are 8 grocery stores currently under construction in the city.
• The three biggest retailers slated to open in the next three years are all Walmart stores (if they happen).
• The average rental rate in DC is $2,346 a month.
• The biggest apartment sales last year (by unit price) were both on 14th Street NW. The District sold for $608,000 a unit, followed by 14W which sold for $480,519 a unit.
• Eight of the ten biggest residential projects completed in 2013 were in Wards 5 or 6.

For the full report, click here. For more on the residential development on tap for DC and the region, check out UrbanTurf’s Pipeline.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/the_most_interesting_statistics_of_dcs_development_report/7816

14 Comments

1. catherine said at 8:35 pm on Wednesday November 13, 2013:
   So, where do midle and lower middle class and under the poverty line folks live these days?

1. Wolf#6 said at 8:53 pm on Wednesday November 13, 2013:
   The same place as before...wherever you can afford.

1. anon said at 8:53 pm on Wednesday November 13, 2013:
   Catherine, they don't live in new condos in the trendiest neighborhoods. DC has plenty of affordable real estate once you look past 14th Street, Dupont Circle, etc. For instance, across the Anacostia, houses are still cheap and you can find plenty of reasonable prices in parts of NE DC.

1. Rayful Edmond said at 9:01 pm on Wednesday November 13, 2013:
   Let me try and rephrase Catherine's question: So, where do middle and lower middle class and under the poverty line folks live these days while avoiding getting shot?

1. Chris in Eckington said at 9:11 pm on Wednesday November 13, 2013:
   Also, areas of NW DC like Brightwood and 16th Street Heights still have plenty of affordable apartments.

1. Kevin said at 9:43 pm on Wednesday November 13, 2013:
   Sooo apparently no one has an answer to Catherine's question? Funny and sad at the same time.

1. C said at 10:08 pm on Wednesday November 13, 2013:
   A question for clarification on Catherine's question, are we including those who make 6 figures but are being priced out of some neighborhoods in the low- to middle- income categories, as are included in some of the discussions that talk about affordable housing and neighborhoods?

1. John H said at 10:46 pm on Wednesday November 13, 2013:
   Actually Kevin, Wolf, anon and Chris have all provided answers to Catherine. When has America ever cared where the poor live? The building industry tries to maximize price and profit and doesn't build affordable unless there's a subsidy. Voters have not pushed affordable housing as a political issue - look at the 60% no on the Arlington housing authority referendum last week. The lower classes are moving to the suburbs, places like Gaithersburg, Laurel, Woodbridge and Manassas; while the center city gets more and more expensive - just like Paris, just like Johannesburg.

1. 202_cyclist said at 10:59 pm on Wednesday November 13, 2013:
   If you're concerned about lack of affordable housing, you could always email/write to the DC Council, Office of Planning, and Rep. Issa's staff and encourage them to relax the Height Act. Either more housing will be built in locations like Georgia Ave, Van Ness and Friendship Heights ore people will move to Silver Spring, Bethesda, and Arlington, and DC will lose out all of this potential tax revenue.

1. NoVaMan said at 3:58 pm on Thursday November 14, 2013:
   Arlington County builds subsidized affordable housing. The vote was about HOW to do that, not whether to do that.

1. Prissy said at 7:57 pm on Thursday November 14, 2013:
   <i>Either more housing will be built in locations like Georgia Ave, Van Ness and Friendship Heights ore people will move to Silver Spring, Bethesda, and Arlington, and DC will lose out all of this potential tax revenue. </i> If they's too po' to live in dc, they ain't gonna provide much in the way of "tax revenue".

1. Height act, really? said at 9:58 pm on Thursday November 14, 2013:
   Hey 202_cyclist - if the height act is the problem how do you explain all of the one and two story buildings in prime locations that aren't historic districts? I think these height act arguments would hold a little more weight if we were currently built to capacity.

1. P streeter said at 3:21 pm on Friday November 15, 2013:
   uh - "height act, really?" - uh . . . zoning?

1. Height act, really? said at 4:50 pm on Friday November 15, 2013:
   P streeter - These aren't zoning issues. If they were, then we wouldn't have that giant middle finger on V street, or whatever street it's on. If these were all zoning issues, all of those houses would still be only two stories. If all of the houses like that were expanded (just not in such a ridiculously ugly fashion)then I would buy the argument that the Height Act is the problem. There is plenty of room to grow DC within the limits of the Height Act. Relaxing it will not create "affordable" housing.