The Vistas to Deliver in Mid-March

• February 24, 2012
• 11 Comments

by Shilpi Paul

The Vistas, a penthouse project that has actually been built on top of the existing River Place South at 1023 Arlington Boulevard (map), is set to deliver on March 15th.

The eight units, composed of mostly one- and two-bedrooms that are selling for between $395,000 and $595,000, were developed in a space formerly occupied by a restaurant. The developers are highlighting the views from the 11th-floor units (see above), and many of the walls are made completely of windows, with views of DC, the Iwo Jima Memorial and downtown Rosslyn.

The building will have some fancy amenities, like a sauna, pool, hot tub and fitness center, and in the case that some co-eds or professors decide to move in, there is a shuttle to Georgetown University from the building.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/the_vistas_to_deliver_early_next_month/5176

11 Comments

1. Pete said at 5:54 pm on Friday February 24, 2012:
   Isn't the land that River Place is built on leased? And isn't the lease term ending within the next few years? Maybe I'm missing something here, can someone explain how they're selling these units when the whole place has an impending deadline? I've also noticed that many RP condos have been listed on the MLS for over 100 days.

1. Shilpi said at 6:21 pm on Friday February 24, 2012:
   Hi Pete, We will look into your questions and hopefully come back with some answers. Shilpi Paul

1. Ryan said at 7:08 pm on Friday February 24, 2012:
   River Place is definitely on leased land, which explains why the units sell for a fraction of comparable units in Arlington. As each year goes by and there's less time on the land lease, I would imagine that it becomes even harder to sell than it is now (currently units often sit for 100+ days). However, I don't know for certain how these new units will be impacted by the land lease, but I would assume since they are being built on the existing structure on the same land, that they would still be on leased land. Here's a pretty thorough article on the topic: http://jeffreyspangler.com/aboutus.aspx (scroll about 1/3 down the page).

1. Shilpi Paul said at 7:21 pm on Friday February 24, 2012:
   Pete, Here is what we have been informed of regarding the lease: The River Place ground lease expires in December 2052 and the issue is being actively engaged by the River Place Housing Corporations and Owners Association. Shilpi

1. Ryan said at 8:23 pm on Friday February 24, 2012:
   So if I understand, you're buying the right to live in a unit till December 2052, at which time (unless there's been a settlement or new agreement), ownership of the building will revert back to the land owner?

1. KT said at 9:14 pm on Friday February 24, 2012:
   @Ryan-- I don't know about you, but I don't know of too many folks, particularly the demographic this would appeal to, who would even consider living in the same place, much less a condo, for the next 40 years. I get your gripe, but I doubt it will really matter to those that buy now. The DC area is so transient, home ownership is what? Three to five years? Benefit of the doubt, maybe 7? Not a big deal, in my opinion. There will be a lot of buying and selling transactions on these before 2052 hits and by that time, I'm sure some sort of solution by building management and land owner would have been worked out.

1. Peter said at 7:59 pm on Saturday February 25, 2012:
   Shilpi, thanks for following up. Still seems odd to reinvest in a building where the value inherently has a time limit ceiling and clearly has negatively impacted the value in the present. The land has got to be worth it's weight in gold though and Rosslyn seems to be increasingly residential friendly.

1. Roger said at 2:21 am on Monday February 27, 2012:
   I had heard the lease expires in 2048.Anyhow, whether the coach turns into a pumpkin in another 36 years or 40 years, if I buy one of those units, say, for $500,000, and try to sell it in the year 2020 when there are 30ish years left, how would the buyer be able to finance the purchase?

1. Ryan said at 5:38 pm on Monday February 27, 2012:
   @KT: It’s no so much that a buyer would stay in the same condo for 40 years, but the uncertainty of the land issue will create a dilemma for buyers at resale time because the declining value of the land lease as time goes by. After all, what if you try to sell when there’s 29 years left on the land lease. Do you think a bank is going to issue a buyer a 30 year mortgage on the property? I certainly don’t think so. DC is transient, but I wouldn’t want to buy a unit where there’s risk that I’d lose value because the value of the land lease declines each year. That’s too much uncertainty for me, especially when it’s easy to find area housing on freehold land, saving this extra complication.

1. Go Hokies said at 6:48 pm on Monday February 27, 2012:
   That bedroom is absolutely stunning. Wow.

1. karzai said at 3:26 pm on Friday April 20, 2012:
   Roger and Ryan are exactly right. As a former owner in RP East, the land lease has already begun to affect the values, and that dynamic will only increase. The boards of the four buildings are not, as the comment above says, "engaged" on the issue. When I owned there as of 2004, I pushed the boards to negotiate purchasing the land, and they always refused on the grounds that buying the land would impose too big a financial burden on the existing owners. That basic view has not changed. Unless a big developer comes in and buys everyone out, I predict the lease will expire and owners at that time will lose the entirety of their investment.