The Colonel, a boutique apartment building at 1250 9th Street NW, began leasing this week. The move-in date will be January 2015 when construction wraps up at the building.
“Since it’s still under construction, we’ve been holding ‘hard hat’ tours of the building. The response has been great,” says Jeff Castillo, senior property manager of Oculus Realty.
The five-story Colonel has 70 apartments, from studios to a two-level penthouse. Rents range from $2,035 for studios to $4,675 for the penthouse. There are also one- and two-bedroom units. The units have nine-foot high ceilings, custom cabinetry and en-suite laundry equipment. There is retail space on the ground level, a rooftop deck with firepit, and garage parking.
Castillo says the developers, Douglas Development, CAS Riegler and CityInterests, chose to make the units rentals rather than condominiums because of “market realities like timing, price and location. It was the right product for that location.”
The project broke ground in 2013 on a lot at the corner of 9th and N Streets NW. Douglas Development owned the corner lot at 901 N street NW on which there was a vacant building dating to 1923. Over the years, the building had housed an auto repair and supply shop, an urban nursery and a party venue called Fight Club.
CAS Riegler and CityInterests owned the adjacent lot at 1250 9th Street. The developers combined the lots for The Colonel project.
Castillo said the developers believed that a small building was more compatible with the Shaw neighborhood than a large apartment building. ”They felt it was a better fit,” he says.