Finance Lending
D.C. Condo Project Wins $60M Construction Loan
July 7, 2008
By: Dees Stribling, Contributing Correspondent

A 200-unit condo project in Washington, D.C., has landed a $60 million construction loan.

The new-development project, known as Velocity, will be at 1025 First St. SE, in the Near Southeast neighborhood of the District.

The loan comes at a time of widespread doldrums in the condo market, both in terms of development and sales--but with certain exceptions, such as parts of Metro D.C., which has maintained the population and job growth necessary to support new development. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, some 3,400 new jobs were created in the D.C. area, mostly in the District and Maryland, in the first quarter of 2008 alone, coming on top of significant job growth in 2007.

Moreover, the development--a joint venture the Cohen Cos. and O’Connor Capital Partners L.L.C.--has a prime location in its submarket; it’s close to both the new Washington Nationals ballpark, which was completed in March, and a new 1.35 million-square-foot office building leased to the Department of Transportation.

The 14-story structure will also include a small amount of retail space, roughly 1,400 square feet, on its ground floor. Corus Bank, the banking subsidiary of Chicago-based Corus Bankshares Inc., was the lender in the deal.

 
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