Image courtesy of Community Three and Whitaker Investment Corporation
At a recent presentation to the Old Town North Community Partnership, developers behind the TideLock project provided more details on the transformation of three office buildings into more than 200 residential units.
TideLock will be the first Northern Virginia project for DC-based real estate development company Community Three, which will be undertaking the project along with family-owned company Whitaker Investment Corporation, which is based in Arlington and San Diego.
The three brick office buildings, located at 1033, 1055 and 1111 N. Fairfax St., were constructed in the 1980s and served as the headquarters of the American Physical Therapy Association until they relocated to Potomac Yards. The buildings will not be torn down. Instead, the original outline of the buildings will be converted and expanded into 240,000 square feet of residential, retail and arts space.
“We’re very excited about this. We’re taking some essentially obsolete office space that is in pretty bad shape and bringing 350 plus residents, a little bit of retail, some arts use and some affordable housing and doing it with some sustainable buildings,” said Ryan Whitaker, President of Whitaker Investment Corporation.
Originally, developers wanted to retain the brick façade of the office buildings but further inspection has shown significant deterioration and water damage which makes that impossible.
Two of the buildings will be combined into one large apartment building with 169 rental units, 11 of which will be affordable units. The third building will contain 65 condo units, including four affordable units. In addition to providing 15 affordable units to Alexandria, the developers will also make a contribution to the City’s affordable housing fund.
An additional building made mostly of glass, will be built on the 1.38 acre site and will contain performance space for Levine School of Music and 6,500 square feet of retail space, most likely food and beverage. Developers have been in discussion with Alexandria Restaurant Partners.
A 2-story parking garage located under the buildings will provide parking. Open space will connect Fairfax Street to TideLock park. Developers also plan to widen the sidewalk along Fairfax Street. The city has asked the developers to remove some non-native trees onsite, which will be replaced, and most other trees will remain.
Developers have started the process to find public art for display in and around the buildings. They plan to incorporate local history into the design. Historically, the area where the project is located in Old Town North has been heavily industrial with a rail line, canal and fertilizer plant. Research shows there was an African-American neighborhood located in the area at one time. This part of the city was annexed in the 1930s, and the old annexation line falls on the property.
“We [Community Three and Whitaker Investment Corporation] are both privately-funded, privately-owned organizations. We intend to own these buildings forever. We are not merchant developers, merchant builders. We are not coming in here to build something and then sell it to somebody else and move on. That’s why community engagement and making these authentic places and interesting places for the community to be is very, very important to us…we hope to be part of the community for decades to come,” explained Whitaker.
Public hearings for the TideLock project will be held January and February with construction expected to start in the third quarter of 2022 and be completed by mid-2024.
Image courtesy of Community Three and Whitaker Investment Corporation
Image courtesy of Community Three and Whitaker Investment Corporation
Image courtesy of Community Three and Whitaker Investment Corporation
