In the Media
Retro Redux
Renovated mid-century apartments become hot-selling new-century condos
March 7, 2010
In the land of vertical townhousesand red brick, the West Village of Shirlington, in Arlington, Va., with its low-slung ’50s-style garden condos arranged around a huge circular swimming pool, attracts attention. “They just don’t build garden-style apartments or condos anymore,” says Stephen Rodiger, director of multifamily development for Kettler. “They don’t make them like that anymore,” he adds, “because the land is so valuable.”
The uniqueness of the former apartment complex remade as condos has made the West Village a hot seller. But the project has even more going for it—a location inside the Beltway, large green spaces, amenities that include dog parks, a free shuttle bus to the Pentagon City Metro station, and a swimming pool billed as the biggest private swimming hole in Arlington County.
The package helped Kettler sell 110 units in 2009, at an average price of $340,000. “We sold 10 in January,” says Rodiger. “It’s a value proposition. You really can’t get the level of finishes that you have here [from anyone else] in the context of the site itself and the location at the price point we are selling at.”
Kettler kept the ’50s style of the development, but updated the floor plans. Some balconies were replaced with sunrooms. Instead of the red brick façades ubiquitous in the area, the color palette moved into earth tones with some bright yellows, cool blues, and tans. The former apartments were remodeled into 528 units ranging from one-bedrooms with 822 square feet to cottages and two-story townhouses with three bedrooms and 1,326 square feet. Sales began in 2005, and the community is nearly sold out.
“You have to have a certain formula in this market,” says Rodiger. “People had a choice. We stood out.”