Joint venture transforms underutilized 1980s-era office building into 199 boutique luxury residences in Old Town Alexandria

American Real Estate Partners (“AREP”), an institutional fund manager and real estate developer, and Harrison Street Asset Management (“HSAM”), a leading alternative global investment management firm with over $108 billion in assets under management, announced their joint venture completed an office-to-residential conversion of CityHouse Old Town (CHOT), a luxury rental community featuring 199 residences in the heart of Old Town, Alexandria. The project marks the neighborhood’s first completed office-to-residential conversion and reflects the two firms’ partnership to reposition a legacy office building into a modern residential community aligned with evolving housing demand in the Washington, D.C. metro area.

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CityHouse Old Town, American Real Estate Partners' luxury rental community featuring 199 residences in the heart of Old Town, Alexandria.

“1101 King Street is a rare site in Old Town Alexandria. From the beginning we had a clear plan to create long-term value for our investors, our residents and our community,” said Brian Katz, Co-Founder & President of American Real Estate Partners. “As the office market recalibrates, conversion isn’t right for every building. The projects that succeed require the right cost basis and capital structure, disciplined execution, a strong operating platform, and close coordination with the city. CityHouse reflects that approach.”

Informed by supply-side market analysis and predictive demand intelligence, AREP and HSAM moved quickly to capitalize on the opportunity. The firms established strategic relationships with the City of Alexandria’s Planning & Zoning team, the City Manager’s office, economic development staff and the Board of Architectural Review to align on entitlements and approvals before beginning construction in February 2024. Located in the heart of Old Town Alexandria, the property’s walkable access to neighborhood retail, the waterfront and the King Street Metro reinforced the demand fundamentals underpinning the repositioning.

Delivering CityHouse Old Town required navigating structural reconfiguration, the consolidation of seven individually owned office condominiums, and coordination within one of Northern Virginia’s most historically sensitive districts. The project combined complex entitlement, engineering and construction execution with careful preservation of the building’s architectural character, underscoring the operational discipline behind the repositioning.

"CityHouse Old Town reflects the power of partnership between private capital, experienced operators, and local stakeholders,” said Michael Borchetta, Senior Managing Director & Co-Head of the North America Transactions Group at Harrison Street Asset Management. “Partnering with AREP, we were able to deliver much-needed housing in Old Town Alexandria while integrating the historic fabric of the neighborhood through adaptive reuse.”

To successfully deliver the project, AREP assembled an expert team of partners, including:

- Bozzuto Management Company, property manager
- KNLB, retail leasing
- Hoar Construction, general contractor
- Cooper Carry, architect
- Hickok Cole Creative, brand & identity development
- RD Jones + Associates, interior design
- LandDesign, landscape architect
- SK&A Structural Engineers, structural engineer
- SSA Engineering, mechanical engineer

CityHouse Old Town is a milestone for AREP, HSAM, and Old Town Alexandria and a clear example of how office-to-residential conversions can be executed at scale with institutional discipline. The project transforms a legacy office building into a modern residential community featuring 199 apartments and approximately 17,000 square feet of ground-floor retail in one of the region’s most sought-after neighborhoods. Learn more about CityHouse Old Town at: https://www.cityhouseoldtown.com/

ABOUT AMERICAN REAL ESTATE PARTNERS (AREP)

AREP is a Greater Washington DC-based institutional fund manager and real estate platform with over $30 billion deployed or committed across major U.S. markets. The firm specializes in data center, residential, industrial, and office assets, having acquired over 40 million square feet of Class A real estate and currently developing over 32 million square feet of hyperscale data centers across the country. AREP’s integrated platform combines acquisition, development, leasing and asset management to execute at scale and create long-term value for its customers, capital partners and investors. For more, visit AREP's Newsroom or follow us on LinkedIn.

ABOUT HARRISON STREET ASSET MANAGEMENT

Harrison Street Asset Management is a leading global alternative investment management firm with over $108 billion in assets under management through highly differentiated assets across real estate, infrastructure, and credit strategies. Headquartered in Chicago, Toronto and London with over 600 employees in offices across North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, the firm offers innovative solutions across a variety of closed-end, open-end and specialized vehicles on behalf of 1,100+ institutional and over 300+ Registered Investment Advisors.¹

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