New Lease on Life for Former DC Coast Guard HQ

By Scott Baltic, Contributing Editor

Rendering of the future D.C. United Stadium in Buzzard Point

Washington—A consortium headed by Western Development Corp. and Akridge has bought the former U.S. Coast Guard headquarters at Buzzard Point in the District of Columbia, the two companies announced late last week. The acquisition is the biggest step to date in redeveloping the site, at 2100 Second St. SW., into Riverpoint, a residential, retail and restaurant development.

In addition to Western Development and Akridge, the development group includes Orr Partners, Redbrick LMD LLC and Jefferson Apartment Group. EagleBank and Greenfield Partners provided financing for the project.

Riverpoint reportedly will feature 80,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space and more than 450 apartment and condominium units, along with new piers, floating restaurants and a connection to the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail.

Orr Partners and Jefferson Apartment Group will co-develop the property, and Western will lead the development and leasing of the project’s retail and waterfront portions. Redbrick sourced, capitalized and structured the transaction.

(The Coast Guard vacated the Buzzard Point building during its move to a new 1.2 million-square-foot headquarters, which opened in 2013 on the St. Elizabeths Hospital west campus.)

Akridge did not respond to Commercial Property Executive’s request for additional information.

The Washington Business Journal reported that the Riverfront development consortium paid $49.3 million for the former Coast Guard building.

Western and Akridge last partnered on Gallery Place, a 1 million-square-foot project in D.C.’s Seventh Street neighborhood.

The Riverfront project is only a short distance south of the new $300 million, 19,000-seat stadium now under construction and due in 2017, for the D.C. United professional soccer team.