CHEVY CHASE, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--JBG SMITH (NYSE: JBGS), a leading owner and developer of high-quality, mixed-use properties in the Washington, DC market, today announced that it has submitted plans to Arlington County for additional housing at its RiverHouse residential community located along the western edge of National Landing.
RiverHouse is a 36-acre development bounded by Army Navy Drive, South Joyce Street and South Lynn Street. It currently comprises approximately 1,670 apartment units in three high-rise rental towers built in the late 1950s and early 1960s. JBG SMITH’s plan contemplates the continued operation of these three existing towers plus the additional units described below.
JBG SMITH’s submission calls for the construction of nearly 1,000 additional housing units spread across traditional townhome units, two-over-two townhouse units, and two six-story multifamily buildings. Under the current plans, approximately 26% of the new units will be for-sale housing. This submission replaces a plan from the prior owner for the addition of a similar number of rental apartments contained within three new mid-rise towers. This construction is also consistent with the Crystal City/Pentagon City Sector Plan which calls for 7,500 additional housing units by 2040.
The townhomes will be developed on a series of under-utilized surface parking lots spread across the south and southwest portions of the site. JBG SMITH plans to locate the three-and four-story townhomes on this portion of the site so that the new development respects the scale and context of the surrounding community, which consists primarily of single-family homes.
The two six-story buildings will be built to the north of the townhomes between the existing 16-story James House and Potomac House rental buildings. These buildings will incorporate approximately 750 rental apartments, ranging from studios to three-bedroom units. JBG SMITH is also proposing central courtyards within each building and 30,000 square feet of community-oriented street-level retail, including a potential daycare center and medical office, at the base of the two new buildings.
“One of our overarching goals through the design process was to submit a development plan that respects and complements the scale and character of the surrounding neighborhoods while creating a more cohesive sense of community,” said Andy Van Horn, Executive Vice President at JBG SMITH. “We also focused on providing a wide range of rental and for-sale housing opportunities that meet the differing needs of Arlington’s diverse and growing residential population. It is our goal to deliver additional housing units concurrent with Amazon’s occupancy of its new headquarters to help meet anticipated new housing demand and mitigate upward pressure on rents in National Landing.”
JBG SMITH’s RiverHouse expansion will further activate the community, which currently features landscaped gathering spaces, three rooftop decks, two swimming pools, two fitness centers and other residential amenities. The project will feature an enhanced and accessible pedestrian connection from South Lynn Street to South Joyce Street, a large fitness center and extensive private outdoor spaces for the new rental units, as well as an improved trail network around the site for all residents.
RiverHouse is located directly across the street from the shops, restaurants and Metro station at Pentagon Row, and within a short walk from the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City, the Pentagon City Metro Station and Amazon’s planned National Landing headquarters.
JBG SMITH expects to commence construction in late 2020, subject to plan approval from Arlington County.
JBG SMITH and National Landing
National Landing is the newly defined interconnected and walkable neighborhood that encompasses Crystal City, Pentagon City and the northern portion of Potomac Yard. Situated across the Potomac River from Washington, DC, National Landing is a well-located urban community known for its adjacency to Reagan National Airport and walkable environment featuring offices, apartments and hotels. JBG SMITH currently owns 6.2 million square feet of existing office space, 2,850 units of existing multifamily space, and controls 6.9 million square feet of additional development opportunities in National Landing, excluding Amazon’s land purchase.
In November 2018, Amazon selected JBG SMITH as its partner to house and develop its new headquarters location. To date, Amazon has leased more than half a million square feet of existing office space at JBG SMITH properties and unveiled plans for its first new office buildings to be built on land purchased from JBG SMITH. Amazon’s first phase of development will also include 1.1 acres of new public open space and 50,000 square feet of neighborhood retail. JBG SMITH is also the master developer, on behalf of Lionstone, for Virginia Tech’s planned $1 billion Innovation Campus in National Landing.
In addition to the Amazon and Virginia Tech projects, JBG SMITH has broken ground on Central District Retail, a 109,000 net rentable square foot entertainment and shopping destination that will serve as the retail heart of National Landing. JBG SMITH also expects to start construction on 1900 Crystal Drive next year, which will include two residential towers with shops and green spaces at the base. The retail components of these two projects are expected to deliver almost 150,000 square feet of street-level retail featuring an Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, specialty grocer, restaurants, bars, and other experiential offerings. Although 1900 Crystal Drive assumes multifamily construction, the project could switch to office in the event of a substantial or full building pre-lease.
About JBG SMITH
JBG SMITH is an S&P 400 company that owns, operates, invests in, and develops a dynamic portfolio of high-quality mixed-use properties in and around Washington, DC. Through an intense focus on placemaking, JBG SMITH cultivates vibrant, amenity-rich, walkable neighborhoods throughout the Capital region, including National Landing where it now serves as the exclusive developer for Amazon’s new headquarters. JBG SMITH’s operating portfolio currently comprises approximately 18 million square feet of high-quality office, multifamily and retail assets, 98% of which are Metro-served. It also maintains a robust future pipeline encompassing approximately 18.7 million square feet of mixed-use development opportunities. For more information on JBG SMITH please visit www.jbgsmith.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements contained herein may constitute “forward-looking statements” as such term is defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance. They represent our intentions, plans, expectations and beliefs and are subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties. Consequently, the future results of JBG SMITH Properties (“JBG SMITH” or the “Company”) may differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements. You can find many of these statements by looking for words such as “approximate”, "hypothetical", "potential", “believes”, “expects”, “anticipates”, “estimates”, “intends”, “plans”, “would”, “may” or similar expressions in this earnings release. We also note the following forward-looking statements: estimated number of units, estimated square feet and acres of amenities, types of amenities, exact location of new buildings and timing to construct them, our development plans related to Amazon's additional headquarters; in the case of our Amazon lease transaction, the total square feet to be leased to Amazon and the estimated occupancy dates.. Many of the factors that will determine the outcome of these and our other forward-looking statements are beyond our ability to control or predict. These factors include, among others: adverse economic conditions in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, the timing of and costs associated with development and property improvements, financing commitments, and general competitive factors. For further discussion of factors that could materially affect the outcome of our forward-looking statements and other risks and uncertainties, see “Risk Factors” and the Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018 and other periodic reports the Company files with the Securities and Exchange Commission. For these statements, we claim the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to us or any person acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section. We do not undertake any obligation to release publicly any revisions to our forward-looking statements after the date hereof.