WASHINGTON, DC - Urban Investment Partners (UIP) has acquired Rhode Island Gardens, with 81 apartment homes, for $7.6 million. Originally built in 1931, the property is located at 230 Rhode Island Avenue NE just a half mile from the Rhode Island Avenue Metro station.
The seller, Roydun Corporation, is an affiliate of Washington, DC-based DARO Realty, a longtime local apartment owner and manager. CBRE represented the seller.
UIP coordinated the acquisition with the Rhode Island Gardens Tenants Association. “This is our fourth acquisition for the year and our third development agreement with a tenant association in 2015, highlighting UIP’s unique level of experience and strong desire to participate fully with tenants in the properties we buy,” said Steve Schwat, Principal at UIP.
UIP and the tenants’ association worked together to plan a $7 million renovation of the building to be performed by UIP subsidiary UIP General Contracting Inc. The project will include adding five apartments on the building’s lower level, upgrading electric service, installing individually controlled heating and air conditioning in each apartment, plumbing replacements and upgrades, and upgrading all common areas and apartment interiors (with a particular focus on kitchens and baths), while maintaining the structure’s historic character.
“As with many of our other apartment building renovations, Rhode Island Gardens residents who stay through the renovation will enjoy a modernized apartment building with no increase in rent,” added Schwat.
Rhode Island Gardens is ideally located in the Edgewood neighborhood, a flourishing, urban infill setting just north of NoMa, one of the top employment centers in the Nation’s capital. The structure has a prominent presence on the corner of 3rd Street and Rhode Island Avenue NE, a major commuter route connecting Prince George's County to the District of Columbia.
The nearby Rhode Island Avenue Metro station on Metro’s Red Line provides direct connections to NoMa (just one stop away), Union Station, and the rest of the metropolitan area. Within ten minutes’ walking distance, residents have access to Rhode Island Row, a large mixed-use project completed in 2012, with 150 square feet of retail space including CVS, Carolina Kitchen, Jersey Mike’s, and more.
Several major employers including MedStar Washington Hospital Center, Catholic University of America (CUA), and Trinity Washington University are located within a mile of Rhode Island Gardens.
The UIP family of companies owns and manages more than 2,500 apartments in Washington, DC and Maryland and has renovated and restored more than 20 downtown apartment buildings over the last ten years. UIP’s primary focus includes working with Tenants in Washington, DC and helping them exercise their TOPA (Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act) rights. UIP is also active in entitling land, new infill development, and acquiring residential assets in the close-in Washington, DC suburbs. For more information, visit www.uipllc.com and www.uippm.com