JV Buys 44,833-SF Parcel in East End

WASHINGTON, DC-One week before a prime piece of local real estate had to close, investors came forward to purchase a $12-million lot at the corner of Massachusetts Ave. and 5th Street, NW. The Bernstein Cos.’ $100 million Consortium Capital Fund, in a joint venture with DRI Partners Inc. and CG Investments Inc., provided equity funding for the purchase of the 44,833 sf parcel of undeveloped land.

The new Convention Center is two blocks to the northwest of the parcel, which is in the East End of the District, and the MCI Center is two blocks to the southwest. Several new luxury multifamily housing developments are in the planning and construction stages in the immediate area.

“DRI Partners and CG Investments came to us just one week before this land acquisition had to close,” says Adam Bernstein, president of the Bernstein Cos. “Due to the entrepreneurial flexibility of our Consortium Capital equity fund, we were able to complete due diligence within the remaining week, and close the deal on the deadline date.”

Now that the property has changed hands, the investors have to decide how to develop the land. The property offers frontage on Massachusetts Avenue and proximity to the historic Penn Quarter and Mount Vernon Square.

“Over the next few weeks, we will be assessing the development options of this site, one of just a few undeveloped land parcels remaining in the East End,” says Bernstein. “We want to determine the best potential development outcome for this long-neglected but potentially prestigious site.”