The transformation adds height and square footage to create a modern apartment building with 428 residences and 53,000 square feet of retail/commercial space
WASHINGTON, June 12, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Henderson Park, the international private equity real estate firm, and Lowe, a national real estate investor, developer and manager, have started work on the office-to-residential adaptive reuse/conversion of 1250 Maryland Avenue SW in Washington DC. Henderson Park and Lowe formed their joint venture in early 2024 and recently closed on construction financing, paving the way for construction to begin.
Currently known as Portals I, the eight-story, 536,000-square-foot office building will become an 11-story, 658,000-square-foot modern apartment building with 428 contemporary rental apartments, 53,000 square feet of supporting retail and commercial space and 493 parking spaces. The conversion work includes the addition of three floors totaling 122,000 square feet to be seamlessly incorporated into the building design, with setbacks to create large patios on the 9th and 11th floors. A new façade will give the building a more contemporary appearance, while respecting the underlying form of the existing building and the Portals complex.
Nick Weber, CEO and Founder of Henderson Park commented: "Securing the construction financing marks a major milestone in our plans for 1250 Maryland. The project achieved design approval from CFA (Commission of Fine Arts) and has executed a design-build construction contract with leading international contractor – Balfour Beatty. These initiatives significantly de-risk the project enabling us to begin the full-scale 'brown to green' transformation from outdated office space to 428 modern residential apartments. Converting underutilized buildings in prime locations is central to our strategy of delivering best in class real estate products in markets which are undersupplied."
Mark Rivers, Executive Vice President at Lowe, added: "One of the many benefits of converting office buildings to residences is the ability to take advantage of the large existing office floorplates to offer generously sized units and abundant amenities. These residences will average over 1,000 square feet, ranging from studios to three-bedroom apartments. Most of the residences will have large balconies or terraces that span the width of the unit, also made possible by the deep existing office floorplates."
The units all will feature modern, top-of-market finishes and floor-to-ceiling windows offering exceptional views of the Washington Monument, U.S. Capitol, Jefferson Memorial and Potomac River. Plentiful community amenity spaces will include a rooftop resort-style terrace and pool with sweeping views, resident lounge and co-working spaces, two-level fitness center, and dining and personal services offered in the ground floor spaces.
Sustainability and wellness feature prominently in the development program. The adaptive reuse/conversion process will substantially reduce carbon emissions. The redeveloped building has been designed to meet or exceed LEED Gold specifications.
1250 Maryland SW was originally constructed in 1992 and was the first building in the Portals complex on the southwest waterfront. Located near Washington DC's regional public transportation network, the property provides easy access to the Central Business District and Northern Virginia and is a five-minute walk from the District Wharf. It is situated within a hub of businesses and convenient to a multitude of dining, entertainment and cultural venues in Southwest DC. It is also immediately adjacent to the Salamander DC hotel, where Henderson Park and Salamander recently completed a significant hotel and spa renovation together with the opening of the critically-acclaimed Dōgon Restaurant.
Henderson Park and Lowe are leading the development with architect Beyer Blinder Belle, interior designer KTGY, general contractor Balfour Beatty and landscape architect Oehme, van Sweden | OvS. The construction loan was led by Deutsche Bank.
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About Henderson Park
Henderson Park is a leading international private equity real estate fund manager. Since its formation in 2016, the firm has invested over $14 billion in building a portfolio of flagship real estate assets, with a presence in major cities and capitals in the United States, UK, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Portugal, and Spain. Henderson Park seeks high quality assets in prime locations where it can identify the potential for unlocking or creating value through asset management and sustainability improvements, or by taking on and working in complex situations. The company's current portfolio is diversified across various sectors such as multifamily, hospitality, student housing, logistics, office and retail, including several real estate development projects. Henderson Park strives to work and build long-term strategic relationships with the best local partners. Henderson Park US headquarters office is in Charleston, SC.
Visit www.hendersonpark.com for more information.
About Lowe
Los Angeles-based Lowe, is a leading national real estate investment, development and management firm. Over the past 53 years, it has developed, acquired or managed more than $36 billion of real estate assets nationwide as it pursued its mission to build value in real estate by creating innovative, lasting environments and meaningful experiences that connect people and place. Lowe currently has more than $2 billion in commercial real estate projects in the pipeline or under development. Lowe established its Washington D.C. office in 1980 and has since been an active investor and developer throughout the region. Recently completed local area projects include repositioning of the 1980s era Park Center office complex in Alexandria, Virginia into Park + Ford, a 435-unit apartment community and the redevelopment of the Historic Randall Junior High School into the 492-unit Gallery 64 apartment building and the Rubell Museum in Washington, DC. Lowe maintains regional offices in Southern California, Northern California, Charleston, Denver, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. Lowe's affordable housing subsidiary, Concord Communities, is actively developing and redeveloping quality affordable communities in the metropolitan Washington, DC area. For more information visit www.Lowe-RE.com
Media Contact for Henderson Park
Media Contact for Lowe:
Karen Diehl
Diehl Communications
310-741-9097
SOURCE Henderson Park
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