Promark Earns ULI Washington Real Estate Trend Award
Date: Thursday, May 4, 2017
Octave 1320 awarded inaugural Excellence in Adaptive Reuse Award
Washington, D.C. (May 4, 2017) — Promark Real Estate Services’ innovative office-to-residential conversion project, the Octave 1320 in Silver Spring, earned the Excellence in Adaptive Reuse award this week from the prestigious Urban Land Institute Washington, a District Council of the Urban Land Institute (ULI).
The award is a new category for the organization hosting its third-annual Real Estate Trends Conference Awards Program, a conference component that highlights innovative development under way in the Metropolitan Washington Region.
From left to right: Pete McLaughlin (Promark, Director), Bob Eisinger (Promark, Managing Member), Willy Bermudez (BKV Group, Associate Partner), Tom Fauquier (Promark, Member), John Maisto (BKV Group, Managing Architect, Partner)
“We are honored to be recognized for creative thinking and bringing a much-needed product to the marketplace, while also injecting new life into an aging office building,” said Peter McLaughlin, Director of Development at Promark. “While this opportunity is not available for every aging office structure, the components to make this successful – such as proximity to Metro, a demand for residential property near a walkable downtown, an existing structure with the “bones” for residential product, and our partnership with the public sector – all helped the project come together with the Octave 1320.”
The ULI Washington awards recognize innovative projects, policies, and initiatives that contribute to the enhancement of vibrant neighborhoods, exemplify creative problem solving, and celebrate visionary thinking.
“The Octave is a fine example of an adaptive use that transformed an operational 1960s-era office building into 102 modern condominiums that are financially accessible to first-time homebuyers,” said Lisa Rother, executive director of ULI Washington. “The project achieved its vision of providing modern homeownership opportunities in a desirable neighborhood to a buyer typically priced out of the market. The exterior renovation brings a modern texture to a tired urban environment. Overall, the jury was impressed with the developer’s ability to identify a need in the market and create a quality project to meet that need.”
Promark’s vision for the project was born in 2015 with the assistance of a $4.1 million Montgomery County investment and financing from BB&T. Today the 102-unit development, designed by BKV Group, is nearly sold-out, and the County’s investment has been completely repaid with a return. About 80 percent of the new condo owners are first-time homebuyers, many of them millennials. Almost half would qualify as workforce buyers based on the county’s income parameters.
Using small but efficient design principals, the 450-square-feet to 840-square-feet condos have sold for about $235,000 on average for one-bedroom units, and $350,000 on average for two-bedroom units. Community amenities include a fitness center, a common-area lounge with fireplace, an enclosed rooftop lounge that can be reserved, a huge roof deck and secured bike parking.
Octave 1320 was also recognized by Delta Associates as the 2016 Best Washington/Baltimore Adaptive Reuse Condominium Community during the group’s 20th Annual Apartment and Condominium Industry Awards for Excellence.
About Promark Real Estate
Headquartered in Rockville, Maryland, Promark Real Estate is an investor, developer and owner of properties in the Washington Metropolitan Area. Founded by Robert Eisinger and Tom Fauquier, Promark has a long history of groundbreaking design, environmentally responsible development, and civic engagement
