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Full of CharacterBoutlque condo buildings are popping up atrl over Washrington. Itiany areconverslons-a row of historic townhouses, an otrd ilrehouse, a former church.

The Residences at St. Monica's is a new nine-unit condo building in what was an Episcopal church on Capitol Hill. The developer is salvaging rnany ofthe original architectr.ral features such as 100-year-old stained-gl.ass windours, brick archways, and an altar. The building will be comgeted in May,

JJ ou have to have a buyerrvho's willing to live in a

church," architect GrantEpstein says during a

tour of the Residences atSt. Monica's, a nine -unit coado building thathis development company carvedout oflvhatlvas once al Episcopal church near LincolnPark on Capito.l F{i11. "Not everyone \,vants

stained- glass ryindorvs. " furdnot everyone wants a fbrmeraitar as a kitchen island.

As unusual as they are, rheResidences at St. Monica's are

rypical ofthe boutique condoprojects popping r,rp ali overWashington. Some are conversions-a rou'ofhistoric tolnhouseso a former police sta-tion, an old fuehouse-and some are "in61l,'new construction that's slipped in betrveenexisting buildings in fi.rlly deveioped areas.

Srnall condo buildings are nothing ne'iv.

During the real-estate boom ofrecent years,rvhen demand for condos rvas hot, manyderelopers focused on big projects" Some ofthose are srill not sr:id orit, and developerssay that makes rnoney hard to find for nervlarge projects.

So for many developers, the sweet spotright norv is a project ol 50 units or ferver.

"Smaller projects are easier for the devel-oper to finance," says lVilliamRich of Delta Associates, a reai-estate research and consuitingfum in Alexandria. "Develop'ers s€re gerdng burned n"henprojects rvith 300 to 400 uruts

rvere taking years to sell." A smallbuildhg or conversion can often tre buiit ancl

sold out in Jess *ran a year.

And because many oftl-rese conversions are

taking place in beautiful old buiidings, thecondos ar:e full ofcharacter. Slhen compietedin Mali each of the Residences at St. Moa-

ica's rvi-ll have outdoor space, and rnost n i-ilbe direcdy accessible tlom the street. Pricesin the building (13a0 Massachusetts Ave.,SE; 202- 5 80- 6020; sbnonicasdc. cow) nrrgefrom $399,000 to $1.2 million for a three-bedroom, 3r/z-bath unit on three levels,

Interiors include original architecturai fea*

tures such as exposed timbers and brickworkand 100-year-old stained-glass rvindows.One has rhe kitchen island that recycles t}leformer aitar; in others, ceilings are as highas 24 feet. Many of the private terraces lookout onto the picturesque rorvhouses that linethe srreets ofCapitol Hiil. Says Epsiein; "Youdon't often get this in the city."

Deveioper Paul Robertson sa1's one of theadvantages of deveioping smal,l buildings isrhat they offer mc'rre opportunities for cre-atiyity: "There's a gleater abiiity to cus[o{1.-

ize and cr€at€ more unique units of higherqualiry than is reasonably achievable in really

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big buildings." His companl', RobertsonDevelopment, has done projects as small as

the conversion of a ro*,.house into four unitsand as large as the Harrison (5201 Wiscon-sin Ave., NW; 202-580-6017; tb eharrisowlc.co?n), a new 49-unit building near the Friend-ship Heights Metro station.

Rachel Kaul, who in ]anuary lras amongthe fust buyer-s to mov€ into the Harrison,says it had the amenity she rvanted most: "Irvas looking for access to the outside." Folsix years, she had lived in a S80-square-footfourth-floor lvalkup conclo in Adams Mor-gan-not ideal for sonleone widr two dogs,a beagle/Lab mix and a Havanese . At theHarrison, her 800-square-foof , one-bed-room unit has its own yard, the building'slargest private outdoor space. There's also a

shared courtyard with a fountain, a fire pit,and barnboo plantings. Remaining condosrange fiorn $409,900 to $799,900.

Stephanie Bredahl ofthe real-estate sales

and marketing fum Urban Pace is saies dtec-tor for the Harrison-and a buyer tiere her-self. She says boutique buildings such as

the Harrison draw a diverse group: singlewomen, young professionals, empty-nesterswho are downsizing, and people looking fora pied-i-terre in *re city. Proximity to shop-ping aod restauant$ as well as easy acc€ss topubiic transportation are often at the top oftheir wish list.

Developing boutique buildings can pre-sent challenges. *Smaller projects are diFficultbecause they require the same developmentprocess thatl'ou usewhenrvorking on alargeproject in terms of feasibiliry, fiaancing, andpermits,' says Gilberto C{rdenas, whosefum, fugos Group, recently converted a fue-house and a police station into condos. "Thecost per unit is substantially higher."

For many developers, the advantages out-weigh the disadvantages. Smaller buildingsmean that fewer units have to be sold to meetthe presale requirements manycondo buyersface when trying to get financing. There are

also more sites available for development,especially in up-and-coming neighborhoodssuch as DC's Mountvernon Square or alongthe city's burgeoning H Street, Northeast,corridor. Such areas are likely to have racantlots ideai for infill construction as rvell as oldbut sound buildings-rowhouses, formerpublic buildings, and industrial lofts-thatcan be given nerv life as condos.

A few blocks from H Street, the Station(525 Ninth St., NE; 202-580-6009'- thesta-

tiondc.eom) features five condos within theshell ofan old police station. Trvo are offeredin the city's affordable-homes program at dis-

counts to eligible buyers; the other three are

at marketprices. The two largestunits,whichface the street) have l3-foot ceilings, three

bedrooms, 3% baths, exposed brick, andthree leveis in nore &an 2,000 square feet.

Prices for those start at $869,000.Nearby ,vou'll find the Engine House

( I 34 I Mar-vland Ave., NE; 202 - 580-6009 ;

enginehoasedc.corn), an old firehouse con-verted into two affordable units and twomarket-rate units with prirate patios. Prices

for market-rate units stalt at $799,900. Bothbuildings, developed by the Argos Group,featr-rre brickrvork and timber trusses fromt}le original buildings.

At the N-th (907 N St., N!V; 202-299-9223 ; arb anlan d.c lrnpa.ny. crnt), a nerv infi.ll

project on a fornerl)' vacant lot ne ar MountVernon Square, each ofthe four units has its

orvn private space on the roof. The condos, all

on nvo levels and rvirh two bedrooms, range

from $465,000 to $535,000. A commonstainvay leads to the roof, where each unithas a l2-by-20-foot fenced deck with views

ofthe convention center, the Capitol, and

other landmarks. .

One drarvback olboutique buildings from a

buyer's perspective is that the per-square-footcost is usually higher than in bui.ldings with100 or more units. But a iot of condo shop-pers are more interested in a home's design

and lalrout dran its size . "Some buyers wott'teven consider the larger projects because they

iack the style and ambience that small build-ings ofler," sa)'s Gerard DiRuggiero, brokerand rnanagingmernber ofthe real-estate fumUrbanland Company. "'They don't like the

cookie -cutter units that many larger build-ings have."

But bigger buildings often do appeal tobuyers looking for securiry and hotel-likeamenities. "Many travel a lot and feel betterleaving the condo for extended periods oftime," says DiRuggiero. Most new largeluxury buildings have concierges, seculiryand otherfirll-time staff But those amenities

come lvith a cost: higher condo fees. With-out pools, gyms, and other maintenance-intensive fbatures, small buildings often hire

contractors to take care ofmaintenance as

needed, which means lower monthly fees.

Another draw of small buildings is private

outdoor space. \4lhereas a iarge building may

have a shared rooftop deck or balconies onsome units, small buildings can be configuredto give almost all residents a private place tosit outside rvith their morning coffee. At I 84Il6dr Sueet (301'873'3596; $p.clw), a cetF

tury-old Dupont Circle mansion has been

turned into three large condos' two ofwhichale still available. One, priced around $1.15million, has nvo bedrooms, trvo baths, and a

private rooftop terrace. The other has three

bedrooms, 2r/z baths, a private patio, and a

price of $1.35 million. Both have original

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Writer Stevc Bailey (stephenmbailzl@gr*tail.eom)teaches journalism at Salisbary Univerity.

RealEstate

features such as u'raparound rvindor.r,s rvithcurved glass.

The Harvard I-oft (1466 HanaldSt., NW;202 -59 6 -1466; harvardloft . com) is a 12 -urntbui-ldingin DC's Columbia Heights thatwascompleted in 2009. Some units in the Mod-ernist-style building have small private bal-

conies; a shared courtyard offers more fresh

air. Prices range fi'om $300,000 lbr a one-bedroom, one-bath unitto $875,000 forthemost expensive two-level unitwith two bed-rooms and nvo baths.

Although the bulk of new boutiquebuildings are popping up in the District,Maryland and Virginia can also claim a

ferv. The Takoma Condominiums (l1lLee Ave., Takoma Park; 202 -315 -lIL2;thetakoma.cow) has a large rear courtyardwith a patio that the 46 residences share.Prices in this refurbished I950s four-storybrick building start at $159,900 fbr stu-dios and top off at $329,000 fbr a three-bedroom.

In Old Town Alexandria, 900 NorthWashington Street ( 703-8 5 I -2255 ; 900nw.

com) consists of three nerv brick build-ings that house 54 one- and two-bedroomcondos and three larger torvnhouse units.Small green spaces and wide brick sidewalkconnect tire buildings and, along with twocommon rooftop terraces, give the home-owners a little breathing room. One-bed-rooms start at $379,900, trvo-bedrooms at

$479,900.Atthe 39-unitWoodiel Wrdman (2818

Connecticut Ave ., NW; 202'580-6442;woodley-vardman.com), the facades of fourrorvhouses on Connecticut Avenue in Wood-ley Park create the fiont for an entirely neu'

building. The spaces within the four-levelhouses have been reconfigured to create

mosdy single -level units tiat suetch beyondthe old dividing walls. Behind these units isa seven-story tolver.

The residences range from studios($299,000 to $319,000) to three-bedroom,2%-bath units with prices that go up to $2.1million. Fiftee n units have private terraces orbalconies; some of the terraces are equipped

for outdoorhot tubs. All unitsrvill have video

doorbells so residents can see visitors beforebtrzzingthem in as rvell as built-in iPod oriPad docking stations.

Despite the Woodley-Wardman's high-tech amenities, developer ]ulio Murillo thinlathe primary attraction fbr buyers is the loca-

tion: "If you look at Connecticut Avenue,this is one of the last places where you coulddo this. This is the poster child for an infillproject." ltl

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