We are excited to announce that Elysium Fourteen — the luxury apartment building in the heart of the District’s historic U Street Corridor — is now fully stabilized, with more than 96% of its residential units leased to tenants.
Elysium Fourteen is LEED certified and was built using eco-friendly construction. The property offers a range of studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom units featuring high-quality finishes, and balconies for many of the floorplans. Amenities at the pet-friendly property include a VIP lounge, outdoor terraces with grills, and bicycle storage.
We believe the prime location has helped drive rentals to date, and will continue to support strong demand. The property is a stone’s throw from the U Street metro station, Trader Joe’s, and a plethora of bars, clubs, and renowned restaurants.
Elysium Fourteen is commanding impressive rents well in excess of our baseline projections. As of July, the average market-rate rent at the property was roughly $4.16 per square foot — more than 10% above the baseline projection of $3.76 per square foot on which the investment was underwritten.
Demographics should continue to bolster demand and support high rents for these luxury apartments. The census tract in which Elysium Fourteen is located boasts a median household income of nearly $150,000 according to the U.S. Census American Community Survey (ACS). This represents a 52% increase from 2010.
Retail tenants follow suit
While Elysium enjoys robust demand on the residential side, exciting developments are also happening on the property’s ground level. The property’s retail space recently welcomed Lululemon, whose 2016 corporate revenues topped $2 billion — a near-15% year-over-year increase.
According to Goldman Sachs, millennials are significantly more fitness-focused than their generational predecessors, and consequently year-over-year sales growth of athletic apparel has significantly outstripped that for the apparel industry as a whole since the mid-2000s.
Meanwhile, Lululemon will soon be joined by popular fitness franchise Orangetheory, and Midwest-based artisan ice cream vendor Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams. We believe these retailers will be positioned to benefit from the property’s ideal location at the crux of the District’s U Street and 14th Street corridors. This is a high-foot-traffic area frequented by affluent Millennials. The four nearest census tracts feature a combined annual buying power in excess of $930 million, according to ACS data.
We look forward to updating you on the future progress of Elysium Fourteen.
