(Updated at 11:55 a.m. on Nov. 4) Citing cost increases, developer JBG Smith is putting the brakes on building two seven-story residential apartment buildings around the corner from the Potomac Yard Metro Station.
Construction of an 85-foot-tall apartment building in block 15 and a 90-foot-tall apartment building in block 19 are being put on hold, Matt Kelly, CEO of JBG Smith, told investors this week. Kelly reportedly said that a surge in construction costs inhibit development.
JBG Smith is the master master developer for Virginia Tech’s $1 billion Innovation Campus, and last year signed a deal with to design, construct, manage and own two million square feet of mix-used property at Potomac Yard.
At the time, JBG Smith said that construction could start within the next year,
“The plans call for two multifamily buildings totaling approximately 419,000 square feet that have been placed in JBG SMITH’s Near-Term Development Pipeline and could start construction within the next 12 months,” JBG Smith said.
The hold on more than 400,000 square feet of residential development was first reported by the Washington Business Journal.
The 180,000-square-foot property on block 15 is a block away from the unfinished Metro station. Plans approved by the city call for a 212-unit building with an underground parking garage and 15,000 square feet of ground-level retail.
The 286,000-square-foot property on block 19 is planned as a 262-unit apartment building with an underground parking garage and 23,000 square feet of commercial and retail space.
Virginia Tech plans on opening its four-acre Innovation Campus by fall 2024, and the delayed Potomac Yard Metro station is expected to open sometime next year.
