The CityHouse Old Town project transformed a 1980s office building into a seven story luxury multifamily community in the heart of historic Old Town Alexandria. We partnered with American Real Estate Partners (AREP) to convert the existing structure into nearly 200 high-end apartments with modern amenities, expanded outdoor and atrium spaces, and new structural and MEP systems, all while preserving the character of the original building.
Located steps from King Street Metro and surrounded by retail, restaurants, and active neighbors, the project demanded meticulous planning, innovation, and collaboration to safely execute heavy demolition and structural modifications within a tight urban footprint.
Transforming a Dense Urban Site Without Disruption
For this project, we were tasked with converting an occupied, zero lot line office building into a luxury residential property. The team faced extraordinary constraints, including:
- Heavy demolition of previous office floors and two levels of an active parking garage, including the removal of over 7 million pounds of concrete utilizing a robotic, electronic jackhammer.
- Expanded atrium and courtyard requiring removal of slabs and reworking of core building systems.
- Businesses operating directly below construction, including a LASIK eye surgery center, bakery, and fitness center, requiring nighttime demolition and ceiling replacement to keep them operational every morning.
- Adjacent homes and apartments sharing walls with the work zone, demanding constant communication and protective measures.
- Limited laydown and material access, located on a busy street and school bus route.
The building’s existing steel, slab profiles, and tight conditions made MEP routing and penetrations equally challenging.
Innovative Construction Techniques and Scheduling
With any adaptive reuse project, demolition sets the stage for the rest of construction. Our team decided to sequence demolition from the 7th floor down, working down toward the occupied spaces on the ground floor to minimize disruptions for those tenants. This included coordinating construction activities around medical surgery schedules and local noise restrictions. For three months, crews worked overnight to remove ceilings, complete overhead MEP work, and restore spaces before businesses opened at sunrise.
To safely remove slabs above the garage, we installed carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) wraps around lower-level columns, temporarily stabilizing the structure during demolition and steel installation. This system required close design build coordination with engineers and real-time field problem solving. This also created the unique opportunity to hold a “Bottoming Out” ceremony in lieu of the traditional “Topping Out” ceremony, and our project team celebrated placing the lowest steel beam of the project.
Once demolition was complete, the new interior and exterior had to be reskinned. Courtyard wall panels were prefabricated offsite, improving safety, reducing exterior exposure, and enabling quicker dry in. Crews installed air-barrier-ready panels that were simply set and secured into place.
A Collaborative Process
Any construction project can come with surprises, but with adaptive reuse projects, those surprises could create extensive delays and rework. Our project team partnered with our Virtual Design and Construction (VDC) team to scan the building at multiple points and provide accurate models of structures and systems.
With nearly 1,000 required penetrations and existing structure constraints, VDC became essential. Through laser scanning and BIM modeling:
- Core drill plans for all 200 units were generated directly from the model.
- Field layout and scanning for each floor were completed in three days.
- The structural engineer approved 99% of penetrations on the day of each coordinated on-site walkthrough.
This dramatically cut weeks out of the MEP rough-in schedule.
Additionally, AREP’s project lead and the architect were on site multiple days a week, allowing issues to be resolved in minutes rather than days. This collaboration was crucial for navigating the unknowns inherent in adaptive reuse.
Solving Urban Logistics
With such a tight, densely populated site, finding space for materials and activities was particularly challenging. We addressed limited laydown and access by:
- Securing six street side parking spaces and a sidewalk closure for dumpsters and staging.
- Crane loading steel decking and materials through a temporarily removed façade.
- Using a construction hoist for vertical movement of drywall and framing materials.
Additionally, all lifting activities were restricted to 9 a.m.–3 p.m. due to school zone safety requirements.
Despite heavy demolition and complex logistics, our team maintained traffic flow, protected adjacent structures, and kept surrounding businesses operational, without a single significant complaint from the city.
Success at the Finish Line
True to the project’s goals, our team tripled the size of the interior courtyard and expanded the six-story atrium, introducing natural light into new residential units and creating the development’s signature indoor-outdoor amenity experience.
The team achieved substantial completion two weeks ahead of schedule and celebrated structural completion in December of 2024, marking a critical achievement on a highly complex adaptive reuse project.
Because of the meticulous coordination, we were able to turn over multiple upper floors two days ahead of schedule, enabling residents to move in while construction continued on lower levels, a major benefit to the owner’s leasing strategy.
CityHouse Old Town is positioned to become one of Alexandria’s most distinctive addresses, offering wraparound terraces, curated amenities, coworking spaces, wellness facilities, and boutique design that blends Old Town’s historic fabric with modern living.
AREP praised the project as a model for converting underused office buildings into vibrant residential communities and a long-term investment in walkable urban living.
