The 1201 E. Abingdon Drive project will turn a vacant 1980s office building into 143 apartments, seven of them set aside as affordable housing.
Attendees in hard hats and safety vests gather on the top level of 1201 E. Abingdon Drive in Old Town North during the project’s topping-off ceremony on Sept 14. The former office building is being converted into 143 apartments.
A vacant 1980s office building in Old Town North is being converted into 143 apartments, with completion expected in summer 2027, according to the project’s design firm.
Developers The Pinkard Group and Akridge and design firm KTGY marked the topping off of 1201 E. Abingdon Drive at a Sept. ’14 ceremony, a spokesperson for KTGY said. A topping off marks the placement of a building’s highest structural piece.
The project converts a 95,000-square-foot office building just east of the George Washington Memorial Parkway. The design turns the existing penthouse into apartments and amenity space and adds a new wing, giving the building a U shape around a courtyard, KTGY said in a news release. Parking will move below ground, according to the firm.
The building will have six stories, plus one level below grade, on a 1.55-acre site. The apartments will range from 651 to 1,439 square feet The mix is 1’1 junior one-bedrooms, 3’1 one-bedrooms, 50 one-bedrooms with dens, 43 two-bedrooms and eight two-bedrooms with dens, the spokesperson said.
Seven units will be committed affordable housing for households earning up to 60% of the area median income, according to the city’s Office of Housing. The developer will also contribute $181,568 to the city’s Housing Trust Fund.
City Council approved the project in February 2024, allowing up to 144 rental units in the building, known as Parkway Center, according to the city.
KTGY said a curved southern facade, recesses and step-backs are meant to help the building blend with the neighborhood’s Georgian-style townhouses. Planned amenities include a rooftop deck, a fitness center, coworking space, a library and a pet spa. The courtyard will be open to the public during the day, and the building is designed for LEED Silver certification, according to the firm’s website.
“We look forward to seeing the project completed and welcoming first residents,” said Ben Kasdan, a principal at KTGY. The Pinkard Group’s earlier projects include The Kingsley, a 1175-unit apartment building in Old Town North, according to the release.
