Long Empty, The Dumont Is Now Filling Up Fast

• July 8th 2010

by Will Smith

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After over a year of sitting completely empty and in financial limbo, The Dumont in Mount Vernon Triangle is finally filling up, and fast. The project — now called 425 Mass — has signed leases with 182 tenants in the first 90 days since opening its doors. The quick pace of lease-up surely comes as welcome news to nearby residents who will now see the population of their young neighborhood increase by the hundreds.

Recall the history. The two-tower, 559-unit development was planned as a condominium. As the real estate market slowed, however, the project couldn’t sell enough units. Eventually the lenders took possession of the property, and deposits were returned to all would-be buyers. The Washington Post wrote a scathing article about the property entitled A Towering Disappointment, and The Dumont became a local symbol of the bruised real estate market. Over the course of 2009 and into 2010, real estate watchers and Mount Vernon Triangle residents alike wondered about the fate of the building, which was sitting locked and empty while behind the scenes the bank and investors weighed their options.

Finally, in March, Equity Residential announced plans to acquire the property and rent the units as Class A apartments. Equity Residential is based in Chicago and is one the country’s largest institutional landlords.

The company rechristened the project 425 Mass, started signing leases for the first tower in April, and now has almost half of the building’s 370 units rented. If the current pace holds, the building will be full within another three months.

Equity will open the second tower next year, presumably waiting for the first tower to lease up.

Rents at 425 Mass start at $1,785 for a studio, $2,225 for a one-bedroom, and $3,700 for a two-bedroom. One month free rent is included with select units.

The property management has proactively embraced social media, a strategy that may well be helping it lease units. 425 Mass has an active Twitter stream where it occasionally announces and welcomes new residents, as well as a Facebook page with lots of photos of the property.

For more background on 425 Mass aka The Dumont, see our past coverage:

• The Dumont Goes Smoke Free (April 2010)
• The Dumont Goes Rental (March 2010)
• Equity Residential to Buy The Dumont (March 2010)
• Rumors About a Sale of The Dumont (September 2009)
• Dumont Condo For Sale: $170 Million (April 2009)

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.production.logicbrush.com/articles/blog/long_empty_the_dumont_is_now_filling_up_fast/2245.