JBG Smith announced today that it has acquired the Americana Hotel in Crystal City and intends to redevelop the property as an apartment building.
The family-owned hotel at 1400 Richmond Highway closed earlier this month after nearly 50 years in business and at least one appearance in a major motion picture.
In a press release, JBG suggests that the 102-room hotel could eventually make way for a big apartment building with more than 500,000 square feet of space. That might be similar to JBG’s The Bartlett one block away, at the corner of S. Eads Street and 12th Street S., which clocks in at 23 stories, 700 apartments and about 750,000 square feet of floor area.
Despite the owners’ hopes to keep the retro hotel in the family, even recently investing in an extensive room renovation, its location across the street from Amazon’s future HQ2 made it an attractive acquisition target.
More from the JBG press release, below.
JBG SMITH (NYSE: JBGS), a leading owner and developer of high-quality, mixed-use properties in the Washington, DC market, announced today the acquisition of the former Americana Hotel situated directly across the street from Amazon’s future headquarters in National Landing.
The 1.4-acre Americana site, which encompasses a recently decommissioned 102-key hotel and adjacent parking lot, has the potential to accommodate a new multifamily development of more than 500,000 square feet.
“As the largest property owner and most active developer in National Landing, we have long viewed the Americana site as one of the best opportunities for development in the Capital region,” said Ed Chaglassian, Executive Vice President, Head of Acquisitions. “This location possesses all of the major ingredients for a successful project, including access to excellent public schools and close proximity to major transportation, retail, and employment opportunities. The potential for this development has only grown with the arrival of Amazon’s headquarters and the Virginia Tech Innovation Campus.”