$77.8M apartments break ground outside C-ville

Charlottesville-based GW Real Estate Partners, a vertically integrated multifamily construction and development firm, and Austin, Texas-based Virtus Real Estate Capital, have broken ground on a new, $77.8 million apartment community at the entrance to North Pointe, a 224-acre mixed-use community near Rivanna Station in Albemarle County.

The Ridge at North Pointe is located across from the University of Virginia’s North Fork Research Park, about 20 minutes north of downtown Charlottesville and 100 miles from Washington, D.C. The 279-unit community is scheduled to deliver in the second quarter of 2024.

“Charlottesville’s strong regional economy, high quality of life and the presence of the University of Virginia are consistently generating strong demand for housing in the metro,” Robert Gordon, a principal at GW Real Estate Partners, said in a statement. “With limited new apartment supply expected, The Ridge at North Pointe is poised to perform well. We look forward to offering best-in-class housing for residents in a beautiful setting with convenience to the area’s major employment centers.”

The Ridge at North Pointe will consist of seven three-story walk-up buildings situated around a central clubhouse and pool deck. One-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans will average 988 square feet and feature keyless entry, quartz countertops, stainless steel appliances and other amenities including private patios or balconies. Surface parking for 502 cars, including 14 electronic vehicle charging stations, is also included.

North Pointe’s broader community will consist of single-family, duplex/quad and apartment housing, along with retail, restaurants, office and medical office space, and a hotel to be built in phases.

The project team for The Ridge at North Pointe includes Alexandria-based Heffner Architects PC and Fairfax-based Collins Engineers Inc. GW Builders, a wholly owned subsidiary of GW Real Estate Partners, is the general contractor.

The project is GW Real Estate Partners’ second ground-up multifamily development in Virginia. The firm broke ground on the 265-unit Montage at Marquis Apartments in Williamsburg late last year. That project is scheduled to deliver in the first quarter of 2024.

A regional economic driver, Rivanna Station is a subinstallation of Fort Belvoir in Fairfax County. Three of the top military intelligence gathering agencies — the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), the National Ground Intelligence Center (NGIC) and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGIA) — have a presence there.