Two properties near Union Market in Northeast D.C. have sold for a head-turning price.
The in-line buildings at 417 and 419 Morse St. NE — just southeast of the market — changed hands for $2.85 million in August. That comes to $528 per square foot of building and $838 per square foot of each 1,700-square-foot lot, both of which are among the highest sale prices in the area, according to Ian Ruel and Josh Feldman, the managing principals of Feldman Ruel who represented the sellers, Sivan Properties and Zusin Development
Sivan and Zusin offloaded the buildings so the companies could re-invest into other real estate with more attractive cash flows, according to Ruel. Roger Leventer, president of Jefferson Builders Inc., purchased the buildings and plans a full renovation so that he can lease them to retail or restaurant tenants, Ruel said in an email.
Real estate in the area around Union Market has commanded strong prices of late. In April, another of the in-line buildings on the same row, 407 Morse St. NE, traded hands for just over $1 million, or $593 per square foot of property. A block away, two more attached buildings at 1255 and 1257 4th St NE traded hands in the spring for $916,640 and just over $1 million, respectively, coming down to $500 and $534 per square foot of land, according to records from the D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue.
The buildings at 417 and 419 Morse have been occupied by non-retail tenants — Trio Supply Co. and Leo Dekelbaum & Sons, which are wholesalers of meat and dairy products. But the neighborhood is rapidly changing. A Trader Joe's anchors a new apartment building a block away, and a second food hall, La Cosecha, now occupies another strip of former warehouse space nearby on 4th Street NE.
Directly south, a new development at 400 Florida Ave. NE is slated to include 110 condos and an upscale hotel. Further south of Florida avenue, redevelopment of more properties have brought several new mixed-use towers with hundreds of apartments, retail space and hotels.
Amid that building surge, restaurateurs have set their sights on opening in the low-slung buildings around the market once home to wholesalers and other businesses. The latest? New York's famed Minetta Tavern, which has signed a letter of intent to open in the Union Market district, Eater reported in August.