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November 2016 — Multifamily Properties Quarterly — Page 27
ARCHITECTURE
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
INTERIOR DESIGN
PLANNING
965 Florida Avenue NW
Washington, DC
MRP Realty
million to Pensam Residential, a
Miami-based asset management firm
that was founded in 2009. The firm
was initially drawn to the property’s
uniqueness, citing the physical layout
and the size of the site, as well as the
opportunities for value-add.
“It really is like a blank canvas
today,” said Stein. “There’s a real
opportunity for us to create a true
lifestyle community.” It has great
layouts that can be updated; a large
clubhouse that hasn’t been retrofit-
ted, updated or modernized; and
amenity space this isn’t activated, he
said.
Stein said the real estate is irre-
placeable, which compelled the
group to buy for the record-setting
price tag. Finding such a sizable asset
in what he considered to be an infill
location was something the firm had
never found anywhere in the coun-
try.
In addition, having Koelbel, the
original developer, stay on was
important, said Stein. “We wanted
to be the ones that took that original
vision for The Breakers and bring it
into the future,” he said.
With Pensam now the majority
owner, Koelbel expects the two com-
panies to put somewhere between
$25 million and $35 million into sub-
stantial upgrades.
The value-add plans will come in
three main forms – interior upgrades,
amenity upgrades and rebranding,
said Stein.
The heart and soul of the new
Breakers Resort will lie in its ameni-
ties. The most central being a com-
plete face-lift to the large clubhouse,
the Catamaran Club.
“We arguably have more square
footage there than one would even
need,” said Stein. “You wouldn’t
build 26,000 feet today. It was really a
visionary concept.”
Within the space, the fitness facil-
ity will be reconfigured and will
offer a full range of classes, nutri-
tion programming and other high-
end gym perks. They are adding a
3,000-square-foot bistro to tie in a
food and beverage concept. Creating
a food element in a value-add space
in a suburban property is unique and
a first for Pensam, Stein said.
The plans to activate the lake area
will include waterfront activities,
such as stand-up paddle boarding
and nonmotorized boats, and activa-
tion of the 1½-mile path around the
lake with proper lighting, calisthen-
ics stations and pet stations. Bark
parks will be relocated and enhanced
to encourage residential use.
“These are things that we’re going
to do to speak to that active, outdoor
lifestyle that we’re trying to convey
at the property,” he said. “We’re real-
ly transforming a city within a city
– so we’re approaching this property
as the repositioning of a village.”
There also are tentative plans to
repurpose some of the individual
community clubhouses. Nothing is
finalized yet, but a variety of ideas
are being considered, such as a day-
care center, cyber café or bike/ski
repair, to transform the underused
assets for the next generation of
residents.
“We’re looking at taking assets
that are already in place, repurpos-
ing them and adding additional
amenities to everything that we
have to offer,” to make them attrac-
tive to the younger generation and
continue to set the community
apart, Koelbel said.
Pensam likes to distinguish itself
among competitors for going above
and beyond what is typical of
today’s value-add interior renova-
tions – the stainless appliances,
granite countertops and faux wood
floors. With the firm’s in-house inte-
rior design and architecture depart-
ment, they set out to add upgrades
that will be timeless in 20 years
time, Stein said. Examples include
adding Nest thermostats, creating
keyless entry and using high-end
residential backsplashes and rain
showerheads, all to accomplish a
high-end luxury condominiums or
hotel feel.
The third part of the value-add
plan is the focus of Pensam’s short-
term goals for the property – to
rebrand it. The firm is in talks with
local PR firms to begin the process
that will include a new name, logo
and image, targeting the active life-
style community.
Koelbel said he knew Pensam was
the right partner because the firm
was interested in having the original
developer stay in and because the
two companies are philosophically
aligned in the view that the Break-
ers Resort is a long-term legacy
ownership project, Koelbel said.
When he looks back over the his-
tory of the project, he’s most proud
that his company has been a part
of it for its entire 27-year history
and that the strategic vision he and
Feld created, which was so new and
different at the time, can still be
applied today, he said.
“It took a great deal of entrepre-
neurship, vision and foresight to
develop the property,” said Stein. “I
view ourselves similarly. We’re in a
point and time in the market that it
takes some vision and foresight and
entrepreneurship to look at what
the next 20 years of the Breakers are
going to be.”s
Project Profile
ARA, a Newmark Co.
In total, the six communities that make up Breakers Resort offer 42 different floor plans.