Eighteen-foot ceilings, glazed cement floors and loft layouts attracted Andres de la Roche to the Lofts 590 apartments. The kitchen island with granite countertop just closed the deal.
"The problem we had when looking at other buildings was that we saw this one first," he said.
"The whole atmosphere is like a boutique hotel," with trendy lobby music, well-dressed front-desk people and edgy design elements such as purple doors and striped hallway carpeting, said de la Roche. He and roommate Liam Dall saw the potential for entertaining in the open floor plan of the one bedroom with den (but no loft) they selected. "We've had a couple of parties . . . people always congregate around the [kitchen] island," he said.
De la Roche and Dall painted their kitchen and den walls deep crimson -- striking with the stainless steel appliances, dark granite counters and glass and silver cabinets. "People on the street have stopped to look in -- cars slow down as they pass" to peer through de la Roche's large windows at his decorating masterpiece. He doesn't mind, because he and Dall went to a lot of trouble to make the place look hip and modern, right down to the white shag rug.
Lofts 590 -- the building is named for its Arlington address, 590 15th Street South -- marks the first time that Archstone-Smith Trust, one of the nation's biggest apartment companies and also one of this area's biggest landlords, has built a new loft-style rental in this region. The company constructed the four-story, 212-unit building on part of the parking lot of its 914-unit 12-story Crystal Towers high-rise, starting in February 2003 and finishing late this spring. The first apartment was occupied in January.
Crystal Towers, built in 1966, was renovated from 2001 through 2004. Now the grounds, including a landscaped garden and large outdoor swimming pool, form an expansive and relaxing private courtyard between the two buildings.
Lofts 590 aims to be a blend of hipster and elegant with a suburban location. In a nod to its more conservative surroundings, the building's exterior reveals nothing of the trendy interior, with its open kitchens with granite countertop islands, concrete or cork floors, floor-to-ceiling windows, sliding screen doors and stainless steel, chrome and glass appliances and cabinets.
The circular lobby opens off the corner of 15th Street South and Fern Street, diagonally across the street from the bulk discount grocer Costco. A semicircular brown leather couch strewn with lime green and deep purple pillows dominates the center of the room. A series of large frosted glass backlit panels curves along one wall, and vases of flowers complement a striking modern sculpture made by Meryl Streep's artist husband, said Corinne Rabung, Archstone-Smith's regional marketing manager .
There are many different floor plans in the building, ranging from a 538-square-foot studio to a 1,519-square-foot two-bedroom, two-bath loft. The studios start at slightly more than $1,400, and the two-bedroom, two-bath lofts start at $4,300. Studios, one-bedroom units and two-bedroom units all come with and without lofts.
The loft units are on the fourth floor and are more expensive than their non-loft counterparts on the first through third floors. All of the loft floor plans have 18-foot ceilings while the non-lofts have nine- and 10-foot ceilings. There are bonuses to living on the first floor: glaze concrete flooring and walk-out porches with street entrances. (Upper floors have cork floors.) There has been so much interest in the building that the property has raised the rent three times for incoming tenants, according to Bryan Gless, one of Lofts 590's leasing consultants.
Eero and Rose Keravuori discovered the apartments while driving around looking for leasing offices one weekend. They had tired of the commute from their temporary residence in Fairfax County to their jobs in Crystal City and Alexandria and decided to limit their search to Arlington. After living in Europe for a number of years, they appreciated the convenience of the Pentagon City area, as well as the fact that Rose Keravuori -- a West Point graduate who was recently named Mrs. Virginia America -- can walk to work.
The Keravuoris looked at Crystal Towers, Crystal Park, Crystal Waterfront and Post Pentagon Row but "were most impressed with Lofts 590," Rose Keravuori said.
The design was unlike anything else they saw in Arlington. "It's a very lofty, New York-type modern apartment," she said. The Keravuoris's one-bedroom with den has concrete floors, 10-foot ceilings and stainless steel appliances, including a gas range. Keravuori said she loves the large bathroom with soaking tub and the sliding barn doors with translucent glass around the den.
The Keravuoris wanted one of the first-floor units with a separate street entrance off the porch. "We wanted a private entrance. . . . We can hit the street on our bikes," she said. The porches give residents the feeling of having their own front door, yet in a secure setting.
Residents share amenities as well as a landlord with their Crystal Towers neighbors.
As a result of the connection to the much larger high-rise, Lofts 590 residents can supplement their own amenities -- a fully equipped business center and cardio room. For example, for weights and personal training, Lofts 590 residents travel the length of the shared pool, across the landscaped courtyard between the two buildings and up to the top floor of Crystal Towers to the exercise room.
Lofts 590 residents make a similar trek to use the rooftop party room at Crystal Towers. From either of these rooftop venues, the high-rise vista of Crystal City and Pentagon City, including nine other Archstone-Smith properties, spreads out in all directions.
The Internet cafe on the ground floor of Crystal Towers is generally humming with activity in contrast with the smaller business center off the main lobby in Lofts 590. Restaurants and bars along 23rd Street in Crystal City provide local entertainment, plus there's Pentagon City and Pentagon Row for shopping, movies and more restaurants. There's not much serious nightlife in the immediate vicinity, said de la Roche, who takes taxis or the Metro -- an eight-minute walk -- when he wants to go out in downtown Washington.
De la Roche said he is so satisfied with the building that he plans to stay for a while. "We signed a 12-month lease, but would have signed for 24" if it had been available, he said.
