Cycle Detour Series | Ridgeline Housing

Oh Fairfax! How discreetly mysterious you are! On a fair and sunny day this past week, I had the immediate urge to get out of the house and wander the streets on a bike. The feeling was outright, instantaneous and incontestable. My bike hasn’t made the journey from California yet, so I borrowed a bike from my friend’s mom and set out with a speed and without a course. It’s been about 4 months since I’ve gone on an exploratory bike ride and the inertia of restlessness hauled me out of the house. I’ve recently moved to a nice neighborhood in Centreville and have been taking walks daily to make out my new surroundings. Despite having gone on long walks in the past two weeks since my move, I’ve only been able to scout about a 5 or so mile radius around the house. Coming from inside of the beltway (our term for the major highway that encircles the northeastern most part of Virginia, the southeastern part of Maryland, and completely contains Washington D.C.), Centreville is a divergent, varied extension of Fairfax that has a distinctive quality from where I lived for so long. Centerville is more vast than eastern Fairfax as there is a premium for space inside the beltway and land loosens up as one travels west. There were so many points during my ride when I thought to myself that you’d never see something like that in Falls Church/Springfield/Annandale…) and should’ve done a better job at stopping to take photos but the momentum of riding with the wind prevailed. I did manage to get these two photos though, and although they don’t look like much, they speak volumes on what it feels like to be out here.

I don’t like to think too much about which direction to go when I bike and mostly just follow my curiosity. The song Just Around the Riverbend from Disney’s Pocahontas is usually in the back of my mind too, no doubt encouraging my trekking spirit.

Rolling down Centreville road, my curiosity piqued at the sight of a modern apartment complex tucked back away from the main road. I almost didn’t swing in to take a look, most modern-looking apartment complexes are basically all the same, but I had a feeling that I should take a look anyway. So, dangerously, I spun my bike into the side street and circled the perimeter of the development. I think what is absorbing about new apartment housing are the following features:

• color scheme

• crisp architecture

• orderliness (as compared to single family suburbia where everyone’s yard is compromised by each homeowner’s tastes)

• novelty

• new furniture/interior design motifs

• cleanliness

My first impression, or maybe my second if we’re counting “modern apartment complex”, was how much it seemed that these homes existed in their own little bubble. I’ve always liked this fantasy about planned developments and believe it is what makes me so excited to explore and understand developments I come across. As I biked into the development, I was instantly won over by the permeable paving path I rode along and I knew there’d be more for me to fangirl over as I acquainted myself further with the place. At the end of the path I had my revelatory moment. Water! Views! Walking! Green space! Public gathering areas! Native plants! Bees! I took a moment to stand and take the entire composition in. At a climactic point like this, I’m always eager to know who built this and how can I meet them (or at least, learn about their work) and feel grateful that the future of urban planning is bright (and this is coming from a semi-pessimist). So, without further ado, here is some background information about the Ridgeline development and surrounding community:

It was at first very difficult to find who even was responsible for running the development, much less who constructed it. No amount of google searching connected Ridgeline to any owner and after awhile, I decided to give my search a break. It was only later that day that I remembered that all parcel ownership information is public and that I just wasn't using the right tool to find it. Fairfax county (as well as many other counties) has a GIS (Geographic Information System) with parcel information that is free to use and quite user-friendly. While navigating myself to that service, the question dawned upon me as to why parcel information is open to the public. This is something I'd like to look into more at another time. I'm sure there is some good history behind that. Anyway, I located the parcel and was able to look at the following pieces of information: General Parcel Report, Environmental Parcel Report, Real Estate Assessment, and Court Ordered Deed (see below). As you can see, the selected area is solely the land for the apartment complex however, the entire development includes the other buildings adjacent to the selected area. By using the GIS tool, I found that this community is made up of townhomes and condominiums all under separate ownership.

The condos are the long rectangles (5) and the townhomes are the tiny rectangles lined up against each other (obviously, and of which there are 32).

I found the following information from the General Parcel Report:

• Property Name - Alexan Apartments

• Owner Name(s) - PP Ridegeline Investors LLC.

• Mailing Address - 540 Madison Ave. FLR 35 C/O Pantzer Properties Inc New York, NY 10022

• Legal Description - Property Of NVR Inc.

I googled Ridgeline Investors LLC and from a quick search of their website found out that they’re a family-owned investment firm based out of Utah. The mismatch between their official location and the mailing address alerted me to some further investigation. As it turns out, the mailing address is for Pantzer Properties, the property management company that must run the development. Per their website - “Founded in 1971, Pantzer Properties is a fully integrated owner/operator of multifamily assets in highrise, midrise and garden style format along the North East and Mid-Atlantic corridor of the United States.” So, they have their fingers in both pies, property management and property ownership. Nice move, guys. I had remembered seeing their ‘P’ logo on the Ridgeline apartment website but the name did not ring a bell. A little more digging (clicking) and lo and behold, Pantzer Properties is the parent company of PANCO Management, the company that manages The Point at Ridgeline. According to Pantzer Properties’ website, PANCO Management is “[Pantzer Properties’] wholly-owned private asset, property and construction management company which has built a highly experienced in-house team of executives and staff.

Okay, so that makes enough sense, but when I looked into the Real Estate Assessment, I found that the legal description of the property was “Property of NVR INC”. So, you guessed it, I went on ahead and googled who this new company involved in this development is. The good news was that on the first page of their website, they explain how their company works very clearly. Here’s what they say- “NVR, Inc. operates in two business segments: homebuilding and mortgage banking. The homebuilding unit sells and constructs homes under the Ryan Homes, NVHomes and Heartland Homes brands. As a corporate entity, NVR, Inc. provides various support functions for each of its sub-entities. These include sales and marketing support, vital human resource specialists, and an advanced information technology department, which provide a network of resources utilized by NVR, Inc. holdings.”

Feel like this yet? You should.

Ugly news is that now even more businesses are in the mix and I could easily go into each one of them. For the purposes of this piece, I think that’s enough rabbit-holing for now. Before I just let that train of thought ride off though, I’d like to address the several questions this information incites.

• How is the legal description Property of NVR Inc.? Who really owns this real estate?

• How does an investment firm in Utah decide to back property in Northern Virginia?

• How many apartment complexes are locally (VA) owned?

• Who invests in Ridgeline Capital Group? How do their investment returns compare to the rest of the industry?

• How much did this project cost? It’d be very interesting to see the financials for the project as I can only imagine that there were a multitude of behind-the-scenes costs. (I’m thinking of the many permits that had to be submitted (and resubmitted) on behalf of this development). Also, how long does it take for a project like this to break even?

• Who was the architect, landscape architect, and contractor for this apartment complex?

• Why is Pantzer Properties a separate entity from PANCO Management? (Ex. is this for tax purposes, liability, asset management?)

• What specific indicators help companies choose places to invest in?

I'm sure I'll conjure up more questions as I continue to think about this development and I hope I'll also come across some answers. TBD.

Apartment Building Specs

• Total square feet - 322,205

• Units - 294

• Stories - 5

Apartment Amenities

• Fitness Center with Peloton® bikes and private studio

• Heated Salt Water Pool

• Private Office Pods

• Garage Parking

• Pet Spa

• Courtyard with double-sided fireplace

• Grilling Bar

• Bocce and Al Fresco Dining

• Walking/Bike Trails

• Tech lounge with co-working spaces

• Bike Storage and Repair

• Package Lockers

• Clubhouse

Apartment Costs

• Avg 1 Bed 1 Bath - 685 sf - $1,850

• Avg 2 Bed 2 Bath - 1,127 sf - $2,500

• Avg 3 Bed 2 Bath - 1,369 sf - $2,900

Townhome Prices

Upper $600s to mid $700s

Condo Prices

Mid-Upper $500s

Neighborhood School System

Elementary 4 /10

Middle 7/10

High 7/10

Bonus: Current Street View (Nov 2019) VS. Previous Street View (Oct 2016)

And finally, the Land Annotations below. That felt a bit like a long-winded rant, but I hope there were a few thoughts and pieces of information in there that you can take away and use to look at your landscapes more inquisitively. In fact, you should investigate your county's website and see what tools are available for you to obtain parcel information for the next time you're wondering who owns what. In the meantime, I am going to seek out people who can answer some of my many questions that I still have about this development. I'm due for another bike ride soon and who knows what new landscape I'll stumble onto next.