Bowdeya Tweh

btweh@enquirer.com

New real estate development is coming to the heart of College Hill's business district in the form of senior apartments and commercial space.

Fairfax-based Episcopal Retirement Services is working with the Model Group to add 53 affordable units and first-floor commercial space at the northwest corner of Marlowe and Hamilton avenues. The $11.1 million Marlowe Court development will have 22 one-bedroom units and 31 two-bedroom units for people age 55 and older. The project is expected to be complete in summer 2017.

First Financial Bank will be an anchor tenant in the new commercial space.

A ceremonial groundbreaking event is planned Monday afternoon at the development site.

The new project helps advance long-range plans from College Hill neighborhood groups to have catalytic development fill in holes within the business district. In partnership with the city, it took more than six years for the College Hill Community Urban Revitalization Corp. to secure money to buy blighted properties, demolish them and identify new development prospects. The 1.6-acre site had been home to businesses such as Beauty Mart and Evan Ramsey Florist.

"College Hill is extremely excited for the Marlowe Court development," said Mike Cappel, president of the College Hill community development group. "We are doing Marlowe Court right, and we are building an urban, walkable, business and residential development right in the heart of our business district."

Retail and service-oriented tenants are still being sought for Marlowe Court, Cappel said. But he also said that Marlowe Court is part of momentum the neighborhood is experiencing in terms of new real estate projects.

Two blocks away from Marlowe Court, construction is expected to start on College Hill Station later this year. The St. Francis Group's development at Hamilton and North Bend Road is expected to bring 162 apartments and 12,000 square feet of commercial space to the neighborhood. A new brewery is planned at 5905 Hamilton Ave., about a block away from Marlowe Court.

Marlowe Court Limited Partnership, an entity that Episcopal Retirement Services created, closed on a deal Wednesday to acquire the property from the College Hill neighborhood development group.

Earlier this year, the city awarded a 15-year property tax break on the new development. The new building project is expected to be certified under the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design program.

The new College Hill development adds to Episcopal Retirement Services' portfolio of senior care communities. At the start of 2016, Episcopal Retirement Services owned or operated 27 communities and planned to add 10 within the next few years.

The community is expected to provide a library and computer center, on-site laundry facilities, a fitness and wellness center, spiritual services and social activities, outdoor patio space, transportation to events and shopping and a service coordinator to help residents connect with assistance.