St. James Plaza Wins Excellence in Construction Award

by ABC Metro Washington

We are pleased to announce that Harkins was awarded an Excellence in Construction award at the ABC Metro Washington Awards Ceremony on September 13th. St. James Plaza received the judges’ top scores in the Mixed Use under $50 million category. Joined by our client AHC Inc., our architect Cunningham|Quill, and several members of the Harkins project team, we attended the awards ceremony held at The Ritz-Carlton in Tysons Corner.

St. James Plaza transformed property previously owned by the St. James United Methodist Church and the Bi-District Office of the Northern Virginia Methodist Church into 93 new affordable apartments. The affordable rental apartments are a mix of efficiencies, one-, two- and three-bedroom units at rents ranging from 40% to 60% of the Area Median Income. The church moved its place of worship to an adjacent property, and the office building moved to a new location in the area as well.

The structure is comprised of five stories of wood frame construction above two levels of underground cast-in-place concrete construction. It includes underground parking, a fitness center, and a community room for residents. Additional amenities include a space for providing early childhood services to children living in both the affordable building and the surrounding community.

St. James was also recently awarded EarthCraft Platinum certification for its green design and energy efficiency characteristics. The platinum certification is the highest rating level awarded by the EarthCraft Multifamily New Construction Program. To qualify, multifamily buildings must demonstrate green building design and construction methods, with proper site planning, resource-efficient building materials and systems to enhance indoor air quality and water conservation. Certified properties have energy-efficient appliances and lighting, and provide basic educational programming on green living for residents. Certified projects are typically more durable, energy efficient and less costly to operate.