Aviator House, an office-to-residential conversion of the former Air Line Pilots Association headquarters at 1625 Massachusetts Ave. NW, has opened in Washington’s Dupont Circle with 157 apartments. National Real Estate Advisors owns it, and it’s the first project to open under the District’s Housing in Downtown program, which trades a 20-year tax abatement for new housing in office buildings.
The building is a Vlastimil Koubek design from the early 1970s. After the pilots union left, Johns Hopkins University used it for classrooms and offices.
Project Scope
Clark Construction was general contractor. Eric Colbert & Associates handled the conversion architecture, Gaëtane & Co. did interior design, and DXA Studio worked on the facade and, with Neoscape, the interior and brand design. Bozzuto leases and manages the property.
The team kept the eight-story structure and its modernist character and added a bi-level penthouse on top. The unit mix runs from 416-square-foot studios to two-bedrooms of 1,281 square feet, and 15 units are affordable. About 8,000 square feet of amenities include coworking offices, a fitness center, a pet spa and dog run, a bike garage and a two-level rooftop lounge. The developer lists the building at 114,000 square feet.
Construction started in October 2024 after the D.C. Historic Preservation Review Board gave concept approval in 2023. Pepco energized permanent power in October 2025. The original target was spring 2026, so it ran a few months long. Bank of America provided construction financing.
Systems went all-electric, and the plan included green roofs and stormwater management.
Why It Matters
Conversions live or die on the floor plate, and a 1970s association headquarters is a friendlier candidate than a deep Class B office slab. Moderate depth, plenty of windows and a location a few blocks from Dupont Circle make the residential math easier. That’s the real lesson. Not every empty office building downtown looks like this one.
Starting rents of $2,275 put Aviator House at the market end of the city’s conversion push, with 15 affordable units carried by the abatement deal. The District will point to it as proof that Housing in Downtown works. The bigger test is whether the next projects in the pipeline, with worse floor plates, pencil as cleanly.
Project Team & Details
| Developer | National Real Estate Development |
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| Owner / Client | National Real Estate Advisors |
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| Architect | Eric Colbert & Associates |
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| Consultants | Gaëtane & Co. (Interior Design)
DXA Studio (Facade and Interior/Brand Design)
Neoscape (Brand Design)
Bozzuto (Leasing and Property Management) |
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| General Contractor | Clark Construction Group |
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| Status | Completed |
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| Funding Source | Private |
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