In a market as saturated with luxury apartment buildings as the Washington area, it can be hard to build a complex that stands out. Especially when high-end amenities in said buildings are ubiquitous. It’s now the norm for a spot to have both a pet spa and a yoga studio, a rooftop pool and a coworking area. And sending out your own dry cleaning? Forget it—there’s an in-house service for that.
Which is why Gallery 64 decided to differentiate itself by taking a unique approach: Being associated with an art museum.
The 492-unit building in Southwest, which began leasing in January, is connected via an outdoor courtyard to the new Rubell Museum, which houses contemporary art from names like Jean-Michel Basquiat, Damien Hirst, and Jeff Koons in a historic former school. Gallery 64 is designed with artists in mind—it has podcast and music studios and a maker space, and all residents get a complimentary one-year membership to the museum (though the museum is free for DC residents, membership has additional perks) and discounted tickets at nearby Arena Stage. And, yes, it also has the requisite rooftop pool, pet spa, and fitness space.
Its interiors are meant to evoke an art gallery, says Mark Rivers, an executive vice president at Lowe, the group that developed the space alongside Mitsui Fudosan America. That means a blank slate—concrete floors, white walls—with color brought in via bright furniture, funky decor, original art commissioned for the space, and a series of rainbow doorways leading to units. (The name—Gallery 64—is a nod to this vibe, as well as the space’s address at 64 H St., SW.)
“It’s not for everyone,” Rivers says of the eye-catching decor. “But that’s like art, right?”
Currently, 52 of the building’s units are leased. The building has studios (starting at $1,927 a month), and one-, two-, and three-bedroom spots, as well as 19 two-story, townhouse-style homes. Twenty percent of the units are designated as affordable. Take a look:
Gallery 64; 64 H St., SW
Mimi Montgomery joined Washingtonian in 2018. She’s written for The Washington Post, Garden & Gun, Outside Magazine, Washington City Paper, DCist, and PoPVille. Originally from North Carolina, she now lives in Del Ray.
