Element Opens in Walker’s Point, Nearly Fully Leased

New Land Enterprises began welcoming residents in recent weeks at Element, its newest apartment building.

The six-story, 66-unit apartment building is already 88% leased, according to firm managing director Tim Gokhman.

General contractor Catalyst Construction and various subcontractors are still work on a few remaining items at the building, which occupies the northeast corner of S. 5th St. and W. Mineral St. The building has a commercial space on the first floor that has yet to be leased.

Element is New Land’s third project in Walker’s Point. It first completed Trio, a three-building complex, at 1029 S. 1st St. in 2016. Then in 2020, the firm completed Quartet, fully leasing the 48-unit building at 1001 S. 2nd St. within two months of its opening. The quick leasing of Quartet fast-tracked the 5th Street project. Korb + Associates Architects, a frequent New Land collaborator, designed a building very similar to the successful Quartet.

As it has with past projects, New Land sought out a mostly-vacant site. It merged the 17,500-square-foot grass lot at 934 S. 5th St. with a 3,500-square-foot site at 924 S. 5th St. created by the demolition of a substantially-altered, two-story building originally constructed in 1880.

The new building is targeted at reaching what Gokhman describes as an “aggressive price point” for new construction without a government subsidy. He said there is a large market of people that make enough that they don’t qualify for buildings subsidized by low-income housing tax credits, but can’t afford high-end new buildings. Developers have struggled to service that market segment due to a variety of factors including construction and land costs, zoning regulations and financing.

“I think we were able to do it at Quartet,” said the developer. “We were able to build an aesthetically and design-oriented building at an affordable price point.”

Rent for the few remaining units at Element, according to an Apartments.com posting, ranges from $1,150 to $2,275 per month. Units have a mix of studio, one and two-bedroom floor plans.

New Land secured a zoning variance from the Board of Zoning Appeals in late 2020 to construct a structure that is 10 feet taller than the code allows and does not meet the minimum window coverage (glazing) requirements for a first floor.

Another project is being built further north on S. 5th St. by the Mandel Group. The Taxco Apartments will replace three buildings with a half-block, six-story building.

Element is far from the only New Land project currently underway. It’s also developing Ascent, the tallest mass-timber building in the world, and Nova, a 251-unit apartment building. Both are located along N. Van Buren St. in the East Town neighborhood.

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Site Pre-Construction

Renderings