Staff Writer - The Timeshare Beat
November 23, 1999
It appears that Washington D.C. is finally beginning to get some serious attention from developers. Ritz-Carlton
and New York-based developer Millennium Partners have teamed up to create the city's latest-- and perhaps most
upscale-- condo project, the Residences at the Ritz-Carlton, a 162-unit building that will be attached to a new
Ritz-Carlton hotel.
Though a look at the plans does not indicate the presence of timeshare in this particular project, it cannot be entirely ruled out for the future. Millennium and the Ritz are joined at the hip in a series of luxury developments that includes fractional ownership in Beaver Creek, Colorado and expected fractional ownership in other locations as well.
The new condos in D.C. are priced from $500,000 for a one-bedroom unit to $5 million for a sprawling three-level,
five-bedroom penthouse with a roof garden. Thirty of the units have been sold and another 20 are under contract.
The owners at the Residences will have all of the amenities available to hotel guests, including room service,
maid service, babysitting, restaurant privileges, catering by the Ritz chef, and use of the luxury health club.
Fairfield Resorts, meanwhile, has been extremely successful with its new timeshare resort in Alexandria, VA. It
is quickly approaching sellout before it even opens for occupancy, and timeshare owners are already trying to exchange
in. This is a resort that will likely hold its resale value very well, and will be difficult to exchange into.
Fairfield is said to be looking at another location for a second resort in the area, reportedly in the Potomac Mills Resort area. Marriott was once reported to be prepared to build a 400-unit timeshare resort in this same area, though no recent news has been released about their plans.
It is also rumored that Sunterra is scouting the area.
With the anticipated high demand for the yet unfinished Fairfield resort as a catalyst, it is expected that
timeshare activity in the D.C. area will soon be experiencing a boom.