Professionals working quick stints in the city can now stay and socialize at Ampeer. The white mansion at Dupont Circle has turned into high-end micro-units designed for short-term stays.
Patterson Mansion at 15 Dupont Circle NW was built in 1903. The Neoclassical-style estate belonged to the newspaper heiress, Eleanor Josephine Medill "Cissy" Patterson. In her day she owned the top newspapers in Washington. A colorful socialite, she hosted many Patterson Mansion parties for the movers and shakers of the city.
Flash forward to the present, the mansion has entertained throngs of people as a social club before closing and selling the place. In 2014 Ampeer acquired the Patterson Mansion for $20 million.
Ampeer capitalizes on the social DNA of the property, according to Dan Rigaux, SVP of Saul Urban, Ampeer’s co-developer. Target residents are people staying for five or six months in the city. They’re not native to Washington, but they want to get to know their neighbors.
Rigaux said Ampeer will also focus on building a robust evening program that highlights local institutions. Politics and Prose and the Katzen Arts Center at American University are two partners that may bring book signings and rotating art to the mansion.
“So this is a way to make connections and not be sitting in their apartments alone at night in front of the blue ray of the TV,” said Rigaux.
Ampeer’s studios and one-bedroom lofts are designed to get people in-and-out. The communal gathering space is a large dining room, library and ballroom inside the mansion.
The dining room will offer regular continental breakfasts. Evening happy hours will also be an offering inside the ballroom, where a modern portrait of “Cissy” Patterson adorns the wall.
Interior designer, Daryl Carter, said he honored the historic designs of the rooms but added an “approachable but elegant” layout. He described his style as “contrarian and irreverent.”
“We have created a beautiful residence for people to live-in, specifically designed in such a way, that people will go into these living spaces multiple times daily,” Rigaux said.
The four-story mansion holds 22 apartment units; an attached seven-floor tower offers 72 additional micro-units. Residents will also have access to a small courtyard and fitness center.
A 12-month lease starts at $2,800 a month. The shortest lease is a 3-month stay that may cost just under $9,000. A one bedroom is 500-600 square feet. A loft ranges from 300-400 square feet.
