A Northern Virginia apartment company expanding its development capabilities hired an executive away from the firm that built one of Washington, D.C.’s highest-profile mixed-use projects.
Robin Bettarel joined Middleburg Communities to become managing director of development. Bettarel previously served as senior vice president of development for Hoffman & Associates, developer of The Wharf, a $3.6 billion project built in two phases along D.C.’s southwest waterfront on the Potomac River.
The Brown University alum who was captain of the school's women's lacrosse team oversaw development of The Wharf’s final phase, which opened last year and contained a hotel, apartments and condominiums.
She also headed up development of West Falls, a 1 million-square-foot mixed-use development across 9.5 acres in the D.C. suburb of Falls Church, Virginia, and a 450-unit apartment project in Arlington County, Virginia.
The move comes as apartment companies are looking to tap increasing interest in rentals as higher interest rates keep potential homebuyers in the rental market.
Selim Tay-Agbozo, president of Middleburg Development, said Bettarel's ability to complete high-end projects will benefit the firm as it expands its business.
"As supported by our own proprietary analysis for the Mid-Atlantic, we are seeing strong demand for single-family and multifamily rentals throughout this region," Tay-Agbozo said in a statement. "We intend to capitalize on the region’s strong fundamentals by leveraging Robin’s deep knowledge of market patterns and consumer behavior to build a robust pipeline of both product types that people want to live in and call home for the long-term.”
Prior to joining Hoffman & Associates, Bettarel was senior vice president for development at D.C.-based May Riegler Properties, formerly CAS Riegler Cos. While there she oversaw construction of 700 condos and apartment units that included retail and an entitlement for a 145-room boutique hotel.
Bettarel said she "respected from afar the reputation Middleburg has cultivated" in the industry while she worked at other commercial property firms and that she is happy to be part of Middleburg now.
At Middleburg, her focus will be on the firm’s development pipeline in the mid-Atlantic region as well as exploring new growth opportunities. Bettarel will report to Tay-Agbozo, who joined the company last year from Tishman Speyer’s D.C. office.