On a recent afternoon in late November, the thrum of power tools echoed from two adjoining rowhouses near U Street and Meridian Hill Park. From the street, the brick buildings, both constructed by Harry Wardman more than a century ago, appeared to be in the midst of a condo conversion—a flip by a local developer, maybe. Inside, however, Lucy D’Alençon and Dan Clark of, a Belgian company, told a different story.
WeLive, of course, folded in 2021, and Common declared bankruptcy earlier this year. But Cohabs, founded in 2016, is doubling down. The company, which owns dozens of properties in Europe—including London, Madrid, Brussels, Paris, and Milan—and more recently expanded into New York City, has now embarked on a buying spree in DC, closing on six properties in Columbia Heights, Capitol Hill, Bloomingdale, LeDroit Park, Logan Circle, and Mount Vernon Square.