Paging Carrie Bradshaw 

Every new apartment community sets out to become the talk of the town—and the press—when it opens, and Bozzuto-owned Residences on the Avenue in Washington, D.C., was no different.

To make a splash, the 335-unit community let Carrie Bradshaw’s cosmopolitan tastes lend a hand by inviting “Sex and the City” author Candace Bushnell to its opening in June.

Bushnell, on a national book tour for her latest release, “Summer & the City,” appeared for 90 minutes and signed nearly 200 books as part of the roof-top party event hosted by Sophie LaMontagne and Katherine Kallinis of Georgetown Cupcake.

The gala was filled with local media, residents who had recently signed leases and handpicked D.C. movers and shakers. The party’s objective was two-fold: to attract media attention and also to persuade some of D.C.’s elite to move into the community.

Property Manager David Raley says all who attended the opening party also were led on a property tour of the 12-story building that included a plush walk-in bedroom closet that would make even the fashion-obsessed Bradshaw from the HBO series “Sex and the City” giddy.

In creating a replica of the closet used by Bradshaw (played by Sarah Jessica Parker), who was a newspaper columnist and New York City apartment resident, Residences on the Avenue partnered with a nearby Neiman Marcus, which helped to stuff it full of gorgeous ball gowns, cocktail dresses and, of course, designer shoes. The closet was a hit with those in attendance.

“We found that not only did the prospective residents stay longer than they do during a typical tour, but many came back to the unit over the course of the evening to explore it further,” Raley says.

Bozzuto also raffled off a $500 gift card for a pair of Manolo Blahnik shoes, provided by Neiman Marcus. The raffle entry forms were kept in the model unit, helping to draw more people in. Anyone who signed a lease in the two weeks after the event also received the same Neiman Marcus gift card. By Sept. 1, more than half the building was occupied.

“It was certainly a night that our residents will remember for a long while to come,” Raley says. “It also drew a lot of interest from the press, giving us a unique opportunity to showcase the apartment homes through event coverage in a way we’ve never been able to before.”

Raley says two local television stations and one prominent daily newspaper attended the event. Several local blogs also covered the event. He adds, “We haven’t found word of mouth to be a problem for this community.”

—NAA’s Ali McSherry

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