The designer and owner, Mesrobian (born in Turkey to Armenian parents), was known for his large Washington, D.C., apartment blocks and elegant hotels of the 1920s and 1930s. Following the migration of Washington to the suburbs he designed a number of apartments and shopping centers in northern Virginia. For this three-story apartment building Mesrobian used red brick over concrete block bearing walls, but the details—raised brick quoins, belt courses, and strip windows—might be called Moderne.