Crystal Window & Door Systems nears completion of window replacement project

Alexandria, VA Crystal Window & Door Systems has supplied 5,192 windows and doors for a large Washington, DC-area apartment complex. The multi-year window replacement project involved the five 16-story multifamily buildings of Southern Towers Apartments located at 4901 Seminary Rd. Crystal is making deliveries to the last two remaining buildings in the complex. The window replacement project was phased by building, with several window contractors handling each phase of work, but Crystal supplying the entire project.

The Southern Towers Apartments complex is currently owned and operated by the CIM Group based in Los Angeles. Since the window replacement work began in 2015, three fenestration contracting firms have been awarded various phases of the work: Advanced Window, Inc. (AWI) of Frederick, MD; Caffes-Steele of Beltsville, MD; and most recently Hi-Rise Windows of Bethesda, MD.

A variety of Crystal’s heavy-commercial aluminum windows and doors were used on the project. By far the most prevalent window used for the Southern Towers project was the Crystal Series 5600 aluminum sliding window. Fabricated in both 2-lite and 3-lite (with fixed center-lite) versions, the window has a 3-¼” deep frame and is rated AW-PG40 and AW-PG50. The Crystal Series 5600 features full-height sash clip lock pull rails, dual stainless steel sash rollers, and optional opening limit stops for safety, security, and ease of operation. Some of the buildings used large, 161” wide by 59” tall 3-lite versions of the Series 5600 to span wide building openings.

The five large buildings of Southern Towers Apartments constructed in 1960 total nearly two million s/f with 2,346 residential units. The buildings include studios, one-, two-, and three-bedroom market rate rental apartments and select affordable units. The 40.5 acre site also includes landscaped grounds, swimming pools, tennis courts, playgrounds, fitness centers, indoor community spaces, and some commercial businesses. 

“It is a testament to Crystal that the owners and managers of Southern Towers Apartments retained us as the window supplier for all five building phases,” said Steven Yu, vice president of sales and marketing for Crystal. “Crystal’s quality products, great service, and reliability continue to be recognized and appreciated in markets across the country.”

Other buildings used the Crystal Series 5100 aluminum fixed picture window flanked by Series 5600 sliders to span large openings. The Series 5100 is also a 3-¼” window with an outstanding AW-PG100 rating. A handful of Crystal’s popular aluminum Series 1450 swing terrace doors were specified for the two early phase buildings. The Series 1450 terrace door is a 3-¼” in-swing door with an AAMA rating of AW-PG75. Also, the two buildings completed early in the project used some of the now discontinued Crystal heavy-commercial aluminum Series 6200 sliding windows.

All the Crystal windows and doors for the replacement project called for 1” insulated glass units using Vitro Solarban 60 low-E glass and Argon gas filling. To facilitate the replacement installation, all the Crystal windows were specified with face flange frames, and snap trim and clip accessories. The latest windows for the project’s final phase were finished in a durable AAMA 2604 custom “silver shadow” powder coat paint. Windows for earlier project phases used similar shades of light gray.