Thursday, June 05, 2008

Akridge's Field of Dreams


Washington DC commercial real estate for sale
With all the talk about waterfront development, you would think the best waterfront property in DC was spoken for. That might just depend on who you ask. Real estate development firm Akridge currently holds the keys to a corporate dream home: nine acres of land on the Anacostia waterfront, which can house 2.7 million s.f. of development and more than 1,600 parking spaces by right, not to mention site lines down the Potomac River. And for baseball fans who dream of finishing up a day at the office with a cold beer behind home plate, the Akridge site is only four blocks away from the new Nationals Stadium. Akridge, Buzzard Point, HOK Architects, Washington DC commercial real estate Officially, the site's address is 100 V Street, SW, just within the historic Buzzard Point district. Yet the potential for development is vast; with the possibility of spanning three full city blocks to create a corporate campus that fits nicely within the context of the Fort McNair neighborhood. “We think it’s ideal for a user that has security needs because there are several natural buffers. The site encompasses three full city blocks with water on one side, Fort McNair on the West and a PEPCO sub-station across First Street SW, it is on a point with little thru traffic, and adjacent occupants also have large campus-like properties,” said Mary Margaret Plumridge, Media Contact for Akridge. 

Akridge, which purchased the site in 2005 for $75 million from utility supplier PEPCO, has lovingly maintained its original parking lot appearance, retaining the Field of Dreams look and, Akridge hopes, its promise. The new owners did remove an abandoned oil tank left behind by the previous owners - unfortunately empty. The development team has decided (for now) to avoid setting a firm design plan in stone. It's what Akridge calls the "ideal build-to-suit" opportunity. Basically, if you like the idea of having your office a stone's throw from the Potomac, or the notion that you could catch a home run from your office courtyard (assuming Bonds is still juicing), this might be the opportunity you seek. And in a reverse Field-of- Dreams-scenario, if someone wants it dearly enough, Hellmuth Obata & Kassabaum will design it for the lucky bidder, at which point Akridge will build. Because of Akridge’s by-right zoning, the developer is ready and willing to build and is marketing the site to either a “secure user” or for the traditional mixed-use path. Akridge expects to eventually manage the project that is built, but recognizes that the nature of the user would dictate that possibility.


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6 comments:

IMGoph on Jun 5, 2008, 10:46:00 AM said...

if you're going to catch any batted ball at this site, it's going to be the longest behind-the-plate foul ball that's ever been hit in the history of baseball.

(hey, if you're going to throw ridiculous stuff out there, we deserve to have ridiculous comments on it!)

;)

Ken on Jun 5, 2008, 11:53:00 AM said...

Er, we meant on a very windy day. Shame on you for not realizing that.

Anonymous said...

Is Buzzard Point a historically designated district in the District of Columbia?

Anonymous said...

Speaking of waterfronts, the Georgetown Waterfront Park just received full funding for the construction of both phases of the park. There is a public celebration for the park being held next Tuesday, June 10 at 5:30pm at the foot of Wisconsin Ave at Water Street. Council Member John Evans is scheduled to speak, along with several others. Everyone is welcome to attend!

Sarah on Jun 5, 2008, 3:25:00 PM said...

anonymous 1:

The short answer is technically, no. The longer, more interesting answer is twofold:

1.As the site is next to Ft. McNair and the developers are hoping to create a federal campus, the building would have to go through the “106 Process” to make sure that the land is not harmed. So in that sense, under the federal law (no District), the land would go through the Historic Preservation Office.

2. Buzzard Point is often considered historical as it is the former site of Lewis Jefferson’s estate. The first Black millionaire to live in DC, Jefferson built the house in 1901. According to the HPO, he also used the site as a place to put people on ferries to send them down the river to Washington Park. It was demolished in 1930, presumably to make room for the existing sub-station. According to the HPO, the site is now part of the Southwest Heritage Trail.

ward8sown on Jun 5, 2008, 8:21:00 PM said...

I wish the feds would nix the plan to move DHS to st eves west and just move to this site...that way the district could develop st eves west/east similiar to poplar point

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