In a major coup for Erkiletian Real Estate Services' (ERES) mixed-use redevelopment of the Executive Office Building, the developer has gained both a density bonus and approval from Arlington County Board. The reason? In a first for Arlington, ERES is pursuing a LEED Gold certification for their new building - a "green" rating second only to Platinum (but who can afford that nowadays).
Located two blocks away from the Courthouse Metro at 2009 14th Street North, the aging seven-story office complex and adjoining parking garage on site will be razed in the coming months to make way for a sixteen-story titan of eco-friendly development. At present, plans prepared by the architects of the Lessard Group call for 254 rental residential units, 8,127 square feet of office space and 4,354 square feet of retail - plus, for good measure, an additional 2,257 square feet of flexible office/retail space. Couple that with a 26,145 square foot public plaza on top of the project’s three-story parking garage -which, according to the Board, will host "a scenic overlook offering views of national monuments in Washington, DC" - and Arlington legislators have reason to be pleased as punch.
“This building has it all – high-quality housing, ground-floor retail and office space and a public plaza that will offer great views of the national monuments,” said Board Chairman Barbara Favola via press release. “We get all this in a building that is built to a Gold LEED standard. This is the sort of project we want to see more of in Arlington.”
The caveat is that while developers can aim for green standards, there is no guarantee that, once built, the project will qualify as planned. A final determination will made by the US Green Building Council based on five criteria: sustainability, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality. There's no word yet on exactly what type of features Arlingtonians can look forward to bragging about once the building is completed. When DCmud last reported on the as-of-yet untitled project in December, ERES was projecting a third quarter 2009 start date for construction – shortly after they begin work another 200-unit residential building at 621 North Payne Street in neighboring Alexandria.
Alexandria real estate development news
4 comments:
Who can afford platinum these days? The Tower Companies, that's who. Just yesterday they received platinum certification for the first ground-up office building in the D.C. area, 2000 Tower Oaks Boulevard in Rockville, MD.
it's a lot easier to obtain LEED certification in a commercial office building than in a residential building. Core & Shell construction versus full interior buildout.
Very true, it's harder to pull of in residential with the price points you need to hit to be marketable. To be fair though, 2000 Tower Oaks is also up for Platinum in Commercial Interiors, and will be pursuing Existing Building the future.
Metro Green Home at 5903 N. 16th St. in Arlington is up for Platinum designation with USGBC. If granted, it will be the first for the DC region. Platinum is approachable! Please contact me for further information or see at KenCourtade.com.
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