Lacey Champagne Brunch Broker's Open, Tuesday 12 - 2pm

The Lacey, U Street's most inspirational new condominiums, will feature a champagne broker's open Tuesday, December 1st, from 12-2pm. Come see some of the city's best rooftop views and most intriguing design south of Manhattan.

FHA's Changing Rules

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced its newest rules to rescue the condo market. Rules that take effect next week will drop the new-condo presale requirement down from 70% to 30%, a welcome change to any developer, but tack on rules that make some lenders jittery.

Back in the days when no-doc loans were de rigueure and lenders financed 95 to 100% of home-purchase loans, FHA was but an obscure agency that few real estate agents even noticed. No more. FHA-based financing now allows 97% financing where lenders otherwise lend a more parsimonious 85 to 90%, and news from FHA is watched more closely than interest rates.

The newest rules, just released, take effect December 7th. Under the old regime, developers were obligated to find buyers to write contracts on 70% of the units in a new condominium before FHA would back the mortgage. With so many buyers seeking FHA loans, a building could not begin settling loans before the 70% mark was met, a tough standard in the current market. The new rules bring that threshold to 30%, down from the initially proposed 50%. Spot approval, the process of getting an FHA-approved loan on a building that does not have overall FHA approval, now ends February 1, 2010. Buyers with a ratified contract by that date can still get case by case approval even if the settlement date is later.

The quirk in the new rules lies in the two methods developers can use to qualify their project. The first entails "Designated Entity approval" with a bank's in-house licensed underwriters, a process the government intends as a quicker, cheaper approval method. The second is to submit the project to the FHA for approval. While no one is willing to guess at how long the government option will take, the bank approval process comes with a caveat that has bankers worried. Under the new guidelines, the first bank that approves a loan in a new condominium will incur liability for any flaws in all subsequent financing, even if it doesn't make subsequent loans. That can leave banks on the hook for hundreds of units for the profit of one loan, a scenario that banks seem not so keen to jump into. On the other hand, all existing condominiums need to be approved under the new system, leaving some industry watchers fearing a glut of applications on December 8th, with some predictions that rules for bank-approved loans will be relaxed to lighten the burden on the federal government. If not, builders will simply have to wait out the government's own approval process.

Foreclosure Hits Chinatown Landmark

One of downtown Washington DC's most visible buildings may soon be developed into a 9-story mixed-use project; that is, if it's not foreclosed on. Sitting next to DC's Chinatown arch, one of the few exceptions to downtown's shiny newness is 801 7th Street.

Yeni Wong and her Gallery Towers LLC were served a notice of foreclosure for the two contiguous lots at 675 H Street and 801 7th Street, NW in October for the $13,491,471 note plus attorney's fees. Wong, President of Riverdale International, reportedly paid more than $10m for the property in 2006. The lots were slated for auction on November 17th, but the sale was canceled, according to the office of David Prensky at DC's Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs.

The corner of 7th and H housed a CVS, but now sits vacant and boarded with signs promising construction that has yet to begin. Owner Wong started a public dispute by filing a law suit in September 2006 against then tenant, CVS, after the store refused to vacate the premises despite an eviction notice in the spring of 2006. Wong wanted the CVS out to facilitate the LLC's plans to develop the site for a mix of uses including office, residential and retail. According to the website of developer DRI, a Transwestern Company, 675 H Street was to become home to two buildings: one would restore the corner space and rise 9 stories over the arch, the other would be a new Class A office building behind the main storefronts. The total project would have yielded 110,000 s.f. of office space and 50,000 s.f. of retail. The planned development never came to fruition and between October 2008 and February 2009 Gallery Towers had 4 liens placed on their Chinatown property. In the meantime, Eichberg Construction briefly began work last summer after fencing off the site, but work quickly halted.

Washington DC real estate news

The Ever-Shrinking Galaxy

A long time ago (2005), in The Galaxy far, far away (Silver Spring), Scott Copeland, owner of RST Development, began pushing the idea for a 328-unit, 700-parking space condominium development through the Montgomery County application process.

The Galaxy isn't the first project undertaken by RST Development in the Silver Spring neighborhood bounded by Eastern Avenue, 13th and King Streets. In 2004, RST converted the vacant, 15 story office building at 8060 13th St into Gramax Towers, a 182 unit apartment complex. Copeland's company began planning the renovation of the Williams and Willste buildings—two abandoned office buildings on the north side of Eastern Avenue, into the Aurora Condominiums that same year.

In 2005, in the wake of these successful projects, The Galaxy of downtown Silver Spring was born. But by early 2008, the condo market in Silver Springs was not what it used to be and the A.R. Meyer's & Associates - designed condo project shrunk in to a more modest, 241-unit complex with 430 underground parking spaces.

Fast forward to the not-so-distant future date of December 3rd, 2009 and the Montgomery County Planning board is expected to approve two new amendments to The Galaxy development plan - the first splits the project into two phases and the second reduces the number of parking spaces.

The good news, according to Montgomery County Senior Planner, Sandra Pereira, is that "there will still be 3,366 s.f. of ground floor retail." She adds that Phase 1 of the project will not only include "a five story building, but also recreation and public use space" which adds up to 25,816 square feet of space for the public.

A public parking component has been at the center of The Galaxy plans from its beginning. But RST's newest amendment will once again reduce the amount of available parking spaces - this time from 430 spaces to 368. Pereira assures us that this change is quite minor when compared to past amendments and that public parking will still be a component of the development but will now be "divided so that 160 spaces are public and 208 are private."

Despite the assurances, it's noteworthy that the only feature of the Galaxy project to experience a growth spurt in the recent months is the percentage of available moderately priced dwellings units (MPDUs).

In an effort to strengthen an application for 9% tax credits, RST Development went before the Montgomery Housing Opportunities Commission (MHOC) in September for approval to transfer 27 project-based vouchers from the Gramax Towers to The Galaxy. Susan Yancy from the MHOC confirms that "101 Galaxy units" available in Phase 1 of the development "will be offered at an affordable, 30% AMI rate," meaning that roughly 42% of Galaxy's 241 rental units will be available as MPDUs. That's quite a jump, considering RST's original 2005 plan only met the minimum MPDU requirement of 12.5%. And what was once being billed as a swanky new condo development is now going all rental.

Whether or not construction will ever begin on the four story, 46-unit second phase of development remains to be seen. No date for Phase 2's construction has been set. That said, RST Development is pushing forward into the subcontracting stage of Phase 1 despite the setbacks in the market so far.

Silver Spring real estate news

Highland Addition, HOPE-ing and Waiting

Last night, DC's Highland community was handed another development delay as New Market Investors and developer Crawford Edgewood Managers Inc. (CEMI) received approval to prolong their development schedule with a request for a three year extension. Along with the District of Columbia Housing Authority (DCHA), the team filed to alter the zoning application approved in 2007, which would have expired this month.

The Zoning Commission approved the delay, allowing DCHA and the developers a little breathing room as they scrounge for funds and wait on a recent HOPE VI application for $22 million to develop 17 acres of townhouses. The soonest the group might expect good news about the competitive HOPE VI funding is February; until then they will be holding out hope that the stalled development will finally come to fruition.

According to Knox Hayes, DCHA Project Manager for Highland Addition, the reason behind the stalled development is the lack of funds to build new roads for the PUD. The City was unable to cough up the money for necessary roads, so DCHA took the federal path, applying through HUD'S HOPE VI grants for the maximum project award. In so doing, DCHA expanded the scope of the development from the PUD's 9 acres to include a total of 17 acres of land needing new roads and development.

The PUD will maintain its approved number of residential units at 138, but will increase the number of rental units from 30 to 46. On the remainder of the site, the same group of developers will build more residential units by matter of right zoning, with no PUD required. The proposed site will offer 261 units with 118 rental and 143 for-sale units (including the units in the PUD). Most of the homes will be townhouses, though Hayes indicated the possibility of some condominiums.

The site at Highland Additions used to be home to several public housing buildings, which were torn down in 2001, with the PUD process ensuing in 2004. Nearby are the newly renovated Overlook apartments, which replace the former Parkside Terrace apartments.

Washington DC real estate news

Bethesda Police Station Swap

JBG and Montgomery County police officials are haggling over plans for the current and future Bethesda police stations at a time when JBG is reconsidering its development partners for the prime site which sits directly across from the Bethesda Metro. Last October, Montgomery County issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for redevelopment of the 2^nd District County Police Station in downtown Bethesda. Located at 7359 Wisconsin Avenue, at the corner of Wisconsin and Montgomery, the site has approximately 21,400 ground s.f. to offer. After receiving two responses to the RFP, in the first quarter of 2009 the County selected the proposal submitted by a partnership headed by JBG. Negotiations for the terms of the agreement should be complete in the first half of 2010. Once JBG makes it official, the developer will begin the zoning process for the new police station.

According to Ken Finkelstein, Managing Director at JBG, in return for the site of the current station, the developer will likely do a land swap with the county for property sitting on Cordell Avenue between Wisconsin and Woodmont Avenues. When the JBG partnership initially submitted their RFP in December of 2008, the development group included JBG, one of their affiliates and the Goldstar Group. However, Finkelstein said it is "unclear at this time if Goldstar will continue to get involved;" a fairly major detail the group is "still trying to figure out."

The County opted for an RFP because the current station is too small and "it didn't make sense to put more money into it," according to Gary Stith, Deputy Director of Planning and Special Projects within Montgomery County Department of General Services. When the County released the RFP, they indicated they were looking for a mixed-use development with a long term lease with the County as landlord. The RFP also said developers with the means to build a new station at another site in the immediate area would be offered a juicier deal than offers looking for a “simple conveyance of the Site" - i.e., the title to the land without the obligation to build a new station or exchange land. Sounds like that's why the application review committee, which consisted of county and police officials, picked JBG.

Assuming everything works out in negotiations with the County, the developers will head before the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) pursuing review under the optional method of development, which gives developers the right to a significantly higher density in the downtown area in exchange for amenities like open space. Stith said the planning and zoning process could take a full year. Finkelstein estimated the groundbreaking would be another two or three years down the line, which is probably a relief to the current tenants of the older retail buildings on the proposed site of the new police station.

The site involved in the RFP would likely see demolition of the old police station, once the law enforcement agency moves into a shiny new home. JBG's proposal calls for an office at the Wisconsin Ave location, which Finkelstein said could be anywhere from 125,000 to 250,000 s.f. And in a sweet location to boot.

Update, Nov. 24: Michael Brodsky, CEO at the Goldstar Group, contacted DCMud to say he took "exception" to the statement made by Finkelstein, adding that the RFP was awarded to a 50-50 partnership between JBG and Goldstar. Brodsky stated that to the extent that the partnership ceases to exist in the future so does the RFP award which was given to the partnership. The partnership between JBG and Goldstar was closely linked to a building owned by Goldstar behind the current police station. The partnership would potentially then redevelop the entire corner, rather than just the police station. Brodsky said if JBG and Goldstar are unable to agree to a partnership, the "entire deal is off."

Bethesda Real Estate News.

DC Tax Sale Rescheduled

The Office of Tax and Revenue has rescheduled its tax sale for November 30th. The tax sale, originally scheduled for September, had been canceled after a legal challenge to the process. Interested parties can register from Nov. 23rd - 25th, those who had registered prior to the September deadline need not register again.

The auction is not in fact a sale, as no property changes hands on that date. Auction bidders win a claim against the property, and may eventually begin a judicial foreclosure process, but original owners retain the property in the short term and have a statutory right to pay off the bidder and clear the title to their home. And so while most property owners delinquent as of last year will exercise their rights and retain their homes, auction bidders often come away with the right to charge penalties on the property.

The auction will be held at 941 N. Capitol Street.

Washington DC real estate news

Arts Place at Fort Totten

Coming off its recent zoning approval, the Arts Place and Shops at Fort Totten development is now being readied for the initial stages of planning and demolition for a 2 million s.f. transit-oriented project with a mixture of community-serving retail, residential and arts and cultural space to the area between South Dakota Avenue and the Fort Totten Metro. The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation are seeking bids to work on the nearly 17 acres of land in northeast DC's Fort Totten community. The project will be executed in several stages with one massive building in the first phase and the rest to follow. Developers expect to begin construction in the first half of 2010 and have the first building ready within 24 to 36 months from now.

Initial schematic designs call for the demolition of the Riggs Family Apartments and three warehouses currently on the site. The demolition will make room for the construction of four buildings comprised of 929 multi-family one- to three-bedroom units; 305,000 square feet of retail space; 170,000 square feet of cultural and arts spaces; and a 47,000-square-foot children's museum. EE&K is the master planner for the site, Shalom Baranes Architects (SBA) has designed the first of the four buildings, and MV+A Architects is designing the retail, all to meet basic LEED certification standards.

The first phase of construction will begin with Building A at South Dakota and Galloway Street, which will be joined below grade by a common foundation and parking garage, but above grade will appear as 3 distinct, adjoining buildings. The residential portion of this phase will offer 529 units including 98 units of senior housing and 43 affordable units out of a project total of 161 units set aside as affordable at 60 to 80% AMI. The retail space includes approximately 59,000 s.f. for a grocery store with supporting retail lining the street as residents walk to the metro. Cafritz Foundation Board Member Jane Cafritz speculated this retail could include stores like card shops, dry cleaners and restaurants, and is shopping around for a grocery store to anchor the first stage of development.

Though buildings B, C and D received approval, Cafritz said their exact designs are still up in the air and dependent on market conditions around the time of construction. In the PUD zoning approval, Building B is planned for three stories of retail and cultural use to include the 47,000-s.f. ground floor children's museum, ground and second floor retail and space for a child care facility and seniors' center.

The planned seven-story "cultural and arts spaces" in Building D would potentially serve both the Washington National Opera and the Shakespeare Theatre for storage, rehearsal space and related shops. The developers also offer to provide upwards of 20,000 s.f. in this building for a public library and an additional 30,000 s.f. of "community space;" giving away space like free samples at Costco.

The eight-story Building C is planned as entirely residential, built in two C-shaped wings, joined at the second level, to accommodate the possibility of a new 3rd Street connecting the Arts Place property to the neighboring Food and Friends property, should the neighbors decide to sell or redevelop at a later date. Of the 400 rental units, 30 may be set aside as affordable for artists- everyone loves the arts these days.

All this development does not come without growing pains. Several current community members living in the Riggs Family Apartments were outspoken during the PUD review process. They will be displaced from their current home and moved into temporary housing on the same site until the new affordable spaces in the Arts Place project are ready. One senior from the community and a resident of the Cafritz apartments testified in objection to the handling of the current residents, saying that residents had not been told where they were going or when.

Despite community complaints, Jane Cafritz tried to paint a rosier picture, adding that that temporary homes for the tenants are fully refurbished with new appliances and the developers will try to accommodate seniors with first floor units. Highlighting the benefits of the new project though, Cafritz said the foundation will pay the gap between the rates on the affordable units and the actual cost of a market rate units, absorbing that cost for "20 years or the life of the tenant," whichever comes first. The former Riggs tenants will have first dibs on the new affordable residences at Arts Place and Shops.

Building A images courtesy of Interface Multimedia.

Washington DC Real Estate News.

The Joy of CSX: Capitol Hill Braces for Big Dig

Thanks to expansion of the Panama Canal, Capitol Hill may be about to get its own Big Dig - a $174 million capital improvement project that will unearth the long-buried tunnel south of the Capitol Building to widen and deepen the antiquated freight line. For those that miss the obvious connection between Panama and DC, the $5 billion overhaul of the Big Ditch in Panama will now make it easier to ship cargo from Asia to the Gulf of Mexico, and from there into the midwest via rail lines, beating out formerly dominant west coast ports as the cheapest point of entry into the American interior. That is, if the rail lines can handle the increased cargo. Which brings us back to Capitol Hill.

In 2008, freight-hauling giant CSX, which owns the tracks that cross the Potomac and mole beneath the Capitol, launched its National Gateway project to improve the capacity of its rail lines, one of which happens to lie under Virgina Ave in Southeast DC. CSX plans to unearth the narrow tube from 2nd Street to 11th Street, beginning in 2011 and continuing for an estimated two to three years. Surely Bostonians are smirking sympathetically, but area residents and business are bracing for the worst.

According to officials from the company, the CSX rail lines that disect DC are some of the most congested on the line. According to the National Gateway website, a variety of factors lead to the decision to expand and renew the current freight system. Population growth, energy costs, and environmental factors will mean increased demand for freight. According to CSX, the current system of tracks, bridges and tunnels is outdated, hence the new plan to widen the tunnel and lower the tracks to allow for double-stacked trains, but in order to access the tunnels for construction, its Virginia Avenue ceiling will need to be removed.

In the late 1800's Congress authorized the B&O Railroad, now CSX, to build the tunnel and own the area below ground, while the federal government retained ownership of Virgina Avenue at grade. As with any major project in D.C., a spiderweb of authorities will have their say over the planned construction. According to National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) Senior Planner David Zaidain, since CSX is applying for federal TIGER Grants to fund a portion of the project, the company will have to comply with the National Environmental Protection Act and the National Historic Preservation Act. NCPC has oversight because Virginia Avenue is technically federal land and is inside the L'Enfant City plan. NCPC will review the concept and give final approval to the public space effects of the project during and after construction. For good measure, the District Department of Transportation will be working with CSX to evaluate impact on traffic.

Assuming CSX obtains the federal grant money and jumps sufficiently through the various oversight hoops, residents on Capitol Hill can expect an extended period of construction and all its attendant pleasures. Among the joys of CSX: new traffic patterns - including temporary bridges connecting the numbered streets and diverted flows from Virginia onto G Street - construction noise, and the unmasked noise of trains running through the Capitol Riverfront neighborhood. For three years. Or more. And that's before planners start getting ideas about what other infrastructure goals could be accomplished while they're at it.

The project is particularly irksome to residents and businesses such as EYA's Capitol Quarters housing development. The new townhomes line the streets near Virginia Avenue and the proposed CSX plan is giving some future homeowners a (possibly justified) case of buyers' remorse. Some would-be buyers have backed off when they caught wind of the area's construction future. EYA Partner AJ Jackson had this to say about the Capitol Quarter community and CSX, "EYA has been in contact with CSX and will be working with the company as well as the District government to ensure that Capitol Quarter continues to be a great community if CSX’s National Gateway proposal goes forward. Our goal is to ensure that any proposal that’s considered includes the needs and concerns of the Capitol Quarter." Like moving massive amounts of freight from the gulf to the north and west. At least Hill residents can console themselves that this will save alot of fossil fuel consumption. And Bostonians will tell them that this too shall pass. But not soon.

Images from the NCPC and DDOT Freight Railroad Realignment Study.

Washington DC real estate news

The Dirt On...Clarendon

Even if you haven’t heard it, the Arlington Rap bears no need for repeating. Its kitschy, incessant observational diatribe aside, the piece bathes in obviously stereotypical traits of those neighborhoods in North Arlington with lyrics that could describe any other well-to-do residential area in America today. It should then make sense that the author of the “song” is a product of the environment he chastises, and, hey, maybe that’s the crux of the material. I can empathize. As a resident of Clarendon, I find myself nitpicking the commercial and residential aspects of the neighborhood; for every Cheesecake Factory customer, there’s another with a trusty Whitlow’s mug for Thursday nights. For every Apple Store employee, there’s an indie kid covering Death Cab for Cutie at Iota. For every multimillion condo building, there’s a hollowed out 1930s house converted into several one-bedrooms. You get it. Classifying Clarendon as just another white-bread pocket of Arlington is a slippery slope, and it’s easy as a resident of the area to be slightly offended by any labeling that would detriment the various elements that comprise the charming, pseudo-urban streets which knit together one of the best offerings of the DC Metro Area.

The balance between cultures within Clarendon isn’t the result of any absolute dichotomy. With George Mason’s law school just a half mile from Clarendon Station, and K Street just four Metro stops away, the nightlife atmosphere blends professional and academic to great success. Commuters litter the residential pockets that line the commercial ‘downtown’ of Clarendon, with condo buildings and apartment complexes providing a sort of transitional skin into a more settled environment. Small businesses cohabitate easily with a subliminal corporate presence, which appears to be tamed by the fact that Crate and Barrel, Pottery Barn, the Apple Store, etc. are all located at close quarters in Clarendon Plaza. This makes the Plaza a sort of financial nucleus, drawing residents from DC and further south in Arlington to the area. (And of course Whole Foods, the organic grocery Mecca is a Prius magnet, and 9 out of 10 that make the drive have District plates.) It’s also a clever sleight of hand that sort of tricks people into noticing the rest of the neighborhood, whether they came for it or not.

And there’s the charm. Clarendon’s small businesses aren’t so much allowed to exist as they are encouraged to thrive. The farmers market right off the metro on Wednesday afternoons is always well attended, and independent restaurants are clustered and crowded with customers. Nightlife booms toward the West, with the Clarendon Ballroom, Mr. Days, and Clarendon Grill all hosting happy hours conscious of their customers. Some bars try to go higher end, and succeed in pleasing the folks that bother to show up and deal with the pretty shoulda-woulda crowd that couldn’t bother with a short cab or metro ride into DC. (I’m looking at you, Eleventh.) Dinner outside in the spring and summer is unavoidable, it seems, as sidewalks are full of people enjoying Faccia Luna, 3, Harry’s Taproom, or Rien Tong.

Commerce aside, living in Clarendon is as easy as it is enticing. On the high end, established streets like Franklin Road and Key Boulevard present some of Arlington’s finer fare, with single family homes ranging anywhere from $700,000 to just over $1 million. Given that everything in the area seems to be on top of everything else, location is less a determining factor in price than, say, age or square footage. Garfield Street stretches back into an expansive neighborhood shaded by oak and pine, with sleight hills traced in well-kept sidewalks. Emerge from Garfield onto Wilson and find yourself in the shadow of commercial construction (to be completed in 2010) and shouldered by bars and restaurants. Further down, on the other side of Clarendon Boulevard, apartments are stacked over popular nightlife to the tune of $1900 a month to $4000, depending on, again, size and age. The neighborhoods down 10th Street across Lombard, toward Courthouse and Rosslyn, are a mixed bag of old Virginia ranchers, brick colonials, townhomes and apartment buildings with slightly more reasonable prices, whether you’re buying or renting.

Ten minutes from DC by Metro, maybe even ten with a car (we know how that goes), Clarendon enjoys island-like qualities, even though it’s one of the most connected neighborhoods to the District. In the end, it’s the odd mix of the urbane yet surrounding modest suburbia that draws its residents in and urges them to stay. Or at least it was for me.
Editor's note:
And for those of you who somehow never saw it, the Arlington Rap...

James Mitchell is a resident of Clarendon and a brave soul for contributing to our series of neighborhood features.

Arlington and Clarendon Real Estate News

Whole Foods - Gentrification Comes Belatedly to Chevy Chase

Chevy Chase may get its first Whole Foods, the much-anticipated second "anchor" to the Shops at Wisconsin Place, by the spring of 2010. While the Bethesda-Chevy Chase corridor may seem like a scripted stage setting for the Whole Foods phenomenon, Chevy Chasers have until now had to drive all the way down to Tenley for their organic Gruyere, or eke by (gasp) on Giant or TJ's foodstuffs.

New England Development (NED), Archstone and Boston Properties are jointly developing the Wisconsin Place shopping center at the Chevy Chase-DC border. The entire development took five years to complete. Today, the shopping center features 432, SK&I-designed, upscale apartments, 295,000 s.f. of office space, and 305,000 s.f. of swanky shopping destinations including Cole Haan, White House/Black Market, and Bloomingdales—a.k.a. "Wisconsin Place Anchor Number One."

Turner Construction began working on the shell that would become the new Whole Foods back in August of 2004. Just this past July, Wisconsin Place General Manager, Christine Norris assured DCMud that work on the grocery's escalators had already begun.

Now, four months after that update, construction by L.F. Jennings is underway and Amanda Orr, Communications Rep for NED, told DCMud that Whole Foods is "slated for a spring opening, for sure," but she could offer no more detail because the Whole Foods powers-that-be "made it very clear that they don't want any outside media reps speaking on their behalf."

Unfortunately, when it comes to answering questions about the new store's square footage, its design, and even the estimated Spring 2010 grand opening date posted on the Wisconsin Place web site - Whole Foods PR rep, Katie Hunsberger is only willing to confirm that the store will open sometime in the first half of 2010. And yes, we know River Road has its own, in a bad strip mall.

We got it: What happens in Whole Foods, stays in Whole Foods.

Chevy Chase Real Estate News

Twinbrook Developers, I Give You: Guidelines for a Walkable City

The Montgomery County Planning Commission just released its 2009 Urban Design Guidelines for the Twinbrook section of Rockville with a set of advisory rules 8 years in the making to guide developers in producing a more walkable, livable neighborhood that will "build a community."

In 2001, the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission joined with the Montgomery County Council and County Executive, residents, business owners, planners and architects to devise a plan for the Twinbrook neighborhood along Viers Mill Road to combat sprawl by improving pedestrian access and encouraging transit use and mixed-use development. What follows is the brainchild of eight years of meetings.

The guidelines seek to break Twinbrook into three zones of Metro Core, Light Industrial, and Technology Employment, and lay out a system that will be more ped-friendly, sustainable, and attractive. To save you from having to read 50 pages of municipal urbanspeak, we've taken the liberty of summarizing the recommendations below.

You're welcome.

The first rule of developing in Twinbrook: Mind your p's & q's. It's all about pedestrian-quality development, people.

Twinbrook needs crosswalks and street lights. And if you're thinking of building in the neighborhood any time soon, don't be chintzy with the streetscaping—pile on the street furniture and keep sidewalks tree-lined but with closely-spaced, single-file trees that are easier to navigate. Oh, and each street has its own specially designated tree species, because what's the use in lining up all those trees if they're not going to match?

Get ready to spend some extra money on community art and open spaces with public street access. And, lest you think you've filled your tree quota for this design, remember to include a 50% tree canopy in all open spaces. If you're looking for the right kind of inspiration, check out what the developers at JBG have planned for the Twinbrook Station Green with their "gold neighborhood" - one of the three designated open spaces included in the guidelines and part of JBG's much larger plan for the neighborhood.

The streets are going to be overhauled so that the blocks are shorter for on-foot commuters. Business district streets like Fishers Lane, Washington Street, and Wilkins Avenue need permanent on-street parking. The same goes for those four to six-lane streets like Twinbrook Parkway and Parklawn Drive.

If you're building near residential neighborhoods, especially near the Rockville boundary, try to keep your structures 60 feet or shorter. The "Light Industrial Area" is located along Wilkins Avenue and Parklawn Drive and features buildings designated for service industrial uses with smaller lots and shorter heights to match - 42 feet's the limit. The "Technology Area" has been set aside to "meet the needs of the advanced technology and biotechnology industries" as well as to provide some extra space for retail, offices, and some residential. The planners would like you to consider glass entry-ways if you're thinking of developing over there.

Buildings near the "Metro Core Area" must provide a minimum of 25% residential space and can reach a maximum height of 143 feet, just like its urban neighbor 10 miles to the south, thank you very much. Retail goes on the ground floor and if you could make your structures entirely out of non-tinted glass, that would be ideal.

A LEED Gold rating is preferable for new Twinbrook developments, but a LEED Silver rating is now mandatory. Additionally, "adaptive reuse of buildings is encouraged." Throw in some solar panels or integrate some green roof technology if you really want to suck up. Reduce paving in open spaces and have some ideas in mind for stormwater management.

And there you have it: 50 pages of Urban Design Guidelines in one easy-to-swallow capsule.

Rockville MD real estate news.

Victory Square Slowly Contemplating Construction

Last September we reported that Hamel Builders was looking for subcontractors for the Victory Square development in Parkside near the Minnesota Avenue Metro, and now they are back at it. Located at 600 Barnes Street NE, the project is being developed as a joint venture between Bethesda's Victory Housing Inc. and the Bank of America Community Development Corporation (BACDC). Bids are due by December 2nd for the senior housing development to include construction of 98 apartments to total 94,336 s.f.

The units will be four stories of wood frame over a concrete parking garage. Individual units range in size from 612 s.f. to 1,016 s.f. and include 5 handicapped accessible units and 9 visual and hearing impaired units. The parking garage will have a total of 25 spaces, 4 of which will be handicapped designated. A representative of Hamel estimated the total project costs fall in the $11 to $13 million range.

The Hamel rep. said the delays in selecting subcontractors were related to updates to the plans and slight changes in engineering, but she asserted the plans have not changed substantially in any way. Once Hamel secures contractors, the team hopes to move forward in the first quarter of 2010; construction will likely begin in March, with an estimated completion 13 to 15 months later.

Victory Square will mark the developer’s fifth so-named senior housing facility in the region, after Palmer Park’s Victory House, Potomac’s Victory Terrace, Columbia Heights’ Victory Heights and Takoma Park’s Victory Tower. The architect for the project is the local architecture firm Grimm + Parker

Hotel Follies Continue in Dupont Circle

The saga surrounding five townhomes being converted to a hotel in the middle of Dupont Circle, the former Gralyn Hotel and Woodbine Apartments, continues as DC real estate tycoon Morton Bender, his N Street Follies Ltd. (NSF) and their latest architect, Andrulis Janezich Architects, go before the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) this week for review of the newest site plan. In addition to HPRB, the group's plan is pending before the Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) for a special exception to construct a hotel in the Dupont neighborhood; the BZA decision is expected December 8th. For the first time since the property was purchased in 1988, it looks like NSF will be able to secure HPRB approval for a conceptual design with the support of the Dupont Circle Conservancy and the ANC.


Architect Anton Janezich said his team has been working on the design for approximately six months, but indicated he was not well-versed in the previous designs for the site. The plan will leave the historic townhomes at their current height; the architect says the planned rear addition will not be visible from the street. In total the 5 townhomes make up approximately 98 rooms with an estimated 58 below grade parking spaces.

The HPRB staff report gave approval to the revised conceptual design, adding that when/if the BZA approves the necessary exceptions, the staff will work with the architect and developers to move forward on a solid plan for N Street.

In an appearance before the BZA in October, Architect Stan Andrulis said the plan retains "93 percent of the existing buildings" based on square footage. In that meeting, the discussion over the plans and the presentations from both the developers and opponents eventually ran out of time, forcing the BZA to postpone any further discussion or decisions until all parties involved had time to speak at a later date. It remains to be seen whether they can get through it all in December, a minor miracle giving the years of fighting that have taken place until now.

Washington DC Real Estate News

New Townhomes Coming to Congress Heights

Residents of Ward 8's Congress Heights will be getting new affordable housing, this time from a private sector project beginning early 2010. The 4th Street Vistas are 94 single-family town homes designed by DC-based architect Atelier and being developed by Unidev on a currently vacant plot of land near the intersection of 4th and Mississippi Ave SE. The homes will offer 14 different floor plans for 2-, 3-, and 4-bedroom homes.

Unidev purchased the property in early 2007 and spent most of 2008 planning and designing the project, according to Project Manager Emmanuel Ogundipe. The units range in size from 2 bedrooms at 1,200-1,400 s.f., 3 bedrooms from 1,400-2,050 s.f. and 4 bedrooms at 2,050 to 2,100 s.f. The developers secured various permits in early 2009 and the initial 35 units will be built quickly, delivering in the first quarter of 2010.

Geared towards current Ward 8 residents who live in the community but rent their home, 4th Street Vista's offer workforce housing for the city's law enforcement, teachers and civil servants, according to Ogundipe. The units are priced from the $200's to the low $300s. According to Ogundipe, both Councilmembers Marion Barry and Kwame Brown had been aware and excited about the project, and the Ward 8 community supported it energetically.

The general contractor for the project is Harkins Builders.


Washington DC Real Estate News

Work Begins on Downtown Church Site

The First Congregational United Church of Christ and development partner Skanska have begun developing a 10-story, 200,000 s.f. mixed use building in downtown Washington DC where a Church has sat since 1865, and which PN Hoffman had previously attempted first a condo then an office project. The enviably positioned site between Metro Center and Chinatown is accessible from all 5 metro lines.

The church will reclaim office space on part of the first and all of the second floor, and develop 5,000 s.f. of ground floor retail and eight floors of Class A office space where the church once stood, at 733 10th Street, NW (at G Street), a modern structure which had taken the place of yet another church. Designed by Cunningham | Quill to achieve LEED Gold certification, upward construction could begin as soon as this January with anticipated delivery in 18 to 20 months. The new building will be a huge improvement over a site that many a nighttime passerby used to scurry past, helped not at all by vagrant filled MLK Library next door.

The church congregation began considering a new development over five years ago in light of the costly repairs needed for the old building. After an RFP, the church originally hired PNHoffman as the developer for what was then planned as a combined condominium, church office, and homeless shelter. According to Meg Maguire, a spokesperson for First Congregational, as the condo market slid into oblivion in the beginning of 2008, the church took their developer's advice and redesigned the plan for an office building. Shortly thereafter the market further deteriorated, and the project lost financing, making way for international developer Skanska to swoop in during the first quarter of 2009.

According to Robert Ward, Executive Vice President at Skanska, the company, which only just entered the US market as a commercial developer in late 2008, sought out the project and stepped in to purchase the air rights above the church ground. The agreement between the new developer and the church is for $21 million to include the cost of construction of the 25,000 s.f. of new church space as well as 20 below-grade parking spaces. Skanska now acts as the developer, financier and general contractor with PNHoffman as non-financing partner. Ward estimated the total development cost at $85 million, including the church's $21 million.

The building will feature six sides of glass facade and all sides of the offices from the fourth floor up will be glass walled and well lit, as there is no adjoining structure and the MLK Public Library rises only four stories. The floor plates on the office floors are 21,000 s.f. and consist of an outer ring of column-free window line offices and conference rooms, with an inner ring of interior offices, meeting spaces and common spaces. As part of the LEED Gold design, the building will feature a vegetated green roof. Depending on when tenants sign their leases, the new office spaces could see occupancy as early as 2012.

Since demolition and excavation began in 2007, the church has made a temporary home at First Trinity Lutheran church. The congregation will have to wait another 20 months or so until the new church, designed by Todd Williams Billie Tsien Architects, is ready. Renderings were provided by Interface Multimedia. First Congregational UCC shared their former space with Thrive DC, which now has a permanent home in Adams Morgan. Keeping with their tradition of providing space for like minded groups, the church plans to find an "appropriate nonprofit" to lease approximately 2,300 s.f. of "flex space" in its new home.

Ward described the neighborhood's reception of the project as "welcoming," adding that the ground floor retail space will be a "nice improvement" for the block. Maguire said the congregation is "excited about having a new home that is forward-looking and meets contemporary requirements for their outreach and mission."

Look for signs of progress in the New Year.

Washington DC real estate news
Construction images courtesy of First Congregational.

Clarendon Condos Close Out

The Keating Group has closed its Clarendon sales center for the Phoenix Condos. Another developer gone out of business? You might think so, with gloom over real estate this year's bumper crop, but that would be incorrect.

Keating sold the last of its 181 condos last week, and will now focus on selling its commercial remaining commercial space in the project it began building in 2005.

The Pennsylvania-based developer renovated and expanded the historic Post Office on Washington St., now on the Federal Register of Historic Places, adding 52,000 s.f. of office space, retail, and of course the 11-story condominium on what had been a surface parking lot. Located 2 blocks south of the Clarendon Metro, the Phoenix was built by Turner Construction, and began selling more than 4 years ago, with prices originally running from the low $300's to the $700's. Construction completed in the summer of 2007. The project received approval by the Smart Growth Alliance - a mix of various smart growth and environmental groups, for its transit-oriented historic adaptation. The Phoenix condominium was designed by Dorksy Hodgson Partners, the main architects, with Oehrlein & Associates as the preservation architects.

Keating will be going postal again, next time in Bethesda, where it plans another post office conversion with adjacent condo project. No timeline has been offered for that.

Arlington Virginia real estate news

The Changing View on 14th Street

After two years of construction and $90 million spent, the SK&I-designed View 14 started accepting leases this month as the building prepares for its first tenants to move in by the end of the month. A joint project of Level 2 Development and Centrum Properties, View14 sits at the intersection of 14th Street NW and Florida Avenue, on a site that once held the Petrovitch body shop and a dozen two-story Comcast satellite dishes - few neighbors were sad to see them go. The project will soon lose the remaining 14 story antenna tower; that alone is a welcome change for neighbors. View 14 stretches U Street northward, where half a dozen projects are in either the planning or construction stage within a single block of the new apartment building.

Though originally planned as a condominium endeavor, View 14 now offers 185 rental studio, one and two bedroom units with floor to ceiling glass windows and outdoor spaces on 80% of the apartments. David Franco, a Principal at Level 2 Development, boasted of the building's rooftop views, ranging "from the Potomac River to the Wilson Bridge." Not too shabby.

Franco described the building as initially looking like a "solid sheet of glass window wall," which upon closer review "responds to the bend in the road" by breaking up the western facade into "varying volumes of glass wall." He added that the goal was always to create a "stunning piece of architecture" that acts as a "gateway to and from the U Street Corridor and Columbia Heights."


The general contractor is Clark Construction, interior architecture is by Studio Architecture and interior modeling by 14th Street neighbor Vastu.

Washington DC real estate news

Groundbreaking for Georgia Avenue CVS

Groundbreakings are never quite as exciting as officials or the press want them to be. Really they are an opportunity to get dress shoes dirty, make a few speeches and wait months more for something to replace the ceremonious dirt. Today's groundbreaking at a CVS in Parkview/Petworth Community met all the aforementioned expectations, but DCMud attended, just in case something unexpected happened. Nothing did.

That said, the fulfillment of promised retail for a community long underserved is certainly something to note and a welcome sign of progress for neighbors. The CVS is the first step in a line of promised retail on the Georgia Avenue Corridor. The lot in question is at the intersection of Georgia Avenue and New Hampshire Avenue NW, across from Donatelli's Park Place and diagonal from the Georgia Avenue Metro. The space sits just on the border of Wards 1 and 4 and will serve the communities there.
The site once was home to a gas station that closed in the early 90's and the lot sat vacant until 2000 when a developer proposed a plan for a 10-story residential tower. According to Robb LaKritz, the community and the city disliked the project so much that it eventually died. In 2007 LaKritz Adler purchased the property and began the long process of working with the community, where Principal and Managing Partner Robb LaKritz lives, to pursue the type of retail the area needed. There was one major obstacle the developer had to work through with the city - the soil of the former gas station was deemed contaminated by health officials. But with some finessing and consideration for the type of tenant the developer was pursuing, LaKritz Adler and city officials were able to obtain approval for development and secure CVS as the tenant.

The 11,000 s.f. site is smaller than a typical CVS, which are usually 14,000 to 15,00 s.f. The Georgia Avenue CVS will also include a mezzanine to accommodate more space on a second floor. Construction, not yet begun, is expected to wrap up mid-2010. The project was made possible partly through a $2 million Georgia Avenue Great Streets Grant from the District, which spends approximately one-fifth of its $10 million budget for the area. The grant will be financed through TIF bonds, which make the District a development partner of sorts creating an added value for the lot in order to secure additional private financing. The TIF bond will be financed through the sales tax revenue generated by the new CVS and will expire after 25 years or when the taxes revenue fulfill the financial obligations.

So, the Mayor shoveled some rocks as he lead Councilmembers Graham and Bowser with the cheer of "1-2-3, New CVS!"

Get excited.

Brookland and Abdo Getting Closer to New Development

Abdo Development's plans for a section of the Catholic University of America (CUA) were given a hearing this week, following up on its October review before the Zoning Commission for amendment to CUA's campus plan. The sizable mixed-use project is planned for 8.9 acres of land on the CUA South Campus, on either side of Monroe Street between Michigan Avenue and the Brookland Metro. The hearing set the stage for final approval come December, and, assuming PUD approval, the developer expects to begin construction in 2011.

In May of 2008 Abdo beat out a group of competitors including EYA, Monument Realty and Trammell Crow for the right to purchase the land from CUA and develop it. Though the purchase is not finalized, Abdo is under contract to purchase the property prior to the start of construction. The development team is seeking a flexibile approval for a residential development that would constitute anywhere from 725 to 825 units in what is proposed as 4 multi-family buildings with room for 80,000 s.f. of ground floor retail space with an FAR of 2.37. Of that 8%, or 63,000 s.f., will be affordable at 80% AMI. The plans also include 45 single-family homes, ranging between 3 and 4 stories with 2 to 4 bedrooms. The PUD application also contemplates a 3,000 s.f. "Arts Flex" building to serve as a community meeting area with space for art shows, recitals, and well, any other artsy undertaking. The development team plans to build for some type of LEED certification.

The Arts feature of the Abdo project will likely be the first phase executed once construction begins. The plan includes an arts walk to serve as a pedestrian connection from Monroe Street to the metro station. On either side of the arts walk will be one multi-family building split into two wings, joined below grade by a parking garage. The ground floor of the building will include 27 artists studios to frame the pedestrian walkway. Work space will feature glass roll-up doors that artists can open during fair weather and weekends to engage the public and invite them into the studios. The feel, according to Abdo Vice President Toby Millman, will be something of a mix between Alexandria's Torpedo Factory and DC's Eastern Market. In addition to the ground floor work spaces, the nearby Arts Flex building was designed to reflect an "old warehouse style," given its proximity to the railroad tracks.

The multi-family homes will be built with a mixture of masonry and pre-cast stone and, though originally planned at eight stories each, the buildings will reach only six stories in order to comply with the Brookland/CUA Small Area Plan developed during Abdo's planning process. One structure will only reach four stories in response to requests for reduced height or scale from community members living in neighboring single family homes on Lawrence Street.

Millman described the architecture, a combination of designs from both Torti Gallas and Maurice Walters, as bridging the styles between the 100-year old CUA collegiate gothic and Brookland neighborhood's arts and crafts style. During one Commission meeting, Commissioner May critiqued the design saying the design "doesn't need to be so overtly historic" and that "it just seems a little odd." In the end, though, the overall design did not run into many hiccups with the community, largely due to adherence with initial recommendations for use, size and design in the small area plan.

Millman said one of the goals of the design was to take Monroe Street - which he described as "not very active or interesting right now" and to turn it into "a vibrant retail main street." Developers were adamant during their hearing and in conversations with this publication that the retail they seek is community-serving; big boxes need not apply. Millman envisions a "vibrant, eclectic college town type atmosphere" with bike shops, sidewalk cafes and bookshops to serve both the college and neighborhood.

Images courtesy of Abdo Development.

Metro West - Urbanity on Hold

It has been heralded by green organizations across the country as "the answer to urban sprawl" - an urban village complete with more than 2200 new residences, fountains, cafes and over 100,000 s.f. of the all-important, ground-floor retail, concentrated around a Metro station as an outlet to relieve pressure for expansion outside of Washington DC.

When Pulte Homes' 56-acre Metro West development is finally completed, it will concentrate residences and offices south of the Vienna-Fairfax-GMU Metro Station, north of Route 29, and usher in a new era of "smart growth." That is, if it ever gets built.

The idea for Metro West first debuted in 2001, but it was March of 2006 before Fairfax County approved plans for up to 2,248 residential units and 300,000 s.f. of office space between Lee Highway and Saintsbury Drive; outside the beltway but still on a metro line.

"It took too many years trying to get it approved," laments Stewart Schwartz, Executive Director for the Coalition for Smarter Growth. In 2003, Schwartz's group began lending support to the project as it passed through Fairfax County's Proffer System. He credits green organizations like the Sierra Club, FairGrowth and his own for spurring a "turning point" with the Board of Supervisors, who began to see "a transit-oriented development as a green solution" that would help to make Fairfax and other Northern Virginia neighborhoods feel more connected to one another.

In light of the 2006 zoning approvals, an announcement appeared on the Metro West web site declaring that construction would begin in 2007. The bulletin still adds that "the first townhouse and condominium units could be ready for occupancy by the middle of 2008."

But three years after making that announcement, Pulte Homes Corporate Communications Manager, Eric Younan, tells DCMud that no sale dates have been set, and his office "doesn't have a date for when they're going to build [Metro West] at this time." There is nothing new to report "that's not on our web site," reiterates Younan.

So, will Metro West ever come to achieve its potential?

Mike Wing from the Fairfax County Department of Planning Zoning is optimistic, assuring that Metro West "is moving forward with the permitting process and working with the VDOT," but that these discussions "take time."

Pulte Homes' former Northern Virginia land acquisitions head, Stan Settle, takes a different perspective. In 2005, Settle battled with everyone from angry neighbors to then-US Congressman Thomas M. Davis of Virginia to win the right to raze 69 single-family homes so that Metro West could be realized.

But Settle says a lot has changed since then. In 2009, Pulte merged with Centex Corporation, becoming the largest home builder in America. Settle was let go from the company after the merger, and has since formed his own land company. Although no longer involved in Metro West decisions, Settle holds fast to the opinion that Pulte "projects like Metro West have gotten shelved until the market improves."

"They have a great land position," but he speculates that Pulte "is just sitting on the land," adding that in this market "it could be a while before Pulte has to worry about high rise construction again."

Despite Settle's foreboding, there have been signs that Metro West is still on Pulte's agenda. Just last June, the company began looking for Fairfax County approval to swap out 700,000 s.f. of residential space for office space, a move green organizations are supportive of because it still translates into increased density near a Virginia Metro station. But building anything close to 2200 housing units seems presently unimaginable, and Stan Settle remains the contact person on Pulte's website, which also lists a timeline that hasn't seen an update since 2004.

The Waiting Game in Mt. Vernon

Mt. Vernon Triangle, on Penn Quarter's northern fringe, could be a poster child for the glaciated development world. Developers now play the waiting game for Mt. Vernon to become an "extension" of the downtown corridor, land occupied by supposedly temporary parking lots remains asphalted, and the unfinished lots seem to symbolize the unrealized potential of a downtown revitalization. Here are a few of the buildings that are thisclose to adding chapters to the Mt. Vernon book.


At Mount Vernon Place, Quadrangle Development and their co-developers, the Wilkes Company, are shopping with their broker, Meany&Oliver, for tenants of two planned commercial buildings at 300 and 400 K Street. Originally designed by Hartman Cox with a masonry shell reflective of the surrounding condos, 400 K's 421,677 s.f. and 300 K's 223,869 s.f. have new designs by Davis Carter Scott, now with floor-to-ceiling glass. The larger of the two, 400 K, has a dual-core that can be built in two phases of 210,839 s.f. each with over 23,000 s.f. allotted for retail. 300 K offers over 10,000 s.f. for ground floor retail and the average floors above ground have approximately 21,644 s.f. But even once a lease is secured, estimated delivery time is 24 months - meaning parking will remain.

Down 3rd Street from 300 K lies another Quadrangle empty lot at 3rd Street and H Street NW, abutting the 100,000 s.f. office building whose use (AIPAC headquarters) remains a closely guarded secret. A planned residential building, the Cantata, will someday offer 351 units, joining the neighboring Madrigal Lofts and Sonata Condominiums; the developer's unfinished residential symphony.
Passersby on Massachusetts Avenue will surely have noticed the blank walls of the AIPAC building at 251 Massachusetts Ave. (above, right), where architects at the Smith Group have left space for the development in waiting.

Neighboring 400 K is 425 Eye Street, where Paramount Development and their architects at SmithGroup are performing a full-body makeover on one of the few projects actively moving forward - the former home of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Agency (rendering below left). The 370,000 s.f. building will offer 30,000 s.f. of ground floor retail/ restaurant space. Construction began summer 2009 and the building should deliver by June. On both the office and retail fronts, brokers indicate they have no contracts "in hand," but a few tenants have been "kicking the tires." Bill Miller, a broker at Transwestern Property Co., is putting stock in the recently secured Buddha Bar coming to nearby 455 Massachusetts. Miller sees the bar as a way to change people's perceptions of Mount Vernon and to connect it in their minds to the 7th Street corridor of nearby Chinatown/Verizon Center.

On residential front, the Esocoff & Associates-designed Dumont has been in a bad way for quite some time, coming to a peak with its December 2008 foreclosure and now Ideal Realty Group (IRG), which specializes in multifamily and distressed/bank owned properties, is representing the Lender as a selling agent for the property. Lender PB Capital issued a foreclosure notice in December 2008 when the New York-based developer, The Broadway Group, failed to secure enough deposits to meet the lender's demand. Fully built and starkly empty, the Dumont and its perfectly manicured lawns and shrubbery frame Massachusetts Avenue, promising luxury condos, but most developers that have eyed the project have been more keen on conversion to apartments or even a hotel.

Farther down Massachusetts Avenue sits another vacant lot, the future home of the Arts at 5th and I, which Donohoe Companies won the right to develop in September of 2008, promising a high-end hotel, retail outlets and jazz club. According to Memphis Holland of Holland Development, co-developer with Donohoe, the group is still "waiting on the city to finalize our deal with them so we can move forward with the design and with neighboring property owners." More waiting.

The lots adjoining 5th and I, 443-459 Eye Street were also the planned site of the now-defunct Walnut Street Development (WSD) Eye Street Lofts project. Though rumored to have sold the property to JBG in 2008 when the shakedown on Arts at 5th and I was about to happen, Walnut Street retained the land. Without the Arts project in hand, JBG opted not to purchase the neighboring lots. Bill McLeod, Executive Director of the Mt. Vernon Triangle CID, indicated it was unlikely that Donohoe would absorb the neighboring properties on Eye Street. Demers Real Estate represents the lots that encompass 443 through 455 Eye street. According to Jon Wilson of Demers, Walnut Street never actually purchases the properties from 443 through 455, though they had been an integral element of the planned residential development, leaving them un-aggregated and, incidentally, some of the rare space actually being converted to use as artists' lofts in place of the old autobody shop, Gold Leaf Studios, the brainchild of Mike Abrams. The property at 459 Eye Street remains under Walnut Street's ownership, according to public records, though the property currently has a Mechanics lien placed on it by the former project architects Eric Colbert and Associates.

Still, Jeff Miller, a Managing Principal at Prospect Diversified and board member of the Mt. Vernon Triangle CID, said that though development to date has largely "been multi-family in nature" he expects that "given the dynamics of that market, it will continue to improve." Miller added that the commercial development in Mt. Vernon, given the access to multiple metro lines, will "make the area a natural progression as downtown and the east end get fully leased." We don't expect to be writing about that any time soon.

Update 11/11/09
As several readers and developers involved in the area have mentioned the new David Black sculpture installed in front of the Bus Boys and Poets at the corner of 5th and K Streets NW, we decided to include an image as Exhibit A that not everything is stalled in the area. It's a stretch, we know. The DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities, in collaboration with the Office of Planning, CityVista, Mount Vernon Triangle Community Improvement District selected Black, with the Commission allocating $250,000 to sponsor this project through it Public Art Building Communities grant.

The Dirt on... Capitol Hill (East)

Neighborhood Vibe:

I live in a 1-bedroom condo with my husband. Let's call it cozy. Our condo building is home to law students, Hill staffers and long-time residents. My downstairs neighbor is a retired woman who has lived at our intersection for so long, she remembers when the new condo around the corner was a crack house (no joke). My condo could be a microcosm for the area: an odd mix of young professionals, young families, long-time residents, and active older people.

There are slight tensions in the neighborhood as Hill East continues to grow and change. When I was writing freelance from home I used to joke that as the underemployed political wonk next door, I was personally killing the street cred of the kids around the corner. Joking aside, my husband and I have had a couple unfortunate incidents with people in the neighborhood: first, he was mugged last September, then he and a friend were both shot with a pellet gun one night, and recently we had fruit catapulted at us as we walked home. The upside is that the police are incredibly responsive and very good about following up on reported incidents. (Both the mugger and the shooter were later caught, we decided not to report the fruit pummeling.) And since the perpetrators are at least creative; their entrepreneurial spirit gives us great stories for cocktail parties.

Retail and Restaurants
The occasional un-neighborly conduct does not overshadow the positive parts of living in Hill East. I love living in a neighborhood within a large city and having almost anything I want within walking distance. I have a new grocery store with the Jenkins Row Harris Teeter. I can walk to Eastern Market for not only fresh local produce, meats and fantastic cheeses but how convenient is it to be able to buy handmade jewelry, Indian pottery and a gently used couch all within 20 feet of each other? I even bought my "room-defining" painting from an artist at the Market.

The area is home to tons of thriving small businesses. Hills Kitchen is among my favorite shops in DC, not just my neighborhood. The independent gourmet kitchenware store is a great place for unique gifts or for an aspiring chef to stock up on the newest Staub dutch oven - and, they even offer cooking lessons. Owner Leah Daniels cares about her neighborhood and clearly loves her job; she spent several hours (after the shop had closed) working on my wedding registry and walking through the store, debating the pros and cons of various items. Who does that anymore? Nearby, Remix is one of the best vintage clothing shops around - with new items coming in all the time and reasonable prices, I love to stop in to browse, and rarely leave empty-handed. On the more practical side of retail is Frager’s Hardware. No matter what you need for home repair, Fragers will have it - along with other surprises like camping gear, bocce balls and bubble machine rentals. They also have a great garden section, where I have bought my Festivus (for the rest of us) Fern the past several years.

Hill East proper doesn't really offer much in the way of restaurants or bars. There are a few, such as Trusty's and Wisdom, but for the most part I need to go elsewhere for dinner or drinks. Luckily I don’t have to go too far. Barracks row/8th street is becoming a thriving restaurant and bar corridor. One of my favorite locations is Belga Cafe for their amazing Belgian beer list. A more recent arrival and family-friendly food establishment is Matchbox. Down the street two new bars, Molly Malone’s and Lola’s, offer comfortable locations to hang out, watch the game and get late night bar food (Lola’s serves food until 1 AM on the weekend). If I am looking for a more intimate and upscale setting, Sonoma Restaurant and Wine Bar has a fantastic wine list as well as good food, cheeses and charcuterie (though you might want save this for special occasions and pass on the $16 cheeseburger).

One exception to the walking distance rule is the National's Stadium, but no fear! The Circulator bus picks up on 8th street and takes me right to the Navy Yard Station--the bus is probably one of my favorite parts of going to the Nat's games.

Coming Soon
There are also some new additions planned for Pennsylvania Ave near Potomac Ave metro. Annie and Teddy's Po Boys, a New Orleans style cafe with inside and outside seating, is Joe Englert's newest project; Englert is the man behind DC9, The Big Hunt, The Pug, Rock and Roll Hotel, etc. The new cafe would feature live jazz music 4 days a week (Thurs-Sat night and Sat-Sun brunch). I wouldn't quite call Hill East "on the verge," but I would definitely say it's getting there.

Transportation
The closest metro stations to Hill East are Potomac Avenue and Stadium Armory and Eastern Market. The 34 and 36 buses, which can take you to downtown, Georgetown and all the way to Friendship heights, stop at the Potomac Avenue Metro station, as does the B2 bus, which is your round trip ticket to H St. NE. There are lots of other buses, but honestly, I don't take them that much. There are also tons of ZipCars nearby several right across from the metro and lots stashed in residential areas.

Is it for you?
For some people my age (20-something), the Hill doesn't offer enough of the urban bustle they want. No, it doesn't have the edginess of U Street (we've got the crime, just not the trendy bars) or the nightlife of Dupont or Adams Morgan (we have a jumbo slice, but it's never crowded). Most lights are out by 10 PM - both bars and houses. And the tree-lined streets of Eastern Market are frequented by families with strollers. Call me old beyond my years, but I'd rather have to cab, bus or metro somewhere to go out for a rowdy evening, than have that kind of noise and crowd near my home. So I'll continue to love the bar crawl scene on H Street with a cab ride back to my generally quiet neighborhood (barring any fruit attacks).

I moved to Washington for a school, for a job, and for a lifestyle no other city can provide. I choose to call Hill East home because when I walk to the metro, crossing Pennsylvania Avenue, the Capitol Dome view gets me every time. Washington is my city and Hill East is my neighborhood.

Washington DC real estate news

Buzzard Point Gets Attention

A little-known area in the SW waterfront will get a lot of attention when the American Planning Association (APA) spends four days this month analyzing Buzzard Point, the southern promontory of southwest DC, where the Anacostia and Potomac converge. The Planning Assistance Team (PAT) intends to produce a series of recommendations for further study and suggested visions for the future of the area between South Capitol Street and Fort McNair. The PAT will speak with stakeholders and property owners, and a public meeting to review the recommendations will likely be held on Saturday, November 21st at the Police Building on M Street SW. Details will follow as the event approaches.

The area is zoned within the Capitol Gateway Overlay for mixed use of commercial and residential; the APA's review is significant because the area currently has no master plan. A hodgepodge of industrial buildings, Buzzard Point will continue to be the home of the U.S. Coast Guard Head Quarters until its move to St. Elizabeths in Anacostia. It will also be the terminus point for two of the planned DDOT street car lines.

During the four-day period the PAT team will speak with area property owners such as Monday Properties, Akridge and Douglas Development as well as representatives from the War College, Fort McNair and other area civic associations. After the four day evaluation, the PAT will make recommendations available at a public meeting, which will be an opportunity for feedback and further suggestions from the community. Michael Stevens, AICP and Executive Director of the Capitol Riverfront BID, said a final report could be expected within two months of the APA evaluation.


From that point the report will go to the Office of Planning, Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, and to the District Department of Transportation for review and consideration. Stevens hopes the Office of Planning will ultimately develop a Small Area Neighborhood Plan setting out zoning changes and offering a broad vision for the community, which until now has consisted of a few large development firms on an interesting but largely unknown spit land, with only hopeful ambitions of what it some day may become.

Top image from the Capitol Riverfront BID.

Eckington's St. Martin's Still a Source of Tension

Originally scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2010, Eckington's St. Martin's Apartments are coming together, according to church authorities and architects involved with the project - although, November of 2010 is now looking like the more likely date for completion.

NorthStar Development and Consulting partnered with St. Martin's on the apartments which will ultimately be controlled by The Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington through a subsidiary. Those curious about the progress on the 178-unit affordable apartment complex located at 116 T Street, NE can now see the recently installed windows, according to Lenora "Chick" Bowser. Built atop St. Martin's land, the four-story complex (plus one story of parking below-ground) has been billed by Parish Pastor Michael Kelley as "The Largest Affordable Housing Project in DC."

All units are rental and all are offered below the market rate with one-bedroom public housing units available at 30% AMI and two-bedrooms available at 60% AMI. That's either great news for working families or a ticking property value time bomb for local property owners - depending on who you ask. The project has faced community road blocks since its inception in 2005 when Hamel Builders was given the unique opportunity to roll the convent 80 feet east of its 116 T Street, NE lot to avoid razing a potential historic site.

According to Milan Mehta, Grimm & Parker's lead architect on the project, the convent will now hold six units built in accordance with Historic Preservation guidelines, with the other apartments contextual with the neighborhood. "We tried to break up the façade so that it mimicked the homes to the [Todd Place] side," explains Mehta, adding that the designers included a "grander frontage and greater street presence on the T Street side," facing McKinley Tech and Hyde School.

But design aesthetics—including an E-shape somewhat reminiscent of Sursum Corda's horseshoe design—aren't the only concerns some of the area's neighbors have with the 241,000 s.f., $41 million project. At a time when the New Communities initiative has sold the District on the idea that mixed-use, mixed-income, rent-or-own developments will spark progress in neighborhoods, some Eckington residents feel this development will have the exact opposite effect - namely, that it will concentrate poverty and crime into one designated area.

For their part, church officials and developers have repeatedly dismissed these charges as naive mischaracterizations of future St. Martin's residents. "This development will be mixed-income," counters Chapman Todd, director for housing development at Catholic Charities, adding that although the development is a stand-alone development separate from the New Communities initiative, it will serve as "an asset to a vibrant community in need of more affordable housing options."

As for the similarities to failed public housing projects like Sursum Corda, Todd assures that the St. Martin's Apartment design took into account neighborhood concerns about "common areas being open to the street" by placing features like the toddler play area, gazebos, and courtyard terraces one floor above street-level.

Whether or not such steps help soothe community concerns, Todd is certain that as the building nears completion, everyone involved will continue to work "to be present for the community and ANC, Bloomingdale Civic Association and Edgewood Neighborhood leaders."

Silver Spring Library Design Final Forum Saturday Night

Design of the new Silver Spring Library, attracting lovers and loathers alike, is nearing its final design, and the public will have one last chance to influence the outcome when the final of numerous public design meetings takes place tomorrow at 1pm, at 8901 Colesville Rd.

Officials expect work to begin on the site in mid 2010, though library construction will not start until officials have reached agreement on final design for the building, including how to incorporate the Purple Line, station and all, into the site.

Work on the new library, at the corners of Fenton, Wayne and Bonifant Streets in downtown Silver Spring, has been underway for more than a decade, for a site that will incorporate the library and likely a residential building next door.

The 7-story building will be multi-purpose, with an art center, library, and county office building. The building is being designed by Lukmire Partnership, a locally-based leader in library design.

Congress Passes Homebuyer Credit

After the Senate's approval yesterday (98-0) of the extended homebuyer tax credit, the House followed suit and passed H.R. 3548, which includes a tax credit amendment, putting the bill in the lap of President Obama who is expected to sign it into law. The bill extends the tax credit and widen its breadth to include more buyers, who now have until April to dither.

The new law will extend the $8,000 credit for first-time homebuyers who contract for a property by April 30, 2010 and settle by July 1. Unlike the current law, homebuyers that are not first-timers will get a $6500 federal tax credit, and raise the qualifying income from $75,000 to $125,000 for singles and from $150,000 to $225,000 for couples. In a small dose of fiscal restraint, Congress this time around capped the purchase price at $800,000.

Senate Approves Extension and Expansion of Homebuyer Tax Credit

Yesterday the Senate voted 98-0 to extend the first-time homebuyer tax credit and to add a new group of buyers to the fold. The extension means buyers have until April 30, 2010 to sign a purchase agreement and until June 30 to close. The House will vote later today.

Previously only first-time buyers could qualify for a tax credit (worth $8,000). Now, buyers who have owned their current home for at least 5 years can qualify for $6,500 towards a new home. The $8,00 credit will go to both first-timers and those who haven't owned a home in three years. To qualify the homes must be less than $800,000 and buyers can make up to $125,000 per individual or $225,000 per couple (now capped at $75,000 and $150,000).

EYA Moving Forward at Brookland's St. Paul's College

Now that EYA's townhomes in the Navy Yard area are selling and construction is moving along, the developer is setting its sights on the planned townhome project for Brookland's St. Paul's College. Coming off their May 2009 Planned Unit Development (PUD) approval, EYA is finalizing the architecture and engineering plans to move forward with permit applications. Designed by the Lessard Group, the new townhouse development, according to the developer, should begin construction in summer of 2010, with sales beginning as soon as May 2010. VIKA, Inc. is the project engineer.

The 237 single-family units will be built on approximately half of the 20 acres, abutting the Trinity and Catholic campuses along 5th and 6th Streets NE. The townhouses will range in sizes from 14 to 18 feet wide and including between 1,400 and 2,100 s.f., selling between $450,000 and $550,000, with 28 units set aside as affordable housing.

Jack Lester, EYA Vice President, estimated the total cost of the project will come in at a hefty $100 million. When asked about the purchase price, Lester was unwilling to disclose an exact amount but indicated that it was based on a "complicated formula;" the developer paid a fixed amount up front, with a formula for additional payments based on sales. EYA is currently under contract to purchase the property; sales and construction will start after settlement in May of 2010

EYA originally won out over a field of 12 to 15 other developers who responded to a solicitation of interest put forth on behalf of the Paulist order, which plans to retain ten acres that include the school and offices. Lester said his team bested its rivals because the property owners would be a more "sensitive" neighborh; the Paulists apparently prefer to look out on 237 townhouses, rather than commercial space or a residential property with more build out.

Lester added that with all of the "exciting things happening" in the area, EYA was glad "to be part of the vibrant community."

Council Approves New Southwest Fire Station

Today the Washington DC Council approved the Land Disposition Agreement for 4th and E Streets SW, and 6th St E Streets SW, formally binding the District to a partnership with Potomac Investment Properties, City Partners and Adams Investment Group in a 99-year lease agreement.

The approval grants the ground lease between the District and the development team, selected last May, for a site now occupied by a fire station and a parking lot, answering the question of "what to do" with the fire station next to the future DC Crime Lab. The disposition did not specify a lease price, but dictated that the property be sold for the "fair market value of the property, less the value of the public benefits provided" with the District retaining long-term control of the property.

The development team plans to construct over 500,000 square feet of new office and retail space on the two District-owned parcels. In addition, their mixed-use complex will also house a new, state-of-the-art, 22,000 square foot fire station. A 9-story building will replace that former fire station and house a cafe and work site for DC Central Kitchen, and possibly even a stationery store, wine store and coffee shop.

About the planned projects, At-Large Councilmember Kwame Brown said, "It’s critical that we keep projects moving forward in these tough economic times. We must also maintain integrity and transparency in the process while ensuring District residents and businesses participate in the economic rewards of the city," in reference to the to the criticism of the Mayor's handling of development contracts which peaked last week with a short-lived threat of formal investigation.

Demolition Makes Way for DC's $218 million Crime Lab

Today DC officials began demolition work at the Metropolitan Police Department's former First District Headquarters at 415 4th Street, SW, the future site of the District's $218 million Consolidated Forensics Laboratory (CFL). Developed by Whiting-Turner and designed by HOK Architects, the six-story, 287,000 s.f. state-of-the-art crime lab will be situated in the shadow of the new Constitution Center complex near the L'Enfant Plaza Metro.

The new CFL will house the forensic arms of the Metropolitan Police, as well as the Department of Health and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and will be LEED Gold certified when it is completed sometime "in late 2012," according to DC Mayor Adrian Fenty. The First District's MPD headquarters relocated to the Bowen School at 101 M St SW in March to make room for the CFL lab.

CFL Director, Dr. William Vosburg said the new facility will allow for "synergy" between health and safety departments so that they are able to fight crime, identify disease outbreaks, and support public health and safety in general. And who couldn't use a little more synergy these days?

Meanwhile, the search continues for a temporary headquarters for the adjacent Engine 13 Fire House. The Ward 6 fire station will move to the adjoining parcels at 450 6th Street, SW just as soon as Mayor Fenty and the fire chief work out a suitable location for a temporary headquarters.

Congress Closes in on Homebuyer Tax Credit

Legislation to extend a tax credit for first-time homebuyers passed another hurdle today as Senators voted overwhelmingly in favor of a motion that could bring the bill to a floor vote as early as tomorrow, with pressure on the House to do the same.

The new bill would not only extend the credit - now set to expire December 1st - to April 30th, but would increase the scope of qualification for the credit, including those who make up to $125,000 per individual or $225,000 per couple (now capped at $75,000 and $150,000) and even apply those who already own a home. DC buyers have long had a $5,000 tax credit for the purchase of their first home, a credit that cannot be combined with the $8,000 credit. The Treasury Department reports $8.5b in credits since the plan began in February.

Tysons Tower Tees Up

Tyson's Corner has a new office building. 1850 Towers Crescent, the newest addition to the office building refuge, adds new landmark for beltway drivers, with 295,000 s.f. in 13 stories and 14,451 s.f. of retail and restaurant space - all now looking for takers.

Designed by SmithGroup, the structure features a south-facing brick facade opposite a curved glass curtainwall, maximizing natural light on its northern exposure and presenting its better side to south-bound travelers. DC-based Quadrangle Development Corporation touts the empty building as the only new corporate home to open in Tysons in 2009. Construction began in August of 2007 and achieved substantial completion in August of this year. Designers did not shoot for green certification on the building.

1850 Towers Crescent Plaza is the last of 4 office buildings designed for the complex, but plans for 3 residential buildings are being kept warm. The office park includes the iconic, Philip Johnson-designed office tower known to any Tysons visitor for its curved facade and slender, impractically-scaled columns meant as a nod to Jeffersonian design principles, but for which few people have much affection.

Steven Cohen, Vice President and Project Manager at SmithGroup, says the biggest challenge in realizing the 10-year-old project plans was second-guessing the market. Given the cap on total development space for the project site, Quadrangle had to decide how much square footage to leave on the table for its three un-built residential components. Meshing with the existing fabric proved another obstacle. "There was the challenge of making it unique, especially trying to balance it against the Philip Johnson building; our charge to give it its own presence, but one that ties in nicely with the existing buildings. That's why we gave it two very distinct faces." said Cohen.

County planners also prioritized the plan to integrate the site with the Tysons Corner mall, and work continues on a pedestrian bridge, nearly complete, that will link Towers Crescent with the mall via the top level of the parking garage and link, they point out, the Silver line metro when it opens "in 2013," providing a "pedestrian-oriented urban center."

Interested corporate tenants should contact Jones Lang LaSalle, which is leasing the building, but did not return calls for this article.

District Gets 2 West End Development Offers

Plans to redevelop three West End parcels including the West End Library, fire station, and special operations police unit were due to The Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development last Friday at 3 PM, and DMPED Communications Director Sean Madigan tells DCMud that "at least two packages" came in before the deadline.



"We’ll have to start vetting them now to see if they are responsive." No news yet on the timeline for selection, nor would DC reveal the identity of the bidders, but given the recent flap over Mayor Fenty's procedures for choosing development partners, you can bet the Council will vet this carefully.

DMPED originally issued its Solicitation for Offers back in July. When offers didn't start pouring in by mid-September, DMPED extended its due date from Oct. 2nd to Oct. 30th. The District sought proposals that could effectively address issues such as coming up with interim library facilities during construction, developing housing for Metropolitan Police and Fire Departments, and figuring out how to gain support for the projects from the Department of Homeland Security.

Local residents became incensed over the lack of BID competition in July when the District attempted to sell to Eastbanc Development, which developed the Ritz Carlton hotel and condo and 22 West condos, but which the community viewed as not arms-length.