Abdo Development's planned Arbor Place, an outer New York Avenue project first destined to offer up to 3500 condominiums, then retooled as a subsidized housing project, is now clinically dead according to the Washington Business Journal (WBJ).
Just last July, Abdo asked the DC Zoning Commission for consolidated approval of a Planned Unit Development (PUD) and related zoning map amendment. At that time, Abdo had significantly downsized the planned development and was working with the DC government to subsidize the first phase of construction. Abdo told the WBJ that the $1.1 billion mixed-use workforce housing project under current fiscal conditions was "next to impossible."The 16-acre triangle bordering New York Avenue, Bladensburg Road, and Montana Avenue, NE, is now dominated by warehouses and dilapidated commercial buildings near the National Arboretum.
In filing for last summer's Zoning Commission hearing, the developers admitted that scaled-down "new application reflects changes to market conditions." The original PUD called for approximately 3,500 residential units, 148,120 s.f. of retail, 4,294 parking spaces, one acre of open space and an overall floor area ratio (FAR) of 4.98. The drastically smaller new plan offered approximately 1,400 residential units, 1,254 parking spaces, 69,883 sf of retail, 2.71 acres of open space and a less dense FAR of 2.46. It would seem, not even a down-sizing could save the ill-fated development.Washington, DC real estate development news
8 comments:
even the "smaller" amount of 1400 condo units in this transit lacking rough neighborhood was a pretty ridiculous proposition.
As the article says, the initial proposal was a bit ahead of its time. H st is now being revitalized to a point where you will not recognize it in a year or two. Eventually change will get pushed further out along bladensburg road. THEN we can start considering ideas for the new york ave, bladensburg rd, montana ave corridor redevelopment. It was a good idea initially, but the timing was just off. Bad economy or not, I don't think this area was ready for that kind of transformation.
Sorry, it was a dumb idea in the first place. That site could never have made it, even in a better selling environment. Abdo's ego finally caught up with him.
Never?
I highly doubt that. I actually thought that the plan had vision, and certainly the area can use a major overhaul. Timing was bad, but I wouldn't say never.
my neighbor was hoping that it would happen. he was even saving money to buy a condo there, when it finished in 2013. oh well...
The general idea was a smart one, but I'm not sure of the residential value of this corridor. As a commercial corridor which could siphon box store traffic from PG to DC commuters it makes sense. Sort of like the Costco plan. I never saw any appeal to living along that stretch, much like I wouldn't want to live along the Potomac Yard drag to the south.
An area such as this would be better used as an industrial park, where green businesses can set up shop. The city needs to balance the need for residential housing with the need to establish areas where light manufacturing can take hold and create jobs.
to green jeans, DC is serviced based, not light manufacturing. Go back to Ohio if you want to work in a factory.
Post a Comment
Commercial ads will be deleted, so don't even think about it.