a funding deal with the city, one and a half years after applying for federal funding, not to mention several intervening official groundbreakings, the CityMarket at O will begin actual construction on Friday.
Roadside Development and city officials will gather Friday at 10am for photographs and speeches but, for the first time, also to watch the machinery "eat a big chunk of the Giant," says a spokesman for Roadside.Federal officials announced on
October 11th that it had granted Roadside $128m for development of the market that will include a 182-key Cambria Suites hotel, 150 condominiums and 635 apartments, 84 set aside as affordable senior housing, as well as restoration of the O Street Market, one of the 5 original brick markets built in Washington D.C. Roadside officials say the project will generate 2400 jobs directly.Friday's construction triggers the 2-year time frame promised to Giant, giving Roadside until November 18, 2013, to reopen the supermarket. Richard Lake of Roadside said the $128 HUD loan closed on Thursday. The remainder of the financing is provided by a $32m TIF funding from the city and $40m from Equity raised by Roadside.
Contractors will first demolish the Giant, then spend 6 months excavating. The new supermarket will be the first piece to reopen, followed quickly by 400 apartments and the hotel. Roadside does not yet have funding for the second portion of the work - the condos and senior center - said Roadside's Lake, but hope that financing will allow construction of that phase to begin shortly and deliver concurrently.
Washington D.C. real estate development news
16 comments:
Great! Another modernist styled project that will look dated and tacky in a few years. And why exactly did this project need over $200 million in government subsidy??? City Center required no subsidy. Abdo's Brookland project required no subsidy. This needed subsidy why?
Roadside is notoriously cheap, and will look to everywhere but its own pockets to fund.
Actually, I think these designs look pretty cool. I hope they hold up as the project moves forward.
I get so tired of all the nay-saying, negative people. Thank God something terrific is going on at the site. If everyone loved all architecture, how boring would the world be. I hope the developers make tons of money while improving the neighborhood.
Nothing would get of worth would ever get done if people actually listened to naysayers
Good deal! A modernist project as oppposed to something made for grandma... Its good to live on the 21st century and build like it ----
The project has some nice elements that celebrate city design, including using the O Street Market building as the produce, fish and butcher's section of the supermarket as well as a mixture of smaller store sizes including a couple that are quite mini. It's also nice to see a project that mixes condos, rentals, senior, and retail (including hotel). Maybe those four sets of escalators at the Mt. Vernon Square Metro station will now see enough use to justify their cost. So whatever you think of the modern facade, this is a big step forward for Shaw.
-Paul from O Street
I've never known a city so hostile to progress. This is such a backward-thinking town. It's as if the Giant with syringes in the ground beef had been the Prado.
"I've never known a city so hostile to progress"
It largely depends on what part of town you are in. DC is indeed on its way to a much denser, cosmopolitan future. There will be a lot of kicking, screaming, and fighting back, but it will happen whether they like it or not.
Developments like this help.
It's true that yet another glass grid isn't exactly inspiring, especially in 10 years, but look who the architects are. Glass grids-r-us, Shalom Barnes. That being said, I'd be thanking my lucky stars if I lived around there. First, get people on the street, next, worry about what style is most appropriate. Sometimes those two aren't mutually exclusive, but in this case, becasue of the smallish scale, I don't think it will be a street killer, especially since the ornament of the old market building will do all the heavy lifting in terms of "character"
nayyyyyyyyyyyy i sayyyyyyy, nayyyyyy!
It looks good and only one commentor really bitched about the project, so let's have some perspective. And the complaint was actually a valid one based on questioning the use of public funds in a situation where private funds would probably have been sufficient. The lunatics on 14th Street who elect Estrada are an entirely different story however.
It needed subsidy because this project was put together during a horrible economic and real estate downturn (whlch isnt over). This is a win for the neighborhood, the city and so what if the developer wins too. The new convention hotel received subsidies and so do many projects. Find someone else willing to put this much money into Shaw! Just say Thank you Mr. Developer. As for elected officials, that's a laugh. Let's start with Gray and Brown and move our way down to Barry. DC elects the worst candidates.
The $128 Million is not a subsidy, its an FHA-insured residential loan that will be repaid by the developer. The TIF is the subsidy -- but the government does not put up cash for a TIF. They issue a Note based upon the anticipated tax revenue that the project will generate, guarantee that note and then the note is purchased by a 3rd party lender. TIF's are extremely effective development tools as long as they are appropriately underwritten (aka, no rosy scenario, such as the baseball stadium).
Where's ur design?
I kind of like it and think it will stand the test of time. Say what you will about Shalom but their desings are not tacky.
I'd much rather have tacky than cold, banal, and boring. Aztec carvings, Morish screens, and even the Vatican are tacky, but at least there's something to look at. With Shalom, it's just another bland grid. What a hack!
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