Friday, November 04, 2011

Southwest Wharf Developers Move onto Design Phase


With Zoning Commission approval of the First Stage zoning application secured last week, PN Hoffman and Madison Marquette - joint developers of the $2-billion Wharf in Southwest - now turn to the completion of the Second Stage PUD, in order for submittal early next year.

The Hoffman-Madison team has been gaining momentum in filling its 3.2 million s.f. development along the northern shore of the Washington Channel and aims to begin construction on the first phase (of three) in the first quarter of 2013.

The first phase of construction, expected to take four years, will build out 40 percent of the entire development with parcels 2 thru 5 (seen to the right).

Site designs, in order from north to south, will include: two apartment towers above a 100,000-s.f. multi-purpose theater (parcel 2); a four-star, 268-room hotel by Carr Hospitality and InterContinental Hotels Group, which purchased the site in early October, and office space with signed tenant the Graduate School USA (parcel 3); an apartment and condominium building (parcel 4), and two JBG Companies-operated hotels, a limited service and an extended stay (parcel 5). All of the parcels will include ground floor retail, with the combined total approximately 300,000 s.f.

The first phase also includes the restructuring of portions of 7th and 9th Streets at Maine Avenue, a new Capital Yacht Club, two new piers - "City Pier" off of 9th and "Transit Pier" - and a major infrastructure overhaul of Water Street, the grand scheme being to turn Water Street (running parallel to the shore) into a promenade with 60' of width shared between pedestrians, streetcars, bikes, and outdoor diners.

The Wharf is being developed in partnership with the District, which agreed to provide $200 million in public financing in 2008. Madison Marquette joined PN Hoffman as a partner in the spring of 2010, after the partnership with Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse faltered. PN Hoffman and Struever were selected by the now-defunct Anacostia Waterfront Corporation as the joint Master Developer for the Southwest Waterfront in 2006.

Update: 11/7 Added in residential plan for parcel 4, corrected second pier name to "Transit Pier," and changed "Office of Zoning" to "Zoning Commission"

Washington D.C. real estate development news

2 comments:

Ellen McCarthy said...

Just a slight correction. You have erroneously noted in this story and the one on Buzzard Point that approval was given by the "Office of Zoning". Actually, the Zoning Commission (ZC) is the body which approves changes to the zoning regulations, maps, as well as Planned Unit Developments and Campus Plans, and they are the group which has just given approval to the SW Waterfront phase 1. They have five members, three appointed by the Mayor and approved by the Council, and two feds, a representative from the National Park Service and one from the Architect of the Capitol.

The Office of Zoning (OZ)is the secretariat for the Commission, and serves as administrative staff for the Commission as well as the Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA). OZ is the group that accepts applications for zoning actions, advertises public hearings, makes sure that submissions get in the right folders, updates the on-line zoning resources and periodically runs educational programs on zoning for ANC's and community groups, among other tasks. They do not actually consider the cases or approve or disapprove.

Nor do they make recommendations to either the ZC or the BZA. That job is done by the DC Office of Planning.

The last piece of the zoning puzzle is the Zoning Administrator (ZA), within the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs. He/she administers and interprets the established zoning regulations. When one wishes to build a project or an addition, one of the first stops in the building permit process is the ZA, who determines whether the project meets the regulations (or is consistent with any variances that have been approved by the BZA). Once the ZA approves, the project can proceed through the rest of the building permit reviews.

Anonymous said...

Yes, thank you, the Zoning Commission, not the "Office of Zoning." Do you think it's fair to use "Zoning" to cover all, in order to simplify in some cases?

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