Marriott's New Bethesda HQ

The skin on the 22-story Marriott headquarters in Bethesda is nearly installed, providing an early look at the one of the many projects that will line the Bethesda stretch of Wisconsin Avenue.  The site 800 feet north of the Bethesda Metro station at 7750 Wisconsin Avenue will serve as Marriott's new global headquarters opening in mid 2021, and include an "urban campus," chosen for its urban amenities and proximity to public transportation. The project will include a 244-room hotel operated by Marriott opening in 2022.  Boston Properties and the Bernstein Companies jointly own the land and are co-developing the hotelier's headquarters, while Bernstein will solely own and develop the hotel.  The projected $600 million project will be home to an estimated 3500 Marriott employees in the the 785,000 s.f. office building.

General Contractor Hensel Phelps is building the pair of towers that were designed by Gensler to achieve LEED Gold standards.

Bethesda Maryland commercial real estate news

Union Market's New Skyline

With 5 construction projects underway in Union Market's front yard, the scene is changing rapidly and dramatically, with the 2 story neighborhood suddenly developing a skyline. One of those projects is about reach its full height, adding another apartment building to the commercial development mix.  NYC-based Ranger Properties' project at 400 Florida Avenue is nearly topped out at 11 stories plus penthouse (120 feet), adding 110 apartments to the largely residential population rising around the warehouse district when it finishes mid to late next year.

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Designed by SK+I, construction on the multi-family building began in December of last year, and will soon include a sister building next door - a MOB Hotel is planned for the vacant portion on Florida Avenue, with 144 keys planned for next year. With construction by Paradigm and interior design by AJC Interiors, 400 Florida Avenue has little to obstruct its sight lines across the Mall just a 3 block walk from the Metro, a walk that will get shorter when a new pedestrian tunnel is carved out under the rails to connect the Metro entrance with the eastern side of Noma.  SK+I  also designed the Edison next door, as well as a batch of nearby neighbors, including Reed Street, the Apollo on H Street, and Bryant Street on Rhode Island Avenue.

Washington DC commercial real estate news

The Parks at Walter Reed - Part II

Continued from Part I

In 2013, the District chose the team of  Hines, Urban Atlantic and Triden as Master Developer, with Torti Gallas as the master planner, charged with redevelopment of the equivalent of a small town, beginning with the removal of the 2.7m square foot brutalist hospital, a-year long endeavor due to its massive size, conducted by demolition giant NorthStar Contracting Group.  The team then lead a $700m investment reintegrate the site back into the city, removing barriers and regrading to allow street connections.  "We connected streets everywhere the grade would allow us" said John Torti of his firm's efforts to conform the site to the city's carefully detailed plan.  

15 of the 66 acres are preserved as open space, with "many many parks sprinkled throughout."  Dahlia Street is to become a main entrance and go through State Department's portion, which has promised to connect it through.  Add to that 182 units of senior housing, 500 condos, 1200 apartments, nearly 200,000 s.f. of office, 150,000 s.f. of hotel, 260,000 s.f. of retail (including of course the 40,000 s.f. Whole Foods), as well as a 350,000 s.f. research facility by Children's National Health System and a new ambulatory care center by Howard University, incorporating many of the historic buildings on the site.   The project is being phased over many years, but the Vale (300 unit apartment building) and the Brooks (89 condo units) are set to be the first major deliveries early next year.

Washington DC commercial property news

Old School in Shaw: Grimke Redevelopment

The Grimke School had certainly seen better days.  Built in 1887, what began as an elementary school eventually turned into government offices, then headquarters for the DC Department of Fire and Emergency Services and Department of Corrections.  Falling into disrepair, the building was vacated in 2013, but by then the District government was 5 years into a drawn-out process to select a developer for the site.  After a scrum of community involvement and District guidelines, the development team of Community Three / Torti Gallas was selected to perform the renovation.

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The District government awarded developers a 99 year lease on the building, and in October of 2019 Community Three / Torti Gallas ceremonially broke ground with a plan to restore the original school.  The deal also included a fee simple sale of the parking lot, on which Community Three has built a 30-story condo project called the Fold, at the corner of 9 1/2 and U Streets, another 38 units will replace the school gym as the next phase of development.  The revitalized school will offer 45,000 s.f. of office space, 3,000 s.f. of retail, and deliver 16,000 s.f. of "municipal" space. An agreement was reached early to house the African American Civil War Museum in 12,000 s.f., and earlier this year Torti Gallas, the project architect, announced that it will move a "substantial" portion of its Maryland-based practice to the school when the project completes in Q2 next year. 

Washington DC commercial real estate news