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.
7 comments:
Nice Russian Constructivist twist. Anything is better than another banal glass box.
Design seemed gratuitous to me at first, but now that I undertstand it houses a fire station, it has reason to be different. Very cool.
hideous. Cronyism at its worst
It's a glass box with Legos
Very Creative and attractive. I look forward to its construction.
I bet it's all red because Chief Rubin still wants a brand new headquarters once the old Grimke School in NW is sold in a likely smoke-screened fire sale to firends of the Council and Mayor. Predict a long term lease for the HQ will follow soon so the the HQ does not need to move to another school site in SE -- a rumor that was recently wafting through smoke filled corridors of the Wilson Building -- in order to make way for U Street condos for friends of Fenty.
Ah, yes, a banal glass box with a giant red lego glued to the side.
Wonder how much Geoff Griffis (City Partners) is making on this deal.
Post a Comment
Commercial ads will be deleted, so don't even think about it.