Thursday, July 30, 2020

DC's Newest Arches

0 comments
Replacement of the 70 year old Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge, aged well beyond its useful life, will improve a vital link across the Anacostia River when it completes late next year, but has already made its mark on Washington D.C.'s skyline.  Built in 1950 as the South Capitol Street Bridge and serving "upwards of 77,000 cars per day" (pre-pandemic), the utilitarian structure has few admirers, but the replacement is destined to be far more appreciated.  The concept took more than a decade to secure the $200m in federal funding, and is being lead by South Capitol Street Bridgebuilders, a joint venture of design and engineering lead by AECOM.  The project broke ground in February of 2018.  The project will not complete until late next year, but the dramatic arches will soon be fully connected.

The new bridge, at 1445 feet, will have 6 traffic lanes (one more than the current structure) and parallel arches reminiscent of sine waves that appear from the sides to bounce off the water.  An enhanced bicycle and pedestrian route connecting the Suitland Parkway Trail and Anacostia Metro Station to the Anacostia River Trail, will add what the Washington Area Bicyclist Association calls the "best bicycling bridge in the region." Four pedestrian overlooks - two on each side located at the nadir of each arch - will be suspended outside the bridge frame for unobstructed views. The project will also remake the interchanges at each end of the bridge, with traffic circles replacing the South Capitol Street interchange and the I-295 / Suitland Parkway interchange at the southern end.
Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge, Washington DC AECOM
click on image for photo gallery


Architect:  AECOM lead a team as project manager, landscape architect, and engineer

Tuesday, July 28, 2020

Cheers to the Australian Embassy

0 comments
The Australian embassy on Scott Circle celebrated its 50th year in 2019, but that was its last, with demolition underway to build a new chancery seven blocks due north of the White House in the diplomatic heart of Washington D.C.  Bates Smart, the Australian architectural firm that designed the original mission, has fashioned a replacement that will up the sustainability ante while "paying tribute to the unique Australian landscape."  The embassy staff has meanwhile decamped at the National Geographic headquarters on 17th Street during construction, demolition of the structure is nearly complete.

Having outlived its useful life - the familiar scaffolding and Australian scenery cocooning the building protected passersby from the crumbling exterior - its successor will be clad in vertical strips of glass, an interior atrium, and will be designed to achieve the "highest global environmental design standards available."   A green roof with photovoltaic panels will top off the building, while the white Tennessee marble of the prior facade will be replaced by what its designers claim will be a slightly shifting facade, heavier on the north side where marble dominates, turning to a "crisp... vertical horizon edge" facing Scott Circle.  The new embassy will take roughly the same shape, set back again from Massachusetts Avenue, when construction completes in mid 2022.
Australian Embassy Washington DC new construction


Project:  Australian Embassy

Architect:  Bates Smart

Construction:  Clark Construction

Expected Completion:  Mid 2022
Australian Embassy Washington DC new construction

Australian Embassy Washington DC new construction

Bates Smart Architecture Washington DC, Clark Construction, new embassy

Bates Smart Architecture Washington DC, Clark Construction, new embassy

Bates Smart Architecture Washington DC, Clark Construction, new embassy

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Washington D.C. retail and real estate development news

Wednesday, July 08, 2020

Starburst Delta Towers

0 comments
The starburst intersection in northeast DC, a name given for the five main corridors that radiate outward is, like its astrophysical counterpart that generates exceptionally high star formation, the epicenter of a great deal of commercial development in a relatively small space.  The next real estate project to complete, at the hub of the five corridors (Benning Rd., Florida Avenue, H Street, Maryland Avenue and Bladensburg Road) is the Delta Towers project that faces H Street but carries a Bladensburg Road address.

Delta Towers will be joining Phase 2 of Kettler's Flats at Atlas, adding 325 rental units to Maryland Avenue early next year, 1402 H Street, which completed 28 condos last year, 180 apartment units at 1701 H Street (still being contested) and the gestating Hechinger Mall redevelopment which will transform 8.6 acres into an enormous mixed-use project, to name just a few.

KGD Architecture, Starburst Intersection, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Gilbane Building Company, Dantes Partners

The project is owned by the historic Delta Sigma Theta sorority (founded by Howard University graduates), and includes the '60's era tower next door.  Partnering with Dantes Partners and Gilbane Building Company, the new Delta towers will include 179 subsidized apartments entirely for seniors.  The project is the culmination of decades of work, according to Tom Donaghy of KGD Architecture, the project architect.  On the design of the building for seniors, Donaghy noted the differences from traditional apartment buildings, such as differentiated designs and colors by floor to help with navigation and, to fight loneliness, a double-sided entrance that meets in a central gathering space, as well as universal design principals that make access within individual units easier.  On top, the residents will have their own spaces for private gardens, and the Delta sorority will maintain their headquarters in the new building when it completes late this year.

Project:  Delta Towers


Architect:  KGD Architecture

Construction:  Bozzuto Construction

Interior Design: Determined by Design

Use:  179 subsidized apartments

Expected Completion:  Q4 2020

KGD Architecture, Starburst Intersection, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Gilbane Building Company, Dantes Partners
click image for photo gallery

KGD Architecture, Starburst Intersection, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Gilbane Building Company, Dantes Partners

KGD Architecture, Starburst Intersection, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Gilbane Building Company, Dantes Partners

KGD Architecture, Starburst Intersection, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Gilbane Building Company, Dantes Partners, Washington DC real estate development

Washington DC commercial property news

Washington D.C. commercial property development news


Washington D.C. retail and real estate development news

Tuesday, July 07, 2020

Today in Pictures - Metro's New Offices

0 comments
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority and Jair Lynch Real Estate Partners are jointly developing an office building adjacent to L'Enfant Plaza, a project that gutted and skinned a dated office building, and add 3 new floors to the 7-story skeleton.  When completed in late 2021, the project will serve as the new headquarters for the transit organization, which is being relocated from 5th Street, NW, part of its consolidation plan into a 200,000 s.f. building.

Jair Lynch, WMATA, Southwest, Gilbane, Studios Architecture

Project:  WMATA Headquarters

Developer:  Jair Lynch

Architect:  Studios Architecture

Construction:  Gilbane Building Company

Use:  200,000 s.f. of office space

Expected Completion:  Q4 2021

Jair Lynch, WMATA, Southwest, Gilbane, Studios Architecture

Jair Lynch, WMATA, Southwest, Gilbane, Studios Architecture

Jair Lynch, WMATA, Southwest, Gilbane, Studios Architecture

Jair Lynch, WMATA, Southwest, Gilbane, Studios Architecture

Jair Lynch, WMATA, Southwest, Gilbane, Studios Architecture

Jair Lynch, WMATA, Southwest, Gilbane, Studios Architecture

Jair Lynch, WMATA, Southwest, Gilbane, Studios Architecture

Washington D.C. retail and real estate development news

Jair Lynch, WMATA, Southwest, Gilbane, Studios Architecture

Gilbane Building Company, 300 7th Street, SW

New WMATA Headquarters

Thursday, July 02, 2020

Towering Over Rosslyn

0 comments
The Highlands, Penzance's new mixed use development on Rosslyn's highest perch, is still a year away but taking its final shape as the buildings have now topped out.   Named for it's high seat atop the hill at Rosslyn's Highlands Park, the ambitious construction project includes 3 towers with a collective 884 units - 331 rental units spread over 23 floors at The Aubrey, 104 condominiums over 26 floors at The Pierce, and 449 apartment units in a 27 story tower at Evo.  Both the Evo and Pierce top out at 270' above ground.

Penzance Highlands, Hickok Cole Architects, Whiting-Turner construction, Rosslyn Arlington
The towers were built on the site of an office building owned by Penzance (1555 Wilson Blvd), and a fire station owned by Arlington county.  The county gave Penzance a lease of up to 125 years (including options) for its site, with rent calculated based on land value minus the developer's improvements to the property, and included a new fire station incorporated into the project facing Wilson Boulevard.

So far, CVS and Vida Fitness have signed as retail tenants, which together with the residents will be served by a 4 level, 1060 space garage below ground.  Hickok Cole, the Georgetown-based architect designing two of the three towers (Evo and Pierce), is anticipating a LEED Silver rating for the buildings.

While the Aubrey will sit on the west side of North Pierce Street - a new extension not in alignment with the existing street, Pierce (the condo) and Evo will share a "resort style pool and cascading waterfall feature" on the roof of Evo, according to Rhea Vaflor of Hickok Cole, while the condo will have its own private rooftop features, and in between will be a 3rd floor garden terrace overlook.  Vaflor describes the buildings as "transformative" to that area of Rosslyn, with apartments "right-sized for the single professional and young couple" with high-end features.  The project aims to finish in the 3rd quarter 2021.



Project:  The Highlands

Developer:  Penzance


Construction:  Whiting-Turner 

Use:  884 Residential units

Expected Completion:  Q3 2021

Penzance Highlands, Hickok Cole Architects, Whiting-Turner construction, Rosslyn Arlington
click photo for image gallery

Penzance Highlands, Hickok Cole Architects, Whiting-Turner construction, Rosslyn Arlington

Penzance Highlands, Hickok Cole Architects, Whiting-Turner construction, Rosslyn Arlington

Penzance Highlands, Hickok Cole Architects, Whiting-Turner construction, Rosslyn Arlington

Rosslyn VA new construction project

new commercial real estate project, Arlington Virginia

new commercial real estate project, Arlington Virginia

new commercial real estate project, Arlington Virginia

new commercial real estate project, Arlington Virginia

Retail and real estate development news, Arlington Virginia

Retail and commercial real estate development news, Arlington Virginia

Retail and commercial real estate development news, Arlington Virginia

Retail and commercial real estate development news, Arlington Virginia

Washington D.C. retail and real estate development news
 

DCmud - The Urban Real Estate Digest of Washington DC Copyright © 2008 Black Brown Pop Template by Ipiet's Blogger Template