Eisenhower Ave. Towers Get the Green Light

As of last week, Lane Development's ambitious development proposal for Alexandria’s Eisenhower Avenue has received design approval from the Carlyle/Eisenhower East Design Review Board. The project, which seeks to add four towers of mixed-use development just feet from the Beltway at 2250 and 2200 Mill Road, had initially been delayed due to concerns over the planned building materials and the project's distinctive rooftop accents. Now, with the buildings to definitively be constructed out of "dark precast" and the crowning cross patterns (pictured) scaled back to appease the Design Board, the project can proceed unimpeded.

Once completed, the developer intends to add 485 new residential units, 5700 square feet of retail and 585,000 square feet of office space in buildings as high as 22 stories - not to mention two new roads - to the Northern Virginia market. A definitive start date for the project has yet to be scheduled.

New Development Going Green in Alexandria

The Northern Virginian city of Alexandria can now count itself among the few townships in the nation working towards codified green building policy. Since mid-2008, a group of city officials, developers, builders and non-profit employees - calling themselves the Green Building Working Group - has been aiming to realize a 2007 Department of Planning and Zoning recommendation that called for "the development industry and community to develop a sound understanding and reinforce its commitment to Green Building and sustainable development in the City.'

The riposte has finally arrived. While not legally binding, the "Green Buildings in Alexandria Policy Recommendations" report - featuring the input of various Alexandria policy makers, along with that of representatives from MRP Realty, the JBG Companies, Winchester Homes, Environmental Resources Management, and the US Green Building Council, among others – signals several significant changes for green building projects in Alexandria.

First and foremost, all projects that “require a site plan or development special use permit” will now be “expected” to adhere to the policy recommendations. Those include a minimum LEED silver certification for nonresidential projects, “flexibility for non-standard buildings,” and the need for a closer working relationship between city authorities and would-be developers. According to the report, the city of Alexandria cannot legally mandate green building practices; instead they’re seeking a "lead by example” approach “in anticipation that the building and development industry will act in own interests.” Wait for the lawyers to parse that distinction.

Nonetheless, for every stance taken in the report, there is an opposing opinion and the panel has yet to unanimously agree on several issues. Two currently at the forefront of deliberation include whether LEED silver certification shall remain the city’s minimum standard for all projects, and exactly what types of incentives should be offered to those developing eco-friendly projects.

“While there are some areas of disagreement...there is general agreement on the policy issues such as flexibility, phasing, and recognition,” says Rich Josephson, Deputy Director of the Alexandria Department of Planning and Zoning and Working Group member. “It is our intent to have City Council adopt this policy in March and to have development applications follow this policy some time shortly thereafter.”

Consensus or not, there are still numerous green projects already on deck for construction in Alexandria over the course of the next year. Among the upcoming projects highlighted in the report were the Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority’s (ARHA) developments at West Glebe Road and Old Dominion Road, Jaguar Development’s Braddock Gateway, Trammell Crow Residential’s Carlyle Center, ARHA and EYA’s James Bland redevelopment and the Payne Street Condos.

The Working Group will be on hand to present the draft to the public at the George Washington Memorial Masonic Temple on January 28^th from 7 to 9 PM. The presentation will include a panel discussion on the merits of the current draft, in addition to a question and answer session.

Alexandria Virginia real estate development news

4 New High-Rises for Alexandria's Eisenhower Ave?

Who, in the real estate world, isn't happy to see 2008 behind them? Not Binghamton, New York-based developer Lane Development, LLC, which has been in negotiations with Alexandria's Carlyle/Eisenhower East Design Review Board (DRB) now for four years - to bring a four-tower, mixed-use real estate project to the Eisenhower Avenue section of Alexandria, Virginia. Finally, after seemingly endless carpet-bagger treatment with bouts of redesigning and negotiation, it looks like 2009 might just be the year they see their plans realized. Lane's intent is to build an expansive 4-tower development on what is currently two (mostly) vacant lots at 2100 and 2203 Mill Road in Alexandria, within sight of the Beltway. The first two buildings would be devoted to residential housing, in the form of one 22-story tower and one 19-story that together amount to 474,000 square feet. These as-of-yet untitled buildings would include 61,197 square feet of publicly accessible open space, a 515-space parking garage, 5,700 square feet of ground floor retail and, the raison d'etre, 485 residential units – 28-34 of which have been earmarked as affordable. The final number is contingent upon whether Lane decides to devote the project to condo or rental (though if rents continue to go up while demand continues down, our money is on the latter). The residential “twins” will then be complemented by two similarly-designed office towers on a neighboring parcel that currently houses the headquarters of the American Trucking Federation. 

The project’s office component is bit smaller in scale, 15 and 13-stories, but Lane intends to fully integrate the developments via two new roads: Port Street to the west and Dock Lane to the south. The latter will provide retail frontage for the residential portion of the project, while also linking up with a planned pedestrian causeway and straddling a PN Hoffman–controlled (but undeveloped) lot next door. Furthermore, the developers plan to provide a buffer between the office towers and the neighboring freeway with a curved wall running along Mill Road that is described as “the accent skyline feature…as seen from the Capital Beltway." The entire development is being designed by James Wright of Lee Harris Pomeroy Architects. So what’s the hold-up? Lane initially received DRB approval for 2203 Mill Road in April 2006, but went back before the board 

in mid-2008 due with “major design changes.” In doing so, the residential buildings lost 55 feet of height from the intended “highly articulated crowns at the center of each tower.” DRB staff also went so far as to encourage the reduction of the buildings symmetrical appearance by using an assortment of materials rather than just the “vertical brick and beige precast forms” originally planned for all four buildings. This came after the DRB’s 2006 conditional approval in which the Board contradictorily told Lane to “reduce the number of add-on elements, in order to allow the body of the building to read.” The official line of Alexandria at present is that “the project [is] on hold pending resolution of bus loop reconfiguration for the Eisenhower Metro Station.” However, there appears to be one ray of sunshine in store for the out-of-town developer in the New Year; according to Natalie Sun, an Urban Planner with the Development Division of the Alexandria Department of Planning & Zoning, “[The project will be heard at the next DRB hearing in January 2009.” That meeting will be held on Thursday, January 15, 2008 at 7:00pm in Room 2000 of the Alexandria City Hall. Stay tuned to DCmud for updates on the project.

Alexandria Virginia commercial real estate news

A Marriott Monopoly

Marriott International Inc. is expanding its domination of the Washington DC metro hotel market. Their latest acquisition is a 2.4 acre triangular parcel in an Alexandria Virginia office park, where they plan to roll out one of their least established brands - the so-called Springhill Suites - maintaining a virtual monopoly over business travelers at the bustling junction of Telegraph Road and Eisenhower Avenue.

Located at 2950 Eisenhower Avenue, the new hotel will fall at the western end of the Alexandria Tech Center and stand just a stone's throw away from the Capital Beltway. This newest Springhill Suites will measure in at five-stories and 152 rooms, made up of 106 king suites and 46 double queen suites. Amenities planned for the site include an indoor swimming pool, lounge, small conference room, a gym, an outdoor terrace and shuttle service to the nearby Eisenhower Avenue Metro Station. Designed by architects Davis Carter Scott, the project is expected to come in at a cost of roughly $13 million.

The project was unanimously approved by the both the Alexandria Planning Commission and City Council in mid-November. Marriott already has a hotel in the Alexandria Tech Center – a 98,000 square foot Marriott Courtyard that bookends the opposite side of the development.

The Planning Board staff praised the Springhill project as providing “an enhanced gateway to the Alexandria Tech Center and the Eisenhower Valley with an open space plaza and interesting building design,” but also chastised them their intention to use chintzy motel building materials – in this case a synthetic stucco called StoCreativ Granite.

Any qualms were abated, however, with promises of new jobs, an expanded “commercial tax base,” LEED certification and – a point not lost on urban planners - $13 million in promised new tax revenue to be generated by the hotel over the next decade. A number of local associations, including Carlyle Eisenhower Civic Association, the Cameron Parke Home Owner Association, the Eisenhower Partnership and the Alexandria Federation of Civic Associations, have also lent their approval to the project.

Marriott describes the Springhill Suites brand as “a prototype…geared toward the younger business traveler” with less expensive, yet large rooms with accompanying work space and internet access. In addition to the neighboring Courtyard location, the Tech Center’s newest tenant will also join a Strayer College location and a cluster of mid-rise office buildings along Eisenhower Avenue. Construction is expected to commence in the fourth quarter of 2009.

In addition to the planned Springhill Suites location, the hotelier also has plans in the works for double hotels on one block in downtown Crystal City and another under construction in Arlington’s Courthouse District, as well as several in Arlington and Washington DC. Lacey

Alexandria's Newest Gateway

Alexandria will pocket a sizable expansion of mixed-use space once the Braddock Gateway, now planned just south of the Monroe Avenue bridge, gets underway. Jaguar Development expects that its new development - not technically part of Potomac Yards, but adjacent to it, and only a few blocks away from the banks of the Potomac River - will provide close to 770,000 square feet of new development as it gathers momentum to build in the first quarter of 2010.

Jaguar is planning a whopping 630 residential units for the 7-acre site at North Fayette and First Streets, coupled with 70,000 square feet of office and 15,000 of retail. The development will consist of five buildings, built in as many phases - a plan that will allow Jaguar to tailor each successive component of the project to the demands of the marketplace.

“Each phase needs site plan approval and at the time of each approval, you tell the city what the use is going to be,” said Eddie Cettina of Jaguar Development. “All these numbers are moving targets according to where they sit in the development cycle and what the market calls for at that time.”

Though the inclusion of a hotel in the Gateway project was bandied about for a time, Jaguar has since decided against one - after meeting with Alexandria’s Board of Zoning. “It was resolved in March with ACCD [A Consolidated Development District] zoning which allows you…to change uses depending on how the market fares,” said Cettina. “It will now be residential, office and retail.”

Utilizing designs by RustOrling Architecture, the Gateway will sit on two contiguous parcels currently home to warehouses, a small office building, a large surface parking lot, and a National Car Rental service center. The first phase of the project is expected to be open for business by the end of 2012.

Correction: Per Jaguar Development, the site will accommodate about 770,000 s.f. of developable space, the original article stated there would be close to 2 million square feet.

Alexandria to Beef Up Potomac Yard

A committee convened by City Manager James K. Hartmann is sponsoring a public meeting tomorrow concerning the further redevelopment of the Potomac Yard segment of Alexandria. Redevelopment is currently being considered for three portions of the area, Landbays I and J and Landbay G (see map, at right), with other projects interspersed throughout the sprawling 24-acre stretch of land just west of the river for which it was named.

The Potomac Yard Planning Advisory Group (PYPAG) envisions Landbays I & J as the future home of 679 units of housing, 275,000 square feet of office space and 25,000 square feet of retail. A proposal penned by Potomac Yard Development (PYD) - which seeks “227 townhouse and urban loft units with neighborhood parks interspersed” - is currently under review and will go before the Alexandria Planning Commission and City Council by spring 2009. PYD had initially petitioned for 330 units on the site.

Landbay G is under the control of developer MRP Realty, which has proposed 414 residential units in two multi-family buildings, 800,000 square feet of office space, 80,000 square feet of retail, and 625 hotel rooms “in two hotel buildings” (possibly a Hyatt) on the 13-acre parcel. That makes for a total 9 new buildings for the site, ranging in height from 52 to 110 feet, plus an open town plaza. A decision on MRP’s proposal is also expected in early 2009.

These dual redevelopment efforts have been coupled with several smaller, more centrally located projects that are either currently underway or well into the planning stages. Potomac Greens, which is 85% complete, will feature 227 residential units surrounded by preserved wetlands. The Greens is also under consideration as the site of a future Metro stop.

Another PYD project in the area, the Potomac Yard Fire Station is also well into the build-out phase of its $7 million redevelopment. Once completed, it will feature 60 units of affordable housing above a brand-new fire station, 168,000 square feet of office space and 91,000 feet of open recreational space.

Plans on hand also call for the easternmost portion of Potomac Yard, Landbay K, to be reconfigured into a public park that will feature "70% passive recreation" (open lawns and plazas) and "30% active recreation" (basketball and tennis courts, trails, playgrounds, etc.). A dog park and pedestrian bridge will round out the pedestrian-friendly flourishes at other points in the development.

The Planning Commission's “work session on Potomac Yard applications” is being held this coming Thursday, November 6^th at 6 PM within City Hall’s Council Chambers. Seeing as Planning Commission Chair Eric Wagner also heads up the PYPAG, this should be excellent forum for interested residents to voice questions. A separate, aesthetically-related review board, the Potomac Yard Design Advisory Committee, is holding another public forum on Wednesday, November 12^th at 7:30 PM in City Hall’s Sister Cities Conference Room.

Alexandria Low-Income Gets Mixed-Income Makeover

The Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority (ARHA) and EYA Development Inc. have filed for the permits needed to move ahead with their proposed redevelopment of Alexandria's James Bland Public Housing Project.



Following the demolition of all 194 units that currently occupy the site, the development team hopes to install a radically different housing development that will promote "mixed-income communities." Shooting for a 65/35 ratio of market-rate to public housing, the new James Bland will consist of 159 townhomes and 86 multi-family units on the upscale end, and 72 townhomes and 62 multi-family units on the affordable side. The same ratio will be maintained throughout each block of the five block development - with no separation by income type.

Other components of the redevelopment include a new, 13,800-square foot park at the intersection of Alfred & Montgomery Streets – intended to cater to the expected influx of families with children, and to serve as a link to the new Charles Houston Recreation Center. A second, 7,800 foot park has also been proposed at the corner of First Street.

The $55 million project will be drawing its funds from AHRA’s sale of the Glebe Park public lots to EYA - whichs plan on beginning construction at that site next month - and Virginia low-income housing tax credits. The plan proposes that 44 of the 194 public homes at James Bland then be relocated to the Glebe site upon completion. The builders plan on offsetting the environmental effects of the construction by aiming for LEED certification – the grade has yet to be determined – and recycling as many building materials from the old structures as possible. The development team has also pledged to use designs that are in keeping with the greater aesthetic of the Parker-Gray neighborhood.

The developer plans five phases of construction, with the build-out expected to commence in November, 2009. The buildings on the 8.49 acre site were originally erected in 1945, and converted in public housing by the AHRA in 1987. The development team received approval for demolition and for their preliminary concepts on September 24^th. The project still awaits approval of special zoning and special use exceptions needed to bring the development to fruition.

Four Mile Run

Draft design guidelines are now available for the physical and aesthetic features of the Four Mile Run Corridor, a 2.3 mile path that connects Alexandria and Arlington County and runs from Shirlington to the confluence with the Potomac River.

The design guidelines address channel stabilization and restoration, restoration planting, storm water management, public spaces, recreation facilities, and architectural features.

The public spaces include a network of trails including the existing commuter trail along the northern bank, a more winding community trail on the south side of the channel, and more narrow informal trails for hiking, jogging, and walking within the corridor.

To avoid biffs, the trails, which will all meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act, will use green, recycled, porous materials for a smooth surface, and will have edges that promote drainage to avoid slips caused by flooding. And for all the avid gutter bunnies, out there, the Commuter trail will be twelve feet wide to allow for high-volume, high-speed, two-way bicycle traffic.

According to the design guidelines, "The commuter and community trails are the threads that weave together the natural landscapes, public spaces and built features. Like the stream itself, they are continuous elements meandering through diverse and changing environment."

In 2005, Alexandria and Arlington County adopted a Master plan for the Corridor because, "although the corridor is relatively well-served by parks and open space, there remains a need for additional recreational facilities and greater continuity to connect recreational facilities as part of a cohesive open space network." The plan also calls for promenades, public plazas, public art, and the restoration of current and creation of new sports facilities.

Four Mile Run is a nine-mile stream that flows adjacent to neighborhoods, commercial districts, and industrial facilities alike that have been subjected to repeated flooding since the 40's. In the 1970's, the cities partnered with the US Army Corps of Engineers to build a flood-control channel in the lower portion of the Run. No floods have occurred since its construction, but the channel is still in need of restoration; the trails are part of this effort.

The Duke Begins Sales in Old Town

While a small group of VIP previewers got a sneak peak of the Duke Townhomes and Flats sales center last night, the official grand opening for Old Town's newest residences will be next Saturday, June 7th. Marquis Custom Homes, an affiliate of Van Meter Companies, is selling 18 brick townhomes ranging from approximately 2,000 s.f. - 2,300 s.f., each with a patio, balcony, and parking in a garage under the structure. The project also includes 40 flats that range from about 1,300-1,600 s.f. that will deliver in a year, the developer claims. These are two-bedroom, two-bathroom units, with parking and storage space, some of which also have a den.

The project replaces the Fannon Oil site, which has been largely been vacant recently. Unlike the innovative, urban-chic styles developers strive for in emerging D.C. neighborhoods, the developers had to follow specific architectural guidelines to make the project fit into the Historic District.

“The Old Town Architecture Review Committee is very picky, so a lot of the decisions of what to build were governed by the historic nature of the area. The townhomes that you will see from the street are all brick, so they blend in. Every detail was combed over to make sure the project fit in with the historic nature of the area,” said Jane Herrmann, Sales Manager for the project.

Located on the 1300 block of Duke Street on the edge of the Historic District of Old Town Alexandria, the project is two blocks from the King Street Metro and the main strip of shops and restaurants. The project will join Cromley Lofts and the Jamieson, both new residences selling near the King Street metro station.

Alexandria Virginia real estate development news

Jamieson Condo in Carlyle Opens for Sales

The Jamieson Condominium, Alexandria's newest residential building, garnered attention today by officially holding its grand opening this evening. The 79-unit Jamieson started selling its condos from the $300s; the residences will occupy 6 floors above a 10-story, four-star Westin Hotel in the Carlyle section of Alexandria. The condo-hotel, located about 3 blocks from the King Street Metro station and clad in the ubiquitous red brick of Carlyle, officially opened the hotel to guests last November. The developer, Atlanta-based Regent Partners, is banking that extending four-star treatment to condominium owners through hotel services will lure buyers to its project, as happened in Arlington's Waterview Condominium, which sits above the hotel Palomar in Rosslyn and recently sold out of its 136 condo units. Regent built the 319-bed unit on land it purchased from Norfolk Southern in 2004 "Regent Partners is excited to bring this unique lifestyle option to Old Town Alexandria. The only condo/hotel highrise in Alexandria, The Jamieson is designed to offer residents luxuriously finished condominium homes and the advantages that come with living above a hotel like the Westin Alexandria," said Kristi Trogler, director of Sales & Marketing with Regent Partners. Units range in size from 700 to more than 1,000 s.f.

Alexandria Virginia commercial property news

New Rentals Break Ground in Alexandria

Trammell Crow Residential has just broken ground on Alexandria's newest apartment building, the Alexan Carlyle, at 800 John Carlyle Street, roughly two blocks from the Patent and Trademark Office headquarters. The 280-unit rental complex is a $94 million joint-venture split between Trammell Crow and Olayan America Corporation as an institutional investor.

The 2.8-acre site is planned to house a resort-esque, luxury apartment building amply loaded with amenities typical of "luxury" buildings: A swimming pool, clubhouse, mini-gym and billiards room among others. Virginia-based Cubellis DCA served as the architects and has reportedly created the architectural pu pu platter of buildings, integrating three separate architectural styles within the 5-story building: Classic federal architecture reminiscent of Old Town, an art-deco panache and an urban loft approach. The first units will be completed by the fall of 2009.

"The Carlyle neighborhood of Alexandria is the perfect location for TCR's latest Alexan luxury rental community, Alexan Carlyle. The new PTO headquarters is just two blocks away and is adding jobs at the rate of about 1,200 per year. Plus residents will have easy access to two Metro stations as well as all the shops and restaurants of Old Town Alexandria," said Sean Caldwell, Managing Director at Trammell Crow Residential. PNC Bank is financing the construction of TCR's newest addition to Northern Virginia.

Alexandria Auction: An Unconventional Success

The Parkside at Alexandria residential community received a surge of sales last week during a real estate auction where more than 200 bidders came to compete on the remaining 30 condos available at the development. The scramble for the discounted townhouse-style residences ended just 60 minutes after the bidding opened - leaving nothing behind for the reluctant, and putting more than $10 million in the pockets of Mid-City Urban LLC and its partner Parkside at Alexandria LLC.

The drawing factor was the obvious chance to get a discount, and in the end, two-bedroom condos sold at an average of almost $40,000 less than their original price of $339,000, while three-bedroom units, which would have originally cost $379,000, were auctioned at almost $30,000 less.

Parkside at Alexandria was originally constructed more than a half-century ago as an apartment complex, the community was purchased by Parkside at Alexandria LLC which converted the rental units into condominiums. Sales on the 378 residences commenced in early 2004.

Sponsored Announcement

Cromley Lofts - True loft living in the heart of Old Town.
Located a short walk to the Potomac and the King Street Metro, Cromley Lofts features the gorgeous conversion and historic preservation of a century-old brick warehouse, with breathtaking contemporary finishes throughout, including oversized windows, high ceilings, reclaimed yellow pine floors, gas fireplaces, soapstone kitchen counters, double stainless steel ovens, retracting vents, fully tiled glass showers, and parking available. Two penthouses feature end to end windows surrounded by private patios.

Beauty without guilt: Cromley Lofts are LEED-certified "Gold", the first building in Alexandria and the first condo in Virginia with LEED credentials. Priced from $535k to $645k, with off-street parking, each spacious loft has been flawlessly upgraded and beautifully designed for the perfect urban comfort. Contact Tanya for more information at 703-203-8750. Sales and marketing by DCRE.

Alexandria Condos Going to Auction

On Sunday the 28th, Parkside Alexandria is due to auction 30 remaining condos in the 378-unit complex in Alexandria, VA. The Parkside, on N. Van Dorn Street, was originally an apartment building, converted to condos by Mid-City Urban, which claims on its website to have nearly $1 billion in housing units on the east coast. Sales for the Parkside began in early 2004 when condominium sales were in their hayday, but reduced pricing was not sufficient to move the remaining units that began delivery 18 months ago. Renovation work completed on the project in January of this year. According to the development page, the remaining units will auction at a minimum bid of $225,000 for units that had at one point started at $279,000.

Old Town Loft Gets Virginia's First "Green" Ranking

The United State Green Building Council (USGBC) today awarded Developer William Cromley its first LEED- certification for a condominium in the state of Virginia. Cromley Lofts was awarded "Gold" Status by the industry’s governing body for its sustainable design, the first building in Alexandria to be certified as ‘green’ and the first such condominium anywhere in the state. Cromley Lofts is a new eight-unit condominium, an adaptive re-use of a century-old warehouse in the center of Old Town Alexandria.

As we reported last Spring, the Lofts were Designed and built by William Cromley, retaining most of their historic structure and original features that make them worthy of the "loft" moniker, in an era where the term is thrown around loosely, and include warehouse-sized windows and original curved wooden support beams. Cromley supplemented the project with historic, if not original, construction material, including wood floors fashioned from centuries-old heart pine culled from the aged timbers of a dismantled Georgian textile mill, making the floors possibly older than the city in which they sit. In sync with loft style of New York, Cromley Lofts adds modern features to accentuate the architecture and history, with all-glass tiled showers, double stainless ovens in the kitchens and bamboo cabinets. The sales Grand Opening will take place in September.

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certification is a third party verification process created by the USGBC in 2000 to promote the cause of green building. Green features taken into account at Cromley Lofts include proximity to Metro, vegetated green roof to reduce ambient air temperature and runoff, water-sparing plumbing fixtures, highly efficient heating and cooling mechanisms, non-CFC based refrigerants, use of salvaged, reused or rapidly renewable building materials, use of low VOC materials, built-in bike storage, interior design to maximize natural light, and double the required insulation, to name just a few. Says Cromley, "Green design is dynamic and beautiful, it isn't tie-dye and yurts anymore." The "Gold" level awarded is the 2nd highest designation, which run, in order, certified, silver, gold and platinum.

William Cromley has an architectural legacy in the neighborhood's homes, many of which he designed and built to work within the historic framework of Old Town's architectural heritage, an accomplishment that moved Alexandria to name an Old Town street in his honor. Sales and marketing by DCRE.

Washington DC real estate and retail news

New Condo to be Alexandria's First Green Building

Condo developers nationally have been on the leading edge of the green movement, and it now appears that Alexandria’s first LEED-certified building will be an Old Town condominium. Alexandria Developer William Cromley is renovating a century-old warehouse at 1210 Queen St. into an 8-unit, "loft" style condominium called Cromley Lofts, featuring a green roof and sustainable, low-emission materials. LEED certification requires a rigorous third-party designation process and contemplates such factors as indoor environment, sustainable materials, access to public transportation, and energy efficiency. Cromley expects that the project, which has not yet been LEED-approved by the U.S. Green Building Council, will receive "certification," the lowest of the four possible rankings available, making this the first Alexandria project to receive such classification when it completes in the Spring, and estimates that the enhanced design will reduce utilities by about 30%. Alexandria's T.C. Williams High School, which has also applied for certification, will not complete until the Fall.

Each of the condos will offer about 1250 square feet of space in what Cromley describes as "true lofts," a departure from much of modern construction despite the prevalence of the term "loft" in marketing. Set in a historic building that was functional until recently as office space and artist studios, the lofts will exhibit "sleeping niches" rather than formal bedrooms, and bamboo cabinets as a sustainable alternative to traditional wood. Prices are expected to range from $500,000 to $700,000 when sales commence this Spring, competing with the Prescott and Monarch, much larger condo projects now underway in the quickly developing neighborhood. Sales and marketing by DCRE.

Washington DC real estate news

In Potomac Yard, Developers to the Rescue

When city planners for Potomac Yard found that public works projects were needed, they did what city planners across the country are increasingly doing: They turned to the developer to provide city services.

Begun in 1999, the project has gone through several phases including a plan by the late Jack Kent Cooke to build a new stadium for the Washington Redskins; a plan defeated by a coalition of neighborhood groups. The current plan calls for development of 165 acres with 1.9 million square feet of office space, 135,000 square feet of retail space in addition to the 600,000 square feet already in use at the Yard, and 1700 units of housing.

Justin Wilson, former President of the Del Ray Citizens’ Association, is optimistic about the on-going development project at the Potomac Yard.

Wilson was one of many in the Del Ray community who were shocked to learn that there was a plan to relocate the local fire station from Windsor Avenue to the Potomac Yard – and Wilson and the Association insisted on a discussion with both the developers and the City. "The city got caught behind the eight-ball,” said Wilson, “But they’ve caught up with the issues facing the community and the development companies are responding to our needs."

Enter the site’s developers, Pulte Homes, Inc. and Centex, which agreed to finance the relocation of the firehouse and to pay for new equipment, according to Wilson. The master plan further calls for the developers to straighten Route 1 and rebuild the interchange and overpass. As in many communities, the developers have already agreed to subsidize 60 units of low-income housing, providing communities a fast, free way to provide affordable housing, an issue that long vexed planners in recent decades.

Helen McIlvaine of the Office of Housing has addressed the issue of affordable homes at the Yard, in meetings between the City, developers and community members. The proposal calls for the affordable housing to be based on yearly incomes of $54,000/yr and rents of, $1,500/month.

Among the features proposed for the new state of the art fire station are a community room to be used by both residents and fire department trainees, as well as the construction of individual sleeping quarters that will be able to accommodate the growing number of women in fire suppression.

Community concerns have also been expressed regarding noise abatement for the homes above the proposed fire station.

Alexandria Fire Chief Gary Mesaris stated that the new location in the Potomac Yard would still allow for a 4 minute response time to emergencies in Del Ray; a time still within accepted limits. Among the proposal being considered are the maintenance of two fire stations; one at Windsor Avenue holding the HAZMAT Response team and the new one at the Yard.

Monument Backs out of Condo Development

Monument Realty has announced it is cancelling its planned conversion of the 571 unit Park Center condos in Alexandria's West End. The three apartment towers, dating from the mid-1970's, were purchased by Monument for the purpose of conversion into condominiums and were undergoing renovation. No settlements have occurred on the individual condos, which a spokesman said is currently about 50% occupied by tenants. Only about 60 contracts were written on the property since sales began in June of last year. Monument will retain the property for now and rent the remaining units; purchasers are being offered their security deposits back, with interest. Monument is currently in the processing of converting the famed Watergate Hotel into 96 coops, and owns approximately 12 acres of non-contiguous land in the vicinity of the soon-to-be stadium, including 3.5 acres adjacent to the stadium on Half St. Monument is currently selling condos at the Chase, a condo conversion in downtown Bethesda, the Palatine and the Prime, both highrises in Arlington, and at Potomac Place in Southwest DC.