Brightwood Blight Shines Anew as Condos

Brightwood neighbors gathered in excitement to mark a day many of them thought would never come - the opening of 6425 14th Street, NW. The Tewkesbury, once the neglected eyesore of a slum lord, now offers 26 renovated condo units to the Ward 4 community, thanks to the District government and developer Blue Skye. The relatively small project drew significant political attention, with Councilmembers Muriel Bowser and Kwame Brown joining Mayor Adrian Fenty in the festivities; even Department of Consumer & Regulatory Affairs Director Linda Argo showed up.

The DC government purchased the property in 2008 for $3 million, after filing suit against its owner for “numerous" building code violations. Blue Skye won the right to develop and invested $3.8 million in the renovation. Half of the building is being sold at market rate, the other half is subsidized for tenants earning from 30 to 80 percent Area Median. Several condos have already sold.

The community expressed relief to be free from the blight that once filled the lot, "[we] almost assumed it would always be [that] way...this makes a huge difference," said Kamili Anderson of the Brightwood Neighborhood Association. The building offers a mix of one- and two-bedroom units and, according to Scottie Irving of Blue Skye, there is no difference between the affordable and market rate units, which range in size from 900 to 1,200 s.f.

Blue Skye served as developer and contractor, partnering with PGN architects and subcontracting to several local businesses for materials and labor. According to Irving, 90 percent of the money put into the property stayed in the District. The Tewkesbury has 10 parking spaces available for an additional fee.

Construction took 14 months, though several last minute touches were being applied as neighbors toured for the first time. Reactions seemed mixed: one neighbor complained about a questionable paint job in the hallway and another criticized the way the flooring was laid in the bathroom. Irving took both praise and complaints, smiling as he showed off his work. Blue Skye is working on "phase 2" of the project, a 54-unit affordable senior housing project, at nearby 1330 Missouri Avenue, NW with partner Donatelli.


Washington, DC real estate development news

Minnesota - Benning: Apartments and Sit-down Restaurants Coming

Ladies and Gentlemen: We have lift off. Today, Mayor Adrian Fenty and Co. gathered at the Minnesota Avenue Metro station in Ward 7 to throw a demolition party for development partners Donatelli Development and Blue Skye Development at the site of the future Minnesota-Benning project.

This particular press mixer was the culmination of two years of Land Disposition Agreements that sought to answer the question: How can the District best put $80 million to good use in a neighborhood known for its high crime, heavy traffic and lack of sit-down restaurants? One of the neighborhood's first sit-downs, Ray's the Steaks, only opened this past April with the help of a grant from the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development's office, and the District wants another.

The answer the development team came up with was the Eric Colbert & Associates-designed Minnesota Avenue-Benning Road, NE, (formerly known as "Phase 2") a five-acre, three-building mixed-use development. The transit-oriented goliath will stand adjacent to the Minnesota Avenue Metro and the new, $95 million Department of Employment Services (DOES) headquarters (a.k.a Minnesota Avenue-Benning Road, NE Phase 1).

The location of the project is part of the larger Great Streets initiative, a joint venture between DMPED, The District Department of Transportation (DDOT), and the Office of Planning that seeks to transform some of DC's more blighted neighborhoods into "great streets - places where people want to be." Upon delivery in the fall of 2012, the Minnesota-Benning project will boast 325 rental housing units at 60% AMI, 48 for-sale condos offered at market rate and 23,000 s.f. of retail and restaurant space.

Five thousand s.f. of those 23,000 s.f. will be reserved solely for sit-down restaurant space and 4,000 s.f. will be set aside for local business, assures DMPED Director of Communications, Mary Margaret Plumridge.

So, let's say you have a great idea for a sit-down restaurant in Ward 7. Will you be eligible for the same type of grant DMPED made available to Ray's the Steaks? Those details are still being ironed out, and the District seems at least mindful of the fact that this will require something more luring than an empty space.

Either way, construction begins Spring 2011.

DC Real Estate and Development News

Land Dispositions Receive Council Approval

A series of Land Disposition Agreements related to three major developments planned across Washington DC all received City Council approval this week. The Council previously reviewed the proposals and heard community comments during a July session, and issued their decisions publicly. 1. Donatelli Development and Blue Skye Development's Minnesota-Benning Phase 2 Redevelopment, the planned low-income housing and retail space adjacent to the Minnesota Avenue metro station. The 5-acre, $108m project will bring 375 affordable and 60 market-rate units to Ward 7, with completion as early as 2011. 2. Denning Development, UrbanMatters Development Partners and Beulah Community Improvement will redevelop properties located at 400-414 Eastern Avenue, NE and the 6100 block of Dix Street NE. The selected plan will offer 56 affordable for sale 3-bedroom townhouses, ideally completing in late 2011. 3. Washington Community Development Corporation (WCDC) and Banneker Ventures LLC's Strand Theatre development will transform the 80-year-old former movie theater into the new home of an 18,000-s.f. restaurant and 18,000 square feet of “affordable” office space. The LDA was announced exactly one year after Mayor Adrian Fenty chose the developers for the long-neglected Deanwood project.

Washington DC commercial real estate news

DC Announces Contenders for Eastern Market School Site

Fresh off last week’s announcement that Eastern Market will reopen in June, the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development has gone public with their short-list of candidates for redevelopment of the nearby Hine Junior High School at 335 8th Street, SE.

The 43-year-old, 131,300 square foot educational facility was shuttered in 2007, in order to redirect $6.2 million worth of school funds towards leasing costs for the District of Columbia Public Schools' headquarters at 825 North Capitol Street, NE. Now, according to ODMPED officials, the various proposals aim to repurpose the Eastern Market site for “combinations of new housing, office space, nonprofit space and neighborhood-serving retail.” The six contending teams are:

1. The Bozzuto Group/Scallan Properties/Lehr Jackson Associates/E.R. Bacon Development, LLC/Blue Skye Development/CityStrategy, LLC

2. Equity Residential/Mosaic Urban Partners

3. Quadrangle Development Corporation/CapStone Development, LLC

4. National Leadership Campus/Western Development Group

5. Stanton Development Corporation/Eastbanc Inc./Autopark Inc./The Jarvis Companies/Dantes Partners

6. StreetSense/DSF/Menkiti Group

District administrators will be hosting a community showcase of all six proposals on June 10^th at Tyler Elementary at 1001 G Street, SE. The meeting will begin at 6 PM and is open to the public.

Blighted Brightwood Apartments Born Again

Mayor Adrian Fenty and Ward 4 Councilmember Muriel Bowser made their second joint appearance of the week in Brightwood today, this time to announce the commencement of major renovation procedures at 6425 14^th Street, NW – a long empty, dilapidated apartment building formerly owned notorious DC landlord, Vincent Abell.

"After essentially two decades of inactivity, frustration and blight…the District of Columbia government finally seized control of the property [in 2008]," said Fenty. "Don’t forget, it had been owned by countless private sector landlords [and] slum lords…People who just had no interest at all in making this the type of fantastic residential apartment building that it was once was and that it will be again.”

To that effect, the District has teamed with Blue Skye Development to repurpose the now-gutted apartment complex for the Tewkesbury Condominiums - a 30,000 square foot, 26-unit condo building that will, according to the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, be comprised of 51% affordable housing.

“We want to promote home ownership,” Deputy Mayor Neil Albert told DCmud of the decision to make the building a for-sale property for the first time in its fifty plus years of existence. “It was originally conceived as a condo project and we were able to get financing for it. Again, there’s a level of affordability that’s going into this building. It’s not a luxury condo building…It’s easier to get that financed than your mid-level and high-priced condos”

Purchased by the DC government early last year for $3 million, after filing suit against its owner for “numerous building code violations,” the total cost of the renovation will come in at $4.6 million. New amenities slated for the complex, as outlined by PGN Architects, include “a community room, roof deck, energy-efficient aluminum windows...as well as outdoor spaces directly behind the building.” With selective demolition already underway inside the complex, the development is scheduled to be open by March 2010 – a full year later than the District initially anticipated when they acquired the property.

“[These] haven’t been easy projects. The reason some of these projects have taken a long time is because there’s a lot of trouble and legal trouble that the city’s been dealing with,” said Muriel Bowser of the numerous concurrent, affordable housing initiatives under way in her ward. “But this administration has taken a ‘can do’ approach. Not 'we can’t,' not 'we won’t,' but that we’ll figure out how to get it done.”

Fenty and Bowser teamed-up earlier these week to oversee demolition at 3910 Georgia Avenue, NW, future site of the 130-unit Georgia Commons project, and for the opening of the Neighborhood Development Company's Residences at Georgia Avenue in March.

The North Star of Shaw Development

Northwest Washington's Shaw neighborhood could receive its first New Year’s batch of condominiums as soon as next month. Currently under construction at 1910 8^th Street NW, the Stella Polaris Condominiums will be bringing five upscale, 1,100 square foot units to the foot of the U Street corridor - within an earshot of popular local destinations like the 9:30 Club and Town.

The project is under the purview of Blue Sky Housing (not the similarly-named Blue Skye Development), a local developer whose last publicized project was the renovation and conversion of two Hanover Place NW apartment buildings into condominiums. Earle "Chico" Horton, a partner with the Graves & Horton LLC law firm and Blue Sky principal, tells DCmud that all of the units will feature 2 bedrooms and 2 ½ baths, in addition to amenities like “10 foot ceilings and high-end finishes.” Once completed in February, prices on ground floor units will start around $330,000, while top floor units will be "in the range of $480,000 to $500,000." Caltec Construction is serving as general contractor.

The project stands feet from the corner of 8^th Street and Florida Avenue NW – an area that has hosted vacant lots since long before developers renewed their interest in the historic Shaw community. “Whatever structures were there were probably damaged in the 14^th Street riots [of 1968] and subsequently torn down. It’s easily been over 20 years since there’s been construction at the site,” said Horton. ‘“Once people get financing, I think they’ll be a lot in store for the area. I was one of the original buyers of Harrison Square back in 2000. I’ve been in the area for a while and have seen the growth, which has been good.”

Indeed, growth is continuing unabated in the neighborhood. A few blocks away Castlerock Partners will be constructing the sprawling Howard Town Center project, while a parcel literally around the corner at the 9^th and U Streets NW – currently the site of a weekly flea market - has been slated for redevelopment by the Washington Metro Area Transit Authority. Those projects are set to join Ellis’ recently-approved redevelopment of the Howard Theater, and other in-the-works efforts like Broadcast Center One, the Wonder Bread Factory and O Street Market complex, as possible additions to the Shaw of the new millennium's second decade.

Deanwood Developer Announced, 1500 Units to Follow

Today, Mayor Fenty stood in Deanwood before a forlorn 4427 Hayes Street, NE and announced that Blue Skye Development has been awarded the contract to renovate and develop the building. Blue Skye will turn the shell, vacant for the past 12 years, into 26 apartment units (rendering pictured). The project originally started as 'affordable condos' by defunct NCRC several years ago but never got off the ground.

Though the project has been long sought by District planners, its renovation is really a sideshow to the larger development this will permit. Hayes Street will serve as temporary housing to families in the Lincoln Heights and Richardson Communities, two projects that can be revitalized under the New Communities Initiative, now that the District will have, in Hayes Street, replacement housing for residents of the two needy communities. Under the DC Housing Authority, the agency which owns both Lincoln Heights and Richardson, suitable replacement housing must be found before renovation work on existing housing can begin.

Back in 2006, the District began working with residents from both the Lincoln Heights and Richardson Dwellings neighborhoods, an area between 48th Place 57th Streets off East Capitol Street. In the fourth quarter 2006, the DC Council officially adopted the Lincoln Heights/Richardson Dwellings New Community Revitalization Plan, which would transform the public housing developments and the surrounding neighborhood into a mixed-income, mixed-use community. The District plans to bring at least 1,500 units of new housing, loads of retail, urban spaces, public facilities and transportation infrastructure to the area, as well has constructing a "vibrant mixed-used town center." Even more complex is the new residential street grid which the District is planning for the area, which is being viewed as one of the most essential steps to properly integrating the neighborhood into the surrounding areas.

"The building behind me represents the past for DC...the untapped potential found in great neighborhoods," started Fenty, who went on to commend Blue Skye both for winning the contract and for being a 100% Local Small Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (LSDBE) that currently employs 20 Lincoln Heights residents and offers 30 apprenticeship positions for Lincoln Heights youth.

The redevelopment work at 4427 Hayes Street should start within the coming months. A keyed up Councilmember Yvette Alexander spoke about the imminent transformation of the area: "We're going to bring back the Nanny Helen Boroughs and Deanwood Communities that people once knew."