Starburst Delta Towers

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.

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

Address:  808 Bladensburg Rd, NE, Washington DC

Developer:  Dantes Partners, Gilbane Building Company

Architect:  KGD Architecture

Construction:  Bozzuto Construction

Interior Design: Determined by Design

Use:  179 subsidized apartments

Expected Completion:  Q4 2020

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Washington D.C. retail and real estate development news

The Wilson and the Elm - Coming This Fall in Bethesda

If you have traveled anywhere near Bethesda you would not have missed the 3 new towers under construction at 7272 Wisconsin Avenue in the center of Bethesda.  The three towers are part of Carr Properties’ nearly 1 million square foot project of two residential towers (the Elm) and, on its south side, one office tower (the Wilson).  Named for an adjacent street and for Alfred Wilson, who in 1890 opened a general store on the site that became a social hub, Carr hopes its creation will duplicate that success.

Carr, partnering with residential developer Insight Property Group, broke ground in August of 2018 and hopes to complete construction by late October. The three towers share a common podium that will, like Wilson's general store, become a commercial nexus with a new southern entrance to Metro's redline station and the terminus station for the Purple Line.  The Metro station, 120 feet below, was originally built to accommodate a second entrance, and will share an entrance with the Purple Line as well as connection with the Capital Crescent Trail.  The project is hard to miss at 23 stories, nearly 300 feet, well above adjacent Bethesda Row.  Bozzuto, which will manage the buildings, will begin residential leasing in August.

Streetsense / Edit Labs designed the interior of the two apartment buildings, which will be connected by a skybridge with views of the National Cathedral.  According to the developers, the height will permit views as far as Dulles Airport and National Harbor on a good day.  The ground floor will offer up retail space, the only confirmed tenant for which is Tatte Bakery.  Above, several office tenants have inked leases, including Fox 5 and UBS Financial Services. Accommodating the red line Metro entrance, expected to open in 2022, provided developers with additional height and density than would have been otherwise permitted. Lastly, the development team points out the suite of technology to fight airborne viruses, including 100% use of outside air, "a rarity" in the DC office market, but an issue that will no doubt be a central talking point in future office marketing.

Project:  The Wilson and the Elm

Address:  7272 Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, MD

Developer: Carr Properties 

Architect:  Shalom Baranes

Landscape Architect: OVS

Interior Design:  Streetsense / Edit Lab

Construction:  Clark Construction

Use: 348,000 s.f. of office (1 tower) and residential (2 towers) with 456 units

Expected Completion:  Late 2020 for office and residential portions of the project.

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Washington D.C. commercial real estate news

Bozzuto Celebrates Start of Cathedral Commons

Demolition to make way for Cathedral Commons is now underway both officially and physically.  Bozzuto held a press conference this morning to celebrate work that began quietly this week to demolish two city blocks and replace it with a mixed-use development and Giant supermarket.  The 4-acre, $130 million project will add an improved, larger Giant as well as 137 apartment units, 8 townhouses, and a concourse with 125,000 s.f. of street front retail space.

What remains of the SunTrust building

Construction work on the project has been expected for the past year, and evidently close when construction fences went up last month.  The project was designed by JCA Architects of Reston. According to a press release:

Cathedral Commons will include 137 apartment units and eight townhomes, more than 500 parking spaces, and 128,000 square feet of vibrant retail anchored by a 56,000 square-foot state-of-the-art Giant Food, which will include full-service floral, bakery, meat, seafood and deli departments and an expanded offering of fresh produce, natural, organic, and gluten-free products as well as international items. Resident amenities in the spectacular community will include a boutique hotel-style lobby, lounge areas and library, fitness center, clubroom, conference room, and residential courtyards.

Bozzuto to Begin 460 NY Ave. This Winter

Image: WDG website

Work on a 63-unit condominium building at the corner of L Street and New York Avenue NW, will begin in the first quarter of 2013, a representative with Bozzuto Development Company told DCMud.  WDG Architecture's design for the building adds an 8-story, contemporary structure directly on top of the existing warehouse.

According to Lauren McDonald, Bozzuto is in the process of applying for permits to start building the 11-story structure at 460 New York Avenue and anticipates completing the building in the spring or summer of 2014.   The condominium building, built on a small 9,059 square foot lot in the fast-growing Mount Vernon Triangle, will add more density to a neighborhood that, until the last five years, was landscaped by mostly parking lots and warehouses.  The new building will face the Safeway in the CityVista condominium building, which opened in 2007, and back up against The Meridian apartment building.

Image: WDG website

An existing three-story warehouse, dating to 1902 and vacant for years, will be preserved and incorporated into the condo, a change from earlier demolition plans, will be preserved and incorporated into the condo as an adaptive re-use of the structure.  Original plans released in 2010 called for relocation of the three-story structure, but that same year Bozzuto asked for a two-year delay on beginning construction.  Bozzuto then changed plans, reducing the size of the building from 13 stories and 86 units to 11 stories and 63 units.

Image: WDG website

The latest incarnation of the project includes 36 parking spaces accessed via a mechanical lift that will hoist cars up to be stored suspended vertically over each other to save space.   The building's design, in line with a developer trend toward building smaller units, will feature 63 "studio, one, and one bedroom/den units," according to a project architect description on its website.  Plans emphasize "efficient design", amenities like large common areas, large windows, and balconies, and the "unmet demand from smaller households for stylish but economical living," according to WDG.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Construction Work Begins on Cathedral Commons

Initial construction work has begun on the Giant Supermarket site at 3336 Wisconsin Avenue, a 4-acre site that will be redeveloped into a mixed-use community known as Cathedral Commons.  The $130 million project has been more than a decade in the making, and will create a new, larger Giant as well as 137 apartment units, 8 townhouses, and a concourse with 125,000 s.f. of street front retail space.

Giant had been fighting a devoted neighbor- hood opposition group for years, but scored some decisive legal victories in 2011 and obtained financial partner Bozzuto Group to give the project the final kick needed to start development.  While no formal announcement was issued by the team, partners in the project have been saying for weeks that construction would be imminent, and construction crews began erecting fences Monday afternoon.  

The supermarket, one of the last major groceries to begin (a much needed) renovation, closed in March.  Renderings and descriptions for the new Giant show a wide-aisled suburban-style supermarket resembling its Bethesda counterpart more than the reimagined urban supermarket being promised by developers of the CityMarket at O.  The project was designed by JCA Architects of Reston, which is also responsible for the design work at Union Market.

Update:  A spokesperson for the project notes that Bozzuto is not only the financial partner but also the developer and joint venture partner with Giant, and that no formal date has been announced regarding an official groundbreaking.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Construction for Cathedral Commons a Step Closer

A sign today announces the parking lot of the now-closed Giant Food at 3336 Wisconsin Ave. will close April 23 to prepare for construction of Cathedral Commons. The grocery store closed last week, but the parking lot remained open. Crews also have removed the classic Giant sign on the building.

Bozzuto, Giant's financial partner for the project, posted a site plan yesterday for the $125 million mixed-use development that will span two blocks along Wisconsin Avenue.

Street-Works is developing the site that will have a new Giant Food anchoring 128,000 s.f. of new retail space. The site also will include 137 apartments, eight townhouses and 500 parking spaces.

A raze permit for the Giant as well as other parts of the 3300 block were approved Jan. 30th by the Historic Preservation Office according to documents released by the Office. Permit applications for the 3400 block also were filed.

Washington, D.C., real estate development news

Wisconsin Ave. Giant to Close In March as Cathedral Commons Gears Up

The Giant supermarket at 3336 Wisconsin Avenue, NW will close in March in preparation for the construction of Cathedral Commons, according to a spokeswoman for the supermarket chain.

Sharon Robinson, an outside spokeswoman on behalf of Giant said that construction for the $125 million project will begin this quarter. A raze permit for the building as well as other parts of the 3300 block were approved Jan. 30th by the Historic Preservation Office according to documents released this week by the Office. Meanwhile, the Giant Pharmacy has closed, and Starbucks cafe in the 3400 block also closed this week; its building also has a date with the wrecking ball as part of the project.

(Photo by Ken Johnson)

United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 400, which represents Giant employees at the Wisconsin Ave. store, were also given notice this week that the location will close within the next 30 days to begin razing the old building.

The UFCW employees won't lose their jobs, but will be transferred to other Giant stores in the region, according to UFCW Local 400 Secretary Mark Federici.

Developer Street-Works, which also designed much of Bethesda Row, has designed Cathedral Commons to bring 137 apartments, eight town homes and more than 125,000 s.f. of retail space, including 56,000 s.f. to replace the 50-year old store.

For the past decade, Cathedral Commons has been ground-zero for redevelopment politics, pitting anti-development activists versus the food store and its financial partner The Bozzuto Group.

Meanwhile, Giant, like its fellow unionized grocery chain Safeway, is facing increasing pressure to improve or replace its smaller-footage legacy stores like the one on Wisconsin Avenue, one of the least liked supermarkets in the District.

That's the result of stiff competition from non-unionized upscale chains like Harris Teeter and Whole Foods, which have entered the District in force, as well as discount food sellers like Walmart, which just this week began work for a groundbreaking at its first store in the District at New Jersey Avenue and H Street.

Pleasanton, California-based Safeway Inc. is also looking to replace its 35,000 s.f. Safeway in Tenleytown, less than a mile away, with a five-story mixed use project that will bring a new 56,000 s.f. store to the neighborhood. But that project likely won't get started until the new Cathedral Commons Giant is ready and open for business. Giant also closed their large Shaw supermarket last September, in advance of what will (in two years) become an anchor supermarket and residential project in Shaw.

Update: According to Sharon Robinson, the above-mentioned spokesman, a date has not been set for closure of the Giant.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Safeway Tries Again With Revamped Tenleytown Design

Officials from Safeway, Torti Gallas and Clark Realty Capital unveiled more renderings of its planned Tenleytown site last night - with once again, decidedly mixed community reviews.

Plans to replace the backwards-facing Safeway store at 42nd and Davenport, which has cheekily shown its veteran rump to Wisconsin Avenue passersby for the better part of thirty years, have been in place since August 2009. But opposition from the Office of Planning and the neighborhood ANC over an above-ground parking garage forced Safeway to suspend the project in January 2010.

Now Safeway, and its architects have returned with a newer, scaled down version, with the 56,000 square-foot store being folded in to a five-story complex with 184 apartments, 14 town homes and more than 140 spaces 0f underground parking for customers. There will also be dedicated parking for residents.

Still, a few in the Northwest DC community that is well known for its opposition to development on Wisconsin Avenue, worried about adding such high-density housing and traffic to a the single-family neighborhood, fear additional traffic and delivery trucks on nearby narrow residential streets such as Ellicott and Davenport.

"There is a great deal of concern on the density of the units," said Tenleytown residents Adam Rubinson, who attended Safeway's Jan. 18 unveiling at St. Mary Armenian Apostolic Church. "The concern is pretty much unanimous," he said in an interview.

Rubinson wants to see a "stepped-back" design along Davenport so as not to overwhelm its neighbors across the street. Safeway and Torti Gallas say they have done just that with a design that will top the trees in the neighborhood but not block sunlight during morning and evening hours.

Rubinson wants to see the height of the project, currently 79 feet, lowered to no more than 55 feet, with one story below grade, similar to that of the brand-spanking new Whole Foods along Willard Avenue in Chevy Chase, less than a mile away. "There are plenty of developers who are willing to do just that," he asserted.

Improving the look and size of the store is key for Safeway in a suddenly uber-competitive market like Washington D.C. Unionized middle-market grocery chains such as Safeway and Giant, even with their single-digit profit margins, once ruled the roost in D.C., where shoppers had little choice but to tolerate dirty stores, bare shelves, long lines and surly staff.

Now amid an influx of higher-end choices such as Whole Foods and Harris Teeter, the Safeways of the world must upgrade their legacy stores to keep pace with a changing market. "Everyone who sells food is a competitor," says Safeway spokesman Craig Muckle. Often they are stuck in between high-end but non-union grocery chains like Whole Foods and Wegmans that can charge a premium for their quality and variety, and low-cost producers like Wal-Mart, with the volume and a non-union workforce to wring additional profits out of food shoppers.

The 35,000 square foot Tenleytown Safeway, which first opened in 1957 and was remodeled in 1981, is no exception, facing competition from the aforementioned, newly-constructed Whole Foods in Chevy Chase, an existing Whole Foods in Tenleytown and a remodeled Giant Food along Western Ave. in Chevy Chase.

Muckle says if all goes well, the project could break ground in 2014. Safeway had hoped to start on the new Tenleytown Safeway once retail construction adjacent the Georgetown "Social" Safeway was completed, but now will have to wait. Torti Gallas is also the architect on that project as well. The 200-plus United Food and Commercial Workers members who work at the store will be "farmed out" to other stores during the reconstruction, according to UFCW Local 400 Secretary Mark Federici.

The debate over the size of the store and its accompanying town home and apartment developments threatens to devolve into the protracted tug-of-war that surrounded the redevelopment of the Newark Street Giant.

That store, just a mile further south on Wisconsin Ave, saw organized neighborhood resistance for the better part of a decade before the Bozzuto Group got the OK to start construction on a new 56,000 square foot facility this spring. Rubison says he hopes the Tenleytown Safeway development process doesn't go down that path.

"I think if Safeway can make some reasonable compromises, the chances of that happening are close to zero," said Rubinson. "But if they take a hard line, especially on the overall massing of the building and the number of units, and residential parking, I could see this getting mired in delays."

Safeway plans another question-and-answer session on Feb. 2 in the lobby of the Tenleytown Safeway between 6:30pm and 8:30pm.

Washington D.C. real estate development news.

Giant Wins Lawsuit for Wisconsin Ave Redevelopment

Giant has won its legal appeals against the longstanding lawsuits of a neighborhood activist group that has litigated to stop the neighborhood grocery-anchored project. Washington CityPaper reports today that an appellate court affirmed the lower court's ruling that development did not violate the District's zoning laws, as a neighborhood group had claimed in its suit. The project's developers had always seemed likely to prevail, and had been given added momentum when Stop & Shop, Giant's parent company, partnered with local developer Bozzuto Group just weeks ago to fund the mixed-use project. Construction of Cathedral Commons is likely to get underway in March or April. 

The historically debated, two-block redevelopment project will bring 137 apartment units and 8 townhomes, more than 500 parking spaces, and 128,000 s.f. of retail including the anchor, a new 56,000-s.f. Giant, to replace the badly aged 50-year-old one currently on site. Opening of the new Giant is "tentatively scheduled for late 2013. After years of trailing Whole Foods and Safeway, and even Harris Teeter as urban pioneers, Giant now seems to be catching up on the urban redevelopment wave, having broken ground late this year on CityMarket at O in Shaw and having started construction of a new grocery on H Street, NE. 

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Cathedral Commons Construction in Spring 2012, Giant Announces Development Partner Bozzuto

Giant, the grocer owned by Dutch conglomerate Ahold Delhaize, will begin construction on Cathedral Commons next spring and has just announced its partnership with The Bozzuto Group to develop the $125-million mixed-use project along Wisconsin Avenue, NW, first reported yesterday by The Washington Post.  The historically debated, two-block redevelopment project will bring 137 apartment units and 8 townhomes, more than 500 parking spaces, and 128,000 s.f. of retail including the anchor, a new 56,000-s.f. Giant, to replace the badly aged 50-year-old one currently on site. Opening of the new Giant is "tentatively scheduled for late 2013." In the press release issued today, Tom Bozzuto, CEO of The Bozzuto Group, remarked, “We are thrilled to work with Giant to create Cathedral Commons, a community that will offer the District neighborhoods of Cleveland Park and Cathedral Heights the best shopping, dining and housing yet." Southside Investment Partners LLC will partner with The Bozzuto Group on the retail portion of the project. The Bozzuto Group is also currently a development partner for Monroe Street Market near Catholic University, another big ($200 million) mixed-use project which broke ground last month. 

Washington D.C. real estate development news

New Design for Meridian Hill Baptist Church Residences

The contemporary design by Martinez + Johnson for the adaptive reuse of the Meridian Hill Baptist Church is no more, and stone will now replace glass due to an architectural re-skin requested by the Historic Preservation Review Board in September.

The 55-unit residential and historic preservation project is being developed through a partnership between the Church and developer Bozzuto. HPRB initially reviewed the project in July and the third review (of the new design seen here) will take place this month.

A light shade of stone is now being used (seen at top) to blend the front of the skinny side addition with the lighter limestone facade of the church, as opposed to the glass initially used to differentiate the addition (seen at left).

The new addition, an 8-story "L-shaped" residential building, will wrap around the back of the church and rise 80 feet, approximately 17 feet above the tip of the church's roof, in a shade of tan that is distinct from both the church and the facade of the side addition, but not dark enough to appear as a looming presence, as Bozzuto's Clark Wagner promised in advance of the development team's first trip to the HPRB.

This summer, Wagner expected the project to become a condominium with 55 to 60 units, all one- and two-bedrooms priced in the upper-$200,000 to low-$400,000 range, and up for sale next summer. The timeline is bound to be pushed back, however, with a trip to the Board of Zoning Adjustment necessary after HPRB approval.

The Meridian Hill Baptist Church at 3146 16th Street, NW, was one of a few structural victims of a five-alarm fire in March of 2008 that originated in the Deauville Apartments located across the church's back alley.

Redevelopment of the 14,700-s.f. property will include strict preservation of the Church's classical limestone edifice (constructed in 1927 by noted firm Porter & Lockie) - the desire to insert additional glass openings into the limestone facade was nixed by the HPRB in September.

Correction 12/2: New addition will be 80' tall (not 277')

Washington D.C. real estate development news

"College Main Street" for Catholic University Breaks Ground

The Bozzuto Group and Abdo Development broke ground today on the joint $200-million development "Monroe Street Market," an undertaking that will create a 9-acre, mixed-use village surrounding a new "college main street" to serve Catholic University of America (CUA) in Brookland.

By offering the South Campus land for development, CUA "did the opposite of what many universities do, and put the land [five city blocks] back into the city's tax base" said Jim Abdo, who was exuberant that the project is moving from "vision and concept to actual reality" and is now embarking on three years of construction; the first phase, by Bozzuto Construction, includes 562 residential units, aiming to deliver in mid 2013.

In May of 2008, Abdo beat out tens of competitors including EYA, Monument Realty and Trammell Crow for the right to purchase the South Campus from CUA, and subsequently turn the land - a collection of empty lots and old dormitories - into university-serving amenities and housing.

The $200-million project is receiving "no public subsidy of any kind," Abdo confirmed in his speech, which was followed by Tom Bozzuto, who expressed gratitude to "the vision of Pritzker [to invest in the project]... when virtually no other investors in 2008/2009 would [offer financing]." Fully entitled before the fall of 2008, developers relied on confidence from "alliances and great partnerships" to escape being sidelined completely by the great recession.

In the summer of 2010, Bozzuto and Chicago-based Pritzker Realty Group (which controls the non-hotel real estate holdings of the Hyatt hotel founders, the Pritzker family) announced a $75-million joint investment fund in multifamily housing, and then revealed that a significant portion of that fund was being invested in Abdo's plans to develop Catholic University's South Campus.

Bozzuto added, "In September of 2008, when the world was crashing around us...the bankers at Bank of America stood ground with us." Bank of America was also in attendance at the ceremony today.

Architects at Torti Gallas (responsible for land-use planning and a portion of design), Maurice Walters, and KTGY have combined the collegiate Gothic look of the century-old CUA with the Brookland neighborhood's arts and crafts style.

Of the location, lay-out and design, CUA President John Garvey said, "[The development] will increase the safety of the neighborhood and improve the aesthetics of the area."

Monroe Street, from Michigan Avenue to the Monroe Street Bridge, will be turned into a main drag and will be "the backbone" of the development. At the Michigan Avenue end will be a 1,000-s.f. public square with central fountain and a 70' clock tower.

The entire development includes over 900,000 s.f. of gross floor area and will be constructed in phases. In all, there will be 718 residential units (8-percent, or 63,000 s.f., will be affordable at 80-percent of AMI) both apartments and condos, 45 single-family townhomes (three of the 21-unit string on Kearny Street will be affordable at 80-percent of AMI), 83,000 s.f. of retail space, 15,000 s.f. of artist space (27 studios), a 3,000-s.f. community arts center and 850 below-grade parking spaces.

An "Arts Walk," along 8th Street between Michigan Ave and Monroe St, will be a pedestrian- only corridor flanked by two 5-story buildings that will provide 27 ground-floor artist studios (at below-market rent) and 13,500-s.f. of retail at the southern ends along Monroe Street. The top four floors of the buildings will contain 152 residential units.

Along 8th Street, south of Monroe Street, are numerous industrial and arts uses, including Brookland Artspace Lofts, and Dance Place. The site is adjacent to the Red Line Brookland/CUA Metro stop, making it a "transit-oriented development."

The Monroe Street Market development will also improve the intersections of Michigan Avenue at Monroe Street and 7th Street, as well as complete the Metropolitan Branch Trail along the Metro Track, and add "aesthetic improvements" to the Monroe Street Bridge.

The Zoning Commission approved the development's plan in December of 2009, after Abdo was selected as the developer in 2008, six years after Catholic University set down in its 2002 Campus Plan that the South Campus area should be "phased out as a student housing area, and reserved for cooperative ventures between the University and other appropriate organizations.”


Washington D.C. real estate development news