Meridian Hill Baptist Church Condominium Gets Design Adjustment

A church-turned-condominium project by developer Bozzuto and architect Martinez + Johnson will likely head back to the Historic Preservation Review Board next month, says Bozzuto VP and director of development Clark Wagner, but without additional façade windows sought by the team.

Developers had sought to add glass to the stone facade, but city officials scotched the idea of changing the historic façade, originally built in 1927. Instead, the plan is to simply replace the windows, as well as other changes requested by HPRB, including a different "skin" for the new construction portion of the project.

HPRB did approve "the demolition of the rear of the building and the general design approach to the additions in concept, [including] the terrace alterations to the church roof, if they can be concealed from public view."

After HPRB approves the entire revised design, Bozzuto will then file its application with the Board of Zoning Adjustment, said Wagner. In July, ANC secretary Jack McKay said that the ANC, which has not yet opined on the matter, is most interested in the rear setback and rear access of the property.

The community has a heightened sensitivity to fire safety measures after the Deauville apartment fire in 2008; the fire responsible for the demise of the Meridian Hill Baptist Church and the rise of the current plan to turn the property in condominiums. Spacing to adjacent properties has already proved to be an issue in the redevelopment of a neighboring property, the Mt. Pleasant Library at 3160 16th Street, NW.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Reviving the Meridian Hill Baptist Church, as Condominiums

The Meridian Hill Baptist Church at 3146 16th Street, NW was one of several victims of a five-alarm fire in March of 2008. The inferno, its likeness unseen in the District for three decades prior, originated within the Deauville Apartments located next door to the Church at 3145 16th Street. The fire easily reached the Church, shattering stained-glass windows, and bringing down its roof, as opposed to raising it, as congregations had previously done, since 1916.

Pastor Calvin Cage said the Church did not receive substantial insurance monies in order to cover multimillion dollar damages, and lacking assistance from the District, was forced to pursue a private partnership to redevelop its property on 16th Street.

A partnership with Bozzuto Homes was originally sought to turn the Church into "senior housing or affordable housing," said Cage, adding that these uses were the first priority of the Church. But, it seems need has prevailed, as Bozzuto has hired Martinez + Johnson Architecture, a D.C.-based firm, to design a redevelopment of the Church into condominiums.

Redevelopment of the 14,700-s.f. property, will include preservation of the Church's classical limestone edifice, constructed in 1927 by noted firm Porter & Lockie, around an older brick structure, built in 1916, which succumbed to the blaze.

As relayed by Clark Wagner, Bozzuto's vice president and director of development, the restoration and new-build project is an effort to construct 55 to 60 condos, all one- and two-bedroom units priced in the upper-$200,000 to low-$400,000 range, and will be up for sale, Wagner hopes, next summer.

Of the design, Wagner said "the project is still in the conceptual stage," but the current plan being presented to the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) on Thursday, the 28th, is for a 7-story addition, to the side and back of the Church, with a contemporary look that will "not loom above the Church." The 23,850 s.f. church, Wagner said, has a height that is "equivalent to about five stories."

At least one follow-up trip to the HPRB is likely, as the staff report for the case suggests "the Board approve the demolition of the rear of the building and the general design approach to the additions in concept... and that the design continue to be revised and refined."

The report also explains that the new-construction addition will be "expressed as two additions, a side and a rear, by the use of different treatments of the elevations and by the creation of a 'notch' at their juncture."

Michael Cooke of M+J has presented his designs to the neighborhood ANC (1D) twice, most recently on July 19th, and those designs will not be contested, or approved, by the ANC said Jack McKay, ANC 1D secretary. McKay explained that the ANC will not take a stance at this early stage of the project, as the issue at hand is historic preservation, not zoning variances, which is something the ANC will take a stance on, when the issue arises. McKay said the ANC is most interested in the rear set back and rear access of the property, as well as the spacing to adjacent properties.

Adequate spacing is important to residents in the area, as a four-story residence located at the back of the Church narrowly escaped the inferno, and spacing has proved to be an issue in the renovation of the Mount Pleasant Public Library at 3160 16th Street, also closed for a few days following the fire due to a substantial intake of smoke.

The four-story Deauville Apartment building - saddled with housing complaints and code violations for many years prior to 2007 - was destroyed by the fire that struck before midnight and burned throughout the night. More than 200 residents were displaced, and the skeleton of the Deauville property is currently seeking rebirth as the tenant-owned Monsignor Oscar Romero Apartments.

Though now a lifeless limestone hulk, the Church once housed a 400-member congregation, an Ethiopian community center (upstairs) and a Catholic Charities homeless shelter (basement), before the end came in the form of fire, without brimstone. Cage added that although the Church's congregation is now melded into a sister church in Prince George's County, the goal is to re-establish its D.C. presence in the near future, possibly in Southeast.

article amended 7/27: "rebuild" [of Mount Pleasant Library] changed to "renovation." Although the Library was closed for a few days due to heavy smoke intake, renovation of the library was planned before the fire. And, "John McKay" has been changed to "Jack McKay."


Washington D.C. real estate development news

National Harbor To Get 350-Unit Apartment Building

National Harbor, the 300-acre multi-use waterfront, Pleasantville-wannabe development on the shores of the Potomac River in Prince George's County, Maryland, is set to receive its first apartment building in the nearish future. With an expected late-2011 groundbreaking and 2013 delivery, the recently-announced project will see 350 new apartments atop 25,000 s.f. of ground-floor retail courtesy of Bozzuto Group. The Peterson Companies, which originally spawned the concept of National Harbor, and has seen nearly 75% of its 400 current condominiums sold, 40% of its 46 townhomes sold, and four manor homes sold, not to mention the construction and opening of the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center as well as a plethora of neatly packaged retail. Peterson contacted Bozzuto over the summer about bringing the “fourth residential food group" (i.e. apartments) this to the development site. With the market steadying, and long-held dreams of building at National Harbor, Bozzuto gladly accepted the offer.

National Harbor, which will eventually feature 10 million s.f. of development programming if Peterson's ambitious plans are left unhampered by any future market meltdowns, already contains a whopping six hotels, two marinas, three condo buildings, and a slowly growing number of shops and restaurants. The new apartment building is proposed for the intersection of American Way and Fleet Street, catty-corner from a new CVS and Potomac Gourmet Market, both set to open their doors within 120 days, according to last week's press release. Even more action is on the way, with a 500-room, 15-acre Disney resort hotel project promised by the entertainment conglomerate in 2009, the 140,000-square-foot Children's Museum expected to break ground next year, and the return of Cirque du Soleil in 2012. The apartment building will be LEED certified and will include the standard throng of amenities, a pool, fitness center, cyber cafe, billiards room, media room, and one wild card feature, a "Zen garden" (sounds mysterious, and also a little cheesy).

For those who wonder what kind of soulless creatures would seek shelter in a cookie-cutter concrete jungle so vanilla and seemingly void of authenticity; first, lose the self-righteousness and nauseating alliteration, and second, you're apparently not alone. Residential population remains only around 500, with condo sales slow after a fast start out of the gate in 2007. However, swaths of convention-goers keeps the area feeling busy.

By no means a full-blown, sell-out hit, the development has, however, had slow but steady improvement and a strange cult following, as well as a heavy influx of visiting shoppers and diners arriving in the summertime. But National Harbor is not without its detractors. Despite the myriad of freeways within reach, and a couple water-taxi services, Smart Growth advocates have cited the limited mass transit options as a significant flaw in the development, and a Metro stop doesn't look to be arriving any time soon. Furthermore, cuts in local public busing budgets have angered Prince George's County residents, all while the County has subsidized a new bus line shuttling tourists and Harbor residents between the Green Line's Branch Avenue and the Harbor's convention center.

While it might not be the most environmentally-friendly operation, or beacon of smart-growth development innovation, it's hard to argue with the market, as the project continues to line up a healthy list of big-name suitors, pack its convention center and hotels with corporate conferences, as well as keep residential sales relatively steady.

Prince George's County, MD Real Estate Development News

Georgia Avenue's Beacon Center Gets its Wings

Tally another mixed-use development for the Almighty, as religious groups around the District seem to have a leg up in building these days (Bethesda church, Clarendon church). Following a long and contentious Zoning review process, and following several trying meetings with the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) and the National Park Service (NPS) concerning the project's potential effects upon the neighboring Fort Stevens, the Emory United Methodist Church Beacon of Light in Brightwood received Board approval in the early Spring, and are finally ready to move forward with their Beacon Center project.

Granted a raze permit for 6120 Georgia Ave, NW late last week, neighbors can expect demolition and construction to begin shortly.

The $30 million development, designed by PGN Architects, will offer 180,000 s.f. of multipurpose housing and various congregational and community facilities. The Beacon Center will supply transitional spaces (24 units) in an effort to aid the homeless work toward permanent residency. Also in the works are 34 units for seniors citizens, 17 units reserved for veterans, and 16 affordable rentals. A college-sized indoor multi-sport gymnasium (basketball and soccer) and rec center will be available to the surrounding community. The aggressive expansion will also feature a full service banquet facility, office space for the church and for lease, senior citizens services (such as optometrist, podiatrist, etc.) and ground-floor retail. Additionally the current sanctuary (doubling as a community theater) will be renovated and expanded to 500 seats. Patrons will have access to roughly 100 underground parking spaces and several rows of bike spaces.

Sean Pichon, a Partner at PGN Architects, said his firm has been especially challenged by the need to adjust their designs to the steep grade of the property. Other difficulties included maintaining the "view corridors" and balancing the affordability of the project with the goal of an attractive and congruous facade. Working hard to best the obstacles, designers created features like "curved green roofs" over the retail space to create and "continue the imagery of the hillside." To allow for views from Georgia Avenue his team situated the main entrance on the side road, Quackenbos; this maneuver also enabled multiple access points and preserved the historic stairs leading up to the old church.

Not all were satisfied, however, as the NPS and Civil War Preservation Trust wrote strong letters of opposition, contending that "the proposed five-story wall along Old Piney Branch Road would create a significant visual intrusion on the fort." Opponents also voiced concern that "the Beacon Center’s overall size and floor plan [read too big]...would have an adverse impact on Fort Stevens and subsequently the other remaining Circle Forts." But the representatives of the Church, including the Pastor, convinced Zoning Board members that they had made significant and genuine efforts at compromise, with the Board ultimately deciding that the overall positives of the project outweighed what little impact the building might have on its neighbors. Instead of a reduction in height and massing, NPS will have to settle for 359 square feet in the new building, reserved for their use as a welcome center/gift shop to "educate and promote the history of Fort Stevens." Reenactors and Fort Stevens staff can imagine the impending sounds of the Bozzuto-lead demolition and construction as the distant rumblings of the long ago battles.

Washington D.C. Real Estate Development News

Bethesda Church Moves Forward With Development, Receives Council's Blessing

Twice the Montgomery County Planning Board had approved the plans of Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church of Bethesda-Chevy Chase to build a 107-unit residential building combined with a six-story church and community center. And twice Hearing Examiner Martin Grossman had recommended denial of the proposal, citing a lack of "compatibility" with several nearby rows of single family homes. The Church's development team had reduced their mixed-use development plans from 53,000 s.f. to 25,000 s.f., as well as offered more dramatic setbacks and reduced massing in an effort to appease naysayers. But although Grossman called the augmented plans a "much closer call" he still predicted

the development to "dwarf the nearby single-family detached homes." Nonetheless, last week County Council became the "ultimate decider," settling the dispute with a 6-2 vote in favor of the Church's plans.

Virginia-based MTFA Architecture is the project architect, and seem to be busy with several church-residential combo projects, as another of their client's in Arlington (The Views) recently emerged in tact after a similar drama. The Church project will occupy two-acres, currently inhabited by a church building and attached community center, several single-family homes and a surface parking lot, all of which will be razed. Parking needs will be satisfied by two levels of below-grade lots. The complex will cover a college-size indoor athletic field for community use, public green spaces, affordable residences serving the elderly, transitional housing for the homeless, and a range of other social-work programming.

While Councilman Mark Elrich "was frankly appalled" at the plans to essentially box in the contesting enclave of residential homes, others saw this sort of development as inevitable, and not much of a change in the grand scheme of zoning in the area, as many other large projects nearby have already been approved. Councilman Roger Berliner seemed to take a less reactionary stance, and painted a broader picture in which he concurred that "substantial compatibility" was present in this proposal give the urban nature of the immediate area.

But Church representative Barry Lemley said there is still about a year before construction can be expected, as preliminary site planning and securing building permits should take a significant amount of time. Having originally partnered with Bozzuto in 2006, and then left the agreement to tackle planning and approval process on their own, the Church will once again look for private development partner to see the plans through.

Lemley says they remain undecided on whether to release a RFP immediately, or sit on the approvals until the market further stabilizes. "For an urban infill project like this, in this slow economy, some of the bigger firms that passed on it originally, may have an interest now," Lemley said. And even though construction might be further down the line, and delivery probably won't happen for "two to three years," Lemley and his church are relieved to have the support of County Council. "We always thought we had a unique project here," he explained, "and while some people thought that it was too much, others thought that it was just what the community needs."

Bethesda, MD Real Estate Development News

Abdo Gets Equity Injection, Catholic Plans to Demo University Buildings

This past winter the Zoning Commission exchanged self-congratulatory pats on the back and awkward hugs with Jim Abdo as they approved plans for a large mixed use development project in Brookland. In late July the Greenbelt-based Bozzuto Group announced it was pairing up with Pritzker Realty Group LLC of Chicago to form a $75 million joint investment fund in multifamily housing; and early this week the joint-venture revealed that a significant portion of that fund was being invested in Abdo's plans to develop Catholic University's South Campus. The new partners would not reveal the exact amount of their equity investment, but it's deemed healthy enough to move forward with plans for the $200 million development to break ground in spring of next year. As part of the brokered agreement, Bozzuto Construction will operate as general contractor and Bozzuto Development will partner with Abdo as co-developer of the site. While the rest of the working world has gone on August vacation, and projects across the metro area have petered out and evaporated in the sultry summer sun, the Catholic University project offers hope that the market is showing small signs of life.

Starving artists will be well fed with high-end studio space.

The center piece of the new project and first phase of construction will be the Arts Walk buildings across from the Brookland Metro Station. The 15,000 s.f. ground floor will consist of 27 studio spaces where artists can work on, display, and sell their pieces. The wide, open public space between the two structures (the "arts walk" itself) will allow this creativity to spill out of the studios and onto the sidewalks, and will also be a place to feature sculptures, public art exhibits, and kiosks for rotating studio-less artists. The arts walk will dead end into a public piazza with a bubbling water fountain and more public space for artsy festivities. The tree-lined Monroe Street, beginning at the Michigan Avenue intersection and running to the Monroe Street Bridge, will serve as the main street of the campus, the backbone of the development. The wide thoroughfare will be home to 83,000 square feet of diverse, pedestrian-friendly street-level retail, much of it student-oriented: coffee shops, pubs, book shops, bike shops, you name it. On top of all this, the development team will stack several floors of residencies, 720 apartments units in all (approximately 63,000 s.f. will be reserved as "workforce" housing). Also included in the works are 45 townhomes to be marketed for purchase. The townhouses will help transition the taller Monroe Street and Arts Walk apartment buildings into the abutting lower-rising neighborhoods of Brookland and Edgewood. A total of 850 below-grade parking spaces will accommodate residents and shoppers alike.

New South Campus main street: a place to shop, and tailgate?

On Wednesday, the District received raze applications for three South Campus buildings (Spalding, Spellman, and Conaty Halls), showing concrete efforts to make way for the development, and further proof that these guys weren't joking around and real progress is being made. Catholic University requested the permission to destroy the three dormitories, writing: "CUA's expectation is that the South Campus development project will provide a financial return to support the renovation and construction of residence halls on its main campus, [and] will provide amenities that will benefit both the neighborhood and the students and employees of the university." Although ground will not officially break until 2011, The Berg Corporation, experts in the art of destruction, have been contracted to demolish these three buildings in the near future. 

Washington D.C. Real Estate Development News

Clearer Views at Clarendon

The Views at Clarendon Corporation (VCC) is one step closer to realizing its vision for a 10-story affordable housing project in the center of Clarendon now that a U.S. District Court judge has dismissed a lawsuit against the Views at Clarendon on all counts. With a victory in hand, developers hope to start construction within months on 46 market-rate and 70 affordable apartments one block from the Clarendon Metro station.

Planning for the development began back in 2003, when the First Baptist Church of Clarendon conducted an assessment that soon lead to the vision for the subsidized apartment community, but has been mired in lawsuits almost since its inception. Several groups of parties have contested the development as a violation of the Establishment Clause in the U.S. and Virginia constitutions, and have fought the use of county tax dollars on a project that would buy land from the church - a struggle that has twice landed in the lap of the Virginia Supreme Court and was covered extensively recently by the Washington Post. While this week's ruling is expected to be appealed, the decision is a welcome ruling for the project's promoters.

The Bozzuto Construction Company began site preparation work in January, and developers expect the project will begin construction in earnest this summer. The legal decision comes 7 years and 5 lawsuits after the Church hired the Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing (APAH) to consult on the need for affordable housing in the region, a study that culminated in the Church selling the land to a non-profit entity for $5.6m, with a set of plans for a 10-story building. The Church intends to use its funds, party derived from the sale, to purchase back two floors within the new development.

Nina Janopaul, President of APAH, says the ruling is consistent with fairness of the transaction. "There are many, many precedents for church and affordable housing projects, including the Macedonia project here in Arlington. We did the same thing there; in a slightly different set of circumstances...the church in this case gets compensation for the sale of its property, as is appropriate." Janopaul says the transaction was arms-length and did not disproportionately benefit the Church. "The sale price was well below the $14m appraisal for the property. That's pretty reasonable for a full acre of land in the heart of Clarendon...Clarendon literally has no affordable element in any of the new housing that has gone up."

Arlington developers face of choice of providing affordable housing or contributing to a fund for that purpose, some of which was used to provide a low-interest loan to the non-profit owner of the project. Janopaul says that while repayment of the loan to the county is always a struggle for a low-income housing provider, the market rate element of the Views will expedite that process. "Mixed-income properties are a little more robust in paying back those loans."

The residence is being designed by Arlington- based MTFA Architecture, Inc., which plans to achieve LEED Silver status for the project. Views at Clarendon will be operated by Bozzuto Management.

Arlington Virginia real estate development news

Bethesda Church Plays the Development Game

The Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church of Bethesda-Chevy Chase in Woodmont Triangle is getting an education in what it means to be a developer - from parting ways with project team member Bozzuto Group, compromising with disgruntled neighbors, and now starting over after a zoning defeat. Back for more, the Church recently received two positive reviews from the Montgomery County Park and Planning staff and Montgomery County Planning Board and is waiting on two more from the County hearing examiner and then from the County Council. The process should commence in earnest by this June, God willing, when the search for an amenable development partner begins anew.

On the boards is an eight-story residential building with 107 residences and six-story church and community center, combined for an unlikely architectural partnering.

The original plan called for separation of church and, well, community center, but concerns raised by neighbors and the hearing examiner compelled the Church to adjust its plans and marry the two uses into one 53,000 s.f. structure, reducing the size of the overall project by 25,000 s.f. The church and community center will sit next to the new residential building. Virginia-based MTFA Architecture is the project architect.

The Church project will sit on two-acres, currently occupied by a church building and attached community center, several single-family homes and a surface parking lot, all of which will be razed. All parking for the new project will be in two levels of below-grade lots.

The Church originally partnered with Bozzuto in 2006. When the hearing examiner denied the application in 2007, thereby lengthening the development process, and the economic situation took a turn for the worse in 2008, the team "reevaluated" their relationship, according to Barry Lemley, the owner's representative for the church. Lemley said the partners looked into revising the sale agreement, but when "it became apparent we still had some differences, we agreed to not renew the sale agreement" in April 2009. The break up left the church without a private development partner and Bozzuto with the right of first refusal should the project be resurrected. Lauren McDonald, Manager of Corporate Communications at Bozzuto, confirmed that the company was "actually not involved in the project anymore."

"We are not your normal developer," said Lemley, "we are not in this for profit and we brought this to market - we were not approached by Bozzuto or another developer." Lemley was optimistic that the new plans would be approved and that either Bozzuto or another developer would come to the Church about partnering on the project. Lemley said the Church wants a developer to build the core of both structures and to finish the residential project. Another developer with expertise in such structures would likely work on the interior of the new church and community center. Suggestion: talk with First Baptist in Silver Spring to see how they're doing things, but MFTA has a similar project on the boards with the Views at Clarendon.

The building will include 17 moderately-priced dwelling units.

Bethesda real estate development news

Brightwood Church Gets Mixed-Use Upgrade

With government approval now in hand, Emory United Methodist Church is beginning its designs for the Beacon Center, a mixed-use development on Georgia Avenue in Brightwood that would envelop the quasi-historic church in a cocoon of new housing. The Church (tagline: "real church for real people") will offer its residences as affordable, naturally - that being what gets built on Georgia Avenue - and should be underway by next year. The rear of Beacon's hilltop property abuts Fort Stevens and a previous iteration of the church building served as a hospital and barracks during the Civil War. The new development, designed by PGN Architects, will include 67 residential units, street-level retail and 58,000 s.f. of new church space, to include an expanded worship area, administrative offices and church-operated residential uses. Above the church offices, Beacon Center will offer two floors of "transitional" housing for families, totaling 24 units. The other residential building will sit four stories high on top of the hill, but will appear as a five-story building from the Georgia Avenue street-level retail. The 67-unit residential development will contain 34 units for seniors, 17 units set aside for veterans and 16 affordable rentals. Each floor will have a common area and a common laundry facility. Tucked beneath the residential building in the hillside will be two levels of parking for just under 100 cars, with a few bicycle racks thrown in for good measure. Sean Pichon, a Partner at PGN Architects, said design challenges such as addressing the grade of the property, preserving the "view corridors" and maintaining the affordability of the project compelled his firm to be flexible. The result? Unique features like "curved green roofs" over the retail space to create and "continue the imagery of the hillside." Though the materials are mostly affordable, PGN tried to vary the color and use a mix of materials in the wood-framed structures to "create a dynamic design" within the financial constraints of the church's budget. Pichon said the team's efforts to maintain the views from Georgia Avenue lead them to create a main entrance from a side road, Quackenbos, and to provide multiple access points to maintain the historic stairs leading up to the old church. The Beacon plan did not gain approval without its share of complications. Two Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) members recused themselves from the case, one because of personal contributions to the project, and another because he is a representative of the National Park Service (NPS), which submitted a letter in opposition. The recusals made for a more stressful zoning process: with only three board members left and a majority approval needed, there was not much wiggle room for the development team. According to Pichon, it put "a lot of pressure" on the team to get "all the support you can across the board." The NPS expressed concerns that the requested height variance, which brings the building in at over 63 feet, would obstruct views of Fort Stevens from Georgia Avenue - despite the fact that you can't see Fort Stevens from Georgia Avenue now, less'n you are two stories tall - and that the development is too close in proximity to the park property line. The community largely spoke out against the NPS objections. To make amends, the applicants suggested erecting a memorial to the Fort on site and even using some of the retail space as a souvenir shop (souvenir shops; now that will improve Georgia Avenue). The height variance along with the souvenir shop ultimately received approval. With the zoning approval in hand, Emory selected the Bozzutto Group to serve as general contractor for both pre-construction and construction. Neighbors can expect work to start by next year. 

Washington, DC real estate development news

Bozzuto Asks to Delay Mt. Vernon Development

The Bozzuto Development Company is asking DC for a two year delay on its planned residential development on New York Ave in Mt. Vernon Triangle, even as neighboring residential projects progress. Just last April Bozzuto Development Company President Toby Bozzuto told DCMud he hoped to begin construction in 2010. That now seems highly unlikely, so to be cautious the developer will go before the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) next week to request a two-year extension. The Bozzuto property will sit across from City Vista and adjacent to Yale Laundry, which just started construction on its second phase, despite ongoing sales that began in the summer of 2005. The WDG Architects-designed 13-story building at 460 New York Avenue, NW would include 87 residential units for a total of 85,555 square feet on a site currently occupied by an empty lot and two vacant, deteriorating buildings. Nothing is likely to happen soon. William McLeod of the Mount Vernon Community Improvement District told DCMud he was unaware of any updates or changes in the status of the development, and Sean Stadler, Associate Principal Designer at WDG said there had been no progress on the project since its initial zoning approval and that the developer had not begun hiring a general contractor. 

The developer originally received Zoning Commission approval in April 2008 for zoning amendments. The approval sanctioned Bozzuto's plans to move the three-story historic structure, dating from 1902, to an area zoned for smaller development while leaving the remainder of the lot for the larger residential building, which on New York Avenue will reach 130 ft in height. A ground floor fitness center (despite the Results gym at CityVista) and two levels of below grade parking will reportedly round out the development. The developer received approval in January 2008 from the HPRB to raze the two-story 1870s historic building because of the dire condition of the structure. Once the 1902 historic building is relocated on the western edge of the site, it will receive a full renovation to include 6 of the planned apartments. 

Washington, DC real estate and development news

Looking Forward at Views at Clarendon

The Bozzuto Construction Company will break ground this weekend on the Views at Clarendon, a mixed-use, mixed-income development just steps from the Clarendon Metro station. The Views at Clarendon Corporation (VCC), a joint venture between the Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing (APAH) and the First Baptist Church of Clarendon, have planned eight stories of apartment homes atop two stories of existing occupants, The Church at Clarendon and the County’s largest child daycare center. Though not without epic drama, the project is moving forward with an expected completion in 2011.

The Class A apartment community will consist of 46 market-rate apartment homes and 70 affordable apartment homes, of which 12 will be supportive housing for very low income households. The residences will be a mix of studios, one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans. The current MTFA Architecture, Inc. design is planned achieve LEED Silver status.

The project was first approved in October 2004, and was then tied up in a zoning dispute that stretched all the way to the Virginia Supreme Court. After two years, a $200,000 lawsuit, and a “technical adjustment” to the applicable zoning ordinance, the county provided salvation to the church by giving approval in February 2007.

Views at Clarendon is being co-developed by Bozzuto Development Company and Chesapeake Community Advisors. Bozzuto Construction Company is the general contractor and Bozzuto Management Company will professionally manage the community. The Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing has served as consultant to the project since its inception.

Jazzed about Florida Avenue

You've got to appreciate DC's Shaw residents. The small northwest neighborhood has seen more development projects announced - and sit idle - than any other, leaving residents in a cycling state of hope and apathy as the neighborhood talks about big plans with little effect. One such disappointment was the flea market-sporting WMATA site at 8th and Florida Avenue, awarded to a developer more than a year ago, only to sit out the ensuing financial crisis. But thanks to city and federal dollars, and a restructured partnership, that may finally change.

Banneker Ventures has announced a new partnership with Bank of America (BOA) to develop the former WMATA site into three new "affordable" apartment buildings. Banneker can now go forward with The Jazz @ Florida Avenue, designed by Silver Spring-based Torti Gallas, turning 3 separate lots into 124 apartment units above 20,000 s.f. of ground floor retail and a 61-space parking garage, all straddling WMATA's metro tunnel below. The developers have already applied for, and been granted, Tax Increment Financing (TIF) in the form of a $7m promissory note from the District. And with the District's recent receipt of $33m in stimulus money for housing, the developer has petitioned the District government to receive a portion of those funds. As a result, the apartments will be entirely below-market, open to a mix of income ranges, with the cheapest one-bedroom units to rent out at $768. Developers hope to deliver the project in late 2011.

The long path to development began in May of 2007 when the WMATA Board of Directors issued an RFP for developers to build on the site. The Board did not make its final selection, however, until June of 2008, selecting a team that included Banneker and Metropolis Development. But the latest announcement drops Metropolis from the picture in place of BOA. In addition, the formerly tiny project footprint now includes two adjacent parcels on 9th Street recently acquired by the development team. Bozzuto will serve as the general contractor for the project.

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.

A New New York for DC

Details regarding the Bozzuto Development Company's once mysterious New York Avenue project have finally surfaced. Now teamed with WDG Architects, the developer is pursuing at least one, if not two residential developments along the burgeoning Mount Vernon Triangle strip that also includes recent developments such as Yale Laundry and CityVista.

The so-called New York Avenue Apartments (let’s hope that's a placeholder) is planned to stand 13-stories tall at 460 New York Avenue, NW and include 87 residential units for a total of 85,555 square feet of new District development. The project's 9,059 square foot lot is now mainly vacant, with the exception of a non-contributing building at the intersection of New York Avenue and L Street, NW that will be demolished to make way for the project. A historic building next door to the site "that by virtue of alterations and its serious structural deficiencies has lost its integrity" will include 6 of the planned apartments and receive a full renovation.

Bozzuto Development Company President Toby Bozzuto told DCmud the company has also made tentative plans for an abandoned warehouse across the street that is also under their control.

Per the development team’s presentation to the local ANC 2C last year, WDG will utilize masonry, stone, glass, and metal for the building’s façade, along with “projecting bays” running from the third to eleventh stories. According to documentation from the developer, “The project will serve as a bridge between the historic rowhouses along 5^th Street and the new Yale Steam Laundry project.” A ground floor fitness center and two levels of below grade parking will reportedly round out the development.

Though the PUD project’s timeline has been elongated due to snags with another governing ANC (the project's location is flush to the boundary between two zones) and market declines in general, Bozzuto said it would be "terrific to start...in 2010."

Washington DC commercial real estate news

SilverPlace Splits with Developer, Forges Ahead

The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission's (M-NCPPC) new headquarters - tentatively titled SilverPlace - has incurred a few shake-ups over the past few months, but is otherwise inching toward fruition in the center of the Silver Spring Central Business District. While plans for the site have grown much more specific since DCMud last reported on the development, one major detail has done a volte face: the Montgomery Planning Board (MPB) has nixed a 2006 proposal by SilverPlace LLC that had served as the development's template until last month. A press release issued by the County stipulates that the "Planning Board and SilverPlace LLC were unable to reach agreement on key terms, such as land pricing."

In the same session that the deal was declared kaput, the MPB also clarified their intentions for a new mixed-use headquarters. First and foremost, it will be built before any proposed residential component. Secondly, it will consolidate all staff offices, whereas they currently operate no less than four buildings for the same purpose. Thirdly, it will meet the standard for LEED gold certification. Lastly, the project will eventually be mixed-use with residential and infrastructure components that mesh seamlessly with the Silver Spring suburbs surrounding the parcel at 8787 Georgia Avenue. Of most import to the development community, however, is the MPB’s plan to “reduce the public cost of the project by selling part of the property to a private developer” – a plan which is sure to irk Harrison Development, Spaulding and Slye, and Bozzuto Group, the firms behind the SilverPlace moniker. It has also been further asserted that the housing component will include a minimum of 30% affordable and AMI housing. 

Dan Hertz of the M-NCPPC told DCMud that the County is not actively seeking out proposals from other developers at this time, but will be “going to our board on December 4th and going over the timeline with them on that day. It depends on the market and our ability to make progress on the office building portion.” The project is also expected to receive a budget appropriation from the County Council in December. The MPB will be holding a Community Meeting at their current headquarters this Wednesday, November 19th at 7:30 to brief the public on the recent changes incurred during the development process. The MPB had still been acting in concert with the SilverPlace LLC as recently as June, when they jointly participated in a week-long community design workshop. Despite Silverplace LLC’s departure, the site is still expected to develop into 300 new units of housing and public park/garden featuring an array of “mature oak trees.”

Silver Spring real estate development news

Wheaton Metro Projects

Wheaton's profile has never been sufficiently distinct to stand out against its neighbors to the south, lacking a strong downtown and well defined borders. But now several teams are hoping to make area more of a destination.

Construction is well underway for Bozzuto Development and Torti Gallas and Partners' mixed-use project at the Red Line’s Wheaton Metro station. Located at 11175 Georgia Avenue in Maryland, Metro Pointe will include 2,000 s.f. of ground retail below 173 rental apartments which will be a mixture of lofts and single story units. Residents will have traditional amenities such as a business center, courtyard terraces, and a walking park, and less traditional features like direct elevator access to the Metro, an uncommon convenience in DC.

“It will be five buildings connected together, the main building on Georgia and Reedie Drive is brick with Hardipanel…When you get to Amherst drive it turns into townhouses,” said Project Manager Mark Weisner at Bozzuto. He added that Fed Ex Kinkos and a small convenience store will occupy the retail space.

While the Georgia Avenue project is underway and scheduled for completion in the third quarter of this year, Bozzuto’s other - more ambitious -project with Spaulding & Slye Investments, is still being conceived, it may soon take shape down the street where Georgia Avenue and Veirs Mill Road intersect.

Still in the planning and documentation stage, the Metro Plaza at Wheaton Square on Georgia Avenue may begin construction in the second half of next year; the mixed-use project will include over 400,000 s.f. of Class A office space, street-level retail, residential units planned as apartments, a Metro bus terminal, and parking for 500 cars. Planned at the intersection of Reedie Drive, and Veirs Mill, the project's backers expect the development to redefine Weaton's 'city center'.

The project is still not much more than a rendering (see above) - a representative at the company jokingly asked DCMud to tell them what was happening at the site - Bonstra Haresign Architects’ website says the project will have “an 11-story, 300,000 square foot commercial tower, a 10-story, 130,000 square foot residential building, 10,000 square feet of ground floor retail along Georgia Avenue, and 5 levels of above-grade structured parking.”

The project will have access to the Metro tunnel under Georgia Avenue on the north side of the site and to a pedestrian bridge at the west side of the site.

As Bill Bonstra said to DCMud in January, “Georgia Avenue is an unbelievable mix of land use... And the Wheaton area is coming in right on the coattails of the revitalization of Silver Spring. It was only a matter of time for development to move north as it had done from the west.” How much time, we just can't say.

Wheaton Maryland real estate development news