AvalonBay Plans Apartment Building Near H Street Corridor

AvalonBay, a Ballston based corporation that as been augmenting its apartment portfolio throughout the greater Washington DC area, is under contract to purchase and develop nearly a full block just off the H Street corridor. Jonathan B. Cox, Senior Vice President of Development of AvalonBay, confirms that 318 I Street, NE, is currently under contract with the plan of building 140 rental apartments, with ambitions to break ground by the year's end. The site is just one block north of the spot where Steuart Investment Co. has announced plans to build a Giant grocery store and 215 apartments.
Although the size is modest, paired with Steuart's building the added density could help develop viable retail for H Street's western end, which has been stagnant compared to the Atlast District at the opposite end. "We really like the H Street Market," said Cox. "We are investing in it because we think its unique enough to separate from NoMa." The space will only house residential space. "We don't believe retail is viable in this location on I Street," said Cox.

The developer has chosen an architect but remains mum about the plans for now. What we do know: "It's not a typical D.C. architect," said Cox. "I think it'll be more contemporary and a more unique architectural style than what's now on the market." AvalonBay has also been buying and building, including the Avalon Park Crest, a 354-unit building planned for Tysons with construction to start later this year.

318 I Street NE, which AvalonBay will acquire by a lender sale, had been owned by Broadway Development, but had gone into foreclosure in 2009, around the same time Broadway lost Senate Square next door. The lender acquired the property in July of 2009 for $1.69 million. The space currently houses the vacant site of Uptown Baker, eight underground gasoline storage tanks were removed from the property in 2005.

Washington, D.C. real estate development news

Mt. Vernon's Dumont Sells for $167 Million

Today, the lagging and tangled fate of the Dumont was finally sealed, when Equity Residential acquired the property in a $167 million, all-cash transaction. The Dumont has sat at 425 Massachusetts Ave complete and vacant since the building was substantially completed in early 2009. Equity will be leasing the Dumont's 559 units as rental apartments, though the building was originally intended as condos.

Designed by Esocoff & Associates, the Dumont's sob story escalated in December 2008 when lender PB Capital issued a foreclosure to then-developer The Broadway Group, which had defaulted on the debt. Real estate sales by McWilliams Ballard began in April of 2006 and ended in September of 2008 with only about 150 of the 559 units sold; the project has largely sat vacant since that time.

Washington, DC real estate development news

Senate Square Sold At Auction

The 432-unit Senate Square apartment building on the 200 block of I Street, NE, sold this afternoon at auction for more than $121,000,000 to its "mezz" lender. The sole bidder, VII I Street Mezz Lender, LLC (the "Secured Party") nodded at the opening bid of $1 million, which had to be paid on top of the outstanding $120 million note plus accrued mortgage interest and fees. VII I Street Mezz Lender, LLC was listed as a mezzanine lender on the property in the auction notice. The bid was the only one placed on the troubled property. Developed by New York-based Broadway Development and designed by architect Philip Esocoff, the property went into receivership in October 2009 after an aborted attempt at condo sales and a slow start at leasing.

Attorney for the secured party, Stephen Meister of the New York-based firm Meister Seelig & Fein, LLP, indicated he was uncertain how the purchase would affect management of the building.

Washington, DC real estate development news

Senate Square to be Auctioned

The 432-unit Senate Square apartment building on the 200 block of I Street, NE is headed to auction on February 23rd. Senate Square was developed by New York-based Broadway Development Company and designed by architect Philip Esocoff. The property went into receivership in October 2009.

The two 12-story towers began sales as condos in September of 2005, but in 2007 converted to apartments when only 150 units went under contract. Since that time, the developer had fallen behind on mortgage payments to lender Goldman Sachs, and last October, California- based Douglas P. Wilson Companies was appointed as Receiver for Senate Square, requiring them to act as the developer on behalf of the court. On December 11, 2009, Goldman Sachs sold the note to Westbrook of New York. According to a representative of the Receiver, the project is currently 85% leased, more than 2 years after offering the building for lease, and that the new ownership is not likely to affect management or operation of Senate Square as an apartment building.

Senate Square was cleaved off from Abdo Development's Landmark Lofts condo project, which purchased site of the former Children's Museum for development; the two share a central amenities building. The auction will be held at 10am, February 23rd, at the auction house of Alex Cooper.

Washington, DC real estate development news

Senate Square Apartments

Senate Square Apartments, 201 I St., NE, Washington DC
Senate Square Towers are part of the redevelopment of the old Children's Museum site. The museum itself was turned into a condominium, the remaining land was sold to Broadway Development of New York. Broadway and architect Esocoff and Associates designed and built the 432-unit pair of towers, completing in late 2007. While under construction, the developer attempted to sell the project as condos, but with prices as low as $410 per square foot, only 150 sold, all of which were then canceled when the project converted to apartments for rent.

Senate Square Towers - the Lexington and Concord - are 12-stories each are masonry structures with metal windows and precast concrete and stone trim, and feature an 80' rooftop pool and sizable fitness center. Within walking distance of Union Station, the Metro, and the Capitol, Senate Square towers also share a common amenity space with Landmark Lofts - a historic building in the central courtyard that serves as a business and conference center. H Street is also supposed to have streetcar service, but that remains an elusive goal. Bozzutto Management began leasing the apartment building in 2007, but leasing rates were initially very slow until prices were lowered and incentives given. In 2009, Broadway lost control of the project for lack of payment; the building will be auctioned February 22, 2010.

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Progress on Stalled Dumont

Mt. Vernon Triangle's DuMont Condominium's 559 units at 401 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, have sat lonely and vacant since the project was substantially completed a year ago. Lender PB Capital issued a foreclosure notice in December when the developer, The Broadway Group, failed to secure enough deposits to meet the lender's demand. Mt. Vernon blog The Triangle first reported resolution in the form of a sale to Ideal Realty Group (IRG), which specializes in multifamily and distressed/bank owned properties.

The IRG website lists the 559-units at the Dumont as "under agreement." According to one commenter on the Triangle, at a Mount Vernon Square Neighborhood Association meeting, Bill McLeod of the Mount Vernon Business Improvement District (MVBID) confirmed the sale. You can bet all those new tenants (whether owners or renters) and the potential for retail would be welcome news to the MVBID.

No one at IRG was available or willing to comment or confirm the sale. While there is currently no sale recorded, the September 18th release of a mechanics lien is further evidence of a deal. A representative at Custom Glass Services Inc. was unwilling to comment about any sale agreement, but confirmed the company had a lien on the property that was resolved through a payment from the general contractor, James G. Davis Construction Corporation.

It is unclear if the Dumont, designed by Esocoff & Associates as condominiums, would be sold as such or rented as apartments.

Arbor Place: A Pulse Detected

Abdo Development's Arbor Place project, an unusually large outer New York Avenue project which received initial approval in February 2007, is back on the boards. At a hearing before Washington DC's Zoning Commission on July 30, 2009, Abdo asked for consolidated approval of a Planned Unit Development (PUD) and related zoning map amendment from C-M-1 to CR Zone district for the same land. In a move that clearly reflects the financing constraints many developers are facing, Abdo has significantly downsized the planned development and is working with DC to subsidize the first phase of construction (at least). The new Arbor Place is a planned mixed-use community on the colossal 17-acre triangle bordering New York Avenue, Bladensburg Road, and Montana Avenue, NE, (click on map, above) a section of real estate now dominated by warehouses and dilapidated commercial buildings. 

The site counts the opposite National Arboretum as an advantage, but sits on a challenged stretch of New York Avenue sometimes referred to impolitely as "the Devil's bowling alley" for its lengthy sameness, segregated by the CSX lines that run adjacent. The project will also include three new internal roads. The original PUD called for approximately 3,500 residential units, 148,120 sf of retail for lease, 4,294 parking spaces, one acre of open space and an overall floor area ratio (FAR) of 4.98. The drastically smaller new plan offers approximately 1,400 residential units, 1,254 parking spaces, 69,883 sf of retail for lease, 2.71 acres of open space and a less dense FAR of 2.46. In Commission filings, the developers admit "the new application reflects changes to market conditions." Most notably, the new filing changes the subsidized portion of the project from a mere 8% of units to 70% of units. About 25% of those units will now be available to residents at 80% AMI (Area Median Income) or below, and another third would be available to low-income households earning 60% AMI or less, and in some cases 50% AMI or less. The remaining 30% would be market rate. In their pre-hearing submission, the applicants, which still includes New York City-based Broadway Development, claim the "affordable housing component is the PUD's most significant project amenity and public benefit," a fact which underscores the removal of several project amenities, such as expansion of a local recreational facility and on-site health club. 

The affordable housing provision is now the subject of substantial negotiations over workforce housing programs between Abdo and the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DPMED). The developers will "utilize a combination of direct subsidy and tax incentives to finance and construct the initial phases" of Arbor Place. These financing programs determine the distribution of affordable units in the PUD. Phase I, set to begin approximately two years after PUD approval, will start with two buildings that run along New York Ave. and part of Montana Ave. Every unit in Phase I will be available only to households at or below 60% AMI. Phase II's five buildings run along Montana Ave, New York Ave, part of Bladensburg Rd. and new internal roads. This phase provides 20% of units at 50% AMI and the remaining at market-rate, which the developer intends to price at a level generally affordable to an 80% AMI level. Phase III's three buildings run along Montana Ave and Bladensburg Rd and will be entirely market-rate, which the developer anticipates will generally priced equivalent to workforce housing. The developers expect Phase III to be ready 15 years from the Zoning Commission Order.

Arboretum Neighborhood Association President, Bleik Pickett, submitted a letter to the Commission expressing overall support, but with several key concerns. The original PUD had included a commitment to support and expand the local recreation center, and plans for a health club as one of the retail facilities. Neither offer exists in the new PUD application and residents are concerned about the influx of people without the necessary neighborhood resources to handle it. The letter mentioned that Abdo had expressed interest in a public-private partnership to provide resources for the community, and which it wanted reinstated. 

The Architect and Master Planner for the project is Maurice Walters; Torti Gallas and Jyh-Mei Lee, AIA (Abdo's in-house architect) are project architects. Additionally, Shalom Baranes Architects and Bradley Site Design are the landscape architects. The watercolor renderings were done by ArchiBIM, Inc. The Zoning Commission approved the consolidated PUD application and the Zoning amendments, and has now submitted its recommendation to the National Capitol Planning Commission (NCPC) for review. The NCPC will review the application and send a report back to the Zoning Commission. A final hearing before the Zoning Commission is scheduled for September 14th. Barring any bureaucratic hi-jinx, the application would then be approved. The guidelines for PUDs mandate that the developer has up to two year after approval to apply for a construction permit and an additional year after that to begin construction. If the two year or three year deadlines are not met, the PUD becomes void. The original PUD application is now void, due to the alterations and the above described time lapse. Assuming the Zoning Commission approves the new PUD application on September 14th, 2009, Abdo will have two years from that date to apply for a construction permit and an additional year to begin construction.

Washington DC retail and commercial real estate news

Senate Square Closes Sales

Broadway's ambitious Senate Square Towers project, which closed its sales office doors last month vowing to reopen in a few weeks, has quietly revealed that it will cease to sell condominiums in its 432-unit project, and will now finalize the construction to turn the project into a "luxury" apartment building. The 12-story towers at 201 I Street began sales in September of 2005, but as of the date of closure had no more than 150 units under contract, and was at least 6 months behind schedule for project completion. The first settlements had been anticipated to take place in November.

As the first residential project on H Street, NE, the New York-based developer had faced the daunting hurdles of selling a "luxury" building in a scrappy, low-density location that had yet to feel the effects of revitalization now taking place, just as the condo market was beginning to wane. Broadway eventually hired Shvo, a Manhattan-based condo marketing firm, to bolster the marketing efforts of McLean-based Mayhood, but sales remained lackluster, inevitably forcing prices down. Speculation had long pointed toward the project converting to a rental apartment building, and the developer had entertained offers to sell the entire project, and has now quietly changed its website to reflect its new status. And while other residential projects queue to break ground in the immediate neighborhood, Senate Square joins a long and well documented list of projects that could not garner sufficient selling prices to justify construction, turning instead to the fast-growing rental market, taking yet another whack at the shrinking supply of condos.

Senate Square Closes Sales Office, Temporarily

After months on the gossip wagon (whatever that even is), the Towers at Senate Square will be closing its offices - at least temporarily. According to the sales office, Broadway's ambitious development - 432 condominiums in two 12-story towers - has paused with the closing of the sales office, effective today. New York-based Broadway began selling the units in September of 2005, and had reportedly sold about 150 market rate units before making the decision to take them off the shelf to evaluate "refinancing" of the project. Sales had been "temporarily halted" weeks ago when the developer paused sales in order to 'adjust its pricing'; upward, they have been saying, but kept the sales office open, now the sales office will remain closed until September 24, according to the sales staff. Broadway had been accepting but not ratifying contracts in the interim, leading to speculation that the project would change in scope. The pair of buildings are expected to complete in November.

The Towers, located adjacent to the Amtrak line on H Street, has been offering no shortage of amenities, including an 80' rooftop lap pool, green roofs, running track, and concierge, all within a gated community. Broadway has been one of the few residential pioneers on the booming corridor, but numerous residential and commercial projects are in the offing on H Street, which itself will be eclipsed by the volume of construction immediately to the north and west in NoMa.

DC Zoning Approves Abdo’s Newly Named "Arbor Place" New York Avenue Project

Abdo Development’s massive plan to develop 17 acres of auto lots and underutilized space at the intersection of New York Avenue, Bladensburg Road, and Montana Avenue NE took a significant step forward in mid-February, when the DC Zoning Commission gave its stamp of approval to the company’s $1.1 billion residential mixed-use planned unit development proposal.

Abdo (with partner Broadway Management), envisions building at new town center called "Arbor Place" (so named after the nearby National Arboretum), which will include eight 11-story residential towers (some possibly with rooftop swimming pools) containing approximately 3,600 residential units (mainly condos, with some rentals possible), plus 130,000 sf of retail facing new York Avenue, a grocery store, and the 42,000-sf "Arbor Club" health club/day car center open to public membership - all surrounding a three-acre park. Pricing is expected to be in the $450 to $475 per sf range, with about eight percent of the housing reserved as affordable housing. Abdo is currently working with WMATA to get a bus stop at the development, but will also provide a shuttle to the nearby Rhode Island metro station.

The developer plans to finish acquiring all the land by June 2007, with demolition starting in mid-2008. If all goes on schedule, the residential buildings will be ready for occupancy in late 2010.

Note: We know, we know - you all want pictures and designs. As soon as we get our hands on some, we will be sure to put them up!