Zoning Considers Long-Awaited Plan for Michigan Ave and Iriving St NE

If all goes well, Marriott will team with a developer to replace a parking lot with a 314 room hotel at the intersection of Irving St. and Michigan Avenue, NE, adding a gym or grocery store, fixing the dearth of retail nearby, and adding much-needed services and improving the look of the intersection. That's the developer's pitch, anyway. This and adjacent parcels, boxed in by Catholic University, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Washington Hospital Center, and Trinity University, have long gotten the notice of developers for its large stable workforce and lack of services and housing.

Local partner H Street Community Development Corporation and planners from WDG Architecture and Mariani Architects met before the Board of Zoning Adjustment last night to consider Conference Center Associates I, LLC's consolidated PUD for Parcel 121/31 in Brookland. The developers are seeking to change the unzoned property to a C-3-A zone. The project also includes a commitment from Marriott International.

Phase 1 of the proposed two-stage PUD consists of a 314 room suite hotel and conference center as well as a four-story above-grade structure with 20,000 sq. ft. of retail space at- and below-ground, and approximately 400 parking spaces on the upper levels.

While the zoning commission raised points on traffic flow (planned left turn access to retail from eastbound Michigan Avenue - an issue raised by DDOT in a report submitted to the zoning commission), and the likelihood of successful retail on the below-grade site, comments were overall positive.

Commissioner Peter May noted the problems with duality of the street as both a parkway and retail center, it "feels high speed." His comments highlighted concerns raised by several Commissioners over allowing left turns from eastbound Michigan Avenue. DDOT's representative indicated that the agency had initially sought to restrict access from Michigan Avenue and felt they offered a "reasonable compromise" with their "right-in, right-out" traffic plan. DDOT conceded that a left turn on streets he compared to an "interstate freeway" were "not completely impossible," but the safer option was the right-in, right-out traffic pattern supported by signage and potentially an island at the entrance.

Retail Concerns
Commissioner Konrad Schlater said about the project that he knew "it had been on the drawing board for a long, long time" but that with Marriott as a partner it had a "high likelihood of success." Schlater proceeded to express the commission's skepticism that a grocery store would be willing to accept sub-grade space. The Ward 5 ANC has been supportive of the project largely because of the need for retail in the area. Robert Reinders, of Marriott International, said a small grocery (like Trader Joes) "makes sense," but there could be no guarantees. Sean Stadler of WDG Architecture acknowledged that, "getting a retail tenant is sometimes challenging these days." Uh, yeah, we've read that somewhere before. Another option for the space would be a Health Club, something the nearby Washington Hospital Center favors because, according to Reinders, they currently have no on-site facilities for their more than 14,000 employees.

Local ANC members Ronnie Edwards, Commissioner for ANC5C-11, and Anita Bonds, Commissioner for ANC5C-01, both praised the project team for their work with the community, specifically the ANCs. And as part of the love-thy-neighbor quid pro quo, Marriott will provide "community benefits," in the form of meeting space for Ward 5 ANC throughout the year. (Note to other developers: pay attention here)

The marching orders were given to continue a dialogue with DDOT on the traffic concerns, to find a more physically appealing design for the parking garage, develop an alternative layout for the hotel's pent house suite because of concerns over the height, and to resolve issues raised by a report on the current trees on the property.

The next Zoning Commission hearing on this project is scheduled for July 27.

Renderings provided by WDG Architecture

DC Scouts $1.2 Billion in New Development for Rhode Island Avenue

"Think of Rhode Island Avenue NE as a 'diamond' - a largely un-mined yet valuable investment opportunity."

So begins the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development's (ODMPED) Draft Rhode Island Avenue NE Economic Development Plan. Focusing on corridor's three-mile stretch through Northeast Washington, the report recommends "over $1.2 billion in new investments in housing, retail, office and public art" over the next 16 years for the surrounding communities of Brentwood, Brookland, Eckington, Edgewood, Langdon and Woodridge.

Developed under the auspices of the Mayor's Great Streets Initiative with contributions from everyone from the three local ANC 5 commissions to WMATA to the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, among many, many others, the "diamond" draft hopes to realize more than 3,000 new residential units, almost 600,000 square feet of office space and over 500,000 square feet of retail along Rhode Island Avenue by 2025 – the earliest of which could deliver by 2011. In doing so, they hope to lure residents and shoppers back from surrounding counties, in order “to capture a portion of the $1 billion in retail sales revenues (and jobs) lost each year to other jurisdictions.”

As such, the plan highlights several promising projects already in the pipeline for the corridor, though delayed “until further change in the economic market”: Mid-City Urban and A&R Development’s mixed-use, 274-unit Rhode Island Station project; the H Street CDC’s 170-unit Rhode Island Avenue Gateway; and, lastly, Republic Land’s 257-unit Brookland Square development (pictured). In total, ODMPED states there are “as many as 14 residential development projects planned or proposed…[that could] include over 13,000 residential units combined.”

Beyond merely underlining Rhode Island Avenue’s Grade-A potential for mixed-use development, the draft plan also delves into suggestions for sustainable building practices, public art installations, small business development, job creation, safety improvements and smart growth transit options – the latter of which includes a proposal for new MARC station at Eastern Avenue and Wells Street on the Prince George’s County border near Mount Rainier (though previously suggested alternatives, like a Rhode Island Avenue street car line, rapid bus transit service, or extension of Metro’s Yellow Line are no longer being considered at this time.)

As the “diamond” draft is broken down into four distinct sub-areas - 3rd to 12th Streets NE, 12th to 18th Streets NE, 18th Street to South Dakota Avenue, NE and South Dakota to Eastern Avenue, NE – residents are encouraged to peruse the recommendations made for their specific neighborhoods and submit comments to Great Streets Coordinator, Derrick Woody. ODMPED will hold an open forum to discuss the plan during the week of September 7th “to formally receive any other comments on the plan before it is finalized.”

This is the second such draft plan released by the Deputy's Mayor's office in as many months; in early May, they posted their proposed plans for redeveloping the Florida Avenue Market into "vibrant, mixed-use neighborhood."

Casey Trees Branching Out in Brookland

Local not-for-profit environmental organization, Casey Trees, has acquired the site of a former gas station, located at 3015 12^th Street NE, in Brookland. In the coming weeks, the garage on the site will be razed to make way for a 10,000 square foot "mini-nursery" and tree holding site that will be used as a staging area for Casey Tree's Community Tree Planting initiative, which - in cooperation with the DC Department of the Environment - aims to plant 13,500 new trees by 2014. The 7-year-old organization previously planted 1400 trees throughout the District in 2007 alone.

The gas station acquisition, however, is a mere footnote compared to Casey Tree's plans across the street. As was announced in December of last year, the organization will be moving from their old K Street headquarters to a 14,000 square foot facility at 3030 12^th Street, NE - following a dramatic renovation and expansion of the latter site.

The 3030 site was purchased from residential developer Taurus Enterprise Group Inc. for $1.95 million late last year. By spring 2009, Casey Trees plans to have a 3-story, 10,000 square addition in place that will accommodate a staff that they intend to nearly double over the next decade. SmithGroup - whose motto, coincidentally, is “tree-hugging optional” - is being charged with the redesign and plans to incorporate – no shock here - as many green features as possible into the building. Casey organizers plan on using their new $4 million headquarters to “put down roots” (seriously) in an area notoriously free of green streetscapes and, hopefully, inspire neighbors as Brookland itself undergoes significant redevelopment of its’ own.

Casey Trees is currently operating out of temporary headquarters on 11^th Street, NW. Their planting program just received a major donation from American Express that will go toward 30 planting projects from November to May 2009. Public proposals for projects funded by the recently acquired cash are due by November 30 – just short of spring planting.

Washington DC real estate and retail news

Big Plans for Brookland

After an 18-month dialogue between various city agencies and community organizations, the District of Columbia's Office of Planning yesterday unveiled their final draft of their Brookland/CUA Metro Small Area Plan. Written with the express "purpose of guiding the growth, development and revitalization of underutilized areas within in a quarter mile, or ten-minute walk, of the Metro Station," this is the public's first glimpse into city's development bible for the predominantly residential neighborhood surrounding Catholic University. The areas that fall into the "underutilized" category include whole swaths of Monroe Street, 12^th Street and the commercial areas that border Perry Street to the North and Kearny Street to the South. Using the ever-increasing cost of transportation to their advantage, the Plan cleverly devises using increased foot traffic to the Brookland/CUA Metro Station as a means to draw residents to their planned “new mixed-use transit-oriented civic core”: 200-250 new residential units, 30,000-35,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space and approximately 250 parking spaces.

Additionally, the Plan foresees the integration of the 168-year-old Brooks Mansion and its grounds into the “reestablished street fabric” of Brookland, in order to accentuate underutilized civic and green spaces. Residents can also look forward to additional bus lines and new Metro portals in their area.

While the blocks immediately surrounding the Metro will be the most directly affected by the changes, Monroe Street, “the primary gateway and connector between the East and West sides of Brookland,” will be specifically targeted for extensive redevelopment. One component of the proposed overhaul includes its conversion into “a tree-lined mixed-use street with neighborhood-serving retail, restaurants, arts and cultural uses on the ground floor, and residential above.” The conversion of Monroe into Brookland’s main drag will also include a massive addition of between 750-900 residential units, 100,000 square feet of retail space and up to 850 new parking spaces. The same expansive strategy – albeit on a smaller scale – is also in play for 12^th Street and the aforementioned commercial enclaves north and south of the station. Beyond purely commercial endeavors, the Plan also makes several recommendations for making Brookland a cultural draw. These include the establishment of a Brookland Arts/Cultural District that would offer incentives to local organizations, such as Dance Place and the DC Film Alliance, for their participation. At this preliminary stage, no developers or retailers have laid claim to the Brookland project and no firm timeline has been established for redevelopment efforts. With the Plan’s proposal for extensive restructuring of the neighborhood's basic infrastructure – from extending key roadways to altering traffic light times - it’s a safe bet that any proposed construction should be considered “coming soon” until further notice.

Washington DC commercial real estate news

Brookland/CUA Metro Station

The DC Office of Planning is working to complete the final draft of a plan for the redevelopment of the Brookland/CUA Metro Station and surrounding area. The OP began a study of the neighborhoods around the metro station in the fall of 2006 and said the neighborhood had been "rediscovered as a desirable place to live, work, and play" and that the neighborhood was under redevelopment pressure. With the help of Smith Group Urban Planners, the city has now divided the site into sub-areas, each with its own outline of what the community would like to see. The OP's role is to make recommendations for height, density and land usage based on neighborhood feedback.

While a final group of developers for has not yet been determined, Catholic University will be involved in the process, and WMATA will select a developer for the land included in their metro station. There is also speculation that Douglas Development will be involved. CUA, WMATA, and Douglas Development are the primary land owners and the organizations that worked with the city on the Small Area Plan.

Plans at this point remain in flux, but the OP is releasing first drafts of what the public can expect. “Our next step is the final draft. We have an outline based on community input, developers can follow it, but they don’t have to. They can develop the land by right based on zoning or submit a PUD,” said Deborah Crain, Ward 5 Planner.

According to the Executive Summary recently released, “The overall concept for the Brookland/ CUA Metro Station Area Plan proposes a neighborhood civic core and arts infrastructure surrounded by transit-oriented mixed-use development at the Metro Station, along Monroe Street, in areas along the railroad tracks north and south of the Metro Station, along a strengthened and revitalized 12th Street, Brookland’s historic Main Street.”

The plans break the area into five subdivided zones, each with its own development agenda. Below are the five areas being developed:

The Metro Station: The plan envisions a transit-oriented mixed-use development at the metro station, with 200 to 250 residential units, 30-35,000 s.f. of retail or residential space, over 200 below-grade parking spaces, and six-story buildings. This area, which is about 4-acres, will include the extension of Otis, Newton, and 9th Streets, a Kiss and Ride with short-term parking along 9th and Newton Streets, and single family residential space along 10th Street. Metro station entries would be relocated along Newton Street and public spaces for community gatherings and farmers’ markets would also be included.



Monroe Street would be featured as a “tree-lined urban street with retail, residential, and cultural uses connecting Brookland from east to west.” There would be over 700 residential units, over 80,000 s.f. of retail, restaurant, and cultural space, 650-850 below-grade parking spaces, and green space at the historic Brooks Mansion. CUA recently selected Abdo Development to develop their 9-acre South Campus on either side of Monroe Street between Michigan Avenue and the Metro. According to Toby Millman at Abdo, they are starting the PUD process.



12th Street would be revitalized as a Historic Main Street with retail, residential, and office space, and improved connectivity to the metro station along Monroe and Newton Streets. There would also be infill opportunities between Monroe and Randolph Streets, and South of Monroe Street.



The Commercial Area North of the Metro Station was outlined as a new residential and office area including 400-500 residential units in the form of condominiums, apartments, and townhouses. Neighbors would like to see 20,000 s.f. of office space and over 200 below-grade parking spaces.




The Commercial Area South of the Metro Station would include 150-200 residential units mixed with cultural uses and only 75-100 below-grade parking spaces. The Metropolitan Branch Trail would be integrated along 8th Street.

Bad News for Brookland Condos

Brookland Square, formerly known as 1300 Rhode Island Avenue, will now go forward as an apartment building. The 326-unit condo project was initially approved as such back in 2006, but Columbia General Rhode Island, LLC and Republic Land Development sent a letter to the Board of Zoning Adjustment on March 4th requesting modification of the approved plans, to switch the condo to a rental building. In a BZA order dated Tuesday, the Board approved the modifications.

"The Applicant contends that it has spent a considerable amount of time attempting to reduce construction costs and improve the economics of the project, particularly given the very difficult economy and housing market," the approving order stated.

BZA, obviously no Pollyanna when it comes to the economy or housing market, stated gloomily "Because the condominium market in the District of Columbia (and nationwide) has stalled and is predicted to not recover for several years, and the economy, and in particular the credit markets, has dropped to recession or near-recession levels, the Applicant has been forced to redesign the project and convert it from a condominium to a rental apartment building and to undertake numerous and significant cost-cutting efforts in order to reduce construction costs and make the units affordable to the rental market."

Developers will re-work the design plans to meet the needs of an apartment building, including reducing the size of the units and adding two units per floor, for an overall increase of 10. Each of the fourth-floor private rooftop terraces have been eliminated; alas, doing away with the need for the spiral staircases leading up to them. Finally, an on-site leasing and management office will be added to the ground floor, reducing the size of the ground-floor residential units.

Eric Colbert Architects is the designing the building while Republic irons out the project's financing - a groundbreaking date is anticipated by the third quarter of this year.

Brookland Eyes 10 Acres of Development at St. Paul's

St. Paul's College, located between 4th St. and the Metro tracks in Brookland, is subdividing its 20-acre campus and has contracted with EYA to purchase and develop half of the property into 250 single-family townhouses. The college says it will monitor the $50 million project to ensure that the design vision of the college is realized through EYA's efforts.

The property, abutting the Trinity and Catholic campuses along 5th and 6th Streets, will be fed by extensions of Jackson and Hamlin Streets, and will house three and four story town-homes of two distinct design styles: a minority of the structures will feature gothic architecture matching the existing college building, while a vast majority are said to be in keeping with the design features reminiscent of the surrounding Brookland neighborhood. About 10% of the housing will be devoted to low-income households. Along with the homes, EYA has discussed constructing sidewalks along existing streets as well as building passive parks and courtyards to beautify the residential landscape.

The next step for EYA and the Paulist leadership is to appear before the entire ANC commission towards the end of this year. ANC 5C representative Silas Grant has met with the members of the community multiple times, but according to sources close to the process some people within the community feel that the construction and heightened traffic density could cause problems. Still, others see the single family homes has having a positive effect on property values for the community as a whole.

The P.U.D. was submitted in September and if all goes as planned it should be ratified late in 2008, putting EYA on schedule to break ground in the first quarter of 2009. Once the P.U.D. is approved, EYA will open up the bidding to contractors, although the Virginia based Lessard Group has already been chosen as the acting design architect and VIKA Inc., located in Maryland, has been designated as the project engineer.

Washington DC real estate development news

1300 Rhode Island - New Name, New Birthday

The developer of Brookland's next residential project have announced they will break ground next spring. The project, formerly known simply as 1300 Rhode Island Avenue, is also being re-christened Brookland Square. Republic Land Development plans to build the 350,000-s.f. structure for an estimated $75 million, with aspirations for it to serve the new residential center for Brookland, located only 2 blocks from the Rhode Island Avenue Metro station and a developing retail sector.

The name change comports with physical location: the actual development site resides on 2711 13th Street NE - not Rhode Island Avenue. Brookland Square is being managed by Republic Land Development, the developers behind Georgetown Park and Washington Harbour. Eric Colbert & Associates is designing the structure and Harkins Construction tentatively holds the contract to build.

List Narrowed to Four Developers for Catholic U. Mixed-Use Project

Catholic University has shortened its list of potential developers for its planned mixed-use residential/retail complex to four companies, and hopes to have the winner selected by this June, according to the Washington Business Journal. The targeted site is an eight-acre area in the South Campus, below Michigan Avenue NE, just west of the Brookland Metro station, now occupied by three student residence halls (Spalding, Spellman and Conaty Halls), St. Bonaventure Hall, and empty lots now used by the Brookland farmers’ market (the halls will be razed and new halls will be located on the main campus for students). The four shortlisted developers are EYA, Monument Realty, Trammell Crow, and Abdo Development. Catholic hopes this private development will revitalize Michigan Avenue NE and the area around the metro stop, and well as generate revenue for the school.