Two Megabuildings Downtown in Pipeline for Gould

On the edge of Mount Vernon Square, where some of the last vacant lots in the downtown core still exist, plans for more office buildings are heating up.  One developer with a stake in the zone is Gould Property Company.  Gould has plans to build two oversized office buildings - a 380,000 s.f. office building at 600 Massachusetts Avenue and a 620,000 s.f. office building at 900 New York Avenue.  While both await tenants before construction will begin, sources say designs are done and waiting on the right tenant.

Gould Property's 600 Mass Ave. - Rendering courtesy CORE

Gould's "Z"-shaped parcel - nearly half the block at the corner of 6th Street and Massachusetts Avenue, was designed by Core Architecture + Design, also architect on the completed Gould project Market Square North.  The building's plan calls for 10 floors with ground floor retail.  In 2006, the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) first gave approval to the developer's concept to move two row houses it owns, 621 and 623 Eye Street, built in 1852, next to a cluster of other row houses on the southeast corner of the lot.  It also approved Gould's plans to demolish a row house at 627 Eye St. to make way for the building, and demolition has already taken place.  After the HPRB put its stamp on the demolition, a Mayor's Agent gave a final necessary nod to the plan in 2007.

Gould Property's 600 Mass Ave. - Rendering courtesy CORE

The design has also passed the Chinatown design review process necessary for buildings in the neighborhood.  "It is a very unique building because it is unlike most of Washington, DC where you basically feel like it is a box," Ron Ngiam, senior project designer with CORE, told DCMud.  With the site shaped like a "Z", architects also worked to meet the challenge of designing a building to fit a unique site.  The zoning of the site prevented a boxy, full, 10-floor building, so architects created a series of terraces.  "We were able to carve quite a bit of light and air into the building and produced a whole series of green roofs," Ngiam said.

"Instead of filling in the property with a box, we were able to do something architecturally interesting." Ngiam also said the building's setback on Eye St. respects the scale of that streetscape.  "We are quite excited about the project," he told DCMud.

600 Mass Ave. - Eye St. Frontage - Rendering courtesy CORE

The 600 Mass Ave project is not the only building in the pipeline for Gould.  The developer is also behind plans to develop a portion of the old Convention Center Site at 900 New York Ave.  The building is part of an $850 million dollar mixed-use CityCenterDC which started construction last year.  Hines and Archstone are developing most of the CityCenterDC master plan, which calls for condos, office buildings, apartments, and retail, replacing the 10 acres that were left empty after demolition of the old convention center in 2004.

For CityCenterDC, Gould is planning a 12-story building designed by Pickard Chilton Architects.  The design includes a center atrium that reaches the full height of the building's 12 floors.  The atrium is covered with a "unique free standing" glass roof supported by v-shaped columns.  Renderings also call for lushly planted rooftop terraces, nine-foot ceilings, and ground floor retail.

900 New York Ave. - Rendering Pickard Chilton website

Gould, run by real estate scion Kingdon Gould, obtained the site from the city in exchange for a parcel it owned 9th Street NW, which the city needed to make room for a 1,175 room Marriott Marquis through a 99-year lease agreement.

Gould is also behind plans with Vornado Realty for a massive redevelopment of Rosslyn Plaza that would replace six buildings with four new ones to include hundreds of new residential units, as well as hotel space. 

900 New York Ave. - Rendering Pickard Chilton website

At both 900 New York Avenue and 600 Massachusetts Avenue, the developer has the approvals needed to start, according to the Downtown DC Business Improvement District (BID).  Now all the projects need are good tenants.

Arlandria Redevelopment Gains Momentum

The proposed redevelopment of Mt. Vernon Village Center in Arlandria cleared a crucial hurdle last week, gaining approval from the Alexandria City Council by a vote of 6-1, despite some expected objections from the community.

Arlandria Center will be a 600,000 square foot pedestrian-friendly mixed-use complex replacing the sixty-year-old storefronts-and-surface parking strip mall along Mount Vernon Avenue. Plans call for two massive C-shaped buildings, placed back to back, with retail space on the ground level to go with 478 apartments – 28 of which will be earmarked as "lower-income affordable housing” (60% of area median income, locked in for thirty years), and the rest offered at market value. The two retail anchors at Mt. Vernon Village Center, CVS and MOM's Organic Market, have agreed to stay, and their relocation is being accommodated by a phased construction.

The new complex also slightly increases the amount of retail space, to just over fifty three thousand square feet, and relocates parking underground. The project, designed by Guy Martin at CORE Architects, also aims to increase access to Four Mile Run Park, which is currently blocked off by the current structures. The new Mt. Vernon Village Center incorporates two “green fingers” - clear sight lines that provide park views from the Avenue – as well as pedestrian walkways and bike paths, and a no-vehicles pedestrian esplanade in the rear.

“The architecture is one of the things we're particularly excited about,” said Gwen Wright, Development Division Chief in the Alexandria Department of Planning. “There are lots of plane changes in the facade, breaking it up into smaller pieces, good transitions along Mt. Vernon Avenue and along Bruce Street. It also has great connections to the park – some units have entrances right onto the park. Overall, it's very contemporary – lots of glass, stone, and brick, very exciting. We'd like to see the area revitalized, with more focus on the arts. The Birchmere is already there, so there's a real opportunity to see Arlandria move in that direction.”

Like a lot of planners in the region, Wright hopes that Arlandria's rise will parallel the blossoming of certain neighborhoods in the District “A lot of this reminds me of U Street,” says Wright. “U Street and 14th Street.”

Protests centered on what some considered the meager number of units set aside for affordable housing, as well as the income requirement. Others worried that the whitewashing was already underway, as the immigrant-heavy neighborhood, known by locals as Chirilagua, was being rebranded exclusively as Arlandria.

Despite its relative inaccessibility, developers have long eyed Arlandria – with its proximity to the Pentagon, Crystal City, Del Rey, and Potomac Yard - as an area ripe for redevelopment, and with this step, that project looks to be gaining momentum. Mt. Vernon Village Center is one of three earmarked “opportunity sites” as outlined in the 2003 “Arlandria Neighborhood Plan,” and the first to make significant progress. The other two opportunity sites are the former Safeway/Datatel site at Mt. Vernon Avenue and West Glebe, and the Birchmere to the south. Which one will be next?

Alexandria Virginia real estate development news

Construction at New VIDA-U Street to Begin Shortly

Having recently secured a ten million dollar loan from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Urban Adventures Companies, headed by David Von Storch, will move forward with their plans to renovate and expand what is currently their corporate headquarters and soon-to-be "flagship" VIDA Fitness site at 1612 U St. NW. With Zoning approval already in hand, only the task of finalizing building permits stands between developers and initial construction; a groundbreaking is expected within the next two weeks.

What will become the fourth and by far the largest VIDA in the District is set to feature a 51,500-s.f., 4-story health club facility offering classes, state-of-the-art machines, personal trainers, and more. A 10,000 s.f., three-story "transparent, modern" expansion will allow for the tremendous increase in fitness-focused square footage; but don't worry preservationists (the DC Historic Preservation Review Board already gave the project a thumbs up), the addition is designed in a way that "complements and preserves the historic architecture of the existing circa 1921 building." To top it all off, literally, the new complex will be outfitted with a "rooftop club including a 60-foot pool, resort cabanas, communal fire pit, outdoor waterfall, sundeck and a membership lounge with full food and beverage service." For those willing to fork over the arm and leg for membership, the new location is sure to offer an array of tools to tone, shape, and relax your remaining two limbs. Some of the flashier amenities include a European sauna, steam room, endless pool, and infrared sauna (somewhere Liz Lemon is saying "I want to go to there"). If that's not enough, the new gym will also feature a 65-foot programmable illuminated interior color wall, which will offer close-up shots of unsuspecting gym-goers' cellulite lines for embarrassing but necessary fat-burning inspiration (just kidding it won't do that).

David Von Storch, who owns the building at 1612 U Street, refused a lease renewal of current tenant and fellow business rival Results Gym, enabling him to takeover the space and assemble all facets of his business enterprise under one roof. Upon completed renovation, all four Urban Adventures entities (Bang Salon, Capital City Brewing Co., Aura Spa, and of course VIDA) will occupy expanded and improved spaces in what Von Storch calls "a desirable urban lifestyle center." This comes as a relief to the young and restless on a time-crunch, who can now get pampered, styled, buff, and buzzed all in one-stop. The Von Storch owned Capitol City Brewing Company will occupy a newly designed restaurant space intended for upscale dining, closely derived from Storch’s newest restaurant concept 901. The current Von-Storch owned and operated 1612 Cafe will be turned into office space intended for local professional services businesses.

Von Storch hopes that much of this action will eventually be captured on film and aired in a reality TV series. Last year he partnered with New York production company Celebrity Endeavors to film and produce the of the pilot episode of “Complicated Order” (the show's working title). And in January of 2010 Von Storch hosted a premiere screening of the episode at Town Danceboutique. With the ambitious Van Storch at center stage, the proposed series would chronicle the colorful drama of running four immensely successful and still growing businesses, as well as the physical and emotional challenges of working and living with an HIV positive diagnosis. Although many networks have passed on it, a few networks remain interested, and Von Storch plans to shell out his own money to ensure cameras are rolling when he and his colleagues break ground on the 1600 block of U Street near Dupont.

Local firm CORE Architecture & Design provided the vision and design for the addition and renovation and were also instrumental in guiding the project through the necessary zoning and historic approval processes. Keeping it in the family, Stoneking-von Storch Architects of Charlottesville, VA and Hallock Design Group of Miami, FL also assisted in the design process for the new gym. Although Results Gym's lease does not expire until early 2011, initial construction will begin shortly and not interfere with the current tenet's operations. Completion of VIDA Fitness-U Street is expected in August of 2011.

Washington D.C. Real Estate Development News

The Moderno Condominiums

The Moderno, 1939 12th St., NW, Washington DC
Moderno condominium is a 19-unit condo, a joint venture between DC-based Lakritz Adler and Robertson Development, just off few feet off U Street. The Moderno consists of residential as well as (still vacant) ground floor and underground retail, and 12 parking spots, built in one structure that look like two buildings of 4 and 5 stories. Unique features included in some units: 19-foot ceilings, Spanish porcelain tiles and Spanish-built cabinets and some with outdoor showers on penthouse units. One-bedroom condos started originally in the high $300k's and three-bedroom condos stepped just over the $1m line. Construction began in the third quarter of 2007 and finished in early 2009. Designed by CORE Architecture and Design of DC, with Ellis Denning as the General Contractor for the project, this wood-framed building with brick and glass facade is a refreshing addition to the architecture of U Street, with modern interiors that incorporate wood and stone flooring and minimalist interiors as well as large glass bays, located 1 block to the U St. Metro. Phase 1 sales began October 2006 and did not sell out until late 2009, despite some hype about a supersonic sales pace.

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Airport Residential on Approach in Crystal City

Gould Property Company, with the Abbott Development Group and CORE Architecture and Design, are readying for the fourth and final installment of their Airport Plaza development in Crystal City. Approved way back in 1981, Gould first delivered the two office tower components of the project in the early years of the Reagan era, but number four will bear a more striking resemblance to Airport Plaza III, also known as the Concord Residences - a 680,000 square foot, 412-unit "luxury" rental high-rise at 2600 Crystal Drive that delivered in 2007 and, as of this week, boasts a 93% occupancy rate.

"We don't have a name yet, but [Airport Plaza IV] will be linked with the Concord," said Doug Abbott, President of the Abbott Development Company. "It's designed as a stand-alone building, but, for our purposes, we’ll be managing and marketing it as one complex…It will have a Clark Street address, but they will share the amenities and management team."

Measuring in at roughly half the size of its neighbor, the as-of-yet untitled project will bring another 205-rental units to a resurgent Crystal City – itself slated for some major infrastructural improvements in the coming years. In accordance with those plans, the Gould-led development team will be outfitting the space between the two residential towers with "a multi-level outdoor plaza with landscaping" – a project already provided for in Crystal City Planning Task Force’s Framework Plan.

“That is part of the Crystal City redevelopment plan, so that can’t happen until the traffic circle is put in at 26^th Street,” said Abbott. However, he says, work on Airport Plaza IV is proceeding at a much brisker pace and that his team is confident that the project will be a successful addition to a well-situated site less than a mile from National Airport.

“We’ve been working on schematics and we’re actually before the County with a minor site plan amendment. If that is approved, which I anticipate it will be, we’ll go ahead with design. For office buildings, we think that the market is kind of on hold, but I noticed during the last recession that the demand for rental is never slim to none."

Arlington, VA, real estate development news

Bethesda Condo Gets the Go-Ahead

Plans for Rugby Avenue Condominiums at 4851 Rugby Avenue went before the Montgomery County Planning Board for a second time this morning and were approved. In the fall of 2007, developers Polinger Shannon & Luchs (cleverly disguised as 4851 Rugby Avenue LLC) were denied their application for a 10-story, 71-unit condo building with 1,250 s.f. of public art studio space and told that the plans exceeded the nine-story (90 feet) zoning limit. The new plan shows a lower height and increased art space.

The Woodmont Triangle project will now include only 61 condominium units, 8 of which will be affordable, 2,000 s.f. for four art studios, and a 3,277 s.f. outdoor public plaza. Now nine stories, the building will replace two small office buildings on the north side of Rugby Avenue at the intersection of Auburn and Rugby Avenues, and will include two and a half levels of underground parking.

"Obviously we are in the Bethesda Central Business District – which is a dynamic market in and of itself," said Elliot Schnitzer, a manager at Polinger. "Walter Reed is relocating to Bethesda Naval. Our site is between the Medical Center and Bethesda Metro stops and in walking distance to Bethesda Naval," he said.

Schnitzer also told DCMud that the developers will now work with Guy Martin of CORE Architects on construction drawings. When asked about the likelihood of joining the go-rental trend, Schnitzer said the company was standing by their condo plans. As DCMud reported last week, Triumph Development canceled its plans for 4901 Hampden Lane in the center of the Bethesda shopping district just last week, citing the approval process and market factors.

“People who have changed to rental have already broken ground. We hope to time it to hopefully hit the market on the rebound,” he said. A construction schedule has not been set, though the project will certainly beat out its neighbor - 4823 Rugby Ave. - which has submitted plans for a 24-unit building but remains in the 'concept' phase.