The Wilson and the Elm - Coming This Fall in Bethesda

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

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

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

Project:  The Wilson and the Elm

Address:  7272 Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, MD

Developer: Carr Properties 

Architect:  Shalom Baranes

Landscape Architect: OVS

Interior Design:  Streetsense / Edit Lab

Construction:  Clark Construction

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

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

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Washington D.C. commercial real estate news

Market Terminal - Signal House Tops Off

Signal House, the 10-story office building at Union Market, has topped off and is in the process of adding a skyline to the warehouse district.  The speculative office project is part of Market Terminal, an ambitious 1.25m s.f., 4-building project converting a series of warehouses and parking lots into a mixed-use project.  Kettler kicked off development by receiving zoning approval for the overall project, and in early 2018 Carr Properties acquired the office portion from Kettler, as well as another lot purchased from Douglas Development, undertaking the sole office building surrounded by numerous residential projects, both completed and underway.

Like most large projects in DC, Market Terminal was appealed and delayed by local appealer and delayer Chris Otten.  With that process having been resolved, Carr has now reached full height on the 225,000 s.f. tower 2 blocks from Union Market and less than a 5 minute walk from the Noma Metro station.  Designed by Gensler, an international architectural firm, with interior design by Streetsense / Edit Lab, the building will feature double-height ceilings in sections as well as "some of the tallest ceiling heights and widest column spacing in the city," intended to reflect its industrial surroundings with a "truly unique" metal, glass and terracotta exterior.  Carr has not yet announced any tenants for the building that will complete in early 2021, but is implementing a suite of tenant and building health measures, including seeking LEED Gold certification, fully outfitted bike room, Fitwel Star rating, rooftop solar array, and, heck, even a karaoke room on the roof.  12,340 s.f. of retail will round out the ground floor. 

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Project:  Signal House

Address:  350 Morse Street, NE, Washington DC

Developer: Carr Properties 

Architect:  Gensler

Interior Design:  Streetsense / Edit Lab

Construction:  John Moriarty & Associates

Use: 12,340 s.f. of retail

Expected Completion:  February 2021

Washington DC retail and real estate development news

Carr Properties to Build Glass Box onto Corcoran Art Gallery

The historic Corcoran Gallery of Art is set for a significant addition in the near future, as Carr Properties and architects at SmithGroup have submitted a design concept to the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) for feedback. A recommendation will be returned by the HPRB at its next meeting on November 18th. Their recently submitted application reveals that developers are attempting to move forward with a nine-story office addition to the previously expanded northwest corner of the art gallery that was originally designed by Charles Adams Platt in the 1920s.

Although some Corcoran staff may occupy offices in the new building, it will act and operate separately, generating lease revenues that will assist the Gallery in its effort to grow the collection and the College of Art's endowment. While operating separately, the structure is technically intended to be an addition, as original plans have always called for an expansion of the Gallery in this direction; the addition will be connected to the original 1890s building through a stairwell and partly cantilevered over the Clark Wing.

In August, the Corcoran Gallery granted Carr Properties a long term ground lease of the site on which developers will apparently build, own, and operate the new offices. Unless an extension is requested by Carr, if all the required public approvals are not secured prior to December 15th of next year, the lease will automatically terminate. The property's street address is 1700 New York Avenue, NW, fronting New York Avenue to the south and E Street to the north. Rising several stories above the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the top floors of the addition will offer panoramic views of the White House, the National Mall, the Capitol, and the various surrounding monuments. In addition to office space and a basement for storage, the expansion will also increase parking availability at the gallery, with three levels of garage set to sit below the new building.

The recently submitted designs by SmithGroup go in a much different direction from previously submitted plans. Hartman-Cox had received approval from the Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) and the Historic Preservation Review Board as far back as 1988, but never followed through on their plans for a 120,000 s.f. addition. Again in 2008, Hartman-Cox resubmitted similar renderings on behalf of the Corcoran Gallery, but HPRB called the firm's aesthetic of choice "clearly historicist, [and] perhaps more in vogue in the 1980s than at present," advising the architects to reconfigure the building's design so to more "clearly reflect its own identity and purpose." Smith heeded this advice with hopes that their starkly modern and minimalist stylistics will be better received by HPRB; but developers know that regardless of the outcome, a long road of applications and meetings and approval decisions lies ahead.

Washington D.C. Real Estate Development News

Mt. Vernon Church-Office to Ascend

Carr Properties has just finished digging for the foundation for their project at 901 K Street, NW, and is now ready to go vertical. After contractors finish pouring the first set of pilings, the developer will set the tower crane which will allow for construction of the 12-story building.

The new addition adjacent to Mt. Vernon Square will be sandwiched in between the United Methodist Church at the easternmost corner, and the Henley Park Hotel at the northwestern-most corner - essentially taking up the entire rest of the block. The site is directly across the street from Mt. Vernon Square and the Washington Convention Center.

As with PN Hoffman's 10th and G project nearby, Carr's development will modify an existing historic church; which in Carr's case sits at the triangular intersection between Mass Ave., K and 9th Streets. In exchange for purchasing the church's land, Carr will provide the church with about 32,000 s.f. of space in the new building. Along with getting some tenant space out of the deal, the church also scored a much-needed upgrade package out of Carr and their design firm, the Smith Group. According to John Crump, principal at Smith Group, the hundred-year-old church has seen zero updates since it was built - so architects designed (and Carr funded) the interior renovations, adding elevators to the structure, replacing mechanical and electrical circuits and providing a new slate roof. In addition Carr waterproofed the church, cleaned and restored the facade of the building and blessed the sweltering holy place with the miracle of air conditioning.

All of that for a Class A, "trophy" office building. Totaling 250,000 s.f., the mostly transparent structure will contain four-below ground levels housing a concourse level and 225 parking spaces accessible from 10th Street. Above ground, the building will sit 12 stories high, with the the Mass Ave. elevation stepping back on the ninth floor allowing for roof terraces on floors 9 and 12, as well as upper floors with "floor-to-ceiling windows with 360-degree views," according to Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P., the firm that arranged the $104 million construction loan.

Carr plans for LEED Gold Certification and expects to be completed in the third quarter of 2009.

Mount Vernon Church Ready to Add Office and Retail Space to Property

Since 1917, the Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church, at the northwest corner of Massachusetts Avenue and 9th Street NW, has served those in search of spiritual guidance. Starting in 2009, though, this corner will also welcome office workers and shoppers, as United Methodist and developer CarrAmerica (with Clark Construction handling the actual construction) are planning to demolish two of the property’s education buildings and redevelop some of its underutilized land to make way for a new $130 million, 250,000-sf office building project that will also contain 7,000 sf of retail and 220 underground parking spaces. United Methodist will retain 35,000 sf of this new 12-story building for its ministerial work and use, in partnership with the Baltimore Washington Conference of the United Methodist Church, Wesley Theological Seminary, and Asbury United Methodist Church. Meanwhile, United Methodist will dedicate $5 million of its proceeds from this sale to finance the preservation and renovation of the church’s original 1917 sanctuary. In addition, sale profits will be used to create an endowment to sustain and support the church for years to come. United Methodist’s project, which is expected to break ground in the Fall of 2007, is one innovative example of how to adapt to a changing real estate landscape and prepare for the future influx of new residents and workers to the Mount Vernon area.