Southwest's Hotel and Apartment Project Set for Occupancy Permits

Just a block away from the L'Enfant Plaza Metro station, the new citizenM hotel and adjacent apartment building are near completion, with Certificates of Occupancy expected to be issued today.  The project is the second portion of a two-phase redevelopment, which transformed an old firehouse and vacant lot into two hotels, first with the development of Hyatt Place, which required construction of a new fire house into the hotel at 400 E Street, SW.  Phase two, now completing, started with demolition of the old (non-historic) fire house and forensic laboratory, and replaced it with a 253-key "European-style" hotel, 58 "deeply affordable" housing units for seniors 62 and older, 136 market rate apartments and 10,000 s.f. of retail.

Development was a joint partnership between the District government, which issued an RFP in 2008 and awarded redevelopment rights in April 2009 to the E Street Development Group, which leased the land under the old fire station for a 99-year term.  The buildings add residential density to what has been a predominantly office-oriented section of southwest.  The design by FxCollaberative took advantage of the newly enacted changes to the height limit laws of DC to add additional height and activation of the roof.  The District's issuance of a certificate of occupancy, expected today, clears the way for what is expected to be an imminent opening of both buildings.

Project:  555 E Street, SW

Address:  555 E Street, SW, Washington DC

Developer:  CityPartners, Potomac Investment Properties, Adams Investment Group, DC Strategy Group

Architect:  FxCollaberative

Construction:  Donohoe Construction

Use:  136 market apartments and 58 senior affordable units, 253 room hotel

Expected Completion:  Summer 2020

Washington DC real estate development news

Council Approves New Southwest Fire Station

Today the Washington DC Council approved the Land Disposition Agreement for 4th and E Streets SW, and 6th St E Streets SW, formally binding the District to a partnership with Potomac Investment Properties, City Partners and Adams Investment Group in a 99-year lease agreement.

The approval grants the ground lease between the District and the development team, selected last May, for a site now occupied by a fire station and a parking lot, answering the question of "what to do" with the fire station next to the future DC Crime Lab. The disposition did not specify a lease price, but dictated that the property be sold for the "fair market value of the property, less the value of the public benefits provided" with the District retaining long-term control of the property.

The development team plans to construct over 500,000 square feet of new office and retail space on the two District-owned parcels. In addition, their mixed-use complex will also house a new, state-of-the-art, 22,000 square foot fire station. A 9-story building will replace that former fire station and house a cafe and work site for DC Central Kitchen, and possibly even a stationery store, wine store and coffee shop.

About the planned projects, At-Large Councilmember Kwame Brown said, "It’s critical that we keep projects moving forward in these tough economic times. We must also maintain integrity and transparency in the process while ensuring District residents and businesses participate in the economic rewards of the city," in reference to the to the criticism of the Mayor's handling of development contracts which peaked last week with a short-lived threat of formal investigation.

Team Selected for SW Fire Site

There’s a new bright red fire station in the works for Southwest Washington. Deputy Mayor Neil Albert and DC Fire Chief Dennis Rubin joined Mayor Adrian Fenty today to announce the official selection of E Street Development for the redevelopment of two parcels adjoining Engine Company 13 at 450 6th Street, SW.

The development team – a partnership between Potomac Investment Properties, City Partners and Adams Investment Group – will construct over 500,000 square feet of new office and retail space on two District-owned parcels between 5th and 6th Street, SW. In addition, their mixed-use complex will also house a new, state-of-the-art, 22,000 square foot fire station that, according to the Mayor, “comes at no cost to the District of Columbia.”

“As you look around the station, you can see its great need of heavy maintenance, if not replacement,” said Rubin. “We feel like the time is right and that this is a great opportunity.”

The two Beyer Blinder Belle-designed projects will also be LEED certified and host a bevy of public service uses, including space for Kid Power DC and a café hosted by the DC Central Kitchen. Both Fenty and Deputy Mayor Albert pointed to their inclusion as deciding factors in their choice of E Street over two rival proposals from JLH Partners, Chapman Development and CDC Companies, and Trammell Crow, CSG Urban Partners and Michele Hagans, respectively.

“The E Street Development team stood out because not only of their ability to be visionary, but to provide certainty to the government,” said Fenty.

Michael Gewirz, President of Potomac Investment Properties, followed up on exactly what type of “certainty” his company would be providing to the project. “Some folks have asked what our concerns are given the current economic climate. I can say this: we wouldn’t be standing here if we weren’t capable of doing this project,” said Gewirz. “Right now, we’re just going to work as hard as we can with the Deputy Mayor’s office.”

And they’ll have plenty to work on in the coming months, as the City has yet to decide whether the property will be sold or leased to the E Street team. Albert said the final details concerning the land transfer will hammered out in the next three to four months with a groundbreaking set to occur within the year. In the meantime, Engine Company 13 – the unit tasked with monitoring aerial comings and goings at the White House – will remain open and operational until completion of their new facility.

Though no mention was made of the Mayor’s ongoing scandal concerning (ironically enough) a fire engine donated to the Dominican Republic, city officials were keen on pointing out the extent of the development currently underway in the blocks surrounding 6th Street. The large-scale office development, Constitution Center, is under construction directly across from the fire station’s present location, while its new spot a few hundred yards away will adjoin the District’s new Consolidated Forensics Laboratory.

Washington DC commercial real estate news

Three Teams Compete in SW Fire Sale

Officials from the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development held a community forum at the now vacant H20 nightclub on the Southwest Waterfront last night to highlight proposals from three development teams vying to revitalize land currently occupied by Fire Engine Company 13 at 450 6^th Street, SW and a neighboring parking lot. The three teams present at the meeting originally submitted their proposals last June. According to Mayor Fenty, a final selection is expected “late next month.”

Each of the three teams would relocate the fire station from its current 6^th Street location to the 4^th Street corner in order to provide for better access and response time. Team 1, Potomac Investment Properties (City Partners and Adams Investment Group, formerly submitted as E Street Development), intends to“animate E Street,” according to Jeff Griffiths of City Partners. Griffiths said that his vision is for the station to occupy the lower two floors of a 10-story, 191,000 square foot office tower with a prominent fire-engine red facade, in keeping with the building’s primary use. The Beyer Blinder Belle-designed edifice would also sport 3,000 square feet intended for community use by Kid Power and the DC Central Kitchen. The building would be topped off by a green roof and feature LEED silver certification.

Phase II of construction would see another 9-story, 301,000-s.f. office tower on top of the fire station’s present 6^th Street location, with a ground floor retail base. Phase II, like its predecessor, would include a green roof and LEED silver certification. In between the two corner-to-corner projects, the team would “create synergy between the two parcels” with improved streetscape and landscaping.

Team 2 (JLH Partners, Chapman Development and CDC Companies) would place the station infrastructure on the bottom two floors of a new 103,000-s.f. office building. Bachelor number 2, however, noted its advanced scouting efforts for potential tenants, including the General Services Administration (hellooo stimulus). But the real centerpiece of their development scheme was their plans for 6^th Street, where they propose a 208-unit, extended-stay hotel adjacent to an 11,000-s.f., publicly-accessible atrium that could be utilized for arts purposes, including performances by the Arena Stage and Washington Ballet.

Team 3 (Trammell Crow, CSG Urban Partners and Michele Hagans) highlighted their ability to unify the 4th Street intersection. CSG principal Charles King said CSG had submitted a proposal for the fire station three years ago, with the intention of transforming it into a DNC headquarters or hydrogen fuel station (insert hot air joke). Further, Trammell Crow is nearing completion on its million-s.f. Patriot Plaza project across the street. If accepted, the new buildings would be thematically consistent.

As if that wasn't enough to seal it, their Gensler-designed office building/fire station would top out at 190,000 s.f. and feature a number of upgrades for the firefighting staff, including additional truck bays. Meanwhile, their plans for a 306,000-s.f. office building on 6^th Street would include 16,000 s.f. for a mixture of retail and community purposes. Team 3 plans to secure financing for the project by sharing parking with Patriot Plaza, and said that with initial funding secured, they could begin construction as early as 2010. “We don’t enter into partnerships we can’t finish or finance,” said King.

3 Teams Bid for SW Firehouse Site

If you've ever dreamed of living out your childhood fire fighter fantasy by sliding down a brass pole to get to your office, the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED) has good news for you. DMPED recently received three responses from local development teams concerning the District's redevelopment proposal for two sites at 4^th & E Streets SW - including turning the current home of Fire Engine Company 13 at 450 6^th Street SW -- into a mixed-use development.

The proposals come from three differing alliances of local developers. JLH Partners, Chapman Development, and CDC Companies comprise the first team; Trammell Crow, CSG Urban Partners, and Michele Hagans as the second; and Potomac Investment Properties, City Partners, and Adams Investment Group (together calling themselves E Street Development Partners LLC) the third.

The proposals for the site include plans for rebuilding the 34,000-s.f. Engine 13 station (either on site or within a two block radius), up to 465,000 square feet of office space, a 130-208 room hotel, and the inclusion of ground level retail. According to a statement released by the OMPED, two of the submissions include “proposed community space,” while one set out plans for “an 11,000 square foot atrium-covered public indoor park.” This jives with the District’s insistence on seeing a community center incorporated into any prospective design. The proposals presumably align with the initial RFP’s insistence that at least 35 percent of any contracts go to certified local, small or disadvantaged businesses, and that at least 51 percent of the new jobs created by the project go to District residents.

The projected construction would also envelop the second site included in the District’s RFP – a 19,000 square foot vacant lot bounded by 4^th Street, E Street and the Southwest/Southeast Freeway. Deputy Mayor Neil Albert's choice should be known by December, the District's deadline for selecting the best team. Groundbreaking could take place as early as summer 2010.

Located behind the Metropolitan Police Department’s (MPD) First District headquarters, this marks the second such construction project the District has planned for the block. After their last location proved too expensive, the MPD building at 415 4^th Street SW will undergo demolition in order to make way for a new, 240,000 square foot Consolidated Forensics Lab (CFL) - construction of which is expected to begin in December. BIDs for that project are due to the District’s Office of Property Management by November 7^th.

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