Another Neighborhood Changer for JBG: NoMa's Capitol Square Breaking Ground Within Days

You’ve got to hand it to the Chevy Chase-based JBG Companies. The development group has a hand in a number of major projects around the region, yet seems undaunted about adding yet another game-changer to the list, and their latest may break ground within a few weeks.

That project is NoMa’s Capitol Square project, an almost two-block-square site located a block away from the NoMa-Gallaudet U Metro station that will eventually include a hotel, office space, retail and residential units.  The first phase—a Hyatt Place hotel—is just starting up, but the rest is all “phaseable,” the developers explain. That is, the developers will build in stages, waiting to move forward on office space, for example, until they have tenants in hand.

Still, it’s a major undertaking. Sited on two parcels—the first a triangle with New York Avenue, 1st Street, and N street as its borders; the second a rectangle on the south side of N Street (see map above), the project will add almost two million square feet of property to the area. Specifically, that will include 200 hotel rooms, 300-350 residential units, and 60,000 s.f. of ground floor retail space, all wrapped into what JBG is describing as a very pedestrian-friendly, retail oriented streetscape. “It might be like a Bethesda Row/Woodmont Avenue experience,” explained Dean Cinkala, a JBG partner.

But first things first. The starting project is Hyatt Place, a 14-story hotel with a fairly small footprint that’s been designed by local architecture firm Cooper Carry. “We literally just closed on financing and acquisition of the land,” said Cinkala. The company plans to begin demolition and abatement immediately, and expects to be finished by early 2014.

That’s at the western end of the triangular plot of land, where the nightclub Mirrors currently sits. The company also owns real estate on the eastern side of the block. That Smithsonian-worthy McDonalds at the corner of 1st and New York Ave. will also be history, transformed into an 800,000 s.f. office building designed by the New Haven, Ct.-based architect Pickard Chilton, which has burst onto the DC architectural scene recently.

There will be more office space on the south block, which isn’t wholly owned by JBG (a nightclub at 1st and Patterson streets will remain, as will another section abutting North Capitol Street). Perkins and Will, a nationally-known architecture firm with a Washington DC office, will be designing a second office building of roughly 575,000 s.f. there, which may be completed in two phases.

JBG properties include 5a and 5b within the red box

Schematic design drawings are complete for both buildings, which will include ground floor retail, but JBG isn’t moving forward on building either one anytime soon. “We don’t plan on building speculatively, given current market conditions,” said Cinkala. “We’ll submit the building[s] if and when the GSA [General Services Administration] puts out a solicitation.” The company has apparently targeted NoMa as an emerging home for the federal government, but Cinkala said he isn’t ruling out the private market—especially if financing for office buildings becomes easier to come by in the next few years.

The final piece of the pie is 33 N Street, a spot on the southern parcel. The current lease expires in November 2013, and Cinkala says the company is currently hiring residential architects to design a 300-350 unit building directly across from the hotel that will be ready to deploy next November. 

That’s a lot of building on the drawing board. To tie it all together, JBG is working with local landscape architects Lee and Associates to create an urban streetscape that draws pedestrians onto the side streets of N and Patterson streets.

It’s all about boosting the neighborhood’s dynamism, said Cinkala. “NoMa is clearly evolving into a mixed-use area. All this development will help the market mature, and create that live-work-play environment that’s so attractive.”

Washington, D.C., real estate development news

Today in Pictures - 800 N. Glebe

In 2006, Chevy Chase based JBG demolished the Bob Peck Chevrolet dealership, a uniquely futuristic building at 800 N. Glebe Rd. in Arlington that inspired some adoration in the architectural world.  But rather than break completely with the past for its flagship Ballston office project, JBG hired Cooper Carry to design a 10-story office building that would incorporate a faithful reproduction of the one-story dealership, including the blue diamond canopy that became the symbol for the dealership, and what JBG calls "a bold exclamation point on the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor."  The office building, completed this summer, features a glass curtainwall with three "sails" and has been designed for LEED Gold certification.

Arlington,  VA real estate development news

Arlington Approves Tallest Crystal City Office Building

The Arlington County Board voted yesterday to approve 1900 Crystal Drive, Vornado's enormous office building that will be the tallest in Crystal City.  The county's approval allows the developer to demolish the super-block sized building now on the site and replace it with an even larger, more contemporary building.

The building, designed by New Haven-based Pickard Chilton, will feature a number of impressive vitals, including 720,000 s.f. of office space in 24 stories (297 feet), a 5-story underground parking garage, an expected LEED Gold rating, a raised interim park (until replaced by another building), 32 bicycle parking spaces on the street and in the park.  Pickard Chilton is noted for a number of large office building designs, including a senior role on Malaysia's Petronas Towers.  Cooper Carry is the architect of record. The design employs a "ski jump architectural treatment" as part of its glass facade, and will be a major contributor to the upgrading of Crystal City's outdated architecture and infrastructure.

The plan for the block is to eventually demolish another of the office buildings on the block to create a large "Center Park" - a centerpiece of the Crystal City Sector Plan developed in 2010 - to replace the mid-block, concrete-heavy park that now connects the 3 existing office building.  While the project will have a more appealing street view, especially on Crystal Drive where 11,000 s.f. of retail will face the street, the building will still make large concessions to the automobile along 18th and 20th Streets with wide curb cuts for garage access.

The County approval was expected, especially with Vornado's $3m contribution to the county's affordable housing program and $7m of promised community benefits that that county negotiated for a host of improvements to causes like parking meter improvements, utility improvements, and public art.

Arlington VA real estate development news

Convention Center Marriott: Going Forward, Looking Back

Today it all becomes double super official, as suits and helmets mix it up at the site of the future convention center Marriott Marquis hotel this morning for an official groundbreaking. Construction began last month to build the 1175 rooms that will be owned by The Washington Convention and Sports Authority (WCSA), operated by Marriott, designed by TBS Architects and Cooper Carry Architecture, developed by Quadrangle Development and Capstone Development, on land owned by the District of Columbia. Got that? Okay, for those attending today's event that want to keep the players straight, here's a recap of the last decade of the ups and downs that got us here:

In 2001, the city issues an RFP for construction of a convention center hotel, with the Convention Center then just starting construction; the city calls for a privately funded hotel. DC chose neither of the proposals submitted by Marriott or Hilton, but subsequently announces it has chosen Marriott as a partner. Spring of 2003, the Convention Center opens amid high expectations and early success, but over time conventioneers have difficulty securing large blocks of rooms and opt for other locations; hopes of a post-construction neighborhood renaissance are unrealized. The Washington Convention Center Authority Act of 1994 is amended to further fund the Authority to build a hotel to service the convention center and add yet more convention space. Initial plans call for 1400-1500 rooms in a building that would span both sides of L Street and become the largest hotel in the city.

By early 2007, after numerous iterations of design and location, the District swaps its old convention center site for Kingdon Gould's site at 9th & Mass., Gould retains the northeast corner of what may one day become the CityCenter project. In September of 2007, Mayor Adrian Fenty announces that DC has signed a new agreement with Marriott for the hotel, now dialed back to around 1100 rooms on only one block; Marriott, which does not own the hotels it operates, agrees to lease the property for 99 years. The hotel will feature additional meeting space, an underground tunnel connecting to the Convention Center, and a glass canopied courtyard. The building will feature over 100,000 s.f. of meeting and ballroom space, 25,000 s.f. of retail, and 385 parking spaces. Marriott agrees to earn a LEED Silver rating and hangs on to the land north of L Street, now a decaying row of storefronts.

In June of 2008, HPRB considers plans for an 1100 room hotel, ultimately approving it as long as the American Federation of Labor building (pictured) is spared. With a deal inked involving Quadrangle and Capstone, construction seems near at hand, but the unfolding financial crisis drains developers of financing, halting progress.

In April 2008, the Gaylord National Hotel & Convention Center opens just south of the District inside a $2 billion project with 5 new hotels, a serious competitor for DC's convention trade. In 2009, an agitated Mayor Fenty pursues a public financing option that would have committed the Authority to picking up the $530,000,000 tab in full and proposed legislation that would have removed Quadrangle in place of a city funded program. The Council balked at the cost, and in July of 2009 the Council passes legislation, the New Convention Center Hotel Amendments Act of 2009, granting the WCSA authority to spend more than $200m to go toward construction, up from the previous $135m, with the rest to come from developers.

In August of 2009, Fenty signs the bill with much fanfare, construction of an 1175-key hotel appears imminent, but just two months later, a JBG-controlled company sues the city to delay consummation of the deal, alleging impropriety in DC's awarding process, in what some suspect was related to JBG's disagreement with Marriott over development of their Woodley Park project. JBG contends the city gave the development team a sweetheart deal financed by the city that it never offered the competition. In January of 2010, the Authority countersues JBG, alleging JBG intended to "extort" the city. JBG's suit was dismissed by a Superior Court judge in March.

In July, Marriott, the city and JBG said they had reached a deal to end the stalemate, planning then goes into high gear. By September of 2010, the city authorized WCSA to release $250m in bonds, and in early October preliminary groundwork gets underway. On October 20th the Authority announces it has sold its entire $250m bond release, clearing the last foreseeable hurdle. Today at 11, with speeches that seem longer than the planning, the parties will officially break ground on the hotel.

The four-star hotel is expected to be complete by the spring of 2014.

Washington DC real estate development news

New Marriott Almost Ready In Potomac Yards' National Gateway

Developer JBG reports that construction of their Renaissance Arlington Capital View in Potomac Yards is nearing completion and should be ready for an April 2011 opening. Matt Blocher of JBG describes the 300-room hotel, designed by Cooper Carry, as having "the soul of a boutique hotel with the location and amenities suited for business and leisure in and around the nation’s capital."

Situated at 2800 South Potomac Avenue in Arlington, Va, the hotel will offer 17,354 s.f. of flexible event space, including a gigantic ballroom and 13 smaller "break-out" rooms. Banquet and meeting rooms will be outfitted with cutting edge event technology like smartphone applications that enable lighting and audio adjustments, which could become a problem when bored-to-death audience members at the annual pharmaceutical conference learn how to hack into the system and implant inappropriate pictures into the power point presentations. Enhanced networks for cell phone and internet connectivity will allow business conference attendees to efficiently adjust their fantasy football rosters amid stuffy status meetings. It's expected that the hotel and the developing Potomac Yards center will serve as a hub for business travelers; with it's convenient proximity to the offices of PBS, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and IBM, as well as government agencies such as the Pentagon and EPA, and Reagan National Airport, it will surely see an increasing load of visitors upon its official unveiling.

Included on site will be 5,000 s.f. of retail at the corner of 29th and Crystal Ave, a 5,000 s.f. restaurant inside the Renaissance Hotel, and an Illy-branded coffee shop. A below-grade parking garage with 522 spaces will eventually connect the Renaissance Hotel to the separately operated but co-planned and developed 325-room Residence Inn. Both hotels are expected to be the first LEED certified hotels in Arlington County, each with a landscaped green roof and various other sustainable features. The hotel-complex is an important aspect of the expansive 15 acre, 1.5-mile-long development strip being dubbed the "National Gateway at Potomac Yards" which is set to feature 2,848,000 s.f. of office, residential, hotel, and retail space. The project is expected to exceed some $1 billion by the time of completion. "National Gateway" is being developed by the Meridian Group.

Washington D.C. Real Estate Development News

Affordable Housing Comes to the Peck Site

Tomorrow the fulfillment of promised affordable housing in Ballston will be one step closer as developer AHC Inc. "breaks ground" on a parcel that was once part of the Bob Peck Dealership and Showroom site in Ballston. The project, thanks to a creative land swap between JBG and AHC during the planning process, will bring 90 units of affordable housing within a quarter mile of the Ballston Metro Station, 66 more than would have been possible without the swap. Tomorrow's celebration is not exactly a traditional groundbreaking, as JBG already began construction on the neighboring office building and the parking garage that will sit below the new residential project. But who doesn't love a party?

Designed by Bonstra Haresign Architects and developed by AHC, on a portion of the JBG Companies' land, the new building will sit on top of the 600+ space garage, which will largely serve JBG's office building. Work on the garage by JBG's general contractor, Clark Construction, is nearly complete and in July, AHC and Harkins Builders will begin work on the four-story affordable residential project. According to Curtis Adams of AHC, the project should deliver by summer of 2011.

The land swap made for "complicated real estate" admitted Adams, but "everyone agrees that the best land use came about in the end." AHC originally owned Jordan Manor, which sat across the street at Wilson Boulevard and North Wakefield Street, and wanted to develop a denser project than planning would likely allow. Nearby, JBG sought a lower density residential project to neighbor its large office project. So after some prodding and negotiating, they swapped, keeping the density all on one site. JBG will develop 28 townhouses on AHC's 1.1-acre Jordan Manor Site, keeping it lower density.

The entire development on the "Peck site" will deliver two office buildings with over 400,000 s.f. of office space (pictured at right) and 36,000 s.f. of ground floor retail space, designed by Cooper Carry.

Arlington, Virginia real estate development news

Convention Center Marriott Awaits Zoning Approval

Final plans for a new Convention Center Marriott will head before the Washington DC Zoning Commission tonight for a public hearing. Now dubbed the Washington Marriott Marquis, adjacent to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, it is expected to catch little to no flak, as it conforms to the non-residential zoning standard already in place, and has been pushed for by District officials.

Additionally, Marriott is developing the project in unison with the Fenty administration under a handy piece of city legislation entitled the Public Space Utilization Act – which allows the Mayor to "enter into lease(s) with private parties for the rental of the space above or below streets and alleys in the District." That Act, however, leaves final approval of any such lease to the Commission, which will tonight discuss how the plans on hand sync with city regulations concerning building height, off-street parking, and traffic flow – all areas Marriott’s draftsmen appear to have to managed meticulously.

The plans for Marriott’s parcel at Massachusetts Avenue and 9^th Street NW call for construction of a new 1,150 room hotel with a two-level underground garage. Additionally, the AFL building currently on the site will get an extreme makeover into a 42 room “boutique hotel” connected to the main facility at several junctures. The PEPCO power station eyesore on the block will remain (but possibly receive an aesthetic makeover) and an underground tunnel linking the Marriott to the Convention Center’s east end will be constructed. Marriott has taken on Quadrangle Development Corporation to assist in the development process and has enlisted TBS Architects and Cooper Carry Architecture to design the project. Marriott hopes to garner a silver LEED certification for their flagship facility.

It is, however, important to note that tonight’s meeting will not address the project’s second planned component one block to the north, on the opposite side of L Street NW. Sean Madigan of the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development told DC Mud in 2007 that Marriott had abandoned plans to build a smaller, secondary hotel wing on that site and had instead chosen to redevelop the AFL building. The development team has yet to present any concrete ideas about what may happen with that parcel.

Tonight’s meeting is being held tonight at the Office of Zoning Hearing Room (441 4^th Street NW, Suite 220) and begins at 6:30 PM. The proceedings are open to the public, so this would be a good chance to get a head start on booking a room for 2012 inauguration.

Washington DC real estate development news

The Shaw Redemption

Five metro area developers came together last night to highlight their major (and we mean major) plans for the District's Shaw neighborhood. Hosted by the Shaw Main Streets initiative, the developers on hand included Douglas Development (Wonder Bread Factory), Marriott Hotels (Washington Marquis Marriott), Roadside Development (City Market at O), Metropolitan Development (Kelsey Gardens) and Hines Interests (CityCenter DC).

Douglas Development
The keynote of Douglas' presentation was the long-gestating revitalization of the former Wonder Bread Factory at 641 S Street NW. Contrary to initial plans, the building will not be razed. The developer has obtained the original plans for the facade and will, to the best of their ability, restore the building to its original 1922 appearance. An additional story will be added to bring the building up to 5-stories and 150,000 square feet. The project has been summarily approved by the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) and is aiming for groundbreaking in approximately 7 months, following permit approval. The developer expects construction on the GTM-designed facility to take no more than a year. Once completed, the former Wonder Bread facility will neighbor the proposed Radio One development (the outline of which can be seen in the accompanying renderings).

Several other Douglas projects underway in Shaw were also briefly touched upon. The developer’s proposed development at 600 New York Avenue NW is on hold due to the current economic situation and "lack of synergy," as is their proposed redevelopment of the Howard CVS.

Other projects, however, have had much more luck getting off the ground. The former site of Popeye’s at Florida & N Streets NW will complete its expansion and renovation in the next 3-4 months and will house a Fatburger chain restaurant, a cell phone retailer and office space. Another Douglas mixed-use development at 9^th & N Streets, NW will include ground floor retail, office space and apartments. Although poised to begin construction in the coming weeks, leases for the site will not be sought until the project is completed.

Marriott HotelsThe long-proposed (circa 2001) Washington Marriott Marquis Hotel at 9^th Street & Massachusetts Avenue, NW, long envisioned as an anchor servicing the Washington Convention Center across the street, is now slated to break ground in the first quarter of 2009. Overseen by the Quadrangle Development Corporation and designed as joint venture between TBS Architects and Cooper Carry Architecture, the building comes in at over 1 million square feet. The 13-story project will feature 1250 rooms, 2-3 restaurants, a ballroom and meeting space and a 400 space underground parking garage – all enclosed under an all-glass atrium. Additionally, the Pepco power station and AFL building currently on the site will also be incorporated into the hotel’s footprint, with the latter being converted to hold 42 hotel rooms. The Marriott representative on hand described it as “one of the most complex projects we’ve ever worked on.” The project is hoping to achieve an LEED silver certification.

Roadside Development

The City Market at O is shaping up to bring big changes to the current site of Giant Food on O Street NW. The mixed-use development will feature a new Giant store that will retain the old façade of the O Street Market and was hailed, as least by the pitchmen, as outclassing the new CityVista Safeway in both style and function. Additionally, the site will give way to a new 200 room, limited-use hotel, a large-scale fitness center, a 6000 square foot independent restaurant featuring a local chef, and 600 apartments and condominiums targeted towards “young professionals.” 8^th Street will also reopen for pedestrian use between the two buildings on the site, parking for the facilities will be moved underground. Roadside showcased some interesting architectural features on the buildings, including a 2-story projection on the residential building – currently referred to as “the diving board.” The developers are currently in negotiations with the Deputy Mayor’s Office for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED) to receive Tax Increment Financing for the project and are hoping for a September 2009 groundbreaking.

Metropolitan DevelopmentThough Metropolitan’s Kelsey Gardens has been recently covered by DCMud, the developer still had a few surprises on hand for their presentation. Architects will employ the increasingly common urban technique of breaking the 14,800-square foot, 297-unit building into five distinct facades, in order to affect the appearance of being constructed during different time periods by different architects. Roofs of the “buildings” will be 50% green and feature both private and public terraces. The development will be complimented by 2 levels of underground parking that will feature preferred parking spaces for “energy efficient vehicles” (i.e., hybrids). The project is shooting for 2011 completion.

Hines Interests
The final presentation of the evening concerned the redevelopment of the site of the old convention center, Hines Interests and Archstone’s CityCenter DC project. Designed by Foster + Partners and Shalom Baranes Architects, the 10-acre site is being envisioned as “a new neighborhood for downtown.” Comprised of 4 separate parcels centered around the now-closed (and eventually to be reopened) intersection of 10^th and I Streets NW, the ambitious project is to include 400,000 square feet of retail space, 1,074 residential and hotel units, 1,064,000 square feet of office space, more than 2000 parking spaces and a public park. The hotel on the site is envisioned as a 4 or 4 ½ star facility, while the developer is aiming to lure home furnishing and fashion retailers (possibly a department store) as well – in order to serve the needs of downtown residents and not specifically tourists. The Hines representative on hand posited that the project was 85% ready to go and would be seeking general contractor in the next few weeks.

Peck Site Swap Yields Affordable Homes

A recent approval by Arlington County has paved the way for a new affordable housing project in the center of Ballston. The JBG Companies have long had plans for 800,000 s.f. of mixed-use development on the former Bob Peck Dealership and Showroom site in Ballston, but the project lacked an affordable housing component. Arlington-based AHC Inc., which provides affordable housing locally, wanted a higher density development at its neighboring Jordan Manor project, an affordable housing site. But the thought of two high-density developments in close proximity troubled some in the planning process. Arlington, seeing an opportunity for a deal that would please both parties and yield affordable housing for the county, facilitated a land swap between the two developers.

The result was a plan for 90 affordable rental units, designed by Bonstra Haresign Architects and developed by AHC, on a portion of the JBG Companies' land, keeping the density all on one site. JBG will in turn develop 28 townhouses on AHC's 1.1-acre Jordan Manor Site, keeping it lower density. The board approved the affordable housing plans last Saturday.

AHC Project Manager Curtis Adams said his company wanted to build a higher density project on their adjacent site and submitted plans to Arlington around the same time as JBG. "We had been interested in developing our property into higher density and JBG was doing their big development, and we knew that it would hurt our chances of getting the density we wanted. The county pushed for a land swap - they are building townhouses on AHC property and we will take room on their site to the higher density that we wanted."

Adams said his company will demolish the existing 24-unit Jordan Manor that they own and operate to prepare for the approved land swap that will take place in December of this year. The affordable housing component will deliver two buildings, the Wilson and the Wakefield, and is a benefit to the master developer who can now boast the affordable units as a community benefit and not just a large mixed-use development. As project architect David Haresign said, "It is an important component of the project because JBG is now able to show a project with affordable housing."

When the larger project was initially approved in February, County Board Chairman Walter Tejada said, "The project has it all...it adds to our stock of affordable housing in the Metro Corridor."

The entire development on the "Peck site" will deliver two office buildings with over 400,000 s.f. of office space and 36,000 s.f. of ground floor retail space as well as the 28 townhomes on the demolished Jordan Manor site. The commercial space, JBG's portion, was designed by Cooper Carry.

Other community benefits include LEED certification for both office buildings, new traffic signals, after-hours public parking, and pathways connecting the two buidlings. Projected rents on the affordable units range from $1,050 for a one-bedroom unit to around $1,500 for a three-bedroom unit. The majority of the affordable units will have two or three bedrooms.

Bowman Consulting is the civil engineer and landscape architect for the entire complex.

Arlington Virginia real estate development news

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Convention Center Marriott Tiptoes Forward

In an inconclusive show-and-tell session before the Historic Preservation Review Board on June 26th, Marriott International, Cooper Carry Architects, and EHT Traceries presented plans for the long-anticipated convention center hotel. During the informational presentation, the development team presented plans for a 1,100 plus room hotel at the corner of 9th Street and Massachusetts Avenue, NW, across from the Washington Convention Center.

The hotel, which will likely achieve LEED Silver Certification for its use of glass and brick, will take up the majority of the block, save the PEPCO power plant that supplies the White House with electricity, and the American Federation of Labor headquarters, a historic building that will remain. The hotel is intended to bring jobs and revenue to the city through traditionally high hotel taxes while serving Convention Center guests.

Norm Jenkins, Senior Vice President with Marriott International said the project was essential to the success of the existing Convention Center which has yet to meet city performance expectations.

"This is a great hotel site, but it's a tight hotel site, and we need to get 1100 plus rooms on the site in order to satisfy the needs of the Convention Center...the city sunk $850 million into this Convention Center several years ago and that project will never be optimized until you have this headquarter hotel," Jenkins said.

Laura Hughes of EHT Traceries raised the issue of the historic American Federation of Labor building on site and explained the history of the building, which was designed in 1915 and designated as historic in the 70's. State Historic Preservation Officer David Maloney cited the building as one of his staff's main points of interest in the project.

"I think the staff does not have any major concerns at all with what's been proposed. I think it's appropriate to expect that the facades of the historic building would be restored to their historic appearance, which I think it anticipated. The treatment of the public space in front of the building is also important...The other thing that's important about the historic building is integrating it with the hotel in a natural way...It's a small building relative to the size of the new hotel, so it's somewhat of a design problem to make it look as if it fits in a continuous streetscape..." Maloney said.

He added that the staff was concerned with how the design relates to the city and Massachusetts Avenue, the over 130 foot height of the project, the building being secondary to the Convention Center and the treatment of public space along Massachusetts Avenue.

"Mass Avenue, as you know, is one of the city's important L'Enfant boulevards. It is historically a residential boulevard really with green space in the front yards. And this building, because of its nature, has very difficult servicing requirements. But their staff, as well as the department of Transportation, have pushed the hotel folks to try their hardest to make sure that there is a sense of continuous green space maintained along Mass Avenue," Maloney said.

While the meeting concluded with accolades from staff members, the board still had questions about the building's width, appearance, and name.

"My last point, slightly in the jocular vein, is why do we use all of these aristocratic French revolutionary terms like marquis and Monaco? Wouldn't it be nice to have a democracy? I mean I'm not saying you name it The Log Splitter, but I mean, maybe the President..., said Chairman Terch Boasberg, to general laughter. The developer will return in the coming months for concept review and permitting.

Steven Siegel from the Office of the Deputy Mayor of Planning and Economic Development noted the urgency of the project and said the Mayor asks about its status each week. "He asks how the projects going. And every time I tell him the date of delivery, he says that's not soon enough. So we're all working very hard to make sure that this process moves forward smoothly. And, you know, it's obviously important to the success of the Convention Center to make sure that this hotel is delivered as quickly as possible and as soon as possible," he said.

The project is on the HPRB's July "List of Cases Filed for Consideration." A final agenda for the July 24th meeting will be available on July 18th. The Atlanta-based architects are also responsible for Bethesda Row and the National Gateway Hotel Complex in Arlington County.

JBG's Peck Site Goes To Final Review

The JBG Companies has their hands full. The development firm has two weeks of hoops to jump through and a tough audience to please. Their newest project, on a 210,000-s.f., "L-shaped" site, bounded by N. Glebe Road, Wilson Blvd, N. Wakefield Street and Fairfax Drive in Ballston - aka. the Peck site - will be reviewed by Arlington's countless advisory boards which will scrutinize their plans to build roughly 800,000 s.f. of mixed-use development. The Division of Transportation will be taking a gander today, the Planning Division on Monday, the Housing Division on the 14th, the Tenant/Landlord Division on the 20th and then the County Board will take each party's comments into consideration for its decision on the 23rd.

Cooper Carry Associates' design plans call for two highrise office buildings totaling roughly 415,000 s.f., a four-story apartment building with 90 affordable housing units and about 28 townhouses. The site plan, as amended by the County, will feature a 10-story office building at the corner of Glebe Road and Wilson Blvd. with 25,000 s.f. of ground floor retail, a 7-story office building mid-block along Glebe Road with roughly 10,000 s.f. of retail, nine townhouses on the east side and the remaining 19 townhouses on the western end of the site. The "U"-shaped apartment building will sit on the southern end of the block, "turning the corner along Wilson Blvd. and the new 9th Street North," according to the current County Staff Report.

Steve Smith, Principal at Cooper Carry, was more eager to discuss the two office buildings than any other aspect of the project: "The 800 building (at the corner of Wilson and Glebe) will have a sweeping glass sail, and the glass curtainwalls follow the movement along Glebe Road. The 900 building (mid-block) also has a floating curtainwall system that mimics the movement of Glebe. [The 900 building] has a great axial view, and the height of the curtainwall crescendos the closer the building gets to the corner of Glebe and Wilson, and that gives it an iconic terminal point. That's the area where you'll see the vast distant views on Wilson. That's the area that's most prominent."

JBG is offering a number of benefits to the community with this project including LEED Certified office buildings (one building gets the gold while one gets the silver), public garage parking and an open plaza with outdoor seating, and pathways to connect the two buildings.

A rough estimate puts the onset of construction in the second quarter of this year.

Alexandria Approves Madison Development

Trammell Crow Company (TCC) had a good week in Alexandria last week. Special Use Permits for The Madison were approved by the Alexandria Planning Commisssion, and on Saturday the City Council reviewed and unanimously approved the permits to build.

The next step for TCC is to finalize the site plan design, which is being headed up by civil engineering firm Christopher Consultants and architect Cooper Carry. Once complete, both the Zoning and Planning departments in Alexandria will take a final look at the technical details, which is more demanding than the general concept designs. Jeff Miller, Senior Vice President at TCC, predicts a ground breaking date in the first quarter of 2009, anticipating that this stage will take anywhere between eight and twelve months.

The Madison's two buildings have been planned to hold about 344 residential units, determined last August to go rental. The concept plan includes the construction of a new street to dissect the block connecting Fayette and N. Henry streets, splitting the site into northern and southern halves. The northern half will house 206 units and a roughly 9,000-s.f. courtyard for residents. The southern half will house a 138-unit structure and an 8,000-s.f. park open to the public. TCC will also provide about 521 parking spaces available for retail and residential uses.

The Madison is located at 800 North Henry Street: it will house 23,000 s.f. of ground level retail and passive open space at the intersection of North Henry and Madison Streets. Recent delays in approval had resulted from the project's falling under the jurisdiction of the upcoming Braddock Road Metro Area Plan.