Mather Studios Condominiums

Mather Studios
916 G St., NW, Washington DC
Mather Studios was the first downtown conversion of an office building into housing in the history of the District of Columbia, according to its architects at Cunningham | Quill. The Mather Building, located in the Downtown Historic District, was built as an office building in 1917 by Alonzo Mather, then converted to academic use by the University of the District of Columbia in 1967, and abandoned in 1989 until its revival in 2001 as a condo residence. The gothic revival terra cotta facade was restored to its original condition, with large interior units sectioned off that have appropriately minimalist features like concrete floors, exposed ducts, industrially sized windows, and a new rooftop penthouse added. A front desk and bike lock room provide amenities, but there is very limited parking in the building, not much of a problem with parking garages around. The building conversion into a mixed-income project provides 12 affordable housing spaces for artists on the 2nd and 3rd floors, as well as 38 market-rate condominiums. The District began the conversion process when it selected the Cultural Development Corporation, PN Hoffman, and Gilford Corp. to redevelop the dilapidated office building. Gilford also served as the general contractor. The project required an exception to the District of Columbia Height Act.

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Artists Line Up for Housing

The scene at Flashpoint art space in Penn Quarter at 7:45 this morning was a flashback - hopeful denizens waiting in line for the newest housing offering. The scene was not, however, a replay of the condo frenzy of 2005, but a new subsidized housing venue aimed at struggling area artists. Eleven eager applicants waited in line for one of 30 units designated as "artist housing" in the new Loree Grand nearing completion in NoMa, the first phase of Union Place, a new 212-unit apartment building at 250 K St., NE. The benefaction comes from a partnership between developer Cohen Companies and the Cultural Development Corporation (CuDC), encouraging "artists, arts administrators, and arts educators" with dedicated subsidized rental apartments. The CuDC began accepting applications today and will continue through May 24th. So who's an "artist?" To screen the uncreative, an independent panel of arts professionals will review three artistic competencies: demonstrated body of work and commitment to an artistic practice, active ongoing participation in the arts industry and potential for an affordable live-work unit to positively impact an artistic career. Commercially successful artists need not apply, as the unit allotments are based on need. But don't picture starving sidewalk caricaturists in tie-dyes; in DC "struggling" is a relative term. The CuDC is looking for painters, filmmakers, graphic designers, even "arts administrators"and educators, with incomes based on the DC Department of Housing and Community Development's income limits. That puts income minimums at $34,958 (have IRS forms in hand) for a studio and income maximums at $82,160 for the largest two-bedroom apartments. Cohen purchased the land for just over $1 million and has spent $45 million on construction costs with ADC Builders and GTM Architects, the general contractor and architect, respectively. The 10-story Loree Grand - one of the few multi-family buildings underway immediately east of the railroad tracks, will also offer 3,700 s.f. of retail space, which Eric Siegel, Executive VP at Cohen, says he hopes to fill with a food-wine-coffee shop along the lines of Tryst in Adams Morgan or Busboys and Poets. 

No retail tenants have yet committed, and Siegel dismissed rumors of a hot yoga studio. First-in-line Lisa Simmons camped in her Mini for the night to ensure her place in line (pictured at right). The DC native is a short-film maker whose focus is "urban dance in urban spaces." The self-professed nomad now floats between her mother's and boyfriend's places and leapt (well, slept) at the chance to be surrounded by other artists close to Union Station's transit options. Painter Matthew Mann heard about the housing through CuDC's Red Circle, which brings together artists and business leaders. Mann was in line so early for the appeal of "affordable space" that "wasn't derelict." Julia Suszynski and Katherine VanWyk, interns with the Shakespeare Theatre Company, are hoping for a new apartment when their subsidized intern housing runs out. Both heard about the housing through their current work and Suszynski said she thinks artist housing "is an interesting way to segment people." Both hope to qualify as arts administrators. Emma Fisher, Communications Manager with CuDC, said she was happy with the early turn out and expected more applicants throughout the day. Units should be ready for move-in by June. Rentals run from $999 to $1330 for a studio, and up to $1657 for a two-bedroom. Correction: The income guidelines quoted above are determined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, not by the District government. 

Shaun Courtney contributed to this story. Washington, DC real estate development news

M.M. Washington Goes to Urban Matters and Mission First

Today D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty made the not-entirely-surprising announcement that the winning group to redevelop the M.M. Washington Career High School at 27 O Street N.W. will be a team made up of UrbanMatters, Mission First Development, Mt. Lebanon Community Development Corporation and Square 134 Architects. Responses to the RFP for M.M. Washington, one of many excess schools offered up in 2009, were due March 27, 2009. The winning team submitted one of only two responses; the other coming from the Cultural Development Corporation (CuDC). The school will be developed into 90+ units of affordable senior housing, The House of Lebanon, and 15,000 s.f. of community space with an estimated project cost of $25 to $30 million. CuDC's project would have brought mixed-use office and artists' studios to the neighborhood.
Also involved in the 94,000 s.f. project is the Mt. Lebanon Baptist Church, which sits just a few blocks away from the project site and is part of the Washington Interfaith Network (WIN). WIN also received the development rights for the Dix Street properties recently. Fenty reminisced about WIN saying the group "has come a long way"since he first began meeting with them, adding that WIN is now a "full-fledged community partner and developer."

The story here may be more in what will not be developed. The CuDC's plan is similar to the RFP the group released seeking development partners to build arts-oriented projects to catalyze neighborhood development. When reached for comment this morning about the pending announcement in favor of the opposing team, Anne Corbett, Executive Director for CuDC, had some revelations about the project. CuDC had not heard anything formally from DMPED's office about the RFP application in almost six months, and Corbett said she was "frustrated that a media advisory went out" without the District notifying her she had lost the bid. Oops.

Corbett described the project her team submitted as a mix of artists studios and creative commercial office spaces for "folks craving something with a rougher, more industrial aesthetic with more affordable price tags." Significant about the arts project, Corbett added, was that it required only an initial seed contribution from the District government, but would not need "ongoing public subsidy. "It was a sustainable plan," explained Corbett, that would have created "a fair amount of tax revenue [for] the District; but apparently that was not the preference."

The House of Lebanon, according to Pastor Edmunds of Mt. Lebanon Baptist Church, will require $6 to $8 million in low-income housing tax credits, the "rest will be private." Edmunds and the development group estimate a mid-2011 ground breaking and a late 2012 finish date.

Corbett, however, was skeptical on a project requiring so much in financing that is not available. About the plans to use the low-income housing tax credits, Corbett said, "right now the District does not have any to distribute" and she worries that this plan will require "a whole lot of public money; or it will sit on the shelf until there is a substantial rebound in the market." At the end of the day Corbett says, "it's not to say they needed to pick me," but she worries that "the project will sit for five more years."

In the RFP for the site, like others including the recently awarded Hine School, the District indicated it was seeking experienced developers with creative visions for utilizing the land and/or buildings. It is not entirely clear that either of those criteria was met.

Washington, DC real estate development news