Sheridan Station Celebrates Opening, Now Nearly Half Built

Ribbons were cut today at Sheridan Station, a $100-million effort by the D.C. Housing Authority and William C. Smith & Co. to redevelop 11 acres in Ward 8 that once held the public housing complex Sheridan Terrace, torn down in 1997.

The ceremony this afternoon marked the completion of Phase I (of three), which delivered 114 apartment units (with gym, business center, etc.) to Barry Farm/Anacostia, confirms Carol Chatham, spokesperson for William C. Smith + Co.

Construction on the first phase of the project began in May of 2010. Now complete, the apartment building, designed by SK&I, is in the queue for LEED-Platinum certification (the highest certification possible from the U.S. Green Building Council), due to incorporation of rooftop solar panels that will generate energy to cover 30 percent of the building's needs, a rainwater collection cistern, LED lights, and low-VOC materials - among other green building tactics.

Expected to be in attendance today were the appropriate local and federal government representatives on behalf of DCHA, the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, and DMPED - all celebrating the ability to fund the project, which includes the use of a $20-million HOPE VI HUD grant and ARRA funds.

Phase two - 80 for-sale townhomes - is under construction now; 22 of these townhomes are currently for sale and will deliver in February of next year. Chatham added that three are under contract now. The third and final phase is still in development, a start date has not been specified.

The 11 acres of Sheridan Station are jointly owned by DCHA and William C. Smith & Co. As lead developer, Smith partnered with Union Temple CDC and Jackson Investment Co. to form Sheridan Terrace Redevelopment, LLC.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Old Trash-Transfer Structure to be Thrown Out of Southeast

An old Department of Public Works (DPW) trash-transfer site at 900 New Jersey Avenue SE currently stands in the way of plans to reconnect I Street SE between 1st and 2nd Streets, and nicely square off the parcels to the north and south. But it won't stand for long; a raze application was filed on June 13th by the property owner, the D.C. Housing Authority (DCHA), and according to David Maloney, D.C.’s Historic Preservation Officer, “We will clear the raze application, it’s not a historic building; it’s a pretty typical industrial building from the 1940s, and we are not asking them to try to salvage any of it.”

Demolition of the structure will allow DCHA to sell the bit of land that currently overlaps the future I Street and protrudes into the land to the north, at 880 New Jersey Avenue, owned by William C. Smith + Co. (WSC). The belief is that DCHA will sell this small section to WSC, which will fill out the Square 737 site for WSC. However, DCHA will likely retain the majority of the property at 900 New Jersey Avenue, and develop it into additional Arthur Capper Hope VI housing.

"We hope that it's gone by the end of the year," says Michael Stevens, Executive Director of the Capital Riverfront BID, which will allow "I Street [to become] a major east-west connector."

Post demolition, land purchase, and the I Street connection, WCS will be able to begin phase one of its 1.1 million s.f. mixed-use project planned for the northern site, which it purchased from the Washington Post in 1999. Phase one will be a 13-story, 430-unit apartment complex.

Stevens adds that, "[WSC] intends to break ground in March of 2012, if everything goes according to plan with the trash transfer site."  The two-story, brick-concrete-and-steel structure was built in 1948 and is one of many designed by the municipal architect for the District, as was standard practice from the 1910s through the ‘50s.

The site is currently being used solely for the storage of Department of Public Works' vehicles.; trash-transfer operations and administrative offices have both already been relocated to Northeast, where the vehicles will also be headed. The old transfer site will likely need environmental remediation before construction is to begin, as it has dealt with waste for over a century. Previous to the current, 63-year-old structure, was a more rudimentary trash operation in place on the site at the turn of the 20th century.

The site is in a prime location, two blocks north of the Navy Yards Metro and east of Canal Park (now in development), and is part of the steady, ongoing transformation of the Southeast neighborhood into a vibrant live-work-play area.

"We'll see the trash transfer site and the [Florida Rock] concrete plant disappear, two of the last vestiges of our industrial history," says Stevens. "These sites will be put back to productive use. The Florida Rock site is already entitled as a major mixed-use project with office, hotel, residential and retail, but we don't know when they're going to pull the trigger on that."

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Feds Enable Affordable Housing Surge in the District

Significant press coverage has been granted to The Yards' Foundry Lofts over the last several days, and in the past as well, a project that will move forward thanks to the DC Housing Finance Agency (DCHFA) multi-deal bond release under President Obama's New Issue Bond Program (NIBP). This is all big news, as there are a few firsts here: the first HFA in the country to issue an escrow release under the new program, and the Agency's first mixed-income transaction, as 34 of the Foundry Lofts' 170 new rental units (20 percent) will be marketed to families making only 50% of the Area Medium Income (AMI). But the same funding mechanism also enabled yet more public housing; So Others Might Eat's (SOME) "The Scattered Site Project" will also move forward with the assistance of the released funds.

The Scattered Site Project has been in the works since early 2007 according to SOME's Housing Development Director Troy Swanda, and has been on the starting line and ready to go for sometime now. But with the market downtown, the start gun was without powder, and the project has idled. Now, the recently released bonds combined with tax credits, grants, and SOME's private fund raising will make this multiple-site development a reality. Totaling more than $36 million, the specific funding numbers go as follows: $8.1 million from DCHFA's Tax Exempt Bonds, $11.5 million DHCD Housing Production Trust Fund, $6.7 million from Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Proceeds, $2.9 million from DC Housing Authority LRSP Capital Grant, and $7.3 million from SOME's own financing. SOME and their team of contractors were so poised for action in fact, that they began construction the very day the bond release was finalized. The aptly named development consists of five different properties strewn across Wards 7 and 8 in the Southeast. Three of the properties (350 50th St, 3828 South Capitol St, and 2810 Texas Avenue) will be intended for single adults, while one property (730 Chesapeake St) will be geared for families, and the last (1667 Good Hope Road) for seniors.

The five buildings will offer a total of 245 apartments, all classified as affordable housing, meant to shelter residents making 0-30% AMI. Keeping carbon footprints to a minimum, the properties will feature very limited parking amenities, as residents of affordable housing projects are typically some of public transportation's most devoted users. Two buildings will feature green vegetation roofs and one will be topped with a passive solar water heating system. "Building to green standards is in mind with construction and design of every building," says Swanda. Local firm Nelson Architects is responsible for the design of each building. Developers expect to deliver their first building in early 2011, and will complete the roll out of all five by the end of that year.

Washington D.C. Real Estate Development News

Pollin's Parkside Project: Bringing Down the House(s)

Public housing in Parkside will crumble and fall this summer, not from age or neglect, but by a demolition team, clearing the way for the new Linda Joy and Kenneth Jay Pollin Memorial Community Development. The Pollin project will replace one-for-one the 42 affordable rental units on site, known as Parkside Additions, while adding 83 for-sale units. The project was initially spearheaded by the late Abe Pollin and his Pollin Foundation. The District of Columbia Housing Authority (DCHA) is seeking permission to raze the row of apartment buildings from 705-721 Anacostia Avenue, NE and, according to DCHA Spokesperson Dena Michaelson, hopes to demolish the buildings over the course of the summer.

Pollin Memorial Community Development, LLC's planned $35 million development would bring 125 new affordable for-sale and rental homes to the northeast site, an assemblage belonging at one time to three different government entities – the District of Columbia, the District of Columbia Housing Authority (DCHA), and the National Parks Service (NPS). The developers courted the approval of all landowners back in 2006 and received approval for the project from the National Capitol Planning Commission (NCPC) in 2008. The NPS transferred its property to the District in 2007.

According to Michaelson, the developer is putting up $2 million to guarantee construction loans for the project. Michaelson said the entire project will eventually be paid for by the condo sales, and that Pollin, acting as a fee developer, will not gain financially from the sales. DCHA will be the property owner for the public housing and will maintain the units. Financing for development is being provided by the District of Columbia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), the District of Columbia Housing Authority, United Bank, Enterprise and the Abe Pollin Grantor Trust. DHCD is providing a construction loan, explained Michaelson, "a portion of the DHCD loan that applies to building public housing units is forgivable."

The project will provide 125 off-street parking spaces, one per unit, and the new residential structures will not exceed 40 feet or 3 stories. The 83 condominiums will be available to individuals earning between 40 percent and 100 percent area media income (AMI) and the 25 rental units will be offered to residents earning at or below 30 percent AMI.

A ceremonial groundbreaking in December was marred by a community boycott - an effort to convince developers and city officials to be more forthcoming about the project's community benefits which, though not final, had been viewed as skimpy. At the time, Michaelson indicated that a community benefits package would be available to the public upon its completion. When asked if an agreement has now been reached, ANC7C04 Commissioner Sylvia Brown said, "Short answer: no, no community benefits. Medium answer: there was a change in the ANC7D chairmanship and the momentum went out like air from a balloon. There hasn't been any other broad community update or discussion." Michaelson said the Pollin family has committed to giving $350,000 to the community, but was not sure what form the donation would take.

Meanwhile, DCHA will begin relocating residents to alternate public housing until Pollin's project delivers, a process that will determine the demolition date. "It's not a quick thing...it's a process to be able to relocate folks...to find the right size bedroom units, etcetera." explained Michaelson.

Current Parkside residents will have the first right to return to the new units. A press release from the ground breaking indicated the first units would be available in 2011. The phased project will complete in February 2013, according to Michaelson, who added that for-sale units will not be marketed until 2013.

Enterprise Community Investment is one of the development partners on the project. John Stranix, of Stranix Associates, is spearheading the construction effort with designs by Torti Gallas & Partners.

Washington, DC real estate development news

Sheridan Station Breaks Ground

Today, Anacostia's Sheridan Station development kicks off with a ground breaking for the first phase of the HOPE VI residential project. The 344 mixed-income housing units are funded in part thanks to a $20 million HOPE VI competitive grant that the District of Columbia Housing Authority (DCHA) received from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development in 2008. Sheridan Station’s 11 acres in Anacostia are owned jointly by the DC Housing Authority and William C. Smith & Co. Though the project was initially set to begin construction in January of this year, DCHA only recently closed on financing. Phase 1 of the 344-unit Sheridan Station, formerly Sheridan Terrace, will revolve around an initial 114 units of public housing and 69 Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) units. The 114 units will deliver in the form of a 104 unit multi-family building and 10 single-family rental units. At least 25 of the public housing units available in Phase 1 will be reserved for current Barry Farm residents. Phases 2 and 3 of the redevelopment will begin once all units in Phase 1 are filled, but the entire project is expected to be complete by 2015. The multifamily building is registered with the US Green Building Counsel for LEED Certification Gold. Green features include a 100 KW solar photovoltaic array which provides 30% of the buildings core energy, a vegetative green roof, and an 8000 gallon rainwater retention cistern underneath the slab of the building. The building will also have a health and wellness center which will provide general family practice care for the neighborhood, provided by Core Health. Construction on the first phase is expected to be complete in December 2011. When all three phases are complete, the 344 units will be almost double the amount of the original Sheridan Terrace - a troubled project that was torn down in 1997. As with the original Sheridan Terrace, the new-and-improved Sheridan Station will contain 183 public housing rental units. An additional 161 units will go up for sale; 117 of these will be sold at market rate and another 44 will be sold as affordable units. As lead developer, Smith partnered with Union Temple CDC and Jackson Investment Co. to form Sheridan Terrace Redevelopment LLC. Sheridan Station will comprise a small piece of the Barry Farm/Park Chester/Wade Road redevelopment planned for Ward 8. The project was designed by Bethesda's SK&I Architects, which furnished the seven different building designs that will include landscaped green space and a pedestrian trail.

Washington, DC real estate development news

It Takes the District to Build a Garden

Though community gardens often emerge through an organic (ahem) process, at least one garden with get its start through the District government. Construction will begin in June and last through the summer transforming a paved lot at 13th and C Streets, SE in Capitol Hill into the 13th Street Community Park and Garden. Unlike many community gardens in the surrounding neighborhood, this project is not part of the Capitol Hill Community Garden Land Trust, but rather funded through a federal grant and financing from the District Housing Authority (DCHA).

Almost two years ago the DCHA applied for a grant as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to build the new garden at the Kentucky Court Apartments, a senior and disabled resident community. The ensuing $650,000 HUD award is being partnered with $250,000 from DCHA to finance the construction of a new bright spot for the neighborhood. The HUD grants went to seven projects throughout the District, but 13th Street was the only community garden in the District to receive funding.

The lot totals 6,000 s.f., which will be divided among various uses, including a gardening area with raised beds to make them accessible to Kentucky Court's residents, a gazebo with space for gardening lessons, a small fountain, benches and an exercise area. The more than $900,000 in financing will also cover the plumbing that has to be installed to drain the area appropriately, to improve the surrounding sidewalk and to install better lighting. In April, contractors took a soil sample so neighbors know what their rutabagas are growing in. DCHA currently has out an RFP for general contractors for the bulk of construction; responses are due today.

Dena Michaelson, spokesperson for DCHA, said the garden is an "extension of the all the work" the agency has already put into the Kentucky Courts Apartment. Over the past four years, added Michaelson, DCHA has invested over $4 million on the Apartments, greening the building with energy efficient windows and appliances and new roofs. District-wide, said Michaelson, such efforts have yielded over $1 million in savings on utilities.

Washington DC real estate development news

Highland Addition, HOPE-ing and Waiting

Last night, DC's Highland community was handed another development delay as New Market Investors and developer Crawford Edgewood Managers Inc. (CEMI) received approval to prolong their development schedule with a request for a three year extension. Along with the District of Columbia Housing Authority (DCHA), the team filed to alter the zoning application approved in 2007, which would have expired this month.

The Zoning Commission approved the delay, allowing DCHA and the developers a little breathing room as they scrounge for funds and wait on a recent HOPE VI application for $22 million to develop 17 acres of townhouses. The soonest the group might expect good news about the competitive HOPE VI funding is February; until then they will be holding out hope that the stalled development will finally come to fruition.

According to Knox Hayes, DCHA Project Manager for Highland Addition, the reason behind the stalled development is the lack of funds to build new roads for the PUD. The City was unable to cough up the money for necessary roads, so DCHA took the federal path, applying through HUD'S HOPE VI grants for the maximum project award. In so doing, DCHA expanded the scope of the development from the PUD's 9 acres to include a total of 17 acres of land needing new roads and development.

The PUD will maintain its approved number of residential units at 138, but will increase the number of rental units from 30 to 46. On the remainder of the site, the same group of developers will build more residential units by matter of right zoning, with no PUD required. The proposed site will offer 261 units with 118 rental and 143 for-sale units (including the units in the PUD). Most of the homes will be townhouses, though Hayes indicated the possibility of some condominiums.

The site at Highland Additions used to be home to several public housing buildings, which were torn down in 2001, with the PUD process ensuing in 2004. Nearby are the newly renovated Overlook apartments, which replace the former Parkside Terrace apartments.

Washington DC real estate news

Housing Authority Director's Departure for NYC Miffs Some, Changes Nothing

Former Executive Director of the DC Housing Authority (DCHA) Michael Kelly assumed his new position as the new General Manager of the New York Housing Authority (NYCHA) today.

Kelly's last day in his position with DCHA was last Wednesday; DCHA announced his departure as a chance for Kelly to “explore other opportunities in the affordable housing industry.” To New Yorkers, leaving DC for The City is a promotional no-brainer, while those of us remaining feel no pangs of being dumped, or need to justify why DC is every bit the city New York is. Because it just is. Really, its obvious.

So why is New York pilfering from its smaller but not inferior neighbor? In a New York City press conference held last Thursday, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced Kelly’s appointment as NYCHA’s new General Manager. "During his tenure in Washington he oversaw a significant modernization of public housing in that city. Under his leadership the housing authority there also received the highest possible ratings for quality of its financial and management operations."

So do New Yorkers tip their hats to DC as something to emulate? Don't count on it. When asked about which part of Kelly’s almost decade of work in DC impressed the New York powers-that-be, New York City Council spokesman Howard Marder told DCMud that the decision had less to do with DC and “more to do with his overall career.” Though, as Marder pointed out with evident contentment, “I was just reading that Marion Berry didn’t want to give him up and thinks DC shouldn’t have let him go.”

Despite that faint praise, Marder added “I think he’s going to fit in very nicely here,” adding that in addition to his service in DC, Kelly served as “President of the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities, brings an incredible academic record, and has 28 years of experience in the public housing sector.”

Since beginning his position with the Housing Authority in DC in 2000, Kelly, according to DCHA's website, secured "over $786 million in public and private funding for public housing" in the District and helped DC win an additional $105.7 million in the form of HOPE VI Grants.

Asked about whether the DCHA would suffer from Kelly's absence, DCHA spokeswoman, Dena Michaelson said “I doubt it,” adding that there will be “sadness, but no big changes are in the works yet.”

In his new role, Kelly will be responsible for the day-to-day NYCHA operations as well as helping implement strategies to expand New York’s public housing while making it more cost-effective; a tall order from a housing system that serves over 403,000 people (1 in 20 New Yorkers), has a $3.2 billion dollar budget and carries over $130 million in annual deficits.

Back in DC, a national search for a permanent DCHA director marches forward. Adrianne Todman, former deputy executive director for administration and external affairs, will serve as the interim Executive Director until Kelly’s permanent replacement is named. Maybe we should check out how Baltimore's Housing Authority is being run. Not that coming to DC would be a step up or anything.

Drug and Crime Infested DC Housing Project Meets Its Match

A formerly crime and drug infested building met its match today as officials marked the final phase of demolition of Capitol View Plaza Towers, a long-vacant public housing eyesore in the District’s Marshall Heights neighborhood. Despite several earlier-contemplated residential and mixed-use plans, the site has no clear future as DC officials continue checking the couch cushions for financing. Initially the District did not even have the financing to demolish the abandoned structure, but a $3 million grant from the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) made it possible. While an empty lot may be more desirable than an eyesore, it is not much of an improvement for land that serves as the gateway to the city from Maryland's Prince George's County, just a block down the road.

Most recently, the plan for the site was to create a new multifamily rental building as well as market-rate condos. However, Kerry Smyser, the Project Manager at DCHA, said that with the finance market and condo market the way they are, that plan is no longer feasible. Smyser added that since the two towers from today's demolition are part of the Capitol Gateway project, A&R Development Corporation and Henson Development Company, as the Gateway's developers, would have first right to develop any plan the government decides on. Failing that, the District could then issue an RFP. According to Cymando Henley, a spokesperson for DCHA, the District will "look at all the options and decide what is best for the community."

In 2000, under the administration of former DC Mayor Anthony Williams, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) allotted a $30.8 million grant under its HOPE VI program to the redevelopment of Capitol View Plaza's 12-story tower. The HOPE grants also applied to neighboring public housing which is now the Capitol residential project. In April, Smyser said that phase I of that development has delivered “nearly 240 duplexes, townhouses and single-family homes.” The HOPE grants allow for a combination of mixed income and mixed-use projects, which have in the past included community centers as well as residential buildings.

Today's demolition was a more public display of the slow dismantling of the building which has been underway since July. The local fire department, Engine 30, has been closely watching the progress and will be celebrating the demolition. According to their blog the "buildings when occupied, would average 5-7 medical locals a tour for the companies, with the rare, but spectacular fire." Comments from former residents told horror stories of murders in elevators and crack addicts in the stairwells. No more drugs, no more murders, no more fire engines. Things are looking up.

DC Mayor Adrian Fenty was joined by Michael Kelly, executive director of the District of Columbia Housing Authority (DCHA), and Leila Edmonds, director of the DCHD. Though Fenty was at the helm today, the Wrecking Corporation of America will continue the demolition, which will complete in 2010.


UPDATE: After DCMud published this story on Wednesday, the Washington Business Journal published a conflicting and incorrect account on Thursday, indicating that Capitol View would "ultimately include 761 mixed-income units and a 110,000-square-foot retail center featuring a Shoppers Food Warehouse." Several readers asked us which was right. To clarify, the Capitol View Towers are not currently slated for any defined use. Kerry Smyser of DCHA confirmed that there were no plans for Capitol View, the last time a plan had been established was 2005, but that those were now defunct.

Also, the Shoppers Food Warehouse referred to by WBJ will not be a part of Capitol View, it will be a part of Capitol Gateway, on the north side of East Capitol Street. Behind the Gateway project in northeast are 151 senior-housing units. Add the senior housing to the new townhouses adjacent to Captiol View, and the "Capitol Gateway" area has a total of 371 units built. Smyser indicated that the original HUD report had predicted 761 units for the entire Capitol Gateway Project, including potential units at Capitol View, but that those numbers were no longer accurate.

Capitol Quarter's LEED Silver Townhomes Open Next Week

Next Wednesday, Washington DC officials and developers will celebrate the first occupancies of the Capitol Quarter community of new market-rate townhomes, affordable workforce homes, and public rental apartments in the Capitol Riverfront Neighborhood. The 208 townhomes along 7 city blocks are walking distance from the Navy Yard, Capitol South and Eastern Market Metro stations. The townhomes achieved Silver LEED for Homes certification and together make up the nation's largest "LEED for Homes" community.

The construction, which began in mid-2008, proceeded in two Phases, the first covering four blocks, the second covering the remaining three blocks. Phase I should be completed in May of 2010 according to Jennifer Hebert, Director of Marketing for EYA. This first phase consists of 77 market-rate townhouses, 36 work force homes, 39 public housing rentals, and 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) units. Only the market-rate and workforce homes are LEED for Homes certified. For Phase I, 53 of the 77 market-rate townhomes are sold (22 are settled), all 36 workforce homes are sold (7 are settled), and Hebert indicated the District of Columbia Housing Authority (DCHA) has been filling the rental units as quickly as they can be built. Phase II will begin after Phase I is complete and EYA expects Phase II to finish some time in 2012.

DCHA, DC Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, and EYA will attend the ribbon cutting ceremony scheduled for Wednesday, August 26 at 10:00 AM to celebrate the first occupancies in the neighborhood. Capitol Quarter was developed through a public/private partnership among the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, DCHA, the District of Columbia government, Forest City, Urban Atlantic and EYA. According to Michael Kelly, DCHA Executive Director, DCHA and EYA have committed over 40% of labor contracts for the construction work to local and small businesses.

The two, three and four bedroom units were designed by Lessard Group. Each home has ENERGY STAR appliances and other green amenities, such as high-efficiency cooling units and low flow plumbing fixtures. The market-rate townhomes range from $635k to the mid-$700s. The workforce homes were sold in two releases; the first ranged between $295k and $350k and the second ranged from $350k to $450k. Finally, the rental unit rates are set by DCHA, but generally ask the occupants to pay 30% of their income towards rent.

Financing Trouble Adds Woes to Troubled Southeast Neighborhood

Residents of the beleaguered Washington Highlands neighborhood in Southeast will have to wait at least a little longer for the DC Housing Authority’s (DCHA) planned reinvigoration of the Highland Dwellings public housing complex. In 2007, DCHA selected New Market Investors and Southeast developers Crawford Edgewood Managers Inc. (CEMI) to construct the Highlands Addition – a project that would utilize a vacant 300,000 square lot as the site of a new “physically and socially vibrant neighborhood” with 138 units of mixed-income housing. With the project’s planned summer 2008 start date having come and gone, HR Crawford, President of CEMI and a forty year veteran of District redevelopment initiatives, tells DCmud that project is now locked in a holding pattern.

“It’s all over the place. We need to decide what's getting built and how we’re going to get there,” said Crawford. “Everyone is suffering right now…We have to re-ignite things a bit.”

Crawford, who previously succeeded in luring middle class residents back to Far Southeast with the gated Walter E. Washington Estates project in 1998, chalks the delays up to a lack of readily available financing and the need for infrastructural improvements in the surrounding neighborhood before work can begin. Nonetheless, he says that though the project may be in stasis, his development team – which also includes architects Torti Gallas and Partners and Hamel Builders – is ready to commence construction once those pieces fall into place.

“We had to go through the ritual of getting [US Department of Housing and Urban Development] approval and all the public hearings and those kinds of things…It’s fully approved. We’re ready to go. You might say we’re shovel ready,” said Crawford.

However, Crawford went onto describe the project’s timeline as “questionable” – an unwelcome piece of news for Washington Highlands residents and DC policymakers alike. In the intervening years since the Highlands Addition was first announced, the surrounding community has had to battle some of the District’s highest rates of both unemployment and violence; in 2007, the neighborhood accounted for one-third of all homicides in the District. Media scrutiny of the area only intensified when, that same year, 14-year-old DeOnte Rawlings was shot to death by police inside the very same Highland Dwellings that DCHA has targeted for redevelopment. Despite its' troubled past, Crawford is confident that the area will be in for an image makeover (if and) when the Highlands Addition begins to draw in new neighbors.

“[We’ll be offering] both rental and for sale units. We’ll be a relatively innovative property, in that you won’t be able to tell who the renters are versus the owners,” said Crawford. “We’re going to integrate everyone socio-economically.”

Wizards Owner Bringing Magic Back to NE Housing Project

John Stranix, formerly of Clark Construction and now of Stranix Associates, is spearheading an effort - via the Pollin Memorial Development, LLC - to bring a 125-unit development to the ever-expanding Minnesota Avenue corridor in northeast Washington.

Named for the family of Washington Wizards owner, Verizon Center visionary, and generous District benefactor - Abe Pollin - the $18 million Pollin Memorial Community Development would transform a 450,000 square foot chunk of Ward 7 into "91 row dwellings, eight three-unit apartment buildings and five flats, amounting to a total of 125 residential units" - for a total of 193,688 square feet of new development. This would be the second such memorial public housing development in the District - Pollin previously opened Southeast's Linda Pollin Memorial Housing project in 1967.

Bounded by Hayes, Barnes, and Grant Streets, NE and Anacostia Avenue, the new Pollin complex would replace the 49-year-old Parkside Additions public housing project on the site with 83 homeownership units and 42 “rental replacement public housing units” – affordable housing targeting renters at or below 30% of the area media income. While the current Parkside project is described by the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) as “functionally obsolete,” the new affordable units would be reserved as a “one-for- one replacement” for current tenants.

The redevelopment of housing would be complemented by new internal streets and a new “intimately-scaled” neighborhood park that would fall at the end of what is now Cassell Place, NE. This would include a new playground and landscaped area with trees and benches – all of which would front on the row houses, in order to allow for easy child supervision.

The site is a composite of property belonging to 3 distinct entities – the District of Columbia, the District of Columbia Housing Authority (DCHA), and the National Parks Service (NPS). The developer courted the approval of all of those landowners back in 2006 and received approval for the project from NCPC last year.

Despite the multitude of parties with stakes in the site - current residents not least among them - the District posits that redevelopment is in the best interests of all involved including those of the greater Minnesota-Benning corridor. "Regarding the [area's] comprehensive plan, the development will further some of its major themes," said Matt Jesick, Development Review Specialist of the DC Office of Planning, in session before the District of Columbia Zoning Commission. "It will replace an older public housing development with newer affordable housing. It will compliment existing and proposed development in the neighborhood. It will preserve approximately 43 percent of the site as an undeveloped natural area and it will promote enhanced public safety and provide for diversity in the community." Enterprise Community Partners, who are financing part of the Wheeler Terrace public housing redevelopment in Southeast, have also issued a statement in support of the project.

Using designs by Torti Gallas & Partners, the project aims to begin construction in August 2009.