Del Ray Project Stalls

A development darling of Alexandria's Del Ray neighborhood is on hold, with the green office building on Mt. Vernon Avenue sidelined until market conditions improve. Del Ray Greens was designed to replace Anthony's Auto Center with a small retail and office building high on green credentials and capable of supporting a small vegetable farm, but the project's developer has asked the city to put a hold on its application, citing market conditions not yet justifying a start date.

Last May, would-be developer Julie Wadler anticipated that the project, more a passion than a business shift, would be underway this fall, integrating the community with design input, locally designed art projects for the facade, and public access to the rooftop garden. The city has not issued construction permits, and plans have been shelved for now.

The concept was to transform the property, which sat tantalizingly close to Wadler's Epiphany Productions, into refined, carbon-light office space worthy of a LEED Gold rating, phenolic panels (a recycled composite) and a "farmable, vegetated roof." Wadler purchased the property in 2005 for $1.2m and has spent the intervening time on its design and pushing it through the city.

"Part of the reason for building in the first place was to put something green there. If we're going to do it, we're going to do it right," said Wadler last May, who has now put nearly 6 years into the project.

Old Town-based Maginniss + Del Ninno designed the building, and Wadler held a competition for two mosaics that will adorn the building's entrance. A 9th grader from Alexandria and a 7th grader from Arlington won the contest for the 7' x 6' mosaics; their schools will be responsible for producing the final piece at the still indeterminate moment of production.

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Del Ray Rising (II)

Add another project to the growing list of development to fill in Del Ray. The latest: Del Ray Greens, at 2903 Mt. Vernon Avenue. With the paint still wet at Mt. Vernon Commons across the street, and the Lofts at Del Ray Village now under construction just down the block, change on Mt. Vernon Avenue is already in motion. If would-be developer Julie Wadler has her way, the Anthony's Auto site at the corner of Mt. Vernon and Commonwealth will add to the transformation, as it morphs from a carbon glutton filling station to a carbon-neutral office space.
The metamorphosis could begin taking place by this fall, according to Wadler, who has a self-professed longstanding fixation with environmental awareness, and simply couldn't resist the idea of turning something so environmentally unfriendly into, well, the opposite. If the vision is fulfilled, the former pumping station will be replaced with a small office sporting with a LEED Gold (fingers crossed) rating, phenolic panels (a recycled composite) and a "farmable, vegetated roof." The latter will be parceled out to the community who can ascend the building to harvest their own arugula or snap peas.

The project has been a long time coming for Wadler, who says the project has moved much slower than expected, thanks in large part to regulatory hurdles. "The city process just took forever" she says, noting she bought the property "probably six years ago." Actually, less than 5, according to tax records. "Well, it seems like six years," says Wadler, who has spent the past 3 just getting it through the city. She purchased the filling station for $1.2m after it had been remediated - "we bought the land clean" - she says, but has done extensive environmental testing since that time to satisfy Alexandria. "Part of the reason for building in the first place was to put something green there. If we're going to do it, we're going to do it right."

Despite being close to having final permits for the project, Wadler, the President of epiphany productions, has other ongoing concerns and doesn't foresee moving forward on the project until the fall. When the moment arrives, the architect of the building will be Old Town-based Skip Maginniss of Maginniss + Del Ninno, who Wadler chose for his "similar vision" for the site.

To satiate Alexandria's artsy mandate, Wadler held a competition for two mosaics that will adorn the building's entrance. A 9th grader from Alexandria and a 7th grader from Arlington won the contest for the 7' x 6' mosaics; their schools will be responsible for producing the final piece.

Of the eco-friendly design, architect Skip Maginniss says his firm proposed the green roof, "but Julie took it one step further" to create the farmable vegetation. The minor modification requires only deeper soil pans - up to 8 inches instead of the typical 4.5 inch pan, to accommodate plant varieties suitable for a "kitchen garden." Maginniss says skytubes, larger window space and a roofdeck will enhance the internal experience while providing contributive green features, and that such natural environmental controls allow them to build in "only modest mechanical controls," cutting back on building expense and utility costs.

As for the exterior design, Maginniss says he "spent probably close to 18-24 months working with the neighborhood and the city studying various options and coming up with a design that's compatible yet distinct in the neighborhood...something that was attractive but looked like it was a LEED-certified building."

Alexandria, Virginia real estate development news

Del Ray Rising (I)

It took years of planning, 3 generations of family financing, and alot of perspirational equity, but the Lofts of Del Ray Village are finally under construction. Developer-architect Gaver Nichols purchased the property eight years ago with several partners and poured the foundation last year, but when the financial world underwent cosmic implosion, things got interesting. Now, with a new financing plan in place thanks to "Grandma's CD's," construction is about to get underway.

"Tenacity pays off," says Nichols, who closed on a new financing package three weeks ago with the help of a sizable collateral from the aforesaid grandma and other extended family. "We were able to make the bank happy through the coordinated effort of all the partners," says Nichols, who "had to convince the bank that real estate is not an evil thing," not to mention getting plans through the city government. "It just shouldn't have been this difficult."

Nichols estimates that a year from now the finished product will be unveiled: a single wood-framed building with brick veneer; four townhouse components, each comprised of double two-story units. The condo units run from 2,053 to 2,949 s.f. Nichols says the units will be primarily offered for rent, though if the right offer to purchase came along he could be tempted to part with his "labor of love."

The most unique part of the project is that each of the units will be built to the higher commercial code, but with interiors that enable them to function as live-work spaces, residential condos, or pure office spaces, depending on the needs of the tenant (or buyer.) Each of the 5 partners will control two of the units, increasing the odds of a mix of uses. Nichols stresses that the development is comprised entirely of locals with a vested interest in the community - even the benches on the sidewalks, which will be dedicated to relatives that helped out at the project's inception but did not live to see the completed building.

Nichols is also designing a 4-unit condominium down the street, proof that "the avenue is coming alive." But he may be more excited about the lessons learned from this experience, which he plans to translate into what could be called a Design-Build-Finance model. Nichols doesn't want others repeating his experience, and has initiated a Collaboration of Architects and Real Estate experts (CARE) that he sees as a way to add value to other people's property. "Through our expertise of designing, building, architecture, and planning, we can take someone's land or building who doesn't know what to do with their building, and we're able to help them...show them how to better position their property, whether its financing, construction, or planning, not just the design."

At least one of his neighbors knows exactly what to do with their property, and how hard it is to get things done in Alexandria, but that's a story for tomorrow.

Footnote: Subsequent to publication, Nichols informed DCMud that the building would "probably qualify" for a LEED Silver ranking as designed, and that he is "looking at" geothermal heating as an option as well.

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Alexandria Live/Work Project Sees Delays

A frozen development project, evidenced by the snow-covered concrete slab at 2707-2711 Mount Vernon Avenue in Alexandria, is showing signs of thawing now that construction may start again this spring. Alexandria's The Lofts at Del Ray Village, a three-story, 14,096 s.f. development, was supposed to resuscitate the vacant lot beginning last May. Almost a year later, the foundation is poured, but the rest of the live/work project remains incomplete. Now developer/architect Gaver Nichols says, the project could get back on track within the next two months and could complete by the end of 2010.

The problems began about six months ago when a local lender suddenly lost its enthusiasm for all things real estate. That left Nichols and his development partners with a poured foundation and no financing to go beyond that. Nichols says carefully that "the project is moving slowly due to financial constraints" but that he and his partners are raising collateral and doing everything they can to begin building. "I have been working on this site for almost ten years, since I approached the guy about the dirt," said Nichols, "it's a labor of love."

The Lofts’ top two floors will be four, two-bedroom units, ranging in size from 2,053 to 2,949 s.f. The ground-floor will include 4,500 square feet of office space (plus basements), giving tenants the opportunity to work from home, though they will not be required to use the commercial space. Last May, Nichols described the project: “Conceptually, it’s like the traditional neighborhood warehouse that’s been renovated with a modern top." Except this is brand new construction - an entirely different ball game- and architect Nichols has earned his development stripes during a difficult time for even an established developer.

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Del Ray Residences to Open Soon

Alexandria's newest residential building is almost complete, as the developer puts the final touches on Mt. Vernon Commons, a 141-unit apartment building in Del Ray. By April, developer Mount Vernon Commons, LLC hopes to finish the "neo-contemporary" building at the intersection of Mt. Vernon and Commonwealth Avenues for a spring opening.

The apartments replaced 11 commercial

spaces, for which it will partially atone by adding a small retail space to the ground floor. Though originally conceived as green condominium, the developer is not pursuing LEED certification for the project, which will consist of leased apartments rather than for-sale condos. The three to four-story wood-framed superstructure will sit on top of a two-level parking garage. To enhance the design, the developer is also planning a public art piece at the intersection.

According to architect Jim Heffner of Heffner Architects, "the biggest challenge of the project was the site itself," sitting on a narrow wedge of land with a 20-foot change in elevation, peaking at 100 feet in width, that had to accommodate a triangular cut-out in the middle. A townhouse design will help the project transition away from the adjacent single family residences, and the facade will incorporate "metal skin components unique to wood framed buildings."

The residences were devised by Carr Homes, which later sold the project to its current owner, a process which entailed significant delay in its delivery. Heffner is also the architect of Penrose Square and Rhodes Hill Square, both now under construction. Clark Builders Group is the general contractor.

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Live/Work for Alexandria's Main Drag

Virginia architect-cum-developer Gaver Nichols is gearing up to begin work on a new trend for Alexandria’s main drag, a project he is calling live/work housing. The Lofts at Del Ray Village - a three-story, 14,096 square foot development that will resuscitate a vacant lot at 2707-2711 Mount Vernon Avenue - will add much needed rental apartments, and offer tenants the opportunity to work from home from ground floor office space.

"It’s a unique mixed-use structure and the first form-based, code-designed building on Mount Vernon Avenue with a living/working space concept. It’s a brick structure with aluminum...roofs, aluminum panels at the top and rooftop decks," said Nichols. “Conceptually, it’s like the traditional neighborhood warehouse that’s been renovated with a modern top.” Residents of the apartments are not required, however, to utilize the commercial space below them.

Standing on The Lofts’ top two floors, the four rental units will range in size from 2,053 to 2,949 square feet and each include two bedrooms. The ground-floor will include 4,500 square feet of office space (plus basements) that Nichols says would be well-suited to a small office or bank, a corner plaza at Raymond and Del Ray Avenues and a 16-space surface parking lot. It’s a development scheme that Nichols has been pursuing since initially acquiring the property in 2005.

“We took an empty lot that none of my developer clients wanted,” he said. “I decided to buy it with a couple of guys, took them through the development process and the city rewrote the zoning concept for us to allow for the live/work use concept.”

Having already been awarded approval by the Alexandria Planning and Zoning Board, Nichols now awaits building permits, at which point his in-house general contractor will begin construction. “I could have them as soon as two weeks from now, if everything goes well…All these permutations make [the project] very unique, but it's very difficult to get through the process,” he said. The build-out is expected to be underway by July with construction slated to take at least a year.

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Apartments for the Commonwealth

Northern Virginia’s Del Ray neighborhood is set to lose 11 primarily vacant storefronts in the coming months, as the Mount Vernon Commons, LLC begins work on their so-named project at the intersection of Mount Vernon and Commonwealth Avenues in Alexandria.

The Mount Vernon Commons development aims to deliver 141 one and two-bedroom residential units, along with 3,000 square feet of ground floor retail to what is currently 3015-3111 Mount Vernon Avenue and 3026 Commonwealth Avenue. Once planned as a new condo development for Alexandria, project managers are naturally pursuing rental apartments – with a possibility that units “may revert condominiums at a later time.” Alexandria affordable housing guidelines require that six of the one bedroom units and three of two-bedroom units be available below market rate.

Once completed, the LEED-certified Mount Vernon Commons will consist of two buildings, ranging from three to four stories, for a gross of 146,605 square feet of new development. The traditional apartment units will be accented by painted brick “townhouse-style” units fronting Commonwealth Avenue, atop two-stories of underground parking. Additionally, the southern end of the development will sport 3,000 square feet of publicly accessible open space with seating and an undetermined art element.

The project was initially under the stewardship of Fairfax-based Carr Homes, which, after receiving approval from the Alexandria City Council in December of 2006, sold both the site and plans to the Mount Vernon Commons, LLC. After the change of hands, the new owner moved for a one year extension on their 2008 construction deadline, a move backed by the Del Ray Citizens Association. In accordance with the Planning Commission’s approval of the extension, the development must now break ground by June 21, 2009, or begin the approval process anew. The project is being designed by Heffner Architects, PC and built by Clark Construction.