ANC Special Meeting: Residents to Voice Opinions on Minnesota Avenue Project

Want to see a developer chided by development-hungry residents? Over pedestrian safety? The ANC-7D meeting Friday evening is your chance. Last October, the District government chose Donatelli Development to develop a 5-acre parcel at Minnesota Avenue and Benning Road. The $108 million mixed-use project boasts 40,000 square feet of retail space, 375 affordable housing units and 60 market units. Representatives from local ANCs promise a thorough review of Donatelli's project presentation.

ANC-7D Chairperson Willette Seaward said that despite the city's award of the project and subsequent land disposition review, there was no "official" ANC support. Seaward said she believed Donatelli had met with residents only once after being awarded the RFP last October and failed to "engage the community."

The primary issues are traffic congestion and pedestrian safety at the intersection of Minnesota Ave. and Benning Road. Resident groups like the Coalition for Smarter Growth want public easement and right-of-way for a possible future street connection that would extend Minnesota Ave. along the Metro tracks and add an intersection to reduce congestion. Neighboring ANC7C04 Commissioner, Sylvia Brown was frustrated that prescribed changes in the Minnesota Avenue Great Streets plan, such as the Minn-Benn Phase 2 Benning bridge access road, were not implemented in Donatelli's plan.

Commissioner Seaward said residents are also concerned about not having enough market-rate housing necessary to attract high-end retail. Additionally, the community wants a binding benefit agreement to include public green space, internships and job training for residents or funds for local community centers. Commissioner Brown said the community wants to shed its reputation for being opposed to everything by working with the developer to find a solution.


According to Chris Donatelli, President and CEO of Donatelli Development, the project is not going through the PUD process, but they are working closely with the city on the plan since it is part of a public-private partnership. Donatelli cited the community spaces (think NGO offices) already included in the plan and modifications that added a for-sale component as examples of their collaboration. According to Donatelli, the July disposition hearing was the first time the developers were made aware of community concerns over right-of-way. At that time, DC Council Members asked the developer to consider including the right-of-way. Donatelli said they are meeting with DDOT and in the end are pretty flexible, "you always want to have community support."

We'll see what happens when Donatelli's team presents their project to the community this Friday the 31st at 6:30 in the 6D Police Station Community Room at 100-42nd St NE. It guarantees not to be a dull evening.

Park Place Opens atop Georgia Avenue Metro

Park Place, perhaps Georgia Avenue's most momentous new development, was celebrated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony today. The new apartment building, a $71 million, 200,000 square-foot housing and retail project atop the Georgia Avenue-Petworth Metro station, was built by Donatelli Development. Donatelli teamed with DC-based Gragg & Associates to work on the project, a 161-unit residential with 17,000 s.f. of ground floor retail. Mayor Fenty issued a press release and said the opening of Park Place meant that "economic development on Georgia Avenue has finally arrived." Amen. Though construction is still incomplete, the development will soon add 156 rental apartments and 5 rental town homes. The building will offer 20% of the space as affordable housing, something the community has long desired, according to Fenty. Residents will also have access to 187 underground parking spaces in addition to the Metro. The ribbon cutting ceremony took place on the landscaped roof, which boasts views of the National Cathedral, Capitol Dome, and National Monument. 

The retail space will be divided into 8 bays and the occupants will include a cafe, two sit-down restaurants and potentially a wine store. Local businesses from the U-Street area (familiar with Donatelli's project there) are considering coming to the area to build their second or third DC-location in the Georgia Avenue/Petworth Community, according to the developer. Funding for the project came from several sources including $15 million from Canyon Johnson Urban Funds (a partnership with Magic Johnson), $55 million Citibank and $2 million of Gragg's and Donatelli's own coffers "because of the financing state." Donatelli was awarded the low-income supporting contract without govt. subsidy by the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development through a competitive process in 2004, and construction began in 2006. The project was originally intended as a for-sale condominium, but the meltdown in condo prices in Petworth forced the conversion to for-rent units. Chris Donatelli has had a busy few weeks, just last week we reported on his planned development adjacent to the Benning Road Metro. Donatelli, which also revitalized Columbia Heights, is building another, smaller apartment building across the street from Park Place.

Washington DC retail for lease and commercial property news

DC Council Ponders Major Land Disposition

The DC Council hosted a roundtable Wednesday evening to thoughtfully ponder Disposition Approval Resolutions of 5 major developments planned across the city and give residents a chance to air concerns. Officially held to determine whether the city-held land was "surplus" - in lay terms, unneeded and salable - and whether or not selling them would benefit the city and the surrounding community in real terms (jobs, quality of life, etc.). Below is an abbreviated (luckily for you) roundup of the evenings discussions:

1. Minnesota-Benning Phase 2 Redevelopment: As previously reported Donatelli Development and Blue Skye Development won the bid to develop low-income housing and retail space adjacent to the Minnesota Avenue metro station. Panel members described the property as blighted, vacant and underused. Cheryl Cort of the Coalition for Smarter Growth disagreed with statements that the space was underutilized and also argued for a public easement and right of way, requesting that a segment of the property not be developed in case of future transportation demands. Councilmember Kwame Brown (at-large) described development as a way to "bring the city together."

2. New Communities Northwest One: By far the most contentious property of the evening was the site of the former Temple Courts Apartments. Arguments against the land, now used as a parking lot as developers work through the tangles of DC government, included ANC Commissioner Keith Silver's, who submitted a thesis-sized objection, and community members' claims that during Phase1 the developer failed to meet hiring standards requiring that 51% of jobs be given to DC residents. Chris Smith, Jr., Chairman and CEO of William C. Smith & Company, who disclaimed involvement in Phase1, promised to make good on employment promises in Phase2. But some Council members wagged fingers at Smith for having failed to interact directly with local ANCs while assuring community members of Smith's strong standing in the development community. The only change was the decision to build each of 5 buildings in separate phases to improve financing; i.e. former residents will have a long wait until they can return to their new homes.

3. Strand Theatre- It was a big night for Ward 7, with 3 of the 5 projects coming to the ward. The panel, including developers and community members, voiced overwhelming support for the Strand Theatre revitalization and redevelopment project. Council members asked the necessary questions to afford political cover, but there was little contention over the project.

4. Eastern Avenue Property - We previously wrote about ODMPED's call for plans to redevelop properties located at 400-414 Eastern Avenue, NE and the 6100 block of Dix Street NE. The selected plan will offer 56 affordable for sale units - all be 3-bedroom townhouses, something the community supports enthusiastically. Mary Cheeks, a Ward 7 resident, stepped up to opine that "this property has sat vacant for too long...it is time to move forward..." Council members were particularly impressed by the approximately $3.5 million dollar investment that would yield so much housing. Councilman Brown remarked on the millions of dollars being discussed among the projects and remarked over the efficient use of city resources, "I like that," he said. Enough said.

5. Fourth/Sixth and E. Street, S.W.: We reported on the intial appointment of Potomac Investment Properties, City Partners and Adams Investment Group, to redevelop land currently occupied by a fire station and a parking lot. A 9-story building will replace that former fire stationa and house a cafe and work site for DC Central Kitchen, and possibly even a stationery store, wine store and coffee shop. The property is currently planned as a 99-year lease, largely due to the presence of the district's fire station. Council member Tommy Wells (Ward 6), concerned about financing, advised John Holmes of Adams Investment Group that the "stakes are raised" on the project. To paraphrase, "don't screw this up."

Donatelli Bringing 'Downtown' to Minnesota-Benning

Mayor Fenty today announced the District’s selection of Donatelli Development and Blue Skye Development as the developers of a 5-acre parcel at Minnesota Avenue and Benning Road, NE, adjacent to the Minnesota Avenue Metro station.

The $108 million mixed-use project will bring 40,000 square feet of retail space, 375 affordable housing units and 60 market units to the major hub of Ward 7. These developments will be coupled with “a 5,000 square foot retail incubator” reserved for local businesses and 2,500 square feet of “community space.” Architects Eric Colbert & Associates are designing the project.

“This area is what some are now calling ‘Downtown Ward 7,’” said Fenty. “That is because of the energy, the already existing activity level and also the great potential of Minnesota Avenue and Benning Road.” The intersection currently houses several strip malls, an auto parts store and a parking garage dedicated to Metro parking (pictured).

Once completed, the project will neighbor the new, already under-construction Department of Employee Services headquarters. Fenty went on to point out that several other developers have also expressed interest in remaining lots on all four corners of the busy intersection.

This announcement follows an RFP for the site issued last spring and a competing proposal from City Interests, LLC. Christopher Donatelli, President of Donatelli Development, said he expects construction on the by-right development to begin “as quick as possible,” with a probable start date sometime in the next 18 months. He went on to say that the project should be open for business “36 months from today” – meaning the first signs of a true downtown for Ward 7 should start to crop up in late 2011.

The project is being fast-tracked by the District, as it requires no subsidies from the local government and no changes in zoning. Donatelli is also taking advantage of federal lending programs targeted at affordable housing development that will allow them to move forward with the project during the current economic slowdown.

“As long as there is a need for affordable housing - and we know that there is - this project will be addressing the supply,” said Donatelli. Donatelli has substantial cred with the Mayor, after having transformed Columbia Heights from a similarly vacuous site to a thriving metro center. Blue Skye was chosen just last week for redevelopment the Tewkesbury, a blighted District-owned apartment building in Brightwood that will convert to condominiums. Lacey

Project Taken to New Heights on Georgia Avenue

Like a snowball rolling downhill, the number of residential developments on Georgia Avenue is getting bigger by the minute. The latest project on the boards is The Heights at Georgia Avenue by the Neighborhood Development Company (NDC) - a 100,000 square foot mixed-use building that will feature 100% affordable housing. Besides adding 69 new apartments to the Petworth real estate market, the project at the intersection of Georgia Avenue & Lamont Street NW will also add roughly 10,000 square feet of retail to the mix. The developer is currently engaged in talks with a hardware retailer about the site and hopes have a sit-down restaurant in place when The Heights opens its doors in early 2011.

The Heights' all-affordable status has put it in a unique position with the District of Columbia. This week, Councilmember Jim Graham will introduce a bill before the City Council that aims to grant the project an exemption from property taxes for the next 40 years - provided it maintains an at least 50% margin of affordable housing in that time. The proposal should be voted upon sometime this fall.

NDC president Adrian G. Washington told DC Mud that ANC approval for The Heights at Georgia is forthcoming. “We’ve met with the ANC on several occasions and gotten a letter of support from the single-member district commissioner…We’re actually going tomorrow and we hope they will formally approve it.”

The Georgia Avenue site was acquired by a partnership of NDC and Mi Casa Inc. – a DC-based non-profit that specializes in restoring aging properties and converting them into affordable housing. The Heights will be their second brand-new new construction project (the first being the Rittenhouse Project in Brightwood). The building is being designed by architect Graham Parker and will come in at a cost of approximately $25 million. Construction is slated to begin in the fourth quarter of 2009.

The Heights is only one of numerous projects currently in development in the Petworth neighborhood. Up the street at 4136 Georgia, Formant Development's proposed 57-unit, 7 story condominium tower is still scheduled to go to ground in 2009. Meanwhile, Donatelli Development’s Park Place is currently under construction and their proposed project across the street at 3801 Georgia recently issued a BID to contractors. These twin projects are joined by the massive redevelopment just up the street of the Park Morton public housing complex.

UPDATE: The Heights at Georgia Avenue's final address has been confirmed as 3232 Georgia Avenue NW - across the street from the NDC's Lamont Lofts project that was completed in 2005.

Washington D.C. real estate development

Donatelli Downsizes Petworth Metro Building

Developers Willco Residential and Donatelli Development are moving forward with their initiative to revitalize a stretch of Georgia Avenue marred by vacant lots and blighted businesses. Billing itself as “the first luxury, boutique residential property in the Columbia Heights/Petworth neighborhood,” the project located at 3801 Georgia Avenue NW will - according to a BID issued by Donatelli on September 22 - feature 12 rental units of 1 or 2-bedroom, 850 square foot apartments. Additionally, the concepts on hand call for the construction of a “sit-down” restaurant and 5,000 square feet of retail space. This announcement marks a change to the initial plans that projected 49 residential units and space for only 1 to 2 retail outlets. Now that the scale of the building has been pared down, the developer is posting no requirements for affordable housing and, as such, “will offer luxury urban living at lower price points than larger competing luxury properties.” Accordingly, they expect a successful leasing effort and a low vacancy rate from the get-go.Christopher Donatelli, President of Donatelli Development spoke to the reasoning behind the loss of the residential space. “Anytime you have an empty lot like that you can come in with a quality development is a good thing,” he said. “We’re going to get some retail in there…Trying to get a good development there at the Metro seems to make a lot of sense.” The new building is directly across the street from Donatelli’s 161-unit Park Place development above the Georgia Avenue/Petworth Metro - due for completion this winter - and is being designed by architects Eric Colbert & Associates (see DC Mud's previous coverage of Park Place). The project is expected to go to ground in May 2009.

Washington DC commercial real estate news

DC Selects Georgia Avenue Developer

Washington DC Mayor Fenty arrived by Smart Car today to announce that the District of Columbia has selected Donatelli Development and Mosaic Urban Partners as the development team for three parcels of land on Georgia Avenue. The lots are located one block north of the Petworth Metro station, at 3813, 3815 and 3825 Georgia Avenue. Development plans have not yet been finalized, but Mayor Fenty said today he expects the final product to include retail, restaurants, and market rate and affordable housing. Echoing his oft-repeated calls to fire up development on the neglected corridor, the Mayor insisted today that DC has "gotta have economic development on Georgia Avenue" for the benefit of the whole city, and that the project would complete by the fall of 2010. The city has not yet reached purchase terms with the development team. Donatelli Development has an extensive track record with the city, and, with DC-based Gragg & Associates, is nearing completion on Park Place, a 161-unit residential and retail building almost across the street. Donatelli also owns an adjacent vacant lot, on which it plans a 49-unit condominium building, though timing remains uncertain said Chris Donatelli. This will be a first for development partner Mosaic, a firm based in DC. Mosaic partner Calvin Gladney, a former NCRC staff member, said that partnering with Donatelli allows them to "integrate retail strategy," and "achieve a better end result for the community." Gladney was a bit more circumspect than the Mayor regarding timing, quickly noting that "there are so many variables", including financing, though partnering with Donatelli will certainly streamline the underwriting process. The project will convert two small neglected buildings and a vacant lot, all District owned, into a mixed use project on two separate sites. Architect Bill Bonstra, partner of Bonstra Haresign, the ubiquitous firm chosen to design the project, said that the project would feature a green roof and locally based retail, and that there was "a real push to do a community-minded project." 

The new building on the now vacant lot will rise three stories at street front, stepping back for a fourth and fifth floor. The selection of developers was unusually swift, with the District having solicited bids at the end of April, with a due date of July. Two teams submitted bids for the project. The mayor's office hopes the project is well timed, coming as the Petworth neighborhood struggles to fulfill the expectations of a revitalized mixed-use corridor. On May 23rd the Mayor stood nearby to announce that Georgia Avenue development was finally taking hold, highlighting Donatelli's Park Place, and Jair Lynch Development Partners' 130-unit apartment building at 3910 Georgia Avenue. But Park Place will not complete until next year, and Jair Lynch has encountered financing, title, and zoning hurdles with its project, and has been reluctant to even give a start date. And while the Neighborhood Development Company is also well underway on its own apartment building just to the north, many of the expected success of Georgia Avenue have yet to be initiated, and a bevy of apartment-turned condominium low-rises that expected to benefit from the retail surge that never happened remain unsold. But the prospect of five new developments all rising within a few blocks is undoubtedly a new direction for Petworth, and an event that may make an honest man out of the Mayor.

Washington DC commercial property news

Georgia Ave. Development Takes Hold! (Sort of)

The District has announced several milestones to let you know that Georgia Avenue is really, truly, on a path toward development - and this time they mean it. After numerous initiatives and promises by previous administrations, the Fenty Folks seemed determined to get the job done. To wit, the administration announced today several items to bolster our confidence in Petworth and Brightwood:

Park Place - Donatelli Development's mixed-use project above the Petworth Metro station, has topped out, reaching its full height at seven stories. Donatelli, along with partners Gragg & Associates, Canyon Capital Realty Advisors and Earvin 'Magic' Johnson, was awarded development rights to the lot through a competitive process in 2004. 20% of the condos are mandated as "affordable." Like Highland Park apartments and Kenyon Square condos, Donatelli's projects that redefined the center of Columbia Heights, the condos were designed by Torti Gallas & Partners of Silver Spring, with sales by Washington DC-based Domus Realty. Construction is expected to complete early next year. Okay, so the topping out isn't a major news event, but at least construction hasn't stopped.

3912 Georgia Avenue - The mayor announced yesterday that a court had given clear title to the District, which will transfer the property to the Jair Lynch Development Partners. If the property sounds familiar, it may be due to frequent mention by this blog. The 130-unit apartment building, two blocks north of the Metro station, was awarded to JLC and development partner AHD Inc. (Affordable Housing Developer) by the National Capitol Revitalization Corporation (NCRC), before that organization was disbanded by the current administration. The $38 million project is being designed by EDG Architects and Frank Schlesinger Associates and will be built by Meridian Construction. Jair Lynch will provide 40% of the rental units at subsidized rates, and add 24,000 s.f. of retail space. NCRC gave Jair Lynch the land back in 2006, but it turns out that the city did not have clear title to the land.

Despite the Mayor's announcement, other issues remain, and the developer is not giving any timelines on construction yet. According to Tania Jackson of JL, clearing title was "a huge hurdle, but there are so many things that still need to happen." For one, because Mandatory Inclusionary Zoning (MIZ) - which JL supported - has not been enacted, JL must go through a 'mini-PUD' to get the density they require. The developer hopes to get the PUD done by June. (In better news for JL, they did just open sales at the Solea in Columbia Heights)

Finally, the District has just announced that it has acquired a long-vacant residential building at 6425 14th St. NW, just off Georgia Avenue. The building was referred to the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs' special unit, the (somewhat Stalinist-sounding) Board for the Condemnation of Insanitary Buildings. The Tewkesbury, a 26-unit building in Brightwood, will be offered to developers for renovation, but no timelines are being offered at this time.

Fenty Announces Petworth Metro Development Opportunities

At a Friday morning press conference just north of the Georgia Ave-Petworth Metro Station, Mayor Adrian Fenty announced the District's intention to solicit development bids for three government-owned properties on the 3800 block of Georgia Avenue NW. Properties for bid are 3813, formerly Caribbean Cuisine, now empty; 3815, an empty storefront; and 3925-29, a vacant lot. The former two properties will be offered as one development unit.

Mayor Fenty gave a brief, grim history of the properties prior to their purchase by the District, highlights of which included foreclosure, the demolition of a half-standing and decrepit photo lab, and the discovery of a dead body. (Incidentally, one of the only operational businesses on the block is Latney’s Funeral Home.)

What will fill the decaying block? With bids due this summer and the District’s decision not coming until fall, no one knows yet. But Ward 4 Councilmember Muriel Bowser, also in attendance at the press conference, spoke of “quality retail, quality dining, and places for our residents to gather and stop taking their dollars out of our city.” Any residential development would include the requisite 30 percent affordable housing, and all projects would have to meet green building standards. Former President Clinton may belatedly get his wish for a revitalized Georgia Avenue.

Just steps away from the conference, Donatelli Development was hard at work on Park Place, its $60 million mixed-use project above the Metro. Donatelli has also purchased an empty lot with 10,000+ developable s.f. on the corner of the 3800 block. In addition, Fenty intimated that the Safeway Food & Drug across the street would undergo renovation or redevelopment of some kind.

Councilmember Bowser hopes this block of Petworth will serve as a “model for what we want to do along this entire corridor.” Mayor Fenty has long voiced support for Ward 4 development. As Bowser put it, “I like to think of this as the mayor putting the people’s money where his mouth is.”

Columbia Heights Largest Condo Converts to Apartments

Donatelli Development and partner Gragg and Associates acknowledged today they will convert their iconic Highland Park condominium (pictured, top) at the southwest corner of 14^th and Irving streets in Columbia Heights, into rental units. The mixed-use development was the neighborhood's largest condominium, with 229 residential units, 20,000 square feet of retail, and three levels of underground parking, directly above the western entrance to the Columbia Heights metro.

“In light of recent shifts in the condominium market, we decided that we would be in a better position to serve the Columbia Heights market with a luxury rental building,” said company president Chris Donatelli, who developed the project in conjunction with NCRC and has done as much as any individual to bring about the revitalization of Columbia Heights. Despite its location above the Metro and across the street from DC-USA, the massive retail center opening in late winter, only about 75 of the 229 units were ever under contract, never matching its sister project across the street, Kenyon Square , a 153-unit condominium also by Donatelli that began delivery in July and is now more than 70% sold out, according to sales agents Domus Realty.

Silver Spring-based Torti Gallas designed the building, which had been offering a 24-hour front desk, two-level fitness center, an "unusually large...hotel-style lobby" (pictured, below), and one of the most inviting roof decks of the city. The condos had been priced from the mid $300's to the upper $700's. Donatelli points out that conversion will have no adverse impact on the finishes or amenities, as the building has been mostly completed, with delivery scheduled for early next year.

At the same time, Donatelli Development announced it has reached agreements with six retailers, helping to round out the burgeoning area as the northern tip of the 14th Street retail corrider, as planned by the city, and bolstering Columbia Heights as a retail center in its own right. Retailers at Highland Park will now include Hank's Oyster Bar, Five Guys Burgers and Fries, Potbelly Sandwich Works, Pete's Apizza, Zinnia - a Caribbean food restaurant, and Signal Financial Federal Credit Union.

“With two large buildings in the neighborhood, we’re in a position to understand what’s happening in the market on an extremely local level,” said Donatelli. “By pulling a large chunk of units from the condo market, we make a whole new class of product available to the Columbia Heights rental market.”

Construction began in mid 2005, sales began in November of the same year. Donatelli has experience in both the condo and rental market, having developed the Ellington apartments that helped transform U Street while remaining nearly 100% tenanted; Donatelli is also currently developing Park Place, a 156-unit condo in Petworth, also above the Metro, that is expected to begin delivering late next year.

Donatelli Development Opens New Downtown Sales Office

Donatelli Development and Domus Realty are set to officially open their new sales center on U Street this week. The new "state-of-the-art" sales center, designed by Georgetown-based architect Hickok Cole, will showcase Donatelli's projects at Columbia Heights and Petworth: Kenyon Square (pictured), Highland Park and Park Place. The sales center will feature scale models of the various buildings as well as a model kitchen and bath. Donatelli Development's projects were the anchor for the redevelopment of Columbia Heights, with the three residential projects currently underway at 14th and Irving. The company is now shifting its focus to the Georgia Avenue corridor, starting with the construction of Park Place , a 150-unit condominium built over the northern entrance to the Petworth Metro. The new sales center is located at 1301 U Street in the first floor of the Ellington, an apartment project completed by Donatelli in 2004.

Changes Coming to Georgia Avenue-Petworth, Dunn Loring Metro Stops

Those who suffered through the building of the Green Line remember well the disruption and dust kicked up by that long project, and celebrated the day the line was completed. While not as controversial, and in the end it will be part of something wonderful for Petworth, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) is planning to close the west escalator entrance to the Georgia Ave-Petworth station for two years starting December 11, 2006 (the east escalator entrance will stay open). This is part of the construction plan for Park Place (pictured), which is being built above the station. When completed in mid-2008, Park Place will offer 156 units in a 6-story building built by Donatelli Development. Park Place will offer underground parking and private rooftop terraces for prices starting at $320,000 for a 1BR condo and $480,000 for a 2 BR unit.

In other metro stop news, on Monday the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved Trammel Crow Residential’s plan to build a 720-unit apartment building with retail on a 15-acre lot at the Dunn Loring-Merrifield station. The project calls for three towers, set around a landscaped plaza, to be built on the parking lot, along with a new six-story parking garage with 2,000 spaces and stores underneath. There also will be 1,150 additional underground parking spaces under the apartment towers. Eight percent of the apartments will be set aside as "workforce" housing for county employees and low-income residents. In addition, Trammel Crow has pledged to the county a contribution to help cover the costs that the expected influx of new school-aged children will bring.

Groundbreaking for Donatelli's Petworth Project

On Monday, July 31, Donatelli Development will break ground on Park Place, its latest project, to be built above the Petworth Metro Station at Georgia and New Hampshire Avenues. When completed in mid-2008, Park Place will offer 156 units in a 6-story building designed by Torti Gallas of Silver Spring. Donatelli Development - the builder formerly known as Donatelli & Klein - teamed up with Torti Gallas for the two anchor residential projects in the center of Columbia Heights, inviting speculation that Petworth is the leading edge of the boom that engulfed 14th St. Park place will offer underground parking and private rooftop terraces for prices starting at $320,000 for a 1- bedroom condo and $480,000 for 2 bedrooms. Reservation agreements are currently being taken, hard sales should start in October when final condo certification is issued by the DC government; the general contractor has not yet been selected.

Petworth Goes Condo

The DC government's efforts to revitalize Georgia Avenue may finally be paying some dividends. Love or hate the trend, Petworth is poised to undergo a transformation that will include numerous large-scale condo developments over the next several years as the wave of developments seeps untapped areas. Hitherto dominated by single family residences, Petworth has one of the more active pipeline of condo developments and apartments in the city, where Donatelli & Klein is in the final stages of the 148-unit Park Place anchor at the Petworth Metro. Other projects include a 72-unit affordable apartment building at 4100 Georgia Avenue, a condominium at 4200 Georgia Avenue, a 110-unit apartment building at 3910 Georgia by Jair Lynch, the Renaissance by Lakritz Adler (105 units), and the Jefferson, a 39-unit reconstruction that will deliver this Winter. Unlike the last generation, this round of condos is going for higher-end features, with condos like the Jefferson offering granite counters, wood floors throughout, natural stone tiles and private terraces. Another 400 units are well into the planning stages at this point.