Groundbreaking, Or At Least Ground-Moving, at Nehemiah Shopping Center

This past fall DCMud promised, after assurance from UDR developers, that the former Nehemiah Shopping Center construction site would be activated with a groundbreaking, and that the "rubble [would] at least be pushed around soon." It appears such has happened, as several earth movers have been seen rumbling around the site for the last few days. This is potentially (stress potentially) significant news for a project that seemed destined to remain unstirred; since the unveiling of plans from the original developer in 2008 and subsequent demolition in 2009, the lonely fenced-off block has seen no action.

While UDR refused to confirm or deny the start of construction, as it is "internal policy not to comment on such" according to one anonymous developer at their Washington office, it seems apparent field marshal (a.k.a. general contractor) Donohoe Construction has ordered troops (a.k.a bulldozers) into the field of battle. It marks the beginning of a who-knows-how-long (developers won't say) process to stack 255 one and two-bedroom apartment units on top of 18,500 s.f. ground floor retail. The project calls for 198 parking space to be half hidden, half buried on the back western portion of the site. The retail spaces could house as many as five different tenants, or as few as two, and will be reserved for businesses that supply neighborhood wants and needs: such as a grocery/convenience store, restaurants, bank, café, etc. UDR's corporate headquarters are expected to release more specific information about the project once it becomes official in the company's next quarterly report, those numbers are likely to come out in early February.

Washington D.C. Real Estate Development News

Construction Start at 2400 14th Street Promised Before 2011

Level 2 Development's original plans to replace the Nehemiah Shopping Center at 2400 14th Street NW with a large residential building fell through some years ago. But don't feel too sorry for them, as the property they bought in March 2006 for $13.27 million was sold to UDR for some $25 million, a not-so-little profit for what has remained a pile of rubble over the last couple years. But the rubble will at least be pushed around soon, as developers at UDR confirm that they are committed to starting construction on the ten-story, 255 unit apartment building sometime before the end of the year. Because the original developers and architects already navigated the PUD approval process, plans remain largely the same under the direction of UDR.

The studio apartments as well as 1 and 2 bedroom units will range from 500 s.f. to just under 1,600 s.f. in size (total of 190,000 rentable sq. ft.), and will hide the 198 space parking garage planned for the back half of the lot (half above, half below ground). A top floor penthouse comprises the tenth level of

the structure. While the bottom level will feature 18,500 s.f. of flexible retail spaces (two to six spots) reserved for tenants that will supply neighborhood wants and needs: a grocery store, restaurants, bank, café, and/or a home furnishing business are all possibilities. At least a portion of the delivered units will be affordable, but how large that chunk will be remains unknown.

Shalom Baranes will stay on as design architect. They have created an impressive building plan that will feature floor to ceiling glass views, private terraces, a media room, conference lounge, fitness

center, rooftop pool and a green roof feature, in addition to a roomy lobby that will open into an outdoor atrium. Donohoe Construction is serving as general contractor and will carryout the plans the developers hope will earn Gold LEED certification upon completion. No timetable for construction is currently being shared publicly.

Washington D.C. Real Estate Development News

Pentagon City Park Begins Construction

Arlington County officially kicked off construction last week on Long Bridge Park, its isolated brownfield on the edge of Pentagon City and Crystal City that it hopes will soon become a major attraction. The 46-acre Park, located just off the Potomac River, was contaminated with "differing levels of lead and PCBs" and had long served as an industrial site, including a brick factory and staging area for construction of the Pentagon.

In its place, the County is building "a distinctive showplace of environmentally sound development, featuring attractive public green spaces, high-quality outdoor recreation facilities and environmentally responsible structures." Planning for the project began back in 2001, completion is expected next summer.

The Park borders I-395, Roaches Run Wildfowl Sanctuary and Reagan National Airport. Donohoe Construction won the bid for construction work last December. The first phase of improvements will include lighted athletic fields, more than a mile of walking trails, a public river overlook, bike paths, restrooms, parking and new "rain garden" among other amenities. A new walkway "will be suitable for strolling, bicycling, train spotting, plane watching and small festivals," says a county statement.

On-street parking will be provided on Jefferson Davis highway for the heavy traffic the county anticipates the park will generate. While the county will pick up most of the initial $28m construction costs, Marymount University is providing a $2m construction grant. With the additional planned phases, the entire project is expected to cost roughly $90 million.

Arlington Virginia real estate development news

Arlington Picks Donohoe To Build Long Bridge Park

Donohoe Construction beat out three other bidders for the construction contract for Arlington County's Long Bridge Park. The Park borders the Potomac River, Crystal City, I-395, the Pentagon, Roaches Run Wildfowl Sanctuary and Reagan National Airport. With a low bid of $23.7 million, Donohoe was awarded the contract by Arlington earlier this month, with adjusted costs bringing the award to $26 million for work on the 46-acre property. The improvement will include lighted athletic fields, more than a mile of walking trails, a public river overlook, and new "rain garden" among other amenities. County documents indicate work will start by early 2010 with a completion date set for summer of 2011.

The first phase of development will include three full size, lighted athletic fields, trails, Esplanade (a broad, half-mile long, raised walkway), overlook, picnic areas, restrooms, and on-site parking for 180 vehicles. Additionally, the county will begin improvements to Old Jefferson Davis Highway, which will change from being a simple two-lane road to include up to 100 spaces of on-street parking, painted bike lanes and, of course, fewer potholes. Environmental remediation efforts center on removing lead from the formerly industrial property.

The County will fund Donohoe's contract almost entirely through the available $23 million in 2004 Park Bond funds. The bond funds will be paired with $2 million from a partnership with Marymount University, which will have rights to 500 hours of use for the new park and fields. With the additional planned phases, the entire project is expected to cost roughly $90 million.

Arlington Virginia real estate development news

Colonnade Auctions Condos this Saturday

The Colonnade at Kentlands of Gaithersburg will send to auction 40 of its remaining homes this Saturday, helping to wrap up an under-performing real estate portfolio that the Florida-based developer acquired in 2005, a decision they must still regret. With about 70 units in the 307-unit building still unsold, El-Ad is putting 40 of those condos on the block, having recently shut down its sales office, with minimum bidding prices starting at $169,000. Back in February, El-Ad put the remaining 40 units of its only other local project, the Fitz of Rockville, on the auction block, ending nearly 5 years of sales there. Both the Fitz and Colonnade at Kentlands were developed by Archstone-Smith and built by Donohoe Construction. The Colonnade was designed by the Preston Partnership for its originally intended use as an apartment building, uber- amenitized with a party room, computer room, theater, study, swimming pool, sauna, fitness center, cyber cafe and billiard room. The 10-building compound, with 6-story parking garage, was completed by Archstone in December of 2005 and sold to El-Ad shortly thereafter.

Montgomery County commercial real estate digest 

Residential "Village" Springing Up in Arlington

This coming fall, Silver Spring-based hotel and golf course developer Sunburst Hospitality will open its first residential project, Vista on Courthouse, in Arlington's Courthouse District. The development sports a blend of townhomes, duplexes and apartments two blocks from the Courthouse Metro station.

Construction at the former Quality Inn site began in the summer of 2007, after languishing for more than 2 years after receiving the go-ahead from the Arlington County Board. Two hotel structures on the site were razed to make way for the new WDG-designed, 11-story, 507,735-square foot tower. Vista will feature 252 rental apartments - with 14 reserved for affordable housing - and floorplans ranging from 1100 to 2400 square feet apiece. In addition to rental units, the developer has also inserted 24 brick facade townhomes, 4 duplexes and 7 “plank townhomes” into the grounds that will go on sale upon completion of the project. Coming in at a cost of $88.5 million, Vista will feature an in-house movie theater and bar, a fitness center, game room, outdoor pool and park.

While the project at 1200 North Courthouse Road is not seeking LEED certification, its website features a laundry list of features labeled “green” - including its “Metro-centric” location and storm water recycling system. Another highlight of the design: a supremely-private, 3-story underground parking area that features direct access to individual units from self-contained, closed door garages – much like one would find adjoining any home in the suburbs. This touch - coupled with sidewalks and private streets - is part of the developer’s strategy to create a “village” atmosphere in the middle of downtown Rosslyn. Construction on the project is being handled by the Donohoe Construction Company.

14th Street: Apartments In, Nehemiah Center Out

14th Street's Nehemiah Center, that vestige of bad architecture and short-sited urban planning, will soon be demolished to make way for a large residential project. Texas based UDR, which purchased the site last year, requested raze permits last week, and expects to begin demolishing the property by the end of the second quarter. UDR acquired the hopelessly outdated strip mall at 2400 14th Street from Level 2 Development, which took the project all the way through the existing, and currently approved, P.U.D. stage. UDR will implement Level2's plans, with some embellishment, at an estimated total cost of $130 million. DC-based Metropolis Development had initially purchased the option from Level2 for the rights to develop the site, but later sold the option for a profit to UDR. The Nehemiah Center currently serves as a one-story retail building along 14th Street, within shouting distance from the U Street Corridor - currently a real estate hotspot surrounded by several ongoing and planned residential projects. 

Level 2 wanted to capitalize on the area, but opted to sell and concentrate on its View 14 project across the street, a project that it began as condos but that is now just beginning to come out of the ground as an apartment building. UDR's adaption of Level2's plans will replace the old retail with 17,000 s.f. of new retail, and add more units than the currently approved 225. Two weeks ago, UDR's team met with City officials to apply for an addition of 30 residential units to the overall scheme. The firm expects to receive comments regarding whether this increase is feasible within the next month, after which a Zoning Commission hearing will be required. The building will rise nine stories above the 14th and U Street Corridor, advantageously perched as one of the higher buildings in the area on the slope that rises to Columbia Heights, offering the potential for the distant views rare in the District. The residential units will average 775 s.f. and were initially pushed through the planning process as condominiums, but according to sources at UDR, the market forced them to build out as a market-rate apartment building. 

There will be a number of affordable housing units as well as a 1,000-s.f. commercial space designated as educational, job training, retail space. Behind the main building will sit a multi-level parking garage, half above-ground, an issue that has been one of the biggest sources of problems from the community. UDR held a public meeting in February to address the community's concerns about design and construction phases. Turns out the community is agitated over the abundant road and sidewalk closures that result from the numerous projects in the neighborhood. UDR will now phase the construction so that the parking structure would be the first to be completed, hoping to lessen parking and traffic concerns. "Although we are a national multi-family developer, we understand the importance of local consultants who understand how things get done in their backyard. We want to bring people in who have those existing great relationships, who know how to develop projects in the city. So we felt comfortable," said Rodney Burchfield with UDR. Burchfield is referring to both Shalom Baranes Architects which is designing the new building, and Donohoe Construction, the General Contractor. "As an owner, we're looking to be a part of this new and emerging part of the District, and we want to be a great neighbor," Burchfield added. Shalom Baranes' design will feature floor to ceiling glass views, private terraces, a rooftop pool and garden as well as a massive lobby and outdoor atrium. UDR will be going for LEED points but has not decided whether or not to strive for LEED certification.

New Rooms in Courthouse by Marriott

Donohoe Construction, under the authority of Donohoe Hospitality, (who is in cahoots with Donohoe Development) has just started to pour the concrete footings for the 176-room Marriott Residence Inn at 1425 N. Adams St. in the Courthouse section of Arlington. The 10-story, all-suite hotel will be branded as one of Marriott's extended stay residences.

The visionaries behind the National World War II Memorial, international architectural firm Leo A. Daly, took the design role for Marriott. You might also know them for the project they did for KPMG in McLean, or for The Institute for Genomic Research in Rockville. Daly-architects had no trouble grasping the vision for Marriott's newest addition to Arlington, and have designed the simple 132,000-s.f. hotel with clad in brick and architectural precast concrete.

In addition to topping off the Courthouse Plaza section of Clarendon, the Residence Inn will bring a wealth of meeting space to the table as well as a "high-end" restaurant to the corner of Clarendon Blvd and N. Adams Street. In total, about 9,500 s.f. of retail are planned for the ground floor along that intersection, with the still unnamed restaurant having 5,500 s.f. at its disposal. The new hotel will further Smart Growth objectives by adding mixed-use development three blocks from the Courthouse Metro station. And as if being part of a "smart" urban plan weren't enough, Donohoe Development has also incorporated a "smart," environmentally conscious design for the building, including about 26 LEED points for features such as the increasingly popular green roof; hopefully just enough for LEED certification.

Donohoe (and its innumerable subsidiaries) will also provide streetscape improvements to the area, including a water feature and public art around the hotel, as well as myriad practical improvements to the crosswalks and sidewalks. The new Residence Inn should be dropping off pillow mints as early as the summer of 2009.