Douglas Development's Parking-Free Tenleytown Development Provokes Kerfluffle

An unusual two-night Zoning Commission hearing last week about Douglas Development's five-story, 60-unit, Shalom Baranes-designed development on the Babe's Billiards site in Tenleytown centered mainly around the developers' decision to seek relief from minimum parking requirements, as several Tenley residents came out to oppose Douglas' plans for a zero-parking building.

The first opposing witness, a Tenley resident and member of "Neighbors for Neighborhoods" said the Babes development "just doesn't make sense."  According to her, the building will draw students, so tenants will constantly turn over in a neighborhood where "people reside for decades."  Other witnesses objected to the height, pointing out that most homes are two or three stories, and will be overshadowed by the new building, and another warned the commission against encouraging  "sterile, canyon-like Bethesda-style development" (it would be shorter than Cityline next door).

But the refrain of the hearing was whether the developer would build a parking garage.  Bemoaning "parking spillover," one witness said he supported the idea of the building, but warned that Douglas' proposed prohibition on tenants owning cars was unenforceable.  (He might have a point.)  Another came out strongly against bicycling as a "requirement, not a choice."  Pointing out the various perils of bicycling (traffic, weather), she urged the city to require parking for the building.

Combined with the first night's vociferous pooh-poohing of the very idea of, say, grocery shopping on a bike, the second night's opposition witnesses illustrated just how deeply ingrained car culture is in the District.  The dissenters (and some of the zoning commissioners) just couldn't conceive of a carless/post-car city (it may be germane to point out that all six dissenters appeared to be at least fifty years of age), and insisted that whatever rules or promises were made in regards to carless/ post-car tenants, once the Bond opens, the streets of Tenley would surely be overrun by disingenuous faux-bicyclists who secretly own cars.

The zoning code, which dates to 1958, requires a one-to-one (to four) ratio of parking-spaces-to-dwellings.  But this has become an onerous requirement. Harriet Tregoning, Director of the DC Office of Planning and leading proponent of smart growth, has pointed out that minimum parking requirements have forced developers to overproduce off-street parking spaces that often go unused, taking up space that might have been used for retail or tenant amenities. With enrollment in car-sharing programs like Car2Go and Zipcar skyrocketing along with the number of bikes and bike lanes, cars (and their spaces) are becoming increasingly hard to justify in cities across the country, and lately in Washington D.C.  And yet, as this hearing demonstrated, there is still a vocal segment of the population still very much attached to the idea of driving as a right.

Having received approval from ANC 3E already, the odds are good that the Commission ultimately approves Douglas' zero-parking Tenleytown development.  But the intensity of some of the opposition towards carless development in general, and bicyclists specifically, was a reminder that, logical or not, there is real hostility out there towards bicyclists.

The commission will take up the issue again on January 14th, 2013.

Washington DC retail and real estate news

Babes Development OK'd by ANC

The Advisory Neighborhood Commission held a hearing last night to approve development at 4600 Wisconsin Ave., affectionately known as the "Babes" site in Tenleytown.  In a hearing competing with a Vice Presidential debate and sudden death National League playoff, the ANC voted in a lightly attended meeting to support the residential project as Douglas Development gets ready to present the same plans to the Zoning Commission

The approval, the culmination of a Memorandum of Understanding between Douglas Development, the building's owner, and the ANC, gets Douglas past the neighborhood and to a final zoning vote.  Douglas's zoning application calls for a 6-story building with 48,000 s.f. of residential use above 13,000 s.f. of retail.  After a heated battle with some neighborhood turf bullies that feared dozens of new cars clogging Tenleytown, Douglas prevailed on turning the bottom two floors into retail by offering a host of transportation amenities (off-street handicap parking, a bike room, bike racks on Wisconsin, and a "digital multimodal display" in the lobby that lists updated bus, rail, bikeshare and car share data) rather than the 87 parking spaces that would have been required under current zoning regulations.

Douglas fought a contentious battle with some in the neighborhood that wanted garage parking to mitigate street parking, but the neighborhood acquiesced when, among other things, when Douglas agreed that residents would not qualify for neighborhood parking stickers and that commercial tenants over 3,500 s.f. would provide free validated parking. Jonathan Bender, the ANC Commissioner in whose district the project is located, said it was a tough compromise that neither side was entirely happy with, but that it allowed the project to go forward.   "This is a tremendous advance in Tenleytown...even if the ANC supported it without the parking restriction the Zoning Commission would never have supported this [without that parking condition]."  The concept of allowing new development while forbidding tenants of new residential developments has long been a contested one, with new residents feeling boxed out by local home owners.

Douglas also agreed to a check list of other neighborhood upgrades, including contributing up to $600,000 to underground utilities in front of the project, building a CaBi station at its expense if DDOT does not build one in the immediate vicinity on its own within 2 years, and enhancing the triangular park across the street.

The site has long been planned as a residential location, a previous owner intended high-end condos on the site, and though Douglas initially floated a plan for office space above retail after purchasing the property in January of 2009 (the site had been a pool hall recently), it soon began developing a plan for housing above the retail.  Click here for the most recent images of the project.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

CAS Riegler Development on 9th to Break Ground Early Next Year

After years of tiptoeing towards growth, Shaw’s 9th Street plan is taking a big step in that direction in 2013, and one more real estate development is now officially in the pipeline.

Adam Stifel, one of the founding principals of development company CAS Riegler, says the group, in partnership with Douglas Development and CityInterests, is close to construction on a residential project at the corner of 9th and N streets designed by PGN Architects. The partners say they hope to choose a general contractor by the end of October and plan to break ground early next year.  "We’re all set and it’s pretty much entitled,” said Stifel, explaining that the project has received approvals from the local ANC, the DC Board of Zoning Adjustment, and the Historic Preservation Review Board. “Now we’re working on getting it priced out from general contractors.” Stifel would not name the four or five companies bidding on the construction project.

The development site includes a lot at the corner of 9th and N streets that’s currently being used by garden center Old City Green, as well as an existing historic building at 1264 9th Street and a building located on Blagden Alley inside the block which formerly served as Fight Club DC, a privately-owned skateboarding/art/music space that closed in 2010. The corner lot is owned by Douglas Development, while CAS Riegler and CityInterests own the property around it.

Earlier estimates had placed groundbreaking in late 2012, but waiting until early 2013 to begin construction means that Frank Asher, owner of Old City Green, doesn’t have to vacate the property until after the lucrative Christmas tree season. Asher has spoken out more broadly about independently-owned businesses being forced to leave an area once it begins to develop.

The project's design has come a long way since its initial renderings, which featured a "Portland-esque" (as Stifel put it) aesthetic that was big on wood and steel. After multiple changes following meetings with retailers, neighborhood stakeholders and historic preservation officials, the design is now a little more conventional, giving a nod to the nearby row houses with its varying facade and incorporating--but not mimicking--the historic façade at 1264 9th Street.  The building will back up to Blagden Alley, but Stifel says the connection along the alley will be too small to incorporate any alley amenity or streetscape.

The development will include roughly 70 apartment units; most will be one-bedrooms, with some two-bedroom units scattered throughout and a few larger units located on the building’s penthouse level and its corners. The project will also include a level of underground parking and about 8,000 square feet of ground floor retail. "I think we'll end up with a restaurant taking most of it," said Stifel. "I think it's a really good corner space that's meant to be a restaurant or café."

Stifel, who himself lives in one of the company's Shaw buildings, says he thinks the area has a huge amount of promise. “Shaw has a lot to offer, and a lot of beautiful building stock,” he said.  “As a guy who lives and breathes this stuff, I have a lot of confidence in this market.” He said that he envisions the development will have an urban feel similar to The Hudson, PN Hoffman’s boxy, high-ceilinged apartment building located across from the P Street Whole Foods in Logan Circle.

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Douglas to Seek Second Extension for Uline Arena Redevelopment

With their two year extension on the Uline Arena entitlements running out in mere days, Douglas Development has made a decision - they're sticking with the oft-delayed, complicated project.

"No way are we walking away from this," says Paul Millstein of Douglas Development.  "We're going for an extension as a commercial mixed-use development.  We're still working very aggressively with prospective users.  Thing is, we've got Central Armature right across on the other corner, and it's ugly.  That doesn't help.  And the other corner, catty corner across, isn't developed at all, that doesn't help either.  But we love the site, we believe in it.  We committed early, before they did the grocery store site and the residential. We've put a ton of time into meetings, architecture, planning."

Since purchasing the property in 2004, there has been much speculation, but little certainty, about what Douglas has planned for the historic space.  The space had been used as a trash transfer station, and is now an indoor parking lot - a long way from its auspicious past as a venue that once featured the Beatles, Bob Dylan, and the Temptations.  (Though not all on the same night.)

Part of the problem is that while the space is on the National Register of Historic Places, meaning it can't be demolished as part of any redevelopment, it's not, well, very good at its intended purpose.  When a local arts group put on a drama performance at Uline in early 2011, reviewers noted the poor acoustics of the space, a complaint that some local historians claim has echoed (see what I did there?) through the ages, right from Uline's opening.  Still, the poor acoustics could be remedied, at least in part, by a redevelopment, preserving Uline as an arts performance space - a prospect that is still very much on the table, according to Millstein.

"We're still looking at an entertainment component on the ground floor," Millstein says.  "Something, for example, like the Fillmore in Silver Spring, or maybe an even larger venue.  Retail use could also do extremely well."

The HPRB approved Douglas' preliminary plan in 2008, a GTM Architects-designed concept that keeps the familiar Uline facade intact and preserves the cavernous interior as a multi-level atrium, into which extensive skylights would admit natural light, giving the shell the illusion of transparency.  Those plans - which remain very much in flux - would incorporate 290,000 s.f. of commercial office space, 75,000 s.f. of ground floor retail space, and up to 225 residences.  That design received one two-year extension already, in September 2010, which brings us to the present day.  That extension expires next month, though Douglas has every intention of applying for another.

So what's the next step?

"The next step is to file a request for extension, and get those entitlements extended," says Millstein.  "There will be a hearing, but I think we'll be successful in our extension.  The last couple - three years, nothing much has happened in the area, though now there's a lot of residential stuff popping up, even some office.  But the area's still got quite a ways to go.  I would hope that in the next cycle, the next 24 months, Uline will really take off, and I think it will.  I think our time has come."

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Douglas announces first tenant for Wonder Bread Building

Douglas Development announced its first tenant in the historic Wonder Bread building at 641 S St NW: WorkSpaces, LLC. The company will take residence immediately following the completion of construction, which is planned for January 2013.

Douglas leased 20,817 s.f. to WorkSpaces, a “strategic furniture solutions consulting agency,” according to a press release, which will be the property’s first tenant since 1988, occupying the entire third floor.

Douglas recently began construction on the Wonder Bread building, which it purchased in 1997. Douglas also applied for landmark status this past year with support from the D.C. Preservation League, which supported its plans.

The Wonder Bread building sits next door to Progression Place, also under construction. Progression Place will have 100,000 s.f. office space and 205 apartments above the Metro entrance.

Washington, DC real estate and development news

Construction Begins on Wonder Bread Building

Construction has begun on the historic Wonder Bread building at 641 S street, NW in Shaw.  Douglas Development will turn the factory into an office building with retail filling out the first floor.

Douglas purchased the buildings - 2- and 3-story structures totaling 60,000 s.f. built in 1921 - in 1997.  Though added density will be attached to the back of the building, the building’s historic façade will be retained.  R2L:Architect’s Sacha Rosen designed the renovations to the building.

Douglas had applied for landmark status for the building last year with the D.C. Preservation League, which supported Douglas's plans. The Wonder Bread building is next to Progression Place, which is also under construction to build 100,000 s.f. of office and 205 apartments on top of the Metro entrance.


Washington D.C. real estate development news

Babes Billiards Redevelopment Plan Heading to Zoning Commission

Within two weeks, Douglas Development intends to submit to the Zoning Commission its plans for a 60,821-square-foot, mixed-use retail and residential development on the old Babes Billiards location at 4600 Wisconsin Ave., NW. Douglas will request a zoning change, from C-2-A to C-3-A, for the planned unit development (PUD) to allow increases in height and residential space. The new building will be just under 71 feet tall and have a residential lot occupancy of 76 percent. With the lot's current zoning, residential lot occupancy caps at 60 percent and height at 50 feet.

View from Wisconsin Street. (All rendering provided by Douglas Development.)

The new category allows parking, but no parking is included in the design, and Douglas will ask for relief from the parking requirement. Residents raised concerns about parking early on, but given the design options and a Douglas parking study finding adequate parking in place, the final plan includes additional retail spaces in lieu of parking spaces. Paul Millstein, vice president and head of construction for Douglas, said he hopes to have the project on the agenda for a zoning hearing in July or September. If all goes well, he expects work will begin about eight months after the hearing. Architecture firm Shalom Baranes Associates designed the building that Millstein said will have about 60 residential units of various sizes. The final PUD outlines more than 47,000 square feet of residential space on five floors above nearly 12,000 square feet of ground-level retail space and lobby. Millstein said there was an additional 10,000 square feet of subterranean retail space, but the PUD lists only 2,200 square feet.

View from Brandywine Street.

The building will include a variety of materials and features such as a terracotta, aluminum, glass and brick on the facade, with a green roof to cap it off. Millstein said the company plans to keep the new development as a long-term holding. No retail outlets have formally committed to moving into the new space, but Millstein said interest is "strong" among many retailers including owners of Matchbox Grill. He said he wants a mix of retail including restaurants, coffee shops and sporting goods stores. "I think once we start construction we'll see leases signed quickly," he said. "I think we'll have tenants waiting for construction instead of us waiting for tenants."

Alternate view from Brandywine Street.

Before new construction begins, crews must raze two smaller structures on the property. The frame of the main structure on the corner will remain with new construction built around it. Millstein said he anticipates a minimum of LEED Silver certification for the property. Douglas Development acquired the property three years ago at auction for a reported $5 million. After considering several different options, the company settled on the current plan.

View from the intersection of Brandywine and Wisconsin streets.

"I think it's going well," Millstein said of the process that has included a sometimes contentious ANC review with community input. "It's taking time ... but I think it was important to bring everyone together and have an open dialogue that we've had." Washington D.C. real estate development news

Today in Pictures - New York Avenue

As Douglas Development demolishes buildings in anticipation of a new headquarters for the Association of American Medical Colleges in Mt. Vernon Triangle, some of the historic buildings on site, between K Street and New York Avenue, are also being saved - and moved - thanks to requests from the D.C. Preservation League. Below are pictures of the buildings being prepped and moved.
Washington D.C. real estate development news

Improvise, Adapt, Overcome, Now Eat. Firehouse-Inspired Sixth Engine Bistro Opens in Mt. Vernon

Old firehouses just seem to lend themselves to classic-looking bar-and-grill type bistros once the last shift has run the last call. And the new Sixth Engine at 438 Massachusetts Avenue near the Mount Vernon Triangle, which just opened this week, is no exception.

The restaurant, owned and operated by Gavin Coleman, Jeremy Carman, Paul Holder, Paul Madrid and Tim Walsh, who also run the Dubliner Irish pub, just down the street, as well as Glover Park's Town Hall, opened in 2005 -- is a smart reuse of the Metropolitan Hook & Ladder Company building, built in 1855 and used by the D.C. Fire Department until 1974. It is the oldest firehouse in the District, and a handful of its era, most built by Leon Emile Dessez (1858-1919) still survive, with some on active duty with DCFD.

"This building presented us with a wonderful opportunity to create a one-of-a-kind restaurant environment, though not without its share of challenges," said Kathryn Bram, Director of Projects for Bethesda-based Streetsense, the marketing and design firm behind Sixth Engine. BuilderGuru Contracting Inc., served as general contractor.

"The firehouse is surrounded by the new 400 Mass condo development, but has its own walls and structure," she said. "We had to solve numerous issues in regard to egress, deliveries, life safety, structural integrity, venting and more." Jenkins Baer Associates of Baltimore also contributed to the interior design.

(Courtesy: DCFire.Com)

The 3,900 s.f. restaurant has two floors, and includes the original "MHL" shield outside the front double doors, as well as a refurbished brass pole.

Douglas Jemal of Douglas Development purchased the firehouse from the city in 2005, recognizing its potential. The Sixth Engine crew leased the space from Jemal beginning in March 2011. The first floor holds a bar and main dining area while the second floor holds the kitchen and a private dining room.

Sixth Engine isn't the only adaptive reuse of local firehouses in the Washington Metro area. Fire

Station 1 Restaurant and Bar in Silver Spring, owned by retired fire captain Jeremy Gruber opened in 2010 in the old Silver Spring Volunteer Fire Department Station 1 House on Georgia Ave. Several other old firehouses in the District have been redeveloped or under consideration, including Firehouse 10 at 1341 Maryland Ave NE. and at Engine Co. 12 at 1626 North Capitol St, the latter of which has seen several restaurant deals emerge in the past few years but fall through.

Washington D.C. real estate development news.

Douglas Apartment on 14th Street, Financed and Waiting for Permit

With construction financing secured a little less than a month ago, Douglas' 6-story, 30-unit apartment at 2221 14th Street, NW, is moving forward, having awarded the general contractor position to Donohoe Construction last week.

As reported in June, the project was expected to be underway around this time, however, a building and raze permit for the site (applied for in May and in August, respectively) are still pending.

Designed by Sacha Rosen of R2L: Architects, the building is a contemporary assortment of glass, metal, brick and terra cotta panels with sharply angled bay windows fronting 14th Street and Florida Ave. Not going condo - as several projects on 14th Street are - the building is designated as apartments with ground-floor retail space and 10 below-grade parking spaces.

Demolition of the defunct auto shop on site will take place before construction can begin. A large mural will cover the exterior wall of brick (the building's backside) that will rise over the adjacent 3-story building to the south - a requirement put in place by the Board of Zoning Adjustment.

Douglas had previously worked on bringing a 10,000-s.f. retail structure, designed by George Myers of GTM Architects, to the site.

Amendment: Permit application filing dates were transposed; raze permit was applied for in August, and building permit in May

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Corner of 7th and H Street to Become Less Noticeable

McCaffery and Douglas' joint development project at the corner of 7th and H Streets, NW - the heart of Chinatown - went before the Historic Preservation Review Board last week, with the Board approving the concept with a contingency - "that the one-story addition on 7th Street is pulled back sufficient to ensure that it won’t be visible from the street."

Disheartened will be those readers who felt that the building's design by Sacha Rosen of R2L: Architects - much smaller than a former one for the site - wasn't noticeable enough.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Douglas' KFC Residential Approved by Zoning

This week, the Board of Zoning Adjustment waved forward Douglas' 4-story residential-and-retail project, designed by Sacha Rosen of R2L: Architects, to replace a chickenless KFC at 1442 Pennsylvania Avenue in Southeast.

Douglas was given an off-street parking requirement variance, and a special exception from roof structure requirements. The plan replaces Douglas' earlier proposal, in 2009, for a two-story office building on the corner.

Construction will most likely commence next spring. According to Douglas' construction manager, Paul Millstein, the project will begin construction "as soon as we can get permits out."

Half of the ground floor will be taken up by a 2,630-s.f. retail space fronting Pennsylvania Avenue, a bicycle room and lobby (accessible from 15th), whereas the other half will be 7 parking spaces (accessible from back alley). Above, there will be three floors with 7 apartment units each, 21 in all. A penthouse (to house mechanical units, and offer private terrace area to four residents) makes up a partial fifth floor structure. A green roof will cover the penthouse portion and the fourth floor - the main - roof, which will also be fringed with greenery.

On September 6th, ANC 6B's Planning, Zoning and Environmental Committee approved the project, followed by the full ANC, and the Capitol Hill Restoration Society.
: Article previously detailed the project as was approved in July, not September: changes since July include relocated vehicular access, cropped retail space, small design refinements, and a slight decrease in elevation.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Mt. Vernon Triangle Office on Track for September Start

The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) is readying for the construction of its new 285,000 s.f. headquarters on New York Avenue in Mount Vernon Triangle between 6th and 7th Streets, NW.

This past Friday, AAMC obtained the permit necessary to wrap fencing around 15 lots on square 451, in order to secure the site prior to demolition; a raze permit was also granted the same day for 628 New York Avenue NW, the hold-out property, finally sold to Douglas Development last month. Raze applications for 611, 617 K Street NW are pending.

After obtaining 628 New York Ave, however, Douglas sold the entire assemblage; it was reported by the Washington Business Journal that AAMC bought its new headquarters site for around $57 million, and Hines Interests LP has been selected as developer.

AAMC is moving from its current location at 2450 N Street, NW, and plans to occupy its new headquarters by spring 2014.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Design Details Released for DC's Highest Rent District in Chinatown

Developing the only unused and deteriorating corner at 7th and H Streets, NW in the heart of Gallery Place - Chinatown has long been on many minds. Finally, a design by Sacha Rosen of R2L:Architects, which combines the preservation of the six historic structures on site with contemporary new additions, has materialized and is moving through the approval process. Granted unanimous ANC2C consent last Wednesday, Rosen will introduce the design to the Historic Preservation Review Board on September 22nd. Of the design, Rosen said, "This is a very contemporary, but respectful treatment of [the site's] important historic fabric." 

Owned by McCaffery Interests and Douglas Development, the property includes the corner site (801 7th St, actually two buildings combined in the early 1900s), an adjacent structure to the east (675 H St), a rear carriage house, and two buildings on 7th Street to the north of the corner (807 and 809 7th St). The joint venturers obtained the last piece of the puzzle - 675 H St - at foreclosure this past February, for $9.1 million. Rosen explained there will be a new one-story addition on top of 675 H St, and a two-story addition on top of the rear carriage house, however nothing will rise above the existing four-story corner building except for a rooftop mechanical penthouse (set back on the new construction portion). Structurally unsound portions of 807 and 809 7th Street will be demolished and replaced with new four-story additions. New facades, set back from the historic real estate along 7th and H Streets, will be primarily glass; a glass elevator will also be contained within, rising up to a rooftop deck. A four-story atrium will enclose an existing exterior courtyard between 675 H St and the rear carriage house. The entire project will contain approximately 60,000 s.f., and Rosen said that the project's main objective, in addition to honoring the history of the intersection, is to "make the overall development as flexible as possible to accommodate an exciting mix of retail and office spaces." Owners are asking for some of the most expensive retail rents in the city at the site. R2L is also currently working on designs for the Wonder Bread building in Shaw. 

Washington D.C. retail and real estate development news

Freshly Baked, New Design for Wonder Bread Building in Shaw

R2L:Architects' Sacha Rosen has, this week, completed new design schematics for the adaptive reuse plan by Douglas Development for the old Wonder Bread/White Cross Bakery. Review of the design, by the Historic Preservation Review Board, could be as early as September 22nd.

The early-20th-Century brick buildings currently crumbling at 641 S Street, NW in Shaw, are also up for historic landmark status, and will be remade into "funky" office and retail space.

Of the recently completed design (below), Rosen says, "Our concept of the classic industrial north-facing skylights adds to the unique qualities of the building - and is great for energy savings. We think of the design as a barge stacked with shipping containers, which represents the mobile, international qualities of business in the new economy."

Currently two and three stories tall, the structure will be raised to three and four, and new basement space will be created, increasing the structure to approximately 60,000 s.f.

One retailer will be allowed half the ground floor, which will split uses - 25 parking spots will take up the back half.  The final 4th floor of office space is only located on the eastern-most portion, making it approximately half that of the others:


Retail space in the basement could be turned into a "cool underground" establishment, says Rosen, such as a bar, billiard hall, or restaurant. No retailers have been signed, as the project will be speculatively built, but Paul Millstein of Douglas says he expects something good to fall in place, considering the uniqueness of the building, and what he considers a "very cool project."

Washington D.C. real estate development news