Fennessy Lofts

Fennessy Lofts, 1209 13th St., NW, Washington DC
Fennessy Lofts is a 9-story, 38-unit condo building in Logan Circle with 1 and 2-story condos, completed in early 2008, some with balconies and private rooftop space. Upgrade options include tilework for the kitchens and bathrooms, installed sound systems and flat screen TVs, though standard details were not lavish, with features like a laminate lobby floor and plush interior carpeting. Base prices ran initially from $324k (500 s.f. 1 bedroom) to $780k for duplex penthouse units with private decks. Parking available for purchase. Developed by Washington DC-based Ellis Denning, this was the last of the numerous undeveloped lots on 13th Street, now all residential, rising in place of the market formerly on site.

The design by Hickok Cole incorporates the historic livery behind the building that was renovated and turned into 8 two-story units that feature the historic elements of the building. Sales at Fennessy Lofts began in March, 2006, with marketing by McWilliams Ballard; condos were also offered for rent in January 2008. Sales switched to Gallagher and Co in late 2008, which sold the remaining units after a massive price drop, down to $399k for a two-bedroom unit.

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Affordable Housing Opens in Adams Morgan

Wednesday marks the celebratory opening of the Ritz, DC's newest affordable housing project. Developers of the 60-unit building, at 1631 Euclid Street, NW, Washington DC, will celebrate the project's completed renovation with a 2pm grand opening ceremony. The $7m renovation project rehabilitated the 82-year-old Adams Morgan apartment building, allowing Jubilee to relocate their corporate offices off-site. Hickok Cole Architects produced designs for the renovation, Ellis Denning served as general contractor. Jubilee is a non-profit, faith-based organization that provides low-income housing and support services to Adams Morgan residents. According to the developer, "more than 400 people" stood in line to file an application when the project opened last month; the building has now begun occupancy but is not fully leased. The Ritz was purchased by Jubilee at its founding in 1973, when it was one of the first two properties acquired with the aid of Enterprise Community Partners. Today, the Ritz is the largest of seven Adams Morgan apartment buildings owned and operated by the company. As part of their “Campaign for the New Jubilee,” the affordable housing operator has been conducting top-to-bottom renovations of all their properties. In addition to the ongoing work at the Ritz, their Ontario Court building (2525 Ontario Road, NW) is also currently undergoing renovation procedures; work on their Mozart (1630 Fuller Street, NW), Marietta (2418 17th Street, NW) , and Fuller Court (1650 Fuller Street, NW) buildings concluded in 2008. Renovations on Jubilee’s two remaining properties, the Euclid (1740 Euclid Street, NW) and the Sorrento (2233 18th Street, NW), are scheduled to commence later in the year. Work on the Ritz finished in summer 2009.

Washington DC commercial real estate news

Adams Morgan Renovation Yields New Apartments

Everything old is new again, especially in Adams Morgan. In a timely full-circle, yet another of Adams Morgan's numerous Depression-era apartment buildings will be getting a full makeover in the coming months...just as we coincidentally circle the drain of our own financial crisis.

Starting next month, Ellis Denning Construction and Development will begin a $2 million renovation of Urban Investment Partners' (UIP) six-story rental apartment building at 1921 Kalorama Road, NW. Kunal Shah, Purchasing Manager/Estimator at Ellis Denning tells DCmud that the each of the building's 59 units will be receiving a top-to-bottom facelift with new kitchens, bathrooms, flooring, finishes and paint jobs (now lead-free!).

Ellis will be overseeing the selective demolition of certain internal portions of the aging building, from which they're planning to carve three new apartments out of the current 60,000-square foot plan.

In addition to Ellis, UIP has also taken on Bonstra Haresign Architects to design both the renovations and new construction. Given the structurally sensitive nature of the planned procedures, Shah declined to comment on a timeline for the project, but did note that only thirteen of the building's 60+ residents will be permitted to remain in the building once work begins.

The very same team of Ellis and Bonstra is currently at work on another nearby apartment complex at 2525 Ontario Road, NW, while Ellis has also paired with Hickock Cole Architects for a similar project at The Ritz at 1631 Euclid Street, NW. Both of those developments are owned by affordable housing provider Jubilee Housing, Inc.

Knee Deep in New Development at Fort Totten

DC Mayor Adrian Fenty was joined by representatives of Lowe Enterprises today to announce the sale of a city-owned parcel at Riggs Road and South Dakota Avenue, NE, in the Fort Totten neighborhood, that will soon be transformed in a million square foot mixed-use development. Although initially unveiled as "The Dakotas" way back in 2006, new details concerning the project are now being released. The project will be built in three phases and include 898 residential units, along with 94,000 square feet of retail space.

"If you've ever been to Riggs Road in the area of South Dakota Avenue, you know it is an area of boundless potential...We are at the point where we are going to maximize that potential,” said Fenty.

The first phase, to be entitled Ft. Totten Square, will occupy the site of a vacated strip mall on the intersection’s northwestern quadrant. The 4-story building will house 468 residential units – 94 of which have been earmarked for affordable housing - and 71,000 square feet of ground floor retail, which is to be anchored by a full-service grocery store. 500 parking spaces will also be included in the development. Construction on Ft. Totten Square is slated to begin later this year and will be followed shortly by a second phase, the so-called Dakota Pointe across the street, which will include 170 units of housing and the requisite parking.

The project’s third and final phase – the Dakota Flats – will include the triangular parcel relinquished by the District at the development's southern-most point. It will feature 260 apartments with 52 reserved as affordable, 23,000 square feet of retail. According to the Mayor, construction of the Flats will “be set to close in 2011.” In addition to Lowe, the development team also includes Jack Sophie Development, City Partners Development and mixed-use planners StreetSense. Hickok Cole Architects are designing the project. Ellis Denning will serve as general contractor. The total cost of the project is currently estimated to be roughly $80 million.

Both the City and development team were keen to highlight the infrastructural improvements they have in store for one of the city’s busiest intersections. “We are working on making this a safer intersection because traffic is fast,” said Ward 4 Councilwoman Muriel Bowser. “We have thousands of hardworking, taxpaying citizens in Riggs Park who take their lives into their hands to get the Fort Totten Metro. We’re going to change that.”

In doing so, the District plans to eliminate the highway-style on-off ramps that guide traffic onto Riggs Road and include improved pedestrian crossings – while serving as a gateway to nearby Prince George’s County. “There’s not many more thoroughfares with much more traffic than this one right here,” said Marc Weller of Ellis Denning. “People came across the line into DC and the first thing they’d see is just a sign and vacant parking lot. We’re trying to create something much different than that.”

That change, however, has been a long time coming. Weller told DCmud that over the course of two years “overall market conditions [have] repositioned the project so that it could work in today’s markets.” Neither party would disclose the terms of the LDA, but details will be revealed as the project moves closer to fruition.

The Ritz Gets Low-Income Makeover

Local affordable housing provider Jubilee Housing, Inc. has begun renovating its flagship Adams Morgan property, the Ritz, at 1631 Euclid Street, NW. In addition to revamping the economically priced units in the 82-year-old Adams Morgan apartment building, the renovation will also allow Jubilee to relocate their corporate offices off-site and reallocate the space to an array of community interests.

The nearly $7 million renovation will amount to 60 units of affordable housing for Jubilee – which breaks down as 10 efficiencies, 20 one-bedroom, 10 two-bedroom and 10 three-bedroom rental apartments. According to Kathy Guillaume, Jubilee’s Director of Development, new amenities planned for the Ritz include community-oriented additions such as a "computer center, multi-purpose classrooms, community room, [and an] after school center for teens," in addition to energy efficient infrastructural upgrades for the apartments and communal areas. Hickok Cole Architects is designing the renovation, Ellis Denning is serving as general contractor.

Jubilee will move out and into a new location on Colombia Road, allowing for the creation of a new teen center. The Ritz has been under Jubilee’s control since the company’s founding in 1973, when it was one of the first two properties acquired by company executives Terry Flood, Barbara Moore and Carolyn Banker with the aid of Enterprise Community Partners founders, Jim and Patty Rouse. Today, the Ritz is the largest of seven Adams Morgan apartment buildings owned and operated by the company. As part of their “Campaign for the New Jubilee,” the affordable housing operator has been conducting top-to-bottom renovations of all their properties. In addition to the ongoing work at the Ritz, their Ontario Court building (2525 Ontario Road, NW) is also currently undergoing renovation procedures; work on their Mozart (1630 Fuller Street, NW), Marietta (2418 17th Street, NW) , and Fuller Court (1650 Fuller Street, NW) buildings concluded in 2008. Renovations on Jubilee’s two remaining properties, the Euclid (1740 Euclid Street, NW) and the Sorrento (2233 18th Street, NW), are scheduled to commence later in the year. Work on the Ritz is on track to wrap up in July of 2009.

Agreement (Finally) Reached on Ft. Totten Project

Nearly two and a half years after the project was initially announced, the District government and Lowe Enterprises will announce a Land Disposition Agreement (LDA) that will bring up to 900 residential units and 100,000 square feet of retail to the intersection of Riggs Road and South Dakota Avenue, NE in a bid to revitalize the Fort Totten neighborhood's main corridor, a project the city estimates to be worth $80m.

Lowe made their initial announcement concerning The Dakotas project during the summer of 2006 with a planned late-2007 start date that never came to fruition. Details are being withheld at this time, but Sean Madigan of the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development confirmed that a formal announcement of the LDA is tentatively scheduled for 10:30am Monday at the site.

Lowe’s last project in conjunction with the District was the Mount Vernon Triangle’s CityVista development and accompanying Safeway that opened their doors to much acclaim in 2007 and 2008, respectively. The Fort Totten development team also includes Hickok Cole Architects, JackSophie Development, Ellis Denning, City Partners Development, and mixed-use planners, StreetSense.

DC Council Approves Sale of 6428 Georgia Avenue; Park East Back on Track?

Last week, the DC Council gave unanimous approval to the sale of 6428 Georgia Avenue NW, a 5,184-sf lot containing a vacant building of 7,000 sf (formerly Blockbuster Video), to Georgia Avenue Investment Partners, LLC (Ellis Denning) for almost $4 million, bringing to a close the short, odd tale of this Brightwood property. A year ago, Ellis Denning actually owned this land, and had plans to construct Park East (pictured), a condo-retail complex on the site. But in August 2006, the DC government, threatening eminent domain, managed to purchase the lot from Ellis Denning for $3.9 million with the intention of building a firehouse for Fire Engine Company 22. Soon after, opposition to this plan was raised, with many pointing out that a firehouse would be inconsistent with efforts to revitalize this stretch of Georgia Avenue as a livable, pedestrian-friendly space. With this in mind, the DC Council passed a bill to sell the lot back to Ellis Denning at the same price for which it was purchased from them. Ellis Denning is expected to now move forward with its plans to build a 5-story complex on the lot, but now with 39 apartment units rather than condos (12 units will be affordable housing). Design is by Hickok Cole Architects.

Washington DC real estate development news

Dakotas Condo Project Near Fort Totten Ready To Roll

After years of planning and dreaming, it appears residential development is about to begin near Fort Totten metro, one of the few stations that has not seen a construction boom over the past years. Work is about to start on Phase I of The Dakotas, a $300 million, 10-acre project containing 800 mixed-income condo units and apartments, a grocery store and restaurant, plus needed retail stores for the area (80,000 sf of retail total). The Dakotas will be located at Riggs Road and South Dakota Avenue (on both sides of Riggs), just a block or so from the metro station. The developers for this project are Lowe Enterprises, Jack Sophie Development and Ellis Denning Properties, who also envision creating landscaped green space for public use, along with well-lit and landscaped pathways connecting The Dakotas and the Fort Totten metro station. The project will be comprised of low-rise, wood-framed buildings, with fitness rooms and rook decks for residents. The condos are expected to be priced starting in the upper $100,000s for a studio to almost $400,000 for two-bedroom and den units. Development of this size has not occurred yet in this part of town, so it will be interesting to see if and how it transforms the area, and if it sparks some more development for this corner of upper Northeast DC.