Wormley School Phase II Development Begins

Five years after Bethesda-based Encore Development purchased the Wormley School building from Georgetown University for $8.3 million and began marketing townhouses and condos, Encore says it is ready to begin building its townhouse portion of the project. The initial plan was to transform the historic brick school into seven condominiums and construct six new townhouses on top of a parking garage, replacing the school's parking lot and playground. The 7-unit converted schoolhouse delivered in 2008, but the vision for a row of six new townhouses seemed to fade as sales for the condos were stubbornly sluggish and presales of the townhouses nonexistent. However, after recently selling the last of the condos after more than 3 years of marketing, Encore's financiers gave them the go ahead to begin construction on the six townhouses, and work has now begun on the site.

The site, at 3325-3329 Prospect Street, is just one block north of the M Street, along the migratory student path between M and Georgetown University. The six townhouses will each consist of four levels and a loft, totaling somewhere between 4800 and 5200 s.f. Each home will be accompanied by two parking spaces, and are currently priced starting at $3.95 million, running up to $4.95 million. The row-houses should be delivered in roughly a year.

The "finely-crafted, Victorian-style luxury townhouses with details of quintessential Georgetown originals" (according to the listing) are designed by Cunningham & Quill Architects. The end unit will include four bedrooms and bathrooms, four fireplaces, formal living room and dining room, library, and a grand kitchen that opens into a family room. The master suite features a private terrace, and the third floor operates as a two story conservatory. That's not all, also comprised in the property is an in house elevator and relaxing private garden.

A diligent effort has been made by the architects and developers of this project, in cooperation with Old Georgetown, Citizens Association of Georgetown, and HPRB, to ensure that the historical integrity of the block and the neighborhood are preserved. Because two row houses already existed at the end of the block, these new houses will join the established roof line and facade closest to the street, while the renovated Wormley School will soak up the majority of the passerby's attention - as it remains set back several feet to draw the wandering eye towards its historical and architectural significance.

Many specific architectural details will be replicated in the newly constructed houses so to provide visual clues for the onlooker, reminding them that this is a classic Georgetown townhouse in the historic Georgetown neighborhood. Both cornice lines and the articulations of the roof line will be matched to the existing houses as the row tapers down the street. The houses will all be approximately the same width as a typical Georgetown row house. They will also be proportionally similar. Other visual clues meant to reference the iconic Georgetown home are the windows (mainly type two over two), archway styling, the steps and entryway as they relate to the proportioning of the transition to the sidewalk, as well as stone stoops, railings, and gardens. Although many row houses in Georgetown are bare brick, the designers opted for the also common painted frontage, selecting subtle neutrals (grays, yellows, and whites) so to enliven the facade but not call too loudly for attention (think San Francisco painted lady houses). "Our ultimate goal with the design was to complete the pattern of the existing block," says architect Chris Morrison, "and I think we did that intelligently and respectfully."

Washington D.C. Real Estate Development News

Eastbanc to Turn Georgetown School into Condos

Recently, the Corcoran College of Art and Design announced that Eastbanc was the winning bidder on the old Fillmore School building on 1801 35th Street, NW, at Georgetown / Burleith border. Corcoran purchased the property in 1997, but expansions and growth of the student body has the school seeking more space elsewhere in the city. The announcement in April was for a purchase and sales agreement; the sale has yet to be finalized and the purchase price has not been released. DCMud has confirmed rumors of a condo and residential project for the future of the site, though details are not yet determined. According to Joe Sternlieb, VP at Eastbanc, the site was one he and his firm "had long had our eyes on." Eastbanc, which has worked on 60 or 70 buildings in the Georgetown area over the past 20 years, won the bid for the site over as many as eight other firms, according to Sternlieb. Eastbanc was recently awarded an RFP to develop in the West End into a mixed-use project and new library and fire station. The developers plan to convert the existing school building into condominiums and build new townhouses along 34th Street on the site of the 100-car parking lot. Sternlieb said the team is working with undisclosed architects on drawing several potential development plans that the team will share with the community, including the ANC and the Old Georgetown Board, "in the next few weeks." From there the team will likely go to the Board of Zoning Adjustment to amend the allowed use for the lot, though the project will reportedly not require a PUD zoning amendment as contemplated. Sternlieb said Eastbanc is "probably looking at starting something in the summer of 2011." Eastbanc must have pondered the fate of the Wormley School more than momentarily. The former Georgetown school was converted into condos and began sales in 2007, with developer Encore intending to turn the building into 7 condos and add 6 townhouses, but sales languished, with some units still unsold, and the townhouses remain just a vision. The Corcoran purchased the Fillmore from the District government in 1997 for $1.5m. The Fillmore was built in 1892 and remains one of the few tributes to the all-but-forgotten former President Millard S. 

Washington DC commercial property news

Lots of Cleared Lots for Sale in the Palisades

Encore Development and their engineers at Dewberry and Davis are wrapping up razing and land development work at 4800 U Street, NW, making way for eight, freshly-cleared lots that range in size from 6,000 to 12,500 s.f.  Located just a block from MacArthur Boulevard, the parcels, dubbed Berkley-Chase, are now "up for sale to either individuals or home builders," according to Encore principal, Steve Kay and will sell for $925,000-$995,000 each. The Berkley-Chase development makes up approximately half of the 3.2 acre parcel Encore originally purchased back in 2007. Encore sold the other half of the property to the St. Patrick's School before razing the late 1940s home on the property, commencing sewer work, and putting in a series of retaining walls between the lots for sale and the adjoining St. Patrick's School property. Kay says his company has quietly begun putting the lots on sale and is "working on a couple potential deals now." To date, none of the lots have been sold, but more prominent listings with Washington Fine Properties should be popping up in the coming weeks. 

Washington DC real estate and development news

DC's Palisades Demolition Clears Way for Single Family Homes

Encore Development and engineers Dewberry and Davis are currently on site at 4800 U Street, NW, where they are parlaying the former site of a single-family Palisades home into eight development lots. Encore purchased the property, which stands only a block from MacArthur Boulevard, in 2007 and subsequently razed the home at the site soon thereafter.

“We actually bought a 3.2 acre parcel there and sold half of it to the St. Patrick’s School. We retained the other half for ourselves,” said Encore principal Steve Kay. According to him, though Encore has already received numerous inquiries from other development teams looking to acquire the property, the roughly 9,000 square foot lots will most likely be sold ala carte to would-be owners once work ends sometime in “the May to June timeframe.”

As Encore’s interest in the site will feature no new construction, the developer needed little clearance to proceed with their subdivision. “It’s a matter-of-right project and all of the lots have frontage on either 48^th or U Streets…We did meet with ANC, but there was no approval process,” said Kay. “But there will be 8 houses there, as soon I release the lots for sale.”

School's Out, Condos and Townhouses in at Wormley Row

Sales have begun for Wormley Row, the complete renovation and conversion of Georgetown's Wormley School into seven condominiums. After closing in 1994, the building remained empty until Bethesda-based Encore Development purchased it from Georgetown University for $8.3 million in 2005. Designed by Georgetown-based Cunningham and Quill Architects, the project will include seven condominiums within the brick schoolhouse and six townhouses that will replace the former parking lot and playground.

Located between 34th and 33rd Streets on Prospect Street, the project's address in Georgetown's Historic District meant strict building and zoning requirements. Demolition of the building was not permitted, thus assuring its schoolhouse appearance, however an underground floor has been added. The demolition and restoration of the interior of the schoolhouse is currently underway as is the restoration of the exterior brickwork.

Acknowledging the challenge of finding parking in Georgetown, Gary Kirstein, Principle at Encore said, "We decided to build a garage to put townhouses on, it seemed like a good recipe here." Excavation for the garage has begun; at the project's completion, a driveway between the school and townhouses will lead to the garage, which will include spaces for all residents. Delivery of both the condominiums and townhouses is slated for late 2009.