Goodbye to the Social Safeway

In the latest salvo of the supermarket wars, Safeway is moving ahead with plans to start from scratch in Georgetown. Within the next year, the so-called "Social Safeway" at 1855 Wisconsin Avenue NW will be torn down to make way for a new "state-of the-art" facility that will better utilize the site and increase their market share as more and more of their competitors move from the suburbs to the inner city.

"Basically, what we're trying to do is to meet the standards of the District of Columbia. There's been a call for activating the streetscape more and trying to eliminate parking lots in the front of these large developments," says Safeway spokesman Craig Muckle. "Secondarily, it'll enable us to make our store larger to fit the type of amenities that we like to offer our customers."

However, there’s no rush to stock up on milk and toilet paper before the present location closes its doors. Muckle described the timeline for the new store as “in flux” and stressed that many of the details pertaining to the new development have yet to be finalized.

While Safeway has not yet revealed the developer and/or builder attached to the project, they have named Torti Gallas as their choice of architect. Some of Torti’s initial designs have already been presented to the community and are currently undergoing revisions – which will only see the light of day after local residents get first crack at them. “We don’t want to surprise the community,” says Muckle.

At present, the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs has approved a raze application for what is, after all, an unsightly brick box, and the Historic Preservation Review Board has given their go-ahead to the project as well. Safeway higher-ups are presently engaged in the design review process with the US Commission of Fine Arts, the Old Georgetown Board and the ANC 2E – but remains dedicated to getting the new project in the ground as quickly as possible. According to Muckle, “This is an important project for us and we’d like to make it happen sooner rather than later.”

The new Social Safeway is just one component of the company’s redevelopment strategy for the District. After opening a new flagship store at City Vista this past September, the national supermarket chain announced a new initiative that would see them renovate all of their 17 DC locations by 2011 and add two new stores, as well – one for Petworth, and another at South Dakota Avenue and Riggs Road NE. Plans for a new Georgetown store were not specified in their announcement.

Georgetown Neighborhood Library Rising from the Ashes

The District of Columbia Public Library (DCPL) this morning held a pre-BID conference in the gutted interior of the Georgetown Neighborhood Library (GNL), which suffered severe fire damage in April of 2007. Full funding for the project has already been allotted by the DC government, but designs for proposed renovations and additions by architects Martinez & Johnson are still months away from completion.

In the meantime, DCPL and the construction manager for the project, Smoot Construction, are now offering contractors three different BID "packages" that can get underway in the coming weeks: hazardous material removal, historic salvage and protection, and supply of site facilities. Following final approval of the architectural designs, Smoot projects that 14-25 more packages will be advertised to facilitate a spring 2010 reopening. Library officials went on to assure the construction representatives in attendance that any current litigation pending against the DCPL will in no way affect the timetable or funds assigned to the project.

Proposed modifications to the original 1930s building include an addition to the library’s first floor, new stairways, elevators and internal systems, demolition of several existing walls, and the complete refurbishment of fire-damaged library accoutrements. Historic wood fixtures on site will be removed and restored off-site, while the library’s basement will also be reconfigured into a more user-friendly space. Luckily, the building’s facade suffered only minimal damage - the library’s concrete and steel skeleton and masonry walls rendered it essentially fireproof – and will not need significant restoration.

The initial cause of the 2007 fire was chalked up to faulty wiring. Capitol Hill's Eastern Market, which notoriously also caught fire on the very same day as the GNL, received $2 million to rebuild from the DC government two weeks ago.

Georgetown real estate news 

Commerce Comes to Georgetown

Commerce Bank, the east coast financial institution, is patiently waiting for demolition and construction permits to build their newest location at 1611 Wisconsin Avenue in Georgetown, the site of the former Reed Electric building. The bank, acting as its own developer, expects to receive permits by the end of March and plans to get in the ground shortly thereafter (surely, permitting in Georgetown will be easy). The new bank will sit on the north side of the lot, measure 29 feet in height, and house roughly 4,000 s.f. of space, fronting Wisconsin Avenue. Customers will have access to a parking lot on the lot's southern end. "We are interested in developing there because we have had great success in the Metro D.C. area. 

Commerce Bank seeks sites from a retailer's perspective -- focusing on high-traffic, high-visibility sites to develop stores and expand our network of convenient locations. We feel there is a need for our unique type of retail banking in Georgetown," said Rebecca Acevedo for Commerce Bank. Before any construction begins, contractors will first have to demolish the Reed Electric building to clear the way for the two-story bank, which is planned to tie in to the spirit of the Georgetown's classic rowhouse architecture. According to Jim Clark, principal in charge at MTFA Architecture, the firm responsible for the new bank's design, the building's facade will appear to be modern but will "take the rhythm" from the surrounding neighborhood. "The building is regarded as the gateway to Georgetown by the Commission of Fine Arts. The front of the building continues the rhythm of bays from the adjacent row houses, and it is a friendly, modern neighbor to the historic context of Georgetown. The building’s exterior is composed of brick, glass, steel and stainless steel trellises. The great expanse of glass allows the two-story interior to be visible from the exterior which is one of Commerce Bank’s signature features on their bank designs," Clark added. The site is currently zoned C-2-A, so construction will be done as a matter of right, but in addition to the usual list of governing bodies, ie. local ANCs, BZA, etc., the project had been reviewed by the Commission of Fine Arts, which reviews projects particularly in historic Georgetown, as well as the Old Georgetown Board, which 'helped' refine its design. Commerce's development team is currently working with three bidders vying to build the bank, but in the spirit of the financial services industry, they have decided to keep the details to themselves. Other potential bidders have little less than a month to make an offer before the March 4 submission deadline.

Washington DC retail news

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.

Sheridan Garage Condo Sales to Start this Spring

After much anticipation and years of planning, condo units in Georgetown’s historic Sheridan Garage project are expected to be offered for sale starting this Spring. Sheridan Garage, located at 2516 Q Street NW, will contain 34 high-end residential units, with the original building flanked by two new wings. The original garage, built in 1922, is being restored to its original industrial appearance, but this being Georgetown, exposed ducts are out and instead you’ll see crown molding. The original building will be joined by a glass walkway to a new 3-story building on the East and a third building made to look like two historic townhouses on the West. There will also be 34 underground parking spaces. Units are expected to average 1,100 sf, and will range from $400,000 to $1.6 million. Construction started this Fall, with completion slated for the end of 2007. Sheridan garage is being developed by Keener-Squire/ KS East Place Development, with architecture design by Shalom Baranes and Eric Colbert.

Whither the Whitehurst Freeway?

Yes, it has been an eyesore since erected in 1949, and yes, it cuts off Georgetown from the rapidly redeveloping waterfront area. But this almost mile-long elevated highway over K Street to the Key Bridge also provides quick access to and from downtown for thousands of Virginia and Maryland commuters, and eliminates potential traffic nightmares on the already claustrophobic streets of Georgetown. With such a conflicted existence, no wonder the battle over the future of the Whitehurst Freeway is often heated, with business leaders and the new luxury condo owners along the elevated road advocating demolition (more traffic means more business, and no freeway means unobstructed water views and increased condo values), and long-time residents and commuters favoring its preservation (especially considering it just received a $35 million overhaul and upgrade in 1998). The latest salvo arrived in late July, when the board of the Georgetown Business Improvement District (BID) voted in favor of removing the freeway. The Georgetown BID will next make its recommendation of a preferred alternative after an upcoming presentation by DC transportation officials. District officials have also proposed demolishing the Whitehurst and making K Street a 4- or 6-lane through street. That is, if they can ever solve the long-time curse of this project: How to connect K Street to both Key Bridge and Canal Road, which differ in elevation by 60 feet, in so short a road length.

Georgetown Waterfront Park Finally Moves Forward

With all the recent excitement over plans to redevelop the Southwest and Anacostia waterfronts, it’s been easy to forget the lack of activity surrounding the long-on-the-board plans for the Georgetown waterfront. However, this is about to change, as work is now starting on the $15 million Georgetown Waterfront Park, which is to occupy 10 acres between Washington Harbour and the Key Bridge. When completed by the end of 2007, the park will include pathways, a new promenade to integrate the shore line from Key Bridge to Washington Harbour and the Kennedy Center, gardens, a bike path connecting the Rock Creek Trail to the Capital Crescent Trail, and “environmentally sound bio-edge spaces that preserve native plants and enhance water quality” … guess we’ll see what that means in 18 months.