Interns Replace Condos Downtown (A NOMA House)

The Washington Center (TWC) has announced plans to give Washington just what it needs: less condos and more…interns. The local non-profit has selected Paradigm Development Company to build out a new “mini-campus” for college students spending their summer at TWC-arranged, metro area internships. Though Paradigm, the Arlington-based development company, is perhaps best known for its Parc Rosslyn and Buckingham Village residential projects in Northern Virginia, the TWC project will mark Paradigm's first foray into from-scratch development in the District.

The $38 million dollar project will transform a NOMA parking lot at Third and K Streets, NE into a 345-bed dormitory complex, just around the corner from the Northeast BID’s only other ongoing residential projects thus far: the Cohen Companies’ Union Place.

The development will be sufficient to provide for approximately 80% of the thousand plus interns drafted by the TWC each year, who are currently housed in sundry apartment buildings throughout the area. Current plans call for the usual college-style accoutrements like shared kitchens, high speed internet and the nostalgia-inspiring “common area.” Though Paradigm representatives were unwilling to divulge the architects or general contractor attached to the project, they did say that “groundbreaking is imminent” and could begin before the end of the month.

The rise of the TWC’s student housing center does, however, signal the death knell for another project once planned for the same site: Greenbaum & Rose’s Capitol Cab Condominiums. Once slated to deliver another 112 residential units to the NOMA corridor, the project never got off, or out of, the ground. Greenbaum & Rose did not respond to DCmud’s inquiries regarding the project.

UPDATE: Washington Center representatives have confirmed that the architect on the project will be Davis Carter Scott and that a groundbreaking ceremony will be held on April 14th.

NoMa East: Progress Waits

The other side of the tracks is always the problem real estate. And so even in NoMa, DC's largest real estate construction site, the west side of the railroad tracks are packed with groundbreakings like Tishman's 1100 and 1150 First Street, JBG's Capitol Square, Bristol Group's Noma Station, and StonebridgeCarras' Constitution Square, and newly announced tenants like Harris Teeter, the DOJ, DOE, and NPR. But east of the tracks, development moves at a much more, well, southernly pace. The east side has not failed to attract either experienced developers or ambitious plans. But so far, little has materialized to signal the progress that is likely to transform the neighborhood - even if that term barely applies now - into a viable commercial and residential center. Even the feature that divides the two sides, the tracks that emanate from Union Station, will eventually disappear beneath the urban landscape as Akridge's Burnham Place unifies the neighborhood and buries the current boundary. In 2013, maybe. For the present, however, most developers with east-of-the-tracks plots seem content to let their west side neighbors build out the new downtown neighborhood while they consider options and hone their plans. “Most of NoMa is on the west side of the tracks, but a few key parcels are on the east side that are a key link from the historic Capitol Hill to the new neighborhood. It is important to have that bridge,” said Elizabeth Price, President of NoMa BID. One block east of the tracks, the Wilkes Company has plans for a mixed-use set of buildings with over 300 residences and 250,000 s.f. of office space just across M street from Douglas Development's 300,000-s.f. office, 225-residence development of the Uline Arena. The two intend to develop their projects jointly, but both have yet to even put up a sign.

According to Sandy Wilkes, Chairman of the Wilkes Company, "We are still in a planning phase and we're trying to understand exactly what the opportunity is in that place and what zoning strategies we might deploy to bring this about. It is still early for us, our general instinct is that there is going to be a natural tendency for NoMa to develop more actively on west side. We have the luxury of being patient on the east side, but our sense is that while Constitution Square and other projects are underway, the real time for us is in a two to three year time frame. We are constantly thinking about fine-tuning and timing. We are going to let our friends and colleagues on the west side lead the way and then get way more focused in 24 -36 months." Also facing each other, at least someday, at 3rd and K Streets, NE, will be Greenbaum and Rose's Capitol Cab property and Cohen Companies' Union Place, planned as part of the NoMa development surge. And while the G 'N R site sits indefinitely, Union Place at least is forging ahead.

Michelle Pilon, project coordinator for Cohen Companies’ “Loree Grand” says Phase One of Union Place is on schedule to deliver in late 2009 and the team is in the process of getting a foundation grade permit so it can begin construction.

The Loree Grand will include 212 apartments in a ten-story building, some of which will be workforce housing; eleven percent will be "affordable." In addition to the residential components, this phase will include an interior public courtyard, 4,000 s.f. of retail space, one underground parking space per resident, and a “green” roof.

The residential floor plans of the first phase will range from junior one-bedroom units starting at 516 s.f. to 1,400-s.f. apartments with two bedroom and a den. Phase two will rise 14 stories and deliver over 400 residential units, though the inevitable rental vs. condo debate has not yet been settled. Developers are already planning to install wide sidewalks to create a "boulevard effect." Meanwhile, Greenebaum and Rose is waiting on a sunnier economy. For Greenebaum and Rose, instead of the traditional “go rental” approach to the less-than-stellar market, the developers' project on the former Capitol Cab property is on hold. The developers bought the land at market price in 2003 after winning a legal battle over a competing developer that sought to buy the cab company’s debt, pay $50,000 for the land, and have the right to foreclose on the cab company’s owners’ homes.

Greenebaum and Rose’s current plan will cost over $20 million and include a six story, 92,800-s.f. residential building designed by Davis Carter Scott. It will have 112 condominium units and underground parking. Someday. “Nothing has been built,” said Greenebaum and Rose partner, Sam Rose. “For now, it’s a piece of land with a permit. We’re not starting until the world looks prettier.”

Noma BID Director Price said their property will only become more valuable as the neighborhood continues to evolve. “Long standing parcels are going up in market value; Greyhound announced that they would sell, and that was one of last pieces of puzzle, whether Greenebaum and Rose would sell, I don’t know. They’ve been around longer than anybody and we owe a lot to them to committing to building First Street. The developers’ options are wide open," she said.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Gateway On Its Way

MRP Realty is about to finish the design phase for their long awaited Washington Gateway project located at the corner of New York and Florida Avenues in NE, on the northern edge of NoMa. The 1 million-s.f. project will cost an estimated $350 million to construct, and sit atop the New York Avenue metro station. MRP closed on the purchase of the land from Greenebaum & Rose Associates in August of ’07. Designs are now 80% complete with only interior refinements remaining. The bidding phase and excavation applications will follow, with ground breaking expected in the third quarter of this year.

The project will consist of three buildings, two of which will be office towers. The northern tower - the tallest in the NoMa and Capitol area - will have about 415,000 s.f. of office space. Its sister tower to the south will have roughly 210,000 s.f. The taller building caused MRP a setback in December of 2006 when the National Capital Planning Commission objected to its height, an attribute at least in part caused by a 40 foot height difference between New York and Florida Avenues. The Zoning Commission overrode their objection (yes, they can do that) and made the final approval in February of 2007, deciding to measure the building's height from New York Avenue, although the foundation for the building will be poured on the Florida Avenue level. This allows MRP an extra three stories, making the Washington Gateway more visible to those entering NoMa from New York Avenue - a rare coup for height in our two-dimensional city.

The opposite side of the site features a "T" shaped building, housing a 180-room hotel and a 260-unit apartment tower, of which 8% of the units will be reserved for affordable housing. The rental units will feature 'condo level' finishes like granite counter tops and undermount sinks. A public central plaza will connect each building.

Washington Gateway will also give commuters and residents easy access to the New York Avenue Metro and the Metropolitan Branch Bike Trail. The three-story glass Bicycle Atrium will provide bike storage, lockers, refreshments, trail and neighborhood maps, and an automated bike pump.

MRP is teaming up with Gensler Architecture as master planner and designer of the commercial office buildings. SK&I Architectural Design Group is working on the residential building and hotel while Oculus is planning the plaza and streetscape design.

According to Gensler's Michael Patrick, Washington Gateway "extends the urban grid of NoMA from the south into what was an abandoned and isolated eyesore, and creates a great urban space in a plaza with first class materials."

"The residential building cantilevers an energetic volume of triangular glass which will capture and frame the view for those eastbound on either Avenue. The residential tower and south office building create a ceremonial entry from NoMA, with the office building's plaza facade articulated in high detail of stone, glass and metal to set the tone for the Class A office space inside," Patrick added.

Completion of Washington Gateway is expected in the fall of 2010.