Rappaport Hits Minor Setback on H Street

It's back to the drawing board for developers and architects working on Gary Rappaport's H Street redevelopment project. The Rappaport Companies' Parcel Seven Associates, LLC has been planning a large mixed-use redevelopment project running on the south side of H Street between 8th and 10th for over three years now. The rather enormous project, stretching two full blocks and replacing an outmoded single-story shopping strip, is expected to begin work on part of the 52,000 s.f. of retail and 400-odd residences within about two years, but save the 2nd half for much later. Developers endured the requisite series of conversations, meetings, and compromises, and were finally able to bring both DDOT and the ANC (6A and 6C) on board. But the Zoning Commission was not entirely wooed by the long line of witnesses pleading for approval of the obligatory zoning change at Monday evening's public hearing, and unanimously decided to delay final action until September 27th. This gives the architects and developers until Friday, September 3rd to officially respond to requests made by the Zoning Commission, and opponents of the project until September 10th to retort and fault Rappaport's modifications.

There were a number of minor issues with the plan in the eyes of the Commission, but the major hold up was the appearance of the project's closest neighbor in opposition to the project. This was not the first time developers had heard this family's concerns, and Rappaport insisted that they had labored to accommodate the neighbor's concerns about building height and traffic flow. But the strong reservations communicated by the 8th street neighbor were not mitigated to the extent the Commission expected, so Zoning requested more careful consideration of their concerns, particularly the family's anxiety over the likely increase in large trucks turning into the alley around the corner of their home.

One Zoning member requested that the architects refine the pavilion design on the opposite corner, at 10th and H Street, to generate a bolder and more interesting beginning to the rest of the building, while also tying together and re-enforcing the entirety of the design. "It lacks the kind of stylings and flavor of the rest of the building," he lamented. Another panel member was disappointed that the amenities package was rather light when weighed against the aggressive amount of FAR being pursued by the project (4.0 FAR of residential and 6.0 FAR of commercial space). The entire Commission also expressed their interest in seeing a slightly more aggressive phasing timeline; at present, phase two construction would not begin for about seven years thereafter, a timeline "that will depend upon the rate of absorption" of Phase 1, according to Rappaport.

But don't mourn for the Rappaport Companies, a somewhat retooled design should afford the developers the PUD they've been seeking, and panel members were generally optimistic and encouraged by the scope and direction of this project. A final action ruling later this fall does not serve as a serious threat to their hopes of beginning construction in 2012.

The process of give and take is not new to Rappaport; the project was even bigger before it was first rejected by the Commission in 2008. Over the last two years, the design team, including project architect Torti Gallas, has appeased the community by situating the massing of the buildings in the middle and the back to better negotiate changes in the roofline (ranging from 50 to 90 ft.) and blend the new building into the existing facade. The once uniform design has also been reformed to feign the appearance of multiple, distinct buildings strung together, replicating the nature of street frontages on the rest of H Street. The architects have offered large setbacks for the bottom floor retail stores to provide for maximum pedestrian traffic flow and the potential for outdoor dining terraces.

Other amenities being supplied to the community include landscaping and improvement of public space. The project will also look to minimize traffic congestion, and encourage environmental responsibility in achieving a LEED Silver Certification upon finished construction. Parcel Seven has also agreed to support a proposal for the creation of a Historic District for H Street NE. Moreover, a small portion of the residential units will qualify as affordable housing. And while one Commission member pointed out that several of these "amenities" are actually requirements (killjoy), the project seems to have convinced the majority of the community that its arrival is much more of a positive contribution than a hindrance.

The public record on this case will be reopened in late September as the developers attempt to appease the development site's most immediate neighbor, as well as reassure the Zoning Commission that their project is ready for construction to begin.

Washington DC real estate development news

Capitol Hill: Razing Townhouses, Raising Money

Fifteen historic homes on Capitol Hill have been pulverized to make way for what appears to be a surface parking lot. The townhouses (pictured below last year) happened to sit where the Louis Dreyfus Property Group plans to build Capitol Place, a 380,000-s.f. mixed use development with 302 residential units and 20,000 s.f. of retail.

In April, DCMud reported that Dreyfus had applied for, and received, an extension of their zoning application, giving them more time to find financing for the mixed-use project. But construction crews from Aceco, based in Silver Spring, are now tearing down the last bits of the century-old homes, and unconfirmed reports suggest the site may be used as a surface parking lot to raise money for eventual construction. Dreyfus could not be reached for comment. While the zoning application for a PUD extension was approved, the raze permit for the old homes was issued in June 2008, a permit that came with a two-year time limit.

The block misses the Capitol Hill Historic District - a legislatively demarcated zone which ends at F Street, NE - by one block. The demolition was an unexpected move given a recent conversation DCMud had with the Developer. Just last month, Robert H. Braunohler, Regional Vice President for Louis Dreyfus Property Group, left the impression that movement was not imminent. "At this point we are actively trying to raise money to go forward with a project that will be part condo and part rental," said Braunohler, added that the project does not have "a firm construction schedule."

Capitol Place was designed by New York-based Cook + Fox Architects. For more pictures of the demolished buildings, so our last story on the project.

Washington, DC real estate development news

Doomed Historic H Street Properties Hang On

A cluster of fifteen historic townhouses on Capitol Hill once set for demolition, then seemingly spared by the economy, has had its death warrant extended. The Historic Preservation Review Board signed a raze permit in June 2008 when the Louis Dreyfus Property Group received final zoning approval for Capitol Place, a 380,000-s.f. mixed use development with 302 residential units and 20,000 s.f. of retail. Almost two years later, however, the buildings still stand and the planned development is still just a plan as the zoning approval expires. This month, however, a two-year extension on the project's PUD (zoning) approval will go into effect, giving Louis Dreyfus more time to demolish and build.

Dreyfus's original timetable predicted demolition in fall 2008, construction within the following year-and-a-half, and delivery expected thirty-two months later. But in a recent conversation, Robert H. Braunohler, Regional Vice President for Louis Dreyfus Property Group, left the impression that movement on the project not imminent. "At this point we are actively trying to raise money to go forward with a project that will be part condo and part rental," said Braunohler, adding that the project does not have "a firm construction schedule." Thanks to the PUD extension, the developers will not need one for a while.

The townhouses, dating from as far back as the mid 19th Century, will be sacrificed as part of a deal that will allow development of the site in exchange for money to pay for historic structural survey that would potentially lead to the expansion of the Capitol Hill Historic District - an area covering from the project site to 16th Street. The block misses the Capitol Hill Historic District - a legislatively demarcated zone which ends at F Street, NE - by one block

Capitol Place, designed by New York-based Cook + Fox Architects, is in good - if not well-financed - company. The project will abut the H Street Overpass across from the recently foreclosed Senate Square Apartments, adjacent to Akridge's Burnham Place dream, and diagonal from another planned apartment building that has yet to start construction.

Washington, DC real estate development news

H Street Goes Big

Score yet another win for H Street. The dare-we-say trendy neighborhood that is sometimes maligned for its beleaguered street front, but just as often loved for its gritty resurgence, is closer to getting one of its biggest projects to date. The H Street Connection, a 433,000 s.f. residential and retail project that will fill two full blocks along H Street, cleared a major hurdle in its path toward District approval. Developer Parcel Seven Associates (a.k.a. Rappaport Companies), has been given approval recently by the Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC), an event that is certain to make its stock go up when the project goes before the Zoning Commission (ZC) for review. Designed by architects Torti Gallas, the new project will likely get a zoning hearing this summer. The ANC's support will be given weight during the hearings, which come now after more than two years of conversations between the developers and the community. A development of this size will certainly be transformative, but its larger effect may be suturing the voguish Atlas District with the still struggling corridor to the east, roughly from 3rd Street to 10th Street, where major developments are planned but seem on indefinite hold.

The H Street Connection's 52,000 s.f. of retail and 346 to 423 rental units will fit into the space between 8th and 10th Streets NE, replacing a one-story strip mall built in 1987 and occupied by stores like GameStop and RiteAid. The community gave a big thumbs down to the iteration first presented in November 2007; a letter from the ANC described the design as a "monolithic contemporary facade." The development team has since adjusted the design to create the appearance of multiple buildings more in line with the "rhythm and architectural style" of the surrounding neighborhood. In keeping with the community's requests, the massing will sit in the center and rear of the new structure, allowing the sides to step down to better match the surrounding two and three-story townhouses. The developer is asking for a density of of 5.0 FAR, less than the 6.0 allowed in the PUD zoning application. Below-grade parking will add 340 residential spaces and 65 retail spaces, with garage entrances off 8th and 10th Streets. 

According to ANC 6A Commissioner, Dr. Drew Ronneberg, "the city has a strong interest in having the site host 100 additional city-owned parking spaces that would serve retail establishments outside the building." Among other concessions, the developers agreed to a laundry list of community benefits to mitigate traffic congestion and encourage "green" living. The project will have to meet LEED silver requirements, though does not have to seek actual certification. There will be bicycle spaces aplenty in the parking garage, and lockers and showers for retail employees who bike to work. The developers agreed to provide one $20 SmartTrip Card to all initial and future residents up to $15,000, to fund up to $45,000 for a bike share station on undefined public property (quite a bit less than the Union Station bike hub cost), provide car sharing spaces, and pay for a one-time, one-year car sharing membership for initial occupants to max out at $19,000. We can see the marketing materials already. Ronneberg said the ultimate goal behind the community amenities was to "help catalyze...the development of H Street" and that after hammering out the amenities over the past six months "there's certainly nothing major the ANC asked for that did not make it into the package." Chip Glasgow of Holland and Knight, attorney for the developers, said "we have been working with the ANC for a couple of years and it has turned out to be a very good process. We are very pleased with the result...and people are excited." Glasgow indicated he hopes to be in front of Zoning in April or May and to have a hearing "sometime this summer." As for a timeline thereafter, he would not speculate, though Ronneberg suggested a 2012 start would be the earliest the community would expect anything. 

Washington, DC real estate and development news

H Street: Another Retail Spot?

The flow of development making its way down H Street, NE, will soon reach 13th and H Streets, a condemned two-story "office" structure at 1381 H Street that its owners hope to tear down to make room for something better. What, we don't yet know. Owner Clifford Utley has filed for a raze permit; once approved, NSD&E Inc. will pull down the dilapidated building, and Utley can set to work revitalizing his lot with a new mixed-use building, likely composed of ground floor retail with office space above. By the time a new development emerges, H Street might even have a functioning street car (legal disclaimer: don't count on that).

Utley, owner of construction company Utley Mechanical Inc., told DCMud he had previously tried to obtain permits to renovate the structure, but there was just "too much red tape" required to save the deteriorating building. Utley said his decision to raze and rebuild was partly due to what he called "exorbitant taxes" he had to pay on the property last year. The property's tax assessed value is $190,000 and has been taxed under 10% vacant property rate. According to records from the Office of Tax and Revenue, in 2009, Utley paid over $28,000 in taxes, including some back taxes and related charges.

Though his plans are still rather vague, the erstwhile developer said he is moving forward with his efforts to raze and start over. Over the next few months, Utley indicated he would figure out the financing. Then find an architect, then create a development and building design, then proceed. Seems to us as good as done. Utley assures us he will do something with the property pretty soon.

Washington, DC real estate and development news

Senate Square Sold At Auction

The 432-unit Senate Square apartment building on the 200 block of I Street, NE, sold this afternoon at auction for more than $121,000,000 to its "mezz" lender. The sole bidder, VII I Street Mezz Lender, LLC (the "Secured Party") nodded at the opening bid of $1 million, which had to be paid on top of the outstanding $120 million note plus accrued mortgage interest and fees. VII I Street Mezz Lender, LLC was listed as a mezzanine lender on the property in the auction notice. The bid was the only one placed on the troubled property. Developed by New York-based Broadway Development and designed by architect Philip Esocoff, the property went into receivership in October 2009 after an aborted attempt at condo sales and a slow start at leasing.

Attorney for the secured party, Stephen Meister of the New York-based firm Meister Seelig & Fein, LLP, indicated he was uncertain how the purchase would affect management of the building.

Washington, DC real estate development news

Senate Square to be Auctioned

The 432-unit Senate Square apartment building on the 200 block of I Street, NE is headed to auction on February 23rd. Senate Square was developed by New York-based Broadway Development Company and designed by architect Philip Esocoff. The property went into receivership in October 2009.

The two 12-story towers began sales as condos in September of 2005, but in 2007 converted to apartments when only 150 units went under contract. Since that time, the developer had fallen behind on mortgage payments to lender Goldman Sachs, and last October, California- based Douglas P. Wilson Companies was appointed as Receiver for Senate Square, requiring them to act as the developer on behalf of the court. On December 11, 2009, Goldman Sachs sold the note to Westbrook of New York. According to a representative of the Receiver, the project is currently 85% leased, more than 2 years after offering the building for lease, and that the new ownership is not likely to affect management or operation of Senate Square as an apartment building.

Senate Square was cleaved off from Abdo Development's Landmark Lofts condo project, which purchased site of the former Children's Museum for development; the two share a central amenities building. The auction will be held at 10am, February 23rd, at the auction house of Alex Cooper.

Washington, DC real estate development news

Retail vs. Office Space Showdown on DC's H Street

An empty lot could become one of the first new commercial enterprises on the 1200 block of H Street NE, if the developer and the community can see eye to eye. I.S. Enterprises owns the lot and is applying to build a 4-story commercial building in the reemerging restaurant and arts district of H Street, but the developer has some appeasing to do before the Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) gives a seal of approval. An October review before the Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) was delayed 60 days to allow the developer time to work with the ANC, which had summarily opposed the planned structure. But with the 60 days up and another hearing scheduled next week, the project has yet to come back to the ANC with any changes or compromises.

The developer's plan is for a four-story building with ground floor professional services "such as investment and or insurance brokerage firms" with the top 3 floors set aside for the owner for office space. The lot is relatively small, so the owner is looking for zoning relief for density, seeking a Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of 3 rather than the permissible 2.5 FAR. The zoning requirements also stipulate that first floor ceiling heights come in at 14' to accommodate ground floor retail, but the owner would like to have 10'6" ground floor ceilings and no retail. In asking for these adjustments, I.S. Enterprise puts itself at the mercy of the ANC and the BZA, which must approve it, and can therefore mandate its standards.

According to ANC records, the organization sees the property as an opportunity to embrace the H Street Overlay and continue to develop uses favored by the community; they are unlikely to change their mind. The group strongly opposed the four story height arguing "all the other structures on the block are two stories." The ANC also objects to the overall design of the project stating "it does not reflect any of the architectural elements found on H Street." The ANC further objects the planned ground floor use, preferring retail. Though the ANC's approval is not required, the BZA will give weight to the ANC's position.

Washington DC real estate development news

Industry Insight: Gabe Klein

Gabe Klein, Mayor Fenty's pick to steer the future of transportation in DC, began his post as Director of the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) in February 2009. Klein comes from a progressive, private sector background where he cultivated a reputation for partnering innovative businesses with government programs. He served as the DC regional Vice President of Zipcar from 2002 to 2006, making DC the nation's largest car sharing city by both membership and vehicles. He then co-founded and most recently served as the Chief Executive Officer of On the Fly, a boutique food-service company with retail, wholesale, catering and events businesses all-in-one whose green smartkarts are spotted throughout the city. Having achieved a quasi rock start status among urban planners and other pointy-heads for his entrepreneurial, progressive approach to greener transportation and development, Klein has quickly made Washington DC a leader in non-carbon transport options. Klein recently discussed with DCMud his plans for the future of DC transportation.

DCMUD: So it’s been almost a year at this point since you started at DDOT.

GK: Almost…I got appointed in December but I started February 1st. Nine months.

DCMUD: What do you think is the biggest problem with the city’s transportation right now and what are you doing about it?

GK: Well, it depends on if you look at this part of the region or if you focus more on just the city itself, I live just five blocks from here.

DCMUD: Do you walk to work?

GK: I walk to work or I bike to work. My commute on foot is about 9 minutes. So you know, from my personal stand point, we have a wonderful transportation system - a very walk-able, ride-able, transit-oriented city. So if you live, work or play in the city, I think it’s wonderful. I think if you’re commuting in - I was talking to one of our guys today - he lives in Baltimore, so his commute, total is between 2 and a half to 3 hours a day. So for folks that live in the region, I would say the traffic during rush hour is a huge problem.

Here in the city I think we need to make sure that the city is as safe as possible for people, particularly when people want to not be in their car. You know, forty percent of the people in the city don’t even own a car.

DCMUD: By safer do you mean as in a transportation perspective on the street as in walking?

GK: [It needs to be] safe for people to walk, to bike, to drive—and so you know we have a big responsibility in terms of safety and we’re looking hard at that, at how we want to arrange our safety resources in the form of a team so that they’re as responsive as possible to the public. Right now we’re looking at the fifty worst intersections in the city and trying to make sure that we focus our efforts on making them safe. In terms of your readers, I think what’s important is that if you’re developing at one of the worst intersections in the city—like Donatelli’s at Minnesota and Benning—what are we doing to make that safe, so his mixed-use development really attracts people to live there. It’s very important to the city to have smart growth, to have transit-oriented development of which that will be both, right, so there’s going to be stores, offices, and residential. And the problem is if we don’t create a safe intersection so people can cross to the grocery store, are people going to want to buy there? Is the real estate going to be worth what it could be? We’re very focused on that. And there is obviously a renaissance in DC, as there is in many urban quarters, and we’re very aware that there are many more children in the city than there used to be. There are people like you and I who are, well I don’t know where you live, but there are people like us who at this age are saying, “we want to live in the city and maybe raise a family,” and the mayor I think is doing a phenomenal job at trying to better the schools; I think our job is to make sure that people feel their neighborhoods are safe from a transportation standpoint. And a lot of that is pedestrian safety. One thing I’ve noticed - I’ve had one hearing season here - and when I go in front of council, the majority of the people who are testifying are testifying about safety - particularly pedestrian safety. So we’re really focusing on that. We’re also going to be launching an expanded bike share program.

DCMUD: Bike share has been pioneered during your tenure, can you address that? Also, I recently spoke with DDOT Transportation Planner Jim Sebastian and he said you’d be expanding the program from 10 bike stations to 90. When can we expect that?

GK: Right now we’re going through a contracting and procurement process, so we’re going to have everything nailed down, I can tell you soon we’ll be making an announcement about our expansion of the program. It will be a significant expansion. We’re hoping to take it to 100 stations. And a thousand bikes, it could be a little more, a little less, and our hope is to create a transit system with bikes

I just went to Montreal about a month ago on vacation…[and]…I wanted to go…to actually see the bike share system. We were the first in North America to launch our system, but they have the biggest system in North America, I think something like 3,000 bikes. Just recently they dropped in 3,000 all at once. It’s very interesting to see biking go from a sort of secondary mode of transportation to a primary mode of transportation and really become its own point-to-point transit system. So we’re very excited. And I think for developers it’s exciting because we can park one of these [systems] right in front of their development. And depending on what system you go with, we’re looking at a few options. It may even be a mobile system, meaning that we can move it seasonally or just move it periodically, you may have seen the SmartBike system out front. That was a construction project, we put that in the ground. We are looking at some other options which will allow us more flexibility in moving them and we definitely will be doing some outreach to the development community to talk about placing them on private property.

DCMUD: Would that be part of their PUD (zoning change) application?

GK: It certainly could be. It could be something that we do after the fact. So yeah, we’re very excited about working with the private sector. I think there’s so much we can do together. And you know one of the great things about our Mayor and working with the Mayor is that he really gets the synergy between the public and private sector - think how more you can accomplish when you’re working together.

DCMUD: Okay, and then regardless of bike sharing stations, in order to have bikes, or Segways, we need a useful infrastructure—bike lanes, bike paths. You said before you’re goal is to level the playing field for bikers, how do you plan to do that?

GK: One of the things I’ve been focusing our staff on around here is the fact that we’ll be launching this expanded bike share system which in many ways is going to hopefully make cycling a primary mode of transportation. It will also be institutionalizing it and bringing it to the masses. You know the early adopters of bike sharing, like the early adopters of car share, are people who are really into it so to speak, or environmental. Then you get the mass adoption, and when you hit mass adoption, you have to make sure you have safe and secure infrastructure. And again something I’ve seen in other countries - and they’ve been working hard on in New York and Portland and some other progressive cities - is dedicated bike-ways, cycle tracks, contraflow bike lanes, etc.

DCMUD: So not just a painted line?

GK: Not just a painted line, although I think we can do more with a painted line, the painted line could really be a painted bike lane, which may actually keep cars out of the lane. And you know, we really want to create a safe infrastructure for cars too. So we’re looking harder at a signal system, signal timing, we’re making significant upgrades on New York Ave. We’re going to have five very large projects, totaling…over $100 million in investment to make sure that some of the main arterials that allow people to get in and out of the city, whether you’re a resident or a commuter, that they are in tip-top shape with the best technology to move as many people as possible. So I think striking a balance also doesn’t mean ignoring vehicular traffic, it means supporting the best technology for vehicular traffic, best infrastructure, it means investing in transit through metro through our own transit system and it means creating new transit systems like bike share and making sure we have the infrastructure so people can safely ride. One of the things I’ve been talking about with my staff is that we’re going to have 75 year-old folks getting on the bike sharing system because we’re bringing it to the masses. So we need these separated, dedicated lanes for people.

DCMUD: How are you planning to bring it to masses? Are you thinking advertising or what is your plan for making it more approachable?

GK: Well, you know I come really from a marketing and operations background. I’m a private sector person. I’m used to doing a lot with a little, first of all. And I’m used to having to market without a lot of resources. At Zipcar we actually had no marketing budget for probably the first two or three years—I mean literally nothing. And we were very effective at leveraging partnerships, and grass roots, guerilla marketing to get the word out. So we’re going to bring a lot of those marketing strategies to DDOT. We’re also going to leverage technology quite a bit. We’re going to have new web site that we’ll be launching probably in the winter. We’re using Facebook and Twitter. So we’re reaching people in new ways. And we want to pair that high-tech strategy with feet-on-the-street and continuing to make sure we do a great job - as DDOT really always has - in going to meetings in the community, engaging the public, engaging the business community. We’re aggressively working with kids.

DCMUD: And about car sharing, what are you doing to encourage that, obviously you don’t work for Zipcar anymore but how are you incorporating that into the DDOT plan?

GK: Well when I was at Zipcar I had the opportunity to work with Dan Tangherlini and the folks at DDOT and bring car sharing to the masses and a lot of that - I mentioned we aggressively marketed on the street and in people’s neighborhoods - but we also formed a partnership with the city as we did with Arlington county and actually placed cars on the street. It’s very important to make a new transportation option high-profile. That’s what we did with car sharing. I think the car sharing program needs to be rejuvenated a little bit. Our TDM Program (Transportation Demand Management Program), we plan to enhance that and put more resources into it. We’ve got one great person running that TDM Program, but we need to give her more resources. We plan on doing that next year. Which will allow, not only the promotion of car sharing, but bike sharing, the bike station, our DDOT store that we’re working on…so there are a whole lot of projects. I’m actually working on a slightly different work chart structure which is going to have an Innovative Transportation Services Division. And that Division will receive Street Car, our Mass Transit Group, and what were core partnerships that are incubated through our Policy and Planning Group, but now that we have a critical mass of them - we’re getting up to about six or eight - we’re working on an electrification program so that people can charge their cars curb-side. So as we build more and more of these units we need people that can really manage these contracts, and manage these as business units, which includes marketing.

DCMUD: Street Cars: the overhead wires, you’re making progress on laying the tracks on H Street, but NCPC doesn’t seem to be buying into the idea of having overhead wires. How do you think that issue is going to get resolved and when do you think that’s going to happen?

GK: Well, the first thing I’d like to say is that there seems to be a lot of drama out there about the over head wire issue—for lack of a better term. NCPC, they’re great folks over there, we have a good relationship with them. We don’t publicly talk about this all the time, but we meet with them on a pretty regular basis. We’re working on a compromise of sorts that will protect their interests and protect our interests. We in no way want to upset the North/South “viewsheds” around the monuments. We are working on alternative technologies which include electric, battery-powered vehicles that can drop the wire. So for instance, let’s say that NCPC was okay with us having the overhead wire on H Street but once we got to K near the monuments, they wanted the wire dropped—if that was a concern for them, these cars this new technology that is looking to be built in the US in Portland, Oregon, we could drop the wire for up to a mile. And that’s just one of many different technology options. The roof of the car would be lined with battery. So it would charge while it was attached to the [overhead contact system], when it dropped it would run on battery power—similar to a Toyota Prius which uses gas and charges and then when it’s stopped or coasting it just goes to battery power.

DCMUD: So street cars were purchased for Anacostia. How will this fit into the picture? Do you need new cars? Are those the cars…the cars that will go on H Street, will there be a difference in cars between those [at H Street] and those that go into Anacostia?

GK: Well, we have a Street Car Division, now—a dedicated team that we’re building to work just on Street Car. And that’s very important because I don’t think the Street Car program has historically been treated as its own large-scale project with its own team—the way we’ve treated the 11th Street Bridge, which is a large $300 million dollar infrastructure project. The first thing is that we’re building a group of people to manage it. Second of all, we have an operational segment in Anacostia. The H Street/Benning portion was designed as a Great Street, and we said, okay, if we’re going to do the construction let’s put in the rails. But we are challenging ourselves and the Mayor is challenging us as well to make that an operational segment in the same timeline as Anacostia.

DCMUD: Which is when?

GK: Well, right now we’ve said about 2012. But we’re working very hard now that we have a team in place to speed that up - pretty dramatically. So hopefully, you’ll see an announcement in the next 6 months that gives people an update and hopefully it will be a good update - that we’re going to get up and running more quickly. I actually spent the morning out touring the city looking for maintenance facility locations near H Street. We have a number of places we’re looking at, existing infrastructure we can use - so we’re very focused on this project, we’re putting a lot of our own in-house resources into it. We want this to be, you know, a real win for the city.

One of the things that’s really made me passionate about this is learning the history of Street Car in Washington. The fact that we had over 200 miles of Street Car in and around the city - every major arterial, they all had Street Car. It was the primary mode of transportation in the city. In fact, if you look at old pictures, you see very few cars. You see bikers, walkers, and Street Car. So what’s so funny is that people think, “Oh you know, this agency or that agency is progressive with its New York DOT or Portland DOT,” and you know we’re just trying to put back what was here.

DCMUD: So new buildings in DC are required to provide parking minimums. But there’s nothing in the building process that requires people to do car-sharing, or bike benefits—it’s all like an addition or a community benefit—at what point will that change, or is it going to change? Do you see this as being at odds with your role in integrating transportation?

GK: It needs to change. I’ll be honest with you, this year, I have so many projects, it is probably not something we’re going to be able to attack. But, I mentioned earlier that we want to build our TDM resource capability. I would put that in the TDM category. We want to make sure that we’re heavily involved in the PUD process, in zoning, in making sure that we give builders alternatives to building parking which can be up to $65,000 a space as you dig down into the ground. So why are we incentivizing people to dig garage spaces? There was an article in The Washington Post about how nobody is using the garages there [in Columbia Heights]. And the fact is, whoever built that spent a lot of money doing that. So we would prefer that people invest in transit and alternative modes and facilities and infrastructure, to encourage that rather than building parking spaces.

DCMUD: We wrote an article about H Street and how the Steuart Investment Company has a new development underway there. They’re changing their plan to have one-level parking and .7 parking spaces per unit. We had a lot of feedback that so much parking wasn’t necessary. I don’t know that there’s enough information out there about alternatives to parking.

GK: I think 97% of people live within a few minutes of a bus stop. We’re working hard to upgrade buses, particularly with our own DC Circulator, to make it more on-par with something like the Metro or Street Car. I think, 1.5 or 2 spaces per unit, it’s just old school. We need to move into the 21st century. And we don’t live in Reston. And one of the beauties - I mean, I’m not putting down Reston, I like Reston, it’s a nice place. I don’t want to get any nasty letters, but - what’s nice about living in a city, is that you don’t need that 2.2 cars per household, that you can walk to the grocery store or jump on a Trolley. I mean, that’s what makes the city a city. So if we’re trying to recreate McLean in DC, I think that’s a huge mistake. Let’s take advantage of the positives. And it’s a huge cost. It’s just wasteful. One of the nice things about a down economy is that people can’t afford to waste.

DCMUD: So pedestrians, bicyclists, and car drivers all need different kinds of infrastructure to make their lives easier. How do you prioritize different projects for different users and how do you balance all of those needs when you’re redesigning a street, how do we want to approach transportation in the city?

GK: Well, inherently, a huge amount of our program and our budget goes toward asset maintenance. And a lot of our assets are vehicular-focused assets. So by default, we spend probably 70-80% of our budget on asset maintenance, you know, bridges, tunnels, roads, sidewalks—all these things. I think our biggest challenge, though, is when we’re looking at redesigning, re-building, maintaining these facilities, let’s balance the system. So when we’re redoing a road in Columbia Heights, let’s do a wider sidewalk. Let’s create bike lanes. When we’re building a plaza in Columbia Heights, let’s make sure that it’s functional, but that it’s beautiful - which it is. So I don’t think it’s so much about prioritizing one aspect. It’s really about making sure we’re addressing everybody’s needs when we’re out in the field doing our work, and I think for far too long, nationally, we focused too much on cars. So we’re trying to focus on beauty of the public space, sustainability—you know we take care of over 140,000 trees in this city—so every project, we now look very hard at the urban tree canopy. We actually have an arborist over in our permitting office. And we make sure that we’re addressing the needs of pedestrians and cyclists for their safety.

DCMUD: You’ve already answered question how do you get to work, but do you do bike sharing to get here or do you use your own bike?

GK: So bike sharing’s great. I worked in the car sharing industry and the way it works now is you take a car and you’ve got to bring it back to where you found it. So it’s good for leaving home, going shopping, you bring it back. The great thing about bike sharing is it’s point to point. But generally you don’t have a bike [share station] at your house. But the goal is that when we locate more stations, we can actually push them out into the neighborhoods so that people can use them more for commuting. My bike’s down in the garage, so I ride my bike or I walk. If I have to do something immediately after work like in Virginia, I might bring my car. I have a little Smart Car.

DCMUD: You don’t have to defend your car.

GK: Well, you know. I don’t really need it to be honest, but I like it. It’s a cute car.

DCMUD: Do your friends ever complain to you about commuting and transportation in DC? [Do you get complaints like] “It took me 20 minutes to get to work today, you need to fix this…”

GK: Oh, my friends will text me and say, “I think the signal timing’s screwed up at 18th Street.” And yeah, I take all the feedback from friends and people that aren’t friends. Whenever people write us and they want us to look at something we always look at it and we always respond. But yeah, your friends can be your biggest detractors.

DCMUD: Is there anything else you wanted to add about DDOT or your plans for the future? Or what it’s been like to have had this position?

GK: Well, it’s been great. I need to thank the Mayor, Dan Tangherlini, and Neil Albert you know for giving me this opportunity. It’s something I never thought I’d be doing—working in the government. It’s just a great experience. I feel like we’re doing a lot of great work. And it took me probably 6 months to get my feet under me. And now I feel like I’m really putting together a strategic vision for the future that we’ll be able to execute over the next 24 months. So you’re going to see a lot of new energy, and direction, and work out of the agency over the next two years.

Grocery Store and Apartments Coming to H St NE

The H Street corridor may soon have a new 6-story apartment building and full service grocery store, a boon for the up-and-coming neighborhood in northeast Washington DC. Steuart Investment Company has owned several of the lots on the northeast corner of 3rd and H Streets, and in 2005 assembled a developable site by acquiring the remaining portion from BP AMOCO (BP) for $1.5 million, scotching BP's plans for a giant filling station and truck depot. The developer plans to build a six-story building with over 200,000 s.f. of residential and 46,500 s.f. of retail designed by Torti Gallas. The mixed-use building, with neighborhood approval, calls for an anchor grocer and LEED- certified rental units, and will continue the reinvigoration of a corridor already known for its burgeoning restaurant, bar and entertainment scene.

 

Things have not always been so peachy at 3rd and H. BP once had plans for a "BP Connect" gas station megaplex, but the company met severe opposition from the community and, after knocking down historic houses on the site in favor of gas pumps and a truck stop, abandoned plans. The Steuart acquisition was welcomed with relief when its PUD application for zoning changes was first approved in 2006, with local ANC and community groups supporting the application. Steuart will go back before the Zoning Commission November 30th to request several changes to the original plans, reducing the number of stories from eight to six and removing one level of parking. The new proposed application includes 212 residential rental units, featuring studios, one-bedrooms and a few two-bedrooms, as well as two levels of below-grade parking. The first level of parking will service the grocery store with 152 planned spaces and the second level would be reserved for residents with 146 spaces (0.7 spaces per unit). Pending Commission approval, Guy Steuart, Sr., Vice President of Steuart Investment Company, said he hopes "all the pieces will come together" and will be digging by "mid-summer or fall of next year." Construction now underway is Steuart's consolidation of the lot and installation of storm sewer and water connections. 

As DDOT executes the H Street Great Streets Plan, the developer decided to take advantage of the "mess" and install utilities now to avoid future expense and inconveniences for area residents later. However, Steuart said his group will not move forward with construction until a grocer is signed on for the retail space. He affirmed discussions with a full-service grocer, but was unwilling to disclose which one. Previous discussions had fallen through with a grocer that had decided to locate on the other side of NOMA, referring to the Harris Teeter coming to Constitution Square. So residents might be looking at yet another Safeway (which would be consistent with Torti Gallas's extensive work with the grocer throughout the DC area) or perhaps a Giant or even, dare we say, Whole Foods on H Street? No one would have thought that was likely in Logan Circle ten years ago. Meanwhile, the Dreyfus property group plans for a similar-sized apartment building just across the street that has yet to start construction. Hopefully both will rent more quickly than the painfully slow pace of occupancy next door at Senate Square.

Washington DC retail and commercial real estate news

Streetcars on H Street

If you were in the H St NE area today, you might have run into a bit of a snag. District Department of Transportation (DDOT) announced in a traffic advisory that construction and installation of street car rails continues along H St NE. The construction is part of an ongoing street improvement through the Benning Road/H Street Great Streets Project. DDOT spokesman John Lisle indicated they are proactively laying the tracks in concrete during the road improvement so that DDOT does not have to dig up the road again once the issues surrounding the street car are resolved. Forethought, how refreshing. So, street cars next week?

Not so much. The street car element of the $65 million Great Streets project still has some unresolved conflicts, and the cars still gather dust in the Czech Republic. According to Lisle, there is still no final plan on where the cars will turn around to continue their loop. Also, the city's ban on overhead wires in the downtown area means DDOT will either have to find a way to power the street cars without overhead wires or have the law changed to allow them. Lisle said the Benning Road project is set to continue for two more years and anticipates the street car line will be running from 3rd and H St NE to Benning Rd and Oklahoma Avenue, NE, by 2011. Others are less optimistic about the timeline.

Today's street closures, with more Friday, will allow workers to lay tracks at the intersections. In addition, the eastbound curb lane on H Street, NE between 3rd and 5th Streets will be closed to traffic for the next day. On Friday, the intersection of 7th and H Streets, NE will be closed from 9 am to 5 pm, as well as the eastbound curb lane on H Street between 6th and 8th Streets. Have patience, its in the name of progress.

H Street Transit Developments, Don't Stop Believin'

H Street, NE has been coming into its own over the past few years. With a dozen or so new bars and restaurants and the Atlas District, the area surprises those who remember the H Street of 10 years ago - but for one constant: the utter lack of metro accessibility. Residents can see signs of progress on the line, but continue to wonder about the reality of service. The DC government has made several promises to improve transportation there, including rail, and have already bought the trains. So trains will be running any day, right?

In January 2008, Mayor Adrian Fenty and Councilman Tommy Wells celebrated the groundbreaking on the Benning Road/H Street Great Streets Project, and plans were set in motion to develop an at-grade street car connection between H Street NE and Benning Road. The Great Streets title means the area will receive money for streetscape improvements in addition to transit lines. But Shannon Yadsko, an urban planner at Parsons Brinckerhoff, opines that even if residents see rails going into the ground, "service is probably at least 5 years away." Yadsko says that though she is not connected to the project, she foresees a slew of obstacles including, "DC's ban on overhead wires (which streetcars need to run, generally)" as well as competition with other DC projects for increasingly limited financing. One such project is a similar street car line, in Anacostia, which Yadsko notes is "probably a higher profile project." When DC committed to the project, they purchased the street cars for both the Anacostia and and H Street. You might say they got the whole "if you build it, they will come" thing backwards. According to a WTOP article from last April, the DC streetcars are still chilling out in the Czech Republic. Slightly different from the ambulance loan to the Carribean, but equally odd. Better just hail a cab.

Washington DC commercial property news

Meads Row Bids Adieu to the Atlas District

Late last month, Washington DC's Historic Preservation Review Board voted down a motion for the protection of Meads Row – a series of nearly century-old structures at 1305-1311 H Street, NE that owners Tae and Sang Ryu plan to demolish to make way for a new Atlas District parking lot, much to the dismay of the ANC 6A. With no recourse now left to the ANC, the owners are free to pursue a raze for the property, although, in the view of some city officials, the Ryu's new pay-to-park will have anything but a positive effect on the increasingly developed H Street corridor.

"The 1300 block…is the heart of the arts and entertainment district of H Street,” said ANC Commissioner 6A03 David Holmes, who had been acting as the commission’s “point person” on the Meads Row matter. “It’s the most successful area of H Street in terms of its redevelopment and rebirth from the tragedies that affected it from the 1968 riots and the loss of interest in the business district….[Now] it has lots of bars, lots of restaurants, theaters and so forth. That block is based on the historic architecture of the area and the loss of any of that fabric is important to the business model of H Street.”

The four buildings in question were designed by early 20^th century DC architect, Charles Meads, who was also responsible for some 105 structures on Capitol Hill. Of those, only 73 remain today, with the remainder having been demolished to make way for the Congressional Office Buildings and Senate Park. Meads Row represents the very last remnant of Meads’ H Street properties, which once numbered seven. During their heyday, the buildings boasted an assortment of “well-to-do” shopkeepers, who lived above their storefronts in the buildings’ second-story residential flats.

The properties' history in the area, however, was of little import to the HPRB, who in their denial of the landmark application, state,"Judged only for the H Street buildings Meads work would have to be considered typical of that of Washington's designers-builders of that era." Unsurprisingly, Holmes disagrees.

“These are some of the earliest buildings along H Street and they were important because the builder was trying to set a tone for H Street…They are very upscale and would be appropriate on Capitol Hill, closer to the Capitol, but he was putting it right at the boundaries of the old city’s L’Enfant plan,” he said.

Today, most of the Meads Row properties in are in functional, though somewhat degraded, condition. 1311 H St. has been condemned by District authorities and currently boasts boarded-up windows and a damaged roof. Despite attempts from the ANC to facilitate historic restoration tax credits for the buildings, which directly neighbor the Atlas Performing Arts Center, the owners have expressed interest in no development scheme for the site other than asphalt.

“It’s as if they wanted to put [the properties] in that condition. It’s a practice we’ve seen on Capitol Hill in the historic district too…People want to put up a new three-story building and sell it, so they allow the old building to be demolished by neglect,” said Holmes. “He’s doing it simply to reduce his [tax] assessment by taking down the historic buildings and eliminating the improvements, so he won’t have to pay taxes on the land value…It’s a tragedy. These are important, attractive buildings.”

H Street Country Club Now Open

After many a stop and start, the Atlas District's H Street corridor will finally see the long-awaited H Street Country Club open tonight. Brought to fruition by DC developer/restaurateur/man-about-town Joe Englert (who also counts the Rock and Roll Hotel, The Red & The Black and Palace of Wonders among his stable of popular destinations for area nightlife) and co-owners Ricardo Vegara and Blair Zervos, the 6800 square foot, 300-seat restaurant at 1335 H Street, NE, will offer up "Mexican cuisine with both southern and northern accents," (we don't know the difference either) along with beers, margaritas and tequilas of the same pedigree from along their 40-foot, tartan-covered bar.

The real crux of the HSCC’s appeal, however, is the in-house entertainment. Just as the nearby Palace of Wonders specializes in turn-of-the-century Fortean curiosities, the HSCC is will highlighting the best and rest of American pastimes with pool tables, shuffleboard, skeeball and, yes, mini-golf. The club’s second story hosts a 9-hole putt-putt course, designed by Arlington-based artist Lee T. Wheeler, which affords customers the chance to “shoot through the corridors of U Street, around the Washington Monument, and past towering K Street Lawyers” for a whopping seven bucks a pop. Baby back that, Chiles.

Washington DC real estate development news

Changes in the Atlas District

How to redevelop H Street: knock down the old buildings and replace them with a surface parking lot. At least that's the strategy of a pair of local property owners, Tae and Sang Ryu, if they receive approval to demolish four buildings at 1305-1311 H Street, NE, the so-called Meads Row. The properties adjoin local landmark the Atlas Theater, and the owners intend to replace them with a large surface parking lot to service patrons of the increasingly crowded Atlas District.
   

Though the duo has been seeking to raze the buildings since 2007, the ANC6A has already expressed their disapproval of the project - especially regarding the Atlas' next door neighbor at 1311 H Street. "Although [the property] is currently in bad physical condition, we would like to help you take advantage of a number of tax and zoning incentives that would allow the current building to be rehabilitated in a manner that will protect your financial interests and allow H Street to be restored to its former charm and economic health," said ANC Chair Joseph Fengler in an open letter to the developers. The chairman goes on to point out that buildings designated for historic preservation receive federal tax credits for renovation costs and that the property would most likely qualify for a grant under the H Street Main Street’s façade improvement program.

Despite the helping hand, the Ryus are still pursuing a raze order for the site and have submitted an application to the Historic Preservation Office (HPO) for review. According to Bruce Yarnall, Operations and Grants Manager of the HPO, “[the case] will first have to go before the board for a landmark hearing, then the raze request will be determined based on the landmark action.” A designation hearing will be held February 26^th to determine whether the HPRB agrees. Either way, the Atlas District’s main corridor will be gaining one landmark or losing one tinderbox.

Meanwhile, local entrepreneur Leon Robbins is planning to add a new mixed-use development to the eastern end of Northeast’s H Street corridor, AKA the Atlas District. Robbins, who currently owns and operates Stan’s Inc., a men’s discount clothing store on the same street, plans to build new three-story building on a vacant lot at 1383-85 H Street NE – one that promises add new office space and possibly another entertainment venue to the nightlife-centric neighborhood.

The 7,000 square foot project will be comprised of a commercial or retail ground floor with a second story mezzanine and, finally, a third floor of office space. Robbins’ intent, in accordance with the H Street Northeast Arts Overlay, is to purpose the first floor space for an unspecified entertainment venue. Specifically, the developer has been in talks with an established DC comedy club about the possibility of bringing another location to H Street. (As specified under the overlay, ground-floor space must be put towards “an arts, retail or service use” and must “contribute to sidewalk activity and neighborhood vitality.”) The mezzanine would then be used as “back-of-the-house office” for the club’s management. While the new building will not feature a green roof, due to constraints its $750,000 construction budget, the development will feature a roof deck, planted gardens and an isolated “interior court.”

The project will feature no on-site parking. An architectural consultant to the project, Jennifer Fowler of Fowler Architects, said before the Board of Zoning Adjustment that parking was "impossible" due to its landlocked nature. “The characteristics of the property make it unique…There is no alley access. It is impossible to provide parking.” The BZA agreed with that assessment and has lent their approval to the project, as have the Office of Planning and the local ANC 6A.

“We are very excited about this project coming to H Street,” said ANC member Drew Ronnenberg. “First of all, I think it’s an example that shows design guidelines work…I think the high quality of this building shows the kind of things that our ANC and all of H Street wanted it to bring and this is it. This bears fruit.”

Final designs for the project are being handled by Robbins’ brother, David Robbins of the Baltimore-based Architecture Collaborative Inc. The developer plans to begin construction in August of 2009.

Washington D.C. retail and development news