Holiday Inn Tops Out in Mt. Vernon Triangle

Plugging a hole at the corner of 4th and K Streets, NW, construction has topped out at the 14-story building that will become a 247-room Holiday Inn Express when it completes, perhaps as early as this year.  Kinsley construction, which started work on the project one year ago, is replacing Henry's Soul Cafe on the corner, across from the Museum Square subsidized housing project, a hoped-for redevelopment project whose tenants have stymied redevelopment plans of its own site.  The in-fill project furthers the high-density potential of Mt. Vernon Triangle, with only few vacant lots remaining on K Street since the completion of development of the 400 block of K Street by the Wilkes Company and Quadrangle Development.

Habte Sequar, who previously built several small and mid-sized residential buildings in northwest DC, assembled several small lots to create the 10,700 s.f. site.  Holiday Inn currently operates more than 2700 hotels worldwide; Urgo Hotels & Resorts of Bethesda will operate the hotel.

Project:  Holiday Inn Express

Address:  317 K Street, NW, Washington DC

Developer: Lima Hotels

Architect:  BBGM

Construction:  Kinsley Construction

Use: 247 room hotel

Expected Completion:  Late 2020 to early 2021

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New Details for U Street Condo Project

Construction of the residential building planned for 11th and V Streets, NW, which DCMud reported last February, has added a few details to their plans. In April, Loford LLC selected Ellisdale Construction & Development as general contractor for the project, who is currently bidding subcontractors for the project (with the deadline one week from today). Now, Ellisdale has posted an image of what the 33-unit building may look like (very conceptual), and the owner has indicated that the project will be condominiums. The $4.5 million project will consist entirely of new construction. A two-story building on site will be razed - although the permit has not been approved - to make way for a 6-story (plus underground garage), 38,160 s.f. building. The garage and first floor will be constructed using concrete and metal framing, above which there will be five floors of wood framing. The 33 units vary from 615 to 750 s.f. No architect has been selected for the project yet. 

 Developer Habte Sequar purchased the land in August of 2010 for $2.7 million. Sequar is in the midst of developing another condominium at 14th and R Streets, which began construction last month, as well as the Renaissance at Logan and the Josephine Condos at 440 Rhode Island Ave., NW. 

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14th Street Condos Moving Ahead?

Construction of one of 14th Street's condo projects is inching closer to reality now that initial site work is taking place at the corner of 14th and R Streets, NW. Developer Habte Sequar purchased the land for $3.8m in November of 2009, with a goal of a beginning construction this time last year. But with financing more difficult than expected, the site in the middle of the 14th Street corridor has remained vacant since, pending adequate financial backing.

Sequar says the current construction is merely "testing dirt," rather than an official start to construction, but that "the project is getting closer" to breaking ground, and promises more information within a few weeks.

Architect Bill Bonstra of Bonstra | Haresign confirms that the project is all but ready for construction. Bonstra initially designed the project for a prior owner, and Sequar has made only minor changes to the project since his purchase, says project architect David Baker. The 6,000 s.f. lot will sport 30 condos and an 18 space garage beneath the building. Ellisdale is managing construction of the project. The 30,000 s.f. building will feature glass and buff limestone prominently on three sides, with red brick fronting R Street, and is designed to give a nod to 14th Street's automobile row legacy. Baker wagered a rough estimate of 14 to 16 months build out.

The long gestation time might sync the project with a greater appetite for condos than it now has, but the timing also puts completion at the same time as the District Condos, which is under construction and will deliver 125 units around the same time. PN Hoffman also has a planned condominium project across the street, and though timing of that is uncertain, construction may be underway as Sequar's property is completing, making for 3 condo projects within a block. Sequar also built the Rhode Island condos at 440 Rhode Island Ave., NW, completed in 2009 and still selling, and the Renaissance Condos at 1618 11th St., NW, a 16 unit building that completed in 2007 and sold out last month. Sequar has plans for another project just north of U Street that has not started construction yet.

Washington D.C. Real Estate development news

New Residences for 11th Street

A nearly vacant lot at the corner of 11th and V may soon be ready for a makeover now that developer Habte Sequar of Loford LLC has purchased the land with plans for a new residential building. The as yet unnamed development is to provide 40 1-and 2-bedroom units, but as far as whether they'll be condos or apartments, Sequar said it's too early to say.

Sequar told DCMud he bought the property several months ago from Quality Investments, and that Loford is working on design in-house, with the intention of naming an architect further along in this process. Though Sequar says he hopes to wrap things up within 18 to 24 months, he's being optimistic. It's taken nearly ten months to submit the raze permit: The date written on it says April 2010, yet the Historic Preservation Office claims to have received it earlier this month.

Loford's past work includes The Josephine Condominium at 440 Rhode Island Ave., 20 newly built condos on the market since 2009 that are still selling. Loford also purchased 1638 14th Street, which DCMud reported is to become a seven-story, 30,000 s.f. condominium to be built atop a 6,000 s.f. parking lot at the corner of R and 14th. No word on progress for that development, which has been on hold since at least 2009. Public records show that 2101 11th Street traded in August of last year, when Pierce Investments sold it for $2.7m.

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That New Condo Smell: Coming Soon to a Parking Lot Near U

According to Bonstra/Haresign Architects, construction will soon begin on a 31 or 32-unit, mixed-use condo development at 1638 14th Street in the 14th Street Historic District. This yet-unnamed, 7-story, 30,000 s.f. condominium will be built atop a 6,000 s.f. parking lot at the corner of R and 14th Street NW.

Bonstra/Haresign architect David Baker tells DCMud the project was "on hold for over a year, but now it's moving forward thanks to a new owner." That would be Habte Sequar, officially Loford LLC, who also built Renaissance Condos near Logan Circle in 2008 and the Josephine at 440 Rhode Island Avenue, which were intended to be completed by now but have not yet begun settlements.

The condos are "in the permit stage right now. I guess [the groundbreaking date] all depends on when we get final approval," but, says Baker, "the owner is interviewing general contractors" and has an optimistic "early spring" groundbreaking in mind.

Assuming April showers bring May condominiums, 14th Street residents are in store for 3,000 s.f. of ground floor encased behind "a highly symmetrical" facade of glass and buff limestone. These design details are meant to play up 14th Street's automobile row legacy by invoking the look and feel of a new car showroom. On the R Street side, the height will be scaled back and a "warmer pallet with red brick" will help to integrate the residential and business identities of the building with the larger neighborhood.







Plans for the condos "were submitted before the IZ [the District's Inclusionary Zoning (IZ) Program] went into effect" last August, and although Baker can't say for certain that none of the units will be offered below market-rate, he doesn't believe there will be an affordable component to the project. The project may also have some direct competition from JBG one block north, which has plans for its own, much larger condo on 14th Street.

If you (ahem) check under the hood of this work in progress, you'll find plans for an underground, one-level, 18-space garage built into the vault space along R Street. Rounding out the top of the building are either one or two spacious penthouse-style condos. But while the penthouse unit(s) might feel quite spacious, the one and two-bedroom units making up the rest of the building will have to be squeezed into what's left of the 30,000 s.f. of space. Baker admits that "none" of these remaining 30+ condos will be "very large units" and most will fall into the "roughly 1,000 s.f." category.

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