New Joint Venture Development Team for Braddock Gateway's Phase One

In a strategic move undisclosed early this

fall, Jaguar Development has sold Phase 1 of its Braddock Gateway development site in Alexandria, Va., to joint-venture partners Trammell Crow Company and Washington Real Estate Investment Trust. The land sale and development site closed on November 23rd, the partnership was announced by press release yesterday. The recently purchased one-acre development site of Phase 1, a 15-story, 270-unit apartment building, at 1219 First Street (First and Fayette Street), is only the first piece of a larger, 7-acre, five-phase Braddock development plan. 

The residential and retail building, designed by Rust | Orling Architecture, consists of a mix of studios, 1-bedroom, and 2-bedroom apartment units, and will vary in height from 50' to 150' - from 6 to 15 stories - with the tallest section being the central tower (the focus), which is flanked by "two lower shoulders," the eastern 6-story wing with pool deck, and the western 13-story wing. Phase 1 is now undergoing final site plan approval with the City of Alexandria, after preliminary site plan approval was given by the City this past September. After final approval, likely to come in the next half year, two years of construction will then begin in the fourth quarter 2012, developers expect. If all continues to go smoothly, the project - developed through TCC’s wholly-owned subsidiary High Street Residential - will deliver in 2016. 

Alexandria, Virginia real estate development news

Braddock Gateway Residential Plan Gets Initial Approval

Alexandria-based Jaguar Development has received preliminary site plan approval for the first phase in its 5-phase Braddock Gateway development, paving the way for a 270-unit, 277,000-s.f. apartment building.

Jaguar managing partner, Eddy Cettina, says that the next step, final site plan approval, will take place within the next 9 months to a year.

Although the entire Braddock Gateway development plan was approved in 2008, its developer laid low through the recession, and approached the City with amendments to Phase I in July. Preliminary approval of these amendments was granted by City Council on September 17th.

Phase I's acre-sized parcel is at the southernmost end of the development property, located 1000 feet from the Braddock Metro station.

Jaguar chose to lead with rental apartments on the site because "[i]t is the closet [building] to the metro, and will cater to renters who want easy transit access."

As a transit oriented development, the first phase will also include the construction (by Jaguar) of a "high capacity" bus/transit stop along First Street, just east of Payne Street, with a covered waiting area and LED touchscreen offering rider info.

Designed by Rust | Orling Architecture, the residential-and-retail building will vary in height from 50' to 150' - from 6 to 15 stories - with the tallest section being the central tower (the focus), which is flanked by "two lower shoulders," the eastern 6-story wing with pool deck, and the western 13-story wing.

During design revisions, the western wing was taken down by two stories in order to further stagger height overall, emphasize the "shoulder" appearance of the building, and better relate the design to that of the entire development, according to the city. The staff report, recommending preliminary approval of Phase I, stated the importance of the design review, "Given the site's strategic location... and the pronounced vertical nature... the 2008 development review process placed considerable importance on the quality of the architecture, as the site truly serves as a gateway into the historic portion of the City."

The first completed building in the development will be surrounded by 14'-wide sidewalks, featuring decorative brick and dotted with trees; pedestrian oriented street frontage will be built along Fayette Street. Open space included in the development will total 14,000 s.f., consisting of a 6,000-s.f. central green on the ground floor and a 8,000-s.f. roof top area. Two levels of underground parking will offer 243 parking spaces, with another 26 spaces located on a surface lot off of Fayette.

As for the rest of the 5-building development, "[w]e are concentrating on phase one right now," said Cettina, although she did confirm that the plan for the entire 7-acre development site has not been changed; the plan is for 770,000 s.f. of new development that includes 630 residential units, 70,000 s.f. of office and 15,000 s.f. of retail.

Patricia Escher, principal planner with the City Dept. of Planning and Zoning, offered that the development a considerable improvement to the site, currently holding two vacant warehouses and a surface parking lot. "The entire five phased development of Braddock Gateway will improve an underutilized portion of the City." The project, to be LEED certified, will also conform to Alexandria's green standards.

Escher added that "the first phase will be providing a combined total of $1.6 million to the City’s affordable housing fund, the neighborhood’s streetscape fund and [include] improvements to a local park."

Alexandria, Virginia real estate development news

Alexandria's Newest Gateway

Alexandria will pocket a sizable expansion of mixed-use space once the Braddock Gateway, now planned just south of the Monroe Avenue bridge, gets underway. Jaguar Development expects that its new development - not technically part of Potomac Yards, but adjacent to it, and only a few blocks away from the banks of the Potomac River - will provide close to 770,000 square feet of new development as it gathers momentum to build in the first quarter of 2010.

Jaguar is planning a whopping 630 residential units for the 7-acre site at North Fayette and First Streets, coupled with 70,000 square feet of office and 15,000 of retail. The development will consist of five buildings, built in as many phases - a plan that will allow Jaguar to tailor each successive component of the project to the demands of the marketplace.

“Each phase needs site plan approval and at the time of each approval, you tell the city what the use is going to be,” said Eddie Cettina of Jaguar Development. “All these numbers are moving targets according to where they sit in the development cycle and what the market calls for at that time.”

Though the inclusion of a hotel in the Gateway project was bandied about for a time, Jaguar has since decided against one - after meeting with Alexandria’s Board of Zoning. “It was resolved in March with ACCD [A Consolidated Development District] zoning which allows you…to change uses depending on how the market fares,” said Cettina. “It will now be residential, office and retail.”

Utilizing designs by RustOrling Architecture, the Gateway will sit on two contiguous parcels currently home to warehouses, a small office building, a large surface parking lot, and a National Car Rental service center. The first phase of the project is expected to be open for business by the end of 2012.

Correction: Per Jaguar Development, the site will accommodate about 770,000 s.f. of developable space, the original article stated there would be close to 2 million square feet.