Phase One of Southwest Waterfront Redevelopment All but Approved by Zoning Commission

Last night, the massive redevelopment of Southwest’s waterfront inched a couple of notches closer to reality. DC’s Zoning Commission held a proposed action hearing for the project’s first phase, approving information that had been newly submitted and asking no follow-up questions.

That sets up the $1.5 billion project, technically titled The Wharf and comprising 3.2 million square feet in total, for a final action hearing next month, which at this point should largely be a formality. After that, developers PN Hoffman and Madison Marquette will be in the clear to begin applying for permits and seeking construction financing.

This was a very short, perfunctory hearing. On November 14, the commission approved three out of the development’s four parcels for the second stage of the PUD process, which examines public benefits, architecture and design (the first stage, which looks at height, density and zoning issues, was approved late last year).

But the members had questions regarding the last parcel; most prominently, they worried that the residential building on 6th Street lacked direct entrances and looked unusually stark. In response, the developers changed the facades, pushing the residential building back five feet in order to allow for direct entry by residents.

“This is a significant improvement,” said Commissioner May, who’d expressed concern at last month’s meeting. “I’m pleased with this result.” The commissioners had no other questions.

That means all four parcels, each of which contains one or two buildings, have been approved—“knock on wood,” said Shawn Seaman, a PN Hoffman principal and project director for the development. The team has a lot to accomplish in the next few months, and the estimated start date has been pushed back a few months from earlier predictions. “We’re looking at a groundbreaking early in the second quarter of 2013,” said Seaman. 

This first phase of development will eventually bring 1.5 million square feet of retail, residential, hotel and office space to the area, along with four piers and several open spaces, including a three‐acre waterfront park. The Hoffman-Madison team sees the project as eventually matching internationally-known destinations like San Francisco's Embarcadero and Pike Place Market in Seattle.

Washington, D.C., real estate development news

Micro-units at The Wharf Could Be D.C.'s First

D.C.'s first micros?  Rendering: Hoffman-Madison

From a tiny flat on the Potomac waterfront, a young man stands looking dreamily out a floor-to-ceiling corner window.  He is only part of a rendering now, but in four years his small home will be real. Apartments at The Wharf, a massive public-private development planned for DC's Southwest Waterfront, could be the city's first micro-units.  The future building is at the corner of Maine Avenue SW and 9th Street SW.

The planned units measure just 330 square feet - about 30 square meters - to 380 square feet and feature sweeping views of the water.  The water is the focal point for this $1.5 billion 35-acre project, a public-private partnership between Hoffman-Madison Waterfront and the District of Columbia.  Perkins Eastman of DC is the residential and retail architect for the building called "Parcel 2", which will house the micro-units.  Rockwell Group is behind designs for the theater planned for the same building.

Micro-unit rendering: Hoffman-Madison

The micro-units could be the first in a new development for the District.  Another developer planned some for Chinatown, but those were never built. In July, 60 percent of respondents to a survey by UrbanTurf said they would consider living in a 275 to 300 square foot apartment.  And with a trend in micro-unit housing sweeping the country thanks in part to a smaller-is-better way of viewing housing, it was only a matter of time before über-small apartments arrived in D.C.   In July, New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg announced a design competition to design 300 square foot apartments.

With the city adding about 1,100 residents per month and 70 percent of those new residents under the age of 35 (statistics that Office of Planning director Harriet Tregoning is fond of citing), DC's growth is creating a veritable perfect storm for micro-units.

"Parcel 2", water side. Rendering: Hoffman-Madison

"Smaller units are flying off the shelf," said Matt Steenhoek, Associate Development Director with Hoffman-Madison Waterfront.  He said a small team from Hoffman-Madison Waterfront took a look at trends, demographic forecasts, and a growing "less is more" aesthetic.  The decision to put micro-units in Parcel 2 made sense, he said.  The building will have 500 residential units, 40 percent of which will be studio apartments, though not all in the 300 square foot range.

According to Steenhoek, developers took a look at demand forecasts for the next 20 years, as well as demographic trends: those point to smaller household sizes and people staying single longer. "Some of the housing that has been historically built will be somewhat obsolete," Steenhoek said. "We were looking at all these things and having this conversations in a small group and saying what we can we do and how can we be a market leader in that market for the District."

Rendering: Hoffman-Madison Waterfront

According to developers, the planned micro-units will feature built-in furniture and cabinetry, small appliances and wall-beds. "The idea is that someone could move in with one suitcase," Steenhoek told DCMud.  Data from the OP shows D.C.'s new, young residents aren't bringing much furniture - or cars - creating a niche for furnished apartments.

All units will feature large windows and some will have small French balconies, features designed to open up the spaces and make them feel larger.

Rendering: Hoffman-Madison Waterfont

"Parcel 2", Maine Avenue frontage. Hoffman-Madison Waterfron

Amenities are key to The Wharf's micro-unit concept - a concept that sees micro-units as launch pads for engagement with walkable, 24-hour urban offerings and symbols of freedom from suburban commutes.

Developers are betting micro-units will help help achieve that vision - a vision focused on the urban and social life outside right one's doors. "In that sort of paradigm you can live in a very efficient space because you are not spending every hour in there - you are out in your environment," said Steenhoek.

Parcel 2 plans call for a rooftop terrace and pool,  as well as a cultural performing arts center with a 6,000-person capacity. A co-generation plant is planned to power the building.  Affordable and workforce housing will be mixed throughout market-rate units and offered in all unit sizes, including for micro-units. Plans for the larger development, The Wharf, call for 3.2 million square feet of development, including offices, apartments, and a four-star InterContinental Hotel, four piers, and a three-acre park.

Parcel 2, as well as the larger Phase One, Stage Two development plan for The Wharf, have already received design concept approval from the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts. After five hearings before the DC Zoning Commission in July, the plans should get a preliminary decision from the Commission by the end of October.  Developers expect to break ground in 2013.  The answer to the question of what life will be like in a D.C. micro unit will have to wait for a while: they won't be delivered until late 2016 or early 2017.

The Wharf's "Parcel 2" Floor Plan. Rendering courtesy Hoffman-Madison Waterfront

The Wharf's "Resort In the City" Anchor Hotel Appeases Critics, Inches Forward

The four-star Intercontinental luxury hotel in the Wharf - the Southwest waterfront megadevelopment - is inching towards reality, though not without some changes along the way.

"Right now we're in the process of gathering equity," says Austin Flajser, President of Carr Hospitality.  "We anticipate construction starting in the third quarter of 2014, with delivery in the first quarter of 2016."

The 245,000 s.f., 278-room hotel from developer Carr Hospitality and designed by BBG-BBGM, will overlook the Washington Channel, now being developed by the Hoffman-Madison team, and feature a lavish 5,000 s.f. rooftoop lounge.  Plans also call for not one but two restaurants, two large water-facing ballrooms, and up to 7,000 s.f. of ground floor retail space.  The design calls for a red and gray brick facade, intermingled with terracotta, granite, and tinted glass.

Developers were forced to alter their plans, though, after ANC 6D passed a resolution recently in opposition to many of the specifics in the Phase 2 Planned Unit Development (PUD).

"We took down the clock tower, which was really just an architectural embellishment," says Flajser.  "We also altered the corners of the building a little bit, and there's no longer any sign."  (The above rendering depicts the original design; the rendering below depicts the revised design.)

In addition to those changes, the height of the structure - a planned 12-stories/130 feet - was also lowered.  After these changes were announced at a special meeting late last month, the ANC voted 4-3 to reinstate their support.  Carr also has a boutique luxury hotel in the works for Alexandria's contentious waterfront plan and has received objections from neighbors there as well.

Parcel 3b, where the hotel will be built, is near 9th and Water Streets (see map, above), and also abuts one of the development's planned piers; if Carr is able to purchase boat slips from the development group, guests could potentially arrive at the hotel by boat. Rates for the rooms will reportedly be between $300 and $400 per night.

Carr Hospitality notably restored the Willard hotel, a project widely lauded for its successful execution.  The Wharf Intercontinental will be its second hotel in the District.  Monty Hoffman of PN Hoffman has been quoted as saying the hotel will be an "anchor" of the megadevelopment.  The first construction at the Wharf should be begin early next year.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Clear Sailing for Southwest Waterfront Development

The Congressional Budget Office weighed in just before the holidays with a strong endorsement of the proposed rezoning of the Southwest Waterfront, further bolstering H.R. 2297’s already favorable chances of passing into law when the Senate reconvenes next session.

If (when) passed, the bill would bring the District one step closer to a dramatic revitalization of the largely moribund Southwest waterfront, bringing it in line with the rapidly-developing Southeast waterfront, and creating what planners hope will eventually coalesce into a “second downtown.”

The bill, introduced by Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, has already passed the House and gone through Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs committee markup, and clarifies the vague and somewhat archaic restrictions governing the waterfront. The District has always technically owned the land, but was barred from selling it, which for all intents and purposes made commercial development impossible. The recent CBO report found that empowering development in the area would have no adverse effects on the federal government, thus clearing the way for the 2.5 million-square-foot blockbuster PN Hoffman-Madison Marquette hotel-office-retail-pedestrian mall project.

The Hoffman-Madison First Stage PUD, as reported on this site, breezed through its NCPC hearing back in October. Bob Rubenkonig, a Hoffman-Madison representative, said Hoffman-Madison is busily preparing for 2012 public meetings, with the Second Stage PUD forthcoming very soon - hopefully in February, according to Hoffman VP Shawn Seaman.

The $2 billion, 2.5 million-square-foot project, dubbed “The Wharf,” takes its cues from Baltimore and Seattle's waterfront promenades, and will feature around 1200 residential units, almost 400,000 s.f. of office space, and 200,000 s.f. of retail space. Over half the site will be public space, much of that a pedestrian-friendly, privately-held waterfront avenue, “Wharf Street,” which will replace Water Street, will feature walking lanes, bike paths, and a streetcar. Development plans also call for a four thousand seat theater, a maritime history museum, and three hotels – a four-star, 268-room hotel from Carr Hospitality and InterContinental Hotels Group, and two others from the JBG Companies.

Developers have also agreed to a community benefits package that will set aside 30 percent of the first 500 units of housing - half earmarked for households making less than 60% AMI, and half earmarked for households making less than 30% AMI. Beyond the 500-unit mark, 20% will be reserved for "workforce housing," i.e. police, firefighters, teachers making 80 - 100% AMI. This unusual formula is the result of the Southwest Waterfront Redevelopment Clarification Act of 2010, which exempts a portion of the development from the District's affordable housing requirements. Furthermore, a quarter of the retail space will go to local businesses, and a third of everything sold in the retail spaces will come from local merchants. Design is being spearheaded by Ehrenkrantz, Eckstut & Kuhn Architects, while construction is being handled by PN Hoffman and Clark Construction.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Southwest Wharf Developers Move onto Design Phase

With Zoning Commission approval of the First Stage zoning application secured last week, PN Hoffman and Madison Marquette - joint developers of the $2-billion Wharf in Southwest - now turn to the completion of the Second Stage PUD, in order for submittal early next year.

The Hoffman-Madison team has been gaining momentum in filling its 3.2 million s.f. development along the northern shore of the Washington Channel and aims to begin construction on the first phase (of three) in the first quarter of 2013.

The first phase of construction, expected to take four years, will build out 40 percent of the entire development with parcels 2 thru 5 (seen to the right).

Site designs, in order from north to south, will include: two apartment towers above a 100,000-s.f. multi-purpose theater (parcel 2); a four-star, 268-room hotel by Carr Hospitality and InterContinental Hotels Group, which purchased the site in early October, and office space with signed tenant the Graduate School USA (parcel 3); an apartment and condominium building (parcel 4), and two JBG Companies-operated hotels, a limited service and an extended stay (parcel 5). All of the parcels will include ground floor retail, with the combined total approximately 300,000 s.f.

The first phase also includes the restructuring of portions of 7th and 9th Streets at Maine Avenue, a new Capital Yacht Club, two new piers - "City Pier" off of 9th and "Transit Pier" - and a major infrastructure overhaul of Water Street, the grand scheme being to turn Water Street (running parallel to the shore) into a promenade with 60' of width shared between pedestrians, streetcars, bikes, and outdoor diners.

The Wharf is being developed in partnership with the District, which agreed to provide $200 million in public financing in 2008. Madison Marquette joined PN Hoffman as a partner in the spring of 2010, after the partnership with Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse faltered. PN Hoffman and Struever were selected by the now-defunct Anacostia Waterfront Corporation as the joint Master Developer for the Southwest Waterfront in 2006.

Update: 11/7 Added in residential plan for parcel 4, corrected second pier name to "Transit Pier," and changed "Office of Zoning" to "Zoning Commission"

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Southwest Waterfront's Wharf Waved Forward by NCPC

Yesterday, the National Capital Planning Commission waved forward the First Stage PUD of PN Hoffman and Madison Marquette's $2-billion development of the Southwest waterfront known as "The Wharf". The vote to "comment favorably" was raised before Matthew Steenhoek, development manager for PN Hoffman, even had the chance to make a final remark. NCPC commission members noted that the PUD honors NCPC's request from November 2010 to "strengthen the physical and visual connections to the Banneker Overlook." Subsequently, Market Square (below Banneker) was expanded, and the opening between two residential towers at the end of 10th Street was widened. 

A pedestrian connection from Banneker Overlook to Maine Avenue was also added into the plan, which will be included in phase two of development. The Zoning Commission reviewed the First Stage PUD and related map amendment in mid-September, and may take final action this month, after which the development team can submit the Second Stage PUD, which will detail design and architecture specifics, whereas the First Stage deals with building massing, land uses, open space development, waterfront development/improvement and related map amendment. Hoffman-Madison hopes to submit the Second Stage early next year, in order to begin construction on the first phase (of three) in the first quarter of 2013. Of the 3.2 million s.f. to be developed on land abutting the northeastern shore of the Washington Channel, the first phase of construction will be on the middle four parcels ( 2 through 5) which constitutes 40 percent of the entire development. Parcel 3 will be the location of Carr Hospitality and InterContinental Hotels Group's four-star, 268-room hotel. And, according to Steenhoek, the JBG Companies will operate two hotels - a limited service and an extended stay - at parcel 5. Parcel 2 will be two residential towers above a 4,000-seat multi-purpose theater. 

All of the buildings include ground floor retail. A significant aspect of the entire development is the creation of Wharf street, a main avenue along the waterfront for cafes, cars, pedestrians, pier access, bikes and even streetcars. The Wharf will be a privately owned street and will overtake the existing Water Street, the closure of which was approved by the Council in April, and currently awaits approval by Congress. 

Washington D.C. retail and commercial real estate news

Plans Submitted for Southwest Wharf Waterfront

Visions of a "world class" waterfront destination along the Washington Channel in Southwest had been dancing in developers' heads for years before a contract was awarded by the District in 2008. On June 28th the winning team's vision became more clear when PN Hoffman and Madison Marquette filed a preliminary report with the D.C. Zoning Commission, clarifying its plans for the 52 acres (including build out on the water) that will be radically revamped as "The Wharf" to be constructed in three phases over the next 10 years.

Phase one of the project - encapsulated for approval as the "Stage 1 PUD" - will be reviewed by the Commission on July 18th. In addition to reviewing Stage 1, the Commission will rule on the request to rezone the area from R-3 to C-3-C on land, and from unzoned to W-1 in the water.

If approved, the initial stage will be valid for 18 months, allowing developers that long to submit the final Master Plan to the office of the Deputy Mayor's for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED) for approval. Construction of the first phase is projected to begin in late 2012, and is expected to last until 2016. In those four years, phase two will undergo the review and approval process.

Phase 1 will begin in the middle section, roughly from 7th Street to 9th Street, in between the entertainment-heavy section closest to I-395, which focuses on water-transit-oriented piers and redevelopment of the Municipal Fish Market (phase two), and the residential area at the southern end (phase three). Redevelopment of the Municipal Fish Market will take place in phase 2.

Phase one includes the restructuring of portions of 7th, 9th, N St and M Place; a new Capital Yacht Club; two new piers - "City Pier" off of 9th and "7th Street Pier" - and a major infrastructure overhaul of Water Street. The grand scheme is to turn Water Street into a promenade with 60' of width shared between pedestrians, streetcars, bikes and outdoor diners.

The parcels in phase one (2,3,4 and 5) will be developed as office, retail, residential and hotel space. Parcels 3 through 5 could potentially be 130' high, as is permitted in a C-3-C zone. The plan shows that parcels 3 and 4 will have ground floor retail and office and/or residential towers, parcel 5 will hold two hotels, and parcel 2 is slated to become a concert/entertainment venue with seating for 4,000 to 6,000.

Parcel 3, at the corner of Maine Avenue and 9th Street, has been claimed in part by the Graduate School USA, which will take up 190,000 s.f. of space and operate 18 hours a day. A temporary Kastles Stadium, now located near parcel at 9th and Maine Street and intended to be temporary, is now being considered for parcel 2.

Holland & Knight, legal counsel for PN Hoffman and Madison Marquette, submitted the project's prehearing statement to the Commission in May, and the more recent "20 day [in advance of hearing] submission" on June 28th. Significant changes in both prehearing documents that will affect phase one include a decreased F.A.R. (floor area ratio), the removal of residential use at parcel 5, reduced parking spaces and increased bike docking areas. Most encouraging is the reduction of subsidized housing required by the District from 30% to 20% of total housing.

A community workshop was given by the developers on June 7, where several issues were raised, most of them surrounding the riparian development, including the depth of the channel, and the extended length of several piers, which cuts the width of the channel from 400' to 200' wide.

Subsequent development will include a revamped Banneker Park and the Southwest Ecodistrict of 10th Street (not controlled by Team Wharf), which will ideally provide a link from the waterfront to the Mall.

Other elements of the overall development (all three phases) include a combined 3.2 million s.f. gross floor area (3.87 F.A.R.), 8 to 12 acres of park/open space with "programmed public activities" catering to year-round use, 625 hotel rooms, 1,200 "mixed-income" residential units, and 400 to 500 Marina Slips

The entire project is estimated to need $2 billion; the District pledged $200 million in 2008 in tax increment financing. The redevelopment, say developers, has the potential to bring in $40 million in tax revenue annually.

ANC 6D will hold a meeting, in advance of the Zoning Commission hearing, at the Dept. of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) at 7pm, next Monday, July 11th.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Barracks and Castles and Gardens

On Thursday night's calendar of the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) is a plan regarding the ongoing construction of an 8th Street Bavarian beer garden at 720 L Street S.E., on the heels of last month's raze application from the National Community Church for the Miles Glass site at 8th and Virginia, where it plans to build what will amount to its headquarters.

While these may represent ordinary changes in Barracks Row, it's the beginning of a series that will include the transition of behemoth The Blue Castle - formally known as the Navy Yard Car Barn - a 99,000 s.f. space that its developers intend to eventually turn over to retail.

This significance of the change on the street is not taken lightly. Even The New York Times had taken notice last month.

The building, purchased for $25 million by Madison Marquette in 2007, now 100% leased, currently houses social service providers and charter schools. "We don't want word to get out there that we're changing something soon because we don't want to scare the tenants," said Retail Director Christina Davies of the Madison Marquette retail group. "They're great tenants."

And yet retail for the neighborhood has always been in the plans. The Blue Castle allows for a massive influx of retail to the area without having to build new construction. In its former life, the building was built in 1891 as the repair center for trolleys and street cars.

What is Madison Marquette waiting for? "The right tenant," said Davies. In the meantime, superstores and smaller businesses are actively courting the developers, they say. "We have the option for both," said Davies. "We can lease to a series of restaurants and banks, for example, or a big box client. We just haven't decided yet."

Davies cites high ceilings as a draw for superstore retailers or, say, a gym. But folks from the Barracks Row Main Street would prefer "vibrant ground level tenants," said Martin Smith, Executive Director for the organization. "We would like to see retail that engages with passers-by," he said. "That traditionally does not include big box stores. There are two levels to the building, however, which may be a terrific place for a big box tenant." Columbia Heights' DCUSA serves as an example, with smaller retail at street level, with Best Buy and Target on upper levels.

Earlier this year, Madison Marquette, ICP Partners LLC, Barracks Row Main Street and Capitol Riverfront District discussed possibilities in zoning changes for various projects. While all storefronts facing historic 8th Street SE will remain at 45 feet in accordance with the zoning overlay, Smith noted the possibility of back-end building expansions of 65 to 85 feet in height on a per project basis, amendments that would allow for bigger clients.

Also in discussion is a second restriction in the overlay of Barracks Row which requires that no more than 50% of available street frontage is allowed to have a liquor license. "This may not be a problem now, but it could be as we move forward," said Smith.

Washington, D.C. Real Estate development news

Southwest Waterfront Gets Stadium

The newest stadium in Washington D.C. will indeed be in southwest, but it won't be soccer. The Washington Post has reported that the Washington Kastles have a deal to build a stadium on the southwest waterfront, replacing the temporary stadium on the site of the CityCenterDC project, which is scheduled to begin construction within the next month. The new stadium will also be temporary, with the hope that a more permanent stadium will be incorporated into the plans for the greater waterfront redevelopment project.
The southwest waterfront project, headed by PN Hoffman, Madison Marquette, and design firm EEK, has been long on plans but short on specifics, though developers have put forward a late 2012 start date for development. The two-year deal with the Kastles therefore won't interfere with any development plans, though the "stadium" - small and temporary - could allow it to stay until the moment other construction is underway. The Kastles won't release details of their lease - which has not yet been signed - other than to say it will cost them "$10m over 2 years for construction and programming," according to a team spokesperson. The tennis season runs only from July 4 through July 24 this year, designed to begin after Wimbledon and before the U.S. Open, so the current contract ties up the space only until July of next year, in plenty of time for the redevelopment project even under the most optimistic projections. At the same time, the spokesperson indicated this was a positive indicator that the team could work out a longer term deal to remain on the waterfront.

The stadium will occupy the former Hogates site with a 2700 seat, "semi-permanent" structure that will entail pouring a concrete pad for the court with "high end bleacher seating" akin to scaffolding, with concessions and even waiter service to some of the seats. A spokesperson for the project called the size "a little larger than most" of the tennis stadiums in the league. "We were approached by many developers," said the spokesperson, who declined to offer other developers or sites, but it was "very important to us to stay in Washington D.C." Neither contractors nor a designer have been named, but the deal could be signed "any moment," and construction will have to start quickly, so that announcement should be days away.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Fish Market Concept Takes Shape, SW Waterfront PUD Application Coming Soon

While developers of the Southwest Waterfront still aren't ready to promise much in the way of architectural specifics or set-in-stone timelines, they've become rather adept at presenting their vision of transformation. Such acumen is attributable to the vivid imagination of the planners and developers amassed from the project partnership between PN Hoffman, Madison Marquette, and design firm EEK. But if practice really does make perfect, their busy itinerary of power point presentations can't hurt either. Last week, Madison Marquette and master planner Stan Eckstut, Principal of EEK, attended the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) meeting to share their most up to date concepts.

While these informational meetings are important, developers expect to truly kick off the planning review process with their Stage One PUD application submittal in late 2010, early 2011. This will initiate a more intensive public communication process, followed by a Stage Two PUD as more details are hashed out, and fingers crossed, a late 2012 groundbreaking. A full build-out will take seven to eight years from the start of the construction. Although not concrete, developers expect a middle portion of the development, including three buildings and the parks and public space surrounding them (it sounds vague because it is), to be the heart of Phase One. Like all phases of the project, construction will be focused on creating captivating public space first, and erecting buildings second. But as buildings do spring up in each phase of development, they will always do so as a balanced mix of office, retail, and residential, never all one or the other. Developers are also hoping that secured financing and improving market demand will allow them to reach as far west as to include the Fish Market and Market Square in their Phase One plans. "As probably the most dynamic and active aspect of the redevelopment, we want the Fish Market to be an early stage part of the project," says Anselm Fusco, Senior VP of Investments at Madison Marquette, "It would really help set the tone and put a flag in the sand."

But what exactly will Market Square be? What will it look like? After listening to Eckstut's NCPC presentation last week, Office of Planning Direct Harriet Tregoning characterized the concept as a "happy collision of pedestrians, vehicles, and bicycles, where everyone is forced to slow down." Angela Sweeney, Vice President of Marketing at Madison Marquette, seconded this appraisal. In an analogy using the redevelopment site as a giant domestic entity, Fusco described Market Square as "the kitchen of the house, the most dynamic, vibrant, and bustling space." Eckstut promised to preserve the unique and gritty character of the Fish Market, saying "we want to keep the same messiness, the same crazy parking scheme."

The goal is "to preserve the integrity of what's there and intelligently augment it," explains Fusco. A trip to iconic West coast marketplaces such as Granville Island Public Market, Seattle's Pike Place Market, and San Francisco's Ferry Building served as inspiration a plenty for the project planners. This indoor-outdoor marketplace will be re-imagined at the Fish Market/Market Square with fresh seafood spread out on 90-foot long blocks of ice, complemented by a seasonal green market where not only neighborhood foodies will frequent for a bushel of fresh produce, but where also local chefs and restaurateurs will come to cultivate long-term relationships with local farmers and producers. "The idea of what was once the Head House will be re-appropriated as Market Hall (think Pike's Place), an indoor space, but a very permeable place that will feature more permanent tenants selling both prepared foods and hard goods," says Fusco. Supplement the water-meets-land Marketplace concept with a plethora of picnic tables, public plazas, piazza lighting, cafes, bakeries, and a standalone microbrewery, then color it with the "whole neon sign thing" of the Fish Market (as Fusco calls it), finally, populate the space with a dynamic demographic of people, and you've got what Eckstut believes will be "a place that feels authentic and alive and real...a jolt from the federal Mall experience." To top it all off (literally) developers intend to accentuate the Marketplace with a large iconic sign, for purposes of place-making and way-finding.

Such a commerce-centric place would go a long way towards meeting the 20% local business minimum requirement of the Land Disposition Agreement (LDA), but developers believe throughout the Waterfront redevelopment, not just at the Marketplace, the retail makeup will skew towards community-based merchants. There will certainly be a mix of local, regional, and national tenants," says Fusco, "The retail experience in each area will vary." Continuing his "rooms-of-a-house" analogy, the 7th Street Park and kayaking pier dubbed The Landing "will have a very different feel: largely green, with lots of trees and landscaping, more like the dining room of the house, formal and quieter." This unique space will feature a different character restaraunt, a boutique, not a nationally franchised, big-boxed retailer, while 9th Street's City Pier will be "larger scaled with a big long, wide pier, a ferry landing, with lots of activity and tall ships coming in." Here is where the national tenants would be more likely to find a home, Fusco postulates. Further down the Wharf to the east we find the M Street Landing, the family-friendly rec room of the house, possibly featuring an ice rink in the winter and big water fountains for children to frolic in the heat and humidity of the summer--a little more fun and less formal than the dining room. Even farther east, a meandering pedestrian finds an expansive well-scaled public park, featuring a large halo of trees insulating a rolling lawn. As Fusco puts it: "It will be a park in the traditionally conceived sense of it, enabling passive recreation, and providing a sense of quiet."

Although it may be sometime before this impressive vision becomes reality, Angela Sweeney promises that her development team is "focused on creating and activating the site before an actual groundbreaking happens. We will continue to offer expanded and enhanced on-site programming." Another reason for optimism is the LDA stipulation that the $198 million tax increment financing promised by the District must be used for public amenities--further emphasizing the developers genuine focus on creating an assortment of vibrant, diverse, and inviting public arenas, not simply a canopy of concrete. So far, developers have proven they can dream big. How these dreams mesh with the practical parameters of the Planning Office and feasibility of the financial climate remains to be seen.


Washington D.C. Real Estate Development News

Architects and Developers Roll Out Concepts for Southwest Waterfront

Last night at the Arena Stage, as the developers from Madison Marquette and PN Hoffman, as well as lead planning architect Stan Eckstut of EE&K, presented their master plan for the redevelopment of the Southwest Waterfront, one thought really stuck: it's going to take a boatload of time, money, and effort to make these ideas reality. The vision was colorful, imaginative, and mostly astounding, with prospects of a world class waterfront with international port-cities like Genoa, Auckland, Baltimore, and Seattle as inspiration. If only they had a plan for how to pay for it or when to build it.

Unfortunately the idea men are real estate developers, not wizards, and it will take more than a PowerPoint presentation to transform the city's Southwest Waterfront. But with no definite time-line given or dedicated financing, developers seem to be turning to the increasingly common fallback of government-sponsored housing. Some of the basic tenets of their master plan were released: 840,000 s.f. of office space, 335,000 s.f. of ground floor retail, several entertainment and cultural features (maritime museum maybe?), three hotels totaling 600 keys, as well as over 500 residential units, fully half of them being set aside for low-income residents at 60% AMI or less - one of the District's lower end income caps for subsidized housing. The presenters also promised that 60% of the 27 acres would be public space, emphasizing their belief that creating buildings is not their primary focus, it's shaping spaces for a 4-season destination for commerce and recreation.
While the development details set for dry land were compelling, developers stressed that their vision really begins and ends with the water itself. Their plan sees the two major yacht clubs significantly expanded, almost doubling their holding capacity to four or five hundred slips. Their concept also stretches several large piers well out into the channel, each plank serving a different purpose. The "City Pier" will extend from 9th Street, welcoming larger cruising vessels with a bandstand of some kind, where the "mayor can welcome visitors" (Greetings, Mr. Putin, how was your boat trip to America?) and pedestrians can enjoy concerts and fireworks. Planners hoped a modern lighthouse-like tower would anchor this pier on land, but admitted developers had not figured out a way to pay for this yet (not to mention the rest of the project). Another pedestrian-heavy and recreational pier will split the waterfront in half, wedged between the two marinas, planners sketched the picture of a small sailing school, kayaks and boat rentals. On the far west side of the waterfront, a wider pier will feature a plethora of dinner boats, stretching the many future dining options out onto the water.
On land, "The Wharf" will be the main pedestrian-centric thoroughfare, taking the right of way from the few vehicles that venture down the water's edge. Wide bike lanes will run along the inner portion of the expansive sidewalks stretching from current Fish Market to M Street. And developers are hoping that by including a streetcar line down the middle of the street, the District will be compelled to get moving on their pledge to make public streetcar transit a reality. Maine Avenue will shoulder most of the vehicular traffic, with District officials having requested the closing of Water Street, and will feature bus drop offs and a 2,500-space below-grade parking garage. Other land-side features include the re-imagining of the fish market as a year-round "Market Square" featuring brew pubs, cafes, restaurants, and picnic areas. On the opposite side, a large open park at P Street will be vehicle-free and less dense, transitioning the development into the neighborhood.

Cicada-like hisses greeted Eckstut's mention of stretching some buildings to a height of 11-stories and 130-feet, but the architect defended such dimensions as allowing wider, more inviting sight lines and access points to the waterfront, massing density vertically in strategic locations to allow a more porous, open waterfront. A more agreeable talking point was his promise that those currently living on boats at Gangplank Marina would not be threatened and expelled by the new plans.

The details of the development are many, and are difficult to bundle into a comprehensive understand via prose, but blog Southwest Quadrant has a solid bullet-pointed rundown of the major features. The entire PUD will be submitted to the Zoning Commission later this fall, with many lively public hearings set for the spring. Phase I construction can't be expected until at least 2012, despite a recent groundbreaking, and construction could take upwards of eight years. And that's a best case scenario. The development team was awarded the project in January of 2008.

Washington D.C. Real Estate Development News

Southwest's Big Day

Can anyone finance this?

District officials began demolition yesterday of Hogate's Restaurant on the Southwest waterfront, the first step of what will be a billion-dollar renovation of the area that will usher in a new neighborhood in a city-changing endeavor to connect DC to the river. Or, to the cynically inclined, it was a short-lived photo op for a project that has zero chance of starting soon.

Putting healthy skepticism aside, a completed project would be transformative, replacing careless architecture, mediocre food establishments and parking lots, all segregated by anti-pedestrian design, with an urban worthy mixed-use neighborhood featuring 14 acres of parks and "open space," 780,000 square feet of office and retail space, 3 new hotels, entertainment venues and 770 condos and apartments. Just picture throngs of happy pedestrians gazing over the marina while dropping Hamiltons like crazy at waterfront retailers. Add 3,000 new jobs and you have a minor stimulus plan in the works.

So just how close is the team, comprised of PN Hoffman, Madison Marquette, Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse, McCormack Baron Salazar, ER Bacon Development, Triden Development, Paramount Development, Gotham Development and City Partners, to getting real progress? The ambitious project, first approved by the DC Council back in 2003, was never on fast-track. But despite the development team having been selected in September of 2006, the District's approval of $198m in revenue bonds supported by tax increment financing (TIF) in July of 2008, and ratification of the land agreement in December of 2008, numerous obstacles remain. District officials say that a master plan will be submitted in October, and though they acknowledge there has been no major headway on financing, actual construction is now estimated for a comfortably distant 2012. But in January of 2008 developer Monty Hoffman predicted that "District residents can see a shovel in the ground by 2010;" not a surprising miscalculation given, well, everything, but one that gives pause in relying on current estimates. PN Hoffman would not comment on the significance of the groundbreaking. It seems that for the near future it will remain simply a good spot to get cheap fish.

Washington DC real estate development news