New Apartments for Hill East in 2013, Two Blocks from RFK

The recently formed joint venture - between Tritec Development and JBG - has just begun construction on its 141-unit apartment, Kennedy Row, at 1729 East Capitol Street in Hill East, just two blocks from RFK Stadium.

Construction on the 42,629-s.f. site, under general contractor Clark Builders Group, will take approximately 18 months, and the first apartments will deliver in April of 2013. Kennedy Row will be managed by JBG's residential property management arm (we're told the Kennedy Row website is coming next month).

Early this fall, the partnership - a $40 million effort brokered by Colliers - was formed, enabling the project to break ground late last month, just after a building permit was issued for the project, and just before the PUD was set to expire, this month.

The 4.5-story, red-brick apartment designed by architect Polleo Group, is located at 1705-1729 East Capitol Street, SE, right across the street from Eastern High School - which received a $70-million renovation last year - five blocks from the Stadium Armory Metro, and two blocks from RFK Stadium. There will be 113 parking spaces in an underground parking garage.

Well in advance of construction, demolition of the aged structures previously on the site commenced a year-and-a-half ago, and the south side of East Capitol Street between 17th and 18th has been waiting on development since that time. A representative involved with the project said that the timing of the project's start has been purely a market-driven decision.

In December 2007, The Merion Group/Tritec acquired the property for $6.2 million from Comstock East Capitol LLC, which paid $9 million the previous year.

The consolidated Planned Unit Development (by Comstock, with renderings by PGN Architects seen at left) was approved around the time Merion/Tritec took over (late in 2007), and the project was granted a time extension by the Zoning Commission in 2009.

Originally - four years ago - the project looked to become condos, however, developers confirmed that the aim is now apartments.

As for the rest of the Hill East area, the Washington Post reminded readers a month ago that the 67-acre area south of RFK known as Reservation 13 "has been eyed for an ambitious redevelopment for the better part of a decade," and reported that speculation surrounding the area's potential continues, noting the option for: "a new [Redskins] headquarters and training facility near RFK Stadium in anticipation of building a new stadium there when the FedEx Field lease ends in 2027." Meanwhile, D.C. United looks to a short-term lease at RFK, as the soccer team's management continues to try and sort out its future, and appears to be sticking to its guns in declaring that RFK is not a long-term solution.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Demolition on East Capitol

Hill East has fewer abandoned buildings and more rubble after the recent demolition of the vacant, 80-unit apartment building (pictured) on East Capitol Street, SE, between 17th and 18th Streets. The 42,629-s.f. site is near RFK Stadium just across from Eastern Senior High School, which itself has gotten a bit of a makeover lately. The demolition makes way for Kennedy Place, a 141-unit condo building developed by The Merion Group and designed by PGN Architects.

General contractor, Moseley Construction Group, is responsible for the demolition and construction. According to Johnny Moseley, President of Moseley Construction Group, the demolition is 50 percent complete. Moseley said he was "not sure" about the status of the second phase, actual construction.

The project, originally planned as 131 units by then-owner Comstock East Capitol LLC, received a zoning extension in 2009. The approved zoning changes and plan modifications give the developers until December of 2010 to file a building permit, and December of 2011 to begin construction.

In December 2007 Comstock received approval for a consolidated PUD allowing construction of a 133-unit building. In that same month, Merion acquired the property for $6.2 million from Comstock, which paid $9 million in 2006. Merion Chairman Bill Bensten was formerly a senior executive at Comstock.


Washington, DC real estate development news

Empty Southeast DC Project Hangs on Longer

The Merion Group, the new owners of 1705-1729 East Capitol St., SE, have asked for a permit to raze the building, the first sign of movement on the eyesores across from Eastern Senior High School near RFK Stadium. The raze permit, filed under the name PYD I LLC, comes after a March 2009 approval by the DC Zoning Commission, which had approved development plans filed Comstock East Capitol LLC in December of 2007. The 2009 approval allowed for modifications by the new owner. Kennedy Place, as the new condos will be called, now has an extension until 2011, when the revised PUD expires.

The site is currently a vacant, 80-unit apartment building (pictured) on East Capitol Street, SE, between 17th and 18th Streets. The 42,629-s.f. plot is just blocks from the Stadium-Amory Metro. The Merion website describes the project as "a redevelopment effort which will create new condominiums in a gentrifying area of Capitol Hill." The ANC must be pleased to hear about their neighborhood finally gentrifying.

In December 2007 Comstock received approval for a consolidated PUD and zoning change from R-4 to R-5B, allowing construction of a 133-unit building. In that same month, Merion acquired the property for $6.2 million from Comstock, which paid $9 million in 2006. Merion Chairman Bill Bensten was formerly a senior executive at Comstock.

In September of 2008, PGN Architects, the project architects throughout the toss up, filed on behalf of the owners for a minor modification to the original PUD, changing the total units from 133 to 141. In January 2009 the counsel for Merion requested a one-year extension to December 2010 in addition to the earlier modification request.

Though the original plan had been to immediately begin construction, as financing realities were pouring cold water on new construction, developers added more one and two bedroom units to the mix, requiring interior changes to the architecture, further slowing the project. The change was intended to increase marketability.

The approved zoning changes and plan modifications give the developers until December of 2010 to file a building permit, and December of 2011 to begin construction. Beyond that, developers would need to start anew.