Northwest One Project Aims to be First New Residence in Northwest One

Northwest One's race for the first residential project is showing some contest. The development team for the SeVerna had forecasted earlier this year that their 60-unit affordable housing project would get moving this summer, which DCMud reported last spring, but construction has not yet taken place, and now William C. Smith & Co claims their $80 million, 314-unit "classy, rental building" will in fact be the first to break ground - next spring. But not so, says Jose Sousa, a spokesman with Mayor Adrian Fenty's office, the SeVerna's developers settled on their property August 12 and will be breaking ground, at least officially, "in the next couple of weeks."

The District has already built the Walker Jones Education Campus, a school and recreation center, officially the first successful portion of the redevelopment plan, but it remains unclear where its next students will come from, as neither the Severna developers ( MissionFirst Development, The Henson Development Company and Golden Rule Apartments, Inc.) nor William C. Smith have offered a definitive date for actual construction. William C. Smith's proposed building will stand twelve stories tall upon completion,

with a small ground-floor retail component, a first installment on the larger Northwest One Initiative (part of the New Communities Project), a $700 million redevelopment project in Ward 6, providing a makeover for the scarred, crime-infested real estate extending from K Street in the
south to New York Avenue in the north, and stretching from North Capitol Street in the east to New Jersey Avenue in the west. In 2007, the Mayor and DMPED awarded the rights to the redevelopment project to One Vision Development Partners headed by William C. Smith & Co in partnership with Jair Lynch, with Banneker Ventures and affordable housing provider Community Preservation and Development Corporation also involved with portions of the larger project. As promised, the building will offer 93 affordable units, 30% of the total apartments.

The first parcel (out of a total of 5 or 6) will be situated on the corner of North Capitol and M Street, NE, technically in NoMa. Architectural designs are courtesy of Eric Colbert & Associates; William C. Smith-affiliated WCS Construction will build the structure. Architect Brian Bukowski says the industrial nature of this part of DC was the major inspiration for a unifying aesthetic theme. "We wanted to give the building an updated post-industrial flavor," Bukowski explained. The exposed fixed post steel, generous use of red brick, and angular, geometric fenestration seem to bear out his claim. But if on whole the building brings to mind a downtown warehouse, the ten two-level townhouses serve as a friendlier introduction to the large facade on the M Street side of the building. The townhomes and accompanying courtyard will help relate to the residential-nature of the immediate neighborhoods. Loading and and parking access will be relegated to the opposite site of the building on Patterson Avenue. A roof penthouse will crown the building.

The main rooftop will not only provide panoramic views, but will also be ornamented with a landscaped green terrace and lap pool. A rain harvesting cistern on the roof will conserve run-off and curb water consumption; low-flow showers will further aid the conservation effort. On what will likely be a crowded roof are several solar panels, funneling electricity to the building's energy grid. In the end, residents will be able to brag about one of the greenest roofs in the city, collecting water, converting the sun's rays into usable energy, and deflecting thermal load with it's organic plant life, all aspects in an effort to earn a LEED Silver certification, with the possibility of becoming the first LEED Gold-rated multifamily residential building in the District.

William C. Smith is in the final steps of negotiating the lease agreement with the District, and although financing is not in place, developers are working toward securing funds, still optimistic that groundbreaking will happen in the late first quarter or early second quarter of next year. A request for subcontracting bids has been issued by WCS, a sign that the developers and teammates are serious about moving forward. The estimated 20-24 month construction time places delivery in the early part of 2013.

Washington D.C. Real Estate Development News

Northwest One to Get First of Many Affordable Housing Projects

This summer, construction may at last begin - fingers crossed - on Northwest One's first residential project, the SeVerna. Mission First Development, The Henson Development Company and project sponsor Golden Rule Apartments, Inc. (GRA) are working with architects Grimm + Parker to build 60 residential units to replace the former Golden Rules Center that occupied the site until its demolition in early 2009. The empty lot will be developed in phases, beginning with a 100% subsidized project at First and K Streets, NW. Phase 2, a 120-unit highrise, is still a distant vision.

The housing project falls within the District of Columbia's exulted Northwest One rebirth zone, though the site is privately controlled and not subject to the District's land disposition agreement made with developers of neighboring properties. Golden Rule Apartments, Inc. is an affiliate of nearby Bible Way Church, which owns several plots in the Northwest One neighborhood. The site at stake here formerly offered low-density housing, community center and grocery shared by nearby Golden Rules Apartments, a subsidized multi-family project the Church recently rehabilitated. The church began sponsoring affordable housing in the Northwest One community in the 1970s.

The site is also adjacent to the District-owned Temple Courts apartments, demolished by the District in December of 2008 to make way for its own Northwest One plans; namely, the first stage of its New Communities Initiative, which "provides resources so that the community, in partnership with public and private entities, can work to transform highly concentrated low-income neighborhoods into healthy mixed-income neighborhoods." The government's Northwest One initiative aims to bring more than 1,600 residential units to the former site of Temple Court and crime-ridden Sursum Corda Cooperative (picture, at left), which D.C. bought out in mid 2007, and turn the area into a model of affordable development. Sursum Corda (Latin for "lift up your hearts") was, it should be noted, designed for the same purpose, i.e., as a cooperatively-owned urban refuge to promote ownership and civic pride.

The District has already constructed the Walker Jones Education Campus, a school and recreation center, as the first installment of the $700m development. In October 2009, development partners Banneker Ventures and William C. Smith & Co. announced that the next phase of Northwest One, 300 units of housing, 30% of which would be subsidized, to replace the vacant parking lot at the intersection of North Capitol and Patterson Streets. The team announced that construction would begin this spring, though so far it has not.

The neighboring GRA project is asking for as much as $995,000 in tax credits from the District to build the project. The developers are working with PNC bank to finance the debt and equity for the project; gap financing of $1.9 million will be provided by the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development's New Communities Initiative. The total project costs will be $15.5 million with just over half, $8 million, coming from private sources.

GRA reports that its SeVerna development is moving forward with its portion of the Northwest One Initiative, 60 residential units, broken down into 48 mid-rise units and 12 two-over-two townhouses. According to Zak Schooley, a Project Designer with Grimm + Parker, the 70's era Golden Rules Center "turned its back on the community" and "wasn't successful" because of its purposeful architectural seclusion. Though the project is affordable, the architect says the mistake won't be repeated. The "goal is to begin to make this area more up and coming." You will not find any vinyl siding, according to Schooley. Instead, the architects will use "fiber cement siding and brick...to improve the aesthetics of the area." Though the interiors will not be "overly lavish" the project will be "very nice compared to what used to be on the site." Faint praise, maybe, but still an improvement.


The units will be affordable at 30 and 60 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI) with many going to former residents of the Golden Rules Center and Temple Court Apartments thanks to a right of return agreement signed by the developers of projects within the Northwest One New Communities Initiative. Yvonne M. Williams, Chair of the Board of Trustees of Bible Way Church, said, "as far as I know, we may well be the first development [in Northwest One] that will enable former residents to come back."

According to Elizabeth Askew, Project Manager for Mission First Development, the team "hopes to close on financing and begin construction this summer." The general contractor for the first phase is Maryland-based Hamel Builders.

Washington, DC real estate development news

Northwest One Project Announces Start Date

The District announced today its decisions on how to proceed with the first major phase of Northwest One. In an 11am press briefing, the Mayor announced that DC-based Banneker Ventures will join developer William C. Smith & Co. to build 300 units of housing in place of the vacant parking lot at the intersection of North Capitol and Patterson Streets. Groundbreaking is now expected in "spring" of 2010, according to Mayor Adrian Fenty.

The $80m project will include 313 new housing units, with 30% pledged for "affordable" housing. 59 of the units will be set aside for former Temple Courtiers.

The Warrenton Group has been having a good year with DC officials, having been named recently as the local partner for the planned Park Morton, a $130m project announced earlier this month, and having been selected last December (as Banneker Ventures) to build the Deanwood Community Center, and last October rebuild the Strand Theater. Warrenton Group was also given a new lease on life for the Florida Avenue parcel, awarded to Banneker by WMATA in 2008 but not built out.

Architecture firm Eric Colbert & Associates will design the 12-story building, and William C. Smith & Co affiliated WCS Construction team will build it. The larger Northwest One project, in all $700 million worth of development, will also include Jair Lynch and affordable housing provider Community Preservation and Development Corporation, which together will team up as the One Vision Development Partners as a Certified Business Enterprise.

Northwest One Announcement on the Horizon

It appears that construction is imminent on the next phase of development at Northwest One, the ambitious, $700m mixed-income housing project in the bursting NoMa neighborhood. Developer William C. Smith & Co. has been collecting subcontractors and is expected to announce shortly a schedule for work at the vacant parking lot - formerly the Temple Court Apartments - at the intersection of North Capitol and M Streets.

William C. Smith & Co. partnered with Jair Lynch, affordable housing providers Community Preservation and Development Corporation, and the Warrenton Group (formerly of Banneker Ventures) to create One Vision Development Partners, a Certified Business Enterprise that promises to create jobs for DC workers during the subcontracting phase of development.

Planned along a five-block stretch of North Capitol Street, the mixed-income Northwest One community is being born out of a need to confront the high crime and poverty rates within the public housing developments in the area.

Deputy Mayor’s Office Spokesman Sean Madigan told DCMud that a formal announcement about the city’s plans may appear as early as next week once they’ve finished “working out a few of these details” about timelines and participants. Until that happens, most participants in the project have been mum about details.

Eric Colbert, whose architecture firm Eric Colbert & Associates will design the 12-story 2 M Street NE building, confirmed that this portion of the mixed-use development will include 4,600 s.f. of ground floor retail, 326 apartment units, 10 town houses, and a rooftop pool.

Although William C. Smith & Co's affiliated WCS Construction team will handle the main contracting of the building at 2 M Street NE, W. Christopher Smith, Jr. pledged a 40% CBE (designated "local" business enterprise) goal at a July Northwest One public round table.

DC Council Ponders Major Land Disposition

The DC Council hosted a roundtable Wednesday evening to thoughtfully ponder Disposition Approval Resolutions of 5 major developments planned across the city and give residents a chance to air concerns. Officially held to determine whether the city-held land was "surplus" - in lay terms, unneeded and salable - and whether or not selling them would benefit the city and the surrounding community in real terms (jobs, quality of life, etc.). Below is an abbreviated (luckily for you) roundup of the evenings discussions:

1. Minnesota-Benning Phase 2 Redevelopment: As previously reported Donatelli Development and Blue Skye Development won the bid to develop low-income housing and retail space adjacent to the Minnesota Avenue metro station. Panel members described the property as blighted, vacant and underused. Cheryl Cort of the Coalition for Smarter Growth disagreed with statements that the space was underutilized and also argued for a public easement and right of way, requesting that a segment of the property not be developed in case of future transportation demands. Councilmember Kwame Brown (at-large) described development as a way to "bring the city together."

2. New Communities Northwest One: By far the most contentious property of the evening was the site of the former Temple Courts Apartments. Arguments against the land, now used as a parking lot as developers work through the tangles of DC government, included ANC Commissioner Keith Silver's, who submitted a thesis-sized objection, and community members' claims that during Phase1 the developer failed to meet hiring standards requiring that 51% of jobs be given to DC residents. Chris Smith, Jr., Chairman and CEO of William C. Smith & Company, who disclaimed involvement in Phase1, promised to make good on employment promises in Phase2. But some Council members wagged fingers at Smith for having failed to interact directly with local ANCs while assuring community members of Smith's strong standing in the development community. The only change was the decision to build each of 5 buildings in separate phases to improve financing; i.e. former residents will have a long wait until they can return to their new homes.

3. Strand Theatre- It was a big night for Ward 7, with 3 of the 5 projects coming to the ward. The panel, including developers and community members, voiced overwhelming support for the Strand Theatre revitalization and redevelopment project. Council members asked the necessary questions to afford political cover, but there was little contention over the project.

4. Eastern Avenue Property - We previously wrote about ODMPED's call for plans to redevelop properties located at 400-414 Eastern Avenue, NE and the 6100 block of Dix Street NE. The selected plan will offer 56 affordable for sale units - all be 3-bedroom townhouses, something the community supports enthusiastically. Mary Cheeks, a Ward 7 resident, stepped up to opine that "this property has sat vacant for too long...it is time to move forward..." Council members were particularly impressed by the approximately $3.5 million dollar investment that would yield so much housing. Councilman Brown remarked on the millions of dollars being discussed among the projects and remarked over the efficient use of city resources, "I like that," he said. Enough said.

5. Fourth/Sixth and E. Street, S.W.: We reported on the intial appointment of Potomac Investment Properties, City Partners and Adams Investment Group, to redevelop land currently occupied by a fire station and a parking lot. A 9-story building will replace that former fire stationa and house a cafe and work site for DC Central Kitchen, and possibly even a stationery store, wine store and coffee shop. The property is currently planned as a 99-year lease, largely due to the presence of the district's fire station. Council member Tommy Wells (Ward 6), concerned about financing, advised John Holmes of Adams Investment Group that the "stakes are raised" on the project. To paraphrase, "don't screw this up."

DC Makes Way for Northwest One

Mayor Adrian Fenty called a press conference in NoMa today to the showcase the demolition of the Temple Courts housing project – an abandoned housing complex that stands at the future site of the William C. Smith & Co. and Jair Lynch Development Partners’ mixed-use Northwest One project. The housing project was purchased by the District in 2007, after years of concerns about the poor educational and medical conditions for residents, as well as an escalating crime rate.

“To most people, this is the site of housing that has long been of condition that is unfit and unsuitable for residents of the District of Columbia, our own neighbors,” said Fenty. “Northwest One [will be]…the first place where you’ll have new communities with all different levels of housing and all different income levels – mixed with great retail, great community centers and great schools.”

The Northwest One project will bring $700 million worth of new development to a five-block chunk of the NoMa corridor – an initiative that will include the construction of 1600 new residential units, 200,000 square feet of office space, 40,000 square feet of ground-level retail and a one-acre public park. The District has pledged that nearly 25% of the on-site housing (570 units) will be reserved as affordable – an amount that Executive Director of the District of Columbia Housing Authority, Michael Kelly, assured the public would be “one-for-one replacement” of all affordable housing lost in demolition. The 172 families initially displaced by the closing of Temple Court were relocated at city expense and will be offered new units in the completed Northwest One complex.

“Today, we're celebrating the demolition of what is –without any kind of exaggeration – a symbol of isolation and socio-economic despair,” said Kelly. “In its place…will be a vibrant mixed-income neighborhood. A neighborhood that will have the lawyer next to the school teacher next to the welfare recipient – and from the outside you can’t tell who’s who.”

Fenty said that he expects a groundbreaking ceremony to be scheduled for early 2010 with construction expected to wrap up the following year. The Temple Court site is the second component of Northwest One currently in some phase of development – the $47 million Walker Jones complex (which includes a 100,000 square foot elementary and middle school) is currently under construction and is scheduled to be open by next August, just in time for the 2009-2010 school year.

Washington DC retail and commercial real estate news

Northwest One Unfolds

On Monday, DC finally began work on the Northwest One site, the ambitious but still conceptual site located across the street from NoMa, on the northwest side of North Capitol Street. DC Mayor Adrian Fenty initiated the first groundbreaking of Northwest One by commencing demolition of Terrell Junior High School, at 1000 1st St. NW, making space for a new $47 million mixed use facility including a new school, library, and recreation center. The Northwest One site is bounded on the east by North Capitol, on the west by New Jersey Ave., and on the south by K Street. The District, through Forrester Construction, will replace the junior high and the distressed Sursum Corda and Temple Courts housing projects, which haven't been doing much to bring up property values in the neighborhood.

The next stage of development will be to demolish Temple Court, which the District bought last summer and has begun relocating tenants in anticipation of tearing down the building this summer; both housing projects remain mostly occupied at this point. Ordinarily, the District would build replacement housing before evacuation of existing subsidized housing, but according to Sean Madigan of DC's Office of Planning, the condition of the projects is "so bad" that the Fenty administration decided to purge and demolish immediately.

The District currently owns most of the entire development site, part of which was acquired when it took control of and disbanded NCRC last year; the remainder is owned by the DC Housing Authority. Late last year, the District selected One Vision Development Partners, a joint venture between William C. Smith, Jair Lynch, Banneker Ventures, and CPDC, as its development partner for the entire project. Details of the project - both the scope of development and compensation to the development team - have yet to be finalized, but the team has proposed the construction of more than 1,600 new apartments, condos and townhouses priced for mixed-income buyers and renters, as well as a 21,000-s.f. clinic, about 40,000 s.f. of retail and 220,000 s.f. of office space. According to Madigan, an increase in density and the "right mix" will be crucial to the success of the project. Once the administration comes to an agreement with the developer, the project will be placed on the lap of the city Council for approval.

Immediately replacing Terrell Junior High will be the Walker Jones school, library, recreation center and athletic fields, a project that Mayor Fenty described as being "a first-class facility from top to bottom." "If we are to expect excellence from our students we've got to provide great facilities that promote an integrated environment for learning," Fenty added Monday during his on-site speech. According to the Office of Planning and Economic Development, Walker Jones will be one of the first new schools constructed during Fenty's reign, and it will be ready, says he, in time for the kick-off of the 2009 school year. The new Walker Jones will house 100,000 s.f. of classroom, a 20,000-s.f. community recreation center and a 5,000-s.f. library along with some new playgrounds and sports fields. The entire project is expected to meet the District's green building standards.

The complete project is said to be in the ballpark of $700 million in new development. After production of the new school and its amenities, the District will then focus on the new housing, of which a third will be market rate, a third will be affordable, and a third will serve as workforce, some of which will serve as replacement housing for current residents. Madigan referenced NPR's recent decision to build its new facilities across the street from the site as "a huge vote of confidence for Northwest One."