Rosslyn's Subsidized Residential Tower

Affordable housing developer APAH is finalizing the exterior of Queens Court, a 249 unit apartment building built exclusively for subsidized housing.  The residential tower replaces 39 subsidized garden-style apartments, and will be restricted to those making 80% or less of the area medium income, with set-asides for those making as low as 40% of the AMI.

Arlington acquired the 1-acre hilltop site in 1995, and broke ground in April of 2019 with a projected cost of $80m for the project.  The 12-story building on the western edge of Rosslyn will have views over the Potomac River and Georgetown University

Project:  Queens Court

Address:  1801 N Quinn St., Arlington, VA, 22209

Developer:  APAH

Architect:  KGD Architecture

Design: Oculus

Construction:  Donohoe Construction

Use:  100% dedicated affordable housing

Expected Completion:  Winter 2020/2021

Washington D.C. retail and real estate development news

Penrose Square Town Center in Arlington is Under Way

Carbon Thompson Development, the Herndon- and Dallas-based developer, has donated a parcel equal to approximately half the area of the Penrose Square open space plaza as part of an agreement with Arlington County to emphasize the creation of usable public space along what is being conceived as three miles of pedestrian-friendly commercial boulevard. When finished, the $80 million, 4-acre Penrose Square mixed-use development at Columbia Pike and S. Barton St. will include 299 rental units, 30,000 SF of retail, including restaurants and retail, a new 47,000 s.f. "flagship" Giant grocery store, and 700 parking spaces, mostly underground. Site owner B.M. Smith chose Carbon Thompson, which started construction in June when it demolished Adams Square and began the two-year construction project. with financing from Wachovia Bank, RBS Citizens. Foulger-Pratt Construction of Rockville is the general contractor and Heffner Architects PC of Alexandria the designer of the buildings. "We went through the form-based code process with two architects. One focused on residential and the other on the retail portion of the design. Ultimately, we went with Heffner Architects because they have experience in both types of development," reported Jim Mertz of Carbon Thompson.

The project took advantage of the Columbia Pike Form Based Code, which is optional to developers, but significantly reduces the public review process for getting projects approved. An appointed citizen group and county officials drafted the code collaboratively. They outlined measures for regulating the location of the building site; architectural standards, including building materials, facade design, placement and appearance of windows, doors and parapets; building envelope standards, which specify building height by stories rather than floor-to-floor height; and streetscape standards, which regulate public right-of-way elements like sidewalk width, treescape, civic plazas and open space. There were no stylistic specifications in the code. Although the project conforms to the form-based code, because there was no provision for a grocery store in the zoning regulation, Penrose Square had to resubmit for approval as a 4.1 site plan project. A minor detour, the site plan submittal process ensures that the development is mindful of its neighbors during the construction process and allows for the demolition of existing structures, foundation setting, ground-level garage permitting and building construction approvals in stages.

"Form-based codes allow for greater development density. The point of this development was to spur economic growth and activity along Columbia Pike. The county spent four years meeting with citizens determining what they wanted it to be," said Mertz.

Penrose Square is located within walking distance of the already completed Halstead and Sienna Park developments. The town center at Penrose will be easily accessible to both drivers and those who prefer to walk, but overall, the area will function like a walkable community.

Penrose Square: The Open Space Plan

When Penrose Square is complete, you will be able to experience monolithic radio communication in the heart of Arlington County's Columbia Pike revitalization corridor. Last July, DC Mud wrote a story on The Virginia Department of Transportation's plans to link key locations along the Columbia Pike zoning district via streetcar. Zeroing in on Columbia Pike between South Cleveland St. and South Barton St., imagine two sculptures carved out of white granite and about 100 feet apart oriented on a NW to SE diagonal. Each slab is poised upward and has rough, irregular edges, and each faces the hollow elliptical paraboloid concavity of the other. Designed by California sculptor Richard Deutsch in collaboration with the DC-based landscape designer OCULUS, Echo will mimic the way sound travels across radio waves. The shape and orientation of the concavities of the sculptures will be orchestrated to convey even very low amplitude sound (like a whisper) from one granite station to the other. From 1913 until 1941, a nearby site on Columbia Pike was home to three radio-communication towers - the "Three Sisters," which sent some of the first radio signals to the Eiffel Tower in Paris in 1915. Deutsch's sculpture refers to this local history at the request of the 12-member, citizen-run Working Group that the Arlington County Board put together to help conceive of the design for Penrose Square.

Less means more planning

The two-piece interactive sculpture will be set on a quadrangle with a paved central plaza, buffered with a bosque terrace feature with outdoor seating to the northeast, a bermed lawn buttressed with retaining walls to the south, a zero-depth water feature to the southeast and another smaller lawn with tree canopy and retaining walls to the west.

"We envision that people using the grocery store and adjacent buildings will be coming to the park to relax and take a break. We have designed custom, movable seating for the bosque and a fountain with 27 jets at different heights that people will be able to walk up to and touch. The space is designed to accommodate large-scale events and large crowds, as well," remarked Marjorie Salcedo, a landscape architect and project manager on Penrose.

According to the meeting minutes of a July 2008 meeting of the citizen Working Group, "The Group aimed to pursue a square that would: be scaled to relate to the adjacent buildings; form a synergy with adjacent retail shops; be flexible enough to address daily needs as well as host special events; be inclusive and welcoming to people of all ages and abilities; be oriented toward transit; provide strong visual and physical connections to Columbia Pike; offer a variety of seating opportunities; and adhere to the design guidelines for civic squares contained in the Columbia Pike Form Based Code."

The future Super Stop station, designed by Arlington County for buses, will run parallel to Columbia Pike south of the 33,000 SF plaza, which will be build in two phases. Phase I is estimated to break ground in Spring of 2011.

Florida Rock Development Reboots, Meets Resistance

With demolition of the concrete plant finally complete, RiverFront on the Anacostia, the on-again off-again Southeast waterfront mega-project is on, again - pending various hearings, presentations, meetings, and ultimate approval of some very substantial changes to the zoning application.

Developers Patriot Transportation Holding Inc. and Midatlantic Realty Partners LLC (MRP) filed a modification with the Zoning Commission last month to, among other things, modify the Phase One building from an office complex to a residential building. The proposed residential building would be nine stories tall and include up to 350 units, 286 underground parking spaces, and 300,000 square feet of gross floor area (8% of which would be set aside for affordable housing at 80% of AMI). The new filing retains the 12,500 s.f. of retail space for lease, but now wants to earmark 7,000 s.f. as "flex space" or "residential amenity space."

Last week, the Zoning Commission gave their first impressions of the new plans, and it wasn't pretty. One commissioner called it "an affront" and a "bastardization," even going so far as to suggest the developers might have to start the PUD process from square one. Another excoriated the developers from reducing the initial 80,000 s.f. of retail space to under 24,000 s.f. in the latest filing, with 7,000 of that possibly being converted to non-retail "flex space." Even the most positive board member damned the project with faint praise - characterizing it as an improvement on the original PUD, but "boring" and "simplistic." In the end, the board deferred a decision, and the next public hearing is on February 13.

The new building, designed by SK&I, is U-shaped, facing the river, with a private inner courtyard. On the east side is a planned greenspace (Anacostia Plaza) and on the west side, in between the Phase One building and the Phase Two (also residential) building, another large plaza (the Mews) that "privileges pedestrians over vehicles." The new landscape plan, by Oculus, uses the idea of "ecotone" (in the report, this is defined as "an ecological term referring to the transitional zone between two ecologies") to create an impressive stormwater management and filtration system that will both provide lush public native plant green spaces, and filter runoff. (And the Anacostia River can use all the help it can get.)

Phases II (a 262K s.f., 130-foot tall residential building), III (326K s.f., 130-foot tall office building), and IV (275K s.f., 130-foot tall hotel) are unchanged. FRP anticipates a Q2 2013 groundbreaking, with move-ins starting in Q1 2015, and everything wrapped up by that summer.

Big picture, the plan is cut from the same cloth as the plans for the Wharf and the Maryland Avenue redevelopments. (There are only so many ways to skin a cat, after all.) Much like those plans, this latest filing is hoping that their conversion of the Phase One building from office to residential "will provide the critical mass of people necessary in order to support future office and retail uses." Of course, this could take a while, which is the thinking behind the "flex space." What if they build it, but people don't come? The plan also asks for permission to use the Phase II/III/IV sites for interim projects like a farmer's market or temporary retail, rather than letting those spaces remain dormant. It's a good strategy to lure more people to the area, and can only help not just their development, but the neighborhood as a whole as it gears up to make the transition to world-class waterfront. But first, developers need to win over the Zoning Commission, which is proving to be a harder task than they may have anticipated. 

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Arlington Approves Penrose Park Contract

The Arlington County Board today voted to approve a construction contract to build a new public plaza at the recently opened Penrose Square on Arlington's Columbia Pike. The $1.6m contract had been expected, and will eventually lead to two other two other public squares on Columbia Pike as well.

Penrose Square park will include a tree-covered terrace, plaza with water feature, and pair of large stone sculptures, all sustainably designed to recapture and reuse water. The public plaza is expected to cost around $100,000 per year on operational costs, and complete by the fall of 2012. The county will spend $425,000 for the pair of sculptures that will be installed on the site next spring.

Designed by a twelve-member citizen Working Group and landscape architectural firm Oculus. The contract for construction was a sole-source bid.

Arlington, Virginia real estate development news

MRP to Begin Phase One of Washington Gateway in NoMa

MRP Realty will soon move forward with a long- awaited three-phase, 1-million-sf mixed-use project on 3 acres in northern NoMa. Matthew Robinson, Senior VP of MRP, says the $360-million project known as Washington Gateway will break ground before the end of the year, with the first phase residential and retail. The project has been planned since at least 2006, with several near starts over the past 5 years.

At the intersection of Florida and New York Avenue, NE, the Washington Gateway development team will seek financing on a rolling basis. As for now, the team is focused solely on phase one: 400 units of residential in an 11-story building with 5,200 sf of retail.

In terms of getting the first phase off the ground, all seems to be in line for MRP. An equity partner is in place, construction loans are in the works, construction (sheeting/shoring/excavation) permits have been applied for, and a building permit will be filed at the end of September, according to Robinson. One year into construction, MRP plans to start phase two, which will consist entirely of office space. Further down the road, phase three will consist of office space and a retail component.

Nearly 1 million square feet of built area in all, the three-building project consists of approximately 350,000 sf of residential, 600,000 sf of office, and 12,200 sf of retail. The original plan called for significantly less residential space - 260 units versus 400 - with the space going to a 181-room hotel - a component that was scratched due to changing market needs as perceived by the development team.

Robinson says that getting rid of the hotel component, "makes the residential building better. The additional space allows for greater residential amenities [in the form of] increased shared spaces, [including] an extensive 3,700 square foot club room, and two-story fitness center." A rooftop pool and lounge area will offer "Capitol dome views," adds Robinson.

The 11-story residential building was designed by SK&I, and will be built under general contractor Davis Construction. Construction, if underway before the end of the year, should be complete within the next two years. The two 11-story office buildings, to be included in phase two and three, were designed by Gensler. And although the same height, the grade on site varies by about 40', confirms Robinson, creating a height variation optical illusion.

The overall design of the whole Washington Gateway project is a hollowed-out glassy triangle (labeled number 3 on the map to the left), offering an inner triangle of public space, accessible by an opening on Florida Avenue. All retail will front Florida Ave; retail tenants are being pursued, though phase one will be built on spec. Retail will most likely include "neighborhood serving retail," says Robinson, including sidewalk cafes.

Also a part of the development will be a widening, and repaving of the sidewalks along both Florida and New York Avenues. New trees and street furnishings will be added, and landscape architecture design will be the work of Oculus.

"It's exciting right now in NoMa," says Robinson. Washington Gateway will be followed by Camden Property Trust's 60 L Street, NE (1 & II), located just east of the new NPR headquarters currently under construction. Camden's 60 L Street will become NoMa's largest residential building, with 730 units, if it goes through as planned.

Mill Creek Residential's NoMa West, the largest single-phase residential project in NoMa to date includes 603 apartments with a single retail store. Located north of the FedEx building (just north of Washington Gateway) the Mill Creek project broke ground in March, and aims to finish in the spring of 2014.

Several other projects with substantial residential and office space are planned for the NoMa BID, including the Bristol Group's NoMa Station (II - IV), a follow-up to One NoMa Station (400,000 sf office, and 5,000 sf retail) next door at 131 M Street. NoMa Station II-IV is a massive mixed use project to front 1st Street between M and L Streets, NE, made up of: 700,000 sf office, 50,000 sf retail, and 700 residential units.

8/30 correction: 350,000 s.f. of residential, not 290,000 s.f.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

GW Looks to Bury Law School Buildings

In 2006, Sherry Rutherford, former managing director of real estate planning and development at GWU, was quoted as saying the University's "mantra [for development] is up not out." She was referring to the strategy for increasing density on the Foggy Bottom campus in anticipation of their growing student population, without expanding beyond their current borders and encroaching on their residential neighbors, but to kick off their campus redevelopment action, GW has proposed a construction project that opts to build down and out. In 2006 the Zoning Commission approved the University's Campus Plan and First Stage zoning (PUD) for its Foggy Bottom campus. The plan laid out provisions and guidelines - how future development on the campus would play out, and also highlighted 16 specific locations fit for new construction, renovations, and improvements. The first stage plan also specified that all campus development projects henceforth would come back for a second stage PUD. Yesterday, the University applied for their first second stage PUD under the Campus Plan, and Zoning agreed to set down the hearing as a "contested case."

George Washington University intends to develop a plot of land (the northern half of Square 103) that has only recently become entirely controlled by the University (Lot 18 being the previously missing piece) through a land swap with Delta Tau Delta Fraternity. One Zoning Commission member found this selection of property, a plot of land not originally highlighted by the Campus Plan, to be "ironic." Further, the proposed development will go down, not up, by burrowing "23,281 s.f. of academic and administrative program space for the Law School" beneath the ground, along with a 392-space below-grade, four-level garage. Also going down will be several existing buildings on site, either during this initial or subsequent phases of development. While a portion of the Law School staff and administration will be relegated to a window-less, below-ground work space, the proposed development will provide the rest of the school body with "an attractive and sustainable improvement to the campus and surrounding streetscape...[that] incorporates sustainable design features intended to minimize stormwater runoff and encourage its reuse." The "attractive" surface improvements more specifically include 58 surface parking spaces, 64 covered bicycle parking spaces, and a covered entrance pavilion. The project was co-designed by architects at Perkins & Will and Shalom Baranes Associates. Wiles Mensch Corporation has undertaken civil engineering duties, and Oculus shouldered landscape-design responsibilities.

University developers intend to begin excavation of the property later this Fall, or as soon as the Zoning process allows, and expect that the construction period will last roughly 18-20 months. Phase II of this project calls for development in the skyward direction, but offering only that the project will consist of an in-fill, above ground building "which will be the subject of a future second-stage PUD application and Campus Plan application." As one can imagine, the Zoning Board expressed concern over the proposed above grade parking lot, and also voiced their wish to be better-informed about the specifics of the future above-ground developments. This and more will be discussed at the next Zoning hearing, scheduled for next month.

Clarification: In light of the accusations in the comment thread below, DCMud once again reached out to GW's Real Estate Development team in hopes of clarifying in discrepancies, this time with success. Suzy Cora of the University's development department confirmed that the factual validity of the published article is sound, and that no corrections needed to be issued. She did point out that although the words "contested case" were uttered during the set-down hearing, Board members quickly realized they could not officially classify the application as a "contested case," because no formal party has come forward in opposition yet. She also explained that the underground square footage being used for academic programming will not house staff and or administrators that sit in an office or behind desk all day, but instead for storing cataloged law journals that will be accessed by various staff and students for research purposes, only for a few hours at a time.

Washington D.C. Retail and commercial real estate news

Constitution Center: Letting the Light In, Keeping Terror Out

The $250 million renovation of Constitution Center — the block-sized, former Department of Transportation building at 7th St., SW — is inching towards the finish line. When renovation plans for the 1960s-style concrete relic began circulating five years ago, owner David Nassif Associates had three objectives for the architects and engineers at SmithGroup: Design a modern structure that will stand the test of time, retain the building’s original concrete frame, and make the building attractive to bulky federal tenants. The blast-resistant glass building incorporates federal security guidelines and boasts worker-friendly amenities like private D Street metro access, which mean SmithGroup may achieve all three when James G. Davis Construction wraps their work in November of 2009, 29 months after work began in mid 2007.

As lead architect David Varner puts it: “Maintaining the concrete frame probably saved about $60 million in construction costs and shaved about a year off the renovation.” But as far as design, “We pretty much went out of our way to invert just about every design feature of the old DOT building.” Although designed in 1969 by the architect behind the Kennedy Center and Radio Center Music Hall, Edward Durell Stone, the general consensus - at least among DOT employees - was that their old office frankly didn't measure up to general office standards. DOT employees used to describe their offices as “dark and disorienting,” according to Varner because the original building had less than 50 percent glass. That’s not a problem with Constitution Center’s floor-to-ceiling, blast-resistant glass design that ensures “no employee will be further than 45 feet from a natural light source at any time.” No federal agencies have yet signed up to move their offices to Constitution Center, but the buzz is that the owner would prefer one federal tenant with multiple departments to move in by early 2011. With 1.3 million s.f. of rentable space, a 310-seat auditorium, a 15-acre garage with a 1,500 car capacity (the largest in the city), four lobbies, and a 90,000 s.f. central courtyard, it's safe to say the future occupant will be able to stretch out in the complex that occupies the entire block between 6th, 7th, D, & E Streets. Add to its list of superlatives that the project is the largest office renovation in the country expected to receive a LEED Gold certification. Along with aesthetic improvements, a major security overhaul went into the new design of the Constitution Center complex. Garage columns are steel jacketed to guard against an ISC Level IV explosion, just for that country-Inn-kind-of-feel. And while your Beemer may be toast by that point, two separate security access points were placed at the employee-only entrance. All air-intake units and filters are located 110 feet above the ground to guard against any airborne biological attack which, we're told, tends to concentrate closer to the ground. Constitution Center even has its own filtered water supply. The major trade off? The grand central courtyard designed by the landscape architects of Oculus will, predictably, be closed to pedestrians, meaning no more public access or farmers market. But when you're talking about an office building with its own filtered water and air supply, are you really surprised? Varner explains that in a modern, secure building, the owner felt it was not feasible to keep a public courtyard. But, in an effort to maintain a solid relationship with the community, Oculus and SmithGroup designers worked to increase the outdoor green space by 700 percent, beautifying the street front for those that have to walk around it. Shedding a little sunlight on federal offices isn't such a bad idea, even if it's coming through blast-resistant glass.

Washington DC commercial real estate news

Bethesda's Battery Park Gets Recharged?

Can large condominium projects improve the aesthetics of an urban park? In the case of Bethesda's Battery Lane Urban Park, the answer may be yes. Montgomery County has approved a plan to renovate and improve the degraded Woodmont Triangle park, at the expense of local condominium developers. Planning is complete, with upgrades that will retain the general feel and facilities of Battery Park, while seeking to "enhance both active and passive recreation opportunities" within. Potential enhancements include a widened bike path, more attractive park entrances, relocation of utilities underground, a new gathering area for picnics, enlargement of the playground, and, less predictably, adding an "art and science theme into the site furnishings." Landscape architect Oculus has already prepared a detailed project plan, which the county approved, though the project would still require construction documents. The wrinkle? The $2.1m price tag for planning and construction. The initial planning documents were picked up by Polinger, Shannon and Luchs, the developer, on paper, of the nearby Rugby Condominium, a 61-unit project at 4851 Rugby Avenue that has yet to break ground, in lieu of public space amenities the developer would have been required to build. The Rugby condo developer had been rebuffed in its efforts to build a 10-story, 71-unit building to the immediate southeast of the park, but a little shrinkage (to 9 stories) and a donation for park love helped cement approval, but construction on the condo shows no signs of commencement. But that still leaves the county to come up with the remainder of the $2.1m, which, according to MNCPPC, the county is not even close to. Perhaps a few more condo projects could overcome the shortfall. Architects envision regrading the layout and replacing weed trees with native hardwoods, while removing some of the trees that block sitelines through the park. The extreme makeover also foresees acquisition of the two properties at the southern end of the park for better frontage along Rugby Avenue. Planners will likely close the park for the duration of construction, but that has yet to be determined. "The trick was to add and improve features to the park without damaging the things that people enjoy" said Justin Aff, a landscape architect with Oculus, who noted "alot of drainage issues" in the park at present. Oculus has also designed southwest waterfront metro plaza, which is in the final stage of construction. Polinger would not comment for this story.

Washington DC commercial real estate

Columbia Pike is for Squares

Because no revitalization effort is complete without open green space, the Arlington County Board approved the master plan for Penrose Square, a 33,000 s.f. square planned for Columbia Pike's Town Center last night. Designed by a twelve-member citizen Working Group and landscape architectural firm Oculus, Penrose Square is the first and largest of three squares planned for the Town Center, and will include a tree-covered terrace with movable seats and tables, public art, a centrally located paved plaza, and an interactive water fountain.

The square will be developed in two phases. Phase One, a $2.4 million endeavor, will begin construction in mid-2010 and will deliver 17,760 s.f. Phase Two will be coordinated with the redevelopment of the Fillmore Shopping Center site and will cost an additional $2 million. There is no set completion date.

The parcel was dedicated to the county by Carbon Thompson Development, which is planning a mixed-use Penrose Square development that will include a 57,000 Giant supermarket with 325 residential units above it that will be completed in 2011. The project, which was approved in 2006, will also deliver structured parking (325 retail and 400 residential spaces) and 40,000 s.f. of retail space.

Gateway On Its Way

MRP Realty is about to finish the design phase for their long awaited Washington Gateway project located at the corner of New York and Florida Avenues in NE, on the northern edge of NoMa. The 1 million-s.f. project will cost an estimated $350 million to construct, and sit atop the New York Avenue metro station. MRP closed on the purchase of the land from Greenebaum & Rose Associates in August of ’07. Designs are now 80% complete with only interior refinements remaining. The bidding phase and excavation applications will follow, with ground breaking expected in the third quarter of this year.

The project will consist of three buildings, two of which will be office towers. The northern tower - the tallest in the NoMa and Capitol area - will have about 415,000 s.f. of office space. Its sister tower to the south will have roughly 210,000 s.f. The taller building caused MRP a setback in December of 2006 when the National Capital Planning Commission objected to its height, an attribute at least in part caused by a 40 foot height difference between New York and Florida Avenues. The Zoning Commission overrode their objection (yes, they can do that) and made the final approval in February of 2007, deciding to measure the building's height from New York Avenue, although the foundation for the building will be poured on the Florida Avenue level. This allows MRP an extra three stories, making the Washington Gateway more visible to those entering NoMa from New York Avenue - a rare coup for height in our two-dimensional city.

The opposite side of the site features a "T" shaped building, housing a 180-room hotel and a 260-unit apartment tower, of which 8% of the units will be reserved for affordable housing. The rental units will feature 'condo level' finishes like granite counter tops and undermount sinks. A public central plaza will connect each building.

Washington Gateway will also give commuters and residents easy access to the New York Avenue Metro and the Metropolitan Branch Bike Trail. The three-story glass Bicycle Atrium will provide bike storage, lockers, refreshments, trail and neighborhood maps, and an automated bike pump.

MRP is teaming up with Gensler Architecture as master planner and designer of the commercial office buildings. SK&I Architectural Design Group is working on the residential building and hotel while Oculus is planning the plaza and streetscape design.

According to Gensler's Michael Patrick, Washington Gateway "extends the urban grid of NoMA from the south into what was an abandoned and isolated eyesore, and creates a great urban space in a plaza with first class materials."

"The residential building cantilevers an energetic volume of triangular glass which will capture and frame the view for those eastbound on either Avenue. The residential tower and south office building create a ceremonial entry from NoMA, with the office building's plaza facade articulated in high detail of stone, glass and metal to set the tone for the Class A office space inside," Patrick added.

Completion of Washington Gateway is expected in the fall of 2010.