Delivering on Promises in Ward 8

A previously stalled residential project in Ward 8's Barry Farm community is one step closer to realization. The 99-unit Matthews Memorial Terrace was scheduled to begin construction earlier this year, but economic constraints delayed the promised affordable housing. Now, however, the developers are seeking general contractors and hope to begin construction in the new year. The planned development would bring four stories of affordable rental units to Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. next to the Matthews Memorial Baptist Church, which owns the property (and runs a surprisingly hip website). Developer Community Builders (TCB) along with the Church received final zoning approval for the PGN Architects-designed project in May 2009. The construction would mean jobs and new housing for part of DC hardest hit by the current downturn.

The 79,000 s.f. of affordable housing will provide 32 units of senior housing (1 bedrooms, 1 bedrooms plus den and 2 bedrooms), 34 units of multi-family and individual public housing (most of which will likely go to residents displaced by the Barry Farm redevelopment), and 33 units of affordable housing for individuals and families earning less than 60% AMI. Of the four stories, one will be below grade. Donna Freeman from Matthews Memorial Baptist Church indicated the site currently contains a few structures which will be demolished prior to the new construction. Contractor bids for the residential project, valued at $8.5 million, are due December 14th.

The residential project will sit next to a planned community building also developed by the Church, which received approval in the same zoning process in May. The community building will include a space on the ground floor for public meetings, a second floor dining room and restaurant and non-profit uses on the third floor. The community building is not part of the current bidding process.

Washington, D.C. real estate development news.

Deanwood Swaps Abandoned Apartments for New Housing

In a continuing effort to rejuvenate poverty and crime-ridden areas, Blue Skye Development and DC Mayor Adrian Fenty moved some dirt around a 26-unit housing project at 4427 Hayes Street in Washington's Deanwood neighborhood on Wednesday, a symbolic opening for the project. Having sat vacant for nearly 15 years, the 29,000 s.f. building is now a shell, which Blue Skye has gutted and will renovate. The $5 million project is expected to deliver new homes by summer of 2010.

The District acquired the land in 2005 using federal Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grants, and has since gone through several aborted development attempts. In March of 2008, the District selected Blue Skye Development to develop the space after a competitive solicitation process. The architects for the project are PGN Architects. PNC Financial Services Group, working with Vornado/Charles E. Smith, contributed $700,000 toward the project as part of a community services benefits package tied to PNC's new downtown building’s zoning approvals. “We are committed to enhancing the quality of life in our city—not just through development downtown, but through transformational projects like this that help make our DC neighborhoods great places to live,” said Mitchell N. Schear, President of Vornado/Charles E. Smith.

These 26 new one and two-bedroom units are part of the District's New Communities Initiative, which aims to replace highly concentrated low-income neighborhoods with mixed-income neighborhoods that still protect low-income residents by offering one-for-one replacement of previous units. The Hayes Street project includes nine replacement housing units for families currently living in the Lincoln Heights/Richardson Dwellings community.

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.

Blighted Brightwood Apartments Born Again

Mayor Adrian Fenty and Ward 4 Councilmember Muriel Bowser made their second joint appearance of the week in Brightwood today, this time to announce the commencement of major renovation procedures at 6425 14^th Street, NW – a long empty, dilapidated apartment building formerly owned notorious DC landlord, Vincent Abell.

"After essentially two decades of inactivity, frustration and blight…the District of Columbia government finally seized control of the property [in 2008]," said Fenty. "Don’t forget, it had been owned by countless private sector landlords [and] slum lords…People who just had no interest at all in making this the type of fantastic residential apartment building that it was once was and that it will be again.”

To that effect, the District has teamed with Blue Skye Development to repurpose the now-gutted apartment complex for the Tewkesbury Condominiums - a 30,000 square foot, 26-unit condo building that will, according to the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, be comprised of 51% affordable housing.

“We want to promote home ownership,” Deputy Mayor Neil Albert told DCmud of the decision to make the building a for-sale property for the first time in its fifty plus years of existence. “It was originally conceived as a condo project and we were able to get financing for it. Again, there’s a level of affordability that’s going into this building. It’s not a luxury condo building…It’s easier to get that financed than your mid-level and high-priced condos”

Purchased by the DC government early last year for $3 million, after filing suit against its owner for “numerous building code violations,” the total cost of the renovation will come in at $4.6 million. New amenities slated for the complex, as outlined by PGN Architects, include “a community room, roof deck, energy-efficient aluminum windows...as well as outdoor spaces directly behind the building.” With selective demolition already underway inside the complex, the development is scheduled to be open by March 2010 – a full year later than the District initially anticipated when they acquired the property.

“[These] haven’t been easy projects. The reason some of these projects have taken a long time is because there’s a lot of trouble and legal trouble that the city’s been dealing with,” said Muriel Bowser of the numerous concurrent, affordable housing initiatives under way in her ward. “But this administration has taken a ‘can do’ approach. Not 'we can’t,' not 'we won’t,' but that we’ll figure out how to get it done.”

Fenty and Bowser teamed-up earlier these week to oversee demolition at 3910 Georgia Avenue, NW, future site of the 130-unit Georgia Commons project, and for the opening of the Neighborhood Development Company's Residences at Georgia Avenue in March.

SE Church Bringing Affordable Housing to Barry Farm

Prominent Ward 8 church Matthews Memorial Baptist has partnered with developer Community Builders (TCB) to expand their community servicing mandate into the realm of affordable housing. The Church – which has served the Barry Farm/Anacostia community for 85 years, boasts 1300 members, operates 60 different ministries and frequently hosts speaking engagements for local politicians such as Marion Barry - is now looking to bring a new housing project and community center to a large parcel adjoining their location at 2616 Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue, SE.

According to the Office of Planning, the 79,900 square foot site currently holds five houses and an asphalt parking lot, all of which would demolished to make way for the Matthews Memorial Terrace – a 100% affordable housing development consisting of a four-story apartment building with 100 residential units, roughly of a third of which would be reserved for seniors. Next door, a three-story community center would include a health clinic (possibly an extension of the United Medical Center – itself slated for a large-scale expansion), a community room, a bookstore/café and “a dinner room/restaurant” that, according to Bishop C. Matthew Hudson, Jr., would be “Ward 8’s second full-service sit-down restaurant.” The project is being designed by PGN Architects.

“Upon learning of my desire for the Church to provide affordable housing, Community Builders contacted me and we discussed the possibility of building…on the Matthews Memorial Baptist campus,” said Hudson at a March 5^th Zoning Commission hearing. “The partnership between the Church and TCB is represented a good match to obtain our mutual goals of creating a vibrant, mixed-use affordable rental community.”

Though still in the planning stages, organizations and individuals, including the ANC 8A, the ANC 8C, the Ward 8 Business Council, the Anacostia Coordinating Council and DC City Council members Marion Barry and Kwame Brown, have all voiced their support for the project. The next step in the approval process for the Matthews Memorial Terrace lies with the National Capital Planning Commission, which will review the development team’s proposal at their May 7^th meeting. And it looks be a straight shot, given the altruistic nature of the project.

“[The Church] continuously works to revitalize and rehabilitate the Anacostia community,” said Hudson. “The Church’s goal in pursuing this project is to allow it to further serve the community which we love and are an integral part of…I’m very proud of the many ways in which the new Matthews Memorial Terrace will be able to assist Anacostia…as it continues to grow, revitalize, [and] redevelop itself for the future.”

"Home Again" Hones in on LeDroit Park

Seven years and a new mayor later, the Vacant and Abandoned Housing Initiative is still flush with properties for redevelopment. Established by former Mayor Anthony Williams in 2002, the initiative – better known to the public as “Home Again” – was tasked with converting “vacant and abandoned buildings into quality, affordable homes.” Now, two years after being awarded a bundle of unoccupied LeDroit Park properties, aptly-titled DC developer, the Neighborhood Development Company (NDC), is gearing up to begin work on the first installment of their “Home Again” redevelopment projects at 1915 6^th Street, NW.

Currently a vacant lot straddled by several historic LeDroit Park homes, NDC is aiming to reinvigorate the long vacant parcel with a new three-story “historicist” condominium development. Designed by PGN Architects, the building will outwardly appear to be a brick townhouse with “a rusticated base, precast accents and wood windows” and measure in at 1,300 square feet. The project is currently scheduled to begin construction in July 2009 - after missing the mark last September. NDC previously accrued the approval of both the LeDroit Park Civic Association and Historic Preservation Review Board in summer of 2008.

Diminutive though it may be, the 1915 6^th project is just the first of ten “Home Again” properties under the control of NDC; next up for development will be duel derelict structures, just outside of LeDroit proper, at 902 and 904 T Street, NW. In all, NDC plans to squeeze 22 units – 4 of which of will be priced at affordable housing rates – out of their LeDroit Park lemons.

Washington DC commercial real estate news

Market-Rate Housing Coming to W Street SE

Stan Voudrie is bringing a new crop of residential development to Southeast Washington DC under the guise of W Street Acquisitions, LLC, at least, someday. Come 2009, a string of underutilized properties at 1226-1252 W Street, SE will be replaced with the W Street Townhomes - an all-new 40,000 square foot project straddling the area between Historic Anacostia and Barry Farm.

The W Street development is said to include 40 units that will be comprised of a combination of larger, single-family townhomes and duplex-style units that double as condominiums. In an unusual move for a Ward 8 project, the W Street Townhomes will feature no affordable housing component. According to developer Voudrie, "It was a by-right project, so it’s market-rate housing." PGN Architects is supplying designs for the project.

Having already received approval from the requisite ANC and HPRB bodies exactly one year ago, the developer is biding his time before beginning the anticipated $3.5 million construction. “We’ve gotten it approved, but we’re not going to start construction right now,” said Voudrie. “With final design, permitting and all that, we’ll be ready to start construction in late first quarter 2009.”

It should also be noted that Voudrie, formerly of West*Group, is a principal of Four Points LLC – a DC-based initiative that plans to bring 1.6 million square feet of new development – including 500 units of housing - to the area of Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue SE. Plans for that project aren’t expected to begin materializing until 2010, but W Street could be a first foray into testing the waters in an area that is at-once both troubled and ripe for redevelopment.

Lower Georgia Housing Project Approved

The DC Council today voted unanimously to give the final affirmation to Park Morton, the mixed-use, mixed housing development on lower Georgia Avenue that will replace 174 units of well worn public housing with 477 units of "moderate density" newer housing, both subsidized and market.

Park Morton had been originally sponsored by Councilmember Jim Graham back in 2006, and the Council had approved an additional $3m for the project only last December, going only a small way toward the estimated $157m the project will cost. A host of contributors has already been selected to realize the city's vision, including DC-based development firm Banneker Ventures, nationally renowned environmental consulting firm Circlepoint, and design firms PGN Architects and WDG Architecture.

The project, sitting on the east side of Georgia Avenue and the south side of Park Road, had been noted by the District in several studies as encompassing "severe poverty" lacking basic amenities, though the project's planners did not include a retail element, relying instead on the slow accretion of retail on Georgia Avenue to service the new homeowners. But don't call your real estate agent just yet, development is not likely to start until at least late this year, and take an estimated nine years to complete.

Georgia (and Low Income Housing) on My Mind

A pair of District agencies are planning to redevelop a strip of Georgia Avenue just south of the Metro Station as part of a "New Communities Initiative." The partnership between the Office of Planning and Economic Development (OPED) and the District of Columbia Housing Authority (DCHA) seeks to develop the Park Morton community in Ward 1. Last week, the Office of Planning publicly considered a draft of the plan which proposes to broadly (and drastically) change the economic environment of the Park Morton area, a section of the Park View neighborhood located in between Georgia Avenue and Warder Street. The community response was unanimous in support for the draft that includes a compendium of objectives: protect affordable housing in the community, improve economic integration, decrease crime, replace publicly subsidized units, create workforce and market-rate housing opportunities, create better jobs, education, training, human services and other programs for the community; no word on whether it will solve our dependence on foreign oil.

The process for redeveloping Park Morton began in February 2006, when designated as a development site by a Council resolution. Despite a flood of new development over the past seven years, the Park Morton area is still beleaguered with areas of severe poverty that lack the fundamental elements of a healthy community. Park Morton, an area where only about 40% of residents own their homes and the median household income is roughly $45,000, was thereby recognized as a possible site for a New Communities program, a public entity described as a "comprehensive partnership to redevelop the physical and human architecture of neighborhoods characterized by violent crime and poverty," according to the District's CFO, Natwar M. Gandhi.

The overarching goal is to create mixed-income communities with "integrated services that offer...better housing, employment and educational opportunities," according to the draft plan. Their vision for Park Morton involves the replacement of 174 new public housing units, adding social services services within the community, creating east-west connection to break down barriers that segregate communities, and forming new open space and passive park areas. The overall site plan would create a "moderate density mixed-income community of...152 replacement units, 7 homeownership units for current Park Morton residents and 317 market/workforce units for a total of 477 homes," according to the draft.

The plan notes a lack of retail and office space in the general area, yet points out that although demand is high, Park Morton would not serve as the ideal commercial space for consumers. 53,000 s.f. of retail is in the pipeline for the Georgia Avenue corridor, with an estimated 40,000 s.f. of unmet demand remaining post-implementation. A deficient supply for office space was also found in the area, despite a 10% vacancy rate for rental office space.

The entire redevelopment window will span nine years, beginning in 2008, and is expected to cost an estimated $157 million. DCHA and OPED have an abundance of private firms collaborating on the project: DC-based development firm Banneker Ventures, nationally renowned environmental consulting firm Circlepoint, and design firms PGN Architects and WDG Architecture. Although the DC Council still needs to approve, OPED is determined to introduce the plan by the end for the month with the hopes of receiving approval by January.

HPRB Approves 13th and W Project

Today, the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) voted to approve a development plan from Four Points LLC, converting a quarter of a block of land at 13th and W Streets, SE, into 23, three-story townhouses (pictured above). HPRB's approval was needed because of a single historic structure on the property, "the dilapidated and fire-damaged 1242 W Street, SE" according to an HPRB staff report from September 27. The next step will require Four Points to sit before the Board of Zoning Appeals in February.

To comply with HPRB recommendations, Four Points and PGN Architects PLLC must repair the historic house and move it forward to the street-line. Developers submitted drawings that illustrate a "still more close reconstruction of the original," according to HPRB findings. In addition, HPRB instructed that the surrounding townhouses be constructed in a manner "evocative of the Victorian era" (minus widespread typhus and frilly bonnets, presumably).

In a further attempt to preserve the historic site, Four Points proposed the construction of an alley to dichotomize the block; HPRB and Four Points collaborated to create an "L shaped" alley to serve the community and still maintain a historic feel, a characteristic of the historic area, especially within commercial blocks. That proposal has subsequently been approved by HPRB.

While the details are still being worked out, Four Points will continue to work alongside the Office of Planning to maintain historical accuracy. The February Board of Zoning Appeals hearing will review the lot width requirements for each of the 23 structures.