New Apartment and Safeway for Downtown Wheaton Gets Going Today

Fall brings more change to downtown Wheaton, as today marks the start of construction of The Exchange at Wheaton, 486 apartments in a 17-story building and 60,000-s.f. anchor-tenant Safeway on Georgia Avenue. Groundbreaking, by Foulger-Pratt, will occur at 10 am today on Patriot Realty's "Wheaton Safeway" redevelopment that will create a transit-oriented development directly across from the Wheaton Metro. Designed by Baltimore-based architecture firm Hord Coplan Macht, the new building has the appearance of three individual towers of concrete and glass connected at the center. 

Safeway shoppers will use an underground parking garage, and apartment residents have three levels of parking above the store. A cutback in the massing in between each tower allows for a fifth-floor courtyard above the residential parking garage. The new Safeway will open for business in 2013, and will be followed by several other retailers at the location: a Starbucks, SunTrust, and a Bergman’s Drycleaners. Developers originally intended to break ground early this spring, which puts the project only modestly behind schedule, not a bad achievement, all things considered. 

Maryland real estate development news

Riverfront Area South of the Ballpark: Out With the Old, Nothing New Until 2013

Just south of the Nationals stadium, one of the last remnants of the area's industrial past will soon fall, making way for 1.1 million s.f. of residential, office, retail and public access to the riverfront. Despite the progress, the wait time for new apartments, condos, restaurants, shops and water features continues to increase, with construction likely pushed back to 2013, at least.

The development team behind the long imagined mixed-use RiverFront on the Anacostia, located along the unit block of Potomac Avenue, SE, in the Capitol Riverfront area, asserts that the project is moving forward, albeit slowly due to the decision to deliver a residential building in the first phase, and not office space, as the PUD currently allows.

David deVilliers, president of Florida Rock Properties, the project developer and wholly owned subsidiary of land owner Patriot Transportation Holding Inc., confirmed that the first phase switch - announced this summer - is still being pursued, and that an informal process is currently ongoing in order to prepare a formal filing with the Office of Zoning to rezone the PUD in the "next 30 to 60 days."

deVilliers said he hopes Zoning will be "quick" to approve the request, but he is realistic about the time required to pursue the market-driven change. After approval, if granted, construction drawings will take approximately 9 months, followed by the several-month-long permitting process, resulting in construction likely to begin in 2013.

Meanwhile, the defunct concrete plant - Florida Rock - currently on site will be razed in the coming months. Activity at the plant wound down in mid-September, and a raze permit was issued last week, allowing demolition to begin, to be followed by environmental remediation.

In the year-long interim, the site could be used for something, but just what remains to be seen. Ted Skirbunt with the Capitol Riverfront BID acknowledged that while there probably won’t be any use before next summer, the BID has, and continues, to discuss potential uses with MRP and FRP.

Coinciding with the July announcement of the rezoning pursuit, was disclosure that local Midatlantic Realty Partners LLC, (MRP), founded by Fred Rothmeijer, came on board to partner with Florida Rock Properties on the stalled development, bringing with it $4.5 million in capital. Due to previous difficulty securing financing for the project - conception of which dates back to the '90s - the PUD was given a two-year time extension in 2009.

deVillers added that the partnership with MRP, under the leadership of Rothmiejer, is going well and the team is "fully engaged" in the project and committed to moving forward with the rezoning process, soon.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Montgomery County Planning Board Gives Wheaton Safeway Go-Ahead

Create a landscaped terrace and art installment, or fork over nearly a million dollars to County Planners: thanks to a Montgomery County Planning Board ruling last Thursday, developers at Patriot Realty will do both. Last spring a "favorable" staff report concerning Patriot's mixed-use "Wheaton Safeway" redevelopment proposal across from the Wheaton Metro questioned whether their efforts to satisfy the "20 percent public amenity requirement" was satisfactory. Apparently not quite, as the Planning Board gave developers the green light to move forward with the plans for the 50,000 s.f. Safeway and 17-story apartment complex, but required that Patriot contribute $961,161 to a public amenity fund in addition to its proposed public terrace. But pay to play seems

de rigueur, as Patriot and local urbanists are just happy the large-scale, transit-oriented project is finally moving forward.

Designed by Baltimore-based architecture firm Hord Coplan Macht, the new building will shoot what appears to be 3 vertical towers skyward, dwarfing all the other buildings in Wheaton. But the towers are simply a visual ploy to avoid the appearance of a mammoth monolith of a building, as each column is connected at the center. But the break up of the massing does succeed in this capacity, as the giant structure does not at first glance appear to be a singular integrated building. Lee Driskill, a Principal with the firm and the lead architect for the project, explains that "the skin" of the building "has been organized to have these three tower elements come to the fore." The result is not a bland block, but a "tall and elegant" building.

The 195-foot building will feature a new Safeway on street level, an underground parking garage for shoppers, a 486-unit apartment complex (60 of which will be offered as "moderately priced dwelling units"), and three levels of residential parking above the store. A cutback in the massing in between each tower offers the luxury of a fifth-floor courtyard atop the parking garage. Here residents will be able to simply enjoy the view or take advantage of the pool, outdoor lounge area, fire pit and/or open lawn. In total, some 70 percent of the roof will be green, which is expected to assist the project in earning LEED Certification (upon completion of course). The approved 59,000 s.f. of ground-floor retail space will house not only the expanded Safeway, but also a Starbucks, SunTrust, and a Bergman’s Drycleaners (everything a Maryland suburbanite knows and loves all in one place).

Although the planned on-site, public-use terrace offered by developers only totals 7,615 s.f. and 9.9% of the net lot area (10.1% too little), Patriot will make amends for their shortcomings with a $961,161 "donation," which will assist in the redevelopment of 13,800 s.f. of off-site public green space. A public art installment also helped woo the Board into approving the proposal, as several bronze figures ranging from 14 inches to 28 inches tall will be arranged throughout the public terrace. Judy Sutton Moore, a Silver Spring artist, will craft the statues that are set to be welded to a stainless steel pole and "float, as it were, above the flowers, grasses, and shrubs in the planters." Planning Board members specified that the public statues must "avoid depicting art as a commercial expression of Safeway-life."

But before the meandering grocery shoppers can enjoy cute puppy statues, the public amenity funds must be released into the escrow account, demolition and building permits must be secured, and 17 stories of concrete and glass must be amassed; with Board approval at last in had, developers will look to keep things moving as construction is set to commence by early Spring of next year.

Washington D.C. Real Estate Development News

Wheaton Considers 18-Story Metro Development

Plans are finally taking shape in Wheaton to replace the existing Safeway and add as much as 500 residential units worth of new neighbors. The Safeway, across the street from the Wheaton Metro, dropped the idea of relocating to the AvalonBay development (a project now on hold) last fall and began working with developer Patriot Realty, creating concepts that are now starting to gel. New plans call for doubling the supermarket's size, adding retail and parking, and building an 18-story residence in three towers. The newly developed, LEED-certified Safeway will displace the box building and large parking lot opposite the Metro entrance, adding retail, residences and 550 parking spaces to downtown Wheaton. Initial designs insert 140 parking spaces below grade that will service retail customers and 411 residential spaces on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th floors, accommodating residents. In an effort to hide the three-story garage between the retail and residences, the team plans to cover the garage in a skin that "fits in and doesn't necessarily look like a parking structure," according to Steven A. Robins, Patriot Realty’s attorney from Lerch Early & Brewer. Hord Coplan Macht is the Baltimore-based architecture firm planning the new building and designing the common spaces. 

Lee Driskill, a Principal with the firm and the lead architect for the project, says the mid-level garage will be blended almost seamlessly with the exterior of the upper floors. "The goal is to make the 3 levels of the garage meld with the design of the building. You will not see it." At least not from south or west, where most of the traffic runs. "This is still very conceptual, but its not going to be an open garage. The goal will be to make [the exterior walls] look integrated, potentially the majority of it will be glass. It will follow the design of the unit openings above" says Driskill. Ventilation will be likely achieved with screens on the less visible north and east sides. According to Driskill, the overall strategy is to break the massing along Georgia Avenue, separating the design into 3 vertical towers that are more apparent than actual, since structurally it will comprise one integrated, "tall and elegant" building. "The skin has been organized to have these three tower elements come to the fore." Though the county's Staff Report was largely favorable, controversy remains over the public space, an issue that could cost the developer $1m. Montgomery County requires a developer to either set aside 20% of the lot as public space, or contribute to a fund to purchase off-site space. In their review, county planners found little value in Patriot's planned outdoor space and "suggested" adjustments that removed it, a change that would effectively require Patriot Realty to buy into the off-site fund. At $35 per square foot, based on the assessed value of the land, that would cost Patriot $960,000. The modification irks Patriot, which blames county planners for the change, but, according to Robins, "it's just a question of how much it costs...and just figuring out how to pay for the land; whether its the land value or the cost of improvements." Its only money. The Wheaton Safeway development will face Preliminary and Project Plan Review this week where the Planning Board will consider the "favorable" staff report, said Robins. After that, "we still have to get Site Plan approval...hopefully we could begin construction early next year." The county will take up the issue at its next meeting on Thursday. Patriot previously built 8045 Condominiums, Crescent Condominiums, and the Portico apartment building, all in Silver Spring. 

Wheaton Maryland commercial real estate development news

Wheaton Plans Rearranged

Ask anyone involved in Montgomery County's Wheaton Redevelopment Program (WRP) and you will hear how the new Wheaton Safeway will lie at the heart of the County's pedestrian-friendly, retail-oriented vision. And it will, though the original plans to include it in the AvalonBay development are now defunct with Safeway opting to renovate the current location and add up to 18 stories of residential. More of a challenge than the developers of Avalon at Wheaton were bargaining for, the project is now on hold, much to the surprise of county officials. Just when Wheaton's development was at risk of becoming ho-hum, the county has stepped in with its own share of development melodrama rife with project delays, excess residential units and a fickle Safeway.

Having cornered the market on apartment complexes from Bethesda to McLean, the Alexandria-based AvalonBay developers set their sights on a new Wheaton community. With County approval, the $100 million, mixed-use Avalon at Wheaton community at the corner of Blueridge and Georgia Avenue, the site of the former BB&T building, was to include the newly revamped, state-of-the-art Safeway. The residential portion of the Avalon project is designed by SK&I. That was before Safeway began working with developer Patriot Realty. Now, the Wheaton Safeway, a joint venture between Patriot and Safeway, will more than double its 23,000 s.f. store while remaining at the same 11201 Georgia Avenue spot.

According to Steven A. Robins, Patriot Realty’s attorney from Bethesda- based law firm Lerch Early & Brewer, keeping the Safeway in its original location made good sense as “Safeway already owns the land.” And because the current Safeway is situated across from the Wheaton Metro at what Robins describes as “the Ground Zero so to speak [of the Wheaton Redevelopment Plan],” it will be conveniently incorporated into the new pedestrian-friendly promenades designated in the WRP's plans. The group is looking for approvals as soon as possible for their Safeway project. “We’d like to be under construction within the next 18 months,” Robins tells DCMud.

Robins explained that Patriot's newly developed Safeway will be LEED certified in accordance with Montgomery County standards, and will include 57,500 s.f. of retail, 140 underground parking spaces for Safeway customers, upwards of 500 apartment units on top of that, and additional 411 residential parking spaces. The Wheaton store will resemble DC’s 14-story City Vista Safeway at 5th & K Streets NW. The architects for the Wheaton store are Hord Coplan Macht.

So what’s to become of the Avalon at Wheaton Community without its intended anchor? And really, will there be a market for the hundreds of extra AvalonBay apartment units now that Patriot Realty is adding upwards of 18-stories of rental units across from the Metro?

When asked about their future Avalon at Wheaton plans, AvalonBay spokesman, Adam Davis replied by email explaining that the Wheaton development “is still in our pipeline,” but “has been delayed for the foreseeable future.” He added that 2011 might be a more realistic year than 2010 for construction to begin on any new Avalon at Wheaton community.

When Rob Klein, Director of Wheaton's Redevelopment, was presented with news of AvalonBay's delays, he commented that the delayed status was "new to him." According to Peter McGinnity, WRP Business Development & Intergovernmental Program Manager, as far as their staff knows, the AvalonBay project "is moving forward," and they were under the impression that AvalonBay planned to "increase the number of apartment units and include less ground floor retail" now that the Safeway was out of the picture.

Portico Nears Full Occupancy in Silver Spring

Patriot Realty’s Portico project in downtown Silver Spring – since rebranded as the Portico at Silver Spring Metro – appears to be doing solid business in a housing market gone kaput. The AR Meyers and Associates-designed building at 1203 Fiddler Lane usurped what had been a long vacant parcel whose only claim to fame was being straddled by Cuban and Scottish (MacDonald’s) restaurants. Now, since opening its doors to the public on November 15^th of last year, the 12-story building once planned as a condo is succeeding in its conversion to rental units.

According to the Portico leasing office, 82% of the building’s 151-units are now occupied. Of course, that could be chalked up to the fact that they’re offering two months free rent to tenants (how’s that for an amenity), but could also have to do with timing. In the two years since Patriot broke ground on the Portico, other Silver Spring projects once pursuing similar timelines – 1050 Ripley, Midtown Silver Spring and the Transit Center Towers, to name a few – have seen their timelines extended ad infinitum as developers struggle to secure financing.

That’s left a big hole in Silver Spring urbanista-friendly housing market that Patriot has seemingly filled with flourishes like in-house billiard and yoga rooms, a wireless internet lounge and a mini-theater that screens movies and sporting events. Plus it’s a block from the Metro – an advertising point so strong that the developer renamed the project after it.

Rents in the Portico are currently starting at $1550. Patriot Realty did not respond to DCmud’s inquiries concerning the project.

Silver Spring commercial real estate news

Portico Condo Springs to Life

With excavation mostly complete, construction is getting ready to begin on the Portico, a new condominium in the center of Silver Spring. The 151-unit building had long been planned for the vacant lot on Fidler Lane, between Cubano's restaurant and McDonald's, but was halted when neighbors in an adjacent new development complained (typical) about the density and parking. The Patriot Group purchased in the land in 2003, anticipating starting prices to be around $200k, but the controversy slowed the project and the developer eventually agreed to sell the pre-construction plans to Centex. Centex in turn pulled the plug on most of its urban projects, including the Portico, as well as Scene (Arlington), 1200 East-West Highway (Silver Spring), Pavilions at Huntington Metro (Alexandria), and Pavilions at Takoma Metro (DC).

The project has been approved by the county and excavation is now underway, the Patriot Group anticipates completion in late 2009. Located just a short walk to the Metro in Silver Spring's central business district, the new condo is being designed by Silver Spring-based AR Meyers & Associates as entirely residential, no retail, which the developer states is prohibited by zoning code.

Silver Spring commercial real estate news

Converting Truckstops to Townhomes - $300 Million Mixed-Use project Coming to Laurel?

Back when dcmud was still running around in knickers (it was the ‘80s – fashion victims all), we spent a year or so living in Laurel MD, just miles north of the Beltway along Route 1 in Price George’s County, but miles (and years) away from the developing mini-city it has recently become (plenty of farms were still around then). The latest major development involving Laurel now arrives via DC-based Patriot Group, which is hoping to build a $300 million mixed-use community on the 10-acre site of a former trucking terminal, located just east of Route 1 at Marshall Avenue and Staggers Road. In late June, Patriot Group submitted a conceptual development plan to the city, the first step in an approval process that might not be completed until 2009. (Those interested in this project should note that there will be a community forum this week (August 1, 7 pm at Laurel City Hall) to discuss the plan.) The developer envisions erecting seven buildings (ranging in height from five to 20 stories) that would feature 1,208 residential units and over 140,000 sf of office space. If all approvals are met, construction will begin in 2009, with project completion slated for 2017.