Georgetown Project Renovation Begins Tomorrow

District officials will hold a ceremony on Tuesday morning for construction of The Montrose, formerly known as the the Henry and Anne Hurt Home, at 3050 R Street, NW in Georgetown.  Developers will turn the vacant property into 15 condominiums through demolition of non-historic portions of the building and renovation of the main building.

In September 2010 the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED) selected the joint venture of the Argos Group and Potomac Investment Properties to redevelop the historic Hurt Home mansion at 3050 R St., NW.  Disposition of the property awaited negotiations and plans for the building, but on July 11, 2012, the property was recorded as selling for $7,750,000 according to DC Recorder of Deeds.   Neither pricing nor floorplans have been established, though a construction fence now surrounds the building and some interior work has begun.  The Montrose, named for it's proximity to Montrose Park, is scheduled for completion in late 2013.

Three wood additions will be stripped from the back of the original brick exterior, while the interior will be almost entirely gutted and rebuilt.

The Argos Group's other projects include The Station (pictured above), located at 524 9th Street NE, a mixed income historic condo conversion and The Firehouse, located at 1340 Maryland Avenue NE, a mixed income residential condo conversion.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Making Half Street Whole

Construction noises and dust are a welcome sign at 1015 Half Street, a planned office project that fell victim to the economic times and has sat half-finished ever since construction stopped in mid 2009. The halted project was the product of a partnership between Opus East, LLC and Prudential Real Estate Investors until Opus ran aground and filed for bankruptcy in mid-2009. Now that court-appointed receiver, Douglas Wilson Companies, is in the picture, general contractor Skanska USA Building has a new $26 million contract to begin work again on the shell and bring 1015 Half Street to completion within the year. Skanska, which is developing the stalled office project at 10th & G, was the surprise choice in a bid awarded on April 23rd.

Construction, begun in October 2008, has now resumed, and will add 442,000 square feet of office space, complemented by 21,000 square feet of retail to the Capitol Riverfront neighborhood. The 10-story, WDG-designed building boasts a 2-story lobby, 8 1/2' ceilings, 3 stories of underground parking and views of the Capitol and Anacostia River. Opus purchased the property in 2007 from Potomac Investment Properties for $41.5m.

Skanska is shooting for a Silver ranking from the USGBC, the arbiter of greenness, by covering 60% of the roof with vegetation, using recycled materials, and adding bike racks and showers, among other features. Skanska Executive Vice President and General Manager, Chuck Brawley, said the project will "certainly be silver" but that the team is "hoping to get gold." Altogether a much different atmosphere than when the site was home of the Nation nightclub.

Skanska will still need to complete the building’s core and shell, including the building’s glass and precast concrete exterior skin before work on the interior commences, though Skanska anticipates completion by December. Brawley said his company "tried and succeeded to reuse the existing contractors" who had worked on the site, prior to the stall. About the significance of renewed work to the community, Brawley said the project is "realizing the potential of the area, moving the redevelopment along. We are excited to be part of this success." Skanska, headquartered in Stockholm, currently has 33 offices and 7,000 employees in the U.S. alone.

Washington, DC real estate development news

Team Selected for SW Fire Site

There’s a new bright red fire station in the works for Southwest Washington. Deputy Mayor Neil Albert and DC Fire Chief Dennis Rubin joined Mayor Adrian Fenty today to announce the official selection of E Street Development for the redevelopment of two parcels adjoining Engine Company 13 at 450 6th Street, SW.

The development team – a partnership between Potomac Investment Properties, City Partners and Adams Investment Group – will construct over 500,000 square feet of new office and retail space on two District-owned parcels between 5th and 6th Street, SW. In addition, their mixed-use complex will also house a new, state-of-the-art, 22,000 square foot fire station that, according to the Mayor, “comes at no cost to the District of Columbia.”

“As you look around the station, you can see its great need of heavy maintenance, if not replacement,” said Rubin. “We feel like the time is right and that this is a great opportunity.”

The two Beyer Blinder Belle-designed projects will also be LEED certified and host a bevy of public service uses, including space for Kid Power DC and a café hosted by the DC Central Kitchen. Both Fenty and Deputy Mayor Albert pointed to their inclusion as deciding factors in their choice of E Street over two rival proposals from JLH Partners, Chapman Development and CDC Companies, and Trammell Crow, CSG Urban Partners and Michele Hagans, respectively.

“The E Street Development team stood out because not only of their ability to be visionary, but to provide certainty to the government,” said Fenty.

Michael Gewirz, President of Potomac Investment Properties, followed up on exactly what type of “certainty” his company would be providing to the project. “Some folks have asked what our concerns are given the current economic climate. I can say this: we wouldn’t be standing here if we weren’t capable of doing this project,” said Gewirz. “Right now, we’re just going to work as hard as we can with the Deputy Mayor’s office.”

And they’ll have plenty to work on in the coming months, as the City has yet to decide whether the property will be sold or leased to the E Street team. Albert said the final details concerning the land transfer will hammered out in the next three to four months with a groundbreaking set to occur within the year. In the meantime, Engine Company 13 – the unit tasked with monitoring aerial comings and goings at the White House – will remain open and operational until completion of their new facility.

Though no mention was made of the Mayor’s ongoing scandal concerning (ironically enough) a fire engine donated to the Dominican Republic, city officials were keen on pointing out the extent of the development currently underway in the blocks surrounding 6th Street. The large-scale office development, Constitution Center, is under construction directly across from the fire station’s present location, while its new spot a few hundred yards away will adjoin the District’s new Consolidated Forensics Laboratory.

Washington DC commercial real estate news

Construction Underway at 1015 Half Street

Concrete poured into the ground in Southeast last Friday as construction at 1015 Half Street got underway. A product of a partnership between Opus East, LLC and Prudential Real Estate Investors, 1015 will feature 442,000 square feet of office space, complemented by 21,000 square feet of ground- level retail, in the thick of Washington DC's burgeoning Capitol Riverfront neighborhood.

Aiming for March 2010 completion, the 10-story, WDG-designed building boasts a 2-story lobby, 8 1/2' ceilings, and views of the Capitol and Anacostia River. The development team also plans a green identity, employing recycled building materials, water-saving plumbing features, a 60% green roof and taking advantage of the site's proximity to the Navy Yard Metro to achieve a LEED Silver certification. Opus East is serving as the general contractor for the project.

The site may be notable to longtime District residents as the former home of the Nation nightclub and, for those with longer memories, the Capitol Ballroom. The project was initially under the control of Potomac Investment Properties, which turned it over to Opus in July of last year for a pre-bailout price of $41.5 million. The project is currently budgeted at $135 million - a small figure compared to what the development team stands to gain, if 1015 and the glut of other Capitol Riverfront projects currently underway can weather the economic downturn.