The Wilson and the Elm - Coming This Fall in Bethesda

If you have traveled anywhere near Bethesda you would not have missed the 3 new towers under construction at 7272 Wisconsin Avenue in the center of Bethesda.  The three towers are part of Carr Properties’ nearly 1 million square foot project of two residential towers (the Elm) and, on its south side, one office tower (the Wilson).  Named for an adjacent street and for Alfred Wilson, who in 1890 opened a general store on the site that became a social hub, Carr hopes its creation will duplicate that success.

Carr, partnering with residential developer Insight Property Group, broke ground in August of 2018 and hopes to complete construction by late October. The three towers share a common podium that will, like Wilson's general store, become a commercial nexus with a new southern entrance to Metro's redline station and the terminus station for the Purple Line.  The Metro station, 120 feet below, was originally built to accommodate a second entrance, and will share an entrance with the Purple Line as well as connection with the Capital Crescent Trail.  The project is hard to miss at 23 stories, nearly 300 feet, well above adjacent Bethesda Row.  Bozzuto, which will manage the buildings, will begin residential leasing in August.

Streetsense / Edit Labs designed the interior of the two apartment buildings, which will be connected by a skybridge with views of the National Cathedral.  According to the developers, the height will permit views as far as Dulles Airport and National Harbor on a good day.  The ground floor will offer up retail space, the only confirmed tenant for which is Tatte Bakery.  Above, several office tenants have inked leases, including Fox 5 and UBS Financial Services. Accommodating the red line Metro entrance, expected to open in 2022, provided developers with additional height and density than would have been otherwise permitted. Lastly, the development team points out the suite of technology to fight airborne viruses, including 100% use of outside air, "a rarity" in the DC office market, but an issue that will no doubt be a central talking point in future office marketing.

Project:  The Wilson and the Elm

Address:  7272 Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, MD

Developer: Carr Properties 

Architect:  Shalom Baranes

Landscape Architect: OVS

Interior Design:  Streetsense / Edit Lab

Construction:  Clark Construction

Use: 348,000 s.f. of office (1 tower) and residential (2 towers) with 456 units

Expected Completion:  Late 2020 for office and residential portions of the project.

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Washington D.C. commercial real estate news

Edens' Union Market Apartment Nears Completion

Construction is nearing completion at 1300 4th Street, NE, a project that has now been named the Ledger.  The residential building, designed by Shalom Baranes and developed by Edens, marks the next project to complete in the Union Market neighborhood - one of 5 projects actively under construction within 3 blocks, including Market Terminal with its 4 residential buildings and the Signal House office building.  The Ledger will deliver 134 rental apartments 2 blocks from Eden's food hall, Edens and co-developer Great Gulf of Canada are on track for completion in September.  On the ground floor, 11,000 s.f. of retail, including a small co-working space, will round out the building. 

Union Market Under Construction                        

The building takes the place of the formerly empty lot next to Masseria, and will be managed by Gables Residential.

Project:  Ledger

Address:  1300 4th St, NE, Washington DC

Developer: Edens, Great Gulf

Architect:  Shalom Baranes

Construction:  Davis Construction

Use: 134 rental apartments

Expected Completion: September 2020

click any image for photo gallery

Washington D.C. retail and real estate development news

Union Station Master Plan Released

Amtrak released details this week of a much-talked-about $7 billion plan for Union Station's tracks, platforms, concourses, and parking that will dramatically overhaul the space.

Train shed looking southwest, Image courtesy of Amtrak

 

Under the Union Station Redeveloment Corporation, Union Station is already undergoing a renovation of its Grand Hall.

In a move officials acknowledged was belated, they said the plan would help the nation's capital catch up with other parts of the world with high-speed rail service.  The plan, they said, would eventually triple the station's passenger capacity and double the train service over the next 20 years.  The plan goes hand in hand with plans for a 1.5 billion dollar project by Akridge development, Amtrak's private partner in the project, to develop the air rights over the train tracks into a $1.5 billion mixed-use project called Burnham Place.

Amtrak and Akridge, Amtrak's private partner on the project, released the master plan this week in a press conference attended by city glitterati, including embattled mayor Vincent Gray.

Greenway looking north along 1st Street, Image: Akridge

Burhnam Place, named after Union Station's original architect Daniel Burnham, is part of Amtrak's master plan, and will be developed by Akridge and architectural firm Shalom Baranes.  Developers plan, over the next 15 years, to build a 3-million square-foot mixed use development over the train tracks.  

In 2006, Akridge purchased the air rights to a total of 15 acres over the Union Station rail yard. The $10 million dollar sale marked the first sale of air rights by the federal government. As reported by DCMud, the conceptual construction plan began to move solidly forward and Shalom Baranes was selected as the architect in 2008.

Interior view of the train shed, Image courtesy of Amtrak

The plan envisions 500 hotel rooms, 100,000 square feet of retail, and 1,300 residential units built on a concrete platform over the tracks and supported columns placed throughout the rail yard.  Akridge went through years of technical negotiations with Amtrak before deciding on a construction plan, and the Smart Growth Alliance and Urban Land Institute (ULI) have both voiced support for the project.

Developers emphasize that the project will feature elements that enhance public space and amenities. One such feature includes a 1.5 mile elevated greenway with a bike lane along the west side of the station that will link the NoMa neighborhoods with Union Station and the Metro and connect to the Metropolitan Branch Trail.

Historic control tower into restaurant, Courtesy: Akridge

Plans also call for a "grand plaza" fronting both sides of H Street that will lead into a brand new Train Hall in what developers say will be "a grand northern entrance to Union Station."  

The plan also calls for pedestrian connections with adjoining neighborhoods, a new entrance near First and K Streets, NE, and a plan to turn the K Tower - a control tower - into a restaurant.

Will office workers and urban sky dwellers feel the rumbling of high-speed trains below them?  That remains to be seen.  What is certain is that the plan makes an ambitious promises to bring more natural light into Union Station, even while building above it.  

Plan overview. Image Courtesy of Akridge.  

Blue represents office space, 

Beige is residential, 

Green / yellow is naturally lit space,  and 

Brown is hotel space.

Red circles are vertical connections,

Red arrows are station entrances.

Washington, D.C. real estate development news

West End Hotel Ready to Start Construction

The future Hilton Garden Inn in DC's West End

In a deal that marks a step forward for a hotel project at 22nd and M - on hold for four years - developers are set to close Wednesday on construction financing for the project, OTO Development CEO Corry Oakes told DCMud.

If the deal closes today and construction moves forward in a few weeks as developers expect, deep-rooted weeds on the prominent corner in DC's West End neighborhood may soon be gone, salving neighbors' ire.

"We're very excited about moving this long-awaited project forward and becoming part of the community," Oakes said.  He said contractors would break ground on the Hilton Garden Inn, planned for 2201 M Street, within weeks.

Turner Construction will be the general contractor on the project, Oakes said.  OTO, based in Spartanburg, SC, is one of the three developers partnering to build the West End Hilton Garden Inn, a partnership which also includes Starwood Capital Group and Perseus Realty, LLC.  Also Wednesday, the three partners were due to close on a deal consummating their joint venture agreement.

Shalom Baranes of Georgetown is architectural firm designing the terracotta and brick, 10-story, 237-room hotel, which will feature a second-floor, landscaped courtyard, meeting rooms, a rooftop garden and pool and a green roof, according to a project architect.

The corner of 2nd and M has been an empty lot for years

The 15,600 square-foot lot at the corner of 22nd and M hasn't seen action since 2008 when the site's original development team demolished the Nigerian Embassy to make way for a boutique hotel. Developers later abandoned plans for a Starwood "eco-luxury hotel", billed as a "1 Hotel", when they couldn't secure financing for the structure.  They settled on the Hilton Garden Inn brand instead, but by the time developers applied to revise their permits, many neighbors and West End leaders had already gotten excited about the "1 Hotel" concept.    

"During the zoning hearings, I was not shy about my disappointment that the concept switched from the 1 Hotel to the Hilton Garden Inn, as I felt the West End really didn't need more hotels and at least the 1 Hotel was interesting, both as a destination concept and architecturally," West End ANC2A commissioner Rebecca Coder wrote in an email to DCMud Monday. "However, at this juncture the neighborhood simply wants the corner activated."

Developers abandoned plans for this "eco-luxury" hotel

In the project's beginning, developers included Starwood and Perseus with Oppenheim as the architect.  Original plans for the site called for a 150-room, 23-suite hotel, under the Starwood Capital "global eco-luxury" hotel brand "1 Hotel", featuring an organic day spa among other features built to LEED standards.

Years passed.  The lot sat empty, but D.C. wasn't the only place so-called "eco-luxury" hotels, envisioned to cater to a niche market of über-wealthy lovers of greenness and light, weren't sprouting.  According to HotelChatter.com, Starwood's plans for a 1 Hotel in Seattle were withering too, along with the economy. Starwood started excavations for a 1 Hotel in Seattle, but later re-filled the hole and the lot reverted to a parking lot when it couldn't secure financing for the project, according to the Seattle Times.

Then, sometime between the nadir of the financial crisis and the birth of Occupy Wall Street, developers decided to change course on plans for 22nd and M after Perseus contacted more than 40 lenders, all of whom declined to finance the West End 1 Hotel project.

In 2011, developers sought permission to modify the site plans and instead of a boutique eco-luxury creation, they announced plans for a Hilton Garden Inn (a brand categorized as upscale mid-priced) with 237 rooms.  The new incarnation now included Shalom Baranes as the architect, and OTO Development, a hotel development company based in Spartanburg, South Carolina, as a third development partner.  Changes included a redesign of the exterior façades, an increase in the number of rooms and a three-foot reduction in height to 107 feet, and 53 parking spaces in a valet-operated garage.  There were neighbors who balked.

Plans for the Hilton Garden Inn at 22nd and M, West End, DC

"Some neighbors have already said they fear the new hotel will attract "the fanny-pack crowd" to the West End neighborhood," the neighborhood group West End Friends wrote on their web site last year after an ANC2A meeting when developers presented their new plans.

But if hotel site plan changes sparked West End fears of fanny packs, site developers and project architects maintain there is no need to fret about that.  "This is very much upscale for the Hilton Garden Inn brand," lead project architect Patrick Burkhart said.

Burkhart said the hotel would feature a second-floor, landscaped terrace with outdoor seating areas, and a lobby with a fireplace, monumental staircase, and a water feature with plants cascading from the second-level terrace.  The hotel will also feature a ground-floor restaurant and bar with indoor-outdoor seating opening onto the street on the corner of 22nd and M. Burkhart said the hotel marks a move by the Hilton Garden Inn brand into more urban areas, including D.C. where he said it would be the District's third.

West End Hilton Garden Inn, Washington, DC

With a new hotel, the corner will see more activity in years to come.  Demand is up for hotel rooms in the District.  According to Jan Freitag,  Senior Vice President with STR Global, a hotel industry benchmarking and consulting company based in Hendersonville, TN, data shows 10.5 million rooms were sold in the first five months of this year in the Washington, D.C. market, 1.5 percent more than last year.  "More people are coming to DC."

At least some of those people may soon be destined for 22nd and M.  Lucky for the West End, even fanny packs can be luxurious too.

St. Matthew's Residential Project Meets Resistance

It was a rough Monday night for CSG Urban Partners and their proposed 11-story, 210-unit residential building on the former site of St. Matthew's church at 222 M street SW, as a large number of neighborhood residents showed up to voice opposition to the project over the course of an occasionally heated four-hour hearing.

The hearing started on a moderate note, as board members from the nearby Carrollsburg Square condominiums voiced qualified support for the project. "This is not the perfect project," said resident Jonathan Beaton, before going on to say that it's "likely better than future projects that will be proposed."

But the testimony took a negative turn from there. One resident said the proposed building "doesn't match the existing development pattern," describing a "wall-like effect from over 200 feet of unbroken frontage along the street." A representative of a senior housing complex at 1241 Delaware Avenue said the new building will block natural light and accessibility for ambulances. Others said that mature trees adjacent to the development will be killed by construction, and that toxic mold could harm some residents. Still other residents complained that the developers had told them they wouldn't be allowed to use the swimming pool in the new building (pond would be good for you, Carl).

Criticism reached a peak when a local doctor said the building would turn the 3rd Street extension into a "darkened alley of high crime," that the loss of views would cause "mental anguish," and that the arbitrary changing of zoning standards represented a "bait and switch" for local property owners. ("Which is punishable by law!")

Fox News correspondent Catherine Herridge, who lives nearby, was one of the sharpest critics of the project. Herridge passed out a packet illustrating the neighborhood's "

severe doubling parking problem," and provided the night's finest unintentional comic relief when she fidgeted and glared and grimaced through the previous testifier's speech with Chaplinesque intensity. (She did everything but take out a huge hammer and bonk him on the head with it.)

On rebuttal, it was revealed that the developers had actually made an unusual concession on the parking issue, promising that no residents of their building would be eligible for residential parking permits. (The plans also call for 150 below-grade parking spaces.) Architect Shalom Baranes defended some aspects of the design, saying the "darkened high crime alley" would actually be well-lit, and have units looking onto it. Josh Dix, representing the developers, pointed out that the previous design had been much denser with much less greenspace. "We've been meeting with the community since 2004," he said. "At this point, does it satisfy everybody? Probably not. But the pros outweigh the cons."

The board didn't vote, instead asking for more information, and putting off a vote until the April 30 session. The tone at the hearing verged at times on contentious, and the mood seemed unencouraging. But Simone Goring Devaney, who's spearheading the project for CSG Urban, was unperturbed when I talked to her the next day. "The zoning board requested more information, and we're going to get them the info they requested," Goring Devaney said. "We're feeling very positive about the project's future."

Goring Devaney added that, if approval comes through as planned, construction should begin in early 2013 and conclude in about eighteen months.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Residential Building Proposed for Former St. Matthew's Site In SW

A proposed 11-story, 210-unit residential building from developer CSG Urban Partners, on the former site of St. Matthew's Lutheran Church at 222 M Street SW, is headed to the zoning board later this month, over the objections of some neighborhood residents.

The applicant, TC/CSG St. Matthew's LLC, proposes an L-shaped building, varying in height from 110 to 35 feet, that would include a small church sanctuary on the northeast corner of the 50,000 square foot lot, one of several projects locally to take unused church space. Included in the plans are about 151 below-grade parking spaces, and of the approximately 210 projected units, ten percent would be provided for moderate income households (51% to 80% AMI). The application also details a plan for allocating much of the ground floor and basement space as a publicly-accessible community center run by St. Matthew's. A description of the proposed design lists "tiered and modulated use of one or two-story bay, projections or loggias articulated with metal frames, glazed areas and metal clad panel," which are all elements found in nearby buildings.
"It's going to match the character of the neighborhood," confirms Dan Stuver, of Shalom Baranes Architects. "A lot of metal, a lot of glass, a lot of screens. It's going to fit in with the surrounding buildings, most of which date from the Sixties and Seventies."

Oh, so it's going to be retro?

"No, no," says Stuver. "I'm from the Sixties and Seventies too, and I'm not retro. It's going to be very modern. At least, a style we call modern."

The site is well situated at a block from the Waterfront metro station and on the route for the proposed M Street streetcar. In addition, plans call for the inclusion of electric car charging stations, extensive bike parking, car sharing spaces, and anticipates a LEED Silver Certification.
However, some residents have objected to the project; a Change.org petition characterizes the project as "out of character with the very fabric that is SW," and that it's variously too big, not set back enough, doesn't include green space, blocks views from nearby residential buildings and "is a 1000 lb sack of potatoes trying to fit in a 5 lb sack." Many of these concerns seem to have been addressed - developers have already agreed to an additional 2' setback from M Street, and are including a large courtyard (though of unspecified size) in the front and rear of the building - though the matter of blocked views could be problematic.

The zoning hearing is tentatively scheduled for Monday, March 26.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Capitol Riverfront's Harris Teeter Beginning Work this Week

Forest City will begin work this week on Parcel D of its Yards development, including a new apartment building and Harris Teeter. Having secured its last required permit on Friday, according to Ted Skirbunt of the Capitol Riverfront BID, Forest City can now begin its 225-unit apartment with a 50,000-s.f. Harris Teeter, 30,000-s.f. Vida fitness center, and 10,000 s.f. of additional retail space.

Gary McManus, a spokesperson for Forest City, acknowledged that initial work is now beginning, larger scale construction is a month away. "While there may be some site mobilization prior to the holidays, the actual excavation won’t begin to any great degree until January... Excavation is likely to be completed by late April/early May."

With construction underway soon, Harris Teeter could still open in 2013, but according to McManus, Forest City is waiting to confirm a project completion / opening date until next spring, after excavation is done and when more signed retail tenants can be announced.

The design by Shalom Baranes Architects is for two buildings that will be expressed as three, with two residential towers (one above the Harris Teeter running along most of 4th Street, shown above), and one shorter retail building located on the corner with a look separate from the residential portion of the project. The retail building includes 30,000 s.f. ground-floor retail topped by the Vida health club (seen at right).

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Mount Vernon Triangle's Critical Mass

Mount Vernon Triangle may soon be a bit crowded. The small neighborhood, tightly encircled by L'Enfant's avenues, has been struggling for years to develop a critical mass of development, a moment that may now be at hand.

If all the projects currently in the pipeline for the neighborhood are built, Mount Vernon Triangle will more than double its square footage of office space, add 1,570 apartments/condos and 380 hotel rooms, and increase retail offerings by 157,500 s.f. Despite its shortcomings - no Metro stop, convention center, or arena within its borders, it can claim close proximity to each, a fact that continues to fuel development.

Case in point: two new projects by The Wilkes Company and Quadrangle, with preliminary designs by Hartman-Cox, and targeting a 2012 start date for construction: 400 K (300,000 s.f. office space, 12,500 s.f. retail) and 300 K (500,000 s.f. office space, 25,000 s.f. retail - pictured at left). Both are part of the larger Mount Vernon Place development that started with a pair of condominiums. Two additional buildings by Wilkes and Quadrangle are also in the works for the area: 440 K (planned as a 234-unit apartment with ground-floor retail, but that could turn into office space) and 255 H Street, a 400-unit apartment building.

Numerous other large developers have projects on the boards - Steuart, MRP Realty, Bozzuto, The Donohoe Companies, Kettler, and Equity Residential - but few have pulled the trigger just yet, and Bill McLeod, executive director of the Mount Vernon Triangle Community Improvement District said those who don't take action soon, "will end up missing out." McLeod, who has been with the MVTCID - created by Mayoral Order in 2004 - for the past five years, added that investors have been paying attention to the area of late.

Equity also hopes to start construction next year on the 170-unit apartment and historic restoration project "Eye Street Lofts", originally a vision of local Walnut Street Development that was iced in 2007. Equity - the largest publicly traded owner and operator of multifamily apartment complexes in the U.S. - bought the land fully entitled a few months ago. Equity will go before the Board of Zoning Adjustment on December 13th. With the area designated as a historic district in 2001, the project received HPRB approval in 2006 (as pictured below) to restore two circa 1880, 3-story townhomes, a 2-story garage/ warehouse, and a small former blacksmith shop in the alley. The building currently leased by BicycleSPACE will be razed.

Nearly a decade after Mount Vernon Triangle was first targeted for redevelopment by the Office of Planning and ten major property owners in the area in 2002, existing apartments are 96-percent leased, condos are sold out, 230,000 s.f. of office space is leased at 455 Massachusetts Avenue and, notes McLeod, only the top floor of the 392,000-s.f. office at 425 Eye Street needs a tenant.

The Meridian, at 425 L Street, a 390-unit apartment developed by Steuart Investments and Paradigm, is now under construction. The topping out of the 14th (and final) story occurred this past September, the project will begin leasing soon and should complete by next June. Phase II of the project will be a 300-unit apartment located next door at 400 New York Avenue.

Next in the queue in Mount Vernon Triangle is Kettler's $80 million, 13-story, 233-unit apartment with 7,000 s.f. of street level retail at 450 K Street (pictured right), under construction next spring and delivering in 2014.

Of great interest to those invested in the area is the timeline of the K Street Streetscape Improvement, the contract of which is currently being finalized by DDOT. The 18- month infrastructure project should be underway early next year, said McLeod, resulting in a mid-2013 completion date.

The long-anticipated $9m reconstruction of K Street between 7th Street and 3rd Street will bring new paving, sidewalks, streetlights, and plantings. Streetcars are also in K Street's future, though the District's focus is currently on funding other legs first, i.e. the H Street Corridor.

Driving much of the current wave of development regionally is the gradually opening financing spigot and Washington D.C.'s perch on the top of the national real estate market. But Mt. Vernon Triangle has something else more rare in downtown DC: empty space. The Downtown Business Improvement District (BID) notes that only about 5 million s.f. of unbuilt space remains available downtown, 2.5m of that at CityCenter and 2m of that above the Center Leg Freeway. That leaves the equivalent of only a few office buildings that could be built downtown before growth has to expand outward, and Mt. Vernon is the nearest spot.

Yet if all projects currently in the pipeline are realized, Mount Vernon Triangle will max out its 600-room hotel capacity, reach 93-percent of its residential capacity (4,250 units), 87-percent of its office space capacity (3 million s.f.), and 84-percent of its retail space capacity (335,000 s.f.). Of the 380 hotel rooms planned for the area, 350 of them are contained in what was once one of the most talked about projects for the triangle, "The Arts at 5th and I" a mixed-use development on the corner of 5th and Eye Street, still considered a "top tier" priority by Mayor Gray.

Donohoe and Holland Development won the right to develop the site in September of 2008, but couldn’t finance the project (pictured below) in the face of the recession. This fall, Deputy Mayor Victor Hoskins visited the ANC with a scaled-back, 250,000-s.f. building with two side-by-side hotels, one a 150 room boutique hotel and the other a 200 room extended stay offering 350 rooms above 10,000 s.f. of street-level retail.

In April, it was announced that art in the form of the Liberty North Community Market would be coming soon to the site. The market arrived this fall, and with no plans to begin construction within the next year-and-a-half, the market's vendors have the 2012 growing season to get comfortable.

Donohoe has yet to visit the DC Council for approval its plan, which includes a 99-year ground lease from the District, something that may happen in the next "two to three months," said Jad Donohoe, after which 12 to 14 months will be taken to flesh out the design by Shalom Baranes, complete the construction documents, get permits, and secure financing.

Yet another project is less certain. It will require a 30,000-s.f. floorplate over I-395 between K and New York Avenue to build a 10-story, 1.7 million-square-foot Washington Global Trade Center with a sleek, open-clam-shell globe design (to the right), a development that has been proclaimed a long shot.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

West End Hilton Garden Inn Seeks Modifications This Week

This Thursday, the joint venture between Perseus Realty, Starwood Capital, and OTO Development, "PerStar M Street LLC," will visit the Zoning Commission with its request to modify the PUD zoning application for its West End hotel site, a now-empty parcel at 2201 M Street once occupied by the Nigerian Embassy. The 15,600-s.f. area is currently visualized by developers as a Hilton Garden Inn, a vision that replaces an earlier, sustainable, "eco-luxury" 1 Hotel.

The change in brand, from a 1 Hotel to a Garden Inn, comes with several zoning changes: a redesign of the exterior façades; an increase in the number of rooms, from 170 to 238; a minor increase in density, from 122,235 g.s.f to 124,564 g.s.f. (7.84 to 7.99 FAR); a small reduction in height by 3' to approximately 107'; and 11 additional parking spaces (increased from 42 to 53) in a valet-operated garage.

The Hilton Garden Inn, although not "eco-luxury," aims to become LEED-Silver certified; the Garden Inn is being designed by Shalom Baranes, who replaced the architect of the 1 Hotel, Oppenheim.

The neighborhood ANC was disappointed in the change from the 1 Hotel to a new plan and new flag; ANC 2A Chair, Rebecca Coder, emailed the following: "While the West End didn't need another hotel, the fact that the 1 was a unique concept made it palatable." Coder added that the ANC is hopeful that the concerns articulated by residents, related to the design and desire for unique retail, will be considered by developers.

The current version of the PUD, which accommodates the scrapped 1 Hotel plan for the site, was approved in June of 2008, and the buildings at 22nd and M Streets, NW – the Nigerian Embassy and Asia Nora – were razed in February of 2009 in anticipation of the project's start, which never happened.

In March of 2010, the PUD application was given a two-year time extension, due to "difficulties with financing based upon changes in economic and market conditions beyond the applicant's control;" a report by the Office of Planning in support of the time extension stated that Perseus Realty contacted 40-plus lenders unwilling to provide financing, citing the general decline in the hotel market and the negative growth in revenue generated by existing hotel rooms.

The construction extension requires that a building permit application be filed by June of 2012, however, from that time, a full year is given before construction must be underway – "no later than June 27th, 2013" – which means that although Robert Cohen, president of Perseus, said in August that the development team's goal is to begin construction in June of 2012, there is no pressure from the District to begin next year, and still another hurdle awaits – construction financing.

The Office of Zoning explained that the upcoming hearing, on Thursday the 27th, to review zoning request, may or may not result in proposed action by the Zoning Commission: "It’s possible that the Commission could take proposed action at the end of the hearing and then it would be referred to NCPC for a 30-day comment period before final action could be taken. If they don’t take proposed action at the end of the hearing, then the next step would be for it to be placed on one of the scheduled meeting agendas for decision."

In August, Neil Jacobs, president of SH Group, Starwood's luxury hotel brand management company, stated the reason for the brand change was that, "With a 1 Hotel we were limited in the number of rooms we could get onto the site. We didn't want to compromise the brand, and commercially [the Garden Inn] is a better choice."

OTO Development came on as a partner after the decision was made, in the fall of 2010, to desert the 1 Hotel in favor of a more affordable Garden Inn.

The Hilton Garden Inn will contain a 5,000-s.f. restaurant offering seasonal sidewalk seating, and if all goes well with the upcoming PUD change process, and ability to secure construction financing, developers aim to deliver the hotel and restaurant by the summer of 2014.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Forest City to Begin Construction of 225 Apartments, Harris Teeter in Southeast

With a building permit to construct the next component of the Yards in hand, Forest City says construction of the Harris Teeter and new apartment building is less than two months away. Permits were issued a month ago, and Forest City's Gary McManus confirms that "[e]xcavation [at Parcel D] will commence within the next 60 days... construction will be underway on that site prior to the end of this year."

Currently, Forest City is focused on phase one (of three) of its 42-acre Yards development in Southeast, D.C. With the first-phase Riverfront Park and Foundry Lofts already completed, and the Boilermaker Shops underway, the developer now turns to construction of Parcel D: a 225-unit apartment with a 50,000-s.f. Harris Teeter, 30,000-s.f. Vida fitness center, and 30,000-s.f. of additional retail space.

Parcel D's site runs along the east side of 4th Street, between Tingey and M Street. The project, under general contractor Skanska, aims for late 2013 completion.

Designed by Shalom Baranes, the site includes two buildings that will appear as having three distinct components: two residential towers (one above the Harris Teeter on 4th Street), and a shorter retail and fitness center building on the southernmost section of the lot (as seen above).

Directly across from Parcel D's retail building is the 2-story Boilermaker Shops (Parcel K) which includes 34,500 s.f. of retail with 12,000 s.f. of office space above, expected to deliver in the fall of 2012.

Rounding out phase one of the development are parcels E and N, both still in the design phase.

Along with Forest City's summer announcement that the Harris Teeter was a done deal at Parcel D, the developer revealed that two concepts - one being an artisan brew pub - will be crafted by the Neighborhood Restaurant Group for the Boilermaker Shops. NRG's concepts will share a roof with Buzz Bakery, Huey's 24/7 Diner, Austin Grill Express, brb (be right burger) and Willie’s Brew & ‘cue by Xavier Cervera, who is also remaking the Hawk 'n' Dove on Capitol Hill, and opening a pizzeria with raw bar in Southeast's Canal Park.

Also nearing completion in Southeast is a one-mile stretch of river-walk trail linking Yards Park and Diamond Teague Park & Piers. According to Ted Skirbunt with the Capitol Riverfront BID, the completion - next month - of this connection will create enhanced public access and enjoyment of the Southeast riverfront.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Disabled Veterans Memorial's Struggle Near its End

A 2.4-acre site next to the U.S. Capitol, home of the future American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial, is about to see extensive prep work in advance of what its backers hope is an imminent start of construction. Located across from the U.S. Botanical Garden at 2nd and C Streets, SW, the site was selected due to its prime location just off the Mall and within view of Congress, but it's caused some headaches.

Conceptualized in 1997, the Memorial's Foundation, a non-profit formalized in 1998, first set out to raise $85 million in private funds through its Capital Campaign. Thirteen years later, and with approximately $10 million coming from over a million disabled veterans through the Disabled American Veterans association, the Foundation is only $250K shy of its goal.

Congress approved the memorial in 2000, and Michael Vergason Landscape Architects' creation "Fire in the Grove" won the Foundation's design competition to solicit architects, in 2001; architects Michael Vergason and Doug Hays then set about to hone the design. After 9/11, however, the section of C Street running through the memorial's site was seen as a dangerous truck-bomb route to the Rayburn building, and the design was reconfigured accordingly, and first presented to the necessary commissions in 2006.

In 2009, the Commission of Fine Arts approved the design, followed by the National Capital Planning Commission in 2010, and construction documents were given the final stamp of approval these past few months. Earlier this year, in April, a general contractor, Tompkins Builders Inc. - who rebuilt the Reflecting Pool and built the WWII Memorial - was selected, followed by a May announcement that sculptor Larry Kirkland had been commissioned to create four bronze pieces.

The Foundation expected to move on construction this summer, but, as project executive Barry Owenby explained in early August, there was a delay in obtaining construction permits from the National Park Service due to continued site-specific difficulties: five utility companies have facilities on and/or through the site that would have to be relocated. Furthermore, the project required additional federal funds in order to manage the necessary street closures and infrastructure improvements that accompanied the utilities relocation.

Yet, finally, the Memorial Foundation reports that "significant offsite work" has begun, including the purchase and fabrication of materials for the Memorial, including fountain pumps and piping, stainless steel, metals, electrical equipment, and granite (a significant chunk of costs): Bethel White for the Wall of Gratitude, Virginia Mist for the plaza paving, and St. John’s Black for the fountain and reflecting pool.

Architect Hays explained that, while the original idea was to use marble, the NPS requested a more durable material be used, and granite was selected.

"It's a unique design," said Hays.
"Sometimes [a design] can become watered down [through the approval process], but that's not the case here. I think it's actually become better."

Three glass walls will be made of "48 laminated, 5-ply panels of Starphire glass, with inscriptions and images embedded in the interior panes." This is the same glass used in the Apache helicopter and B-2 bomber.

A flame will flicker in the center of a star-shaped fountain at the heart of Memorial, and a grove of trees will surround the site, which will also offer a parking lot for the disabled.

Hays, responsible for overseeing the ongoing process of design and document approvals over the past five years, added that, "The design is to say thank you [to disabled vets], to educate the general public, and to serve as a reminder to Congress what the cost of war is." He noted that, although Michael Vergason Landscape Architects is the firm responsible for the memorial's design, Shalom Baranes became the architect of record last year.

The first (fully funded) phase of construction will be the rerouting of communication lines to and from the Capitol, and the second phase will include the realignment of C Street and relocation of utilities, after which construction of the actual memorial can begin. Although Owenby said in August "we are doing everything possible to shorten the Memorial’s construction time," the VFW reported recently that completion is likely to be in November of 2013.

The Memorial Foundation's co-founder, Lois Pope, a philanthropist and former actress/singer on Broadway, was inspired to create a memorial for disabled veterans after singing for Vietnam War vets in the '60s. Actor Gary Sinise, notable for his role as Lieutenant Dan in Forrest Gump, is the Memorial's official spokesman.

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