Award-Winning Condos Coming to U Street

Just around the corner from old school U Street locales such as Ben’s Chili Bowl and the Lincoln Theatre, work is currently underway on the tentatively-titled 11^th Street Condos - a pair of matching four-story condominiums / townhomes with a distinctly upper crust pedigree and back story to match. And given the history of the project’s site at 11^th and T Streets NW, it’s also a pretty good indication of just how far the neighborhood’s come in under a decade. 

 “Originally, there’d been a gas station there,” says the architect behind the 11^th Street project, Christian Zapatka. “About five years ago, there was a competition sponsored by the American Institute of Architects to design what was called the “Rowhouse of the Future” for that site. We were one of five winners of the competition and we had our work displayed at the Building Museum. The property owner saw the projects, then came to us and said that he liked our design and wanted to build a two-condo building there.”

The project’s owner/developer, Sahr Bockai, has since followed through on those intentions by contracting Zapatka to design the duel, 1,800 square foot, red brick homes. Once completed in June, each will features ground level media rooms and a second-story kitchen, beneath two upper levels of bedrooms, including a master suite. But the centerpiece of the development at 1900 T Street, NW is a private interior courtyard for use by the occupants – and though that may be an atypical amenity for a condominium project, it is keeping with the owner’s vision and the aesthetic of the surrounding community.

“We designed them as condos, we got them permitted and approved as condos because we had to take them through the Historic Preservation Board,” says the architect. “We wanted it to be new and modern, but still blend in with the brickwork of the old neighborhood.”

Zapatka has carried over that same sense of what he calls a “synthesis of the modern and the old” to another condominium project one neighborhood over. The Fourth Union Condos, which are also currently under construction, aims to cull six condominiums out of owner Quing Sun’s neighboring properties at 1553 and 1555 9^th Street, NW in Shaw. 1553 will contain four of the units, 1555 will contain remaining two. That project too is expected to hit the market by this coming autumn.

Today in Pictures - Wonder Bread Building

One of the few true industrial buildings in DC, the Wonder Bread building in Shaw has long captured would-be architects' and developers' interest.  After the attractive but decrepit building sat vacant for years, Douglas Development put the structure through a nomination to be included in the D.C. Inventory of Historic Sites in August of last year.

With that out of the way, work began on the refurbishing the building in June, and work crews have now gutted the interior, lowering the floor, and making way for more than 50,000 s.f. of space, with 24,000 of retail on 2 levels.  Designed by R2L:Architects, the building's revival is part of Shaw's commercial rebirth, ironically just as the building's namesake declares bankruptcy.  Despite the raw look of the shell, Douglas expects to turn the building over to the first tenant in January. 

Washington D.C. real estate development news

City To Open Bids for Lot at Florida and Sherman Avenues

The District government is releasing its request for proposals for a long-term ground lease for a city-owned lot at the corner of Florida and Sherman Avenues.  The solicitation could go live as early as today or Monday, a city official told DCMud (Update, since original publication of this article the city has published the RFP).  While one developer reportedly already has detailed plans for the site, the open bid puts one of the District's more visible sites up for bid in a neighborhood where developers are already planning extensive construction.

City-owned lot, corner of Florida and Sherman. Image: DMPED

The request from DC's Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED) for proposals for its 1.4 acre lot near DC's fast-growing U Street Corridor and Howard University is much-anticipated.

According to the Washington Post, developer JBG plans to bid on the lot and has announced a collaboration with national food retailer Harris Teeter that - if JBG wins the bid - would bring a grocery store to the site.

JBG already has a stake in the grocery store business in the area.  In July, the DCist broke news about the company's plans to build a Trader Joe's in its apartment building now construction at 14th and U Street.  JBG also controls the adjacent Atlantic Plumbing parcel, as well as the Florida Avenue parcel just a few blocks away, planning nearly 1000 apartment units in all, leaving little question as to its qualifications.

The area has so far not seen competing supermarkets.  Howard University had plans with CastleRock Partners to put a grocery store at a planned mixed-use development, Howard Town Center, located at 2100-2146 Georgia Avenue.  But the Howard Town Center project has suffered delays and there is no date to break ground in sight.  There is also speculation about whether a grocery store at Florida and Sherman could hurt plans for a grocery store at Howard Town Center, and of course Shaw will soon have its own refurbished Giant in 18 months.

Florida Ave. Reconstruction Project. Image: DDOT

But with the U Street neighborhood surging, stakes on just about any lot in this fast-growing neighborhood are coveted.  And private developers aren't the only ones who are turning a focus on the area.  This summer, the city's department of transportation finalized a plan for a massive overhaul of Florida Avenue between U Street and the Sherman Avenue intersection where the city-owned lot sits.  The Florida Avenue Reconstruction Project calls for adding more bike lanes, widening sidewalks, and planting more trees.  The city also just finished a reconstruction of Sherman Avenue.

The solicitation is likely to bring proposals from multiple bidders.  Six bidders are competing to develop a nearby, city-owned lot called "Parcel 42"...and they are just the ones who made the short list.

Update:  The city has now released the RFP, available in this link.

Washington, D.C. real estate news

HPRB Approves Two New Buidings for Blagden Alley

Slowly but surely, Shaw’s Blagden Alley neighborhood is growing. Two new developments proposed by Altus Realty Partners will fill in a couple of empty lots in the historic district and are now one step closer to reality—though a completion date is anyone’s guess.

Building at 1212 9th Street

On Thursday, DC’s Historic Preservation Review Board looked over proposed designs for the buildings by PGN Architects. One, at 1212 9th Street, will be four stories tall and include a small ground floor retail space; the other will sit at 917 M Street, but its longest side will run along the alley. HPRB approved both projects, leaving smaller details to be worked out with the Historic Planning Office staff.

At this point, both developments are in the very early stages, so details like whether the buildings will include condos or apartments, or how many units each will hold, are still up in the air. As for an estimated timeline for next steps, “it’s pure conjecture,” said Charlie Kehler, a principal with Altus. This stage is very much about design.

1212 9th Street, from the south

The four-story building on 9th Street is relatively straightforward. Filling in a vacant lot between Squares Fashions and a string of row houses, the building’s 9th Street façade will be clad in buff brick, with a stepped back central bay and a top floor of glass and aluminum. The ground floor would include shop windows topped by a steel canopy; above would be two floors of residences, plus a penthouse set back by about four feet. Just south of the building runs an alley, which residents would use to access parking.

The HPRB had a few comments about the height of the penthouse and whether the alley would be wide enough to regularly accommodate cars, but the board unanimously approved the design.

Building at 917 M Street

The second building is a bit more complicated. In an effort to complement the decorative Second Empire row houses that lie along M Street just west of 9th Street and just east of the proposed building, the architects gave the development’s M Street façade three vertical sections alternately made of block, glass and brick. Turning the corner, the long side along Blagden Alley uses the same materials—and includes a three-story glass gallery—though with more of a horizontal orientation.

The design incorporates an existing historic one-story garage on the alley. The developers are planning on excavating to create underground parking, and the new building would rest on top of part of the structure.

917 M Street building seen from west

HPRB members expressed some concern that, while the side of the building appears to be sufficiently industrial to fit with the alley’s overall aesthetic, the front is a bit too stark to complement the row houses. “It’s a blank cypher—I’m not sure what you’re trying to capture,” said HPRB member Nancy Metzger. Still, the group approved the design, leaving the developers to work with HPO to iron out any final issues.

Kehler was pleased with the decisions and said Altus is excited about the area. “We love the neighborhood’s identity,” he said. “We think it’s where DC will be focused in the future.”

Washington, D.C., real estate development news

Six Developers Invited to Present Plans for Parcel 42

Six developers are on the short-list to present their plans for Parcel 42, the vacant, city-owned lots at the corner of 7th and R Streets, NW in DC's Shaw neighborhood, the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED) has announced.

Several joint proposals, low-income housing development groups, private developers, and a religious organization all made the list. In an email to DCMud on Friday, Jose Sousa, deputy chief of staff for DMPED, listed those developers. They are: Warrenton Group and Four Points LLC, POUNDS and Jubilee Housing, United House of Prayer for All People, Neighborhood Development Corporation, Tensquare LLC and Chapman Development Group LLC, and Baywood Hotels and Dantes Partners.

Those developers will have a chance to present their plans, but the long-awaited selection of a developer for the lots will not happen until 2013, the city told DCMud Thursday. The parcel is a coveted piece of real estate for developers eager to build in Shaw, a fast-growing neighborhood.  It is also a lot with some history, surrounded by a neighborhood that remembers city promises to make some units affordable.

Parcel 42

That presentation will be held on Wednesday, November 14, 2012 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Watha T. Daniel / Shaw Library at 1630 7th Street, NW. The city has invited six developers, who met qualifications laid out in a request for proposals released in April, to present their plans to the community and give Shaw neighborhood residents the chance to ask questions.  The public is invited to attend, hear and see the presentation, and ask questions at the end of the program," Sousa wrote to DCMud in an email. The city-owned parcel has sat vacant for ten years and seen some drama in the last five.

An affordable housing development plan launched in 2007 fizzled, and in 2010 protesters occupied the lot with a tent city when the city eased up on affordability requirements for the faltering project.  That development was never built.  The announcement in April marked the second time the city has asked developers to present plans for the parcel. The city asked that developers present a building that reaches the full height that zoning allows: 65 feet. It also stated a preference for a "high quality" public space component, "high quality architecture" with a "signature design."  The city and local ANC also encouraged ground floor retail, 80% AMI designation (rather than the lowest subsidized housing designation) and affordable units. In March, ANC Commissioner for the area Alex Padro told DCMud he expected the building to meet high architectural standards like the Shaw Library just across 7th Street from the lot. Padro told DCMud then, "Its gotta be a building that works financially, that activates the street, we already have a significant pocket of affordable housing in the area."

"There is no projected timetable for a developer selection at this point in time, but we imagine it will happen in late first quarter/early second quarter of 2013," Sousa said.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

CAS Riegler Development on 9th to Break Ground Early Next Year

After years of tiptoeing towards growth, Shaw’s 9th Street plan is taking a big step in that direction in 2013, and one more real estate development is now officially in the pipeline.

Adam Stifel, one of the founding principals of development company CAS Riegler, says the group, in partnership with Douglas Development and CityInterests, is close to construction on a residential project at the corner of 9th and N streets designed by PGN Architects. The partners say they hope to choose a general contractor by the end of October and plan to break ground early next year.  "We’re all set and it’s pretty much entitled,” said Stifel, explaining that the project has received approvals from the local ANC, the DC Board of Zoning Adjustment, and the Historic Preservation Review Board. “Now we’re working on getting it priced out from general contractors.” Stifel would not name the four or five companies bidding on the construction project.

The development site includes a lot at the corner of 9th and N streets that’s currently being used by garden center Old City Green, as well as an existing historic building at 1264 9th Street and a building located on Blagden Alley inside the block which formerly served as Fight Club DC, a privately-owned skateboarding/art/music space that closed in 2010. The corner lot is owned by Douglas Development, while CAS Riegler and CityInterests own the property around it.

Earlier estimates had placed groundbreaking in late 2012, but waiting until early 2013 to begin construction means that Frank Asher, owner of Old City Green, doesn’t have to vacate the property until after the lucrative Christmas tree season. Asher has spoken out more broadly about independently-owned businesses being forced to leave an area once it begins to develop.

The project's design has come a long way since its initial renderings, which featured a "Portland-esque" (as Stifel put it) aesthetic that was big on wood and steel. After multiple changes following meetings with retailers, neighborhood stakeholders and historic preservation officials, the design is now a little more conventional, giving a nod to the nearby row houses with its varying facade and incorporating--but not mimicking--the historic façade at 1264 9th Street.  The building will back up to Blagden Alley, but Stifel says the connection along the alley will be too small to incorporate any alley amenity or streetscape.

The development will include roughly 70 apartment units; most will be one-bedrooms, with some two-bedroom units scattered throughout and a few larger units located on the building’s penthouse level and its corners. The project will also include a level of underground parking and about 8,000 square feet of ground floor retail. "I think we'll end up with a restaurant taking most of it," said Stifel. "I think it's a really good corner space that's meant to be a restaurant or café."

Stifel, who himself lives in one of the company's Shaw buildings, says he thinks the area has a huge amount of promise. “Shaw has a lot to offer, and a lot of beautiful building stock,” he said.  “As a guy who lives and breathes this stuff, I have a lot of confidence in this market.” He said that he envisions the development will have an urban feel similar to The Hudson, PN Hoffman’s boxy, high-ceilinged apartment building located across from the P Street Whole Foods in Logan Circle.

Washington, D.C., real estate development news

Unbuilt DC: Public Murals Dot DC's Underdeveloped Landscape

Map of BicycleSpace & MuralsDC bike tour

While DC is rife with cranes and construction projects, for some sites the time has not yet come - at least not for condos. In a whirlwind, art-chasing bike journey that led through the northwest DC neighborhoods of Shaw, Columbia Heights, Kalorama, and the U Street Corridor, MuralsDC hosted a mural bike tour this weekend chasing down 18 of the city's (officially sanctioned) murals.  

MuralsDC and bike purveyor BicycleSpace, located on 7th Street NW between the Shaw and Mount Vernon Triangle neighborhoods, organized the mural tour.  The (official) murals are publicly-funded through the MuralsDC program, an organization established in 2007 with the goal of deterring graffiti on historically "frequently-tagged" walls.

Eric B. Ricks (right) in front of his mural at 8th and S Streets NW

Through the program, building owners can apply for their building to be considered for a mural.  The city - through the DC Department of Public Works (DPW) and the D.C. Commission on the Arts and the Humanities (DCCAH) - works in collaboration with the group Words Beats & Life Inc to settle on the artists and designs.  In DC, at least 35 murals have been painted through the MuralsDC program and seven more are being created this summer.  Four of those, according to MuralsDC tour guides, were due to be completed yesterday.

Albus Cavus's "Blended", 2030 8th St NW

During a stop at one of the newest MuralsDC works - due for completion this summer - mural artist Eric B. Ricks, whose art appears at S and 8th Streets NW,  said his hummingbird piece reflects the ideas of work and productivity, and is also a symbol that could be a harbinger of joy for the neighborhood.  "The humming bird is one of the hardest-working animals," Eric B. told us.  "As a totem animal, it always carries joy and brings joy wherever he goes."

From Albus Cavus's "Blended"

Other graffiti art groups create non-publicly funded murals, such as the D.C. collaborative public art and art education group Albus Cavus.  One of the group's murals - "Blended" - appears at 2030 8th St. NW, a building due for demolition in October.  Albus Cavus artists painted the building's walls during an art performance party and fundraising event - organized by Albus Cavus and AIGA Washington - at the site in June.  The event raised money to support Albus Cavus's programming. JBG Companies donated the site for the event.  The building is also currently home to the pop-up gallery The Randall Scott Projects.

MuralsDC mural at Walter Pierce Park

The MuralsDC program also aims to engage youth in the neighborhoods where the murals are painted; one mural was painted by an artist who worked with neighborhood children, giving paint to passersby for contribution.

A public art mapping platform by the ArtAround project has created an open-source inventory of DC public art, including murals.  Users can search by type of art, funding source, and location.

"Every Day I See Something New," by Cita Sadeli, Champlain Street NW

"Let's Meet at the Corner", artist Alicia Cosnahan, 13th St. and Park Rd. NW

"My DC" - Corner of 14th and Randolph Streets NW

Today in Pictures - Progression Place

Progression Place may be only one of numerous projects underway in Shaw, but it will be one of the first large development to be completed.  Developers began work in 2010 on with 100,000 s.f. of office space, a 205-unit residential apartment building, and 20,000 square feet of street-level retail. The project was designed by architects Eric Colbert & Associates and Devrouax + Purnell, and built by Davis Construction.
Ellis Development, The Jarvis Company, and Four Points combined forces to build the project above the Shaw Metro station. 

Washington, D.C real estate development news

Bright and Bold: Shaw Apartments Nearly Complete

McCullough Construction, LLC, will soon complete construction of one of the more colorful apartment buildings in Washington D.C.  Bailey Park, located at 625 Rhode Island Avenue in Shaw, was designed by Suzane Reatig Architecture, and includes an unusual color scheme and Trespa panels, rare in American architecture.


The 32,125 s.f., 4-story apartment building will hold 16 units in place of the 4 townhouses torn down in advance of construction, and 2 will be reserved exclusively for tenants making less than 80% of the AMI (area median income), with 14 of those being rented at market rates.

More noticeable, however, is the now complete façade of background grey with three bright accent colors: carmine red, ochre and purple.

“They picked some very interesting façade colors,” said project manager Seamus McCullough. “We’ve gotten some complements. It definitely grabs your attention as you walk down Rhode Island, let’s put it that way.”

The building’s façade is made of aluminum windows, architectural concrete masonry and Trespa phenolic wall panels for screening rain.

“[The panels] are supposed to be extremely durable and hold up to weather and sun for a lifetime,” McCullough said. “There’s no caulk in the joints, so it’s an open system.”

“It has a roof deck with four individual patio areas,” McCullough said, as well as a green roof.  “From the inside, one of the nicer features is the amount of natural light,” McCullough said. “in most of the units, you don’t even need the lights on during the day.”

Ground broke on the project on Sept. 26, 2011, and completion is expected at the end of July.  “We expect to turn it over by July 15, at the very latest,” McCullough said.

Washington, D.C. real estate and development news