Long-Awaited Shaw Project Breaks Ground

Yesterday, the Jefferson at Market Place (formerly Kelsey Gardens, then Addison Square) project in Shaw broke ground after several delays including a halt due to lack of funding and a changing of hands from Metropolitan Development to Jefferson Apartment Group.

The subsidized housing project has a long history behind it: Executive Vice-President and partner with the Jefferson Apartment Group Greg Lamb said, “It’s a long time coming on the project. We entered the venture on this project at the end of 2011, where we took over the managing partner position. When we became involved, there wasn’t financing available, and the project had somewhat stalled.”

So Jefferson brought in Starwood Capital Group, its equity partner, and got construction on the mixed-use, 8-floor, 281-unit project.  Its 260,000 s.f. will include 13,000 s.f. of retail on the ground floor and 54 of the 281 units will be affordable housing units, while the rest remain market-rate.

The project is surrounded by other construction projects as Shaw bursts with new development, including the O Street Market, Progression Place (a large residential, office and retail project now well into construction), and the Wonder Bread building, plans for which are now being hashed out, as well as the Howard Theater. Another piece of the Market Place project was begun last spring when Capital City Real Estate purchased the land and began a small housing project.

What sets this complex apart is who will be residing in those affordable housing units: the former tenants of the affordable housing that was there, about six years ago, when this began.

“The neat story about this project is that the previous residents of Kelsey Gardens, which is the project that is being demolished, have the opportunity to move back into the complex after it is finished,” Lamb said. “Those tenants moved out back in 2007, so it’s rare that over a five or six year period that they’ll still come back.”

Those tenants have a representative group that has been working with Jefferson to ensure a smooth transition back.

Lamb said 35 to 40 of the new affordable housing units in the development will be occupied by former tenants of the building.

JAG paid $16.5m to control the site, keeping the permits obtained by Metropolitan, and took advantage of tax breaks previously authorized by the city.  "The city has helped and been a tremendous advocate on this project, providing some tax incentives on the project to make it work,” Lamb said.

The project is slated for completion in 24 months, with the first units becoming available for occupancy in 18 months.  “It’s been a great story with the coordination between the city, the developer and the tenants,” he said.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Construction Begins on Wonder Bread Building

Construction has begun on the historic Wonder Bread building at 641 S street, NW in Shaw.  Douglas Development will turn the factory into an office building with retail filling out the first floor.

Douglas purchased the buildings - 2- and 3-story structures totaling 60,000 s.f. built in 1921 - in 1997.  Though added density will be attached to the back of the building, the building’s historic façade will be retained.  R2L:Architect’s Sacha Rosen designed the renovations to the building.

Douglas had applied for landmark status for the building last year with the D.C. Preservation League, which supported Douglas's plans. The Wonder Bread building is next to Progression Place, which is also under construction to build 100,000 s.f. of office and 205 apartments on top of the Metro entrance.


Washington D.C. real estate development news

New Townhouses Headed to Naylor Court

Soil tests and utility studies are underway at 1321 Naylor Ct., NW, in preparation for building permits to construct new homes in the Blagden Alley/Naylor Court Historic District.

OPaL Principal Sean Ruppert said he hopes to begin work on the lot this summer. If all goes well, Naylor Court Stables at 10th and O could be completed by the end of this year.

 

The Board of Zoning Adjustments – the last stop before permitting – approved the zoning variances March 6. The plan to build three 2,600 s.f. townhouses previously gained approval from the Historic Preservation Review Board and received support from community associations.

Ruppert said the new homes are designed to blend with the historic carriage homes in the community while also offering a modern “west coast” feel. He said Seattle-based architect Greg Sparhawk of GPS Designs finds a way to bring natural light and design features that bring the outdoors inside.

“He can make things historic that blend with DC, but the flow and floor plan really does feel West Coast,” Ruppert said.

Original designs focused on a modern feel. But in working with the Historic Preservation Office, Ruppert said the designs evolved to blend with the historic buildings from the street while using a lot of glass in the back and on the third level.

The 2.5-story homes include a full basement and rooftop terraces. “Carriage houses” in back will serve as garages with a loft for storage. Ruppert said he has not yet set a price for the homes.

When completed, the three townhomes will be part of the unique neighborhood that focuses on alley life and still has a strong historic presence from the days of horse-drawn carriages.

Ruppert said it was important to him to foster that equestrian lifestyle in the project.

“It really is the most exciting thing I think I’ve done in my solo career since 2000,” he said. “I grew up on a horse farm, so to do something in D.C. that has an equestrian feel ... is really, really cool.”

Washington, D.C., real estate development news

New Residential Planned for Shaw's Blagden Alley

The United House of Prayer for All People has teamed up (again) with Suzane Reatig Architecture, this time to develop a mixed-use residential and retail building in the Blagden Alley-Naylor Court Historic District.

The DC Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) approved the concept for a 12-unit residential building with ground floor retail space at 926 N St. Northwest. A 1953 warehouse and loading dock on the property will be torn down to make way for the new building.

Megan Mitchell, project designer for Suzane Reatig Architecture, presented the early-stage design to the HPRB at the March 22 meeting. She said she thought the meeting went well, and now they can move on to the next stage.

Preliminary concept rendering of the front of the building showing
the three sections and proposed screen
(Rendering provided by Suzane Reatig Architecture)

"I think the next step for us is to develop the materials and work on the little details of how the bays meet the ground and meet the sky," Mitchell said. "(We're) really getting into the design of the building now."

And that is exactly what the HPRB wants to see. Comments during the meeting focused on the desire for more renderings, a detailed site plan and consideration of materials that will incorporate the varied historical neighborhood.

This first presentation to the HPRB was intended to get input and approval for the overall concept, Board member comments will be incorporated into a later presentation.

Preliminary alley designs include garage doors, alley access and balconies. The street front would be broken up into three sections emulating the row-home effect present in the area. Residential units would feature private outdoor space.

Mitchell said the design has been shared in various forums with the community, and it is clear that the neighbors care about the project. She said residents have different opinions about how modern the building should appear in the historic alley. Preliminary rendering showing the sidewalk view with ground-level retail spaces.

Another presentation with greater detail of the project will take place in the near future. Mitchell said she hopes to break ground on the project within a year, but no specific timeline has been set.

"We're very excited about building in this unique historic neighborhood," Mitchell said during her presentation. "We'd like to do a building that would contribute not only to its historic context but also to the community."

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Today in Pictures - CityMarket at O

The CityMarket at O, Shaw's latest mega project, got underway last September with the closure and demolition of the Giant supermarket, which will be replaced with a new, larger Giant in 2 years time. The new 71,000-s.f. Giant will be the first completed aspect of the project, followed by a 182-key Cambria Suites hotel, 150 condominiums and 635 apartments (84 set aside as affordable senior housing) as well as restoration of the O Street Market, one of the 5 original brick markets built in Washington D.C. The project is headed by Roadside Development, with design by Shalom Baranes and construction by Clark.









Washington D.C. real estate development news. Photos by Rey Lopez.

Today in Pictures - Progression Place

Progression Place - one of Shaw's most notable development projects, is set for occupancy later this year. Developers began work in 2010 on the 320,000 square foot, $150 million development, 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. The United Negro College Fund has purchased a stake in the building to be the main office resident.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Today in Pictures - Marriott Marquis

It hardly seems like a year since the Marriott Marquis broke ground next to the Convention Center. Construction crews have now finished digging and are now building back up, as evidenced by the photos taken last week. The 1,175-room, 15-story Marriott, headed by Quadrangle Development and Capstone Development, will feature an underground tunnel to the convention center and more than 100,000 s.f. of meeting and ballroom space, 25,000 sf of retail, and 385 parking spaces. Two more Marriotts will be built to the north. Hensel Phelps is the general contractor.









Washington D.C. real estate development news. Photographs by Rey Lopez.

Low Income Housing in Shaw Hits Snag Over "Air Rights"

The Lincoln-Westmoreland apartment complex expansion long slated for 7^th and R Streets NW, next to the Shaw metro station, is being held up by a land rights issue between Lincoln-Westmoreland Inc. and WMATA.
Construction of the 56-unit complex, owned by the Westmoreland Congregational Church (UCC) and designed by Shalom Baranes architects, necessitates the purchase of "air rights" for a small 400-square-foot sliver of land presently owned by WMATA. Lincoln-Westmoreland Inc. sold this sliver of land to WMATA in the Sixties for what Robert Agus, the owner’s representative and development manager for Lincoln-Westmoreland, describes as a “token fee” (“we basically gave it to them,” he says ruefully) but says WMATA is now holding out for “fair market value.”

In their defense, WMATA Director of Real Estate Steven Goldin said that Lincoln-Westmoreland is getting the same treatment everyone else gets. "We're required to ask for fair market value" Goldin said. "It's FTA (Federal Transit Administration) regulations." WMATA can't sell the parcel outright because it contains an important access hatch to an underground section of the Shaw-Howard metro structure.

Phase one of the construction project – a $9 million renovation of the existing ten-story, 198 unit property – is complete, and Lincoln-Westmoreland is well into the planning process for the new structure, says Agus. Plans for the new complex include 3,100 square feet of retail space on the ground floor, as well as a significant expansion of the small greenspace located on the south end of the property. Developers also hope to build a playground at the north end of the complex, though the prospective site for this is a divided property co-owned by the District, which could cause problems.
As for funding, Lincoln-Westmoreland received NIS grants from the District to cover redevelopment costs, and expects to work with District of Columbia Housing Finance Agency (DCHFA) in early January to work out further financing. The units are expected to be leased at 30% - 60% AMI, the lowest income level designations. A majority of the original 108-unit building is dedicated to Section 8 housing.

The several blocks including and surrounding the project were devastated during the '68 riots and were redeveloped as affordable housing in the early 1970's.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

CityMarket at O Makes it Official Friday

Three years after signing a funding deal with the city, one and a half years after applying for federal funding, not to mention several intervening official groundbreakings, the CityMarket at O will begin actual construction on Friday.

Roadside Development and city officials will gather Friday at 10am for photographs and speeches but, for the first time, also to watch the machinery "eat a big chunk of the Giant," says a spokesman for Roadside.

Federal officials announced on October 11th that it had granted Roadside $128m for development of the market that will include a 182-key Cambria Suites hotel, 150 condominiums and 635 apartments, 84 set aside as affordable senior housing, as well as restoration of the O Street Market, one of the 5 original brick markets built in Washington D.C. Roadside officials say the project will generate 2400 jobs directly.

Friday's construction triggers the 2-year time frame promised to Giant, giving Roadside until November 18, 2013, to reopen the supermarket. Richard Lake of Roadside said the $128 HUD loan closed on Thursday. The remainder of the financing is provided by a $32m TIF funding from the city and $40m from Equity raised by Roadside.

Contractors will first demolish the Giant, then spend 6 months excavating. The new supermarket will be the first piece to reopen, followed quickly by 400 apartments and the hotel. Roadside does not yet have funding for the second portion of the work - the condos and senior center - said Roadside's Lake, but hope that financing will allow construction of that phase to begin shortly and deliver concurrently.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Kelsey Gardens Construction Could Start by Next Quarter

In yet another vote of confidence for Shaw, Kelsey Gardens has now been purchased by the Jefferson Apartment Group, setting up the pins for yet another sizable construction project across from the CityMarket at O that could be under construction as soon as next quarter. The subsidized housing project has been vacant for several years, since the low-income, architecturally disappointing projects were closed down years ago in a bid for redevelopment. According to Bruce Levin of MAC Realty Advisors, which brokered the transaction, Jefferson paid $16,650,000 to purchase the entity that controls the site, keeping all entitlements in tact, meaning Jefferson can take over the PUD approval and existing demolition permits, allowing work to begin as early as Q1 of 2012. Metropolitan Development had purchased the austere collection of buildings in 2004 for $7m, and planned the project as Addison Square, wrangling $18 million from the city in tax abatements, as well as a zoning change to allow the density in the form of a Planned Unit Development - with the qualification that 54 of the 280 units be set aside for tenants making 60% of AMI. Jefferson settled on the purchase 2 weeks ago. Kelsey Gardens is just a few blocks south of Progression Place, a large residential project now well into construction and the Wonder Bread building, plans for which are now being hashed out, as well as the Howard Theater. A small slice of the Kelsey Project was cleaved from the site this spring when Capital City Real Estate bought a strip of land along P Street to build six 2-unit townhouses, for a total of 12- 2bed/2bath units, each around 1100 square feet. The CityMarket at O is also in the early phase of its construction. Lessard Architectural Group designed the project, which will include 14,700 s.f. of retail space along 7th. Jefferson Apartment Group also recently took over the lead role in developing the apartment project 14W, which is redeveloping the former Anthony Bowen YMCA. Washington D.C. real estate development news