Sentinel Square, Trammell Crow's Three Phase NoMa Project, Reaches Halfway Point

Trammell Crow's massive three-phase NoMa development, Sentinel Square, is officially at its precise midpoint.

"We just hit the bottom of the hole for Phase 2," says Tom Finan, Managing Director at Trammell Crow.  "Now we're starting to work our way up.  We broke ground back in February and we're on track to deliver in October 2012."

The Phase Two office building, at 1050 First Street, is slated to offer approximately 280,000 square feet of office space over twelve stories.

The Smith Group/JJR-designed building may or may not feature ground floor retail space.  "That's something we're going to look at," says Finan.  "It's going to depend on the market.  That intersection is becoming a sort of crossroads for that area, so it might be a good idea.  But as of right now, it's still up in the air."

The first phase, a similar but larger 12-story 400,000-s.f. LEED Gold office tower, also designed by Smith Group/JJR, was delivered in June 2010.  The third and final phase, another office building, is still in pre-planning stages.

"We're not going to really get down to Phase Three until we have the second phase delivered and leased and stabilized," Finan said.

Sentinel Square II was financed on spec by European companies Helaba and Nord LB, which collectively put up $181 million towards completion.  Though financing a project of this scale on spec is somewhat unusual (but so were 1812 N. Moore and CityCenter), investors were reportedly reassured by the fact that Trammell Crow has already leased 85% of Sentinel Square I, to such tenants as the Department of Veteran Affairs, and other federal agencies.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Carr Properties to Build Glass Box onto Corcoran Art Gallery

The historic Corcoran Gallery of Art is set for a significant addition in the near future, as Carr Properties and architects at SmithGroup have submitted a design concept to the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) for feedback. A recommendation will be returned by the HPRB at its next meeting on November 18th. Their recently submitted application reveals that developers are attempting to move forward with a nine-story office addition to the previously expanded northwest corner of the art gallery that was originally designed by Charles Adams Platt in the 1920s.

Although some Corcoran staff may occupy offices in the new building, it will act and operate separately, generating lease revenues that will assist the Gallery in its effort to grow the collection and the College of Art's endowment. While operating separately, the structure is technically intended to be an addition, as original plans have always called for an expansion of the Gallery in this direction; the addition will be connected to the original 1890s building through a stairwell and partly cantilevered over the Clark Wing.

In August, the Corcoran Gallery granted Carr Properties a long term ground lease of the site on which developers will apparently build, own, and operate the new offices. Unless an extension is requested by Carr, if all the required public approvals are not secured prior to December 15th of next year, the lease will automatically terminate. The property's street address is 1700 New York Avenue, NW, fronting New York Avenue to the south and E Street to the north. Rising several stories above the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the top floors of the addition will offer panoramic views of the White House, the National Mall, the Capitol, and the various surrounding monuments. In addition to office space and a basement for storage, the expansion will also increase parking availability at the gallery, with three levels of garage set to sit below the new building.

The recently submitted designs by SmithGroup go in a much different direction from previously submitted plans. Hartman-Cox had received approval from the Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) and the Historic Preservation Review Board as far back as 1988, but never followed through on their plans for a 120,000 s.f. addition. Again in 2008, Hartman-Cox resubmitted similar renderings on behalf of the Corcoran Gallery, but HPRB called the firm's aesthetic of choice "clearly historicist, [and] perhaps more in vogue in the 1980s than at present," advising the architects to reconfigure the building's design so to more "clearly reflect its own identity and purpose." Smith heeded this advice with hopes that their starkly modern and minimalist stylistics will be better received by HPRB; but developers know that regardless of the outcome, a long road of applications and meetings and approval decisions lies ahead.

Washington D.C. Real Estate Development News

Dupont Underground Plans Unveiled

Last night, the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED) hosted a meeting at the Dupont Hotel to introduce interested parties, mostly journalists and artist-types, to the selected development team and their preliminary plans for the 100,000 s.f. space known as "Dupont Underground." After a failed endungeoned food court experiment in '95, and some 35 years without a viable solution for the neglected Dupont Circle trolley station, DMPED and the development team believe they've "cut the Gordian knot" of Dupont Underground. Having released an RFP in March, the District received two official offers. Eventually deeming one "unresponsive," DMPED officials have decided to move forward and go public with the lone development plans. Spearheaded by Arts Coalition for Dupont Underground (ACDU), a registered not-for-profit "comprising artists and designers, businesspeople and community leaders," and in partnership with J.M. Zell, the newly chosen development team will look to deliver an "important cultural institution highlighting Washington’s rightful place on the cultural map." In other words, developers will transform the rat-friendly bunker, "stretching nearly eight blocks long," into a high-brow cultural center: part art gallery showcasing local talent, part sophisticated "top-tier" dining venue, part wine-swirling hobnobbing-goodness. Developers cited their "optimal goal" for delivery of the ten-million-dollar, 40,000 s.f. phase one as somewhere between 24 and 36 months, or two to three years.

SmithGroup is currently in the preliminary stages of designing an elegant new wardrobe for the currently raw and unfinished underground tunnel, and WCS Construction has signed on to build the finalized plans. Phase one will consist of 20,000 s.f. of gallery space and 20,000 s.f. of concession space (potentially a restaurant, wine-bar, and cafe). Developers expect that pending leases with a high-end restaurateur and winery of some sort will enable a loan covering three-fourth of phase one construction costs. The remaining quarter will be left to fund-raising efforts. Developers promised they "are not counting on any District financial support." Phase two will consist of an additional 60,000 s.f. of cultural space, its construction wholly dependent on the financial success of phase one and the growth of the endowment. Citing formerly rotting and now reimagined public and cultural spaces like New York City's "The High Line" (an unused elevated rail-line turned public park) and Saint-Nazaire, France's "Alveole 14" (an abandoned submarine bunker turned art-space), developers expressed their hopes of creating a cultural attraction that will even "attract international tourists from Berlin and Paris." Considering the last Dupont Underground project failed to lure their own citizens down for a lunch-time burger, it seems the difficulty of the task ahead looms rather large.

Washington D.C. Real Estate Development News

DC's Newest Office Building: Uniting NoMa?

Another NoMa project has now delivered, this time at the corner of K and 1st Streets, NE. 90K, Trammell Crow Company's new office building, is the first of the (eventual) four-stage Sentinel Square development, which will take up several lots along L, First and K Streets, NW in NoMa. 90K offers 400,000 s.f. of green office space for the taking. To date, no announcements have been made about tenants, potential or otherwise, though the developers indicate "strong interest" from government agencies. Developers say the timeline for the next three stages is dependent on the market and financing.

Clark Construction Group began building in June 2008, which is noteworthy according Tom Finan, Managing Director at Trammell Crow, because the development was able to secure construction financing that June "while the rest of the world tumbled around us." Finan said the building was designed by architects SmithGroup to appeal to both public and private sector tenants, though the 12-story Class A office building includes ISC Level IV security features - 30 foot set-backs on all sides, blast-resistant window glazing and separate shuttle elevators from the parking garage to the security check point - not exactly necessary for your average law firm. Building design even assures progressive collapse avoidance, preventing the sudden loss of any column or beam from causing collapse for sufficient time to evacuate.


90K was designed to achieve LEED Silver certification, with aspirations for Gold; Finan indicated that the announcement on LEED is expected this summer. Three levels of below-grade parking provide 317 parking spaces, though the building is just a few blocks from Union Station. And since looks matter, 90K is surfaced with stainless steel and glass, with a skirt of black granite at street level and Jerusalem Gold marble from Israel.

Asked about the impact of a new building without secured tenants on occupancy rates in the NoMa neighborhood, Liz Price, President of the NoMa BID, said the project does not make a big impact considering the area is set to have 14-15 million s.f. of new or converted office space when and if all proposed projects come to fruition. But the Trammell Crow project is probably "one of the only spaces currently or near-term available for a large HQ," added Price. NoMa's remaining office space can only be leased piecemeal thanks to other large leases.

On the leasing front, Finan said his company has "chased a number of bigger government deals and some of the medium sized agencies," but nothing firm. Finan is hopeful that a deal could be "only months away" on leases that would take upward of one-third of the building. Though designs could permit ground floor retail, Finan said his company secures office tenants first and then determines whether or not there should be retail in the mix.

What does 90K, Sentinel Square's first phase, do for NoMa? Finan sees the project as an anchor that connects the "preexisting" NoMa up and down First Street near Union Station with the newer, "more pioneering elements" closer to New York Avenue. The project, which replaced a surface parking lot, serves to "unite" the area between metros into a clear NoMa market, added Finan.

Washington, DC real estate development news

National Museum of African American History and Culture Design Process Crawling Along

The design for the future National Museum of African American History and Culture on the National Mall checked off its first of a series of reviews today, when the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) heard a presentation from the Smithsonian Institution and their chosen architect, Freelon Adjaye Bond/SmithGroup, about the plans for the building. Though commissioners praised the quality of the design, many expressed "serious concerns" about the current design's size and massing in relation to the Mall and the Washington Monument. The design process is scheduled to last approximately 3 years, with construction beginning in 2012. The 5 acres of land near the Washington Monument have been the subject of vociferous debate first with the National Park Service opposing its use for anything but the grassy space that exists today, then with 22 designs competing for the site and now with sundry federal and local agencies reviewing the merits of the design that won out over five other semi-finalists this past April. Bounded by Constitution Avenue, Madison Drive, 14th and 15th Streets NW, the site would be the terminus of the Smithsonian museums on the Constitution side of the mall, leading up to the Washington Monument. The current design is what the architect described as a pavilion, its base embracing the mound-like structure at the base of the neighboring "temple" buildings, which include the Museum of Natural History and the American History Museum. The building then opens inwards like a "front porch" to reflect a structure common in both traditional West African and southern African American cultures, according to the architect. The mass of the building is aligned with the Museum of Natural History and it is no higher than the American History Museum. NCPC commissioners generally commented favorably on the concept, especially praising the interior design of the building. However, one after another, members expressed concern that the building would diminish the impressiveness of the Washington Monument because, as one commissioner put it, the design "failed" to maintain "the integrity of the mall." Other commissioners mentioned that part of the design process involved the architects providing three alternative design concepts, a process which would "improve the final project." With the design far from finished, NCPC will hear from the team again in the spring of 2010.

Washington DC real estate development news

Tysons Tower Tees Up

Tyson's Corner has a new office building. 1850 Towers Crescent, the newest addition to the office building refuge, adds new landmark for beltway drivers, with 295,000 s.f. in 13 stories and 14,451 s.f. of retail and restaurant space - all now looking for takers. Designed by SmithGroup, the structure features a south-facing brick facade opposite a curved glass curtainwall, maximizing natural light on its northern exposure and presenting its better side to south-bound travelers. DC-based Quadrangle Development Corporation touts the empty building as the only new corporate home to open in Tysons in 2009. Construction began in August of 2007 and achieved substantial completion in August of this year. Designers did not shoot for green certification on the building. 1850 Towers Crescent Plaza is the last of 4 office buildings designed for the complex, but plans for 3 residential buildings are being kept warm. The office park includes the iconic, Philip Johnson-designed office tower known to any Tysons visitor for its curved facade and slender, impractically-scaled columns meant as a nod to Jeffersonian design principles, but for which few people have much affection. Steven Cohen, Vice President and Project Manager at SmithGroup, says the biggest challenge in realizing the 10-year-old project plans was second-guessing the market. Given the cap on total development space for the project site, Quadrangle had to decide how much square footage to leave on the table for its three un-built residential components. Meshing with the existing fabric proved another obstacle. "There was the challenge of making it unique, especially trying to balance it against the Philip Johnson building; our charge to give it its own presence, but one that ties in nicely with the existing buildings. That's why we gave it two very distinct faces." said Cohen. County planners also prioritized the plan to integrate the site with the Tysons Corner mall, and work continues on a pedestrian bridge, nearly complete, that will link Towers Crescent with the mall via the top level of the parking garage and link, they point out, the Silver line metro when it opens "in 2013," providing a "pedestrian-oriented urban center." Interested corporate tenants should contact Jones Lang LaSalle, which is leasing the building, but did not return calls for this article.

Tysons Corner, Virginia real estate development news

Constitution Center: Letting the Light In, Keeping Terror Out

The $250 million renovation of Constitution Center — the block-sized, former Department of Transportation building at 7th St., SW — is inching towards the finish line. When renovation plans for the 1960s-style concrete relic began circulating five years ago, owner David Nassif Associates had three objectives for the architects and engineers at SmithGroup: Design a modern structure that will stand the test of time, retain the building’s original concrete frame, and make the building attractive to bulky federal tenants. The blast-resistant glass building incorporates federal security guidelines and boasts worker-friendly amenities like private D Street metro access, which mean SmithGroup may achieve all three when James G. Davis Construction wraps their work in November of 2009, 29 months after work began in mid 2007.

As lead architect David Varner puts it: “Maintaining the concrete frame probably saved about $60 million in construction costs and shaved about a year off the renovation.” But as far as design, “We pretty much went out of our way to invert just about every design feature of the old DOT building.” Although designed in 1969 by the architect behind the Kennedy Center and Radio Center Music Hall, Edward Durell Stone, the general consensus - at least among DOT employees - was that their old office frankly didn't measure up to general office standards. DOT employees used to describe their offices as “dark and disorienting,” according to Varner because the original building had less than 50 percent glass. That’s not a problem with Constitution Center’s floor-to-ceiling, blast-resistant glass design that ensures “no employee will be further than 45 feet from a natural light source at any time.” No federal agencies have yet signed up to move their offices to Constitution Center, but the buzz is that the owner would prefer one federal tenant with multiple departments to move in by early 2011. With 1.3 million s.f. of rentable space, a 310-seat auditorium, a 15-acre garage with a 1,500 car capacity (the largest in the city), four lobbies, and a 90,000 s.f. central courtyard, it's safe to say the future occupant will be able to stretch out in the complex that occupies the entire block between 6th, 7th, D, & E Streets. Add to its list of superlatives that the project is the largest office renovation in the country expected to receive a LEED Gold certification. Along with aesthetic improvements, a major security overhaul went into the new design of the Constitution Center complex. Garage columns are steel jacketed to guard against an ISC Level IV explosion, just for that country-Inn-kind-of-feel. And while your Beemer may be toast by that point, two separate security access points were placed at the employee-only entrance. All air-intake units and filters are located 110 feet above the ground to guard against any airborne biological attack which, we're told, tends to concentrate closer to the ground. Constitution Center even has its own filtered water supply. The major trade off? The grand central courtyard designed by the landscape architects of Oculus will, predictably, be closed to pedestrians, meaning no more public access or farmers market. But when you're talking about an office building with its own filtered water and air supply, are you really surprised? Varner explains that in a modern, secure building, the owner felt it was not feasible to keep a public courtyard. But, in an effort to maintain a solid relationship with the community, Oculus and SmithGroup designers worked to increase the outdoor green space by 700 percent, beautifying the street front for those that have to walk around it. Shedding a little sunlight on federal offices isn't such a bad idea, even if it's coming through blast-resistant glass.

Washington DC commercial real estate news

Freelon to Design African American History Museum

The Smithsonian Institute announced today (via their insanely popular Smithsonian Channel Blog) that the Freelon Group, Adjaye Associates and Davis Brody Bond in association with SmithGroup have been selected to design the National Museum of African American History and Culture. To be constructed at 15^th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW, the 350,000 square foot museum will stand on the very last vacant parcel of the National Mall.

Since the prospective designs went public last month, the winning team has gone on to beat out a formidable list of competitors that included Diller Scofidio and Renfro and KlingStubbins;" Devrouax and Purnell Architects, Pei Cobb Freed and Partners; Moshe Safdie and Associates and Sulton Campbell Britt & Associates), Foster and Partners and URS and Moody Nolan Inc. and Antoine Predock Architect.

“[We] set up a poll on the Smithsonian Channel Blog asking readers who they think should win and although the Moody Nolan was the clear favorite, another design took home the win,” said Filippa Fenton of Smithsonian Networks. So much for democracy.

According to the Smithsonian, the selected “bronze-tiered design” (aka “the corona”) represents a “melding of cultural symbols, traditions and movements” from “the working landscapes of the American south to the crowns of Nigerian Yoruba artifacts.”

Construction of the $500 million complex is currently scheduled to begin in 2012. For a detailed look at Washington’s soon-to-be newest museum, check out the swanky virtual tour of the design, courtesy of the Smithsonian.

L is for Lease

More office development has arrived in the corridors of power (aka the Downtown Business Improvement District). DRI Development has brought an 11-story, 170,000 square foot building to 1331 L Street NW, only five blocks from the White House. While the building primarily serves as the new headquarters of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), the SmithGroup-designed, glass-faced project also has 11,000 square feet of retail space on the block for would-be tenants.

The project is energy-efficient all the way - from the LEED gold certification (a rarity for District office space) to the "hybrid vehicle preference" parking spaces. The glass facade ostensibly admits the maximum possible amount of natural light and saves on energy costs. (Although admittedly, five high speed elevators don't sound like too “green” of a luxury). The facility’s amenities include a ground-floor fitness center, a landscaped rear court, a private rooftop terrace and "a crystalline glass tower element" over the building’s primary entrance.

Once the building was completed last spring, it sold to MBA - who now occupy only a third (approximately 68,000 square feet) of their latest acquisition. The rest -both retail and office – are being brokered by Transwestern, the parent company of DRI. A Transwestern retail leasing agent, Alex Walker, says “a restaurant and possibly a café” are planned for the site, but a timeline for such developments is still up in air. With the market still in what is best described as “rough shape,” this could be opportunity to snatch up space in a prime downtown parcel that still has that new development smell. That is, if you don’t mind sharing an office with the same guys who milk you for mortgage payments every month. High speed or not, that could be an awkward elevator ride.

Casey Trees Branching Out in Brookland

Local not-for-profit environmental organization, Casey Trees, has acquired the site of a former gas station, located at 3015 12^th Street NE, in Brookland. In the coming weeks, the garage on the site will be razed to make way for a 10,000 square foot "mini-nursery" and tree holding site that will be used as a staging area for Casey Tree's Community Tree Planting initiative, which - in cooperation with the DC Department of the Environment - aims to plant 13,500 new trees by 2014. The 7-year-old organization previously planted 1400 trees throughout the District in 2007 alone.

The gas station acquisition, however, is a mere footnote compared to Casey Tree's plans across the street. As was announced in December of last year, the organization will be moving from their old K Street headquarters to a 14,000 square foot facility at 3030 12^th Street, NE - following a dramatic renovation and expansion of the latter site.

The 3030 site was purchased from residential developer Taurus Enterprise Group Inc. for $1.95 million late last year. By spring 2009, Casey Trees plans to have a 3-story, 10,000 square addition in place that will accommodate a staff that they intend to nearly double over the next decade. SmithGroup - whose motto, coincidentally, is “tree-hugging optional” - is being charged with the redesign and plans to incorporate – no shock here - as many green features as possible into the building. Casey organizers plan on using their new $4 million headquarters to “put down roots” (seriously) in an area notoriously free of green streetscapes and, hopefully, inspire neighbors as Brookland itself undergoes significant redevelopment of its’ own.

Casey Trees is currently operating out of temporary headquarters on 11^th Street, NW. Their planting program just received a major donation from American Express that will go toward 30 planting projects from November to May 2009. Public proposals for projects funded by the recently acquired cash are due by November 30 – just short of spring planting.

Washington DC real estate and retail news

Mt. Vernon Church-Office to Ascend

Carr Properties has just finished digging for the foundation for their project at 901 K Street, NW, and is now ready to go vertical. After contractors finish pouring the first set of pilings, the developer will set the tower crane which will allow for construction of the 12-story building.

The new addition adjacent to Mt. Vernon Square will be sandwiched in between the United Methodist Church at the easternmost corner, and the Henley Park Hotel at the northwestern-most corner - essentially taking up the entire rest of the block. The site is directly across the street from Mt. Vernon Square and the Washington Convention Center.

As with PN Hoffman's 10th and G project nearby, Carr's development will modify an existing historic church; which in Carr's case sits at the triangular intersection between Mass Ave., K and 9th Streets. In exchange for purchasing the church's land, Carr will provide the church with about 32,000 s.f. of space in the new building. Along with getting some tenant space out of the deal, the church also scored a much-needed upgrade package out of Carr and their design firm, the Smith Group. According to John Crump, principal at Smith Group, the hundred-year-old church has seen zero updates since it was built - so architects designed (and Carr funded) the interior renovations, adding elevators to the structure, replacing mechanical and electrical circuits and providing a new slate roof. In addition Carr waterproofed the church, cleaned and restored the facade of the building and blessed the sweltering holy place with the miracle of air conditioning.

All of that for a Class A, "trophy" office building. Totaling 250,000 s.f., the mostly transparent structure will contain four-below ground levels housing a concourse level and 225 parking spaces accessible from 10th Street. Above ground, the building will sit 12 stories high, with the the Mass Ave. elevation stepping back on the ninth floor allowing for roof terraces on floors 9 and 12, as well as upper floors with "floor-to-ceiling windows with 360-degree views," according to Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P., the firm that arranged the $104 million construction loan.

Carr plans for LEED Gold Certification and expects to be completed in the third quarter of 2009.

Southwest Office Block to be Redeveloped

Southwest DC doesn't get the redevelopment spotlight much, its safe to say. Sure, there are always plans, but nothing much seems to happen. This month, however, one of its many '60's era buildings began a four-year redevelopment project, turning one of the largest middle-aged federal office buildings into an environmentally-conscious, modern piece of real estate. Renamed "Constitution Center", the 2.1m s.f. office building at 400 7th St., SW, (occupying the full block between 6th & 7th, D & E Sts.) has now begun renovation to bring it into the 21st century. Massachusetts-based owner David Nassif Associates has hired K Street-based SmithGroup, the nation's 6th largest architecture and engineering firm, to redesign the heavy edifice into a more transparent and contemporary structure. The new design will include LEED (green) building techniques, though the developers have not yet committed to seeking LEED certification, as well as floor-to-ceiling glass curtainwall, laminated insulated glass, and (this being Washington), a more "blast-resistant" exterior. The open courtyard will become a "heavily landscaped private courtyard", says David Varner, the lead architect on the project.

The finished product - sometime in early 2011 - will offer 1.4m s.f. of above-grade office space (no retail space is planned), 15 acres of underground parking - the largest private underground parking in the city - and installation of the largest "chilled beam" HVAC system in the country, which is a very good thing, we're pretty sure, since they've apparently been using it in Europe for years. James G. Davis Construction is performing the work. The Department of Transportation, the last occupant, vacated the property in June.

Constitution Center (the Nassif Building) dates back to 1970, when it first opened, designed by none other than Edward Durrell Stone, who designed a number of local office buildings and was accused of designing the Kennedy Center. Architect SmithGroup also designed the Chesapeake Bay Foundation building in Annapolis, and the first Platinum LEED-certified (the highest level) federal building, in Colorado. No tenants have yet queued up for the project.

David Nassif Associates won the right to develop the site in the mid-60's in an RLA (Redevelopment Land Agency) competition, says Varner, because the land was considered "blighted" under the NCPC Comprehensive Plan, having been vacant at the time. Much of the land nearby developed at that time had replaced old neighborhoods, demolished in the spirit of 'urban renewal' and to make way for the never-completed inner beltway, the only completed portion of which became the Southwest Expressway.

Washington DC real estate and retail news