Wilson High School Modernization Video

The city has released a video virtual tour of the Wilson High School in Tenleytown. The $85m project began in February of 2009 and is expected to meet LEED Silver certification when it is completed next July.

DC's Highest Retail Site

Tenleytown, averse to larger developments in demand around the rest of Washington DC, must get its much-needed retail in little bursts. Such is the case at 4619 41st Street, at Wisconsin Avenue, which happens to be the highest retail point in the city - elevation, that is. But just because it is located on the side of Fort Reno, don't expect grand views; the building will rise only 4 stories, nearly opposite the Metro station, with space for "1 or 2 restaurants," a small retail element in the basement, office space, and a small number of residences above.

The owner 4619 41st LLC has begun construction on the site, certainly better known for what it was than what it will be. The land abuts the landmarked Western Union tower, an art deco, 73-foot limestone tower designed as a microwave relay station to replace wired telegraphy, the first structure in the country built for that purpose. The construction site also was used briefly by American Tower for a 760-foot behemoth that would have dwarfed others nearby, but was heavily protested by neighbors who fought the concentration of radio towers on the visible site. The tower was about 50% completed when the city forced it to halt construction, the tower sat half-finished for several years before coming down in 2007.

Engineers for the site call the project one of the more technically difficult sites to work on, with the tiny site adjoining the Western Union tower and Dancing Crab, both of which have to be dug below and underpinned, caisson footings from the removed radio tower have to be excavated, and a Metro tunnel underneath that WMATA doesn't really want punctured.

The engineering firm seems up to the task. KCE Structural Engineers has been part of $42 billion worth of construction projects, having engineered Washington Harbor, Federal Triangle, the John Wilson building addition, Bethesda Metro Center, the PTO building in Alexandria, and Arena Stage. KCE Principal Allyn Kilsheimer has a more personal connection with the construction site, having grown up in the neighborhood and having been part of the engineering team that readapted the Western Union tower as a junior engineer at Beall & Lemay in the early '60's. Kilsheimer went on to found KCE in 1968, engineering buildings throughout DC and beyond. With such eminence in the engineering world, Kilsheimer was called to the World Trade Center site on September 11, 2001, but, barely en route, got the call that he was needed at the Pentagon and had to turn around. Kilsheimer went on to lead the Phoenix Project team, which rebuilt the Pentagon under budget and ahead of schedule.

"This is a very, very complicated building" said Kilsheimer. "We're now doing the underpinning of the Crab Shack and tower, the foundation should be laid in 3-4 months." Georgetown based Grupo7, which has worked with the Ed Peete company on numerous interior designs and restaurant build-outs, is providing architectural design. With Tenley's Babes and Safeway going nowhere, the new restaurants will add some flavor at the top of DC.



Washington DC real estate development news

Pete's Apizza Dishes Out Two New Locations

The owners of Pete's Apizza (pronounced \ah-bēts\) in Columbia Heights are taking that old real estate adage: "location, location, location" literally these days. Just two years after opening their popular, New Haven-style pizza joint in Columbia Heights (1400 Irving Street, NW), the owners have turned their attention to opening two additional stores in Metro-adjacent hot spots throughout the beltway.

First stop: A converted antique/interiors store at 4940 Wisconsin Avenue, NW in the Tenleytown-Friendship Heights neighborhood, opens for business tomorrow (June 16th).

"We're right between two metro stops and [the location] has the buzz factor we were looking for," says Michael Wilkinson, a co-partner in the family and friend-run endeavor. The team toyed with the idea of locations ranging from Navy Yard to Dupont Circle but ultimately decided on the 3,400 s.f., 84-seater in Tenleytown because of its "high concentration of families," fair amounts of foot traffic, and limited (read: crappy) pizza options.

Northern Virginia gets its own slice of the strangely-pronounced, pizza craze by 2011: a Pete's Apizza is slated for the construction-laden, corner of North Clarendon Boulevard and North Garfield Street.
"What we love about this location is that we could have gone to Rosslyn or Ballston, but being situated in Clarendon gets us right into the grouping of five metro stations, within transit-oriented development" says Wilkinson.

Talks with retail brokers went faster than expected and now Pete's Apizza's Clarendon location is happening "a year sooner than we thought it would," says Wilkinson. With building permits already submitted and a construction timeline that spans three months or less, a 4,000 s.f. pizza space could be up and running as early as the end of this year.

Washington DC Real Estate and Development News

Tenleytown Safeway Indefinite Postponement

It looks like all the fuss over the Tenleytown Safeway at 4203 Davenport Street is far from over. Last night the DC Zoning Commission approved a request from the Safeway project team to indefinitely postpone the review of the submitted plan, which was scheduled for this Thursday. The team submitted their request indicating they needed more time go back and address some issues brought forth by the Office of Planning and the community. The indefinite nature of the postponement suggests the Safeway team has been nudged into submission by the neighborhood over the past few months; in August a Safeway spokesperson had anticipated plans would be finalized by this past September.

The existing Safeway store is 35,000 s.f. and, according to the plans initially submitted to the Office of Planning, the new store, designed by Torti Gallas, would grow to 58,000 s.f. and include neighborhood retail like a coffee shop, dry cleaners and florist. The project would provide 176 off-street parking spaces, some of which will be on the ground level below the elevated grocery story and some in a surface parking lot. The roof would have 1400 s.f. of green roof elements, the remainder would be a "cool roof," which means a mere 2.6% of the roof is currently designed to be green. Though Craig Muckle, a spokesperson for Safeway, said the building would have other green features and would aim for LEED Silver at minimum.

In October, the Office of Planning expressed concerns about various elements of the plan and requested additional environmental benefits such as an expanded green roof and increased permeability in the surface parking lot. The OP report also cited issues with elements of the site design and building placement. The current plans seeks exemptions including a reduced number of parking spaces, providing 176 when 185 are required, and zoning changes, as several of the included lots are currently zoned for residential uses. Among the more significant requests from Planning was that the applicant better address why the project, given its location, should get zoning exemptions since, unlike many similar projects, the plan does not include any residential density. OP seems to suggest the project has neither demonstrated a need for the requested flexibility nor demonstrated the additional benefits to the community to justify a change in the zoning evaluation from a matter of right to PUD. To paraphrase, what's in it for "us"? A question neighbors have been more than willing to ask.

Neighbors object to a variety of elements about the plan. Certain voices clamor for dense mixed-use development that includes residential space and retail independent of the grocer. Others in the neighborhood prefer the short and squat nature of buildings in the surrounding area and would prefer to see changes come as matter of right development, leaving out the chance of future denser development. Then there are the standard worries about noise, traffic, and lack of community benefits. The community has some reconciling to do and Safeway now has plenty of time to get that feedback.

According to Muckle, the group "had been doing outreach and a number of issues arose" the team requested "more time to explore the issues without the pressure of a pending hearing prohibiting them from examining as fully as needed." Why the indefinite proposal then, why not six months? Muckle said Safeway did not want to be "pigeonholed" by a timeline. In Safeway's request for postponement, the team indicated that they will work with the community and Office of Planning to come to a consensus of sorts at which point the team and Commission will schedule a new hearing.

Washington, DC real estate and development news

New Tenleytown and Georgetown Safeways

Take that, Whole Foods. Thursday was a big night for Safeway in northwest DC, with the group announcing that the Georgetown store would seek LEED certification, meanwhile the plan for the Tenleytown location continues its review by the ANC.

The Georgetown "social" Safeway, at 1855 Wisconsin Ave, NW, is expected to complete this May the replacement for the store demolished in April of 2009. Safeway will submit their Torti Gallas-designed building for review by the U.S. Green Building Council, expecting LEED certification for the final product.

Up the hill, the ANC continues to review a similar plan for the Tenleytown Safeway at 4203 Davenport St., but not without much heated debate. The zoning change for the Tenleytown store is set to go before the Zoning Commission on January 14th of the new year. The new design involves a two story building replacing the squat, windowless monolith that now presents its backside to Wisconsin Avenue.

Assuming PUD approval, renovation of the Tenleytown store will not start until the Georgetown Safeway is completed to avoid closing two nearby stores simultaneously.

The two buildings are Safeway's salvo in the supermarket wars; Safeway has been on a binge of renovating and rebuilding its stores to respond to increasing competition among grocers. Whole Foods will answer when it opens its next DC-area store this summer, just five blocks up the street, and Giant will open its flagship on Wisconsin Avenue in 2011, but Harris Teeter seems to have been elbowed out of the Wisconsin Avenue scrum.



Correction: In the original report DCMud indicated the Tenleytown store had received ANC approval. It was brought to our attention by the ANC this was not the case. There was a miscommunication between our staff and the source of the story. We apologize for the mistake.

DC's Janney School Releases New School Renderings

Janney Elementary School in Tenleytown has released renderings of the addition that will nearly double the size of the existing school. The new plans represent the nearly final design for the 4-story addition to flank the school's western side, taking the place of the current playground. Washington DC-based Devrouax and Purnell Architects have designed a modern structure of brick and glass to accompany the historic school, which was landmarked on November 19th by the DC Historic Preservation Board. Construction is expected to commence in March of 2010, after which the old school will be renovated. The new plans come after several years of acrimony, a result of the original plans to build a library and apartment building next door, with the developer therefore restoring the aged school. The school will hold a public meeting on December 15th to procure feedback on the plans. Meanwhile, several months after the official ground-breaking, work actually began last week on the adjacent public library. 

Washington DC real estate development news

Tenley Library Construction to Start

Years into discussions about the fate of Tenleytown Library, DC officials have announced that construction, or at least a ceremonial pretense, will at last begin this morning at 10:30am. After an embarrassingly nasty brawl over the fate of the postage stamp-sized parcel at Albemarle and Wisconsin, the fate of the library seems at long last decided. Sort of. Following the long term loss of the library in 2005, everything has gone according to plan, excepting, that is, the lack of plan for a new library, the city's belated selection of a developer for the site, the public outcry over the city's selection thereof, the battle over the right to build housing above a Metro (gasp!), a subsequent war between the DC Council, locals, and DMPED over control of the project, DMPED's decision to lead its own charge and issue an RFP for the project on its own, DMPED's mysterious shift in qualifications for the site - after submission of bids - which it shared with only 2 of the 3 applicants, DMPED's decision and hire LCOR, Inc. as the developer in July of 2008, the community's rejection of LCOR's plans, DMPED's pronouncement of a "rare opportunity" to bring subsidized housing to the "underserved (retail-challenged) Wisconsin Avenue," the quiet dropping of LCOR from the project in March of 2009, the Mayor's decision to build the library and then figure out if apartments should go on top of it, and his final pledge that the building would - damn the torpedoes - be completed in 2010. Did we miss anything? Water under the bridge though. 

Now work begins on the new library, and one thing is for sure, Forrester Construction will build it. Even if "it" is still undetermined. As of August, the city had not committed on a plan for the residences supposed to sit on top of the library, but rather had planned to build the library in the hopes that someone could somehow put a building on top of library shortly thereafter, consigning the project to permanent construction site status. Nor had the District selected an architect to design the library (now technically under construction), basing its plans instead on simple conceptual designs by the Freelon Group (see rendering at left) and R. McGhee & Associates. And Janney parent groups, which opposed the plan as a taking of its green space, will now lose its field as a construction staging ground for up to two years. And then construction may start all over again. Wow, glad that's all settled.

Washington DC commercial real estate news

Tenleytown Gets Retail Improvements

Tenleytown is getting upgraded, a bit. Two new projects near the Metro will breathe some freshness into the retail scene in the neighborhood that has seen little new development and lost its library.

The first is a small lot, but above the Metro, and anything that adds retail to the under-served Tenleytown neighborhood gets noticed. The formerly vacant site above the Tenleytown metro entrance, hitherto a loitering spot of choice for American University and Wilson High students, has been fenced off in preparation for construction of a one-story, 3600 s.f. building, with a "decorative cupola" that will serve retail. Keystone Development, representatives of the property owner Circle Management, have begun work on the site but have not yet scored a retail client. Circle Management owned Tenley's Outer Circle theater, before it was demolished. Keystone has hired K3 Construction Group to build the structure. According to K3 representative Kathy McCormick, the site will be "very challenging" work for its proximity to the metro entrance and tunnel, a process that requires WMATA to sign off.

Down the street, Safeway, Inc. is finalizing plans to renovate the Tenleytown Safeway at the corner of Davenport Street and Wisconsin Avenue.   The building, with its back to busy Wisconsin Avenue is often overlooked by passersby and is long overdue for a facelift. According, to Craig Muckle, a spokesperson for Safeway, the company is working with the community to get input and make sure interested parties have a say in the design process. The plans should be finalized by mid-September.

Renovation of the Safeway will not start until the Georgetown Safeway, which started renovation work several months ago, is completed, to avoid closing two nearby stores simultaneously. The Georgetown store is on schedule for completion in March of 2010. Muckle was unwilling to share other details of the project, saying that it would be "unfair" to spoil the surprise. Renovation and design will be overseen by Torti Gallas. The new designs will incorporate Safeway's "lifestyle" branding - the grocer's move to incorporate urban design principles into their stores by improving pedestrian friendliness and adding more diverse retail into the shopping experience.

Washington DC retail development news

Tenley-Janney Loses Apartments, Gains Consensus

In a surprise announcement from Mayor Adrian Fenty at Janney Elementary this afternoon, the ongoing battle between the Tenleytown community and the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development over the mixed-use redevelopment of the Tenley-Friendship Library seems to have drawn to a close. The District announced today that it has split with developer LCOR Inc., which had previously been awarded rights to construct the library at the site, along with 174 rental apartments, by the Fenty administration this past July.

The District’s relationship with LCOR, however, went suspiciously unmentioned by Fenty or his staff during the duration of the press conference - an especially conspicuous omission, given that Deputy Mayor Neil Albert had previously reaffirmed his office's commitment to moving forward with the LCOR-led redevelopment as recently as January. Off-the-record sources from inside the District government confirmed that the change of direction at the Janney site had little to do the contentious war of words between the Tenleytown community’s reps on the DC City Council and ODMPED, but that instead, LCOR has been forced to the sidelines due the company’s inability to secure financing in the troubled credit market. For the District’s part, they’re leaving the door to mixed-use development open for the near future.

“There is the possibility that after the library is built, sometime in the future, there may be additional mixed-use on that site,” said Fenty, to a mixed reaction of both applause and boos – an illustration of just how divisive the residential component of the school/library redevelopment had become, even among Janney staff and parents.

With LCOR out of the picture (for now) and no residential units stacked atop of it, the library over the metro station will top out at a simple two stories and measure in at 22,000 square feet, based on designs by the Freelon Group. Forrester Construction has signed on as general contractor and the building will seek a LEED silver certification.

Whether today's deal is a bow to market forces or just public relations peacemaking (or both), ODMPED didn’t end the goodwill there; the schedule for construction of the new library and concurrent renovations to Janney Elementary, it was announced, has been significantly accelerated. Fenty pledged that the new library will be open by the end of 2010, while renovations to Janney, once scheduled to begin in 2014, “could begin as soon as December.” Both Fenty and Allen Y. Lew, Executive Director of Office of Public Education Facilities Modernization, agreed that an architect for the renovation will be selected by June; other details, including whether the school will remain open during construction, had yet to be confirmed. According to Lew, the renovation could take as little as thirteen months.

Auctioning Babes

If any one thing comes to embody the zeitgeist of real estate skepticism, it may be the comeuppance of would-be developments, outlived even by their own ephemeral marketing life. First among that class may be the sad story of Babe's Billiards, purchased and shuttered by Clemens Construction to make way for the Maxim at Tenley, a condominium development at 4600 Wisconsin Avenue, NW that will go to auction as a recent victim of foreclosure.

Popular watering hole Babe's was prematurely closed by the new owner - an easy sacrifice for the nearly 70 condo units intended for the site. Clemens began their pursuit of the elusive project in 2006 and had their intentions reaffirmed when the DC Zoning Commission ruled in their favor the following year.

But the approval was only the beginning of a long and arduous - but eventually mortal - debate with the community. In a coup de grace similar to what may befall neighboring Tenley-Friendship Library/Janney Elementary project – the project was downsized past the point of viability, ultimately ending at approval for a 36,000 s.f. building with a maximum of 42 units and a puny retail component fronting retail starved Wisconsin Avenue.

The combination of the real estate market and reduced scale proved fatal, leaving the blackened building skinned in "coming soon" signs for a prominent epitaph.

Now the entire 12,661 square foot lot, including the store fronts at 4600-4608 and 4614 Wisconsin, has been bundled for the auction, along with its Cunningham & Quill Architects’ designs. In addition to the blueprints, the high bidder will also inherit the development’s previously approved status – meaning that a well financed developer could resurrect the project (or bring back Babes, we hope).

At this time, Clemens still owns the property; the auction is being sponsored by a third party and will take place at the DC offices of attorneys Ober/Kaler (1401 H Street, NW) at 11 AM on February 5^th. The winner will be required to provide a deposit in the form of a cashier’s or certified check for $100,000 at the time of sale.

Washington DC retail and real estate news

Deputy Mayor Forges Ahead on Janney-Tenley

The Tenley turf wars heated up this week, with the Fenty administration's renewed support of LCOR's redevelopment plan for the Tenley Library site. Two months after submitting a letter condemning the Janney Elementary/Tenely Library redevelopment's proposals, Washington DC City Councilmembers Mary Cheh and Kwame Brown have received a reply from Deputy Mayor Neil Albert. The letter obtained by DCmud outlines the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development's (ODMPED) stance on the project, while the same time dismissing the representatives' call to abandon the project's proposed residential component.

"As I am sure you are aware, the original rationale for this project is two-fold. First, it is part of a District-wide effort to capitalize on transit-oriented development. The site offers the District the rare opportunity to leverage a parcel across the street from a Metrorail station, bringing additional residents and workforce housing units to an underserved Wisconsin Avenue corridor,” states Albert in a letter dated January 12th. “Second, the money the District will receive in the form of a prepaid ground lease will be used to move the Janney School modernization up in the queue from Fiscal Year 2014…to Fiscal years 2009, 2010, and 2011.”

As a recap of the battle, the struggle involves the Deputy Mayor, who is interested in developing the metro-centered site and chose LCOR as project developer, DCPL (the public library), which wants to replace the library closed down three years ago, Janney parent groups, which don't want to cede an inch of existing outdoor space to an apartment building, DC Public Schools (DCPS), which will have to renovate the school system if a developer does not pony up, and a determined group of locals that have filibustered every large development in the area, and successfully thwarted the first developer for the site.Albert supports the residential tower atop the new library, reasoning that “a stand-alone library would eliminate any potential cost savings for the library, would make any future development on the site cost prohibitive and would require much more of…Janney Elementary[‘s] green space.” The latter is a reference to objections by the Janney School Improvement Team (SIT), which withdrew their support - along with Cheh and Brown – for the cession of existing green space to the development. But Albert counters that LCOR’s revised plans now result in “a net gain of 300 square feet of green space at the school” through conversion of pavement to turf. Though such plans have yet to be released publicly, the Deputy Mayor states that a “fully formed proposal” will be unveiled on February 10^th.

As previously noted, DCPS have had little say in the direction of the project, while DC Public Libraries (DCPL) have been privy to the bulk of the negotiations between ODMPED and LCOR . “Preliminary estimates show that [DCPL] will save approximately half of its construction budget under this mixed-use scenario for their new 20,000 square foot library. This amounts to approximately $5 million in cost savings,” says Albert - though when initally estimated by ODMPED, the library sported a projected cost of $16 million. This most certainly is not the last word on the project.

Washington DC commercial real estate

Tenley Wars III: The Council Strikes Back

Protracted. Excruciating. Unnecessary. These are but a few words used to describe the ongoing battle being waged by local community groups opposed to the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (ODMPED) and developer LCOR Inc.'s plans for a new Tenleytown-Friendship Heights Neighborhood Library and residential development. And yet the twisting story further intensifies since DC City Councilmembers Mary Cheh and Kwame Brown have stepped into the fray.

At issue is the construction of a new Tenley Library to replace its predecessor (closed 4 years ago), updates and additions to the over-enrolled and threadbare Janney Elementary school, and, in return for these improvements, permission for the developer to build a residential complex on the site. A win-win scenario about which no one seems happy. The newest chapter involves LCOR's latest proposal to extend the residential component onto the school's green space (an ingredient mysteriously pushed by the Deputy Mayor and seemingly favorable to no one), a move that spurred Janney's School Improvement Team (SIT) to revoke its conditional support of the three-tiered agreement. Remaining undecided is the pace of renovations to the school, which the District wasn't planning to get to until 2013 despite immediate needs, hence the SIT favoring a quicker fix by the developer.

With the school's support withdrawn in the already contentious battle, Councilmembers Cheh and Brown penned a letter to Mayor Fenty expressing their wish to see the project’s library component move forward, while insisting that LCOR’s residential development be sent back to the drawing board.

“We write to ask that you permit the Tenley Library to build now and separate it from any possible mixed-use, or public/private, development on the site,” read the statement's first paragraph. “As for the current LCOR proposal, we believe that it is fatally flawed,” begins another. Cheh and Brown propose a compromise that would allow the library to be constructed with structural supports in place to accommodate any future development above. Meanwhile, the residential component would be put on hold until a mutually agreeable design is produced. In conclusion, the letter asked for a response to their concerns by Friday, November, 7^th.

The Letter hinges on LCOR's plans for the residential component, initially planned to sit on top of the library, then moved (by mysterious edict of a revised RFP) off the library and in place of the neighboring Janney soccer field. Now, two differing LCOR site plans (dated November 4th) put the apartments back on the library once again, but still encroaching on Janney green space. That in turn caused SIT to withdraw their support, as both proposals take up some of the green space now used by Janney, but add it back in behind the school, in place of the surface parking lot. According to Kirk Rankin of the Janney SIT, the SIT is opposed to any plan that would require Janney to cede any of its green space for the development.

Still with us? Good, because further complicating matters is the timing, and everyone agrees the quicker the better. And yet The Letter contemplates a two-year construction of the library, completion of which would be followed by a second construction project on the same small site, a process that may yield an architecturally challenged, ever-dusty construction site.

Cheh was not amused by the Deputy Mayor's response, or lack thereof, to The Letter. “Immediately after [receiving our letter], the Deputy Mayor for Economic Development issued a statement saying they were going ahead with it. No one has ever explained to me, ‘With what are they going ahead?’” said Councilwoman Cheh, referring to the widespread confusion resulting from the repeated relocation of the residential units.

While ODMPED would not respond to DCMud's inquiries regarding the matter, an LCOR representative did comment on the council's qualms and the impact that residential development will have on the school zone. “We’re going ahead with it and [ODMPED] is going ahead, too,” said Timothy D. Smith, Senior Vice President of LCOR. “The two [library and residential] are combined. It’s one building with a very prominent location along the street that reads ‘Library’ when you’re riding along Wisconsin Avenue…it’s probably the best way to use the land, rather than build separate apartment buildings.”

"We've been working on this steadily and people make comments in the meantime," he continued. "We were working down Mary Cheh's list of things that she wants to see accomplished when the letter was written...We have been meeting with citizens groups and modifying our plan. We do hope to gain support back from Mary."

Councilwoman Cheh, however, was not quite as optimistic with respect to the library’s future: “If they surplus property, that requires council approval. If the ward councilmember doesn’t approve of the action, I doubt very much that my colleagues would approve of it over my opposition.”

Meanwhile, a standalone library has been funded and approved and could, with Council okay, start construction relatively soon. We'll be waiting to see who blinks. Stay tuned for Episode IV: Revenge of the SIT.

Janney Elementary Proves Hard to Please

Last night, a group of citizens and parents gathered at St. Ann's Church in Tenleytown to discuss the status of the embattled Janney Elementary/Tenley-Friendship Library redevelopment at the intersection of Wisconsin Ave. and Albemarle St. Neighborhood activists led an hour long presentation that criticized both the DC government and the project's designers, LCOR Inc. In an ironic case of getting what you wish for, the presentation made it clear that the public-private partnership (PPP) that Janney supporters lobbied the Fenty Administration for (and came closer to in July) was now, in their view, the worst possible option.

"Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction," said Sue Hemberger. "Since July 10, Mayor Fenty has broken two promises and told four lies." She went on to detail Janney's gripes with the city in detail. First and foremost, they are taking issue with the city’s selection of a developer for the PPP without the sanction of local supporters. “Mayor Fenty promised he wouldn’t pursue a PPP unless the community approved it…He then selected a proposal that [we] found completely unacceptable.”

The proposal in question is the work of LCOR Inc., who beat out two competing firms, Roadside-Smoot and the See Forever Foundation, for the deal after an RFP for the site was issued last year. Since that time, Janney advocates have taken issue with almost every aspect of their design, which includes construction of a new wing for the school, a brand new Tenley-Friendship Library, as well as an adjacent 8-story apartment complex on the site of the school's soccer field. Janney supporters have voiced discontent over the ceding of their soccer field to the apartment building and the adverse conditions that large scale construction would have on the day-to-day affairs of the school.

“This was probably the worst of the three proposals put forth. We asked [LCOR] to revise it and they refused. So this is what’s on the table,” said Daniel Carozza as he gave a lengthy explanation of the new building’s design flaws. Citing a lack of natural light and open air play space, a smaller in-house library and cafeteria that would be unable to comfortably service Janney’s 550 students, and the adverse conditions pupils would face if they were forced off-campus during construction, he said, “I’m not sure, for the sake of our children, that I could approve of this plan.”

Unfortunately for Janney Elementary, the matter is no longer entirely in their hands. Janney officials and DC Public Schools (DCPS) are not taking part in any discussions with LCOR - DC Public Libraries (DCPL) is the only organization currently holding talks the developer. According to Hemberger, the new library’s design (composed by the Freelon Group) is “fully funded and approved,” except for a review by the DC City Council – a formality undertaken by projects budgeted at over $1 million. “They could be in the ground in 6 weeks,” she said.

That, however, seems unlikely for Janney. Although scheduled on the District’s Master Facilities Plan, if they have their way, the PPP will be abolished and the design process will begin anew. According to Hemberger and Heroza, a non-PPP project - overseen by DCPS - would take only two years, compared to LCOR’s four. As Hemberger said in closing, “This PPP will be lose lose lose.”

The original RFP for the project contemplated using the old library site, on well-trafficed Wisconsin Avenue above the metro station, to build the residential units, integrating the library into the new structure. But local activists protested the process as well as the proposed design specifications that would have left the soccer field intact. For reasons still unclear and contested, the District changed the RFP after it was issued to discourage developers from including housing over the library site, removing it instead onto the school grounds.

LCOR Wins Tenley/Janney Site

Mayor Adrian Fenty announced this morning that the District will partner with LCOR for the development of the 3.6 acre Tenley Library/ Janney Elementary School site on Wisconsin Avenue.

The announcement, made nine months after the RFP's issuance, came as a surprise to those used to long-outstanding District RFPs; the decision surprised even the developer. "We didn't find out until 6:30 last night," said Timothy Smith, Senior Vice President of LCOR. "We were told to expect some word, but I had given up and gone home, so we were as surprised as everyone else...We are excited to be designated, we are awaiting paperwork from the District and will be working not only with the Office of Economic Development finalize plans, but also all of the stake holders in the neighborhood," Smith said.

This type of educational/residential mixed-use project is not new to the developer, who is responsible for the 47,000 s.f. James F. Oyster Elementary School and 211-unit Henry Adams House apartments in Woodley Park, in fact, Smith said LCOR prides itself in taking on such innovative, unique projects.

"I think our work on the Oyster School was one of the things that had to do with their decision to go with us. The current building is set back from Wisconsin Avenue and it will be a mixed-use project. One of the things we proposed was instead of a free standing structure, the library will be in the first two floors of the apartment building," Smith said.
Community involvement will be key to the development of this site, as it has been the subject of controversy between past developers and the community for years. But despite the site's conflict-ridden history, the developer said he just wants to get going.

"We are trying to make sure we work with the library to make sure their plan works within the building. We have done a lot of different kinds of developments, so this is right down our alley. We know that complex multiple use projects involve us working with community. Here we think we have the big picture, but we will still be working with the community," said Smith

LCOR's proposal included 174 rental apartment units and while specific details have not yet been announced, the development will likely achieve LEED certification and, in keeping with the Fenty Administration's affordable housing goals, offer workforce housing. Smith said more detailed information will be available in the coming weeks.

The District issued the RFP for the site last fall; three development teams responded and were evaluated based on "vision, financial capacity and past performance."

"We've got a real opportunity to leverage this site to help pay for the cost of improving Janney Elementary, enhance the existing open space and add both market-rate and workforce housing - all atop a Metro Station," Fenty said.

The projects puts to bed a contentious process that began with Roadside Development proposing to build what is now LCOR's mandate, a plan that was stymied when activists demanded an open bidding process. The District then mishandled the RFP, changing its terms after the response date passed, forbidding integration of the library within a residential building.

"Not many people know this, but LCOR has been in Washington for thirty-two years. We were really under the radar until we did the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Headquarters project," said Smith. Not anymore. LCOR recently completed the first residential building in the company's North Bethesda Town Center project, its 32-acre project at the White Flint Metro station.