Tuesday, May 04, 2010
Social Safeway Opens Thursday
Friday, March 26, 2010
H Street Goes Big
Labels: H Street Corridor, Rappaport, Torti Gallas
Friday, March 12, 2010
Skyland's Supreme Challenge
Labels: DMPED, Marshall Heights, Rappaport, Skyland, Torti Gallas, William C. Smith
Eight years ago, the National Capital Revitalization Corporation (NCRC) began planning a makeover of the strip mall, proposing 450-500 residential units and 280,000 s.f. of retail at the intersection Alabama Avenue and Good Hope Road, an area that saw none of the rejuvenation that occurred downtown over the last decade. The District-funded NCRC recognized the spot as a bullseye to spur development, one where private industry alone might not be tempted. The choice seems apt; shuttered beauty salons accompany a check-cashing outlet, a Discount Mart offers faded displays in the window, and the mismatched storefronts are united as much by their nearly-matching green awnings as by their peeling paint and disrepair. On a warm day, car traffic is heavy but the few pedestrians seem more inclined to linger on one of the park benches in front than patronize the stores.
Promoters have a vision: "A 20-year old dream, conceived by Ward 7 residents when this 16-acre site in southeast Washington, D.C. was declared a redevelopment zone in the late 1980's...will transform a disjointed retail area with limited offerings into a cohesive, well-designed, prominent living, shopping, and gathering place." Planners presented at a meeting to the ANC in February, promising a new retail experience for southeast: concentrated retail, multi-family residences, three above-ground parking garages, a 5-story streetfront presence, and reducing vehicular access points for less interrupted pedestrian traffic. As a bribe to locals, builders will throw several million dollars at homeowner counseling services, retail build-out subsidies, park improvements, sidewalk and road enhancements, and job preparedness.
The project was initiated during Mayor Williams' term, but the Fenty administration has gotten squarely behind the project, helping bring together the parties and promoting the project. The Council has even offered a $40 million Tax Increment Financing (TIF) package to provide gap financing to the team, a consortium including Rappaport Companies, William C. Smith & Co., Harrison Malone Development LLC, the Marshall Heights Community Development Organization (MHCDO) and the Washington East Foundation. The Feds, for their part, threw in $28m of funding to show their support. Even the ANC, which usually love development as long as its not in their district, voted to support the project.
With all the economic incentives and mutual bonhomie, what could stop such a beloved juggernaut? The people who own the land. A not-so-small detail in the rehash is that neither the development team nor the city owns most of the property; private owners (originally 15, predominantly retailers) still claim title to the land. And with concerns about displacement and the possibility that once the site is emptied developers will not have financing to build up again, owners fret that selling out means closing down, for good.
The District government is sympathetic, but not very. In view of the greater good for the area, the economic development that will ensue and tax revenue that will one day flow, District planners have opted to proceed with or without the owners' approval. In May of 2004, the District passed "emergency" legislation authorizing NCRC to use eminent domain proceedings - where the government determines and pays a fair market value and takes over the land - to acquire the 40 parcels it needed "in order to show the commitment of the D.C. government to the project." As the argument went at the time, if the District could not pull together a united front, financiers and an anchor store would be hard to come by.
That gave gastric reflux to at least some of the owners, who filed a counter suit to prevent the taking. The owners had two primary arguments: that the original PUD filed with the Zoning Commission was filed by a group that did not include the owners - an issue that is still outstanding - and that the eminent domain proceeding was unconstitutional, i.e., that the land was being taken for private use, not "public use" as required for eminent domain.
At this point forgive us for a brief Constitutional digression. The 5th Amendment to the Constitution reads, in part: "nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation." Characteristically simple language for the foundation of U.S. law, but one that has caused recent debate. Until recently, it was obvious that sole authority for snatching land had to spring from a "public use" (building a new road or sidewalk, laying electric cables, forming a park, or even laying a railroad which served without exclusivity) - one where the government could take the land to further provision of a community service.
All that changed dramatically in 2005, when the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Kelo, et al. v. New London, CT, et al. In the Kelo decision, the city of New London created a development plan for a waterfront neighborhood around an upcoming Pfizer research center. The plan was for parks, office space, retail and parking that would enhance the Pfizer site, one that was “projected to create in excess of 1,000 jobs, to increase tax and other revenues, and to revitalize an economically distressed city..." Some lifelong homeowners, however, resisted giving up their waterfront homes, so the city and a private entity called the New London Development Corporation (NLDC), used eminent domain proceedings to oust the residents.
The Court found for the city, arguing that although much of the space would not go to "public use", the Court decided it "had long ago abandoned any literal requirement" for reading the 5th Amendment, literalism being "impractical given the diverse and always evolving needs of society." So much for the 5th Amendment. The court abandoned the "public use" requirement in favor of a "public purpose" requirement; in other words, if the local government found a generalized benefit of some sort (such as "economic development") to the community, it was free to authorize the seizure of one party's land by another party. In addition to getting value-enhancing development next door, Pfizer received corporate subsidies to encourage it to build, while the shore-front owners were soon evicted and had their homes razed.
Kelo remains the Court's official position, and the Skyland project has nearly identical circumstances. But owners here see even less public use than in Kelo - no parks or public waterfront - distinctions that helped the court reach its decision. With the Court having lost Justice Souter, a key liberal vote in the 5-4 opinion, another look at the same issue might find a distinction in the circumstances that warrants a different outcome. (Conservatives, more furious with Souter than ever after this decision, later proposed an eminent domain proceeding against his private New Hampshire home for the "public benefit" of turning his family home into a museum dedicated to individual liberties and the study of the Constitution. Property rights activists used the decision to launch national speaking tours).
While the ruling is a bitter pill to retailers at Skyland, the worse aspect may be the knowledge of what took place after the decision. In New London, the city removed the homeowners and bulldozed historic homes, only to have the development plan fail for lack of financing. The former neighborhood remains flattened and unused. Pfizer later announced that it will pull out of its research center, just as its tax incentives reach their 10-year expiration.
Dana Berliner, Attorney with the Institute for Justice, was co-counsel on the Kelo case. In a conversation with DCMud, Berliner said the instance of eviction without subsequent development is a very common one. "What you are talking about here [at Skyand] is really speculative. Its a big development in a difficult part of town...that project could easily end up destroying the jobs that already do exist at Skyland. They could spend tens of millions of dollars and end up with nothing. Now, the project actually does employ people and raise tax dollars." Zina D. Williams, ANC Commissioner for ANC7B is more sanguine. "We have worked carefully with the developers to ensure there will be a space for the old tenants." Will the developers have the money to proceed with construction? "Yes, they definitely do. Rappaport and the development team have been working with assisting [owners]. ANC7B and the developers have been working very hard to accomplish what's best for the project; we are confident this project will go forward, we definitely support the development team."
In the wake of Kelo, many states revised their eminent domain laws to prevent such abuse, but the District did not. Elaine Mittleman, an attorney representing several of the parties in litigation with the District and aware of the Kelo fallout, refutes the notion that owners and tenants have been well cared for, and notes that this development is "highly speculative." Mittleman believes the developers have neither sufficient financing nor any substantial tenants, despite having previously teased the community with the promise of a Target. Representatives at Target have repeatedly denied they have any plans to open a store there, and the Skyland website says only that "the site is being marketed to prospective tenants."
Mittlement notes a change for the worse once NCRC was abolished and negotiations shifted to District attorneys, claiming that the District has never negotiated in good faith with the current owners, some of whom have come to agreements on a buy-out, only to have the offer reneged when the District took over from NCRC. But others may have it still worse. "While the owners have a right to 'just compensation,' tenants don't have such rights and have never received an offer to be made whole...and while homeowners must be relocated, businesses have no such right, and the District has done very little to help them."
The Mayor's office says only that "there are several outstanding legal issues associated with the project that have complicated the development process, but the District is working closely with the development team...to accelerate the pre-development work so the project moves on a parallel track with the legal process." Mittleman contends that fighting eviction during a recession has pushed several of her clients close to bankruptcy. "Some of the business that are now shuttered were operating when the this plan became known, this process has already forced some to close." Berliner supports that contention. "Many, if not most, condemned business do not reopen. They almost never get enough to start over" she said, citing the Nationals Ballpark as an example of eminent domain that cost alot more and produced less development than predicted.
Councilmember Kwame Brown, who may have the last word on the subject, told DCMud that property owners are at fault for not listening to the community and allowing their businesses and Skyland to become blighted. Brown said neighbors want to be able to shop in their community, but have had to watch as other neighborhoods throughout the city have been redeveloped, some of which came about through eminent domain. "The community is sympathetic toward the owners, but it's hard to attract an anchor tenant when you are mired in a lawsuit...We are going to move forward and get this done. We will develop Skyland shopping center."
Washington, DC real estate development news
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
Silver Spring Church Goes Residential
Labels: Lakritz Adler, Silver Spring, Torti Gallas
Saturday, January 23, 2010
CityVista
Labels: Michael Marshall Architecture, Mt. Vernon Triangle, Neighborhood Development Company, Torti Gallas
CityVista Apartments, 460 L St., NW, Washington DC
The CityVista complex in Mt. Vernon Triangle is comprised of 3 separate buildings: the "L" at City Vista with 149 condominiums, the K at CityVista with 292 condominiums, and the "V" with 244 apartments, which completed and began renting in Q3 2008. The K is 12 stories high with underground parking, with 59 subsidized condos. The L is slightly smaller, taking up 134,000 s.f. with 119 market rate and 30 low-income units. The project was built on the site of the former wax museum, in an area that still struggles with many underutilized lots that had offered promising development.
CityVista features 110,000 s.f. of retail - an "urban" Safeway with banking and dry-cleaning services, hardware store and Results gym. Building amenities include rooftop terraces and pool, a one-acre private elevated interior plaza, and underground parking. Developed by a group led by Lowe Enterprises, and by L.A.-based CIM, Bundy Development, and NDC, with land acquired from now-defunct NCRC. Architectural design was by Torti Gallas of Silver Spring and Michael Marshall, construction by James Davis Construction Company. Groundreaking occurred in May, 2006; sales, by Mayhood, began late 2005. Occupancy began in September, 2007 with delivery of the first units at the L, completion of the entire development was in late 2008. Condo prices started in the mid $300's for one-bedroom condos, mid-$400's for two-bedroom condos.
Post your comments about CityVista below:
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Tenleytown Safeway Indefinite Postponement
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
Thursday, December 31, 2009
West End Development Showdown
Labels: Eastbanc, LeMay Erickson Wilcox Architects, Toll Brothers, Torti Gallas, West End
According to DMPED Communications Director, Sean Madigan, the Toll Brothers and Eastbanc offers were the only two received in response to the July solicitation. The December 17th community meeting was an opportunity for the groups to show off their plans and answer questions from an often outspoken neighborhood. Local residents became incensed over the lack of BID competition in 2007 when the District attempted to sell the land to Eastbanc Development, which developed the Ritz Carlton hotel and condo and 22 West condos, but which the community viewed as not arms-length.
EastBanc's plans for Square 37, the current site of the library, would create a 20,765 s.f. ground floor library with a 10-story residence above (rendering at left). Designed by LeMay Erickson Wilcox Architects, the plans call for approximately 153 market-rate residential units on the 2nd through 10th floors, and 9,000 s.f. of ground floor retail.
Eastbanc's plans for Square 50 - the fire station - include a replacement fire station on the ground floor and mezzanine with 52 affordable residential units on the 2nd through 4th floors.
At the public presentation Eastbanc responded to questions about including a grocery store in their plan. An Eastbanc representative explained that the group "can and would build a supermarket on site if the community and city united to support it," adding that so far the group has "heard more opposition than support."
The Toll Brother's - Torti Gallas-designed plan for the library calls for 48,000 s.f. of retail, including a 40,000 s.f. grocery store. The library, which the solicitation encouraged developers to keep in the immediate vicinity, would remain in place; 21,300 s.f. on two levels. To top it off, the building will be designed to LEED Silver standards and include as many as 220 residential condos (with views of New York City, if the submitted renderings are accurate).
The group did not submit a plan for the site of the fire station. At the public meeting a Toll Brother's spokesperson explained the decision, saying "if there were some flexibility in some other areas of the Project...we would be willing to discuss subsidizing the construction of the new fire station in Square 50, but we would not be interested in purchasing this site from the District."
Now with two options for Square 37 and only one for Square 50, the DMPED's office will review the community concerns, which they will continue to accept through January, and may eventually request a "best and final offer" from the developer that demonstrates a response to community feedback. A decision should be made by the spring, said Madigan, at which point the land disposition negotiations will begin. Madigan indicate that process could take between 6 and 12 months, and would end with review by the City Council.
Eastbanc had been awarded development rights to the site in 2007, but an outcry over the non-competitive award caused the Council to revoke the grant. Eastbanc was one of the partners awarded the rights to develop the Hine School at the Eastern Market last September.
Washington, D.C. real estate development news
Saturday, December 12, 2009
New Tenleytown and Georgetown Safeways
Labels: Georgetown, safeway, supermarkets, Tenleytown, Torti Gallas, Wisconsin Avenue
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.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Clarendon Center Approved and On Schedule
Labels: Clarendon, Clark Construction, Saul Centers Inc., Torti Gallas
Monday, December 07, 2009
Community Boycotts Groundbreaking for Affordable Housing
Labels: Clark Construction, Enterprise Community Partners, NCPC, Torti Gallas
The Pollin project will replace one-for-one the 42 affordable rental units on site, known as Parkside Additions. The project was initially spearheaded by the late Abe Pollin and his Pollin Foundation, which courted the approval of all landowners back in 2006 and received approval for the project from NCPC last year. The current Parkside project was described by the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) as “functionally obsolete,” so no real loss there.
In July of 2009, ANC7D reviewed a loan request for $7.9 million submitted by the Pollin Foundation to the DCHCD (DC Housing and Community Development), however with only 30 days provided to submit a response, the ANC unanimously rejected the request, and continues to object. ANC7C04 Commissioner Sylvia Brown told DCMud in an email that the "Pollin team have not been transparent and open to communications." Of particular concern is the community benefits agreement and the plan for relocation and return for current Parkside tenants. According to Michael Price, spokesperson for Councilmember Kwame Brown, "the community is adamant that they are looking for a community benefits package and the Councilmember stands by them."
Terri Bolling, Spokesperson for Enterprise Community Investment, one of the development partners on the project,was unaware of the community's recent actions and plans to boycott the groundbreaking. She remarked "this is so strange" since community outreach "is what we do."
John Stranix, formerly of Clark Construction and now of Stranix Associates, is spearheading the construction effort using designs by Torti Gallas & Partners. The project aims to begin construction in early 2010 with the first units available in 2011.
Washington, DC real estate and development news.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Brookland and Abdo Getting Closer to New Development
Labels: Abdo Development, Brookland, Catholic University, Torti Gallas
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
Grocery Store and Apartments Coming to H St NE
Labels: H Street Corridor, Steuart Investment Company, Torti Gallas
Friday, August 21, 2009
MoCo's Largest Residential Building is Capped
Labels: JBG Companies, North Bethesda, Torti Gallas, White Flint
Friday, August 07, 2009
Arbor Place: A Pulse Detected
Labels: Abdo Development, Broadway Development, New York Avenue, Shalom Baranes Architects, Torti Gallas
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
Jazzed about Florida Avenue
Labels: Bank of America, Banneker Ventures, Bozzuto, Metropolis Development, Torti Gallas, WMATA
Banneker Ventures has announced a new partnership with Bank of America (BOA) to develop the former WMATA site into three new "affordable" apartment buildings. Banneker can now go forward with The Jazz @ Florida Avenue, designed by Silver Spring-based Torti Gallas, turning 3 separate lots into 124 apartment units above 20,000 s.f. of ground floor retail and a 61-space parking garage, all straddling WMATA's metro tunnel below. The developers have already applied for, and been granted, Tax Increment Financing (TIF) in the form of a $7m promissory note from the District. And with the District's recent receipt of $33m in stimulus money for housing, the developer has petitioned the District government to receive a portion of those funds. As a result, the apartments will be entirely below-market, open to a mix of income ranges, with the cheapest one-bedroom units to rent out at $768. Developers hope to deliver the project in late 2011.
The long path to development began in May of 2007 when the WMATA Board of Directors issued an RFP for developers to build on the site. The Board did not make its final selection, however, until June of 2008, selecting a team that included Banneker and Metropolis Development. But the latest announcement drops Metropolis from the picture in place of BOA. In addition, the formerly tiny project footprint now includes two adjacent parcels on 9th Street recently acquired by the development team. Bozzuto will serve as the general contractor for the project.