JBG to Build 4-Star Hotel on U Street

With their new plans for a residential project on 14th Street locked, the JBG Companies are moving ahead with their proposed "Destination Hotel" at 13th and U Streets, NW - currently the site of a Rite Aid outlet and, promisingly enough, directly across from the first shot fired in the war of U Street redevelopment, the Ellington.

Currently under design by David M. Schwarz Architects, the JBG-developed hotel looks to revitalize the Rite Aid site with a four-star, "boutique and independently managed" hotel that could include as many as 250 guestrooms, 4,500 square feet of conference space and a robust 23,000 square feet of retail. Though still in the planning stages, JBG has presented the Cardozo-Shaw Neighborhood Association (CSNA) with a tentative outline of their plans for the development, which include “a signature restaurant,” rooftop bar, swimming pool, full-service neighborhood gym, a publicly accessible arts component and requisite LEED Silver certification. Fancy accoutrements aside, JBG isn’t entirely forsaking the parcel’s past; the local Rite Aid will remain, albeit in an updated and reconfigured space. Gone, however, are tentative plans to add condos to the top floors.

JBG has yet to formally partner with a hotelier for the project – though the smart money’s on Marriott International, with whom they’ve partnered for a host of metro area co-developments. According to a statement from the CSNA, in the coming weeks JBG will “continue to participate and host community meetings with project neighbors, CSNA, ANC 1B, and other government officials, boards, and agencies, including the DC Historic Preservation Review Board and the DC Zoning Commission.” JBG will make good on that pledge, in conjunction with the CSNA, when they make the first public presentation regarding the hotel at 1835 14th Street, NW on Thursday, March 12 at 7 PM. Despite slowing their residential developmnet profile, JBG also just received HPRB approval just 3 blocks away at 1800 14th St., for a large residential building.

Jemal's Retail Trick on 14th Street

Douglas Development is in the process of acquiring the necessary permits to raze a vacant auto lot at 2221 14^th Street, NW. According to Douglas Jemal, President of Douglas Development, his corporation acquired the bafflingly named "Latino Auto Sale" five years ago; now, under the creative title of "Jemal's Hookers, LLC," he’s planning to scrap it for a new retail development intended to service the increasingly crowded 14^th and U Street corridor.

Though Jemal has yet to set a timeline for when the diminutive brick auto shop and adjoining parking lot will meet the wrecking ball and shovel, he has already taken on George Meyers of GTM Architects, Inc. to design a two-story 10,000 square foot retail development for the site.

"We’re getting permitted and getting it designed, so that, hopefully, when this market does turn around, we can get something done,” said Jemal. Understandable, but just what’s the story behind the tasteful moniker of his limited liability company? “Long before you were around,” laughed Jemal, “there were always hookers on that corner [at 14^th and Florida Avenue].”

These days, the intersection is decidedly more family friendly, with PN Hoffman's Union Row project just a few doors down, both Jair Lynch’s Solea Condominiums and Level 2 Development’s View 14 are currently under construction directly across the street. Damn you, gentrification.

Washington DC commercial property news

The North Star of Shaw Development

Northwest Washington's Shaw neighborhood could receive its first New Year’s batch of condominiums as soon as next month. Currently under construction at 1910 8^th Street NW, the Stella Polaris Condominiums will be bringing five upscale, 1,100 square foot units to the foot of the U Street corridor - within an earshot of popular local destinations like the 9:30 Club and Town.

The project is under the purview of Blue Sky Housing (not the similarly-named Blue Skye Development), a local developer whose last publicized project was the renovation and conversion of two Hanover Place NW apartment buildings into condominiums. Earle "Chico" Horton, a partner with the Graves & Horton LLC law firm and Blue Sky principal, tells DCmud that all of the units will feature 2 bedrooms and 2 ½ baths, in addition to amenities like “10 foot ceilings and high-end finishes.” Once completed in February, prices on ground floor units will start around $330,000, while top floor units will be "in the range of $480,000 to $500,000." Caltec Construction is serving as general contractor.

The project stands feet from the corner of 8^th Street and Florida Avenue NW – an area that has hosted vacant lots since long before developers renewed their interest in the historic Shaw community. “Whatever structures were there were probably damaged in the 14^th Street riots [of 1968] and subsequently torn down. It’s easily been over 20 years since there’s been construction at the site,” said Horton. ‘“Once people get financing, I think they’ll be a lot in store for the area. I was one of the original buyers of Harrison Square back in 2000. I’ve been in the area for a while and have seen the growth, which has been good.”

Indeed, growth is continuing unabated in the neighborhood. A few blocks away Castlerock Partners will be constructing the sprawling Howard Town Center project, while a parcel literally around the corner at the 9^th and U Streets NW – currently the site of a weekly flea market - has been slated for redevelopment by the Washington Metro Area Transit Authority. Those projects are set to join Ellis’ recently-approved redevelopment of the Howard Theater, and other in-the-works efforts like Broadcast Center One, the Wonder Bread Factory and O Street Market complex, as possible additions to the Shaw of the new millennium's second decade.

Union Row Says Yes! We Can

Mayor Adrian Fenty, DC City Councilmembers Jim Graham and Muriel Bowser, and PN Hoffman CEO Monty Hoffman today cut the ribbon on the new Yes! Organic Market at 14^th and V's Union Row condominium development.

"This really epitomizes so many great things for Washington, DC," said Fenty. "One, the restoration, revitalization and resurgence of 14^th Street…Not only in the $150 million Union Row project, but the…$1 billion worth of investment in the Columbia Heights and U Street area over the past several years.”

The new 5,500 square foot grocery store at 2123 14^th Street marks the first retail outlet to open in PN Hoffman-developed, SK&I-designed high-rise development. Other shops coming soon to the mixed-use, mixed-income building will soon include a new drycleaners, a 6,000 square foot Eatonville restaurant from the owner of Busboys and Poets, and a new CVS - which opened its doors today as well - with slightly less fanfare.

Graham praised PN Hoffman’s stewardship of the project. “Others had tried to assemble a parcel of sufficient size as to build something that really meant something here. If you look back at [the Warehouses at Union Row], you can just how real genius it took to bring us here today.”

The Union Row store marks the fifth such location in the Metro area for the 40-year-old, locally-owned organic grocery chain. Next up, Yes! owner Gary Cha plans to open a new storefront along Georgia Avenue in Petworth and, according to Monty Hoffman, there is talk of bringing another to their development at the Southwest Waterfront.

“It’s not all bricks and mortar – it’s about programming as well,” said Hoffman. “We tried many different grocers before and none had the courage and vision that Gary did.” Union Row completed construction a little more than a year ago.

Washington DC retail and commercial real estate news

A Scaled Back Utopia on U Street

Robert Moore of Georgetown Strategic Capital LLC (GSC) and Eric Colbert & Associates have gotten the go-ahead from two of the District’s governing bodies – the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) and the Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) – to move forward with their mixed-use Utopia development at the southwest corner of 14th and U Streets NW.
Utopia has been in the approval queue for more than a year, but only now able to move through the approval process after obliging several variance requests. As such, the building will no longer feature a rooftop pool, and will top out at 90 feet, instead of the proposed 100. The building’s design was also tweaked to allow for varying levels of density throughout the parcel, which occupies two adjoining historic sites at 1912-1944 14th Street NW and 1400-1418 U Street NW.

Nonetheless, the project is still an eagerly anticipated addition to the U Street corridor. GSC intends to bring 230 rental apartments and 20,000 square feet of ground-floor retail – an amount that will double the amount of shopping and dining on the block – to complete what it has dubbed an “urban living experience.” Accordingly, Utopia is being pitched as the new home base for young professionals who clog the area on Friday and Saturday evenings – not surprising, given its proximity to Donatelli’s similarly-envisioned Ellington building (and election night’s impromptu Obama street party - aka "Change-fest '08"). The project will include an affordable housing component, the extent of which is yet to be determined.

As of now, the project is still on track to hit its intended 2009 start date, with grand opening scheduled for 2011.

Low Density, Low-Income for U Street Lot

The ever-changing U Street corridor is likely to receive another housing project - this time courtesy of the Public Welfare Foundation (PWF) and the Metamorphosis Development Group (MDG). The development team is planning on constructing 10 new, affordable houses on Temperance Court, NW - an alley between 13th and 12th Streets containing a surprisingly large (13,000 s.f.) vacant lot just steps from U Street and next to the Metro station.
Designed by Amy Gardner of Gardner Mohr Architects LLC, the single-family town homes envisioned for the site will be available to those making less than 60% of the Area Median Income and will include a mix of one and two bedroom floorplans.

Given Temperance Court's designation as a historically protected site, the development team has filed paperwork with Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) and expects notes on their plan in December. They’ll also be meeting with the local ANC board next week - the commissioner of which, coincidentally, lives adjacent to the alley. If everything goes according to plan, Metamorphosis expects to file for a Planned Unit Development (PUD) in December of next year, and to begin construction in late 2010.

The Temperance Court development marks the PWF’s first foray into affordable housing. According to their website, they typically provide grants for “scholarships and occupational training, medical equipment, [and] clinics.” But, according to Christopher Donald, Managing Partner of MDG, the project isn’t entirely out of their purview. “The project is kind of an anomaly, but because of the historic nature of the project, they wanted to return it to its former use to serve some of the same families that they would serve in other ways,” he said.
It should also be noted the PWF is headquartered at 1200 U Street, NW (AKA the “True Reformer Building”), a stone’s throw from Temperance Court. Not a bad commute to the job site.

Washington DC real estate development news

Bowen YMCA Update

Five buildings in the 2200 block of 14^th Street (2203, 2205, 2207, 2209, 2211) were approved for demolition by the DC Historic Planning Board as part of the new Anthony Bowen YMCA and 14W project by DC-based developer Perseus Realty, LLC and YMCA of Metropolitan Washington. As DCMud reported in May of last year, at the project's completion, 1325 W Street will include a new YMCA facility (45,000 s.f.), 229 rental apartments, and 12,000 s.f. of retail space in a project that will border 14th and W Streets. Construction will begin at the 1325 W Street site in September with completion scheduled two years later in 2010.

According to Perseus, legislation was passed to close part of the alley between the townhouses and the existing YMCA, and Perseus has already received HPRB approval. The facades of the townhouses and the front forty feet of each structure will be preserved as historic structures.

“We are filing for certain permits, which takes a while and we are in the final stages of working drawings, so we’re positioning it to get started,” said Robert Cohen, President of Perseus Realty, LLC.

The project was designed by Hellmuth, Obata, & Kassabaum and Dorsky Hodgson & Partners, the developers have also hired Bozzuto to oversee leasing and management of the residential component.

Lincoln Theatre's Development Debut

This morning, Mayor Adrian Fenty held a press conference to raise the curtain on the city's plan to save and develop U Street's historic Lincoln Theatre. The project will entail development of the parking lot behind the historic D.C. theater, with some of the resulting profits being earmarked to save the beleaguered venue. The 88 year old District-owned theater had received much press as of late, issuing warnings of closure unless it receives funding sufficient to cover its operating expense shortfall.

The Deputy Mayor's Office for Planning and Economic Development has now issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for developers interested in the space, located in back of 1215 U Street NW. We're guessing that few people will miss the 40 surface parking spaces; the Mayor opined that, when developed, the lot could hold a 90,000-s.f. building, possibly occupied by a hotel, offices, or residences.

Among the requirements for any potential developer: the stipulation that at least 30 percent of any housing units be set aside as affordable housing, as would be obligatory in any DC-owned property. Also, projects must include "at least 7,500 square feet of flexible event space, including a restaurant-quality kitchen, which would be managed by the theater management."

Ward 1 Councilmember Jim Graham, also in attendance, expressed his obvious excitement that the project has begun “moving and shaking.” He and Mayor Fenty both emphasized the importance of the lot’s development to the continued economic growth of the U Street area —and its benefit to Lincoln Theatre. As Mayor Fenty put it, “This is and was black Broadway” - and he wants to keep it that way - and by combining affordable housing, some needed development on U Street, and saving the theatre all in one act, we're guessing he'll get a standing ovation.

Washington DC commercial property news

U Street Hotel in the Future?

Trendy and quirky U Street, which has seen a spate of residential development of late, may get a hotel in the not too distant future. The plan, brought before the Cardozo-Shaw Neighborhood Association last week by JBG Companies, proposed developing the strip mall that currently houses the Rite Aid, a nail salon and dollar store, into a 10-story multi-use development.

Though in its very early stages and likely to evolve, the vision is to replace the current strip mall across the street from the Ellington Apartments, replacing it with a single building that would house underground parking, retail on the ground floor, a boutique hotel on floors 3-8, and possibly capped by two floors of residential to max out the density. The existing strip mall takes up most of the block on the south side of the 1300 block of U Street. The area falls within a historic protection zone, but no historic building would be affected.

With neighbors apparently in favor of supplanting the current retail, the largest obstacle, financing notwithstanding, will be to change the underlying zoning, which does not now allow for density sufficient to support this project. Phil Spalding, Commissioner for ANC 1B, says the development has local support, and that there will be "a strong push for retail to animate the street," speculating that some of the current retail could reopen in the new space, though stressing that the plans will likely see "another 9 or 10 redrawings" before construction could begin. Renderings are not yet available, but Spalding describes the current iteration as 'classical.'

14th Street: Apartments In, Nehemiah Center Out

14th Street's Nehemiah Center, that vestige of bad architecture and short-sited urban planning, will soon be demolished to make way for a large residential project. Texas based UDR, which purchased the site last year, requested raze permits last week, and expects to begin demolishing the property by the end of the second quarter. UDR acquired the hopelessly outdated strip mall at 2400 14th Street from Level 2 Development, which took the project all the way through the existing, and currently approved, P.U.D. stage. UDR will implement Level2's plans, with some embellishment, at an estimated total cost of $130 million. DC-based Metropolis Development had initially purchased the option from Level2 for the rights to develop the site, but later sold the option for a profit to UDR. The Nehemiah Center currently serves as a one-story retail building along 14th Street, within shouting distance from the U Street Corridor - currently a real estate hotspot surrounded by several ongoing and planned residential projects. 

Level 2 wanted to capitalize on the area, but opted to sell and concentrate on its View 14 project across the street, a project that it began as condos but that is now just beginning to come out of the ground as an apartment building. UDR's adaption of Level2's plans will replace the old retail with 17,000 s.f. of new retail, and add more units than the currently approved 225. Two weeks ago, UDR's team met with City officials to apply for an addition of 30 residential units to the overall scheme. The firm expects to receive comments regarding whether this increase is feasible within the next month, after which a Zoning Commission hearing will be required. The building will rise nine stories above the 14th and U Street Corridor, advantageously perched as one of the higher buildings in the area on the slope that rises to Columbia Heights, offering the potential for the distant views rare in the District. The residential units will average 775 s.f. and were initially pushed through the planning process as condominiums, but according to sources at UDR, the market forced them to build out as a market-rate apartment building. 

There will be a number of affordable housing units as well as a 1,000-s.f. commercial space designated as educational, job training, retail space. Behind the main building will sit a multi-level parking garage, half above-ground, an issue that has been one of the biggest sources of problems from the community. UDR held a public meeting in February to address the community's concerns about design and construction phases. Turns out the community is agitated over the abundant road and sidewalk closures that result from the numerous projects in the neighborhood. UDR will now phase the construction so that the parking structure would be the first to be completed, hoping to lessen parking and traffic concerns. "Although we are a national multi-family developer, we understand the importance of local consultants who understand how things get done in their backyard. We want to bring people in who have those existing great relationships, who know how to develop projects in the city. So we felt comfortable," said Rodney Burchfield with UDR. Burchfield is referring to both Shalom Baranes Architects which is designing the new building, and Donohoe Construction, the General Contractor. "As an owner, we're looking to be a part of this new and emerging part of the District, and we want to be a great neighbor," Burchfield added. Shalom Baranes' design will feature floor to ceiling glass views, private terraces, a rooftop pool and garden as well as a massive lobby and outdoor atrium. UDR will be going for LEED points but has not decided whether or not to strive for LEED certification.

HPRB to Review 14th and U

Plans for a mixed-use apartment and retail project at the southwest corner of 14th and U Streets in NW will be on review today, as Robert Moore of Georgetown Strategic Capital LLC (GSC) and Eric Colbert & Associates appear before the Historic Preservation Review Board. They last met in December when the developer and architect presented their initial concept ideas for Utopia (as it is referred to around GSC's office), but HPRB recommended they alter the design to reduce the impact with the smaller buildings in the surrounding historic area. The property is currently owned by F.S. People's Realty Company and Jenco Group, which is currently negotiating a long term ground lease with GSC for the development.

GSC's preliminary plans (rendering above, depicting the west side of 14th St) propose construction of 230 rental apartments in a seven to ten-story building at the corner of 14th and U streets, which Moore expects will attract young professionals. And not without reason; one block to the east, Donatelli Development's Ellington apartment building has maintained high occupancy with some of the highest residential rents in the area. In the current design, GSC will offer a range of units from studios to small two bedroom apartments, but averaging around 750 square feet. The building will be a block from the 13th and U St. metro station, for what Moore calls an affordable, "urban living experience."

GSC also plans 20,000 s.f. of retail on the first floor, doubling the 20,000 s.f. of existing retail in vintage buildings along U Street, which will be incorporated.
According to Moore, "People are welcoming this change to the neighborhood. This is a strip that isn't very attractive right now. We hope to bring an exciting new mixed-use building to the neighborhood, and provide much needed affordable rental apartments."

Eleven historic buildings exist on the site within the U Street Historic District and Uptown Arts Overlay zone. None will be removed, although some non-historic buildings will be torn down for the project. The plan incorporates some of these historic elements, such as the frontage of rehabilitated buildings on U St. and three small commercial storefront buildings on 14th St., which combines a mix of historic and architecturally insignificant new buildings that are blessed with such retail as McDonald's and other fast food take-outs.

The main problem HPRB wanted to see altered was, of course, the height and density of the buildings in relation to the smaller surrounding edifices. The new conceptual idea, to be discussed today, includes two components to relate to the two different zoning categories, the southern half being low density and the northern half allowing for higher density.

Although planners hope to have their designs approved today, both HPRB and Moore said there will likely be further follow up meeting between the groups to iron out differences. The designs will then move on to the Board of Zoning Adjustment before any construction will take place. GSC plans on beginning construction in 2009 with completion in the beginning of 2011.

YMCA, Perseus Ready to Move Forward on 1325 W Street Mixed-Use Project

After months of negotiation, it appears that the nonprofit YMCA of Metropolitan Washington DC is partnering with DC-based developer Perseus Realty LLC to redevelop the existing YMCA Anthony Bowen center at 1325 W Street NW in Shaw (the oldest YMCA in DC, dating back to the 1850s) into a $100 million mixed use complex that will include a new, larger YMCA facility (45,000 sf), over 200 apartments, and 12,000 sf of retail. The Washington Business Journal reports that under the arrangement, Perseus will build and finance the YMCA’s new facility, and in exchange receive the land for the apartment building and retail, which it will own and control. The YMCA will own and run the new facility. In preparation for this development, Perseus has already purchased five buildings along this block fronting 14th Street between W Street and Florida Avenue – these structures will be preserved for the retail portion of the project. The architects for this project are the DC office of Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum and Dorsky Hodgson & Partners. If all permits and approvals are received, Perseus hopes to break ground in late 2008, with completion expected toward the end of 2010.

Hashing Out New Condos on U Street

Once just a wrong turn off U Street, the neighborhood north of U continues to evolve, with sales of The Lacey set to begin this week as the developer breaks ground on U Street’s latest residential development. Designed by Division1 Architects (the architect behind Lima, one of K Streets trendiest night spots, and the acclaimed 1024 W Street), the Lacey will be impossible to miss, a strikingly ultra-modern, a 26-unit residential building that will incorporate extensive use of glass walls and concrete throughout its four stories, a clean break with the surrounding federal-style townhouses, featuring Hansgrohe fixtures and Snaidero cabinetry. The new condo will replace the parking lot next to the legendary Florida Avenue Grill - serving grits and hash since 1944 and regularly patronized by DC politicos – and is being developed by the Grill’s current owner, Imar Hutchins. 

The Lacey is named in honor of Lacey C. Wilson Sr. and Jr., longtime proprietors of the Grill. "The Lacey celebrates the vision, perseverance and ambition of two men, who symbolize the essence of this community," says developer Imar Hutchins. "It truly sets a new standard of urban living in the U Street neighborhood." Sales of the studio, one- and two-bedroom units start in the mid $300’s. The Lacey will be built by Eichberg Construction, construction began in April, completion is expected in Summer 2008. The new condo will sit only two blocks from the U Street Metro. And thankfully, the Grill will remain.

Washington DC commercial real estate news

WMATA Solicits Bid for Florida Ave Development

The Washington Metro Area Transit Authority (WMATA) announced that it is soliciting bids on three of its properties on Florida Avenue in Shaw, opening the possibility of urban infill near one of the least developed Metro sites in Northwest. The three parcels abut 8^th Street to the East and West, on the South side of Florida Avenue. Sited between the Shaw and U Street Metro stations, each two blocks away, the parcels are currently unimproved – excepting the regular local flea markets – and contain about 29,000 s.f. of developable space. The three small, noncontiguous lots may be a challenging development; each is currently zoned to allow a maximum height of 65 feet, though the Arts Overlay Zone may provide bonus density for ‘arts related’ uses, and are encumbered by the Metro tunnel that passes below, limiting excavation to 19 feet. WMATA is proposing to sell or lease the lots, likely for a mixed-use project incorporating residential development. Bids for the project are due May 31.

Solea Condo Project in Columbia Heights Acquires Site, Groundbreaking Possible This Month

Last week, the Jair Lynch Companies, leading a team that includes the National Capital Revitalization Corporation (NCRC) and MacFarlane Partners, announced that the group has officially acquitted the land in Columbia Heights for its Solea project, a mixed-use and mixed-income live/work property. The Solea will be located on what was formally known as Parcel 34 at the northwest corner of 14th Street and Florida Avenue NW, just above the U Street corridor at the start of Columbia Heights. The 60,700-sf project will feature 52 residential condominiums (21 of which will be set aside for affordable and workforce housing), seven live/work units, and three retail condos (two of which will be affordable space for local business). Architecture will be by Sorg & Associates, with both Hamel Builders and Gilford Corporation as the general contractor. Tania Jackson, Director of Community Policy for Jair Lynch Companies, tells dcmud that the company expects to break ground on Solea later this month.

Donatelli Development Opens New Downtown Sales Office

Donatelli Development and Domus Realty are set to officially open their new sales center on U Street this week. The new "state-of-the-art" sales center, designed by Georgetown-based architect Hickok Cole, will showcase Donatelli's projects at Columbia Heights and Petworth: Kenyon Square (pictured), Highland Park and Park Place. The sales center will feature scale models of the various buildings as well as a model kitchen and bath. Donatelli Development's projects were the anchor for the redevelopment of Columbia Heights, with the three residential projects currently underway at 14th and Irving. The company is now shifting its focus to the Georgia Avenue corridor, starting with the construction of Park Place , a 150-unit condominium built over the northern entrance to the Petworth Metro. The new sales center is located at 1301 U Street in the first floor of the Ellington, an apartment project completed by Donatelli in 2004.

View 14 Condos Goes Rental

View14 condos, the high-profile project by DC-based Level 2 Development, will reportedly end sales on its project at 14th and Florida, NW, and build the yet unrealized project into rental apartments. Bethesda-based SK & I Architects designed the building to angle away from the road with walls of glass that, with the natural slope of the land, will supply many of the 170 units with a view downtown when completed in mid 2008. The much anticipated project is expected to realize the District's goal of creating a retail strip from downtown through Columbia Heights, replacing a once thriving row of auto dealerships that in recent decades became the archetype of urban blight. The 14th Street corridor's more recent rebound includes local developers like PN Hoffman populating the strip with pricey condominiums, and one of the higher concentrations of local retail in the city - at least up to W Street, where Busboys and Poets signals the end of the developed strip, until now. View14 is replacing the old Petrovitch body shop and a bevy of enormous Comcast satellite receivers, most of which have already been removed.

Many local developers have faced pressure from investors to move away from condos and toward the more lucrative apartment market, especially where investors require pre-construction sales up to 2 years in advance. Such requirements have been harder to accommodate as fewer buyers are finding it advantageous to sign a contract one to two years before completion, forcing developers to cancel condo projects early in the development projects. Level 2 is partnering with Centrum Properties, a large Chicago-based developer, to help realize the ambitious project, and retains further plans to replace the outdated Nehemiah strip mall across the Street, which it purchased for $13.2m in March of this year and intends to plow under next year in favor of a mixed-use development with condos and retail.