New Mixed-Use for Arlington Strip Mall

Fairfax-based development company Walnut Street Development (WSD) hopes to bring some needed mixed-use development to their backyard. Just across the county line, the company has teamed with architect Ann Ardery for a mixed-use makeover of an Arlington strip mall at 2515-2525 Lee Highway.

The three to four story project aims to deliver 22 new apartment units, along with 13,000 square feet of retail. The 22,643 square foot lot currently hosts a one-story, 4,500 square foot edifice whose sole retail contribution is now a 7-11 and adjoining vacant storefront. WSD’s project plan also calls for a “predominately underground garage” with 73 parking spaces and a LEED silver certification. Though the developer has yet to specify what kinds of retailers they’ll be courting for the project, they have assured local residents that some sort of “convenience retail” – ala the current Sleven at the site – will be included.

The project’s dimensions have shifted somewhat since it was originally submitted to Arlington County in 2004; the project’s first incarnation called for 24 residential units with a diminutive 3,750 square feet of retail. Through meetings with the Planning Commission and Transportation Commission, as well as presentations to the residents of the neighboring Cleveland House Condominiums and the North Highland and Lyon Village Civic Associations, not to mention market forces, the project has re-emerged with stronger emphasis on the planned retail space. The project goes back before the Arlington County Board again April 26^th.

In the meantime, WSD is also well underway on at their Residences at Old Town Square development. That project, located at the former site of the Fairfax City Library, will contain 80 new condos in two buildings and is scheduled to deliver later this year.

Arlington Virginia real estate development news

Walnut Street Development Sells Mt. Vernon Site

Walnut Street Development (WSD) will be selling its Eye Street Lofts project; the sale is apparently imminent. WSD had been planning approximately 160 residential units and 4,000 s.f. of retail space for their land at 443-459 Eye Street, NW, since it purchased the land in 2004. The Mt. Vernon Triangle project had been planned originally as a condominium, to break ground in 2007, but market changes forced a shift to a planned rental building, construction had not yet begun. The purchaser is not presently being identified.

The site, a large project in its own right, is enhanced because of the adjacent District-owned property, the hotly pursued District 5th and I site for which four developers are vying. According to Jared Jablonka at WSD, the developer submitted a proposal for the 5th and I site, but withdrew when another developer made an offer on the Eye Street Lofts' parcel. Speculation points to JBG as the purchaser, though WSD would not comment on the terms of sale or identity of the purchaser.

"We had a pretty good plan, but then we got an offer from another developer to buy the land. We wanted to develop it ourselves because it would have been an exciting project, but we received an attractive offer," Jablonka said.

He added that WSD had delayed groundbreaking because they hoped to win the 5th and I site. "We had held off because the announcement of a developer for the adjacent piece of land (5th the and I) was delayed. We wanted to incorporate that site into our project, that was the idea, but then we got the offer to sell the site and it was hard to turn down. We are now under contract."

WSD's original $55 million multi-use project would have been a renovation of two 1880's row houses and other industrial buildings into an approximately 12-story structure with over 15,000 s.f. of community-serving retail space.

WSD's plans have been in the works since 2005 and have since faced several obstacles because of the historic nature of the buildings on site that include the Central Auto Works garage, a historically-designated structure. Architects HOK Group decided to incorporate the entire garage into the new edifice by piercing columns through the building and creating footings beneath the garage to support the new construction. The development would have also included the two existing row houses as well as a historic blacksmith shop.

According to the Deputy Mayor's Office, the four remaining developers - JBG, Buccini/Pollin, Potomac Investment Properties, and a group comprised of Holland Development, Donohoe Development, Spectrum Management, and Harris Development had all submitted satisfactory bids, but had subsequently been asked to submit a further "best and final" offer by this Friday to remain in consideration.

District Seeks Developers for Mt. Vernon Parcel

The District of Columbia has issued a Solicitation for Offers for the Redevelopment of a vacant 20,600-s.f. lot in Mount Vernon Triangle. The lot, at 463 I Street, NW, sits five blocks from the nearest Metro, and adjacent Walnut Street Development's newly announced project at 459 Eye Street, but will have substantial street presence on Massachusetts Ave. The District is seeking to turn the vacant lot into a mixed-use project that could potentially include housing, cultural and "hospitality uses," and it certainly wouldn't hurt if the project provided retail for the nearby Convention Center.

The Office of the Deputy Mayor for Economic Development (DMPED) issued the solicitation on December 27th, responses are due by March 7th. The property is located on the Northwest corner of Fifth and Eye streets, skirting Mass Ave.; current zoning allows for office, residential, hotel and entertainment uses, and for a height of up to 130 feet, with allowable FAR of up to 10.0. As with all DC-owned property sold off for private development, the District is requiring that at least 30% of any new housing conform to the District's "affordable" criteria.

The property is part of Mount Vernon Triangle, a 30-acre section that the DC government has been actively promoting in order to transform the vacant or shuttered properties into, well, an actual neighborhood. According to the District, there is currently more than 4 million square feet of development in the neighborhood's development pipeline, anchored by the nearly completed CityVista project.

Washington DC real estate development news

New Addition to Mt. Vernon Triangle in Spring '08

A brand new $55 million multi-use development is almost set to materialize in Mount Vernon Triangle as developers and architects put the finishing touches on design plans. 459 Eye Street NW will be the new site of Walnut Street Development's Eye Street Lofts, a 12-story structure which will house 164 apartments and more than 15,000 s.f. of community-serving retail space.

The lot, which spreads from 443 to 459 Eye Street, has been planned for development since 2005, when Walnut Street had originally proposed condos for the site. Unfortunately for the condo market, a historic preservation impediment hindered Walnut Street's vision. The Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) halted the plans because of the Central Auto Works garage, a historically-designated structure that currently sits on the lot. Architects HOK Group have decided to incorporate the entire aged structure into the new edifice by piercing columns through the building. Once the columns are in place, Tompkins Builders will have to construct footings beneath the garage to support 10 stories of new construction. The auto garage isn't the only structure being preserved on the site; two existing row-houses are being used in the design-plans as well as an historic blacksmith shop.

The existence of historic structures on the site presented unique obstacles for Walnut Street. HPRB required 9 months to approve project - but subsequent to the extended waiting period, Walnut Street faced an invariably different economic environment. In reaction to the drastic change in the market, developers circular-filed the initial condo proposal and entered into a waiting game to stalk the perfect economic conditions for a rental project; it seems that time is now. Ground is expected to be broken by Spring of 2008.

Flats at Blagden Alley Back to Life

When we last visited the Flats at Blagden Alley in July 2006, developer Walnut Street Development had canceled sales of the condo project before breaking ground, with sources saying only one of the 45 units had gone under contract, with the developer stating a likelihood of pursuing residential rental space in the near future. The Flats are indeed coming back, again as condos, but this time as ‘affordable’, to be built by North Carolina-based Self Help, a non-profit whose mission is to “create ownership and economic opportunity for minorities, women, rural residents, and low-wealth families.”

The Flats will front M St., the alley and 9th St., one block from the Convention Center in the heart of Shaw and directly across from the Whitman. WSD’s version, designed by Eric Colbert, had been priced from the high $200’s to the $800’s; the new plan calls for one-bedroom units to start in the upper $100’s to mid $300’s, with target incomes from the mid $30,000’s to the mid $80,000’s. The original project was designed to be a mix of 45 residential condos, ground floor retail, artist lofts, and office space for associations and small businesses; the revised plan calls for 49 one-bedroom condos and 14 two-bedroom condos. Self Help says it expects completion in late 2008.

Flats at Blagden Alley Cancels Condo Plan

Walnut Street Development confirmed today that they will halt sales for their most recent condo development in DC following disappointing interest. The project, a 45-unit condominium one block from the new Convention Center, named the Flats at Blagden Alley, was to house artist lofts and office condos in addition to the residential units. A WSD spokesman cited "a change in the market" and said that the developer, which has not yet received final condo certification from DC, will continue with the building and finalize condo approval but target the rental market, leaving open the possibility of condo sales closer to the Fall 2007 completion date - or thereafter. The project, designed by Eric Colbert, is still slated to break ground early this Fall. Sales began in late Spring, reportedly selling only 2 out of the 45 units. Numerous condo projects in the immediate area have recently completed, and Faison Development is in the final stages of building its 185-unit condo project directly across the street, where more than two-thirds of the units have sold.

The Flats at Blagden Alley to Start Taking Reservations

The Flats at Blagden Alley, a much-talked about project from Walnut Street Development, located one block from the new Convention Center in the rapidly developing Shaw community, has just announced that it will start taking reservations from interested buyers. The Flats will be comprised of 45 residential condos, ground floor retail, artist lofts, and office space for associations and small businesses. There will be a mix of studios, one, one with den, and two bedroom units, penthouses with balconies and terraces, duplexes, and lofts, with prices starting in the high $200s and going into the $800s for the penthouses.