WPC Breaking Ground on Wheaton Residential Project

Washington Property Company breaks ground on the Solaire, a 232-unit residential building at 10194 Georgia Avenue, next week.  Located on the former site of the First Baptist Church, WPC acquired the 1.65-acre parcel in 2005 and, as part of the deal, relocated the church to Olney, adding to the long list of projects approved in a quickly developing Wheaton town center.

Montgomery County approved the site plan last October for a Preston Partnership-designed six-story, u-shaped structure, opening to the south, with a swimming pool and greenspace in the interior courtyard.  Designers used a "variety of masonry and glazing" as well as "small parapets and height variations ... to minimize the sense of building mass." Beneath, developers will build a two-level parking garage with 230  spaces. A public statement notes such ubiquitous amenities as "granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, fine cabinetry, wood laminate flooring."  

According to a WPC press release, the developer owns more than eight million square feet of commercial space in the Washington, DC metropolitan area and currently has over 1.6 million residential square feet under development.Clark Builders Group is the General Contractor, Gables Residential will provide property management and leasing services.  Leasing is expected to begin in September of 2013.

Wheaton, Maryland real estate development news

MoCo Planners Ponder Move to Wheaton

Talk about walking the walk; Montgomery County planners may promote the redevelopment of Wheaton they have been pushing by moving their own headquarters to downtown Wheaton.
The county council approved a redevelopment plan last month that would build a new 150,000 square foot headquarters for M-NCPPC at Grandview Avenue, Reedie Drive, and Triangle Lane, a site now used as a surface parking lot.  The project would be financed by the county's Capital Improvements Plan.

Financing sunk the planning department's previous attempt at building a new headquarters - the now-defunct SilverPlace.  First conceptualized back in 2006, SilverPlace was to include 300 residential units, lush public greenspaces (below right), and the planning headquarters on 3.24 acres.  Details were exhaustively worked out in conjunction with community members, only to falter when it came time for the county council to approve the financing plan.

"On SilverPlace, we worked very hard with the community," recalls Dan Hertz, project manager at Montgomery County Department of Parks, who worked on the project.  ""We wanted to respect concerns about an office building next to an existing neighborhood.  The plan we came up with called for two wings; a low-rise next to the existing community, and then a taller component facing Crown Plaza.  But we were going to fund it by borrowing money with certificates of participation (COPs), which had to be authorized by the county council.  But there was concern about the recession, so it didn't get the votes."


With the economy kinda sorta turning around now, has there been any talk of reviving SilverPlace?

"No," says Hertz.  "The county has been really encouraging us to go into Wheaton."  And this time, the financing plan is structured differently, in such a way that the county council might find more much more palatable.  "This new plan would be funded with general obligation bonds, which is like the county itself is taking on the debt."

Wheaton, which has lagged behind the rest of MoCo despite a surplus of developable real estate and the presence of a metro station, has seen a major wave of redevelopment as of late.  There were virtually no residential units in downtown Wheaton near the metro station before 2004; now there are nearly 700, with many more in the pipeline, from Patriot Realty's Safeway/residential project on Reedie to Washington Property Company's 221 units on the former site of the First Baptist Church of Wheaton, to B.F. Saul's Wheaton Triangle project that could potentially bring a million square feet of office/retail/hotel space to the area.


Wheaton, MD real estate development news

Lowe Enterprises to Convert Wheaton Office Building to Residential High-Rise

Continuing Wheaton's rapid transformation from a withering suburb to a residential development hotspot, California-based Lowe Enterprises submitted a sketch plan to Montgomery County planners at the end of January that would transform the 5-story Computer Building at 11411 Georgia Avenue in Wheaton from a modest five-story office building into a 14-story residential high-rise.

The site, which Lowe purchased last fall for just over $8.2 million, is nestled between the Archstone Wheaton Station Apartments and the Metro Point Apartments, and across Reedie from the already approved 17-story Safeway/residential project from Patriot Realty. Two blocks down, Washington Property Co. is building 221 units on the former site of the First Baptist Church of Wheaton. Up a block is the Wheaton Metro station, whose bus bays are to be converted by B.F. Saul into an office complex. B.F. Saul is also consulting with the county about converting Wheaton Triangle, right across Georgia, into a massive mixed-use development that would bring nearly a million square feet of office space, retail, a hotel, and a public plaza to the area.

Interestingly, developers plan to build onto the existing building 11411 Georgia, rather than demolish and start from scratch.

"The building has very good bones," says Mark Rivers, Senior Vice President at Lowe Enterprises, by way of explanation. "The concrete structure can easily support the additional floors. It would just be a waste of time, money, and landfill space to tear it down and rebuild. Also, this building is narrow for an office building - about 60 feet wide. Residential buildings are generally narrower than office buildings, so that was a nice bit of luck."

The sketch plan application promises to "substantially transform the building aesthetic through comprehensive facade changes," listing balconies, vertical bays, and a "strong vertical element" at the northwest corner of the building, to lend it a "distinguishable identity." Developers intend to convert the building from glazed brick and boxy to "a contemporary slender tower clad in composite panels, glass and masonry." The Bonstra Haresign-designed tower will include up to 200 studios and one-bedroom dwellings, as well as 60-plus parking spaces on-site (though zoning doesn't require any).

Developers haven't yet decided if they'll include retail space on the ground floor, though they have plenty of time to decide, as construction is targeted for the beginning of next year. Though another residential tower in the area might seem excessive, developers, following a familiar blueprint, are confident that the expanding housing market in Wheaton will organically lead to an increase in demand for retail. Since county planners adopted the new, updated Wheaton Sector Plan in 2010, which aimed to revitalize the moribund area, development in Wheaton has revved up to high gear, even leading local uberdeveloper Leonard Greenberg to compare the area to Adams Morgan.

Wheaton, Maryland real estate development news

WPC's Wheaton Residential Project to Break Ground In May

Washington Property Company's 245-unit residential building at 10194 Georgia Avenue is on target for a spring groundbreaking, adding to the long list of greenlit revitalization projects in Wheaton. "We're out to bid now [for a general contractor], and hope to start construction in early May," said Daryl South, Vice President of Development for WPC. "Everything's ready to go."

Washington Property company acquired the 1.65-acre parcel, which is just steps from the Wheaton metro station, in 2005.

According to a site plan approved by Montgomery County planners in October of last year, the Preston Partnership-designed building will be a six-story u-shaped structure, opening to the south, with the interior space used for a swimming pool and greenspace. Designers used a "variety of masonry and glazing" as well as small parapets and height variations ... to minimize the sense of building mass." Underground, developers are shooting for at least 230 parking spaces spread over two levels, and will be required to offer 12.5% of the dwellings as (subsidized) MPDUs. The site is the former home of the First Baptist Church of Wheaton, which has relocated to Washington Christian Academy while construction on their new building in Olney is completed.

WPC's residential tower is just one of several projects that have gained recent momentum in downtown Wheaton; just a few blocks north is the already approved 17-story Safeway/residential project from Patriot Realty, and across from that is the Computer Building, set to be converted by Lowe Enterprises into a residential tower. At the Wheaton Metro station, bus bays are to be converted into an office complex by B.F. Saul, which is also in talks with the county about converting nearby Wheaton Triangle into a massive mixed-use megadevelopment that would bring nearly a million square feet of office space, retail, a hotel, and a public plaza to the area.

Wheaton, Maryland real estate development news

New Apartment and Safeway for Downtown Wheaton Gets Going Today

Fall brings more change to downtown Wheaton, as today marks the start of construction of The Exchange at Wheaton, 486 apartments in a 17-story building and 60,000-s.f. anchor-tenant Safeway on Georgia Avenue. Groundbreaking, by Foulger-Pratt, will occur at 10 am today on Patriot Realty's "Wheaton Safeway" redevelopment that will create a transit-oriented development directly across from the Wheaton Metro. Designed by Baltimore-based architecture firm Hord Coplan Macht, the new building has the appearance of three individual towers of concrete and glass connected at the center. 

Safeway shoppers will use an underground parking garage, and apartment residents have three levels of parking above the store. A cutback in the massing in between each tower allows for a fifth-floor courtyard above the residential parking garage. The new Safeway will open for business in 2013, and will be followed by several other retailers at the location: a Starbucks, SunTrust, and a Bergman’s Drycleaners. Developers originally intended to break ground early this spring, which puts the project only modestly behind schedule, not a bad achievement, all things considered. 

Maryland real estate development news

Washington Property Company Planning Georgia Ave and Wisconsin Ave Residences

In 2005, Washington Property Company purchased two plots on the area's major arteries: 10914 Georgia Avenue in Wheaton and 7100 Wisconsin Avenue in Bethesda with the intent of building two residential properties. That the company is now nearly ready for construction and is building apartments is not surprising, as financing for apartments becomes easier and apartment vacancy rates hit historic lows.

10914 Georgia Avenue is slated for a mid 2012 groundbreaking for a five-story, 221 unit multi-family residential building. The site, next to the Wheaton Metro station, is part of an 8-acre area that has been targeted by Montgomery County as part of a mixed-use revitalization of downtown. Revitalization will create 1,300 residential units and 600,000 square feet of retail between a Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority (WMATA ) site at Georgia Avenue and Viers Mill Road, County Parking Lot 13 across Reedie Drive, as well as the Washington Property Company purchase, among others. B.F. Saul has been chosen as the developer for the bulk of the project. "They're in the process of concept plans with WMATA," said Pete McGinnity, Business Development Manager in the Montgomery County Redevelopment Program. "This is a multi-phase plan that will roll out over the next several years."

Currently, the Washington Property Company site is home to the First Baptist Church of Wheaton, which has plans to move to a bigger lot at 3110 Emory Church Road in Olney, Maryland, after building a new church.

For the company's second act, now the site of an Exxon service station, there's time to wait until the design comes together. The Washington Property Company submitted preliminary plans late last year to build a nine story building of 96 residential units atop 3,000 s.f. of retail space.

"We're still assembling parcels and working on things," said Daryl South, Vice President of Development for WPC. Though the developer is not ready to disclose formal plans for the space, they say plans will come this fall.

The developer recently broke ground in the formerly shunned Ripley District of Silver Spring, with plans to build a sixteen-story, 306,000 s.f. building with 286 rental units at 1150 Ripley Street, the first major construction project in the neighborhood in twenty years.

Bethesda, Maryland real estate development news

Montgomery County Planning Board Gives Wheaton Safeway Go-Ahead

Create a landscaped terrace and art installment, or fork over nearly a million dollars to County Planners: thanks to a Montgomery County Planning Board ruling last Thursday, developers at Patriot Realty will do both. Last spring a "favorable" staff report concerning Patriot's mixed-use "Wheaton Safeway" redevelopment proposal across from the Wheaton Metro questioned whether their efforts to satisfy the "20 percent public amenity requirement" was satisfactory. Apparently not quite, as the Planning Board gave developers the green light to move forward with the plans for the 50,000 s.f. Safeway and 17-story apartment complex, but required that Patriot contribute $961,161 to a public amenity fund in addition to its proposed public terrace. But pay to play seems

de rigueur, as Patriot and local urbanists are just happy the large-scale, transit-oriented project is finally moving forward.

Designed by Baltimore-based architecture firm Hord Coplan Macht, the new building will shoot what appears to be 3 vertical towers skyward, dwarfing all the other buildings in Wheaton. But the towers are simply a visual ploy to avoid the appearance of a mammoth monolith of a building, as each column is connected at the center. But the break up of the massing does succeed in this capacity, as the giant structure does not at first glance appear to be a singular integrated building. Lee Driskill, a Principal with the firm and the lead architect for the project, explains that "the skin" of the building "has been organized to have these three tower elements come to the fore." The result is not a bland block, but a "tall and elegant" building.

The 195-foot building will feature a new Safeway on street level, an underground parking garage for shoppers, a 486-unit apartment complex (60 of which will be offered as "moderately priced dwelling units"), and three levels of residential parking above the store. A cutback in the massing in between each tower offers the luxury of a fifth-floor courtyard atop the parking garage. Here residents will be able to simply enjoy the view or take advantage of the pool, outdoor lounge area, fire pit and/or open lawn. In total, some 70 percent of the roof will be green, which is expected to assist the project in earning LEED Certification (upon completion of course). The approved 59,000 s.f. of ground-floor retail space will house not only the expanded Safeway, but also a Starbucks, SunTrust, and a Bergman’s Drycleaners (everything a Maryland suburbanite knows and loves all in one place).

Although the planned on-site, public-use terrace offered by developers only totals 7,615 s.f. and 9.9% of the net lot area (10.1% too little), Patriot will make amends for their shortcomings with a $961,161 "donation," which will assist in the redevelopment of 13,800 s.f. of off-site public green space. A public art installment also helped woo the Board into approving the proposal, as several bronze figures ranging from 14 inches to 28 inches tall will be arranged throughout the public terrace. Judy Sutton Moore, a Silver Spring artist, will craft the statues that are set to be welded to a stainless steel pole and "float, as it were, above the flowers, grasses, and shrubs in the planters." Planning Board members specified that the public statues must "avoid depicting art as a commercial expression of Safeway-life."

But before the meandering grocery shoppers can enjoy cute puppy statues, the public amenity funds must be released into the escrow account, demolition and building permits must be secured, and 17 stories of concrete and glass must be amassed; with Board approval at last in had, developers will look to keep things moving as construction is set to commence by early Spring of next year.

Washington D.C. Real Estate Development News

Centex Feeling Confident in Wheaton

Planners have been busy working on all the new developments getting ready to launch near the Wheaton Metro station, but walk a half mile north to the intersection of Georgia Avenue and Arcola Avenue and you'll find a busy construction site. Where eager students once sat glued to their physics texts at Our Lady of Good Counsel High School (since relocated to Olney), bulldozers now rule as townhouses rise to completion. The high school was demolished in 2007, with the Rafferty gymnasium the only original structure remaining. Centex Homes of Dallas, TX began building on the 14-acre site in 2008, and have now completed 85 of the originally proposed 190 homes. But in late July, the Montgomery County Planning Board approved Centex's request to raze the Rafferty Center to make way for an elaborate open field, intended for the "general play" of their new residents. The total approved number homes will now soar from 190 to 194, as Centex proposes to add new townhouses to abut the new parkland. As now planned and approved, the completed Leesborough Townhomes will consist of 143 townhomes, 45 condominiums or "garden units," and six single family homes.

Local residents were holding out hope that the county would maintain the gymnasium as a recreational facility or that Centex would develop the building into a mixed use space involving community amenities and additional office space. But the County announced in June that is was scrapping its plans for renovation of the Rafferty Center, and clearly Centex wants nothing to do with it as well. However, the County does have plans to develop another full service community recreation center on the southwest quadrant of the Georgia Avenue and Randolph Road intersection. The $20 million project will be fully stocked with basketball courts, a state-of-the-art gym and other recreational amenities. But as expected, there will be a significant time lapse separating the leveling of Rafferty and the opening of the new facility; planners can't begin the project for at least another four years, when the Randolph Road site, now serving as staging area for Inter-County Connector highway construction, opens up.

Looks ready for a pick up soccer game.

All in all, this is a positive sign that Centex is confident in demand for more housing. With development plans stalled across the metro area, it remains one of the few active site. It is a welcome reverse from the direction Centex was forced into several years ago, as it pulled the plug on a few large projects scattered about the metro area. The completed townhouses are currently being offered from the upper $300's.

Wheaton Maryland real estate development news

WMATA Gives B.F. Saul OK to Develop Near Wheaton Metro

Already a major player in the District's real estate development game, B.F. Saul will now head a team of developers charged with bringing a mixed-use project near the Wheaton Metro station to life. This is just another materialization of a well-established effort by WMATA and its Director of Real Estate Steven Goldin to promote increased density, mass-transit-directed residential, retail, and office space through the Metro's Joint Development Program. "Selection of the B.F. Saul team for the Wheaton redevelopment project mirrors the successful strategy Montgomery County employed with Silver Spring," Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett said. The parcel is part of 10 that were offered up as development opportunities just last January.

The new development will certainly help address many of goals set out by Wheaton Central Business District and Vicinity Sector Plan, including their hopes to: "Reinvigorate Wheaton’s downtown by creating a walkable community with a distinct identity; create a vibrant mix of jobs and housing; design quality public spaces inviting to pedestrians; and foster an environmentally sustainable community." Sounds delightful. Developers will also be expected to do all of the above while "preserving Wheaton’s ethnic diversity." The original plan was laid out in 1990, before the red line had surfaced in Wheaton. Since 2006 the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) has taken it upon themselves to update the plan; the augmented plan is to be unveiled at a Montgomery Planning Board public hearing today.

While Metro has successfully completed a total of 21 transit oriented development projects so far, including notable Maryland-based developments such as Bethesda Metro Center, Grosvenor, Twinbrook and Wheaton (east), others like Greenbelt Venture's plans around the Greenbelt stations have wallowed in the rubble of inaction for years; just this year plans set for the area surrounding the Largo station were put on hold after the group of developers filed for bankruptcy.

In an effort to make this 8.2 acres only one working part of a more comprehensive and expansive redevelopment of downtown Wheaton, B.F. Saul will look to cooperate with existing local businesses and land owners such as the Westfield Wheaton Shopping Center to peacefully incorporate the new projects into the established community.

Wheaton was listed by Governor Martin O'Malley as one of the initial projects in a newly unveiled state Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) program, which will continue to encourage similar developments by bolstering them with funding, tax credits and other financial incentives and tools.

B.F. Saul will spearhead a team that includes Silver Spring-based Torti Gallas and Partners Inc. as lead design architect, as well as Rockville-based Loiederman Soltesz Associates Inc. as civil engineers, responsible for levelheadedly carrying out the architectural plans.

The Wheaton project will be the beneficiary of $200,000 in planning funds, compliments of the deep-pocketed Maryland Transportation Department.

Wheaton, Maryland real estate development news

Wheaton Considers 18-Story Metro Development

Plans are finally taking shape in Wheaton to replace the existing Safeway and add as much as 500 residential units worth of new neighbors. The Safeway, across the street from the Wheaton Metro, dropped the idea of relocating to the AvalonBay development (a project now on hold) last fall and began working with developer Patriot Realty, creating concepts that are now starting to gel. New plans call for doubling the supermarket's size, adding retail and parking, and building an 18-story residence in three towers. The newly developed, LEED-certified Safeway will displace the box building and large parking lot opposite the Metro entrance, adding retail, residences and 550 parking spaces to downtown Wheaton. Initial designs insert 140 parking spaces below grade that will service retail customers and 411 residential spaces on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th floors, accommodating residents. In an effort to hide the three-story garage between the retail and residences, the team plans to cover the garage in a skin that "fits in and doesn't necessarily look like a parking structure," according to Steven A. Robins, Patriot Realty’s attorney from Lerch Early & Brewer. Hord Coplan Macht is the Baltimore-based architecture firm planning the new building and designing the common spaces. 

Lee Driskill, a Principal with the firm and the lead architect for the project, says the mid-level garage will be blended almost seamlessly with the exterior of the upper floors. "The goal is to make the 3 levels of the garage meld with the design of the building. You will not see it." At least not from south or west, where most of the traffic runs. "This is still very conceptual, but its not going to be an open garage. The goal will be to make [the exterior walls] look integrated, potentially the majority of it will be glass. It will follow the design of the unit openings above" says Driskill. Ventilation will be likely achieved with screens on the less visible north and east sides. According to Driskill, the overall strategy is to break the massing along Georgia Avenue, separating the design into 3 vertical towers that are more apparent than actual, since structurally it will comprise one integrated, "tall and elegant" building. "The skin has been organized to have these three tower elements come to the fore." Though the county's Staff Report was largely favorable, controversy remains over the public space, an issue that could cost the developer $1m. Montgomery County requires a developer to either set aside 20% of the lot as public space, or contribute to a fund to purchase off-site space. In their review, county planners found little value in Patriot's planned outdoor space and "suggested" adjustments that removed it, a change that would effectively require Patriot Realty to buy into the off-site fund. At $35 per square foot, based on the assessed value of the land, that would cost Patriot $960,000. The modification irks Patriot, which blames county planners for the change, but, according to Robins, "it's just a question of how much it costs...and just figuring out how to pay for the land; whether its the land value or the cost of improvements." Its only money. The Wheaton Safeway development will face Preliminary and Project Plan Review this week where the Planning Board will consider the "favorable" staff report, said Robins. After that, "we still have to get Site Plan approval...hopefully we could begin construction early next year." The county will take up the issue at its next meeting on Thursday. Patriot previously built 8045 Condominiums, Crescent Condominiums, and the Portico apartment building, all in Silver Spring. 

Wheaton Maryland commercial real estate development news

Local Governments Seek to Transform Wheaton Downtown

Ten sites in Wheaton are up for grabs now that Montgomery County, the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission and Metro, a.k.a. the "Public Team" which individually own the properties, has released a request for qualifications for a public-private partnership to develop and transform any one or combination of the ten spaces in the Wheaton Central Business District. The plots total 11.7 acres, all within 1,200 feet of the Wheaton Metro station.

The three land owners are working together to create a constellation of new development to build a "high quality...vibrant community" with increased density that will transform the Wheaton CBD. Projects should be transit oriented, mixed-use developments that create active open space and promote pedestrian-friendly transit. The two-tier process will first rate the developers' "creative vision" and ability, saving project specifics for the second stage of application process.

Housing options should include moderate-income, workforce housing and live-work units such as art studios. The ten lots include both contiguous and stand alone plots. Depending on the owner, the property may be either leased or purchased. Expect a localized price spike, as developers may combine other parcels in their proposals by showing they will have the ability to control adjacent parcels for future development.

The properties are listed in groups, though each can be developed individually. Group A includes a Parking Lot on Price Avenue, a garage on Fern Street and Veterans' Park on Reedie Drive, a total of 2.62 acres. In the case of Veterans' Park, a developer would be required to "identify a replacement location for the park that enhances its impact upon the public realm."

Group B holds the bulk of the space with 8.02 acres, including three Montgomery County-owned parking lots, a Montgomery County Regional Service Center on Reedie Drive and two Metro properties. Concept plans for the Regional Service Center should address replacement locations for the services normally provided by the site.

The Metro offerings include a bus bay on Georgia Avenue and a 1.94-acre garage on Veirs Mill Road. Metro requires any developer with plans for the bus bay to develop an interim site prior to construction and an alternate permanent location for the facility in close proximity. Metro is not seeking replacement of the garage, which connects via a pedestrian bridge to the Westfield Wheaton Mall. However, any developer seeking to "better integrate these facilities with transit oriented development" would need to replace the "existing uses at appropriate levels of functionality," with replacement costs borne by the developer.

That leaves the sole member of Group C, a 1.06 acre Montgomery County-owned parking lot on Blueridge Ave. Despite the tie to Metro, the team is requiring that applicants replace all five parking lots with "appropriate levels of replacement parking/capacity."

Submissions are due March 19th, a pre-submission conference with site tour will be held February 2nd. A short-list of candidates will be released on April 14th, at which time the second phase information will be released.

Wheaton real estate and development news

Wheaton Plans Rearranged

Ask anyone involved in Montgomery County's Wheaton Redevelopment Program (WRP) and you will hear how the new Wheaton Safeway will lie at the heart of the County's pedestrian-friendly, retail-oriented vision. And it will, though the original plans to include it in the AvalonBay development are now defunct with Safeway opting to renovate the current location and add up to 18 stories of residential. More of a challenge than the developers of Avalon at Wheaton were bargaining for, the project is now on hold, much to the surprise of county officials. Just when Wheaton's development was at risk of becoming ho-hum, the county has stepped in with its own share of development melodrama rife with project delays, excess residential units and a fickle Safeway.

Having cornered the market on apartment complexes from Bethesda to McLean, the Alexandria-based AvalonBay developers set their sights on a new Wheaton community. With County approval, the $100 million, mixed-use Avalon at Wheaton community at the corner of Blueridge and Georgia Avenue, the site of the former BB&T building, was to include the newly revamped, state-of-the-art Safeway. The residential portion of the Avalon project is designed by SK&I. That was before Safeway began working with developer Patriot Realty. Now, the Wheaton Safeway, a joint venture between Patriot and Safeway, will more than double its 23,000 s.f. store while remaining at the same 11201 Georgia Avenue spot.

According to Steven A. Robins, Patriot Realty’s attorney from Bethesda- based law firm Lerch Early & Brewer, keeping the Safeway in its original location made good sense as “Safeway already owns the land.” And because the current Safeway is situated across from the Wheaton Metro at what Robins describes as “the Ground Zero so to speak [of the Wheaton Redevelopment Plan],” it will be conveniently incorporated into the new pedestrian-friendly promenades designated in the WRP's plans. The group is looking for approvals as soon as possible for their Safeway project. “We’d like to be under construction within the next 18 months,” Robins tells DCMud.

Robins explained that Patriot's newly developed Safeway will be LEED certified in accordance with Montgomery County standards, and will include 57,500 s.f. of retail, 140 underground parking spaces for Safeway customers, upwards of 500 apartment units on top of that, and additional 411 residential parking spaces. The Wheaton store will resemble DC’s 14-story City Vista Safeway at 5th & K Streets NW. The architects for the Wheaton store are Hord Coplan Macht.

So what’s to become of the Avalon at Wheaton Community without its intended anchor? And really, will there be a market for the hundreds of extra AvalonBay apartment units now that Patriot Realty is adding upwards of 18-stories of rental units across from the Metro?

When asked about their future Avalon at Wheaton plans, AvalonBay spokesman, Adam Davis replied by email explaining that the Wheaton development “is still in our pipeline,” but “has been delayed for the foreseeable future.” He added that 2011 might be a more realistic year than 2010 for construction to begin on any new Avalon at Wheaton community.

When Rob Klein, Director of Wheaton's Redevelopment, was presented with news of AvalonBay's delays, he commented that the delayed status was "new to him." According to Peter McGinnity, WRP Business Development & Intergovernmental Program Manager, as far as their staff knows, the AvalonBay project "is moving forward," and they were under the impression that AvalonBay planned to "increase the number of apartment units and include less ground floor retail" now that the Safeway was out of the picture.

Coming Soon(ish): Wheaton Town Square

Spurred on by what they've deemed the "success of Silver Spring redevelopment" and "stagnation" in their own front lawn, Montgomery County's Wheaton Redevelopment Program (WRP) is gearing up to issue a solicitation for offers for a large-scale, mixed-use Town Square project on what is currently a collection of Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) bus bays next to the Wheaton Metro.

"We were hoping [to get the solicitation out] this summer and we think that maybe that's still possible. Once we go the WMATA board, it'll much more realistic to put together a schedule," said WRP Director, Rob Klein.

"We'll go to the community before and show them the elements that we're considering. But, by and large, what we're aiming to do is keep the requirements to a minimum, so that we hire a development team based upon their expertise, their experience, their wherewithal and the creativity they’ve shown with past projects. Then, like Silver Spring, [they'll] work with the stakeholders."

Using recommendations made by the International Downtown Association (IDA) as a model, the WRP is aiming to redevelop the County-owned, triangular site (bounded by Georgia Avenue, Viers Mill Road and Reedie Drive), along with other area parking lots and few select private parcels “that make sense for redevelopment,” via a public-private partnership. Though the ultimate mix of uses won’t be settled upon until a developer is selected, the WRP’s tentative vision sees the Town Square as a new arts and retail destination, ala Silver Spring’s revitalized downtown; part and parcel with that will be a new Metro-centric location for the Wheaton Regional Library.

"[The library] relocation was recommended by the [IDA], instead of proceeding with the renovation of the existing library…If the library comes downtown, the recommendation was that an arts venue be part of it. Another thing we’ve thrown out is possibly an auditorium will be part of it. All that would have to be tied into a massive redevelopment solicitation,” said Klein. The idea of shuttering the current library, however, has drawn the ire of many local residents and a campaign is now underway to preclude the possibility of a move.

Nonetheless, area bibliophiles have plenty of time before their books are due once and for all, as there’s no definitive timeline for the project as it now stands - but not for want of effort by WRP. Program staff will appear before the WMATA board this week to seek a “letter of understanding” from the agency with regard to use of the bus bay parcel.

Furthermore, the Town Square’s fate is linked to that of the Wheaton Sector Plan, first drafted in 1990 and now under revision, that goes before the Montgomery County Planning Board later this summer. According to Klein, changes to the updated Plan will “work in tandem” with the goals of his team, as they select sites for redevelopment, deal with issues like the library and court interest from the development community.

“This [project] is a strange hodgepodge and I have not seen one like it before…This is going to be tricky,” he said.

Wheaton Metro Projects

Wheaton's profile has never been sufficiently distinct to stand out against its neighbors to the south, lacking a strong downtown and well defined borders. But now several teams are hoping to make area more of a destination.

Construction is well underway for Bozzuto Development and Torti Gallas and Partners' mixed-use project at the Red Line’s Wheaton Metro station. Located at 11175 Georgia Avenue in Maryland, Metro Pointe will include 2,000 s.f. of ground retail below 173 rental apartments which will be a mixture of lofts and single story units. Residents will have traditional amenities such as a business center, courtyard terraces, and a walking park, and less traditional features like direct elevator access to the Metro, an uncommon convenience in DC.

“It will be five buildings connected together, the main building on Georgia and Reedie Drive is brick with Hardipanel…When you get to Amherst drive it turns into townhouses,” said Project Manager Mark Weisner at Bozzuto. He added that Fed Ex Kinkos and a small convenience store will occupy the retail space.

While the Georgia Avenue project is underway and scheduled for completion in the third quarter of this year, Bozzuto’s other - more ambitious -project with Spaulding & Slye Investments, is still being conceived, it may soon take shape down the street where Georgia Avenue and Veirs Mill Road intersect.

Still in the planning and documentation stage, the Metro Plaza at Wheaton Square on Georgia Avenue may begin construction in the second half of next year; the mixed-use project will include over 400,000 s.f. of Class A office space, street-level retail, residential units planned as apartments, a Metro bus terminal, and parking for 500 cars. Planned at the intersection of Reedie Drive, and Veirs Mill, the project's backers expect the development to redefine Weaton's 'city center'.

The project is still not much more than a rendering (see above) - a representative at the company jokingly asked DCMud to tell them what was happening at the site - Bonstra Haresign Architects’ website says the project will have “an 11-story, 300,000 square foot commercial tower, a 10-story, 130,000 square foot residential building, 10,000 square feet of ground floor retail along Georgia Avenue, and 5 levels of above-grade structured parking.”

The project will have access to the Metro tunnel under Georgia Avenue on the north side of the site and to a pedestrian bridge at the west side of the site.

As Bill Bonstra said to DCMud in January, “Georgia Avenue is an unbelievable mix of land use... And the Wheaton area is coming in right on the coattails of the revitalization of Silver Spring. It was only a matter of time for development to move north as it had done from the west.” How much time, we just can't say.

Wheaton Maryland real estate development news

They're back: Centex builds in Wheaton

Centex Homes is building an assortment of townhomes, single-family houses and self-described condominium-townhomes at the former site of Our Lady of Good Counsel High School in Wheaton, MD. The Leesborough Condos and Townhomes will sprout on a site that Centex acquired in late 2006; the Catholic preparatory school vacated in January, 2007. Now Centex, in its closest project to DC since pulling out of a number of DC Metro condo projects about a year ago, is building the American dream Wheaton-style, providing 54 townhouses, 45 condominiums and six single-family units at the intersection of Georgia Avenue and Arcola.

Although the project hasn't begun to materialize yet, pre-construction sales started in December of 2007. According to Centex, people are chomping at the bit for some of the units, specifically the condominiums. Centex's model condo unit starts in the $360's for a two-level, condo-townhouse over a garage with roughly 1,900 s.f. of space, and is best described as a "Stacked townhome" according to Marketing Director Carla Sevilla. Sevilla explained that the stacked townhome provides the density the city requires while offering the owners plenty of square footage in a traditional townhouse feel; "It's a very unique product" Sevilla added. Of the 45 condos planned for the site, about 15 will be set aside as Moderately Priced Dwelling Units (MPDUs).

Centex has used "hybrid-condos" in the past; Brambleton Sky Meadows, Lansdowne Town Center, Buckingham Station and Village Place in Gainesville are all variations of the condo-turned rowhouse, or vice versa. Abnormal or not, sales at Leesborough are strong, according to Centex, with about a dozen sold since December, 2007...so act fast. Centex is not making such claims for sales of their townhomes (pictured below). The 1,950-s.f., two-car garage, brick and Hardy Plank townhomes which start in the $420s are apparently a tougher sell. The final phase, which will add six single-family homes to the site, has not yet begun construction or sales.

Three separate architectural firms contributed to Centex's design. The condominium portion was drafted by Martin Architectural Group, while the townhomes were designed by two firms: Pinnacle Design and Consulting and Philly's Marshall/Sabatini.  Centex expects some of the townhomes will be completed soon, planning to move in any buyers as early as the fall, while the first condos will arrive at the beginning of 2009.

Washington DC retail and real estate news

Architect Selected for Metro Plaza Project in Wheaton

The $150 million Metro Plaza complex, a mixed-use project planned to be built on 3 acres at the southwest corner of Georgia Avenue and Reedie Drive next to the Wheaton metro station, now has its architect. Developers Spaulding and Slye Investments and Bozzuto Development Co. have just hired well-know DC architect company Bonstra Haresign (AOL Headquarters, Q14 condos) for this project, which for now will consist of up to 450,000 sf of office and retail space, though the developers are leaving upon the possibility of including residential units depending on the market. Construction on this complex is expected to begin in 2008, with occupancy hopefully starting by the end of 2009.