Vacant Properties on the Chopping Block Wednesday

Tomorrow, DC's Department of Housing and Community Development will shed itself of 18 vacant, government-owned properties at a public auction. The single-family townhouses, multi-family buildings and vacant lots cover neighborhoods in almost every Ward, but take note: not everyone is welcome to bid. Buyers can include only prospective home owners that will occupy the property, non-profits and Certified Business Enterprises (CBE) registered with the District. Buyers must bring a $15,000 deposit to participate in the bidding.

There may be deals in waiting (for the buyer, not for the District taxpayer), given the restrictive qualifications on purchasers. Buyers looking to get in on the Shaw transition can bid on 1713 New Jersey Avenue, NW (pictured), which tax records show sold for just under $300,000 in 2005. Neighboring properties have sold for as much as $750,000 in recent years. A lot at 805 7th Street, NE, near H Street, zoned for residential use, could command some interest given the District Council's recent approval of overhead wires for the future streetcar. Though a buyer could snag a bargain, the buy-in and then the required 10 percent deposit within three days time could be a bit of a deterrent for the do-it-yourself buyer.

The District auctions the properties in the hopes of returning them to the tax roll, creating additional revenue and removing blight. The vacant properties were acquired through negotiated friendly sale, eminent domain, donation, and tax sale foreclosure when owners were "unwilling or unable to maintain their properties." The auction, run by Alex Cooper Auctioneers, will take place at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center tomorrow beginning "promptly" at 2 PM.

Washington, DC real estate development news

Senate Square to be Auctioned

The 432-unit Senate Square apartment building on the 200 block of I Street, NE is headed to auction on February 23rd. Senate Square was developed by New York-based Broadway Development Company and designed by architect Philip Esocoff. The property went into receivership in October 2009.

The two 12-story towers began sales as condos in September of 2005, but in 2007 converted to apartments when only 150 units went under contract. Since that time, the developer had fallen behind on mortgage payments to lender Goldman Sachs, and last October, California- based Douglas P. Wilson Companies was appointed as Receiver for Senate Square, requiring them to act as the developer on behalf of the court. On December 11, 2009, Goldman Sachs sold the note to Westbrook of New York. According to a representative of the Receiver, the project is currently 85% leased, more than 2 years after offering the building for lease, and that the new ownership is not likely to affect management or operation of Senate Square as an apartment building.

Senate Square was cleaved off from Abdo Development's Landmark Lofts condo project, which purchased site of the former Children's Museum for development; the two share a central amenities building. The auction will be held at 10am, February 23rd, at the auction house of Alex Cooper.

Washington, DC real estate development news

Colonnade Auctions Condos this Saturday

The Colonnade at Kentlands of Gaithersburg will send to auction 40 of its remaining homes this Saturday, helping to wrap up an under-performing real estate portfolio that the Florida-based developer acquired in 2005, a decision they must still regret. With about 70 units in the 307-unit building still unsold, El-Ad is putting 40 of those condos on the block, having recently shut down its sales office, with minimum bidding prices starting at $169,000. Back in February, El-Ad put the remaining 40 units of its only other local project, the Fitz of Rockville, on the auction block, ending nearly 5 years of sales there. Both the Fitz and Colonnade at Kentlands were developed by Archstone-Smith and built by Donohoe Construction. The Colonnade was designed by the Preston Partnership for its originally intended use as an apartment building, uber- amenitized with a party room, computer room, theater, study, swimming pool, sauna, fitness center, cyber cafe and billiard room. The 10-building compound, with 6-story parking garage, was completed by Archstone in December of 2005 and sold to El-Ad shortly thereafter.

Montgomery County commercial real estate digest 

DC Tax Sale Canceled

Washington DC's property sale for unpaid real estate taxes was canceled today. The annual sale was scheduled to begin today, but bidders occupying seats at 941 North Capitol Street were reportedly put on hold several times, only to be told in the afternoon that the tax sale was canceled "indefinitely." DC government officials confirmed that the sale was "postponed," and would be "rescheduled," but gave no timeline for the process.

Registration for the District's tax auction for property in tax arrears began August 31, and the auction was to have started today, lasting until all properties had been disposed of. While District officials would not comment further than to say that a challenge had been filed "to the District's right to set a threshold for the sale of delinquent real property taxes", sources said that the an investor and auction participant had filed a challenge to the process by which the District conducts auctions, seeking an injunction against the auction.

The District had delayed the previous tax sale due to the scandal in the Office of Tax and Revenue.

DC Property Tax Auction: All Inventory Must Go!

Washington DC's tax sale is on. Well, almost. Registration for the District's tax sale auction for property in tax arrears begins on Monday, August 31, and ends September 4th, so don't delay - act now - to get your next house on the cheap. The auction of delinquent properties will take place starting Wednesday, September 9th, and continue until all properties delinquent as of October 1, 2008, have been sold.

Property with less than $1,000 in back taxes may be put on the block to a willing bidder. So is this the place to pick up the home you thought you couldn't afford? Not really, says David Kanstoroom, a title attorney with North American Title. Because the District provides a statutory right of redemption (an American value, you know) for auctioned properties, wayward owners may pay the back taxes, penalties and interest, and in so doing reclaim the property. "A high rate of these properties - 90 plus percent - are ultimately redeemed by the original owner" says Kanstoroom. According to Andrew Schechter of M and M Search Service, a title search abstractor and auctioneer, the point of the auction is often not to obtain title to a property, but to invest in a distressed property and collect interest from the previous homeowner.

Auction participants, who technically purchase the lien on the property, not the actual title, are entitled by DC law to earn 1.5% interest, per month, on the tax lien amount, to the homeowner that wants to redeem the property. Investors are therefore bidding on the amount of the tax lien, plus whatever surplus they determine the investment will justify.

Schechter notes that 4 months after the tax sale, investors can begin charging homeowners for actual title search costs, and 6 months after the tax sale they can begin charging "reasonable" attorneys' fees, a point at which the real money may kick in. Because the process is judicial, rather than administrative, the length of time to process the sale is determined by the court, but a case cannot be opened until 6 months after the tax sale.

Homeowners will still have to contend with penalties by the District, and any other outstanding liens, but according to Schechter, the District's intent is not to make tax sales an easy route to home purchasing. While it may be easier in Maryland, where the homeowner conducts the same type of transaction directly with the state, rather than a private investor, Schechter says the message from the DC government is simple: Don't attend the auction to pick up the home, go for the high interest accrued on the delinquent taxes. If its ownership you're looking for, you'll just have to go about it the old-fashioned way and search online.

The sale will be held at 941 North Capital Street, 4th floor.

LEED Gold for Monument's 55M, Southeast

Monument Realty has been awarded an environmental gold medal; Gold LEED status, that is, on its Half Street, SE office building. Coming on the heels of recent set backs including the Watergate foreclosure and auction and the bankruptcy of financing partner Lehman brothers, the news had to be a welcome respite from the negative media glare accompanying the Watergate auction.

The Gold status, the second highest rating in the system, was awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and came as a surprise to the developer, which had expected only the Silver certification. "[t]o be awarded Gold is a true testament to the hard work that all the team members put into this project,” said Michael Darby, Principal of Monument Realty.

55 M Street, a Class A commercial office building in the heart of the Capitol Riverfront neighborhood - and the official pedestrian entrance to the ballpark - features 275,000 s.f. of office space and 13,000 s.f. of ground floor retail directly above the newly expanded Navy Yard Metro station. Architect Davis, Carter, Scott included environmentally conscious design features such as a green roof and an LID (Low Impact Development) streetscape concept that captures rainwater to irrigate street trees and plantings and reduces storm water run-off. Monument has yet to begin work on the residential portion of the block, for which Lehman was a partner, and has no immediate plans to add to the residential stock of the neighborhood.

Watergate Auction Sees No Bids, PB Capital Holds Property

The Watergate Hotel went to the auction block this morning. According to Reuters, with an opening bid at $25 million, no bids were placed and PB Capital Corp. made a credit bid to wipe out all debts on the property for $25 million. This despite the $40 million the bank was owed by Monument Realty, whose financing partner on the project, Lehman brothers, went bankrupt this past fall.

Ten bidders, including hotel chains and developers both US-based and international, registered, having demonstrated their $1.1 million deposit. However, the $25 million opening bid apparently was more than they were willing to bite off. Several developers remain interested in the property, including Monument, which may ultimately work with PB Capital to buy the property back and continue their plan to develop a hotel with some areas zoned for residential use.

Unwanted Condos Get Affordable in Germantown

Prolific affordable housing providers, AHC Inc. - whose resume includes developments such as The Shelton and Macedonia in Northern Virginia - have just inked their first deal with Montgomery County. Using a total of $5.4 million in loans from County's Housing Initiative and Community Development Block Grant Funds, AHC has purchased 29 new condominiums at Fairfield Residential's Ashmore at Germantown development for the purpose of converting them in to long-term affordable rentals. According to the developer, "After the units are leased, AHC will refinance the property and return a portion of the funding to the County to be recycled into additional affordable housing initiatives."

While certainly not a boon to the development’s marketing strategy, the sale is certainly a relief for Fairfield; this past November, when faced with a declining market and a glut of unsold units, the developer put 45 two and three-bedroom units at the Ashmore up for auction - with some going for as little as $140,000, or one-third of the initial asking price, for those counting. Despite being sold to AHC at well below original point (the developer picked them up for approximately $186,000 each), the units at the Ashmore still boast standard amenities, including “custom cabinetry, ceramic flooring, crown molding” and a community center with a pool and fitness center.

For the County’s part, they seem pleased to have funded an arrangement that will provide affordable housing, while sidestepping the obvious the downsides of providing for a ghost town smack in the middle of the County (see the current market conditions in Florida for numerous examples of less fortuitous outcomes).

“Creating and preserving affordable housing is one of my highest priorities,” said County Executive Isiah Leggett in a statement announcing the sale. “I am pleased that the Housing Initiative Fund is being used to acquire more than two dozen condominiums and make them affordable for eligible residents.”

Maryland real estate news

DCHD Auction Bidders to be Disclosed

Last week's auction of vacant property throughout Washington DC met with mostly positive reviews. But complaints were raised about its "secretive" nature, a process that jarred with Obamian notions of an anticeptically transparent government. Now the District of Columbia Department of Housing and Community Development (DCHD), which held the auction of 31 vacant "nuisance properties" on January 30th, has said it will reveal the winners. Eventually. For now, despite community concerns over the furtive sale, Angelita Colon-Francia, Senior Public Information Officer, Office of Strategy and Communications, has informed DCmud that the winning bidders "were mostly individuals, although four bidders have already stated they intend to purchase their properties using corporate entities.” Oh, the new neighbors are individuals. There goes the neighborhood.

If that is not a sufficient balm to open-government zealots, satisfaction of community qualms about just who (or what) purchased will have to wait until an upcoming, as-yet unscheduled public hearing. Recites Colon-Francia: “Per Section 42-3171 of the D.C. Code, DHCD will announce the date of a public hearing, along with the names of the prospective buyers, in the D.C. Register after it has received deposits for each property.”

Almost as interesting, DCHD has also gone public with a new Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program, which is intended to “encourage private investment in the construction and rehabilitation of low- and moderate-income housing,” or, if you are a city Councilmember, go 8 out of 9 years without paying taxes. [DCMud has still not verified that last part yet] Though the update to District policy was mandated by federal law, the changes to the program will not affect current DCHD-sponsored affordable housing initiatives, including the upcoming redevelopment of 809 Kennedy Street, NW and Jubilee Housing Inc.’s renovation of various Adams Morgan properties like Ontario Court and The Ritz. According to DCHD guidleines, “the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program provides 9 percent Low Income Housing Tax Credits to developers of new or rehabilitated rental housing for the production of housing affordable to low- and moderate-income persons at 60 percent or less of Area Median Income.”

Rockville Condo Auction: The Fitz Calls it Quits

Apparently four years is enough. Facing what could be more than half a decade of shilling condos in Rockville, the Fitz is calling it quits, and has called in the auctioneers to finish the job. Developers of The Fitz have announced their intention to auction the 40 remaining condos on February 28th, ending sales of the 221-unit condominium that began in early 2005 when the project was converted from an apartment building. Developed originally by Archstone in 2004, the apartment building was purchased by Florida-based Elad in 2005, with sales beginning the same year. Prices that once started in the low $300's for one-bedroom units will be auctioned with an opening bid of $169,900. Pity the buyers that paid in the high $400's for a two-bedroom, two-bath back in 2005. 

Representatives of the real estate developer, which is marketing and selling the units itself, report selling 20 condos in 2008, leaving a two-year inventory at 2008 sales levels, a prospect which must have made even the most Pollyanna of real estate agents gulp. Bidders will need an $85,000 earnest money deposit to earn the keys to their new unit. "The Fitz at Rockville Town Center," located at 501 Hungerford Drive, just outside the geography it takes its name from, was the first condo developed in the then-emerging neighborhood. The Fitz includes a cyber cafe, gas fireplaces, cinema lounge, fitness facility, and "resort-style" outdoor pool, and is walking distance to the Metro. Elad also converted the nearby Colonnade at Kentlands from apartments into condominiums.

Babes Goes Back to Retail?

Last week's auction winner of the Tenley condo site will build a new retail venue, according to the new owner. Douglas Jemal of Douglas Development Corporation tells DCMud that he will pursue retail usage at the Tenleytown storefront once home to Babe’s Billiards, but more recently as an aborted residential project called the Maxim Condominiums. Jemal picked up the 12,661 square foot parcel at 4600 Wisconsin Avenue, NW for a reported $5 million at auction last week, after the Maxim’s original developers, Clemens Construction, bowed out.

There is no word on when Tenleytown will see the property open for business, but Jemal contends that his company will repurpose the shuttered pool hall at the site, instead of aiming for new construction. With underwriting for residential projects increasingly wanting, residential development was never likely, at least in the short term. More distantly, project approvals for the Maxim, as well as project plans by Cunningham & Quill Architects,’ transfer under the terms of the sale, leaving a clear path toward residential development for one of DC's few developer that seems capable and inclined to buy and hold.

But at least one executive of a prominent developer that examined the site thinks the only real strategy is a long term retail plan. "The problem with the site is that anyone picking it up needs to carry it for a long time. Doug Jemal, more than anyone else in the city, has a greater ability to bring in high profile retailers...You can't pay that amount ($5m) and get a short term lease; I think in a way it could be good for the site. The FAR price was high by any standard, [Jemal] was bidding like a guy who had an idea for how to utilize the site; its certain to remain retail for at least a decade." And with the tax rate on vacant property jumping from 5% to 10%, Douglas has an obvious disincentive to idling the property.

Other current Douglas projects in some phase of development include the former Wonder Bread factory at 641 S Street, NW, a mixed-use development at 9^th and N Streets, NW, the redevelopment of a Pennsylvania Avenue, NE site that neighbors the proposed Hill East project, and the Addison Row at Cheverly Metro just over the District line in Prince George’s County.

Auction Raises $4.5 Million for Washington, DC

Last Friday's auction of District-owned "nuisance properties" netted more than $4.5 million for the city, according to documentation obtained by DCmud (pictured). In total, 28 of 31 properties listed were snatched up by new owners and there were some bargains, too. A Southeast property at 2321 Highland Street went for only $35,000, while none of the listings exceeded $400,000. Per Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) guidelines for the auction, the majority of the funds raised will benefit the District’s affordable housing fund.

“The potential revenue from the January 30 auction could be as much as $4.85 million for the District however, there are conditions (outlined in the disposition agreement) that have to be met before sales are final,” said Angelita Colón-Francia, DHCD’s Senior Public Information Officer. A public hearing will precede the settlements. We anticipate that closings will likely occur in early spring.”

Despite the disclosure of the District’s take from the sales, there’s still some question as to who actually purchased the properties. Some citizens at Mayor Fenty’s announcement of the auction expressed concerns that the derelict homes would immediately go to developers with deep pockets, rather than private citizens with a stake in the community. It can't be worse than the status quo ante.

DC's "Nuisance Properties" Headed to Auction

Mayor Adrian Fenty was joined by Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) Director Leila Edmonds today at a vacant Columbia Heights townhome to announce an auction of District-owned "nuisance properties" tomorrow afternoon.

"These are neighborhood nuisances and they've been the site of numerous problems. What councilmember, what citizen activist, what great media person hasn't heard the tales of nuisance properties like one behind me [at 3004 13th Street, NW] causing problems with everything from rodent infestation to plain old visual blight?" said the Mayor.

In total, 31 properties located in the DC neighborhoods of Columbia Heights, Shaw, LeDroit Park, Trinidad and Deanwood will hit the auction block (all of which can be viewed here). All were acquired through eminent domain, foreclosure or “friendly” sale and represent just a fraction of the city’s inventory of derelict properties. According to Director Edmonds, funds raised from the auction will benefit the city’s affordable housing fund and, if successful, another round of sales open to the public could occur in the near future.

The auction will be held Friday, January, 30th at 2 PM at 441 Fourth Street, NW. The Mayor projects that the “more than 200 developers and investors” who turned up for last week’s pre-bid conference will be in attendance and the public has been encouraged to participate as well. Prospective bidders will be able to register on site, provided they can meet the city’s minimum price point of $10,000. Those who purchase property at the auction will be required to have their properties in fully operable condition within 18 months or face the prospect of ownership reverting to the District. Additionally, they will also have to meet a series of DCHD-dictated expectations in restoring the once neglected homes.

“Bidders and potential purchasers will be required to fulfill the certified business entity requirements within the District. So, not only will we get these properties back into productive use, but we will also be fulfilling the mandate and mission to get them to help people find job opportunities” said Edmonds.

Fenty and Edmonds also used the opportunity to unveil the DHCD’s new “interactive housing database,” dchousingsearch.org – a site that aggregates both “rental and homeownership opportunities throughout the city.”

“Until today there wasn’t one place that you could go and find affordable housing in the city,” said Fenty. “That changes with the great work of DHCD. Obviously, it’s impossible for us to mandate affordable housing providers to give us information, but I think there’s great incentive for them to do so. We already have 5,672 total units in the system…and we have to date 64 housing providers that are registered as active within the system.” More 600 of the site's listed units are currently available.

Washington DC real estate news

Eckington Condos: Going Once...Going Twice...

A condominium project in Eckington will be put on the auction block this month, the first such auction of individual condominiums in DC in recent memory. Todd Place Condos, at 302-310 Todd Place, NE, began sales in the middle of last year, and will auction off 12 units individually on site on February 18th. While the auctioning of entire projects has been increasingly common as a way to avoid long carrying costs, developers in Washington DC have not previously chosen to auction units individually, and have instead opted to lower prices or to rent units until condo prices rise. Located just to the north of NoMa, where more than 10m s.f. of commercial space is planned or under construction, Eckington has seen a surge in residential development as developers anticipate the need for housing as a counterweight to the massive commercial development on its border.

Prices for Todd Place initially began in the low $300's for two-bed, one-bath condos, each fully renovated from a row of pre-war apartment buildings, with parking spaces being auctioned separately. Also on the auction block on the same date will be 4 units at 1609 Isherwood St., NE, in the Hill East community. Homeland Auctions will be conducting the auctions, which conducted the auctions for the Parkside of Alexandria last year.

Alexandria Auction: An Unconventional Success

The Parkside at Alexandria residential community received a surge of sales last week during a real estate auction where more than 200 bidders came to compete on the remaining 30 condos available at the development. The scramble for the discounted townhouse-style residences ended just 60 minutes after the bidding opened - leaving nothing behind for the reluctant, and putting more than $10 million in the pockets of Mid-City Urban LLC and its partner Parkside at Alexandria LLC.

The drawing factor was the obvious chance to get a discount, and in the end, two-bedroom condos sold at an average of almost $40,000 less than their original price of $339,000, while three-bedroom units, which would have originally cost $379,000, were auctioned at almost $30,000 less.

Parkside at Alexandria was originally constructed more than a half-century ago as an apartment complex, the community was purchased by Parkside at Alexandria LLC which converted the rental units into condominiums. Sales on the 378 residences commenced in early 2004.

Alexandria Condos Going to Auction

On Sunday the 28th, Parkside Alexandria is due to auction 30 remaining condos in the 378-unit complex in Alexandria, VA. The Parkside, on N. Van Dorn Street, was originally an apartment building, converted to condos by Mid-City Urban, which claims on its website to have nearly $1 billion in housing units on the east coast. Sales for the Parkside began in early 2004 when condominium sales were in their hayday, but reduced pricing was not sufficient to move the remaining units that began delivery 18 months ago. Renovation work completed on the project in January of this year. According to the development page, the remaining units will auction at a minimum bid of $225,000 for units that had at one point started at $279,000.