MRP and JBG To Develop the Exchange At Potomac Yard

MRP Realty and JBG Companies this week announced plans to jointly develop a new 1.9 million s.f. mixed use project at Potomac Yard, just one mile south of Reagan National Airport.

The joint-venture plans for the 17-acre development along Route 1, to be known as The Exchange, call for a town center featuring 800,000 s.f. of office and hotel space, with two hotels offering 625 rooms, along with 534 residences. The town center will include a plaza that features a seasonal ice skating rink.

SK&I is the residential architect and Gensler the master planner, according to MRP spokeswoman Julie Chase. MRP also hired SK&I and Gensler for its Washington Gateway project, set to break ground this year.

The development will also be served by the region's only Bus Rapid Transit system which could begin operating along Route 1 by 2013-2014. Further out, the long-awaited infill-station on the Metro's Blue and Yellow Line could serve both Potomac Yard shoppers, located just north of the planned development, and The Exchange residents and office workers.

Metro is in the process of drafting an Environmental Impact Statement on how to best locate and construct the infill station site and a final decision on the station is expected in late 2013.

Groundbreaking for The Exchange development's infrastructure began in December 2011 and construction on the first 323 residences will commence in the second quarter of 2012, the companies said.

Arlington, Virginia real estate development news

New Marriott Almost Ready In Potomac Yards' National Gateway

Developer JBG reports that construction of their Renaissance Arlington Capital View in Potomac Yards is nearing completion and should be ready for an April 2011 opening. Matt Blocher of JBG describes the 300-room hotel, designed by Cooper Carry, as having "the soul of a boutique hotel with the location and amenities suited for business and leisure in and around the nation’s capital."

Situated at 2800 South Potomac Avenue in Arlington, Va, the hotel will offer 17,354 s.f. of flexible event space, including a gigantic ballroom and 13 smaller "break-out" rooms. Banquet and meeting rooms will be outfitted with cutting edge event technology like smartphone applications that enable lighting and audio adjustments, which could become a problem when bored-to-death audience members at the annual pharmaceutical conference learn how to hack into the system and implant inappropriate pictures into the power point presentations. Enhanced networks for cell phone and internet connectivity will allow business conference attendees to efficiently adjust their fantasy football rosters amid stuffy status meetings. It's expected that the hotel and the developing Potomac Yards center will serve as a hub for business travelers; with it's convenient proximity to the offices of PBS, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and IBM, as well as government agencies such as the Pentagon and EPA, and Reagan National Airport, it will surely see an increasing load of visitors upon its official unveiling.

Included on site will be 5,000 s.f. of retail at the corner of 29th and Crystal Ave, a 5,000 s.f. restaurant inside the Renaissance Hotel, and an Illy-branded coffee shop. A below-grade parking garage with 522 spaces will eventually connect the Renaissance Hotel to the separately operated but co-planned and developed 325-room Residence Inn. Both hotels are expected to be the first LEED certified hotels in Arlington County, each with a landscaped green roof and various other sustainable features. The hotel-complex is an important aspect of the expansive 15 acre, 1.5-mile-long development strip being dubbed the "National Gateway at Potomac Yards" which is set to feature 2,848,000 s.f. of office, residential, hotel, and retail space. The project is expected to exceed some $1 billion by the time of completion. "National Gateway" is being developed by the Meridian Group.

Washington D.C. Real Estate Development News

Archstone Ponders More Residential for National Gateway

Of all the large-scale projects in development at the National Gateway, Archstone-Smith's "luxury residential towers" in Potomac Yard has been the least talked about - despite the 1.5 million square feet of LEED certified office space currently going up in the same neighborhood. Now the developer is seeking an "extension of time to...submit a building permit for two land bays and park concept design plan" from the Arlington County Board at their April 25^th meeting.Archstone acquired a large swath of the Meridian Group’s National Gateway project for an undisclosed sum in May 2007 with the intent of bringing 691 residential units to the site. But Archstone has yet to move soil in their 135,402 square foot parcel bounded by Jefferson Davis Highway, Potomac Avenue and Crystal Drive, nor has an architect been formally linked to what is being called the “Archstone National Gateway,” though permitting records indicate that they have taken on Tishman Speyer as a development partner. 

"We’re still in the drawing stage, but we should have something by the end of the month as far designs and proposals go," said Joshua Custer, Archstone-Smith's Marketing Coordinator. In all, planners hope for an eventual 1500 residential units with the recently opened 386-unit Camden apartments and 479-unit Eclipse condominiums, which began sales in 2005 and still have nearly 100 condos left to go. Ouch.

As for other adjoining pieces of the National Gateway pie, Camden Property Trust has already delivered there, while another nearby parcel was sold off to Marriott International for development under their Renaissance and Residence Inn brands is already well into construction.

For Meridian’s part, they are well on their way to realizing the 1.5 million square feet of office and 200,000 square feet of restaurants and retail included in Phase I of their National Gateway. That project is set to deliver this coming November.

Washington DC real estate news

Alexandria Eyes New Metro for Potomac Yard

Just in time to reap some juicy stimulus dollars, the City of Alexandria is now exploring an additional front in their ongoing plans for the redevelopment of the city's former industrial sector, Potomac Yard. This month, the Alexandria City Council formally established the Metrorail Station Feasibility Work Group with the express purpose of "assess[ing] the technical and financial analyses required for a potential new Metrorail Station in Potomac Yard."

Both the Planning Commission and City Council expressed interest in a possible Metro expansion into Potomac Yard back in May 2008, when they undertook a "preliminary analysis of concept." That study resulted in a Washington Metro Area Transit Authority estimate that priced the project at $125 to $150 million with an operating cost of roughly $1 million per year. The hope is that a Metro outlet in the currently barren Potomac Yard quadrant of Alexandria will kick start – or, at the very least, accelerate - the redevelopment effort that aims to add 1 million square feet of office space, 750,000 square feet of retail, 2500 residential units and an undetermined number of hotel rooms to Northern Virginia.

Members of the Work Group include William Euille and Timothy Lovain of the City Council; Eric Wagner of the Planning Commission; Noah Teates of the Potomac Yard Planning Advisory Group; and Jennifer Mitchell of the Transportation Commission. The Work Group will hold its first public meeting on Thursday, February 17^th. The meeting will be held at the Sister Cities Conference Room at 7 PM.

Though the House and Senate versions of the stimulus package have yet to be reconciled with one another, both versions contain large - though differing - amounts for infrastructure spending. Once the money is routed to the State Legislature (and possibly WMATA), these seems like precisely the type of project they'd be willing to explore. Barring, of course, that it doesn't cut into the caviar fund.

Marriott Digs in Around DC

Marriott International, Inc. is planning an extended stay of its very own in Crystal City's Potomac Yards. As part of development deal with the JBG Companies, a parcel bounded by Crystal Drive, Potomac Avenue and 29^th Street South will soon be home to not one, but two new Marriott- branded hotels – the Renaissance Inn Crystal City Potomac Yards and the equally tongue-twisting Residence Inn Crystal City Potomac Yards.

Situated just minutes from Ronald Reagan National Airport, the new 13-story, 444,000 square foot facility hopes to attract a healthy stock of business travelers with 625 new rooms and 10,000 of meeting space. The team is also looking to draw locals to the increasingly developed Potomac Yards segment of Alexandria with a 10,000 square foot retail component that will sit atop a 500-space underground parking garage.

Of the new rooms going to market, 325 on the facility’s southern end will be dedicated to extended stay suites, courtesy of Marriott’s “Residence Inn” brand. In keeping with the project’s dual nature, the Residence Inn will have its own individualized entrance on the corner of Potomac Avenue and 29^th Street and front on an “outdoor hearth” planned for an adjoining public park.

The two-in-one project expects to clear the threshold for LEED certification - which, according to JBG, would be a first for Northern Virginia hotels. The project officially broke ground on October 22^nd at a ceremony attended by Congressman Jim Moran and Arlington County Board Member, Chris Zimmerman. At the same event, JBG also went public with news that Wells Fargo would be providing $128.7 million in financing for the project. The development expects to open the doors on the new complex in winter of 2010.

Despite the new Renaissance/Residence Inn’s position as the first new Crystal City hotels in 20 years, both JBG and Marriott aren’t content to keep their focus only the Alexandria area. JBG also owns two other large hotels in the immediate area – the Westin Reston Heights and Westin Arlington Gateway. JBG already owns Washington DC's largest hotel, the Marriott at Wardman Park - which will keep the title of DC's biggest since yet another new Marriott, the Convention Center Marriott, reduced the size and scale of the project that should begin construction next year.

Additionally, the Donohoe Companies’ Hospitality Services division is also currently constructing another Residence Inn in Rosslyn’s Courthouse District at 1425 North Adams Street. That project is significantly smaller – 176 rooms and 141,000 square feet – but is being designed by renowned architect Leo A. Daly and will be completed a bit earlier, in fall of next year. Alas, all too late to be completed in time for the Obama-nation invasion next month.

Arlington Virginia retail leasing and commercial property news

Alexandria to Beef Up Potomac Yard

A committee convened by City Manager James K. Hartmann is sponsoring a public meeting tomorrow concerning the further redevelopment of the Potomac Yard segment of Alexandria. Redevelopment is currently being considered for three portions of the area, Landbays I and J and Landbay G (see map, at right), with other projects interspersed throughout the sprawling 24-acre stretch of land just west of the river for which it was named.

The Potomac Yard Planning Advisory Group (PYPAG) envisions Landbays I & J as the future home of 679 units of housing, 275,000 square feet of office space and 25,000 square feet of retail. A proposal penned by Potomac Yard Development (PYD) - which seeks “227 townhouse and urban loft units with neighborhood parks interspersed” - is currently under review and will go before the Alexandria Planning Commission and City Council by spring 2009. PYD had initially petitioned for 330 units on the site.

Landbay G is under the control of developer MRP Realty, which has proposed 414 residential units in two multi-family buildings, 800,000 square feet of office space, 80,000 square feet of retail, and 625 hotel rooms “in two hotel buildings” (possibly a Hyatt) on the 13-acre parcel. That makes for a total 9 new buildings for the site, ranging in height from 52 to 110 feet, plus an open town plaza. A decision on MRP’s proposal is also expected in early 2009.

These dual redevelopment efforts have been coupled with several smaller, more centrally located projects that are either currently underway or well into the planning stages. Potomac Greens, which is 85% complete, will feature 227 residential units surrounded by preserved wetlands. The Greens is also under consideration as the site of a future Metro stop.

Another PYD project in the area, the Potomac Yard Fire Station is also well into the build-out phase of its $7 million redevelopment. Once completed, it will feature 60 units of affordable housing above a brand-new fire station, 168,000 square feet of office space and 91,000 feet of open recreational space.

Plans on hand also call for the easternmost portion of Potomac Yard, Landbay K, to be reconfigured into a public park that will feature "70% passive recreation" (open lawns and plazas) and "30% active recreation" (basketball and tennis courts, trails, playgrounds, etc.). A dog park and pedestrian bridge will round out the pedestrian-friendly flourishes at other points in the development.

The Planning Commission's “work session on Potomac Yard applications” is being held this coming Thursday, November 6^th at 6 PM within City Hall’s Council Chambers. Seeing as Planning Commission Chair Eric Wagner also heads up the PYPAG, this should be excellent forum for interested residents to voice questions. A separate, aesthetically-related review board, the Potomac Yard Design Advisory Committee, is holding another public forum on Wednesday, November 12^th at 7:30 PM in City Hall’s Sister Cities Conference Room.

National Gateway Project To See Additional Office Towers

The National Gateway project, the mixed- use development slated for the Potomac Yard area along Route 1 between Crystal City and Alexandria next to Reagan National Airport, appears to be moving forward to its next phase, with this week’s announcement by developers The Meridian Group and Archon Group that they intend to develop an additional six office buildings with over 1.6 million sf of space to join their already planned two 12-story office buildings (440,000 sf, including a 45,000 sf health club) Meridian and Archon expect to start construction on the first two office buildings later this year, with completion targeted for 2009. When finally built (no completion date has yet been set), the overall National Gateway project - which also includes developers Comstock and Camden Realty – will cost over $1 billion and contain the above office space as well as another seven office buildings totaling 2.2 million sf, plus1,550 apartments and condo units totaling 880,000 sf, retail space totaling 210,000 sf ,and a 625-room hotel.