Eastern Market Concepts OK'd by Historic Review Board

The biggest development on Capitol Hill in recent memory - development of the aged Hine Junior High School - was reviewed before the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) yesterday, with the board approving designs for the C Street public plaza, overall landscape plan, and both the north and south residential buildings. In keeping with Capitol Hill's style, the design includes: newly added cornices, brick sidewalks, granite curbs, 36-inch iron "hair pin" fences, and a continuous perimeter of trees in 6' x 6' tree boxes.  New design elements (since April) include: a 2-foot reduction in height of the North residential building, whose façade has been split into five distinct sections - what was one long continuous gallery has been broken down "into a series of repeating storefront windows." 

With recommendation from HPRB for architectural diversity appropriate to Capitol Hill real estate, the South residential building (on 7th) now takes inspiration from Late Victorian architecture (not High Victorian) and boasts a "tripartite" facade (lighter gradations in masonry color). It has also been separated into vertical sections, like the North residential building (shown above), with an addition of 3-story protruding retail bays. Located at Eastern Market on Capitol Hill, between 7th and 8th Streets along Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, and across from the Metro station, the 3.2 acre Hine Development is most notably where the flea market portion of the Market has been held every Sunday, year round, since the 1970s. The development team led by Stanton and Eastbanc has been seeking ongoing conceptual review with HPRB since April, when the mixed-use project was first reviewed in its entirety. A small chunk of the project was unanimously approved by the Board last month, with the remainder also unanimously approved by the Board today. The development team was selected in July of 2009, and in turn selected landscape architect Oehme, Van Sweden & Associates, and lead architect Escoff & Associates. The open meeting was a showcase for some heartfelt lamentation of the overall size, but most passionate were those who spoke out against a decrease in public space, and in the flea market operations (down to 68 tents). It was agreed that approximately 120 vendors are currently on site (in the Hine School yard/parking lot) at any one time on Sundays. It was also generally agreed that this does not fall into the jurisdiction of the HPRB, and so all parties (interested in the number of tents on site) will reconvene at the Deputy Mayor's office, where the future of the flea market vendors will be determined. 

Last month, HPRB approved revised designs for the 8th Street residential building and the Pennsylvania Avenue and 7th Street office and retail buildings. HPO staff reviewer Steve Callcott stressed the desire for the development's new retail components - along 7th Street - to serve as a connector between Eastern Market and Barracks Row. The next step for the development team, after a visit to the Deputy Mayor's office, is a trip to the Zoning Commission for PUD approval, which could be in September, if the project is to keep the timeline set by the District. 

Washington D.C. retail and real estate development news

Donatelli Selling Multi-Family Buildings in Petworth, U Street

Donatelli Development Inc. will sell off two of its existing multi-family buildings, a newly completed building in Petworth and the transformative Ellington apartment building on U Street.

Donatelli's 49-unit residential building at 3801 Georgia Avenue NW has been close to delivery for the last few months, and the development team had been considering both leasing units as apartments and selling them as condos. Now the vacant building has been put on the selling block by MAC Realty Group.

Donatelli is also unloading the 190-unit Ellington apartment building, completed in 2005 and currently asking (and getting) some of the higher rental prices in the city. A source says that a "well-known" pension fund is under contract to purchase the building. Comparing the sale to the sale of the 185-unit View 14, a transaction that grabbed headlines when UDR Inc purchased the building for $104 million - $616 per residential square foot or $520,000 per unit - the source tells DCMud that the Ellington will trade for "a similarly attractive price." Donatelli had long pondered the idea of selling the Ellington as individual condos.

The Griffin, Donatelli's second Petworth project, was "designed as for-sale condominiums" according to MAC, though Donatelli never initiated sales. Speaking to the rental market in Petworth is Park Place, another Donatelli mixed-use development that delivered in 2009 across the street, the leasing manager says the 161-unit apartment building is 95.6% leased.

Designed by Eric Colbert & Associates, the 7-story Griffin is comprised of one- and two-bedroom units that range from approximately 660 to 1,100 square feet.

As a 38-year-old corporation, Donatelli has made investments in up-and-coming areas of the D.C.-metro market for years. In addition to The Ellington, Park Place and The Griffin, the Bethesda-based corporation also developed Kenyon Square condos and Highland Park in Columbia Heights, designed as condominiums but later switched out to rentals. Donatelli is currently building an addition to Highland Park that will add more rental units.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Capital City Market to Get Pop-Up Restaurants?

For several years now, DC's Capital City/Florida Avenue Market area has had its generous, but fully stocked, 27 acres ogled by big developers and investors - MRP Realty, Sang Oh Development, J Street, Edens & Avant, to name a few - without any action post-PUD approval or, in one case, even District support.

Yet a new role to be assumed by Richard Brandenburg, well-known D.C.-area foodie and formerly of the ThinkFoodGroup, signals that some real development could be happening in the market area, and soon. Brandenburg has been hired by Edens & Avant, a large national property developer and owner, as its director of culinary strategy - a newly created position. As reported by the Washington Post - Brandenburg's job will center on restaurants and the Capital City Market. Sources familiar with the project now say Brandenburg is planning pop-up restaurants as a short term way to enliven the space.

Eventually, Brandenburg sees the potentially valuable commercial land as a "wholesale-retail center with multiple restaurants, a culinary school, even a USDA hub." But Edens & Avant's long-term goals for its property - based on Brandenburg's ambitions - might be a while in the making.

Edens & Avant controls approximately 140,000 square feet (3.2 acres) of land on the eastern edge of the market along 6th Street, NE, through a joint venture with J Street Development. The property slated for new culinary inputs borders Gallaudet and co-mingles 3.8 acres owned by the university. With low overhead and no real commitment, pop-up restaurants have been touted as a venue offering restaurateurs the freedom to experiment with concepts, without a large up front financial commitment. It's also a way to get money coming in quickly, as an intrepid chef, or property owner, and is a growing trend in big cities nationwide.

There have been many plans for redevelopment of the market over the past decade, including a small area plan by the Office of Planning in 2009, but the market has been a real estate quagmire: 120 lots, with 108 owned by 68 different entities, many still operational. No word yet on whether Edens & Avant and J Street are looking to roll up their shirt sleeves and try to acquire more market property.

Edens & Avant is "temporarily holding off on discussing [Brandenburg's] full position" until he is officially on board, says a press release, along with its vision for its market property, though a media contact noted that Brandenburg will have a broad role that will impact the entire Edens & Avante portfolio of 125 properties along the East Coast.

The Capital City/Florida Avenue Market is the current incarnation of the Union Terminal Market, opened in 1928 to replace D.C.'s Center Market, first opened in 1802, which was razed to make way for the National Archives.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Rustic Gorgeous: Slave Quarters and a Toll Keeper's Cabin Find Life in the 21st Century

By Beth Herman

Gazing at the august 3,300-foot summit of Old Rag Mountain, visitors to Shenandoah National Park say they experience a profundity of thoughts and feelings, many spiritual in nature. In addition to its heavenly vistas, the region itself is rife with history—its lush forest floors an eternal home to Civil War cavalry and conscripts, slaves and sentries.

For homeowner and real estate developer Joe Svatos, the prospect of living in the shadow of the iconic mountain was slowly realized beginning in 2004 when he purchased a 200-acre parcel in conservation easement that was part of Rappahannock County’s Montpelier Plantation. Pre-dating the presidential Montpelier in Orange County, and built circa 1740 as a summer residence for Fredericksburg merchant Francis Thornton II, the parcel provided Hazel River frontage and unparalleled panoramas.

Somewhat inconvenienced, however, by what he labeled a dilapidated “shack” on the property he figured was makeshift 1930s housing for displaced area residents, due to construction of the national park, Svatos tolerated the blight in light of the surrounding scenery. “I really had no idea what it was,” he conceded.

Three years later, a shedding of the structure’s siding revealed the presumed 1930s shack was in fact a 1794 toll keeper’s log cabin, with an 1856 clapboard addition gilding the historical lily, so to speak— dating determined by saw blade marks and construction style. Buoyed by its provenance and in an effort to expand the tiny structure to what would ultimately become a 2,480 s.f. rustic retreat, Svatos responded to an ad in a local newspaper describing 180-year-old (presumed) slave quarters—called Chestnut (log) cabin— located at Mount Joy Farm in Howard County, Md. Earmarked for demolition due to a Howard County zoning quagmire, Chestnut cabin had been dismantled and catalogued when put up for sale, and Svatos purchased and brought it to his Virginia property. In time it would be sited and rebuilt adjacent to the 1794 cabin with its aforementioned addition.

Rallying the regiment

Initially engaging a design builder whose ideas ran contrary to his own thinking, Svatos soon inquired of David Haresign of Bonstra | Haresign Architects, with whom he had worked on larger projects. At stake was precisely how to connect and convert these inchoate structures into a comfortable contemporary retreat without destroying their historical fabric.

“I’m predominantly a commercial architect doing mostly institutional quality corporate work, master planning and multi-family housing,” Haresign said, adding it is not uncommon for him to helm million square-foot projects. But when he drove out to the property along the Old Sperryville Pike, he was struck by the sight of Old Rag Mountain where his father had taken him half-a-dozen times as a boy. “It was one of those special, touchstone places for me,” Haresign said. “I told Joe, ‘Sure, I’d love to help you out.’”

Embarking on what was clearly a virgin venture for all involved, where a confluence of reclamation and rustic luxury were the order of the day, Rappahannock County-based builder Greg Foster of Timberbuilt Construction was also brought in. With issues of connectivity and sustainability among the more obvious requisites, the triumvirate also faced engineering challenges involving modern adaptability of centuries-old notched log cabins, originally held together by mud chinking.

When fascines fail

According to Haresign, at the outset, logs were restacked as the walls for the most part had bowed. And in addition to utilizing notches as their ancestors had, modern technology suggested wood blocking to separate each log with the spaces between sprayed with 3-inch R-15 value foamed insulation, followed by an epoxy-based material troweled on the exterior: a kind of weather surface for the chinking.

Tantamount to that, Haresign described structural measures that needed to be implemented as log cabins are dynamic. While the 1794 toll house cabin was less of an issue, the larger Chestnut cabin was stabilized by a series of threaded steel rods and plates staggered and buried between the logs. “These compress everything so it doesn’t move,” Haresign explained of the bracing, the logs unable to expand, contract or break out of the chinking.

To site and integrate the cabins so that they spoke a common language—and looked as though they had simply developed that way over time, Haresign used a glass connector with stone flooring (the stone locally sourced from Culpepper, Va.) on the first floor, and glass flooring above, where the master suite loft is located. Except for the loft, the flooring for the second story was removed to create double-height spaces. “It’s as modern as we could make it without being ‘in your face’ modern,” the architect said of the design. “In fact it’s almost ‘all window’ on either side of the connector,” he added, affirming the notion of a seamless transition.

Better than a bivouac

On approach, which is from the south, the cabins look as they did post-Revolutionary and pre-Civil War, respectively, when they were built. Desiring to honor original window placement, Haresign, Svatos and Foster elected not to alter existing fenestration with the exception of adding western exposure large scale windows and a new dormer. These frame the Hazel River and Old Rag Mountain. A sweeping curve carved into the land establishes a plinth on which the buildings sit, with a set of stairs descending to the flora and fauna below (Svatos reports he has spied wild turkeys, deer, black bears and snakes).

On the eastern side, to establish the rest of the baseline for the cabins, again the land is marked by a gently sweeping curve and also has a stone wall creating an area Haresign calls the Zen garden. “It’s quiet and contemplative there,” he said, “a contained space.”

Where materials were concerned, about 75 percent of the wood used in the project was reclaimed, for example red siding and parts of a tin roof were reused when renovating the 1856 clapboard addition ceiling. “New” flooring in the Chestnut cabin was gleaned from an 1840s Madison County, Va. courthouse, 40 miles from the site. Cherry treads and trim on the steel stair and modern oak objects inserted into the historical fabric were locally sourced and milled at a facility in Front Royal, according to Haresign, also within a 40-mile radius of the site. Fabricated industrial-grade steel for the interior railing and columns was married with locally-sourced wood filler for warmth, scale and texture—and even some additional bracing. “It’s all about how to craft common materials and make them really special,” Haresign said.

Beneath the Chestnut cabin, which works its way downhill, a newly-minted stone cellar might be considered below-grade on the east, north and south faces, but is clearly exposed on the west face. Haresign said the windows embedded in the stone foundation wall can consequently “peek above grade.” The cellar contains a guest suite and houses all of the mechanical, electrical, security and audio systems. These include a dual-purpose water heater also used for radiant floor heating. Low-flow fixtures, double pane low-emissivity glass and Energy Star appliances make the cabins modern and sustainable. Wired for iPhone docking stations in each room, state-of-the-art technology is camouflaged by design in deference to historical roots.

In the kitchen, the same Madison County courthouse wood flooring underscores modern wood cabinets and appliances, and what the architect playfully calls a translucent glass-and-wood “indoor outhouse” (i.e. powder room) punctuates the living space beyond it.

Finally, in a gesture that embraced both green energy and the past, poised inside the 1794 cabin a study with post-Jeffersonian era desk faces one of two original floor-to-ceiling stone hearth/chimneys that were severely deteriorated, according to homeowner Svatos. “We were able to restore them and bring them back. Now they are fully functioning fireplaces—and very prominent focal points in the cabin.”

“This is the most organic project I’ve ever worked on,” Haresign said, contrasting it with his prominent portfolio of mega-office buildings which are “machined…very tight.

“Cabins are not precise, and the design process never really stopped. It goes on today,” he continued, referencing an 1840s Berks County corn crib slated to become a pool house on the property, and a “drop-dead gorgeous” gate entrance projected to be a modern piece set in the pastoral landscape. The team has just been notified it is to receive a Builder’s Choice award in October.

“This project in my view is the highest form of rustic art available,” Haresign concluded.

Washington D.C. retail and real estate development news

Photos courtesy of Anice Hoachlander

Your Next Place

By Franklin Schneider

Ah, Shaw. I know I've talked a fair amount of trash in this space about Shaw, but it's really hard to beat, as neighborhoods go. I

house-sat for a friend in Adams Morgan this past week, thinking it would be a welcome change from my almost morbidly quiet Shaw neighborhood. But I was wrong. The very first night I was there, someone stole my bike. The next night, I threw on some “comfy” clothes to go pick up a pizza a block away, and when I crossed paths with a group of bargoers, they looked at me like I was Casey Anthony. I mean, come on, it was a Tuesday night at 6:30! If that had happened in Shaw, I would've been congratulated for wearing any pants at all. I learned my lesson; you want to be near the action, but not in it.

With that in mind, this five bedroom renovated Shaw rowhouse would be the perfect homebase; your retreat from the city, in the city. Roundabouts 1st and P Streets, NW, it's really close to everything (Chinatown, U Street, Logan Circle, etc.) without being neck deep in it. And location aside, the house is beautiful. There are wide plank Brazilian Cherry floors throughout the house, and the walls are painted in light but rich tones. There's a chef's kitchen, with a Wolf gas range, and there are tons of little touches, from the M.C. Escher-esque tiling in the master bathroom, to the future-retro marble fireplace in the living room, that would make a great t-shirt if it wasn't, like, 1500 pounds. The banisters, instead of using the usual wooden dowels/planks, use a heavy metal mesh, to striking effect, and the entire house is wired for sound, so you can inflict your musical “tastes” on everyone else in the house whenever you want. In the back is parking for two cars, and a private fenced patio.

Plus, the house is right on the alley, cutting your odds of having a loud, annoying neighbor by fifty percent. Take it from someone who used to live sandwiched between an elderly gameshow enthusiast, and a married couple who communicated chiefly by screaming: this is huge.

118 Bates St. NW

Washington DC 20001
$685,323

Abdo to Build Out Vacant Logan Circle Site

Abdo Development will build out one of the last vacant parcels of Rhode Island Avenue west of Logan Circle, filling it with an 8-story apartment building on a site backing up to Whole Foods.

Abdo bought the land in 2001, along with the early 20th century buildings on either side of the lot, and has had plans since to build a multi-family residence on the site. The Logan Circle based developer renovated the flanking apartment buildings in the '90's, creating the Zenith and Willison condominiums. A pair of late 19th century Romanesque townhouses on the site were razed in 2007.

Design of the building will mirror the adjacent buildings, designed by William Harris in 1929 and 1930. The new addition will add "a classical tripartite organization, with a two-story stone base, a five-story midsection clad in brick, and a brick attic story with a cornice." Abdo Development is seeking a zoning variance for reduced parking, and will share the existing driveway to a planned underground garage.

The Historic Preservation Office has recommended approval of the project, HPRB and BZA must still review the plans. In a staff report, the HPRB noted that "the stretch of Rhode Island Avenue from Logan Circle to Scott Circle is a particularly fine example of a grand residential boulevard from the early decades of the 20th century. With a few exceptions, these blocks are characterized by large distinguished residences and dignified apartment buildings...[t]he proposed project continues in that tradition, wisely eschewing the temporary vogue of a scale-less all-glass façade for a dignified and relatively quiet classically-inspired building that will relate to and enhance its context."

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Rock Spring Centre, Optimistically Pushing Forward

Rock Spring Centre of North Bethesda, a 53.4-acre tract of land within the Garrett Park area, sandwiched between the two legs of I-270, has been partially built, stalled, transferred, and reworked in the decade-plus since the development was conceptualized, and the land rezoned, from high-rise residential real estate to commercial property, back in 1997. Of the remaining 30 acres of land to be developed, Washington D.C. based DRI Development Services says it is moving forward; plans are approved, an architect is on payroll, and retail leases are being pursued, lacking only an equity partner, said Chris Spitz, president of DRI. 

DRI's most recent plans for the site were approved by the Montgomery County Planning Board this past February, but the last step - partnering with an institutional investor or real estate investment trust - is still elusive. DRI will need approximately $375 million to fund the land development, said Spitz, adding that, once complete, it will be akin to "a smaller Reston Town Center." Spitz says that DRI, a wholly owned subsidiary of Transwestern, is looking to start construction in the spring of 2012, with delivery in the first quarter 2014. DRI will lease 210,000 s.f. of retail space and 90,000 s.f. of below-grade entertainment space. Retail is broken up into 53 spaces as follows: 2 anchor tenants, 2 banks, 7 full-service restaurants, 9 quick-service restaurants, and 33 other retailers. To date there are no retail leases signed, says Bill Miller of Transwestern, despite what Miller says is "strong" ongoing interest in the development from potential tenants. "We're very close to having a theater deal [secured]... and we're talking to a few health clubs for the space below grade." Of anchor tenant space, Miller said that a deal "is close" for the largest anchor spot, just shy of 30,000 s.f. The rest of the nine building development will consist of 550,000 s.f. of office, 200,000 s.f. of hotel (200 rooms, operator unknown), and161 residential units, 1.2m s.f. in all. DRI took over development of the site from Penrose in 2008, and is in a long-term lease with land owners Davis Brothers and Camalier LP. DRI has hired Boston-area architects Arrowstreet, which revealed new images of the project last week. 

Architects say the development will be LEED certified, though not which program, and that the project will have "regionally appropriate landscaping." An original three-phase development plan for Rock Spring Centre was approved in 1999. Yet to date, only the first phase, the AvalonBay Apartments, has been built. Since 2004, the site has been dormant, with a second phase - also residential - approved, but never completed. The third, and final, phase has been reworked, from an upscale "urban village" known as Canyon Ranch, scratched in 2006, to the development as it now looks. DRI also has long gestating plans to develop the 1800 block of Wilson Boulevard in Arlington, a full-block office project near the ballpark, and had planned to develop the prominent Gallery Square, the corner parcel at 675 H Street, since been purchased by McCaffery Interests Inc. and Douglas Development. 

Bethesda, Maryland real estate development news

Reviving the Meridian Hill Baptist Church, as Condominiums

The Meridian Hill Baptist Church at 3146 16th Street, NW was one of several victims of a five-alarm fire in March of 2008. The inferno, its likeness unseen in the District for three decades prior, originated within the Deauville Apartments located next door to the Church at 3145 16th Street. The fire easily reached the Church, shattering stained-glass windows, and bringing down its roof, as opposed to raising it, as congregations had previously done, since 1916.

Pastor Calvin Cage said the Church did not receive substantial insurance monies in order to cover multimillion dollar damages, and lacking assistance from the District, was forced to pursue a private partnership to redevelop its property on 16th Street.

A partnership with Bozzuto Homes was originally sought to turn the Church into "senior housing or affordable housing," said Cage, adding that these uses were the first priority of the Church. But, it seems need has prevailed, as Bozzuto has hired Martinez + Johnson Architecture, a D.C.-based firm, to design a redevelopment of the Church into condominiums.

Redevelopment of the 14,700-s.f. property, will include preservation of the Church's classical limestone edifice, constructed in 1927 by noted firm Porter & Lockie, around an older brick structure, built in 1916, which succumbed to the blaze.

As relayed by Clark Wagner, Bozzuto's vice president and director of development, the restoration and new-build project is an effort to construct 55 to 60 condos, all one- and two-bedroom units priced in the upper-$200,000 to low-$400,000 range, and will be up for sale, Wagner hopes, next summer.

Of the design, Wagner said "the project is still in the conceptual stage," but the current plan being presented to the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) on Thursday, the 28th, is for a 7-story addition, to the side and back of the Church, with a contemporary look that will "not loom above the Church." The 23,850 s.f. church, Wagner said, has a height that is "equivalent to about five stories."

At least one follow-up trip to the HPRB is likely, as the staff report for the case suggests "the Board approve the demolition of the rear of the building and the general design approach to the additions in concept... and that the design continue to be revised and refined."

The report also explains that the new-construction addition will be "expressed as two additions, a side and a rear, by the use of different treatments of the elevations and by the creation of a 'notch' at their juncture."

Michael Cooke of M+J has presented his designs to the neighborhood ANC (1D) twice, most recently on July 19th, and those designs will not be contested, or approved, by the ANC said Jack McKay, ANC 1D secretary. McKay explained that the ANC will not take a stance at this early stage of the project, as the issue at hand is historic preservation, not zoning variances, which is something the ANC will take a stance on, when the issue arises. McKay said the ANC is most interested in the rear set back and rear access of the property, as well as the spacing to adjacent properties.

Adequate spacing is important to residents in the area, as a four-story residence located at the back of the Church narrowly escaped the inferno, and spacing has proved to be an issue in the renovation of the Mount Pleasant Public Library at 3160 16th Street, also closed for a few days following the fire due to a substantial intake of smoke.

The four-story Deauville Apartment building - saddled with housing complaints and code violations for many years prior to 2007 - was destroyed by the fire that struck before midnight and burned throughout the night. More than 200 residents were displaced, and the skeleton of the Deauville property is currently seeking rebirth as the tenant-owned Monsignor Oscar Romero Apartments.

Though now a lifeless limestone hulk, the Church once housed a 400-member congregation, an Ethiopian community center (upstairs) and a Catholic Charities homeless shelter (basement), before the end came in the form of fire, without brimstone. Cage added that although the Church's congregation is now melded into a sister church in Prince George's County, the goal is to re-establish its D.C. presence in the near future, possibly in Southeast.

article amended 7/27: "rebuild" [of Mount Pleasant Library] changed to "renovation." Although the Library was closed for a few days due to heavy smoke intake, renovation of the library was planned before the fire. And, "John McKay" has been changed to "Jack McKay."


Washington D.C. real estate development news

Your Next Place ...

By Franklin Schneider

This historic Victorian, just steps from Eastern Market, is one of the more charming homes I've seen recently. From the bayfront living room to the fantastic vintage fireplace (I honestly thought about coming back late at night with a forklift and stealing it) to the stained-glass windows scattered throughout the house, this place has a seemingly endless number of little details that, in aggregate, made me curse the gods that the subprime mortgage is a thing of the past.
Hey, two years in my dream home, ending in bankruptcy and foreclosure, is still two years in my dream home.

With tons of open space and windows, it's also one of the brighter homes I've been in. The master bedroom boasts cathedral ceilings and a huge skylight, as well as exposed brick and a walk-in closet so big it seems like you could use it as a parking space, if you could figure out a way to get your car from the street to the second floor. (The skylight maybe?) The second bedroom also has exposed brick and exposed beams, as well as more fine examples of the aforementioned stained glass. There's also a deck and a garden in back, in case you find the refined perfection of your house so overwhelming that you have to step out for a moment, just to catch your breath.



There's also a gourmet kitchen with granite countertops and stainless steel appliances and a large ceiling fan that will come in incredibly handy if, like me, most of your attempts at “cooking” end with acrid black smoke pouring out of the oven while your significant other makes jokes about “broiled tires.”

707 Massachusetts Avenue, NE
Washington, DC 20002
3 Bdrooms, 3 Baths
$839,000

FCP Plans Condos on Adams Morgan Infill Site

Adams Morgan will get another condominium project - likely within the next two years - on the now vacant lot at 2337 Champlain Street. Federal Capital Partners (FCP) purchased the property yesterday and plans to build up to 40 units on the site.

The fully-entitled residential development site, adjacent to the adaptive reuse project (at 2329, 2335) (currently seeking a new owner) will be developed by FCP in conjunction with Altus Realty Partners. Of the sale, Altus principal Charlie Kehler said, "[w]e’re really excited, it’s one of the last infill sites on Champlain Street."

"We’re going to try to bring this to market as soon as we can,” stated Kehler, of the project which aims to begin construction in the spring of 2012. "We're interviewing architects [currently]." Once selected, the chosen architecture firm will design a complex offering "somewhere between 36 and 40 units, that will range from 500 to 900 square feet."

Of the location, Kehler added, "It's proven to be a strong market." He expects the condos to command "$550 to $600 per square foot." The $3.55 million sale was brokered by Scott Frankel of CBRE and Bruce Levin of MAC Realty Advisors. According to DCRA, WWYP LLC had purchased the property in June of 2005 for $1.9 million.

FCP is a local real estate investment company with over $2 billion in assets acquired since 2003. Altus operates out of Arlington and invests primarily in the greater-D.C. area.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Demolition Permits Falling into Place in Court House District

A demolition permit was granted, yesterday, to property owner USAA Real Estate to demolish one of the two buildings it owns at 1900 and 1916 Wilson Blvd. in the Court House district of Arlington. Obtaining the permit is one step in the right direction for USAA, currently on track with a timeline to deliver 167,000 s.f. of mixed-use residential-and-retail along the 1900 block of the Wilson Blvd. corridor in less than two years.

Though one raze permit is in the hands of The Berg Corporation to demolish the former Hollywood Video at 1900 Wilson Blvd, another permit for 1916 Wilson Blvd. - formerly an office building - still awaits approval (it was filed yesterday), as does one for infrastructure/sewer work (filed July 1st), and demolition on site is not likely imminent. Construction, under general contractor Harkins Builders, is due to officially begin "in the fall," according to a representative, today, at Zom Inc., the development manager on the project.

Zom Inc. (Mid-Atlantic region) is now the development manager, but was once the owner, having bought the site in 2006, for $21.5 million; Zom was financially forced to sell, and USAA Real Estate purchased the property in 2010, for $18 million.

The 1.73 acre property will become a transit-oriented, mixed-use development thanks to its location two blocks from the Court House Metro stop. The new Torti Gallas and Partners-designed buildings on site will rise five stories, the majority of use going to multifamily apartments (191 units) with 17,300 s.f. of ground floor retail and 256 parking spots.

A collection of renderings have been filed with the Arlington government. USAA originally planned a Fall 2011 start date; if the project continues to adhere to the proposed timeline, the development, one of three big projects planned for the corridor, will deliver in June of 2013.


Arlington, Virginia real estate development news

Ciao Bella?

Valor Development is moving forward with its current vision to turn the former Italian Embassy at 2700 16th St., NW into a residential complex - known as "Il Palazzo" - and will visit the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) next week for design approval. Valor has submitted design schematics for the preservation of the existing 3-story limestone building and the addition of two towers (5 and 8-stories tall), time will tell if the concepts by Trout Design Studio will sink or swim with the HPRB. Representing Trout Design will be principal Michael Beidler, along with architect Patrick Cook, and a few others from the small, local firm, which declined to divulge details in advance of the upcoming meeting. Following the HPRB trip will be a visit to the Zoning Commission for consolidated PUD and map amendment approval, on September 8th. The property is split-zoned, and Valor seeks to establish a uniform zone for the site (R-5-D), allowing a "shift of density that would otherwise be permitted on the eastern portion... to the western portion" as stated in the pre-hearing submission, lodged with the Zoning Commission in May. The goal of the rezone request is to "focus all additional density and height at the rear of the property." The Office of Planning concluded in April that the proposal for the redevelopment was "not inconsistent with the Comprehensive Plan" and waved Valor forward, with stated approval of the project's "special value" including "preservation of a historic resource" and five 2-bedroom affordable units (80% AMI). First conceptualized as a condo redevelopment in 2004 by previous owner Spaulding & Slye, Colliers and Castleton Holdings, HPRB deemed the site a landmark in 2006, just as construction was about to begin, a move which halted the developer's plans. Lender O’Connor North American Property Partners LP foreclosed on the property the following year. Valor Development purchased the site in 2008 for $6.5 million, and had hoped to have construction underway - partnering with Potomac Construction Group - this summer, however, Valor has also hit a few snags along the way. Valor and Trout Design visited the HPRB in November of 2010, then again in January of this year, with a plan to redevelop the property as a "luxury condominium," which has been revised over the past 6 months into 110 to 135 residential units with the majority (56) to be one-bedroom units, and 30 to be 2-bedroom/2-bath. The breakdown of the remaining units is undetermined, but the largest will be a 3 bed/2.5 bath configuration. The residential addition on the western side of the 42,500 s.f. property will now top out at 8 stories (previously 9) and will not rise over 90'; the floor area ratio (FAR) will be 2.8 with 122,428 s.f., with a lot occupancy of 58% allowing for a "considerable amount of landscaping" and a rear yard (80' in depth). The amount of below grade parking is yet to be determined, but will be between 60 and 90 spaces.Phase I will entail the "renovation and conversion of the existing Italian Embassy," including restoration of the landmark's façade, as well as preservation of notable, existing shared spaces within the once dapper host to embassy functions, including the ballroom, library and dining room. The embassy, built in 1925, was designed by New York architecture firm Warren and Wetmore, on land owned by Mary Foote Henderson, who spent part of the family fortune, made from "worthless bonds," on her impassioned goal to transform 16th Street, which included the creation of Meridian Hill Park. Valor could not be reached for comment, however stated in the PUD application an intent to break ground next spring, with construction expected to take 18 months. 

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Watergate Plans Move Ahead

After years of dormancy and uncertainty, the Watergate may be about to launch its rebirth as an upscale hotel, completing the circle after its closure to convert to private residences. Developers of the hotel, which shuttered in 2007, are now close to announcing a plan to renovate and rebrand the luxury hotel. Developer Euro Capital Properties, a European investment firm with dual headquarters in Paris and New York, has hired worldwide architectural firm Gensler to redesign the interior and refit the structure, a process that will begin once Euro Cap has had a chance to run its plans through a triad of regulatory agencies. Redevelopment of the "luxury hotel," considered to command a price point around $300 per night, will require an investment of around $50 million by Euro Cap subsidiary Euro Watergate Hotel and Residences LLC. The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) will be the first to review the proposed design changes for the iconic curvilinear structure, a historic landmark, which it will do tomorrow, followed by the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB), and finally the National Park Service. Monument Realty purchased the famed hotel in 2004, with financing by the doomed Lehman Brothers, and after physical and legal work attempted its reincarnation as a co-operative residence. Sales began in 2006 for 96 units from $860,000 and up, but only a handful went under contract, and with legal problems besetting the conversion Monument stalled on construction and closed the hotel in 2007. After several attempts to work out the debt, the hotel was put up for auction in July of 2009 by New York-based lender PB Capital Corporation, still owed $40m for the property, an auction that induced no bidders. 

In May of 2010 PB Capital sold the project for $45m to Euro Capital. Senior designer Cory Kessler of the architect's New York office and lead architect on the project, said the project is still "in the conceptual phase," with various exterior design elements up for review, but that outward appearances will change little. "The exterior renovations will be minimal and respectful," said Kessler, who would not delve into specifics. Thomas Luebke, Secretary to the CFA, confirmed that the elements under review this week are minimal. "By and large these [changes] are relatively minor," said Luebke, "not particularly significant in the scheme of the whole complex." The Watergate's developers have declined to comment on the project during the review process, noting only that it will be a "lifestyle brand hotel." Sources at Euro Cap had also considered a blended use with at least a few floors of residential living. "It's a hodge podge of upgrades," continued Luebke. "There are mechanical upgrades that involve some changes to the rooftop, [specifically the] elevator overrun ... and some proposed changes to the grand ballroom, pushing it out toward the water, and elevating the roof up to six feet." However, he added, these changes are "not too noticeable from the street." 

Monument's plans would have carved out the interior, converting some 250 hotel rooms into 96 residences, but those changes were never begun, leaving the hotel in its original configuration. While there are limitations to the exterior redevelopment of the Watergate Hotel due to its historic landmark status, the long-neglected interior provides an opportunity for definitive, upper-crust design transformation. Euro Cap has experience in luxury hotel redevelopments both internationally - notably the Hilton Arc de Triomphe in Paris, its flagship property - and locally; the company first invested in D.C. in the late '90s through the restoration of the Hamilton Crowne Plaza Hotel at 14th and K Streets, NW. Sources say the hotel operator has not been chosen, and that developers are waiting for progress on the design before choosing the best flag for the building. Sources at Euro Cap familiar with the process say the legal and physical challenges of the building, which inhibited bidders at the 2007 auction sale ("too many uncertainties"), have made development of the site complex, calling it "a consultant's dream." Under local preservation law and regulations, projects reviewed by CFA under its Shipstead-Luce or Georgetown jurisdictions do not require review by HPRB. Nonetheless, HPRB staff is reviewing it because the owner is seeking federal historic preservation tax credits for rehabilitation. The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation apply to tax credit projects, and are more stringent than the standards under the historic preservation law, extending to the interior, unlike CFA review. Time will tell if the property that brought down the Nixon administration, helped sink Lehman Brothers, and proved a millstone for Monument will prove more fruitful for its newest investor. 

Washington D.C. commercial real estate news