Rappaport Hits Minor Setback on H Street

It's back to the drawing board for developers and architects working on Gary Rappaport's H Street redevelopment project. The Rappaport Companies' Parcel Seven Associates, LLC has been planning a large mixed-use redevelopment project running on the south side of H Street between 8th and 10th for over three years now. The rather enormous project, stretching two full blocks and replacing an outmoded single-story shopping strip, is expected to begin work on part of the 52,000 s.f. of retail and 400-odd residences within about two years, but save the 2nd half for much later. Developers endured the requisite series of conversations, meetings, and compromises, and were finally able to bring both DDOT and the ANC (6A and 6C) on board. But the Zoning Commission was not entirely wooed by the long line of witnesses pleading for approval of the obligatory zoning change at Monday evening's public hearing, and unanimously decided to delay final action until September 27th. This gives the architects and developers until Friday, September 3rd to officially respond to requests made by the Zoning Commission, and opponents of the project until September 10th to retort and fault Rappaport's modifications.

There were a number of minor issues with the plan in the eyes of the Commission, but the major hold up was the appearance of the project's closest neighbor in opposition to the project. This was not the first time developers had heard this family's concerns, and Rappaport insisted that they had labored to accommodate the neighbor's concerns about building height and traffic flow. But the strong reservations communicated by the 8th street neighbor were not mitigated to the extent the Commission expected, so Zoning requested more careful consideration of their concerns, particularly the family's anxiety over the likely increase in large trucks turning into the alley around the corner of their home.

One Zoning member requested that the architects refine the pavilion design on the opposite corner, at 10th and H Street, to generate a bolder and more interesting beginning to the rest of the building, while also tying together and re-enforcing the entirety of the design. "It lacks the kind of stylings and flavor of the rest of the building," he lamented. Another panel member was disappointed that the amenities package was rather light when weighed against the aggressive amount of FAR being pursued by the project (4.0 FAR of residential and 6.0 FAR of commercial space). The entire Commission also expressed their interest in seeing a slightly more aggressive phasing timeline; at present, phase two construction would not begin for about seven years thereafter, a timeline "that will depend upon the rate of absorption" of Phase 1, according to Rappaport.

But don't mourn for the Rappaport Companies, a somewhat retooled design should afford the developers the PUD they've been seeking, and panel members were generally optimistic and encouraged by the scope and direction of this project. A final action ruling later this fall does not serve as a serious threat to their hopes of beginning construction in 2012.

The process of give and take is not new to Rappaport; the project was even bigger before it was first rejected by the Commission in 2008. Over the last two years, the design team, including project architect Torti Gallas, has appeased the community by situating the massing of the buildings in the middle and the back to better negotiate changes in the roofline (ranging from 50 to 90 ft.) and blend the new building into the existing facade. The once uniform design has also been reformed to feign the appearance of multiple, distinct buildings strung together, replicating the nature of street frontages on the rest of H Street. The architects have offered large setbacks for the bottom floor retail stores to provide for maximum pedestrian traffic flow and the potential for outdoor dining terraces.

Other amenities being supplied to the community include landscaping and improvement of public space. The project will also look to minimize traffic congestion, and encourage environmental responsibility in achieving a LEED Silver Certification upon finished construction. Parcel Seven has also agreed to support a proposal for the creation of a Historic District for H Street NE. Moreover, a small portion of the residential units will qualify as affordable housing. And while one Commission member pointed out that several of these "amenities" are actually requirements (killjoy), the project seems to have convinced the majority of the community that its arrival is much more of a positive contribution than a hindrance.

The public record on this case will be reopened in late September as the developers attempt to appease the development site's most immediate neighbor, as well as reassure the Zoning Commission that their project is ready for construction to begin.

Washington DC real estate development news

Innovative Design Adds Modern Flare to Future Washington Highlands Library

The hard work to be done in providing a beautiful new home for over 80,000 books, CDs, DVDs, and the children and adults who will read and watch them began yesterday, as Mayor Fenty was on site to celebrate the groundbreaking of the soon to be Washington Highlands Public Library. The construction site at 115 Atlantic Street, SW in Ward 8 is officially active. And although construction begins slightly behind schedule, the goal for a timely completion by next summer remains firmly in place.

The design process and architectural responsibilities have been undertaken in a joint venture between renowned NYC based Adjaye Associates and local firm Wiencek + Associates Architects + Planners PC. The Tanzanian-born, ethnically Ghanian, and now resident Englishman David Adjaye and his team of architects laid out the design, while Wiencek is charged with seeing out its execution. Both cooperated extensively throughout the design stages, meeting regularly, and engaging with each other and the community to arrive at a master plan that balances modern aesthetics with functionality. This was a first for Wiencek, as the firm has never worked on a project that was not a design of their own creation. But having previously worked with Adjaye on a venture that failed to pan out, the firms found a symbiosis in their interaction, and were quick to re-explore the relationship when this opportunity presented itself.

When finished, this ultra modern design will receive LEED Silver Certification. In addition to the books, CDs, and DVDs, the 22,000 s.f. space will house 22 new computers, wireless internet, and a meeting space for up to 100 people, as well as two conference rooms each with a maximum capacity of 14 people. The new building will overlook a sloping landscape including a colorful new garden, courtyard, green wall, and outdoor amphitheater. The job of development and construction is being managed by Blue Skye Construction along with Coakley & Williams. When the books are closed, the budget is expected to total somewhere between $10 and $12 million.

Architect Scott Knudson of Wiencek & Associates explained that one of the great challenges of the process was offering a progressive, engaging design that successfully negotiated a transition space between a commercial and residential area. The architects intend their design to offer an attractive and inspiring but unobtrusive nexus between the nearby single-family homes and the retail buildings. The materials and the functionality of the new library are those expected of a large scale civic building, while the design is meant to replicate the basic structure of the nearby neighborhood houses. Like a residence - comprised of a dominant structure and augmented by several aggregate forms (porch, back addition, side room) - the new library will consist of one larger main building with several smaller pod-like attachments. The steep slope and the staggered appendages helped the designers organize the various spaces into three floors without imposing an intimidatingly large structure on the surrounding landscape. The library will be organized into three distinct spaces for children, teens, and adults.

The main building is almost entirely glass, textured by an engulfing timber curtain wall that helps the structure blend into the natural surroundings. The two affixed pods will be concrete and also striped by wooden planks. Experimenting with new materials, the architects elected to spray the concrete pods with a polyurethane coating usually reserved for protecting oil storage tanks, creating a unique veneer and enlivening the blandness of unadorned concrete. The outer timber wall will be mirrored on the inside with bamboo floors, enhancing the natural feel of the interior and exterior. In order to keep the interior look clean and simple, Scott Knudson says, "We worked incredibly hard to create a seamless integration of the HVAC system, to the point where you don't even see it." The architects also went to great lengths to stay within budget - one of the especially difficult challenges with any public works project - without cutting any of the most essential design elements. The skylights were almost left on the cutting room floor, but architects stood firm in their insistence that natural light from above was integral to the creation of an open air atmosphere that Adjaye and his team sought.

Public works such as a library should be like a park, stresses Adjaye, a place without feelings of constraint. These ideas play themselves out in the design, as much of the building offers natural light, high ceilings, and panoramic views of the encompassing greenery. In the concrete pods, large windows offer more focused views of the neighboring garden and courtyard. Like the exterior of the main building, much of the interior employs the use of glass, most of it treated in different ways to create a smoky, soft transparency that offers the feeling and idea of separation without completely suffocating the eye's urge to wander. These textured glasses, and complementary materials allow study rooms and cubicles to be simultaneously private and open. With the exposed concrete, geometric features, and unadorned glass, the building has "a strong, rugged personality," Knudson elaborated, "but refrains from imposing itself on the visitor or the natural environment." The architectural concepts and philosophies employed here are derivative of one of Adjaye's most successful buildings in London, a small library he designed in the East End neighborhood of Whitechapel that has been dubbed "the Idea Store." It was a visit to this library by D.C. Chief Librarian Ginnie Cooper that inspired her to embark on the restyling and reconditioning of the District's library system. The visit has now also helped bring the styles of a young and innovative architect to the nation's capital.

Many residents were apprehensive about Adjaye's modish design, and others were skeptical that demolition and reconstruction, rather than renovation, was a financially responsible decision. But a series of meetings with the community helped the team of architects revise and reform their renderings in order to address such concerns. A cost-benefit analysis and government-issued study of the conditions of the current building determined that a reconstruction as opposed to renovation was advantageous, and while the aesthetics remain rather progressive, compromise has been reached.

Residents of Washington Highlands can look forward to a brand new library in a year's time, a property that will recall a large, hip, alfresco cafe in the place of a thick-walled municipal building. Adjaye's two library projects, the other being the Francis A. Gregory Library, will help introduce Washingtonians to his unique architectural eye for which he is well-respected in London. The projects are only a taste of more to come, as Adjaye's proposal recently helped win the contract to design the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Washington DC real estate development news

DC Redesigns Empty Printing Plant Near Ballpark

The District has finally come up with a plan for a long-vacant building in southeast DC that once served as the printing plant for the Washington Star, turning a physical and fiscal black-eye into what District officials say will be "a bold move" to improve the neighborhood. The District government began leasing the property in 2007, a controversial arrangement when the city failed to use the building. DC purchased the property outright last year for $85.2m in the hopes of converting its liability into productive space and has now partnered with development giant StonebridgeCarras. The five-story building at 225 Virginia Avenue remains the largest empty building near the Nationals Stadium.


Scotching plans to add on to the five-story building, the city will now renovate the interior and redesign the exterior to add "a lot glass that will allow natural sunlight to filter through the building," according to Jason Yuckenberg of the Department of Real Estate Services for the District. The revamp will also earn a LEED Silver certification, incorporate the largest green roof owned by the District government, and provide space for a public gallery to "showcase the vast art collection of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities."

The city will continue to own the land in a lease-leaseback arrangement with StonebridgeCarras. Details on how the city selected StonebridgeCarras were not immediately available, but according to Yuckenberg, the city "approached a number of people in the community about working with us on this project." StonebridgeCarras principal Doug Firstenberg tells DCMud the city's first RFP for the building went nowhere, after which the developer came up with the current lease plan financed through a private placement bond issue. Ultimately what they wanted was to own the building through creative financing" says Firstenberg.

Under a signed agreement, DC will lease the property to the developer, which will finance construction of the renovations, then lease it back to the city for $8.4m per year to be used as office space for several District agencies. The property will revert to the District at the end of the 20-year agreement. The District intends to build a data center and is seeking an occupant for the 50,000 s.f. of available space, stipulating that the data center tenant, a typically heavy energy consumer, "not adversely affect the LEED certification process" according to Yuckenberg.

The current structure, which has "virtually no windows, and is really drab and dreary," acknowledges Yuckenberg, is surrounded by ongoing improvements to the Capitol Riverfront neighborhood, including EYA's Capitol Quarter housing project and adjacent Canal Park, which is expected to break ground within the next few weeks. The street will get its own revamp when CSX scrapes off Virginia Avenue to add capacity to the train line below it. Construction is expected to begin in November; the District has already begun interior demolition to make way for construction. The development team will include architects from DC's Hickok Cole, Davis Construction as a general contractor, and Rand Construction for the interiors. Firstenberg expects full occupancy by June of 2012.

The property was originally intended to be a 1^st District Police substation and evidence warehouse for the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), which has since moved elsewhere. After two years of paying $6.5 million in annual rent (nearly $550,000 a month), the District raised the ante by purchasing the site. Washington DC officials say the move will "save District taxpayers more than $60 million over the previous arrangement."

The District recently issued a Request for Offers (RFO) to sublease the 50,000-s.f. data center, responses to which are due by July 30, 2010; the city will sponsor a site visit for the space tomorrow.

Washington DC real estate development news

Baby Steps Made, But Fight for Fillmore Music Hall Still Uphill Battle

Early last month the Montgomery County Planning Board approved preliminary plans for the Fillmore Music Hall and accompanying hotel and office buildings to built in Silver Spring; and just yesterday the Board gave a big thumbs up to the development team's most recent master plan and official plat. But a project that began in a buzz of ho-hum, high-fiving excitement has been slowed by lagging negotiations, and now a lawsuit filed recently by the owner of the 930 Club threatens to cast a dark cloud on groundbreaking celebrations set for later this fall.

The recently approved master plan roughly details the impending construction of a 135,300 s.f., 14-story hotel, a 12-story office building (5,500 s.f. reserved for retail use), and a 22,882 s.f., three-story music hall integrating the historic JC Penney facade and sides. The plan also calls for significant improvement to portions of the sidewalk and three street frontages.

Designers claim that the aesthetics of the planned structure fit with the surrounding buildings: standing mostly square, with no tower setbacks or height variance, and no significant differentiation of design or materials above the lower levels. The facade of the planned hotel reflects the fenestration and style typical of the era during which the adjacent Montgomery Arms apartment building was constructed. The JC Penney frontage, soon to be face of the Fillmore Music Hall, will be renovated in hopes of imitating the original San Francisco-based Fillmore West. Sporting dark red walls, vintage rock posters, and crystal chandeliers, the interior will also recall the first Fillmore, with the ability to house a standing room capacity of 2000 people. Hickok Cole Architects will design the new venue, along with the planned hotel and commercial buildings at Georgia Avenue.

The less daunting of the projects, the Fillmore Music Hall, will be constructed first. Upon completion of the building, the land and Music Hall will be donated to the County. This peculiar arrangement was part of the negotiations between the County and Lee Development Group (LDG) that made this entire $110 million redevelopment project possible. LDG's donation of the Music Hall will qualify as their public-space contribution required for their adjoining hotel and office space project. But the Fillmore Music Hall and its accompanying land (worth $3.5 million) hardly seems like a donation when Montgomery County and the state of Maryland have each agreed to subsidize the project to the tune of four million dollars, leaving LDG to foot only the remaining two of the ten million dollar budget. The transaction will afford LDG 15 years to complete the bordering project under current land use regulations, thereby protecting them from any financial complications or delays that may arise from future zoning rule changes or planning officials' interference. Once in the hands of Montgomery County, the Fillmore will be rented out to worldwide concert promoters and corporate entertainment giant Live Nation (their recent proposed merger with Ticket-master is currently stalled by anti-trust concerns). In 2008 Live Nation signed a $3.26 million, 20-year lease with the County, ending a tiresome six year negotiation process. Drawn out discussions with the Birchmere had previously unraveled.

All this might sound dandy to local concert goers, but Seth Hurwitz and his Bethesda-based company I.M.G., Inc, which owns the 930 Club and operates Merriweather Post Pavilion, finds the deal too sweet to be fair. Seemingly threatened by the new competition, and disenfranchised that he was not involved in negotiations for the lease of the new venue, Hurwitz has filed a lawsuit against the state alleging that the proper procedures for conducting financial feasibility and cost analysis studies, as required prior to allocation of funds, were not followed. The State and County believe they've done all that is required, but have not officially responded to the lawsuit. Until the lawsuit plays out, the state of Maryland is prohibited from matching the County's four million dollar pledge, but officials still expect ground to break later this fall, and to open the doors of the Fillmore in the fall of 2011. Local officials contend that the new development will not only be a tremendous new source of tax revenue and profits, as well as provide job creation, but also establish Silver Spring (with the AFI Theater right down the street) as a go-to destination for music, arts, and entertainment.

Renderings are courtesy of LDG. Silver Spring real estate development news

Protesters Break Ground Before Developers at Parcel 42

According to the Deputy Mayor for Planning & Economic Development's webpage, Parcel 42 on Rhode Island Avenue should be a dangerous and uncomfortable place to set up a camping tent, since the District had planned a mixed-use affordable housing project and expected to be well on its way to a summer 2011 completion. But there was no construction equipment, much less a foundation or semblance of a physical structure, to stop OneDC, Take Back the Land, and other organizers from sponsoring a marched protest that ended with a symbolic takeover of the land, located across from the Howard/Shaw Metro. Unfortunately, the presence of the protesters' makeshift tent city over the last several days has been the only entity to occupy the empty dirt lot in many years.

In 2007 the District selected Parcel 42 Partners, LLC to construct a $28 million mixed-use affordable housing project on the city-owned vacant lot. OneDC, now turned protester, had lobbied aggressively for the original plans. And community leaders, ANC officers, as well as local citizens were encouraged by the project when it was first unveiled. The initial renderings called for 94 housing units, affordably priced for those making no more than 60% of the Area Media Income (AMI). This qualifies as "affordable housing" according to the District, but some residents and protesters continue to argue that "low-income" not "affordable" housing is what the area desperately needs. For now, it's simply "no" housing for Parcel 42.

The District and the developers recently announced that the original plans were being scaled back to make the project more financially and logistically feasible: from eight floors down to five, 52 units as opposed to 94, half of the parking spaces, only 6.5 of the 11.5 million dollars in subsidies promised by the District, and 50% AMI instead of a stratified 20%, 30%, 60% AMI. The project is also now designated as a matter-of-right development, alleviating some of the frustrating Zoning Commission hurdles that a normal PUD must clear for its exemptions. While this makes it slightly less painful for the development team to get rolling, it doesn't exactly make the prospect of this project going through any more likely, as no formal paperwork for the proposed development has been submitted to the Zoning Commission as of yet.

Mayor Fenty has looked to Ward 2 Councilman Jack Evans for direction, but Evans has chosen to defer to the community, which seems to be in strong opposition to the new plans. Protesters over the weekend made it clear that they feel betrayed by the mayor, and are angry at what they consider to be a broken promise. Additionally, many outspoken ANC2C members now oppose the more conservative offerings, feeling it would be advantageous to simply wait out the lingering effects of the recession in hopes that an improved economy down the road may reignite the possibility for the larger project the area and residents were eagerly awaiting. But the clear lack of unified community support casts serious doubt on the prospect of the empty lot being occupied by anything more than another organized rally in the foreseeable future.

Parcel 42 Partners is a joint venture between Metamorphosis Development Group, Metro Partners, and Sunrise Development Corp.

Washington DC real estate development news

The Greatest Show on Earth: ACPS

According to popular discourse, David Conrath has managed to meld tenets and technologies from "Planet of the Apes," ancient Egypt, an Antiguan monastery and 19th century prairie life into a sustainable formula that is catapulting Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) into the next generation, and the next, and maybe even the next.

Conrath, a free-associating kind of Captain Kirk of design and construction for ACPS, is ringmastering a sustainability makeover – or maybe more aptly a takeover – of ACPS’ 19 facilities, 17 of them schools. By his own admission, after four years at the helm, “…the road is littered with professionals – two or three civil engineers, an architect, and a couple of mechanical engineers – who didn’t get with the program and weren’t forward-thinking enough.”

In this case, the road to which Conrath refers is actually the asphalt parking lot that blankets TC Williams High School’s Minnie Howard campus. For the uninitiated, in Alexandria 9th graders are separated from sophomores, juniors and seniors, on their own campus, for what officials consider a pivotal year often fraught with transitional woes. While TC Williams High School was built a decade ago and achieved LEED Gold, the Minnie Howard campus was plagued by heating, cooling, and recycling failures, the detritus of the last energy crisis in the 1980s, and languished amidst mounting energy bills, insufficient classroom air and a Beatles-era Perkins diesel generator (what Conrath calls a “Planet of the Apes” scenario but which he has retained for emergencies “because the grid is pretty crappy in Alexandria”).

Hiring Dallas-based Energy Education Inc., a firm working with about 200 school systems across the country to facilitate energy modeling, according to Conrath, ACPS began by addressing the ‘80s answer to energy conservation. “In the 1980s, in our school system, they took out every fresh air intake for every classroom and bricked them up,” Conrath said, explaining that sometimes there’s an “unfortunate inverse relationship” between being green and indoor air quality – and energy savings. “To bring fresh air into the building costs a lot of money,” he added, noting that in order to save 16 percent of the energy bill back then, “not having to circulate, temper and condition fresh air was standard practice in the last energy crisis.” Unfortunately, the practice resulted in a lot of sleepy students and faculty, not to mention exceedingly high levels of classroom humidity and consequent “smelly, stinky problems,” according to retiring 9th grade teacher Mary Sue Garner, who said that even with an air conditioner, she had to keep the classroom door open.

Ground Beneath Their Feet

In a big picture effort to reverse the problem and address pervasive heating/cooling issues at Minnie Howard, and to align the school with 21st century sustainability, Conrath began the geothermal process by inventing methods to plant 64 wells, 310-feet deep, drilling through the asphalt parking lot without lifting it into the air (he admits the first couple of tries did just that). Drilling through the next layer - which was mud - ensued, as did tackling erosion sediment control and also installing a special muffling device so the work could continue throughout the school year. The job became a kind of choreography during the day, according to Conrath, because of the active bus loop meaning the work would have to start and stop and start again with an eye to bus schedules. The wells, which contain 10-inch diameter special piping with a silver nitrate lining (a natural biocide that precludes mold), would store air drawn in from the outside by a 10 kilowatt photovoltaic solar array, and keep it at a constant fifty-degree ground temperature. “If we draw in air at 95 degrees with 90 percent humidity (by the array), and it comes in at 80 degrees and 60 percent humidity, we get a 15-degree drop in temperature,” Conrad explained, noting that in winter, a 15-degree boost is expected. The solar array, in plain sight for educational purposes when you enter the parking lot (it also serves to shield southern exposure windows providing cooling for those classrooms), is linked to a variable zone refrigerant system, which serves to influence temperature even more when necessary.

Roof Over Their Head

With a green roof installed initially on a test basis on one-third of the footprint of the school, energy bills compared from a snowy, almost sunless January, 2010, to the same month of the previous year yielded more than $5000 in energy savings. A 5,000 sf green roof, visible from the road because of the way school is sited, is also projected for the school instead of the current tar roof, which will slow down storm water, filter and purify solids, and change nitrates and chemical properties of the water. It will also naturally insulate the roof, much like a 19th century prairie sod house.

“My first day on this campus I felt like Jethro Bodine in ‘The Beverly Hillbillies,’” Conrath quipped about the character who was always dazed and confused about creature comforts and accruing technology. “I was taking some time to wrap my head around the concept of putting Astroturf on the field and grass on the roof.”

Walls That Don’t Contain Them

In the bowels of the school, in what the crew of the Starship Enterprise might perceive as the command center (actually it’s the old mechanical room), the makings of a “Greenovation lab” emerge, a term coined by ACPS special projects assistant Grace Taylor. The kid-safe space replete with gauges, real time Web data, dashboards and other educational components will serve as an education center, maybe even imagination central, both for 9th graders and to entice some of the older children who have dropped out to return. The students will benefit from “green collar training,” or training in technology disciplines that don’t even exist right now like working with solar arrays, Conrath said, but which are “fast coming online.” In fact, at present, every system in every school can be directed from a laptop at Starbuck’s, Conrath noted.

Windows on their World

According to Conrath, among the many impetuses for the greening of ACPS was a series of incidents three years ago at John Adams Elementary School, located in an area where the grid is stretched thin. “We kept losing power and had to close the school,” Conrath said, “because there were no windows in the bathrooms.” Unable to afford an emergency generator, Conrath came up with a 21st century application of an ancient Egypt-based solution called a sun tunnel.

“While they didn’t have Fresno lenses and plastic in Egypt, the concept is the same where light is gathered through the lense’s multiple prisms (the lense is a small globe that sits on a white roof like a lighthouse),” Conrath explained. It is then sent down a mirrored tube into a 2’x2’ plastic light diffuser. “People never even knew there wasn’t a light in there,” he said.

At Polk Elementary School, seven emerging technologies including geothermal wells, a variable zone refrigerant system, solar renewable energy, photovoltaic energy, daylight harvesting, green roofs and an eco-air system grounded to the air/heat exchange system carry with them the distinction of making Polk the only elementary school in the country to merge these systems. The technology at Polk was used in the 1500s, Conrath explained, adding that he’d seen it exemplified at an Antiguan monastery where a catacombed basement was designed like a nautilus shell. When the wind blew, cold air from downstairs was rolled up through the monastery, exhausted and then emitted.

Citing a fiduciary responsibility to taxpayers and a dream way into the future to be off the grid, Conrath, who has a Masters degree in industrial design from RISD, said ACPS is trying to adopt Alexandria’s comprehensive Eco-City policy, implementing all of its projects. “It makes (progressive) San Francisco look archaic,” he said, noting the projects include water conservation, daylight harvesting, vegetative (or green) roofs and low-albedo finishes such as white roofs to reflect the heat. “As a school system, we’ve increased our footprint about 25 percent over the last 10 years but we’ve only increased our energy consumption by 10 percent,” he stated, with all that implies. “Nothing is as green as money.”

Parkside Development On The Skids

For those who've grown weary of all the Benning Road plans for development, with little action to follow, the worst fears may have been confirmed on Monday evening at the Zoning Commission hearing. The mammoth Ward 7 redevelopment project that Parkside Residential, LLC representatives told the Zoning Commission in 2006 was a "landmark Planned Unit Development," has all but lost its early momentum. Whether it's the recent rains, some runaway Gulf oil slicks, or the economic downturn, much of the initial proposal has lost traction. The Commission recently denied the request of Lano Parcel 12, LLC for a two year extension of their first Parkside PUD, which took effect April 13, 2007 and expires October of next year.

The entire 15-acre Parkside project, located between Kenilworth Park and the Anacostia Freeway, was expected to become a massive mixed use development, bringing over 1,500 units of both affordable and market rate housing, 500,000 s.f. of office space, and at least 30,000 s.f. of neighborhood-serving retail. The Kenilworth Parkside area has been targeted by the District and the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development as a site in desperate need of improvement. Given its proximity to the waterfront, the Benning Metro Station, and three of the Great Streets Programs, the Washington Metro Area Transit Authority (WMATA) and the District Department of Transportation (DDOT), among other entities and initiatives, are in strong support of the proposed transformation.

In 2008, the Zoning Commission approved the first Second Stage PUD for three of the ten building blocks. Affordable senior living housing is planned and approved for Block A, B, and C. Being that the Second Stage PUD was granted for an area less than the original First Stage approval, Parkside Residential was accorded three years to submit the rest of their Second Stage PUD applications for review by Zoning. Applications for two more blocks are currently pending, and the submission of Second Stage plans for a third block are said to be in the works and should be filed soon. This would amount to Second Stage plans for a total of six blocks out of the original ten. But that's four blocks too few. The venture's representative pleaded in a recent document that this was "significant progress given the size of the project and the recent economic conditions." The Zoning Commission was apparently unmoved, and the deadline for all Second Stage applications remains October 3, 2011. This still leaves over a year left for the parties involved to shore up resources and finalize plans for the remaining four blocks. But given the the already requested extension, and characterization of meeting such a deadline as "not possible" despite their "every effort," that seems unlikely to happen.

The Lano Parcel 12 LLC and the Parkside Residential LLC are both multiparty ventures between Bank of America Community Development Corporation, Lano International, City Interest, and Marshall Heights Community Development Organization. The majority of design plans are being shouldered by Urban Design Associates in Pittsburgh.

Washington DC real estate development news

Canal Park Plans its Debut in Southeast

DC's Capitol Riverfront neighborhood near the ballpark may have its skeptics, but it remains the only neighborhood with a riverfront presence, and now may add to its credentials the most active public urban design in the city. Having heretofore suffered the indignity of lacking a real park despite ample vacant land, planners expect to start work within a month on Canal Park, a 3-block, 2-acre stretch of parkland that juts north from M Street. The city is just putting the finishing touches on its waterfront park as well.

 

Chris VanArsdale, Executive Director of the Canal Park Development Association (CPDA), says work will likely begin on the site by "late July or early August," notwithstanding the fact that permits have not been issued and a general contractor has not yet been selected. VanArsdale says the CPDA issued a Request for Qualifications for the construction work, followed by a Request for Proposals, and is now waiting for those responses. Completion is expected in late 2011. Each park block will have a distinctive design, with a shaded boardwalk that runs the length. Green features include a linear "rain garden," combination of large and small open spaces, three pavilions, an urban plaza, and prominent water features like ponds, fountains and seasonal ice rink. The rain garden will act as an on-site water collection, treating and reusing stormwater runoff. The open green space between K and I Streets could be used for movies or concerts, with seating room for 500 and standing room for 1,200 accommodated by a sunken amphitheater. A two-level pavilion (pictured above) will serve as an observation area and cafe with outdoor seating. Canal Park replaces what was once bus and car lot, and more recently a Kansas-flat strip of lawn. Development of the land into a green space, first conceived in 2000, has been stymied by changing control. 

The land was first given to the Anacostia Waterfront Corporation, which drew up plans for a park, but the AWC was disbanded by the government and not until May of 2008 did DC transfer development rights to the CPDA. The CPDA then started anew by replacing the design team with Philadelphia-based OLIN; Studios Architecture designed the pavilions. While the feds still technically own the land, the District controls the property by way of a "jurisdictional transfer," which VanArsdale says gives the federal government a right to redeem the land, which it "rarely, if ever" does. The CPDA has a 20-year license to develop and maintain the park; the District will pick up most ($13.5m) of the $15m in construction costs for the project. The National Capitol Planning Commission gave an initial approval to the plan in October of 2009, and gave final approval in June. The canal that once ran across the site connected the Anacostia to Tiber Creek (now buried under Constitution Avenue), which ran to the C&O canal. 

Washington DC real estate development news

Flats at Dupont Circle

Flats at Dupont Circle, 2000 N Street, 20036, NW, Washington DC
The Flats at Dupont Circle offer an exceptional location, modernist and thoughtful lobby, but not much interior design to match. Hardwood floors, plush carpeting in the bedrooms, Formica countertops, and cultured marble bath vanities mar what is otherwise a thoughtful design of common areas and great interior courtyard. Archstone and Charles E. Smith developed this 306-unit property, a former Embassy Squares Hotel that they emptied and renovated in 2007, with architecture by WDG Architecture and interior design by Forrester Construction Interior Group. At least the modern design of the lobby, Click! Cafe (with WiFi), fitness center and party room give a general aura of sophistication to apartments that are rent-controlled. Common amenities include pilates/yoga studio, outdoor circular pool and patio, BBQ grills and laundry room in lower level. The building maintains a two pet policy (breed, age & weight restrictions). The apartment building is just a few blocks from Metro set between Dupont Circle, the West End, and downtown Washington DC.

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New Visions for Washington Monument Grounds

What do you do with 50 acres of under-utilized, poorly maintained land in downtown Washington DC? When the site is the grounds of the Washington Monument, planning ignites a nearly existential debate. Yet one organization has set out to envision a fresh design for the grounds and the monument with an unofficial "ideas competition" that will kick off later this summer.

Despite more than 200 years of unfulfilled designs that include creating museums, lakes, universities, a paved plaza, and World's Fair space, the land surrounding the monument - the focal point of the Mall and most important tribute thereon - remains largely unimproved, unplanned, and dilapidated. The National Ideas Competition for the Washington Monument Grounds hopes to bring attention to that and "develop innovative and creative ideas for making the Washington Monument grounds more welcoming, educational, and effectively used by the public." The competition will launch this summer, accepting any and all ideas about how to better use the space and (maybe) pay tribute to the first president, with submissions due October 31, 2010. Organizers hope to narrow submissions to five finalists by next summer and submit those contenders to a public vote.

Obstacles to adoption of the winning ideas are daunting. The land is administered by the National Park Service (NPS), which would have to support the plan, which would then have to be signed off by Congress, the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) and the U.S. Commission on Fine Arts, none of which have even endorsed the competition. NPS has already devised plans to renovate century old Sylvan Theater, and the Army Corps of Engineers plans to work on a levee system for the northwest corner of the grounds.

Leaders of the competition, however, are more animated by the debate and thought provocation than by a redesign that would actually stick. Jim Clark, President-elect of the Virginia Society of the AIA and Chair of the steering committee, says the project is "mostly an educational forum, that's why we've opened it to younger students as well." Clark has been leading design competitions for 15 years and sees a larger purpose. "This will generate interesting dialogue about the center of our capital city, and will help educate people about history, about planning, and about the status of the National Mall."

As to the choice of this quadrant of the Mall, Clark answers that "this is really the heart of the National Mall. Symbolically it should be the richest area of the Mall from an interpretive standpoint. The mall has many many needs and will continue to evolve. We're really looking at this competition broadly to assess what role the monument grounds should play in the future." Ellen Goldstein, Executive Director of the steering committee, notes that the intent is not to actually transform the Mall. "We don't have any intent to advocate or lobby for the ideas to be implemented" she says of the winning design, though adding that it "could lead to be a transformational process ultimately, even though it is not a stated objective."

The grounds surrounding the monument have changed little over the years, despite the numerous grandiose ideas by accomplished architects. In the early 20th century a public pool graced the northwest corner of the site, and mid-century government office buildings packed the foot of the monument until they were torn down in 1960. Following the terrorist attacks of September 2001, a circular security perimeter was added to the landscaping, which otherwise looks much like it did when the land was originally reclaimed from the Potomac in the late 1800s.

The steering committee has already selected five of the judges and expects to announce the full panel of judges shortly, whose job it will be to determine what good design will never be built.

Washington DC real estate development news

Architect as Archaeologist

On July 3, 1863, as General Robert E. Lee intensified his attack on the Union center at Gettysburg's Cemetery Ridge, Daniel Klingel's farm house looked out on the Civil War's darkest hour.

Nearly 150 years later, preservation architects Oehrlein & Associates Architects would be charged by the National Park Service with restoring the residence's exterior to that very day in 1863, the log structure built originally in 1812 and over time sheltering many families since the Klingels from the more typical battles of everyday life.

"We have spent the past 18 months doing research on the house," Principal Mary Oehrlein said, explaining that painstaking historical research and documentation of any project involves all manner of archival, photographic and records research: census records; newspapers; trade directories; property transfers; deeds; wills that may describe a property; estate sale records; inventories (especially important where the person conducting the study may have walked from room to room) and even paint analysis. The Klingel house, sited in the middle of the battlefield, is exposed to tours that go by and will be used by the NPS for its own purposes.

Rules of Engagement

According to Oehrlein, historical architects play by an entirely different set of rules than mainstream practitioners because “…you’re not starting with a blank piece of paper or an empty site where you can put anything you want on it. You have to work within the confines of an existing building,” she says, noting that even where alterations are mandated, there’s a limit to what can be done. “You have to be more creative about how you accommodate a new mechanical system, or get an elevator in, or make a building more accessible without destroying something that somebody said needs to stay.”

It was these kinds of parameters that presented a variety of challenges for the firm when it created the Hotel Monaco a decade ago. Conceived as a post office with a series of wing additions from 1836-67, the property later served as an office building replete with acoustic tile ceilings, carpeting, Formica counters, partitions, fluorescent lighting, mechanical and electrical systems and “phone wires draped all over the place,” all of which were taken out in order to see and measure what had been there, according to Oehrlein. Vacant for 15 years at the inception of the hotel process, the structure, at 700 F Street NW, was both a restoration and rehabilitation project, the former denoting the retention of materials from a significant time while permitting the removal of other materials, and the latter focusing on retention and repair of materials but with allowances for replacement in light of a property’s deterioration (per the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for The Treatment of Historic Properties). Oehrlein, who said the Standards are clearly guidelines for historical architects, added that during a rehabilitation, the specific needs of the new user must be accommodated, in this case a 21st century hotel.

In the Hotel Monaco interior, while certain spaces and finishes were carefully preserved and restored, naturally each guestroom required a bathroom, and two new elevators were installed at the north side of the building where the structure could be modified without major interventions.

“There had been an alteration to one of the really beautiful circular stairs,” Oehrlein says, “where the government had put an elevator in the middle of it.” The elevator was removed and the stairwell restored, along with an accruing skylight.

Material Rules

In a major restoration, rehabilitation and renovation of St. Matthew’s Cathedral, 1725 Rhode Island Avenue NW, over the course of three years Oehrlein & Associates Architects met multiple challenges in transforming the 1893 multi-use property (the church was initially established in another building in 1840 at 15th and H Streets). These included eradicating roof leaks and repairing plaster falling from the ceiling, reconfiguring office and living space, and considering a shoebox full of tiny glass tiles from a 35-foot tall mosaic.

“We started by making the envelope of the building water-tight,” Oehrlein says, replacing the copper-clad dome with a new dome fabricated to look exactly like the original. Slate was replaced or repaired, and brick and stone pointed to further weather-proof the structure. The mosaic was repaired by gluing pieces back on the wall by a process of injection, and the surface was restored, cleaned and regrouted where necessary, as was the cathedral’s marble in places. New carpeting and lighting were installed throughout the structure, with artwork designed and installed where old organ pipes had been. The basement, in a major renovation, included upgraded conference rooms in a new conference center and a redesigned dining room in the old rectory. The reconfiguration of two adjacent buildings provided parish offices and residential apartments for the priests who live there. “There was a lot going on,” Oehrlein quipped.


Perseverance Rules

Trained as a design architect, an entity she prefers not to hire “because they are not happy in this kind of work” (Oehrlein’s staff, for the most part, has advanced degrees in historic preservation), Oehrlein revealed that as a student she was admonished by professors for taking up space that male students should occupy. “They told me I was wasting their time,” she reflected, adding that when she guest lectures today and sees that 50 percent of the class is comprised of women, it’s a different world.

“Counter to those professors who told me I didn’t belong, I had architectural history professors who were supportive and encouraged me to pursue preservation,” she said, which was a brave new world at that time. Spending summers working for the Historic American Building Survey, where student architects go out and measure buildings throughout the country, Oehrlein came to embrace the fact that in choosing a different path she was never relegated to drafting rooms.

“My first job was with a construction company that was doing some preservation work,” she recalled, explaining they were restoring buildings because people had come to them about leaky roofs or masonry falling off walls. With virtually no preservation architects in existence at the time, Oehrlein blazed some trails by spending time at the Library of Congress researching, for example, which materials were used in 19th century masonry construction, what the mortar mixes were, how water was kept out of walls and what the caulking materials were. “Nobody can get into the stacks now,” she said, “but I had a stack pass and would spend days at a time there. I did research into the technical side of things because if you don’t understand what’s in the building, you can’t decide how to repair it.”


With completion of construction documents for a restoration/ conservation of the exterior stone of the U.S. Capitol on deck, a process that, due to various circumstances with the Architect of the Capitol, took nine years, Oehrlein calls it “a pretty wonderful opportunity” though Congress’ funding of the project is another matter. “We have projects that have gone on longer than that though,” she said. “There’s the stop and start: the review process; the approval process; then it stops because the economy is bad; then the economy gets better and starts up again but there’s a redesign. We’ve had projects that have been through two economic downturns before we finally got to construction,” she explained. With historical architecture, "that happens."

1000 Connecticut Avenue Ahead of Construction Schedule

What will surely be the cornerstone property of the Golden Triangle in downtown DC, the trophy building at 1000 Connecticut Avenue is under construction and may deliver ahead of early estimates.  Construction work on the site (see old image) began last summer, but site preparation wound down without foundation work until early this year. But Clark Construction has now poured the foundation and, according to Project Manager Michael Tyler of MJ Tyler and Associates, the building exterior should now finish up by February of 2012, with interior tenant build-outs picking up from there. Law firm Arent Fox is the only tenant but will not occupy the building until early 2013 when its current lease expires. Arent Fox signed up in May 2008 to occupy 70 percent of the space with 8 floors and over 238,000 s.f. of office space.

The site is an aggregation of several buildings that were demolished in 2007. The 12-story building, roughly the same height as what it replaces, was designed by the late Jim Freed of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, who also designed the neighboring building at 1700 K St NW. Washington DC based WDG Architecture worked with Pei Cobb Freed on the interior to design a building that is targeted to earn a LEED Gold certification.

Tyler estimated that the total hard construction costs will come in around $70 million, with total project costs around $180 million. In a statement, designers refer to the site as the "boundary" to Farragut Park and K Street and the "gateway" to Connecticut Avenue, NW. According the to architects, the "building’s two principal façades respond individually to their settings while at the same time complementing each other in a variety of ways, convening to turn the corner in a distinctive and unexpected fashion." The materials for the Connecticut Avenue street front create a "skin [that] is folded into reflective pleats of glass and stainless steel." The K Street frontage is "composed primarily of granite and glass as foil to the stainless and glass façade of 1700 K Street opposite."

Though demolition began in 2007 and construction was initially to begin in 2008, the property sat empty for several years, leaving some chafing at the vacancy of the highly visible site. Cushman & Wakefield, the leasing broker, did not return phone calls and does not list the property on its website.

Washington, DC real estate development news

Local Builder Starts Condo Project in Adams Morgan

A local real estate developer will turn a pair of historic apartment buildings in Adams Morgan into 43 condominiums for delivery next year. Urban Investment Partners (UIP) acquired the properties at 1801 and 1811 Wyoming Street last year for $6.9m and has plans for a $4.5m upgrade expected to complete in late 2011. Washington DC based architect David Haresign of Bonstra Haresign is the lead architect on the project, EHT Traceries is assisting with historic building conformance. The building dates from 1909 and was originally designed by architectural firm Hunter and Bell. The apartment buildings were put up for sale by Marcus & Millichap in early 2009 and went under contract shortly thereafter, but the tenants exercised their rights under DC's Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA) and negotiated a contract with UIP in late 2009. UIP Principal Steve Schwat say tenants will be out in about 90 days and expects renovation work to commence immediately thereafter. Schwat says he expects about 16 of the tenants to purchase their units at "deeply discounted prices", but that the building will be extensively rebuilt - "a full gut renovation" - with finishes that rival "an Ian Schrager hotel." 

Finishes will include "extensive landscaping" between the buildings, large patio spaces on the garden level units, and interior finishes like two-tone cabinetry and Cesarstone counters, pocket doors, smart wiring, gas cooking, and a bike storage room. Schwat also has designs for often overlooked roof, including "huge" roofdecks with benches and water. "People will actually want to use them," he notes. UIP has undertaken numerous TOPA re-trades recently, including the Policy in Kalorama, the Shelby in Dupont, and the Macklin in Cleveland Park, all within the past two years. "We haven't done a condominium in a couple of years, I'm excited to start that again" says Schwat. "We love the idea of working with tenants, there's alot of benefit to both parties. Whether tenants exercise their TOPA rights or not we're going to work with them to get a product that benefits everybody...many people are scared of TOPA, but for us its been a great experience." The hardware store on 18th Street will be emptied and fully renovated during the reconstruction.

Washington DC retail and commercial real estate news