NoMa East: Progress Waits

The other side of the tracks is always the problem real estate. And so even in NoMa, DC's largest real estate construction site, the west side of the railroad tracks are packed with groundbreakings like Tishman's 1100 and 1150 First Street, JBG's Capitol Square, Bristol Group's Noma Station, and StonebridgeCarras' Constitution Square, and newly announced tenants like Harris Teeter, the DOJ, DOE, and NPR. But east of the tracks, development moves at a much more, well, southernly pace. The east side has not failed to attract either experienced developers or ambitious plans. But so far, little has materialized to signal the progress that is likely to transform the neighborhood - even if that term barely applies now - into a viable commercial and residential center. Even the feature that divides the two sides, the tracks that emanate from Union Station, will eventually disappear beneath the urban landscape as Akridge's Burnham Place unifies the neighborhood and buries the current boundary. In 2013, maybe. For the present, however, most developers with east-of-the-tracks plots seem content to let their west side neighbors build out the new downtown neighborhood while they consider options and hone their plans. “Most of NoMa is on the west side of the tracks, but a few key parcels are on the east side that are a key link from the historic Capitol Hill to the new neighborhood. It is important to have that bridge,” said Elizabeth Price, President of NoMa BID. One block east of the tracks, the Wilkes Company has plans for a mixed-use set of buildings with over 300 residences and 250,000 s.f. of office space just across M street from Douglas Development's 300,000-s.f. office, 225-residence development of the Uline Arena. The two intend to develop their projects jointly, but both have yet to even put up a sign.

According to Sandy Wilkes, Chairman of the Wilkes Company, "We are still in a planning phase and we're trying to understand exactly what the opportunity is in that place and what zoning strategies we might deploy to bring this about. It is still early for us, our general instinct is that there is going to be a natural tendency for NoMa to develop more actively on west side. We have the luxury of being patient on the east side, but our sense is that while Constitution Square and other projects are underway, the real time for us is in a two to three year time frame. We are constantly thinking about fine-tuning and timing. We are going to let our friends and colleagues on the west side lead the way and then get way more focused in 24 -36 months." Also facing each other, at least someday, at 3rd and K Streets, NE, will be Greenbaum and Rose's Capitol Cab property and Cohen Companies' Union Place, planned as part of the NoMa development surge. And while the G 'N R site sits indefinitely, Union Place at least is forging ahead.

Michelle Pilon, project coordinator for Cohen Companies’ “Loree Grand” says Phase One of Union Place is on schedule to deliver in late 2009 and the team is in the process of getting a foundation grade permit so it can begin construction.

The Loree Grand will include 212 apartments in a ten-story building, some of which will be workforce housing; eleven percent will be "affordable." In addition to the residential components, this phase will include an interior public courtyard, 4,000 s.f. of retail space, one underground parking space per resident, and a “green” roof.

The residential floor plans of the first phase will range from junior one-bedroom units starting at 516 s.f. to 1,400-s.f. apartments with two bedroom and a den. Phase two will rise 14 stories and deliver over 400 residential units, though the inevitable rental vs. condo debate has not yet been settled. Developers are already planning to install wide sidewalks to create a "boulevard effect." Meanwhile, Greenebaum and Rose is waiting on a sunnier economy. For Greenebaum and Rose, instead of the traditional “go rental” approach to the less-than-stellar market, the developers' project on the former Capitol Cab property is on hold. The developers bought the land at market price in 2003 after winning a legal battle over a competing developer that sought to buy the cab company’s debt, pay $50,000 for the land, and have the right to foreclose on the cab company’s owners’ homes.

Greenebaum and Rose’s current plan will cost over $20 million and include a six story, 92,800-s.f. residential building designed by Davis Carter Scott. It will have 112 condominium units and underground parking. Someday. “Nothing has been built,” said Greenebaum and Rose partner, Sam Rose. “For now, it’s a piece of land with a permit. We’re not starting until the world looks prettier.”

Noma BID Director Price said their property will only become more valuable as the neighborhood continues to evolve. “Long standing parcels are going up in market value; Greyhound announced that they would sell, and that was one of last pieces of puzzle, whether Greenebaum and Rose would sell, I don’t know. They’ve been around longer than anybody and we owe a lot to them to committing to building First Street. The developers’ options are wide open," she said.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Square 54 Breaks Ground

With blue shovels in hand, George Washington University officials broke ground this morning on the greatly anticipated and hotly debated Square 54 project on Washington Circle. At its delivery in 2011, the $250 million mixed-use project in Foggy Bottom will include 333 residential units, 13% of which will be work-force housing, 440,000 s.f. of office space overlooking Washington Circle, an open central courtyard and retail plaza on I Street, over 80,000 s.f. of retail space (including the supermarket that has students salivating), and over 1,000 underground parking spaces. “Is it possible that this is the best mixed-use project in the city? I say yes,” Chairman of GW’s Board of Trustees, Russell Ramsey said. “This is about the vision for GW in ten years, in twenty years,” he said. 

A partnership between GWU and Boston Properties, the 2.6-acre former GW Hospital site is, as Mayor Adrian Fenty noted in yet another groundbreaking appearance this morning, the last major development site on Pennsylvania Avenue. The developers have entered into a 60-year ground lease for the redevelopment effort; Square 54 is part of a three-part development initiative that includes the campus 20-year “grow up, not out” plan and the redevelopment of The School Without Walls. Jack Evans, Council- member of Ward 2, said the project, designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, LLP and Sasaki and Associates, would bring in $12 million a year in tax revenues for the city and benefit not only the university, but also the Foggy Bottom community. While there is a history of tension between residence-hungry GW and its development-resisting neighbors, at this morning’s rainy groundbreaking, GW officials spun it optimistically, saying that the development was a positive for everyone in Foggy Bottom and welcomed neighbors in attendance. Robert Chernak, a GW official, told DCMud this morning “Beyond the project itself, the impact it has really had is on the relationship with people in the community. There was some negativity. This is finally bringing the parties together to have rational dialogue and bring together all involved. It’s about people effected in the long term.” 

 Said GWU President, Steven Knapp“Square 54 is a shining example of what GW and the city can accomplish when we work together. It represents the importance of sustainable practices and has been recognized by the Smart Growth Alliance. It will enliven the streetscape. It was thoughtfully conceived to contribute to the open space of the city.” As DCmud reported last year, GW was asked to revise the height and density of the proposed building, and the National Capital Planning Commission recommended that the Commission approve the revised proposal in April 2007. And no, a grocer has not yet been selected for the retail space.

Washington DC retail development news

Wheaton Metro Projects

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Wheaton Maryland real estate development news

Hill East - Another Day, Another Waterfront Initiative

A Request for Expressions of Interest was officially issued today by the District of Columbia to attract a master developer for "Hill East," 50 acres of real estate on the former D.C. General Hospital site and Anacostia River. Hill East is one of three major redevelopment sites that make up the Anacostia Waterfront Initiative, a 20 year plan to turn the Anacostia River into a thriving residential, commercial and retail center, not to mention place of recreation for D.C. residents. At a press conference this morning at the Stadium-Armory Metro Station, Mayor Adrian Fenty said developers are invited to submit proposals through August. A three month review period will follow, and the selected developer will be announced at the end of the year with major District-developer planning starting in early 2009.

Fenty stated that “The RFEI process is underway and we look forward to announcing a developer whose plan complements what is already here on site and takes advantage of the opportunities of the river. We want the development to serve as a gateway between Capitol Hill and the Waterfront so people can walk down to the Anacostia River, which is hard to do now." As if you would want to.

The Hill East site, which is two and a half times bigger than the development at the old convention center, is intended to be a low-impact, LEED certified mixed-use development. The project will include residential, retail, and office components and will extend Massachusetts Avenue and other streets within the site to tie the new neighborhood into the existing community; including, apparently, the correctional facility, which will remain on site. Councilmember Tommy Wells, D-Ward 6, said the District envisions some sort of “health plex”, which could range from doctors’ offices to a specialized treatment facility, but that the decision is a long way off.

According to the RFEI, the development could result in “up to 3,000 new housing units, over 2 million square feet of office and institutional uses, new primary care medical facilities, and over 100,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space.”

“It will be a truly mixed-use project,” said Deputy Mayor Neil Albert. “There is a great need for affordable housing in the District. There is a need for a health-plex, and because there are two metro stops [DCmud is still trying to locate the 2nd one], it will be good for office space, maybe some offices that are being forced out of the downtown area because of increasing lease prices,” he said.

“The more we bring to the waterfront, the more time people will want to spend there. We already have a bike path underway. We need to embrace the river as a community asset,” said Wells. Both Wells and Fenty pointed out the need to reduce the pollution in the river and to work with Maryland, the state through which the majority of the river runs. They both said part of the project’s goal is to make the river suitable for canoing and even swimming (cringe).

“It has been a dumping ground for too long. People say ‘who would want to live by the river?’ but what is possible here is a new neighborhood – the Anacostia River as an amenity,” Wells said.

The site is bounded by 19th street, Independence Avenue, the Anacostia River, and the Historic Congressional Cemetery. The entire site is 67 acres, but development will take place on only 50 of those. The land, known as Reservation 13, is technically owned by the General Service Administration, but was given to the District under the 2006 Federal and District of Columbia Government Real Property Act of 2006, a “Transfer Act”. As DCmud reported in April of last year, 12 acres of the property were to be given back to the Federal government for a congressional mail facility. According to Fenty, the District is now looking for an alternative site for this facility and it will not be part of the Hill East development.

For those worried (or happy) about losing their Anacostia River views, maximum building heights for the west portion of the site will be a towering four stories, the central portion, a skyscraping seven stories, and the eastern portion will rise to a stratospheric 10 stories. That's sarcasm, in case you missed it.

Dunbar Place on North Capitol

The Historic Preservation Office has approved the razing of six adjoining row houses: 1322-30 North Capitol Street, NW and 7 Hanover Place, NW, to make way for Thoron Development's Dunbar Place, a five-story condominium building.

Thoron founder Robert Taylor describes Dunbar Place as a five-story, 29-unit condominium project that will include a deck of underground parking, ground-level green space, and a rooftop deck. Having completed the design phase of Dunbar Place with PGN Architects, Thoron now moves into the permit process, after which it will begin construction, with completion by the end of 2009. Taylor hopes that Dunbar Place and Mews will augment the blossoming NoMa neighborhood and notes that neighbors and the local ANC feel likewise.

Dunbar Place used to be Dunbar Towers, but Thoron recently dropped the name. As Taylor notes, “It didn’t really look like a tower.” Dunbar Mews, around the corner on O Street, is another Thoron project, this one an eight-unit renovation. Thoron recently completed Parkview Condos, a 24-unit renovation of a historic building at 610 Irving St., NW.

Just a few blocks north of the new project, at 1600 North Capitol, sits a lot with plans for a 40-unit building, where progress on and interest in the development is hard to detect, while just a few blocks south lies Northwest One and all of Noma, where progress is significantly easier to detect. Let's hope the activity to the south is a better indicator of success.

Howard Issues RFP for Bond Bread Building

Howard University has issued a Request For Proposals (RFP) for real estate developers to submit bids for a "first-class, mixed-use development" at 2112-2146 Georgia Avenue. Part of the 2.2 acre site at the corner of V St. and Georgia Avenue, the Howard Town Center, was offered to Howard by the District of Columbia just two weeks ago in an exchange designed to facilitate Howard's residential development, and the University obviously plans to waste little time in moving forward with development of the neighborhood.

The project is the site of the Bond Bread Building, a property long contested by its one-time tenant, which lost a legal battle for control of the land. According to the RFP, the development "must include rental apartments, retail (including grocery store) and parking," and is strongly suggested to be LEED certified. Though the site has a maximum floor area ratio (or FAR, which limits the amount of floor space in relation to the size of the lot it is built upon) of 6.0 and a height of 90 feet, but also falls within the districts "Duke plan" (for developing Shaw and U Street), which encourages greater height and FAR allowances. The project is expected to have 300 rental units that will comply with D.C.'s formula for market rate and affordable housing. A mandatory pre-bid conference will be held at Howard on May 15th to discuss the project, the terms of which require that the real estate developer enter into a long-term ground lease with the University and undertake all development obligations. Bids are due by June 10.

DC Announces New Convention Center Site Agreement

Mayor Adrian Fenty announced plans today for one of the last remaining parcels of land on the site of the old convention center. Under a new agreement, the city will allow development of a 400-room "high-end" hotel and 100,000 s.f. of additional retail space on the 53,000 s.f. plot of land now known simply as "Parcel B". This portion of the site had previously been reserved for construction of a library, but the District had not made any final decisions on the facility and did not want to further delay what is being designed as a "new city center."

(Dcmud's information on "Parcel B" is too new to have renderings - the rendering shown is of the southern parcel.)

Standing in a corner of the current Convention Center, overlooking the site of the old one, Fenty said the District reached a deal with developers Hines Archstone to lease the site for 99 years. The District had previously cemented a deal with Hines Archstone for the southern half of the site - a project estimated at $850 million that will add 350,000 s.f. of retail space, over 670 apartment and condominiums with at least 134 affordable units, and 465,000 s.f. of office space between New York Avenue, 11th, H, and 9th Streets NW.

“The one thing the District is missing that so many other large cities have is a bustling area where people come after work to shop or eat or to hang out, a city center.” Fenty said. In addition to the office, retail, and residential space, the project will include an additional 1.5 acres of public open space. There will be a park in the northwest corner as well as a central plaza between the residential buildings on the corner of 9^th and H streets.

The “B parcel", bound by New York, 9th, and what will be 10th Street, was originally considered as a potential site for a museum or library in order to attract more families. Today, however, Fenty said that while the District is still “working aggressively” with the Library Board, there is a significant amount of programming under the current plan to attract DC residents to the site."

As the master developer, Hines Archstone had the first right of refusal to lease the B parcel from the District if the city chose not to locate a library on the site.

“This area is surrounded by museums; the Newseum just opened a few blocks away, the Portrait Gallery, the Spy Museum…we want this place to provide a social atmosphere outside their homes where residents can come and sit without having to sit at a café or pay to eat or drink,” Fenty said.

Kingdon Gould III acquired a parcel on the Northeast corner of the site - the last site to reveal development plans - in a land swap that the city conducted to facilitate construction of the Marriott next to the new Convention Center. The Parking Management, Inc. president has his own plan for the site, but it must be "consistent with the entire site's master plan."

While retailers have not yet been announced, the developer has committed to devoting thirty percent of retail space to merchants with six or fewer stores in the United States, but will focus on a wide range of grocery stores, restaurants, fashion stores, and entertainment or performance venues. There are also plans for one larger retailer like Nordstroms or Macy’s; Fenty and the development teams will be meeting with companies in the coming weeks, but a final announcement is not likely for about six months.

The project will generate 3,000 development-related jobs and 2,500 direct permanent jobs. It will also generate a projected $32 million a year in annual direct tax revenues. According to developers, the District will receive more than $200 million in consideration for the land as part of the land lease including a minimum of $28.5 million in lease payments, $55 million to provide affordable housing on site, and $48 million in payments for new infrastructure. Two new streets, I and 10th, will be constructed through the site.

When asked about the likelihood of delivering the project in a timely manner given the not-so-exuberant state of the economy, Councilmember Jack Evans, D-Ward 2, said the District has not been affected by the economy and that this project’s success would be no different than that of other D.C. projects like the Nationals Stadium.

“The Southwest waterfront looks pretty good. Poplar Point is off in the distance, but Clark, the main developer hasn’t had problems getting the money they need. There is such a strong interest in the development of the District that as long as that interest remains, these projects will stay on schedule,” Evans said.

The first phase of the project, which includes the office, apartments, and condominiums, will begin in the second quarter of 2009, while the entire project will be completed by the end of 2011.

Evans added that this summer the city is planning to set up a large screen in the parking lot on-site to continually broadcast the Olympic Games. He said the city’s goal is to use the backdrop of the Chinatown arch to attract families and residents to the area.

“This is the most exciting property on the East Coast,” he said.

Slow and Steady for Rhode Island Station

Construction will begin in July for Rhode Island Station, a 370,000 s.f. mixed-use development planned for the current Rhode Island Avenue Metro Station. The project, by Rhode Island Avenue Metro, LLC - a partnership of Mid-City Urban LLC and A&R Development - formerly known as Brentwood Town Center, won final zoning approval in April 2007, but will not finally close and begin construction until July.

Rhode Island Station will include a series of four-story buildings with three floors of residential rental apartments above one, ground floor of retail. At its completion, the project will have 274 rental apartments and 70,000 s.f. of retail space in what is now the Metro station’s parking lot.

As DCmud reported in June of last year, the developers have launched retail-leasing efforts, but have not yet announced final tenants.

“We really spent the last year permitting and finalizing. There were two approval processes to go through because it was a joint development with Metro, so it did take a bit longer,” said Caroline Kenney, a development associate for Mid-City Urban, LLC.

She added that commuters will not be inconvenienced by the construction as protected sidewalks will keep the Metro station fully accessible.






“We are currently focusing on getting to the construction,” Kenney said. “We want to give it a vibrant feel, but be pedestrian-oriented and friendly. We want it to blend into the surrounding area.”

That may be a challenge given the somewhat decrepit buildings across from the current Metro driveway. A February 2008 Ward 5 Development Report based on records from the Councilmember’s office did show eight projects within a mile of the station, including Macy Development’s Basilica Lofts, and Menkiti Group Development’s Illora Condos, but most of the new buildings are or will be on the other side of the tracks, behind the station. Given the nature of DC’s development, however, the rest of Rhode Island Ave. probably won’t be far behind.

Upon completion in July 2010, Metro users, shoppers, and residents will also have access to 400 parking spaces in the parking garage planned for the project.

Howard Town Center to Finally Take Place of Bond Bread Building

One of the District's oldest property struggles may soon see resolution, ending a dispute that began with a promise by Mayor Walter Washington, DC's first elected mayor. Last week, current Mayor Adrian Fenty signed an agreement saying the District will at long last swap land with Howard University, a deal that will give Howard the property it has eyed since beginning its LeDroit Park Initiative for redevelopment more than a decade ago.

This exchange means Howard will receive the former Bond Bread Building at 2146 Georgia Avenue, NW. The lot provides redevelopment space for the long-planned Howard Town Center: 300+ residence units, 70,000+ s.f. of commercial property, a supermarket, and parking. The District will receive in exchange, the site at Florida and Sherman Avenues, and will solicit bids for a mixed-use project to include at least 300 housing units (30 percent affordable). Both Howard University and the District have wanted to complete this seemingly simple exchange but had been foiled by a legal conundrum dating back to Mayor Washington's promise to the Peoples Involvement Corporation (PIC), a 30-year tenant in the Bond Bread Building.

PIC, a federally funded nonprofit focused on community development, was founded in 1968, the year after DC Mayor-Commissioner Walter Washington took office. Washington, who became the first Mayor of the District under home rule, supported PIC, and verbally promised the organization that if it retained tenancy for two decades and made improvements to the property, the District would turn over its ownership of the Bond Bread Building. But, as any first year law student will attest, exchanges of lands do not meet the Statute of Frauds if not in writing.

In relying on the District's promise, PIC renovated the crusty digs, somewhat, and occupied the building for the requisite term. When the District announced its intention to swap the Bond Bread Building with a property belonging to Howard University, the PIC learned that it risked losing what it had seen as a multi-decade investment. The organization sought and received from Mayor Washington a written statement from the former mayor confirming his verbal promise to give away the site. In 2003, to protect its interests, PIC filed a lawsuit with the D.C. Superior Court against the District.

If PIC won its suit, Howard University stood to lose its planned project. The university had already hired Trammell Crow Company’s subsidiary, High Street Residential, and alumna Michelle Hagans to develop the property. The Howard Town Center project had received press coverage from the Washington Business Journal and other local publications as part of its plan to transform the neighborhoods surrounding the university. But Hagans, High Street, the architects, the construction firm, and planned lessees such as Fresh Grocer were now all put on indefinite (or potentially permanent) hold as they waited for the Bread Building dispute to rise.

And rise it did, doubling in size; the District decide to instigate its own suit, and it sued PIC to establish itself as the rightful owner of the property. Legally, Washington’s verbal property promise did not pass muster with the courts. In what would make a picture-perfect law school exam over tenancy rights and verbal promises for land subsequently written, PIC lost both cases, concluding that a Mayor's verbal promises could not be relied upon (duh).

In 2006, the D.C. Council considered the issue, first in a bill sponsored by Councilmember Jack Evans that would have halted the swap, but finally approving the exchange of the Bond Bread Building with Howard University’s 63,400-s.f. property at Sherman and Florida Avenues.

As DCMud reported in June 2007, legislation sponsored by D.C. Councilmember Jim Graham was supposed to get Town Center construction moving that year, with possible completion projected for 2010. Now, almost halfway through 2008, it looks like Howard Town Center may soon get out of its jam and into the Bread Building. The Mayor has said he intends to issue the solicitation for a development partner later this year.

Takoma Park Condos Go Rental

Ecco Park Condominiums, planned as Takoma Park's only new condominium project, will now go forward as an apartment building. The 85-unit condominium had been designed and was to be developed by SGA Architects of Bethesda, but SGA began returning money to purchasers several weeks ago. The site, two blocks from the Takoma Park Metro Station, was a brownfield and former gas station, a condition the developer remedied last year by removing and replacing the soil, but construction and excavation had not yet begun.


According to the developer, the lack of financing for a new condominium building became the insurmountable hurdle in the development process, requiring a new financing agreement that precluded condo sales. Domus Realty had presold 35 of the 85 units as of last fall, when the sales center closed. "I'm really excited that the project is still moving forward despite the turmoil in the markets." said Sas Gharai, the architect and developer of the project. But Gharai also suggested that with the dwindling condo construction the decision may not be irreversible, "At some point, we may re-evaluate when the market changes."

Ecco Park is designed to include 6,500 s.f. of retail, and at one time was mentioning a Trader Joe's Express as a possible tenant. It would also feature underground parking, and patios or balconies for most of the units. Prices started at $180k for a studio and in the high $200k's for a one-bedroom, and at $495k for a two-bedroom. SGA recently completed and is selling the last few units at the Butterfield House on Capitol Hill.

Will Montgomery County Put the Brakes on Bethesda's Parking Garage?

On Tuesday morning, the Montgomery County Council will vote on whether to move forward with a planned $89-million, 1,150-space parking garage in downtown Bethesda. If the vote passes, developers PN Hoffman and Stonebridge Associates would be able to proceed with their mixed-use project planned for the current Bethesda Lot 31, at the intersection of Bethesda and Woodmont Avenues (across from the Barnes and Noble). But the project has some concerned organizations urging the Council to apply the brakes and postpone the vote to allow time to consider alternatives to the garage.

In a press release put out today, the Coalition for Smarter Growth and the Montgomery County Sierra Club did the math: by their calculation, each individual parking space costs close to $80,000. “It’s cheaper to just pay people $45 to park [at a nearby lot] and walk five minutes,” says Cheryl Cort, Policy Director of the Coalition. While Cort praises the overall mixed-use project, she and her organization have concerns about the cost of the garage—and whether there’s really a lack of parking in Bethesda.

To prove her point, Cort went out on a Saturday night several weeks ago during prime dinner hour (between about 9 and 10 p.m.) to investigate Bethesda’s parking availability. According to Cort, while Lot 31 fills at peak hours, Bethesda has plenty of other public parking garages with whole floors of open parking within a five-minute walk of downtown Bethesda. It’s just a matter of people knowing where to look.

The proposed mixed-use project would take the place of the two lots now owned by the county, replacing surface parking with up to 250 residential units in LEED-certified buildings designed by SK&I. Stonebridge-Hoffman would realign the interchange of Bethesda and Woodmont, and add as much as 40,000 s.f. of ground floor retail, all of which is generally supported by smart growth advocates as being transit-oriented.

But rather than add such massive garage space, the Coalition for Smarter Growth recommends that Bethesda consider making use of a “smart parking” system, similar to those used in Rockville Town Center and at the Baltimore/Washington International Airport. A digital readout at the entrance to a garage or floor of parking displays the number of available parking spaces to approaching motorists, reducing the time, traffic, and frustration used in circling for spots. As Cort puts it, “Bethesda was just a suburban outpost 30 years ago…[Now] Bethesda has grown up…The question is, how do we treat automobiles in this context?”

David Hauck, Chair of the Montgomery County Sierra Club, has a suggestion for how to assess this situation. “Step back, take a breath, and think about it,” he advises, “What will Bethesda look like five years from now?” If the pedestrian-, bike-, and Metro- supporting contingent has its way, says Hauck, the proposed parking garage will be a “white elephant.”

The County would fund the initial parking structure, which is designed as below-ground public parking, hence the high cost. The rub, in part, is the financing of the deal. The county would issue a bond to cover the construction costs, part of which would be repaid by the developers as part of the purchase of the land, but that still leaves public money going to support admittedly un-green vehicular traffic.

Hauck credits the county’s commitment to taking steps toward transit-oriented development and more walkable communities, noting that Bethesda could be and has been an ideal testing ground for these changes. He cites the promise of a new south entrance to the Bethesda Metro station and the proposed Purple Line. But when it comes to funding environmentally friendly measures, “Energy efficiency and global warming get crumbs off the table,” says Hauck, “and the parking garage gets the steak.”
Update, May 7: According to a representative from the Montgomery County Council, at its work session today, the full Council tentatively approved the parking garage planned for Bethesda's Lot 31. While a few council members did raise concerns about the project, no one introduced a motion to overturn or alter granting approval. On May 22, the project is expected to receive the final go-ahead when the Council officially votes on the county government's capital budget. Any changes to the plan between now and then are unlikely.

5th & I: The Final Four

March Madness it isn't, but the teams may be competing every bit as hard, and now its down to the final four. The District has narrowed its list of developers for its project at 5th and I Streets down to four: JBG, Buccini/Pollin, Potomac Investment Properties, and a group comprised of Holland Development, Donohoe Development, Spectrum Management, and Harris Development. 463 I Street, the half-acre site in Mt. Vernon Triangle, had attracted seven bids by the March 7 deadline, but three got voted off the island.

Since we now only had to research four proposals, instead of seven, we thought we would show you a preview of what to expect:

The Arts at 5th and I (Holland-Donohoe): A Shalom Baranes-designed creation (rendering below) that would reach 120 feet in height, with a swanky ME by Melia, a Spanish hotel chain opening their first venue in the States. Sitting on top of the 174-unit hotel would be a 96 unit residence, and underground (alleviating noise issues) would sport Boisdale, a London-based live jazz club.













Buccini/Pollin: With master Architect Sorg & Associates, BPG is planning a 130-foot, 12-story building that would house not just one but two hotels: A 186-room Aloft hotel and 128-bed Element hotel, sitting on top of a two-story, 30,000-s.f. entertainment venue called World Cafe Live.

JBG: No catchy name yet, but with design by New York-based FXFOWLE (we're not being obnoxious, they spell it in all caps), the project would include a 230-bed hotel, 187 market rate residences, 34 subsidized residential units, and 44,000 s.f. of retail/commercial space "appropriately scaled to serve the community" with "priority to local retailers." In addition to the subject parcel, JBG will add its contract negotiations with the sellers of adjacent parcels, upping the space that could be developed.

i5 (Potomac Investment Properties): And since it looks like a hotel is destined to occupy the site, PIP is proposing a 79-room Avalon hotel - an independent four-star hotel now in Portland and, it claims, only the 7th LEED certified hotel on the planet. Capping the hotel would be 84 units of mixed income apartments, some of which would be dedicated to artists who would live, work, and just plain be creative on site. Designed by Martinez & Johnson Architecture, the whole building would be designed to achieve a LEED Gold rating. But forget environmentalism, Constantine Stavropolous - owner of Tryst, Open City, and the Diner - would open a fourth retail venue on site (we don't want to bias the decision makers, but they make the only good cappuccino in the city). The scrupulous reader has already realized that PIP has a far smaller total unit count, an intentional decision that building the project as Matter of Right, rather than seeking zoning changes, would allow it to start the project 'within a year' of gaining control of the site.

New Condo in Columbia Heights

There's a new condo in town. Though that wouldn't have been so newsworthy a few years ago, the dearth of new construction makes us happy to be able to report that inventory doesn't just shrink. Drummond Development has come out of the ground with Privado, its most recent project, a 16-unit building on Chapin Street in Columbia Heights.

The project will sit on the crest of the Hill overlooking DC, reportedly providing rare views across the city from the upper floors. Developers hope that adjacent Meridian Hill Park, as well as the recently opened DC USA and newly revived Columbia Heights center, will be an attractant for condo sales, but aren't taking chances. According to Steve Schwat of Drummond, the condominium will feature "real wood stained entry doors, solid real wood floors...dove tail drawers, and Siedle full color video/audio entry systems with biometric fingerprint access." Not mincing words, Schwat says that interior details permeate the thought behind the building, including "super-silent powerful bath fans - not those cheap noise makers everyone else uses...even our garbage disposals are better. Its designed for those that appreciate true quality."

Drummond has seemingly not lost its footing in the current market, completing numerous apartment renovations throughout DC as well as having recently completed Meridian Heights, The Drummond, Archbold, Providence Square, and Penn Circle, all condo projects in or near downtown DC. The project is designed by PGN Architects., and should be complete late this year; the units will range in price from the high $300's to the $900's.

Restoration to Rejuvenate Aging Eyesore in Shaw

One of the city's more historic rowhouses will soon get a renovation and conversion to a multi-family building, now that the Historic Preservation Review Board has approved Community Three Development, LLC’s conceptual design for a rear addition to a historic row house at 444 M St. NW.

The house was built in the late 1870s and had fallen into disrepair (see picture); as a result, the Board had “previously determined that [the property did] not contribute to the character of the historic district.” After complaints from neighbors, in May 2007, 444 M St. became the subject of one of Mayor Adrian Fenty’s Ward 2 “Operation: Fix It” projects, wherein government agencies devote several days to improving a particular neighborhood. Representatives of the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs built a temporary blockade to prevent use of the garage. But first, the Department of Public Works had to tow an equally abandoned truck from the property, apparently used solely for “illicit criminal activity”.

Now, Grant Epstein, the President of Community Three Development, LLC, intends to make Bob Vila proud. Besides renovating the gutted, deteriorating original row house, he plans to take advantage of the depth of the lot (194) by building a four-story addition behind the original house. Epstein describes the project as “one structure with a courtyard in the middle… in order to provide light to all the units.” His current plan calls for eight units that would be designed for use as either condo or rental units.

Given that the Review Board has given the go-ahead, Epstein projects that creation of architectural drawings will last approximately six months, the process of receiving a permit will take two to six months, and construction should last about a year.

814 Thayer Street Seeks Approval

Tomorrow, the Montgomery County Planning Board will hold a hearing on a proposal to tear down the former site of the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) in Silver Spring and construct in its place a modernist five-story condominium building.

The plan calls for a 52-unit residence at 814 Thayer Avenue, between Fenton and Grove Streets, a five-story building with shifting floorplates to create overlapping residences (see above rendering). The new condos, replacing the NAD building and adjacent parking lot, would include 45 market-rate residences and seven Moderately Priced Dwelling Units. In building residences, the project will address concerns of the Silver Spring Central Business District Sector Plan, which notes that currently the "disjointed pattern of commercial activity and the lack of a residential population [in Fenton Village] dilute pedestrian traffic - a key component of retail activity."

Because of regulations mandating that 20 percent of the project's area be developed as public-use space, the proposed condos would be set back 17 feet from Thayer Avenue, allowing for a 4,2620-s.f. public plaza, with plans for trees and other greenery, game tables, and two county-mandated art projects

Since its last reviewed submission in November, planners have consulted with an artist and can now provide more details about one of the proposed - well, mandated - displays, designed in honor of the NAD (now half a mile away, on Fenton Street): "Down-lit glass columns separate the work into panels of inspirational quotes to add color and vibrancy. The free-standing piece on the northeast side of the plaza will be a historic teletype machine...A glass piece of 'paper' will serve as an artistic intervention and show how Braille text was created by the machine."

814 Thayer LLC purchased the $4-million property, which currently houses an office building, in May 2006, and its development plan was first reviewed by the Montgomery County Planning Board in November 2007. The original NAD building dates back to 1965, and was purchased by the Association in 1971 for $640,000.

UPDATE: This project is a joint venture between owner/developer Banneker Ventures and co-developer Four Points, LLC. Banneker projects the project will break ground in fall of 2008 and complete construction the following year.

Parkside Terrace Apartment Renovation to Begin

The Community Preservation and Development Corporation (CPDC), Washington DC's largest affordable housing developer, will announce on Monday the beginning of the reconstruction of the failed Parkside Terrace housing project. The renovation marks what District officials hope will be a watershed in the provision of affordable housing, many of which began amid utopian dreams of lifting up the working poor into self-sustaining communities, and ended as crime-ridden enclaves in dilapidated buildings. Officials expect to ready the building for occupancy by the summer of next year.


The twelve-story high-rise at 3700 9th St., SE, vacant since 2005, will be converted into 316 units of "affordable" rental housing, with seven floors of housing for low-income seniors with rental assistance by the DC Housing Authority. The remaining five floors will become "workforce housing" targeting small families, in all a $73 million project financed entirely by the city through the DC Housing Finance Agency through a bond program.

CPDC's own press release called Parkside Terrace Apartments, built in the late 1960's as a Section 8 housing provider, "a major source of blight" in Ward 8, despite early visions of a new era for occupants. Monday's ceremony will mark the beginning of a complete gut of the building by Harkins Builders, with hopes of a new start for working families, and of improving the general community. Let's hope the plan works out better this time.

Fenty Announces Petworth Metro Development Opportunities

At a Friday morning press conference just north of the Georgia Ave-Petworth Metro Station, Mayor Adrian Fenty announced the District's intention to solicit development bids for three government-owned properties on the 3800 block of Georgia Avenue NW. Properties for bid are 3813, formerly Caribbean Cuisine, now empty; 3815, an empty storefront; and 3925-29, a vacant lot. The former two properties will be offered as one development unit.

Mayor Fenty gave a brief, grim history of the properties prior to their purchase by the District, highlights of which included foreclosure, the demolition of a half-standing and decrepit photo lab, and the discovery of a dead body. (Incidentally, one of the only operational businesses on the block is Latney’s Funeral Home.)

What will fill the decaying block? With bids due this summer and the District’s decision not coming until fall, no one knows yet. But Ward 4 Councilmember Muriel Bowser, also in attendance at the press conference, spoke of “quality retail, quality dining, and places for our residents to gather and stop taking their dollars out of our city.” Any residential development would include the requisite 30 percent affordable housing, and all projects would have to meet green building standards. Former President Clinton may belatedly get his wish for a revitalized Georgia Avenue.

Just steps away from the conference, Donatelli Development was hard at work on Park Place, its $60 million mixed-use project above the Metro. Donatelli has also purchased an empty lot with 10,000+ developable s.f. on the corner of the 3800 block. In addition, Fenty intimated that the Safeway Food & Drug across the street would undergo renovation or redevelopment of some kind.

Councilmember Bowser hopes this block of Petworth will serve as a “model for what we want to do along this entire corridor.” Mayor Fenty has long voiced support for Ward 4 development. As Bowser put it, “I like to think of this as the mayor putting the people’s money where his mouth is.”

Basilica Lofts

Sponsored Announcement


Final phase: Beautiful new condominiums starting at $299,500 for spacious condos with two-bedroom plus den, with a three-bedroom, three-bath, three-level penthouse available. Basilica Lofts, the conversion of a historic row of storefronts into two and three-level lofts, named after the ideal vistas of the nearby Dome of the Immaculate Conception at Catholic University. Classically traditional on the outside, interiors evoke the best of true loft living - large, open spaces, long expanses of hardwood floors, Close to Metro, Catholic, and Trinity College, Basilica Lofts borders the booming NoMa neighborhood, now realizing the long-planned development of massive commercial space that makes it the fastest-growing neighborhood of DC. Only 3 units remaining.

Lincoln Theatre's Development Debut

This morning, Mayor Adrian Fenty held a press conference to raise the curtain on the city's plan to save and develop U Street's historic Lincoln Theatre. The project will entail development of the parking lot behind the historic D.C. theater, with some of the resulting profits being earmarked to save the beleaguered venue. The 88 year old District-owned theater had received much press as of late, issuing warnings of closure unless it receives funding sufficient to cover its operating expense shortfall.

The Deputy Mayor's Office for Planning and Economic Development has now issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for developers interested in the space, located in back of 1215 U Street NW. We're guessing that few people will miss the 40 surface parking spaces; the Mayor opined that, when developed, the lot could hold a 90,000-s.f. building, possibly occupied by a hotel, offices, or residences.

Among the requirements for any potential developer: the stipulation that at least 30 percent of any housing units be set aside as affordable housing, as would be obligatory in any DC-owned property. Also, projects must include "at least 7,500 square feet of flexible event space, including a restaurant-quality kitchen, which would be managed by the theater management."

Ward 1 Councilmember Jim Graham, also in attendance, expressed his obvious excitement that the project has begun “moving and shaking.” He and Mayor Fenty both emphasized the importance of the lot’s development to the continued economic growth of the U Street area —and its benefit to Lincoln Theatre. As Mayor Fenty put it, “This is and was black Broadway” - and he wants to keep it that way - and by combining affordable housing, some needed development on U Street, and saving the theatre all in one act, we're guessing he'll get a standing ovation.

Washington DC commercial property news

Washington Adventist Hospital Presents Silver Spring Move

On Thursday, the Montgomery County Planning Board is considering the Washington Adventist Hospital's request to develop a 49-acre property in the White Oak region of Silver Spring. The hospital purchased the land in 2007 for $11 million after determining it had outgrown its century-old home at 7600 Carroll Avenue in Takoma Park, a 294-bed, 14-acre campus with 13 of those developable.

The hospital describes its current facilities as “crowded,” "difficult to access,” “aging,” and “inefficient.” Geoffrey Morgan, Vice-President of Washington Adventist’s Vision for Expanded Access, WAH's strategic planning group, spins it more professionally, citing “a host of physical challenges related to a constrained campus.” The hospital’s property used to be bounded by woods, which have since been developed into a residential area leery of helicopter noise and confined by neighborhood- sized roads; i.e., slower route to the ER.

The new property is located about six miles north of its current location, on Plum Orchard Drive just off of Cherry Hill Road, less than a mile from the intersection with Route 29. The development plan calls for growth in two phases. The first includes construction of the main eight-story hospital, an ambulatory services center, two parking structures, and a medical office building; and later, construction of a second medical office building. Morgan’s theoretical timeline has the project breaking ground in 2010, with the first phase estimated to take three years.

Vision for Expanded Access has consulted RTKL Associates throughout the site planning and master planning process. According to plans, while the new facility will have approximately the same number of beds as the old, the increase in space means that most of them will be private, rather than shared. The hospital will feature “state-of-the-art equipment and technology, and more space for clinical services, including cardiac care, emergency medicine, oncology services, behavioral health care and other medical services. The new design also incorporates enhanced patient safety and improved visitor and patient flow throughout the facility.”

True to its Adventist founders, the hospital emphasizes its “holistic approach to community health care, which focuses on the well-being of mind, body and spirit of patients, visitors and staff.” In keeping with these beliefs, it is planning to build green and achieve LEED certification.

If the Planning Board recommends approval, the process will move to the Hearing Examiner and Board of Appeals for consideration, followed by the Planning Board. Morgan expects that zoning approval will take the rest of 2008. To move, the hospital must also apply for a certificate of need, administered by the Maryland Health Care Commission.

Good luck, Washington Adventist Hospital. We hope you get approval stat.