West End's Newest Condos

Washington DC's West End neighborhood has two more condominiums to call its own. The neighborhood that had until the past few years been the DMZ between Georgetown and Dupont, home to emergency vehicles, gas stations, and crumbling embassies, has nearly completed its neoresidential transformation. After two years of construction, Eastbanc Development's 22 West has begun moving residents into the building. One block away, the Tiverton Apartment building is now undergoing renovation to convert the historic apartments into a condominium. The Tiverton, at 1121 24th Street, was purchased by Keener-Squire in early 2008, which removed the tenants to make way for a full renovation and conversion into the West End Flats. Sales by Coldwell Banker Residential are expected to begin in September. 

Sale of the building touched off a firestorm last fall when Georgetown-based Eastbanc proposed a comprehensive development package that included the Tiverton. Under the proposal, Eastbanc would have purchased three parcels for market rate, including the Tiverton and adjacent West End Library site, and would have provided the District with a new fire station, library and Special Operations Division of the Metropolitan Police Department, all of which demeaningly outdated. The DC Council approved the real estate sale last July but, waking up the next morning and realizing what it had done, was suddenly revolted at the non-competitiveness of the agreement, and on October 2nd, with neighborhood activists protesting to have more input in the District's sale of land, unanimously passed a motion to reconsider the sale. The Council then passed a second motion proposed by Councilmember Jack Evans to table the property disposition, which effectively ended discussions on the deal. The Council initially approved the development plans "in the belief that [the Council] was protecting the rights of the Tiverton tenants," said Evans at the time, but in the end the entire council buckled, and eventually sold the Tiverton separately, sacrificing development of the library, fire station and police station. The West End is surrounded by tony condos like the Columbia Residences, which converted the old Columbia Women's Hospital, and Ritz Carlton, also by Eastbanc. The Tiverton is expected to be ready in early 2009. 22 West, designed by Shalom Baranes with a zinc exterior, is selling its 95 condos from the upper $700k's.

Washington DC retail and real estate news

Industry Insight: Architect Phil Esocoff

Responsible for the design of Capitol Hill's Senate Square, the ballpark area's Onyx, the Whitman, and the Historic Greyhound Station at 1100 New York Avenue, NW, Phil Esocoff, Principal of Esocoff and Associates, is as creative in person as his buildings are in presentation. With an office full of architects quietly scheming and tracing the next building, about which everyone will have something to say, Phil Esocoff agreed to talk about urban design, bricks, and which buildings he would invite to dinner. 

When did you become interested in architecture? 

Esocoff: When I was in 5th grade there was a photograph of the Guggenheim in my weekly reader and I made my parents take me to see the building, that’s when I decided I wanted to be an architect. 

What do you think urban architecture should achieve? 

Esocoff: I think the term would be genus loci, the idea of it being rooted in the place and time and the culture of the place. It’s what makes the world interesting. If you’re traveling to a place, you don’t want to find the place you left, you want to find something new. And it’s great to have architecture grow out of that. It could be climate, craft, and traditions. Certainly in history architecture has been based on the materials that have been available, whether its wood and you have wooden architecture or stone and stone architecture. So when you go back and think of history you find that brick came from local clay and depending on what materials you have for fuel, that changes the color or outcome of the brick. So unbeknownst to a lot of people today, our regional architecture has always been very much affected by what was available at the time. Whether it’s a sod house on the plains or log cabin somewhere. It’s like we don’t realize milk doesn’t come from a bottle, it comes from a cow. 

So how would you describe your style? 

Esocoff: It’s not a style, it’s probably more like an aesthetic that comes from looking for some discovery of what the purpose of the building is, what’s the technology used to build, and what’s going to make it last a long time. I like buildings that will get better over time like good wines. There is a quote that says, “Finishing ends construction, then weathering constructs the finishes.” And so it's that softening that limestone or brick gets as it collects residue. 

Are there buildings in DC that come to mind when you think of structures getting better over time? Esocoff: Federal Triangle looks better now than it probably did when it was brand new. That concept is also something I have in mind for my Canterbury project.

What’s been your favorite project that you’ve designed?

Esocoff: I would say that my longtime favorite is the one I did at 2401 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW before I started this firm. There are flags on top and little brackets that hold the canopies that are donkeys and elephants. You couldn't do that anywhere else. It is so perfect for where it is. 

What is your favorite building in DC? 

Esocoff: (Laughs) thats a hard question. For interior, it's hard to beat the Library of Congress. My favorite building is 518 C Street, NE. It's a small office building that Amy (Weinstein, also his wife) did in Stanton Park. 

What are some of the projects that you have coming up? 

Esocoff: We have several and they are all exciting, really the ones nearing completion are the Dumont at 4th and Mass, that’s 401 and 425 Mass Avenue and there is also the Onyx by the ballpark. Still being designed is Marina View in Southwest. That’s exciting because we are renovating I.M. Pei buildings from 1962, and in some cases following original design drawings that were somewhat badly engineered, so we are trying to bring it a little closer to what the original design intent was, but also use double glazing for energy reasons. The exciting part is we've hired the original landscape architecture firm to come back and redo the garden between the two buildings and update it in light of contemporary understandings of good urban designs. There is an author – Oscar Newman who wrote Defensible Space. And he said there should be a clear definition of ownership and responsibility for space. Public space especially, helps give some quality to the urban realm, so people aren’t in this kind of ambiguous relationship with it. So in this case, we're opening up a place that will be open to the public during the day with established east-west routes through the site that are clearly inviting to the public. They will be able to go east-west through this superblock that was established so they can get through to the Metro. We are trying to re-establish the pedestrian circulation that used to flow through here. So while the street isn’t being re-opened, people can traverse the site on attractive circulation paths. 

Do you tend to prefer historical projects like that one, or ground-up design? 

Esocoff: Almost all of my projects are ground up, we haven’t done too many actual renovations. We did one at the Chilean Embassy on Mass Ave, where we put things back in order that had been changed. You wouldn’t call it a real restoration but we mitigated some renovations of the past so that if in the future they want to do a full blown renovation, they can. We tried to do a respectful renovation The Pei buildings are really going to set a standard for contemporary design and how you renovate a building from the 1960s, that's not even 50 years old. That project went through an informal process with the HPRB to almost set a standard for how buildings in that area of the city are renovated - what would be the philosophical approach to dealing with the buildings and the spaces there in a way that kept the baby but threw out the bath water. One of the things with the 60's is they threw out baby and bath water, so if you want to learn from history, you have to take a more circumspect view of what our

predecessors did and not just throw it out wholesale which is what they did in a way. They erased the street grid as though the street grid that had worked for 200 years was somehow a mistake. There was no mistake in the layout of the street grid. There was no need to have done that. It was a misguided idea of super block planning and wholesale destruction of historic fabric that we wouldn’t do today. In a way, if we went in there and started tearing down old buildings, we wouldn’t have learned anything from what they did, because some of these buildings have character – they are historic artifacts for good or ill and if somehow they can be retained and adaptively reused in a respectful way for what qualities they do have, that’s actually better than just doing the same thing they did.

What is your view of the architect's role in the PUD process? 

Esocoff: Well we look at the zoning and look at the description of the site. We look at what the surrounding context is, in other words - what would be the best front door for the project - is it on a boulevard, what should the address be. Whats the best way to present the building? It's funny that we've slipped into this idea that planning is a restriction on peoples' rights to plan economically. Somehow people have forgotten that planning can add value to land by setting up rules that people can use then to plan accordingly. It is the opposite of Tyson's Corner where everyone could do what they wanted, but the net value there is probably less than if you took the same square footage starting in the center of Farragut Square and worked your way out. If you applied DC's plan to Tyson's Corner, you might have more real estate value. So what do we do? We look at the context and we look at very basic things like where the front door is, where the parking entrance should be and where the loading dock will be. Those things have to be dealt with very early on. That stuff sounds very prosaic but its really the foundation of it. It no more prosaic than saying, "Here are the boundaries of the site, plan within them". So you look at that and then I guess what we developed was kind of a philosophical attitude about what good urban architecture is in the context of the District's plan. The District is interesting as a plan because it has very wide streets and its streets are so wide that in other cities you could almost put a park in the middle of the street. So it is really incumbent upon the people building here to build to the property line for a good portion of the facade and define public space by project initiative. In some ways its very much a description of the underlying premise for our political system or our political culture – people are free to do what they want, but if they live up to certain civic responsibilities, we are all the better for it. You will then get a sense of an urban space that is a linear park that runs for miles. If you think about some of the streets in the city, they are about 150 to 160 feet wide. Essentially, you have space that is wider than a football field that runs for miles and it’s ironic that citizens or lots of people in district will sometime object to buildings because they say they will use up too much space. 

We have a lot of undefined, two dimensional areas. I would say that one of our problems is that if you really look at all of our spaces, they aren't developed nearly as well and don't have the texture and usability as any number of spaces in Paris, for example. It is also unfortunate that not everyone thinks you should have to take care of your part of the public realm just as a voluntary exercise. In the BIDs, it's different, but you'll see sometimes the area between the curb and sidewalk that is barren or full of broken glass and dirt and no one feels that they have to take care of that. The BIDs have done a lot though. I would also say that it's unfortunate that more thought isn't given to the facades of buildings. Each developer should think of how their project affects the view from the building across the street. Not just in a brochure, but in terms of selling office space and looking across at non-public elevation. I can't help but think that a lot of real estate value is incinerated. If you're stuck with an office on an alley looking at bland facades and boring window patterns, and that space could be courts from the center of the block that are quiet and attractive and secondary exposures, and not just the back of a building. (Laughs) It's almost like each developer should pay the developer on the other side. You don’t get to see your own, you see the one across the street and you don’t get money for that office space.

How do height restrictions affect your work? 

Esocoff: I like to think of heights in the District as a schedule of heights and based on what I said about defining public space, they have to do with what the original planners thought the right height would be for the width of the streets to create a boulevard. The analogy I think of is the big room upstairs in the Renwick Gallery where pictures are hung three or four pictures high. And out streets are small galleries and you look up into windows and see different slices of lights. The windows are like picture frames. Its like you are in this public room and the walls are the facades, and if everyone builds a certain amount, it will be a nice picture gallery. I think the restrictions are a good thing. It means you’ve got this kind of nice coherence. because unlike other cities, in DC its a little bit like you took a waffle iron and poured in a batter called "highest and best use" and slammed the lid down and it squeezed out. Washington from the air seems to have this grid and diagonal boulevard system that looks like a waffle pattern. It's very satisfying that now, 200 years later, you cant stand on Dupont Circle and look down clearly defined streets. The Constitution allows people to pursue life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, but in buildings, you don’t see a lot of that. To fully express the underlying value of society, each building should be self expressive. You've been given this freedom to go up to a certain elevation and the fact that some buildings sit there mutely is kind of disappointing. People do a lot of excruciatingly boring things and say if that if they could have gone higher, it would have been more exciting and I don't believe that. I like buildings like Gaudi's buidings – no one looks at them and says, "too bad they aren’t sky scrapers." But people go down streets in DC and think its a problem that there is a height limit. To paraphrase Shakespeare, "the problem, dear Brutus, is not in our height limit, but in ourselves." What I like is that you can take time to lovingly design each inch of the façade. Its not like there are six stories out of view; people get to see it all. People get to see what your doing. People see every square inch and that’s fun to work on. If a city is an expression of our culture, you have to be able to say what you think about that. 

What are some of the other architecture firms that you admire? 

Esocoff: My favorite architect from the District is Amy Weinstein, although I guess the disclaimer is, she's my wife (laughs). She is now starting up again as the Weinstein Studio within Esocoff and Associates, and she has a project on Capitol Hill, the Eastern Market Metro Plaza, its an urban design scheme that she is going to make sing. We are also collaborating in a way on the Wardman West for JBG in Woodley Park, just west of Wardman Park Tower. I think it will set a new standard for DC buildings. Some of the architects I like are Mark McInturff, Bob Kearney, and certainly Shalom's (Shalom Baranes) work is consistently excellent as is Bonstra Haresign's. They do tight brickwork that I really like. I could go on and on about brick, but what I like about their work, is the nice sculptural clarity. I don’t think our predecessors wanted us to keep doing the same thing. Just being different for the sake of being different and not building on the past is not much of an accomplishment. 

Who are some past architects that have inspired you? 

Esocoff: There are a lot – I think Louis Kahn, he used a lot of brick too, he taught at Penn when I was there. There was always this underlying meaning in what he was doing. 

It seems like you have a thing for brick.

Esocoff: Well its Kahn and it's something you can work with – what else can you make buildings out of? There is stone like we did for 1100 New York Ave (NW). But I guess it's because a lot of projects I have worked on have been in neighborhoods and in budget levels where brick seemed like the right material. There is a lot of expressive value in it. I think you have a role in the world, you're not alone and its nice there there is material that you can use to provide some meaningful work for other people. I think we have some great craftsman in the world and if we also have great drawings, I believe that they will always rise to the task and build a new design. That is based on my experience in my last thirty years in DC. We believe they will do a great job, and they always do. All these people have a heart and soul and want to do something meaningful. 

How would you change the development process for the better? 

Esocoff: I think there needs to be more of a sense of self respect. I think a lot of people don’t take this seriously. I think every site I work on is the most important in the world, and each developer should think that too, because the communities that developments are in think that. There needs to be better public discussion among community groups and government. That has taken a dramatic turn thanks to Mayor Williams. Since his administration there has been a renaissance in the Office of Planning, but I think there still needs to be more public discussion about what makes DC special. There isn’t a lot of discussion of what architecture goes with that plan. When I look at buildings I think about having a party and each building coming to it. You look at the building and think, "would you want that building to come to dinner?" If it looks uptight, you say, "no", or if it looks like it chews with its mouth open, that's probably my building (laughs), but if it looks like it has a story to tell, then you want to learn more about it.

Washington DC commercial real estate news

Adams Morgan Church Resurrected as Hotel

On Wednesday, Beztak Companies and DC-based Friedman Capital presented plans for their conversion of the First Church of Christ Scientist, in the center of Adams Morgan, into a 150-room "boutique hotel." The concept submitted involves the construction of a hotel within and behind the church at 1770 Euclid Street, NW. Under plans submitted to DC's Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB), the century-old church will be designated as a landmark site, undergo major restoration, and connect to a larger, seventy to ninety foot structure that will replace the current City Paper building. 

The 180,000 s.f. boutique hotel at the intersection of Euclid Street and Columbia Road, NW, will be partnering with Ian Schrager, the developer responsible for New York's Studio 54 and Gramercy Park Hotel, and credited by some with creating the "boutique hotel" genre. Not aiming for your average conventioneer, the developer plans to convert the main sanctuary into a grand ballroom with a 500-guest capacity, and the mezzanine section for an elevated bar overlooking the ballroom. The two areas will be separated by a glass curtain that can be alternatively transparent or reflective. 

Designed by New York-based Handel Architects, the project, in keeping with the boutique theme, will host large, up-scale, "exclusive" events. Your average guest will not get to climb the front steps - those will be reserved for special galas and events, thank you very much. "One of the most important aspects of the sanctuary space is volume and preserving the structure of the space," said Brian Friedman of Friedman Capital. Connecting the church to the new structure has presented a logistical challenge in preserving its historic integrity. At the behest of HPRB, the developers will expand two existing windows in the church's former nursery to act as a connector, minimizing damage to the facade. HPRB also recommended increasing the space between the buildings, currently planned around twenty feet. 

No doubt the developer is mindful of the fate of Il Palazzo, the old Italian Embassy nearly next door, which had been sanctioned by DC Zoning for conversion into a condominium, but was later 'landmarked' by HPRB, effectively shutting down the project after sales had already begun. Until recently, the site had been marked for a 69-unit condominium, initially to be developed First Management Group of Chevy Chase, but later revised their plans in favor of a hotel. "I want to note that we tried very hard to come up with a type of business that could go in there to preserve a church that is 100 years old. We needed a business where, 100 years later, you could still see that church. A hotel was the only thing we could come up with to make that happen. We started with condos but we think this development brings better progress," Friedman said. He added that the project would offer 4,000 s.f. of community space for meetings and events. "We are very proud that there will be community space, to give you an idea, the penthouse or condo units are half the size of the community space," he said, referring to the ten condo units destined for the penthouse level. 

But while developers project an urbanizing, avant-garde creation that will invigorate the neighborhood, neighborhood organizations are predictably wary, especially about the height - this being Washington DC. "I think that in the spirit and concept of project we are fully behind it. I think that some commissioners are hesitant to put full support behind until we see full elevation and full plans," said Bryan Weaver of ANC 1C Peter Lyden of the Reed-Cooke Neighborhood Association was less credulous. "We've not seen any definitive drawings with height, density, or views, so we really haven't had any solid detail to make a decision. We do have comments that were received...one from long time resident reads, 'In my view, this height simply goes beyond heights of the neighborhood...the height should fit the character, not change it.' We welcome the idea, but it has to fit the zoning of the area," Lyden said. To which the developer replies that the building will be hidden behind the church and will not overtake it. 

To alleviate traffic on Champlain Street, the developer plans to follow the example of the Georgetown Ritz and incorporate the parking driveway into the site. Friedman and his team will submit a PUD and return to the HPRB in October; until then, the board recommended moving the pool, which will be surrounded by the hotel and next to a spa and bar, rather than on the roof, to muffle the noise of festive guests that might disturb the late-night hordes on 18th Street. The developer wanted the pool on the roof but neighbors were concerned about noise; the board recommended moving the pool up a few stories in order to put rooms under it. The board also recommended studying the building at the street level to "avoid an overly commercial look for an addition to a masonry church building in what is a largely residential area of the city." In fact the building would be the lone hotel in the Adams Morgan and Mt. Pleasant neighborhoods. This will be first foray into hotel production and several other single and multi-family projects across the country. The new church-hotel does not yet have a name or an established construction timeline.

Washington DC commercial property news

O Street Market Gets Its Dough

The District of Columbia announced today an agreement with Roadside Development to help finance the O Street Market, a mixed-use development that will likely be the showpiece for a revitalized Shaw. The deal will provide a $35 million tax increment financing (TIF) package to help developers bridge a financial gap and achieve the $260 million needed for the project. The current market, built in 1881 and now a crumbling memento of the neighborhood's failure to attract the investment, has sat vacant for years, but will now be transformed into a mixed-use anchor that will include 630 residential units, 80-100 of which will be affordable, senior housing units, a 200-room hotel, a 560-space parking garage and 87,000 s.f. of retail that maintains the historic facade. Giant will replace its 28-year-old Giant grocery store with CityMarket, a 71,000 s.f. store that will be the largest supermarket in DC and the largest Giant store in the chain.

Under the new financing agreement, the District's contribution will support bond issuance to cover a portion of initial construction costs and the developer will repay the bonds with part of the new tax revenue generated by the project. If the DC council passes the pending financing package at their July 15th meeting, construction will begin in a year. "This is what we need, it is what we deserve, it is long overdue, but now on its way," Mayor Adrian Fenty told a cheering crowd of Shaw residents at this afternoon's press conference. "This is a big day for us, I would like to see the O Street Market get the same kind of attention and expediency that we saw at Eastern Market, so it's exciting. It is a project that has something for everyone, community benefits - affordable housing, senior housing, parking - it really has the support of the entire community. It was just frustrating to see it go through so many hurdles to get to where it is now," Cary Silverman, DC Council, Ward 2 Candidate told DCMud.

Roadside originally slated the market for renovations to accommodate new retail space, but heavy snow brought the roof down both on their plans and the building itself in February of 2003. Since then Roadside formulated a $250 million revised plan to not only bring the historic market back to its original splendor but to fill four acres of land between 9th, 7th, P and O Streets, NW with residential and commercial space. In August 2007, the Historic Preservation Review Board approved revitalization of the site and the Mayor's agent for historic preservation ok'd partial demolition because of the development's special merit, leaving the Zoning Commission as the only entity standing between Shaw residents and their commerce. But a lack of agreement between Zoning and the developers led to three months of hearings; an October 15th meeting ended with Zoning's complaints about the 110-ft. building height and they sent the project back to the design phase again on November 19th. The Zoning Commission approved the project for "set down" at the December 10th meeting, and gave it final approval on May 12th. Developers eliminated the residential space planned for the top two floors and deleted 100 parking spaces and 20 affordable units from the scheme to reduce construction costs and compensate for the loss of potential income. In addition to a brand new grocery store, other project benefits include $255,000 worth of charitable contributions to Shaw organizations, a shuttle to operating Giant stores during construction, 400 construction jobs, 400 permanent jobs, and the reconnection of 8th street to increase pedestrian activity in the area.

Washington DC commercial property news

National Building Museum Features Butterfield House

SPONSORED ARTICLE The National Building Museum will be sponsoring a tour of the Butterfield House, at 1020 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, on Friday, June 27th. The organization, a Congressionally-chartered institute to enhance more thoughtful and architectural techniques, sponsors its monthly tour to "highlight special construction methods and innovative technologies used in the building process. Some tours have focused on green building strategies, while others have examined preservation projects of historic buildings." SGA Architects, a Bethesda-based firm performing both architecture and multi-family development, converted the site from an auto repair shop to a high-end condominium, completing the project earlier this year. The developer is now selling the remaining 8 units in the 28 unit building, and is celebrating what will be an iconic building due to its classic design and Pennsylvania Avenue address. The new condo sits just two blocks from the Eastern Market Metro station and Barrack's Row, and advertises such features as cork sound remediation layering between the floor and subfloor, reclaimed wide-plank cherry floors, underground parking, and video entry systems. Condos start at $359,000 for one bedroom and at $575,000 for two bedrooms. 

Capitol Hill real estate development news

Monument v. Akridge - Everyone Wins

In a Solomonic decision, the Washington Metro Area Transit Authority (WMATA) today agreed to sell the controversial Southeast Bus Garage properties at the ballpark - skirmished over by Akridge Development and Monument Realty, LLC - to both developers. WMATA's decision ends a legal fracas for control of the property WMATA bestowed upon Akridge, an award Monument claimed was improper. The site is located at the corner of Half and M Streets, just one block from the new Nationals ballpark and across the street from the Navy Yard Metro station, and includes a bus garage and employee parking lot. Akridge will pay over $46 million for the 69,607 s.f. bus garage while Monument will pay over $22 million for the 27,558 s.f. parking lot. 

Today's sale is the culmination of an ongoing saga spurred by Monument's lawsuit against WMATA's sale of the properties to Akridge last fall. Monument, which already controls the other side of Half Street, contested the sale and in February won an injunction prohibiting sale of the garage, pending further consideration by the judge. Monument Realty had originally planned 100,000 s.f. of retail for the site on the western side of Half Street, the main strip leading to the ballpark, which would have added to their 275,000 s.f. of office space, 50,000 s.f. of retail and 320-unit residential project already underway on the eastern side of Half Street. 

He's out; no he's safe... The suicide squeeze began when both Monument and Akridge responded to WMATA's solicitation for the garage. Because Monument’s proposal contained an escalation clause that Metro’s offering specifically forbade (oops), WMATA disregarded the escalation and judged Akridge's bid higher, awarding the site to Akridge for $69 million. But Monument asked for the instant replay, pointing back to December 2005 when the Anacostia Waterfront Corporation (AWC) pronounced that Monument Realty was the Master Developer for the Half Street Area. Under this declaration, the master of the street had the right to develop all District-owned properties along Half Street. As Monument's holdings increased to include the eastern side of the street including the Navy Yard Metro, AWC tried to negotiate the acquisition of the bus garage to complete the package. 

Here's the Pitch...Strike One 

Monument, all the while still acquiring real estate in the area, made an unsolicited bid on the bus garage, working directly with WMATA, not AWC, which had just gained control of the area. Metro, deciding to make the call on its own, responded to Monument's offer with an Invitation for Bidders, hoping to get more out of a competitive process. But when the District asked that WMATA end the solicitation and coordinate with AWC, WMATA complied.

Strike Two 

It was then that District stepped in and proclaimed it would purchase the site and negotiate directly with developers. WMATA withdrew its invitation and agreed to sell to the District. 

Let me sleep on it.... WMATA says the District subsequently decided not to purchase the bus garage. WMATA, thinking itself free of its first-right obligation, issued a second Invitation for Bidders. This time, ten companies bid – a process that ended last September and resulted in Monument’s bid being disqualified and Akridge being awarded the site. But in drama worthy of a Meatloaf baseball metaphor, Monument sought a Temporary Restraining Order against WMATA on October 26th to enforce the District's right of first refusal as an intended third party beneficiary, claiming breach of contract, fraud, and breach of fiduciary duty. The District Court threw out the tort claims because of WMATA's sovereign immunity, but did not throw out the remainder. Monument re-filed on January 2 of this year, with a revised motion for a preliminary injunction against the sale, which the judge granted at the end of February. At that time, Co-founder and principal of Monument (and former Akridge exec), Jeffery Neal, said,"The Court recognizes the merits of this case by taking the serious step of ordering injunctive relief. We are committed of the Capitol Riverfront neighborhood as evidenced by our investment of tens of millions of dollars in this project over the past several years. We've always had a grand vision for Half Street and realize the importance of the project as it is the gateway to Nationals Park. It is great to know that we still have the opportunity to make the city's goal of having a coordinated development plan. A successful project for us also equals success for the city and for The Nationals." In February’s injunction, the District Court found that WMATA was obligated, based on its own Policies and Procedures, to offer the host government (here, the District) the first right of refusal on any property it sells, priced at fair market value. The decision stopped transfer of the land until the court could review the merits of the case, and left the highly valued property in legal limbo, just as the stadium was getting ready for opening, and set the stage for today's resolution. 

It never felt so good, it never felt so right The compromise announced today will grant Monument a smaller parcel than Akridge, while WMATA happily walks away having closed a deal for about the same as Akridge's $69 million bid. And it will avoid alot of icy stares across high-priced skyboxes.

Washington DC commercial property news

WMATA: Florida Avenue Developer Selected

After announcing yesterday that a decision on the year-old Florida Avenue RFP would not be forthcoming, WMATA's Board of Directors met today in a closed-door session and selected a development team. The decision regarding three lots adjacent to the Shaw-Howard Metro had been held off since May of last year, when bids were submitted, and WMATA Media Contact Angela Gates had prognosticated that a decision would not be made "for another six months." In a surprise decision, WMATA officials today gave its staff permission to negotiate a Development Agreement with Banneker Ventures LLC, Metropolis Development Company, LLC, and District Development Group, LLC. The transit authority did not formalize terms of an agreement, so today's announcement opens negotiations between the winning bidders and WMATA to come to agreement on development of the site, but no final plan is certain. The contest for the site had been between nine submissions in response to last year's RFP, and had been winnowed down to three as of yesterday. WMATA's press release stated exuberantly that "the team has the experience to complete the project," though cited only Metropolis Development's experience, pointing to its completion of Langston Lofts, one of the DC developers earliest projects. The 80-unit condominium was built by MDC above a Metro line, requiring coordination with WMATA to produce caissons to straddle the existing tunnel. According to WMATA's Board Action/Information Summary, "The developer provided a better financial offer than its closest competitor and the same type of development - four to five stories of residential units over a ground floor devoted to retail and arts uses...The third competitor did not meet appraisal benchmarks." Despite the surprise timing of the decision, Merrick Malone, principal and Executive Vice President of Metropolis was upbeat about the project: "Metropolis has proven demonstration to build on top of the Metro tunnel, we know how to go through this process."

Washington DC commercial real estate news

WMATA's Florida Avenue Project: And Then There Were None?

WMATA, which holds title to three key parcels of land on Florida Avenue in Shaw, wants someone to develop its vacant land. But not that badly. WMATA issued an RFP for the properties in April of last year, and nine developers got in line quickly to explain why they should be chosen, but Metro apparently wasn't in a rush to chose a suitor.

According to Angela Gates, Media Relations person for WMATA, board officials will meet today in a closed session to continue the selection process. "There won't be a public announcement for another six months," Gates said.

The process began in April of 2007, when WMATA announced it had received an uninvited offer for the three parcels, located between 7th and 9th Streets on the south side of Florida Avenue. Because WMATA's rules require that it consider competing bids, the Metro authority issued an RFP the same month and required responses by May 30, 2007.

Proposals were due in May of last year at which time nine developers submitted plans, so why, a year later are applicants and neighbors still without an idea of what kind of development WMATA seeks for the land?

Gates said Metro delayed the decision to find a developer for the joint development project because the "Board of Directors wanted further information" on the selection process. WMATA said their questions about the method of selection are confidential, but that the process included, "review of the quality and value of the proposals, the qualifications and experience of the proposers, the ability to implement the project as proposed and the consistency of the proposals with WMATA's needs as well as local development policies and needs." Sounds pretty straightforward.

Gates said there were two stages of the review process and that all applicants still in the running are local development firms, but could not release the names of any companies. In the first round, nine developers expressed interest, this pool was then narrowed down to six, who were invited to submit further proposals. In the second round, four bidders returned, two of which have since merged.

The parcels up for grabs, now an active flea market, is just one block from Howard University Hospital and the Washington Convention Center. Parcel one is 3,800 s.f. with frontage on 9th Street and Florida Avenue. Parcel two, a mere public alley away contains 8,600 s.f. and fronts 8th Street and Florida Avenue, and parcel three, on the other side of 8th street is the largest space at 16,472 s.f. that front Florida Avenue and 8th Street. The parcels are zoned a medium density community center zone that allows a maximum height of 65 feet, with up to 80 percent residential occupancy. The lots do, however, pose a challenge for potential developers. Each lot is encumbered by the Metro tunnel that passes below, limiting excavation to nineteen feet - so much for below-grade parking. According to the RFP, there will be incentives for below-market rate housing, arts, and other such community-serving features. The initial announcement says WMATA is open to both lease and purchase agreements, but prefers the former for obvious reasons.

While there seems to be no rush in achieving this, WMATA said, "The primary consideration in this case is remaining consistent with the local development plan, which supports transit-oriented development and promotes a mixed use of residential, office and retail space. Metro hopes that development around the Shaw-Howard U Metrorail station will help revitalize the area, promote transit-oriented development, increase activity and liveliness, continue U Street's rebirth and promote center city living."

Monument - Arlington Land Swap Approved

A real estate swap between Monument Realty and Arlington County, approved last night by the Arlington County Board, will allow the developer's Monument View project and the County's recreational "Long Bridge Park" development to move forward.

As DCMud reported last year, "Long Bridge Park," formerly known as "North Tract," will be a twenty-eight-acre "state of the art aquatics, health and fitness facility and park" running along the Potomac. Bounded by Shirley Highway Interstate 395, The George Washington Memorial Parkway, and 10th Street, the swap gives the county the last seven of the twenty-eight acres needed to complete the park.

Arlington Board Chairman J. Walter Tejada said the decision was a step in the right direction for the new Potomac facility. "The Board's action today brings us an important step closer to developing a much-needed and long anticipated sports and aquatics facility on this key site. The County will now complete the land swap and move forward," Tejada said.

Monument's portion, located on a 4.7-acre site at 333 and 335 Old Jefferson Davis Highway, just north of Crystal City, will include an eight-story office and retail building with 323,229 s.f. of office space and 3,512 s.f. of ground floor convenience retail. Unlike its Vornadoville neighbors to the south, the 352-unit residential building will rise only four to seven stories, probably necessary due to its proximity to and location directly under the flight path to Reagan National Airport.

Bounded by S. 6th, Ball, and Clark Streets, the residential project will "create a gateway to Long Bridge Park" on its southern edge. And since there is no such thing as an even trade with the government, as part of the plan, the developer will make a $2.5 million contribution to affordable housing as well as a $376,761 contribution to Long Bridge Park improvements.

Arlington, VA commercial real estate news

Arlington Safeway Site Receives Approval

The Arlington County Board approved plans today to renovate and expand the now-5,000 s.f. Arlington Mill Community Center into a mixed-use development. The project, designed by McLean-based Davis Carter Scott Design, and developed by Bethesda-based Public Private Alliances, LLC, a subsidiary of Clark Construction Group/Clark Ventures, will include brand new retail, residential, and parking space in addition to the new community center. The first of the project's two buildings - the residential portion - will stand five five stories tall. It will house 159 units including studio, one, two, and three bedroom units, sixty-one of them affordable. The second, six-story, LEED-certified civic building will include 33 residential units, 3,000 s.f. ground floor retail, and the 40,000 s.f. community center; Arlingtonians can get excited about a new high school-size gym, two flexible classrooms, and a fitness center. These rental apartments will include ten units for the Department of Human Services for its Supportive Housing Program and 40 two- and three-bedroom units with rent ranging from $993 to $1475. 

Columbia Pike Initiative Coordinator, Jennifer Smith said the project is consistent with the County's vision of revitalization along the Pike. "It will add additional new residential units and me our the long-standing commitment by the county to have an upgraded community center for area residents. A place where they can come together to meet, and greet and have their activities," she said. The developer will not be alone in footing the bill for the development. The project's public areas will be financed by $26 million in general obligation bonds authorized by voters in November 2006. The developer will also receive $11 million from the Federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits program through the Virginia Housing Development Authority, and $3 million for using the value of the land lease payment to support the creation of the affordable housing units. The 1.9-acre former Safeway site, located at the intersection of Columbia Pike and Dinwiddie Street, will also offer its residents and neighbors three levels of underground parking and a new public plaza along Columbia Pike. Construction is tentatively scheduled for late November.

Arlington Virginia commercial real estate news

Razing the Stakes on Capitol Hill

The Louis Dreyfus Property Group has received final PUD approval for the razing of approximately fifteen adjacent historic townhouses on Capitol Hill to make way for Capitol Place, a 380,000-s.f. mixed use development with 302 condominiums and 20,000 s.f. of retail, designed by New York-based Cook + Fox Architects. The townhouses, dating from as far back as the mid 19th Century, will be sacrificed as part of a deal that will allow development of the site, but may also enhance protection of historic buildings on the rest of Capitol Hill. The buildings, located at G and Second Streets, NE, are currently being leased to area businesses, and may be demolished as early as this fall. The trade will include an $83,500 payment from the developer to the Capitol Hill Restoration Society, enough to pay for a professional survey of the area to delineate the merit of an expanded historic zone. The survey is the first step toward an extended Capitol Hill Historic District which, according to the PUD, would include properties located "within the twenty-six blocks comprised of 2nd to 15th Streets, N.E., and F to H Streets, N.E., not including the Site or properties within the H Street Overlay."

The block misses the Capitol Hill Historic District - a legislatively demarcated zone which ends at F Street, NE - by one block, and therefore does not go before the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB). As with all raze permits, the application went through the Historic Preservation Office (HPO), part of the Office of Planning, but was not held for the customary thirty day discussion and review period because it was part of an existing PUD. Ultimately, all razes are signed by David Maloney, DC's State Historic Preservation Officer, whether historic or not. Non-historic razes end at the HPO after they double check that the structure and site are not historic; applications for historic sites go on to the HPRB. 

With Maloney's signature, the fate of this block was sealed. In this case, even though the buildings are not in the historic district, Brendan Meyer, Preservation Specialist with the HPO, said the request was an unusual one to come through the office. “Typically we get 1950-1960 ranches out on the city fringes that are razed and subdivided, but something closer to the historic area would give us more pause. We would evaluate it and ask, ‘is it significant enough to do outreach to prevent the raze, or do we just say that it’s outside the historic district and let it go?’" Sean Cahill, Vice President of Development for Dreyfus agreed, “This is not your typical application,” he said. According to Meyer, the Capitol Hill Historic District is listed as historic for its architectural history and marked with a longer period of significance (1791-1945) than other areas like Mount Pleasant (1870-1949). Meyer said that in the case of the Capitol Hill Historic District “It’s not one person or event, but a collection of architecture that represents a broad and rich timeline of DC’s urban development. It helps us understand how DC grew and how it became a city.” That being said, he added that not every town house can be preserved. "They are perfectly nice and charming, but we have 8,000 others already established and we are protecting them. These townhouses are outside the district and there is nothing about them that makes them particularly special," Meyer said. According to Cahill, the neighborhood ANC is on board, as is Gary Peterson of the Capitol Hill Restoration Society (CHRS). “We went through a mediation process with the neighbors on Square 752 as well as the ANC and the adjoining ANC, so it was a very long process,” Cahill added. 

"I think most people are reasonably satisfied with where we ended up. I am a pretty ardent preservationist, so I hate to see old buildings taken down, but i think that the development will be a benefit to the city and we worked hard to design a project with the least negative impact for the remaining residents on the square," said Drury Tallant, Co-Chair of the Stanton Park Neighborhood Association Land Use Committee and square resident. "If it were in the historic district, the buildings that are being taken down would be contributing structures and they would not be allowed to demolish them. One of the things Dreyfus offered to the community was money to pay for historic structural survey that would potentially lead to the expansion of the Capitol Hill Historic District to cover from this square to 16th Street... In essence, it was a bargain the community made in order to pay for the survey that is a prerequisite for expanding the district. These buildings were sacrificed to get the funds," Tallant said. HPO's approval allows for demolition this fall; construction is anticipated within the following year-and-a-half, and delivery expected thirty-two months later. Located adjacent to the H Street Overpass, Capitol Place will be the closest residential and mixed-use site on H Street to the Union Station Metro. Though it will share a block with the historic two and three story row houses, it will also sit across from the 10-story Senate Square, as well as a new 11-story office building still under construction. Reduced 43,000 s.f. from its original size, the 10-12 story building has been in the PUD process for the last three years as the developer worked with architects, the Zoning Commission, and the neighborhood to come up with an appropriate, neighborhood-serving design. Other goodies for the neighbors include two micro-grant programs, the first of which will be $150,000 for which property owners of adjacent lots can apply to make repairs and improvements to the parts of their homes that are either within public space or viewed from public space. The second program will allow $80,000 for which property owners living on the construction square (752) can apply to make upgrades to their homes as approved by the CHRS. Finally, the developer will pay $20,000 to CHRS for administering the two grant programs. In addition to the grants, Dreyfus will also give $150,000 to H Street Main Street for the Clean and Safe Program.  The developer, which mainly works on “high quality, central business district and suburban office buildings” has properties in DC, suburban New York, and Paris.

Washington DC commercial property news

Industry Insight: Neil Albert on DC Development

He may not get microphone time at every press conference or a pair of scissors at every ribbon cutting, but Neil Albert, Washington DC's Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, keeps busy as the man behind the curtain for development in DC. Despite a schedule kept full by the 10,000 new affordable housing units he has been charged with creating in his first four years, Albert made time to sit with DCMud to discuss the latest RFPs, affordable housing, and why he thinks DC can shed its monumental, federal skin and become an full-fledged international city. 

You went from working with the previous Mayor as Deputy Mayor for Children and Families to the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development. How did you get into development? 

Albert: I started in finance and headed a nonprofit in New York. I was interested in parlaying that expertise into development on a small scale. I had the opportunity to really get into development when I was Parks director; a large part of what I did was real estate development. We built a number of recreational facilities in the city, including the first LEED-certified facility in DC. I then became Deputy Mayor of Children Youth and Families because that portfolio was one of the ones that needed a little shaking up and focus and energy. The former mayor asked me to do it and I did it for a year. Then I went into the private sector and started a nonprofit working with DC schools in professional development and bricks and mortar actually building new schools. I’ve always had a real estate finance focus throughout my career. When the mayor-elect asked me to join his administration in this role, I thought it was a great opportunity to put what I’ve been doing together. What I do is not just about financial real estate development, but there is a human component to what we do. A major part is the New Communities portfolio, the human capital – HOPE VI-type developments. We’ll be removing a lot of traditional government subsidized housing to create more mixed income housing. Part of that is changing psyche, the mindsets; preparing them to be able to write a red check, go to work every day like everybody else.

Speaking of subsidized housing, the bar for the amount of subsidized housing private developers must provide is being raised from 20-30 percent. On what basis was that decision made? 

Albert: That decision was made before us. When the Anacostia Waterfront Corporation was dissolved, the Council adopted legislation that required the affordable housing component - that’s the majority of what my office works on. By default, it has become standard here. 

How does that play into some of the other new developments the city has issued RFPs for - in which the city asked for 30 percent but is not doing the workforce housing? It’s like the city is focusing on lower income development. 

Albert: The mayor made a real commitment to affordable housing when he was elected and we are committed to building over 10,000 units in the first four years at different AMI levels, so all RFPs have the 30 percent requirement and our language is pretty general because we want to make sure that we achieve affordable housing levels without paying unnecessarily for it. And so what drives affordable housing in mixed-income developments is having market-rate housing that can actually subsidize lower income housing without having to come to the District government for subsidies. We want true diversity in housing. Whether it’s Hill East, Poplar Point, 5th and I, including the affordable component is necessary to have the correct mix. 

These are perhaps not the best times for condo builders. How does that play into the marketability of a project during difficult times? Albert: I don’t know if it makes it more difficult. From our experience, in the last few years, the development community has embraced not necessarily the 30-30-30 mix, but at least the 30 percent affordable component. City Vista is an example, and I think that’s kind of what’s driving that project being sold. It came on line at a time when the condo markets were going in the wrong direction, so having twenty percent of the units as affordable provided some stability. The market on the affordable level was much greater than the market than on market-rate level. The results and feedback from the development community have been positive. Yes, people like to make as much profit as possible, but we have to balance their need for the highest return with the broader city policy and goals for providing affordable housing. 

You referenced City Vista and other projects that have an affordable housing element. Some developers have told us that they are having some difficulty finding qualified people and actually bringing them to the table, that this makes their job more difficult. Have you ever studied that?

Albert: I would say they need to try a little harder. We can do a better job as a government, having a central repository database, which we are working on. I know the city Council actually passed legislation that will require a sort of central registry for those interested in taking advantage of affordable housing projects. In some cases it’s about us doing a better job preparing applicants; it’s a huge education process that needs to go into preparing people for home ownership. You can’t just get up one day and decide to be a home owner. When you buy a condo, pay the fees, have to abide by the rules of the condo board or association - you have to have a down payment, some sort of reserve in case the AC breaks and it’s not the condo association’s responsibility - we can do a better job of preparing those in that income category to take advantage of these opportunities. In that case, yes, people have gone to the table and not closed. 

Where did the 10,000 unit figure come from? 

Albert: The 10,000 number came out of a housing task force in the Williams administration, and then-Councilmember Fenty introduced legislation that set up this Comprehensive Housing Strategy Task Force and they made a recommendation that the city needed to build 55,000 new units of housing over the next ten years to deal with the population increase, special needs housing, etc. And then they broke down some sub categories – 19,000 affordable, and for those affordable units, there were some smaller ranges that included special needs 2,500 units, etc. We wanted to make sure that we could achieve that in a ten year period, so we set a goal of 10,000 in first four years, so with about 2,500 a year we are well on our way to at least funding those projects. We’re not only calling for them, we are providing funding for them through the housing production trust fund and some of the other housing sources available. I am confident that we’re going to make that. 

In terms of your position, you have a huge hand in what happens in terms of development, and development seems very high on Fenty’s list given his appearances at development press conferences. How do you want DC to be perceived from a national standpoint, what are your development goals? 

Albert: We want to truly make a diverse city here, but my opinion is that we have the great opportunity of positioning this city as a great international city on par with Paris and London and Amsterdam. People talk about great cities and I see DC as one of those. We are not on the cusp of that yet, we have a little ways to go, but I think we’ve got the major elements coming together. We have a vibrant downtown, people want to be here, and every vacant office building is being gobbled up by big lobbying firms or law firms or national organizations that need to be near the seat of power. We’ve started to pay attention to our retail. We can now shop in DC, when I came here eight or nine years ago, you couldn’t do that. Now there are good restaurant choices, you have really great options springing up and also good entertainment options. The Washington Post did an article about how DC is no longer a daytime town, it’s becoming a nighttime destination, so you don’t just leave the office canyons and go home to the suburbs, you go to night clubs and restaurants in the central business district. 

What I think will put us on par with some of the mature cities that make a statement both locally and internationally is having kind of the right balance between cultural amenities, which we have a lot of in our museums, but also local cultural amenities like the Spy Museum and Madam Tussaud’s; cultural amenities not just downtown, but also in other neighborhoods. We have lots of theaters and shopping destinations, so that when tourists come, they are not just sleeping in hotels and visiting the Mall, but also getting into the neighborhoods and discovering them. So what I would like us to be known for is raising the bar to be a city on par with a lot of the other international cities. And right now, we kind of lay in the shadow of great U.S. cities, but we are still holding our own. 

How do you see your specific role and interaction with the private development community and with residents of the city - how do you mix the two? 

Albert: I see myself as convener of private sector and the natural community residents who sometimes have needs that complement each other and sometimes oppose each other. In many cases, my role is just to be the arbitrator. Getting the services from the private sector that the residents need, whether it is incentives or bringing offices to neighborhoods so people don’t have to jump into a car to get to work, but can hop one metro stop to another. I really see my role as a convener or facilitator of those communities. I am really concerned about the amount of new jobs we create in the District, I’m happy to say that even while the rest of country is going through a downturn, we are still seeing job growth in DC. Traditionally, you look at the government as the creator of jobs. In the District they still are, but the service industry is also creating new jobs in entertainment, restaurants, retail and the federal government is doing its role by positioning government agencies in the District – the DOT by the ballpark or the ATF building at New York Avenue. They put us in partnership with each other to keep the economy going. Our job is bringing the balance between the haves and the have-nots in DC, so we have the big law and lobby firms and the non-profits and the associations who are squeezed by real estate taxes right now, but that add to the flavor of DC. Instead of them having to relocate to suburbia, we step in and try to provide incentives to keep them here. We are trying to keep a vibrant balance of community within the city. The city has issued a number of development RFPs. When will we see some selections? Albert: 5th and I will be announced soon, and Minnesota- Benning, we are so excited about that project, but we won’t make a selection until August. The developers up for that are City Interest who owns the East River Shopping Center and Parkside, Donatelli Development, and Marshall Heights Community Development Organization which is partnering with Rick Walker who did the Home Depot and Brentwood Shopping Center by the Rhode Island Avenue Metro station. They are all competing for the 600,000 s.f. of developable space. 

And Tenleytown? 

Albert: Tenley is still outstanding; we’ll hopefully have a decision soon. 

Can we ask about MIZ (Mandatory Inclusionary Zoning, requiring most developers to build subsidized units)? Councilmember Graham has been vocal about moving it forward… 

Albert: Yes, the mayor is committed to MIZ, but he wants to do it in a way that doesn’t slow or stop the development of mixed-income housing. My job is to do it right. We are getting comments from a wide cross section of the city including the private sector, affordable housing providers, and advocates. We issued administrative regulations two months ago for comments. We are going to take those comments and reissue a draft of the regulations and put it out for final vetting and hopefully make a decision in the next sixty to ninety days. I also believe that the housing development community will embrace it because I think we’ll do it in a responsible way that’s non-punitive. Then, we’ve been looking across the country to see how this has worked. It’s a mixed bag but it’s going to happen. 

 Finally, developers have told us that they struggle with the amount of information that has to be provided with a PUD and with the amount of time it takes to get approval for projects in DC. What is your response to that? 

Albert: I totally agree. We are working on it; the Office of Planning will be sending suggestions about how to streamline the process in the entire District. The PUD shouldn’t take 18 months anywhere in the world, not to mention the DC area.