A Walk in the Park for DC Development

If all goes according to plan, 2009 should be a banner year for public parks in the District of Columbia. A bevy of publicly accessible park renovations will either begin or complete construction in the coming months.

One of Washington DC's costliest park renovations will be the newly renamed Marvin Gaye Park (formerly Watts Branch Park) in Northeast will be getting a $7.7 million facelift, beginning in February. The 1.6 mile long park – formerly known as a home to reams of garbage, used syringes, abandoned cars and, at one point, a landfill for refuse from the construction of the MCI Center (not to mention the occasional body)– will be redeveloped as the “Rock Creek Park of Northeast.” With one access point located at Division Avenue and Foot Street NE, the intent is to use Marvin Gaye Park as a catalyst for the revitalization of nearby Nannie Helen Burroughs Avenue and local landmarks, such as the Strand Theater.










Park benefactor Washington Parks & People will also step up their plans for the park in 2009 by placing increased emphasis on their “Down by the Riverside Campaign” and plans to “expand and replicate the Marvin Gaye Park model for inner-city stream valley parks across the city and beyond.” WPP will work in concert with the District’s Department of Parks and Recreation to organize capital improvements to two important park nodes, and even funding to the DC Water and Sewer Authority for the first phase of sewer repairs. Additionally, the two District agencies will continue to develop the park’s bicycle trial and pedestrian bridges, while rejuvenating the local stream bed - which just happens to be a tributary of the polluted Anacostia River. DPP has also included plans for a new Marvin Gaye Recreation Center in their 2009 budget. That project is scheduled to begin construction no sooner than 2013.

The majority of funds for Phase I of the park’s renovations came from government sources, while a small share were raised through private donors and Mayor Fenty’s Great Streets Initiative. The Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (ODMPED) are currently seeking a general contractor for the project - bids are due to ODMPED by 2 PM on December 17^th. Construction is scheduled to begin in February. Although ODMPED has yet to formally attach a landscape architect to the project, the University of Virginia School of Architecture has prepared prospective renderings of their vision for a revamped Marvin Gaye Park (pictured).

Meanwhile, over in Northwest's Judiciary Square, the $99 million top-to-bottom renovation of the Old DC Courthouse continues on into 2009. A brief respite from the scaffolding-heavy job is also planned for February as the District of Columbia Courts (DCC) plan to begin construction of new park on the historic building’s southeast corner. Located at the 430 E Street NW, the park is being designed by Beyer Blinder Belle (BBB), the same firm overseeing the courthouse project and that recently completed work on a park on the square's southwestern edge.

"There will be...a fountain in the center of that quadrant. There will also be brick-paved paths that will be diagonally passing through the park and benches for people to rest in that area, primarily around the fountain," says Hany Hassan, Director of BBB's Washington office. "The idea behind the water feature is to compliment the west side with its fountain and existing park."

The primary objective of the western park, according to Hassan, was to conceal the two levels of court parking beneath it; in much the same sense, the eastern park has been designed to occupy the former site of loading docks that have been relocated during the renovation. The end result promises to be a greener, more open, more inviting space for downtown. "In our mind, that's really the benefit that we'll all enjoy when this is completed," says Hassan.

Once work comes to a close, both new public spaces will joined by BBB's new grand 60 by 36 foot entrance pavilion to the building's north side - not to mention other additions to the square, such as the upcoming National Law Enforcement Museum and the recently installed effigy of Fredrick Douglass. DCC is currently seeking general contractors for the project; bids are due to the DCC by 1 PM on December 22^nd.

The projects named above are just a small sampling of the park projects that various District authorities have lined up for the coming year. Large-scale developments like Northwest One, the Pollin Memorial Community Development and the Southwest Waterfront all include a publicly accessible park component, in addition to stand-alone projects like The Park at the Yards, Diamond Teague Park, a new Justice Park and the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail.

Silver Spring's Adele Likely to Get OK This Week

Montgomery County looks ready to approve the Adele, a 96-unit building in the Easley subdivision of downtown Silver Spring. Fenton Street Development LLC (FSD) - a partnership between the Freeman Group and Bloom Builders - will bring a new 9-story, mixed-use project to the intersection of Thayer Avenue and Fenton Street if the team receives final approval from the Montgomery Planning Board (MPD) at a hearing this Thursday.

The Adele would stand at the current site of an auto repair shop at 8260 Fenton Street. The SK&I-designed plans on hand call for 96 units - either apartments or condos - 18,200 square feet of office, and 15,020 square feet of retail stacked atop each other on a half-acre parcel. Fifteen of the apartments and/or condos on site will be reserved as affordable-rate MPDUs – a requirement that sets the Adele apart from other nearby, similarly-scaled (and not yet built) Silver Spring residential projects such 814 Thayer and Moda Vista. Additionally, the development team is throwing in an ever-popular green roof and a public plaza on the northeastern corner (to be furnished with “streetscape improvements” at their own cost) to sweeten the deal.

FSD initially received concept approval for the Adele back in 2006. Since that time, the developer has made some not so minor changes in order to get full authorization, like axing 3-stories off the building’s proposed height. But having received concept approval on its first try and having been signed off by MPD staff, an affirmative decree from the Board seems likely.

That would be just the latest in a string of MPD approvals for downtown Silver Spring. In addition to 814 Thayer and Moda Vista, nearby projects include 8711 Georgia, 8227 Fenton Street and, of course, the MPD’s own new headquarters/residential development, SilverPlace are all within spitting distance of the Easely subdivision. The Adele is scheduled to join its new neighbors by mid-2011.

Marriott Digs in Around DC

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

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

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

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

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

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

Arlington Virginia retail leasing and commercial property news

DC Offers $10 Million to New Retail Development

Mayor Adrian Fenty joined Ward 8 Councilmember Marion Barry today to announce that the District of Columbia has granted a total of $10 million worth of tax increment financing (TIF) to three retail-centric real estate projects currently in the pipeline: City Interests, LLC's South Capitol Street SW residential/retail hybrid, Four Points, LLC and W Street Acquisitions' development on Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue, and the Neighborhood Development Corporation's Heights on Georgia Avenue. According to the Mayor, it’s a calculated move designed to stop Washington DC's loss of retail revenue to suburban shopping outlets.

“Essentially, this is way to make sure that you use additional revenue to help the private sector bridge the gap to where they see great and exciting new projects, but where there may not be right now the right level of financial equity to make the projects happen,” said Fenty. “The District, as everybody knows, loses tons of money to the suburbs every year…If we don’t have economic development right here in the neighborhoods of Ward 8, people will then just take their tax dollars to Maryland. It’s a cyclical problem.”

The first project on the docket is also the largest. City Interests’ development at 4001-4035 South Capitol Street SW – currently a strip mall and the site of today’s press conference – will receive the bulk of the TIF funds announced for a grand total of $8.8 million. Once completed, the project will contain 200 units of housing, 47,000 square feet of retail and 15,000 square foot grocer or pharmacy in the forgotten portion of southwest - a small strip of land just south of Bolling Air Force Base. Construction is planned to begin in late 2009.

The Four Points project on the 2200 block of Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue SE will receive $1.1 million from the TIF program to supplement its $5.2 million budget. The mixed-use project will bring 11,000 square feet of retail and a “soul jazz café” to the site – numbers regarding the housing component have yet to be disclosed. Construction is also projected to begin sometime in 2009.

The last project announced – and only non-Ward 8 development named – was the Neighborhood Development Company’s The Heights on Georgia Avenue. Located at 3232 Georgia Avenue NW, the $25 million project will receive $742,000 in TIF credits. With 10,000 square feet of retail (possibly to include a hardware store and sit-down restaurant) and 70 residential units, NDC hopes to start building late next year.

These three projects are merely the first recognized projects under the District’s Neighborhood Retail TIF program. Earlier this year, Fenty announced that the District - in conjunction with the Great Streets Initiative - would offer a total of $95 million in financing to local developments with a strong retail component. The Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (ODMPED) will continue to accept applications for funds on “a rolling basis.” ODMPED's Project Manager, Derrick Woody, said recipients are judged on a “long list of criteria” that includes “the composition of the development team, the level and amount of retail,” and a 5,000 square foot minimum in order for projects to be considered.

Washington DC retail news

BZA Approves Mixed-Use Project for Barrack’s Row

Just prior to last week’s holiday, Old City Development LLC – the nome de plume of ICP Partners and two of its' principals, Leon Kafele and Michael Hatchett – received approval from the DC Board of Zoning Adjustment for their proposed $6 million, mixed-use project at 801 Virginia Avenue SE, at the foot of Barrack's Row, bridging the gap between the Ballpark District and Capitol Hill.

Originally envisioned as a 4-story, 17-unit condo development with a base of ground floor retail, plans for the so-called “Admiral at Barrack’s Row” have since been redrafted to convert the proposed housing into office space. As it now stands, the Admiral will feature 19,000 square feet of office space, a 3,000 square foot first floor retail center, and an undetermined amount of underground parking – which will be reserved solely for the offices’ work force and not retail clientèle. Designs for the project are being handled by Bonstra Haresign Architects.

The project at 801 Virginia is just one of the three that Kafele and Hatchett announced back in 2005. Along with the Admiral, they were planning to construct a multi-phase, mixed-use development at 810 Potomac Avenue SE and convert four historic townhomes on the 800 block of L Street SE into leasable office space. As of this writing, neither of those projects have yet materialized and, though the Admiral was initially scheduled to begin construction in late 2006 for a projected 2008 delivery, the site at 801 Virginia still houses a derelict auto-body shop and parking lot. No revised timeline for the Admiral was discussed at the hearing - though, according to JDLand.com, the DC Office of Planning, ANC 6B, and the Capitol Hill Restoration Society have all signed off on the project.

Macedonia Invades Arlington

Another 100% affordable housing development is making its way to Arlington, this time in the form of the Macedonia Apartments. Much like the nearby Views at Clarendon project, the Macedonia, too, is the product of a joint venture between a local church - in this case, the Macedonia Baptist Church - and two local development initiatives - AHC, Inc. and the Bonder & Amanda Johnson Community Development Corporation (BAJCDC).

Occupying three neighboring parcels at 2219, 2229 and 2237 Shirlington Road, the Macedonia will be a 36-unit, four-story apartment complex, composed of 19 one-bedroom and 17 two-bedroom units for Arlington residents earning less than 60% of the area median income. The remainder of the building's 40,000 square feet will go toward two sections of commercial office space. One will be dedicated to new offices for the BAJCDC, whose current office stands at 2229 Shirlington Road and will be demolished to make way for the Macedonia; the other will serve as “a small business incubator.”

AHC, Inc.’s Project Manager, Curtis Adams, elaborated on exactly what that means. “Other cities have these economic development programs…where there are shared costs of overhead and sometimes shared administration costs,” says Adams. “[Then], people who have an office space to work out of can hopefully start to create new jobs in Arlington.” The project is being designed by Bonstra Haresign Architects.

Additionally, the County’s Department of Human Services has recommended a grant of $40,000 for “four permanent Supportive Housing units” in the complex - intended to provide accessible housing for the disabled. This is well-worn territory for AHC – they currently own and operate a total of 3,337 apartments throughout 28 rental communities, all of which are designated as “affordable housing" with some especially suited to the needs of the handicapped.

The Macedonia Baptist Church originally acquired the parcels on either side of the BAJCDC back in 1999 with the intent to “revitalize the Nauck neighborhood and provide affordable housing to area residents.” Since that time, the church has taken on AHC as the project’s Development Manager and created a nonprofit entity, the Shirlington Road Development Corporation, to pursue low income tax credits for the Macedonia. Though the development team’s request for permits was unanimously approved by Arlington County Planning Board in May of this year, the timeline is currently contingent on a new round of funding.

“Orginallly, we were hoping to begin construction this summer. We failed to win low income housing tax credits for the project, so we’ll be going in and competing for a whole new round of funding come January,” says Adams. “We hope to begin construction in the late spring of 2009.”

The Macedonia is just the latest in a rash of affordable housing projects under development in the metro area. Other low or mixed-income developments in the pipeline include the aforementioned Views at Clarendon, the Parc Rosslyn, the James Bland revitalization, and the Fort Myer Heights North Plan in Northern Virginia; Northwest One, Hartford Knolls, the Pollin Memorial Community Development, Donatelli's Minnesota-Benning project and Temperance Court in the District; and the Edgemoor project in Bethesda.

Shirlington Crest Beats the Odds (and the Market)

While the rest of the DC development community seems convinced they'll queuing up at the nearest bread line any day now, developer Stanley Martin has more than one reason - 171 actually - to be champagne shopping. The developer's Shirlington Crest project in the Arlington County suburb of Shirlington is selling out of homes faster than they can be built.

According to off-the-record sources at Stanley Martin, when the developer broke ground on the Crest in September 2007, they were anticipating a four year build-out period to complete all of the development's 171 garage townhomes. A little more than a year later, all of the 40 houses completed so far have sold out and the developer now plans to wrap up in under three - a little more than a year ahead of schedule. The project's Phase II component is on-track to deliver in spring of next year and half of those 14 units nearing completion have already been taken off the market by buyers.

Next year’s new units are the developer’s Provence model (pictured) and range from 2,260 to 2,310 square feet. A model unit of the Phase I homes will remain open through mid-December. Prices start in the $600,000 range.

Located at the intersection of South Shirlington Road and South Four Mile Run Drive, the Crest project is latest component of a mini development boom for the Shirlington area. Shirlington Crest stands just across the way from the recently completed Bowman’s Hill Towns 20-unit townhome project, which was completed in summer 2007. Other projects in the area include Monument Realty’s Randolph Square, Windsor Communities’ Io Piazza condominiums, Federal Realty’s newly expanded Village at Shirlington retail center and the upcoming bus station/transportation hub, the Shirlington Transit Center. Fred

Shirlington retail and commercial real estate news

DC's First Green Hotel on the Way

Developers of the "1 Hotel" are finally knocking down the former Nigerian Embassy at 22^nd and M Streets, NW (pictured below, looking not much worse than it has for the last decade). Demolition is courtesy of the Starwood Capital Group and Perseus Realty, LLC to make way for what may become Washington DC's first truly green hotel. In 2010, the development duo intends open the District’s first - a 182 room project that’s being dubbed "Washington’s first green luxury hotel" and the east coast flagship for Starwood’s new "luxe-eco" endeavors.

Coming in at 188,000 square feet, the Chad Oppenheim-designed edifice will consist of three "11-story volumes connected by glass enclosed vertical gardens." Drawing upon Victorian-era botanical gardens for inspiration, the architect claims that this configuration will function as a “living machine” that will serve as a natural air and water purification system. In a natural move for such a verdant project, the hotel will seek LEED certification and feature an organic spa, along with a green roof (with lounge) in the heart of Washington’s West End. Additionally, the development team is seeking to boost their green street cred by allying themselves National Resources Defense Council - to whom they will donate one percent of the profits from DC 1. While the embassy will be missed by few, popular restaurant Asia Nora is also being demolished to make way for green hotel, but the hotel group has plans for an organic restaurant within to replace the loss to the food supply of the West End, a neighborhood that will now have one of the highest concentrations of hotels in the DC area.

The 1 Hotel & Residences brand is Starwood’s attempt at bridging the gap between two equally trendy, yet totally opposite poles: high-class living and environmentally sound building practices. The hoteliers, who bought the land in 2006, will have plenty of competition for elegance - once completed it will stand directly across from the Ritz-Carlton and within a block of several upscale hotels - which may make it a good test case to see if green pays.

Other 1 locations currently in the pipeline include Paris, France; Seattle, WA; Scottsdale, AZ; Mammoth Lakes, CA; and Ft. Lauderdale, FL with further expansions planned for Los Angeles and New York. Construction of the DC location is being overseen be Tompkins Builders and, once open, is sure to be the most Google unfriendly hotel in the metropolitan area.

DC Makes Way for Northwest One

Mayor Adrian Fenty called a press conference in NoMa today to the showcase the demolition of the Temple Courts housing project – an abandoned housing complex that stands at the future site of the William C. Smith & Co. and Jair Lynch Development Partners’ mixed-use Northwest One project. The housing project was purchased by the District in 2007, after years of concerns about the poor educational and medical conditions for residents, as well as an escalating crime rate.

“To most people, this is the site of housing that has long been of condition that is unfit and unsuitable for residents of the District of Columbia, our own neighbors,” said Fenty. “Northwest One [will be]…the first place where you’ll have new communities with all different levels of housing and all different income levels – mixed with great retail, great community centers and great schools.”

The Northwest One project will bring $700 million worth of new development to a five-block chunk of the NoMa corridor – an initiative that will include the construction of 1600 new residential units, 200,000 square feet of office space, 40,000 square feet of ground-level retail and a one-acre public park. The District has pledged that nearly 25% of the on-site housing (570 units) will be reserved as affordable – an amount that Executive Director of the District of Columbia Housing Authority, Michael Kelly, assured the public would be “one-for-one replacement” of all affordable housing lost in demolition. The 172 families initially displaced by the closing of Temple Court were relocated at city expense and will be offered new units in the completed Northwest One complex.

“Today, we're celebrating the demolition of what is –without any kind of exaggeration – a symbol of isolation and socio-economic despair,” said Kelly. “In its place…will be a vibrant mixed-income neighborhood. A neighborhood that will have the lawyer next to the school teacher next to the welfare recipient – and from the outside you can’t tell who’s who.”

Fenty said that he expects a groundbreaking ceremony to be scheduled for early 2010 with construction expected to wrap up the following year. The Temple Court site is the second component of Northwest One currently in some phase of development – the $47 million Walker Jones complex (which includes a 100,000 square foot elementary and middle school) is currently under construction and is scheduled to be open by next August, just in time for the 2009-2010 school year.

Washington DC retail and commercial real estate news

The Views at Clarendon Stumps for Final Approval

After more than four years of legal and financial troubles, the Views at Clarendon seems to be finally be on track for construction and, if their luck holds out, a 2011 delivery. Nonprofit developer the Views at Clarendon Corporation (VCC) - a joint venture between the Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing (APAH) and the First Baptist Church of Clarendon - still intends to bring a 116-unit mixed-income apartment building to the church's current site at 1210 North Highland Street, a deal that will preserve the existing church.

Perhaps not surprisingly for a religious organization, VCC is aiming their project at providing housing for disadvantaged tenants by way of housing that is both affordable and accessible to the handicapped. The Views will boast 46 market rate units – 6 of which will be “100% accessible” - and 70 "affordable" units – 6 of which will be reserved for families making under 50% of the area median income. Additionally, another 5 units will go towards the “County supportive housing program.” The building's floorplans will range from studios to three bedrooms, coupled with 120-space underground parking garage – just one block from Clarendon Metro. The project is being designed by MTFA Architecture.

Given that its developer is a nonprofit entity, the Views faced serious delays as APAH tracked down funding for the project. Just last week, the development corporation upped their Affordable Housing Investment Fund loan request from $5.3 million up to $6.5 million – on top of the low-income housing tax credits and additional federal loans that have already been secured. According to APAH, “this additional financing will enable construction to be completed by the end of 2011.” The Arlington County Board will decide whether or not that loan goes through at its meeting on December 13^th.

A need for increased funding, however, is not the first hang-up that Views has run into on the rocky road to development. The project was first approved in October 2004, and was then tied up in a zoning dispute that stretched all the way to the Virginia Supreme Court. After two years, a $200,000 lawsuit, and a “technical adjustment” to the applicable zoning ordinance, the county provided salvation to the church by giving approval in February 2007. Locals had filed a lawsuit to reverse the original zoning approval, objecting to the plan that would keep the current church and its 107-foot steeple, and include daycare and "moderately priced" housing. A circuit court judge had ruled against the neighbors in 2005, reversed in 2006 when the Virginia Supremes determined that the zoning board acted against its own zoning ordinance, a decision which begat the February 2007 approval. A further lawsuit to stop the project was dismissed in July, 2007.

A Threequel for the Arlington's Crystal House

Developer Archstone is moving ahead with plans to bring a third phase of residential development to their Crystal House condo and apartment complex in Arlington's Crystal City. Currently comprised of two 12-story towers with 400 units apiece, Archstone intends to add 252 new "lofts" to the development, bringing the total of on-site residential housing up to 1,075 units.

Located at 2000 South Eads Street, the developer is adding to their extensive portfolio in the Crystal City area. Once completed, the 270,000-square foot addition will neighbor the other two so-named buildings on South Eads Street, built 40 years ago as the first apartment-condo highrises in the neighborhood and the first to use the name "Crystal", generating a trend the other developers followed and that eventually lent its name to the area.

Though Archstone Vice President Daryl South tells DCMud that the developer “expects to have building permits within two months,” he declined to comment on when the project might begin construction. Torti Gallas will design the project. Archstone is one of the largest investors in apartment buildings nationwide.

Arlington, Virginia real estate development news

Half Street Digs Itself Out of a Hole

After weeks of speculation, construction is underway at Monument Realty's Half Street residential project. The prime real estate sits directly across from the Nationals' ballpark, was dug in the first months of 2007, with Monument's 275,000-s.f. office project rising on the northern portion of the crater. But when the remaining 2-acre hole sat vacant as the market was free-falling and funding of residential projects evaporated, speculation ensued about its demise. The hole became metaphorical as well as literal once it was revealed that Lehman Brothers, in a hole of its own, had an equity stake in the project.

But after 18 months without activity, construction is now underway on the site. Workers now seem to be assembling a subterranean parking garage at Half and N Streets SE - presumably a component of the hotel and 340-unit residential buildings planned for the site. And while the developer will not be able to hit their original target of a 2009 completion date, it does seem that rumors of the project's death have been greatly exaggerated.

"Monument is pursuing financing for the residential projects at the corner of N and Half Streets, SE. Clearly the changes in the market have made that task more difficult, but we have not made any plans to refill the excavated hole," says Monument Executive Vice President Russel Hines. "In addition to the office building [55 M Street SE], which will finish up in January, we are also building a portion of the garage that extends under the residential buildings – so, yes, there is some construction underway at this time."

In a related item, some portions of the Half Street project could be getting a new address, if a measure before the DC City Council goes through. According to the Washington Examiner, a vote next week will determine if a three-block portion of South Capitol Street (that also happens to border locale célèbre, Nationals Ballpark) will be renamed “Taxation without Representation Street.” Among those most directly affected by the switch would be Camden USA – which just happens to have a $105 million mixed-use project in the planning stages that fronts the avenue in question. We can see the signs now: Taxation without Representation Street Lofts now available! Have fun with that one, marketeers.

Washington DC commercial real estate news

Bethesda Gets Affordable

The Montgomery County Housing Opportunities Commission (HOC) scored one for the good guys last week, when the Montgomery County Planning Board approved the Edgemoor Phase IV Site Plan and, in turn, insured the construction of a new affordable housing development in Bethesda.

HOC intends to bring 12 Moderately Priced Dwelling Units (MPDUs) to a 5,350 square foot lot at 4917 Hampden Lane in downtown Bethesda. Designed by MHG Architects, the project will take the form of a four-story, brick facade apartment building with a "traditional one-family front porch." Other amenities planned for "transitional housing" facility include a landscaped courtyard "tucked" into the building's rear and a party room for entertaining. The Planning Board has encouraged HOC to pursue LEED certification for the building.

HOC has also made an additional commitment to bring “10 percent on-site Public Use Space along the [70 feet of] frontage of Hampden Lane” – a move which should appease the numerous residents in the immediate area (after construction is wraped up, that is). The site stands along a residential-retail corridor that adjoins the upscale City Homes townhomes development- also across from the Shoppes of Bethesda shopping center and roughly 1200 feet from the Bethesda Metro.

Bringing a development made up of 100% affordable housing to Bethesda required a little bit of give-and-take from all the parties. The site was initially under the control of Hampden Associates LLC, which had planned to bring a 60-unit condo development to the site and a neighboring parcel. In December of 2004, the County proposed a landswap, wherein Hampden Associates traded 4917 for another county-owned parcel on the corner of Hampden Lane and Arlington Road. That project is still scheduled to break ground in the first half of next year.

The project also survived complaints waged by four residents with property on the street, who had been hoping to welcome the Hampden Associates project as their new neighbor and proposed moving HOC’s project to another Bethesda location. In the end, letter of support from Charles R. Loehr, Park and Planning Director of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission and Peter Engel, Real Estate Division Director of HOC seemed to sway the Planning Board’s favor. Demolition of the vacant house currently standing 4917 Hampden is expected to commence early next year.

Organic Grocer in Columbia Heights to Build in March

Richmond-based organic grocer Ellwood Thompson’s Local Market has announced it will start construction on its second location (and first District store) in March of next year. The grocer, which announced its intention to occupy the space last month, will build out the 15,000 square foot store inside the DC USA at 14^th and Irving Streets NW. It’s an area that Ellwood Thompson’s CEO, Ryan Youngman, saw as a perfect fit for his stores’ locally grown, organic produce.

ET bills itself as supporting "sustainable practices ...supporting local farmers" with food "free of artificial flavors, colors, preservatives and sweeteners." Said Youngman: "We’ve always seen DC as market that could really handle it. It’s always been on our list of places to go...We’re one independent store and wherever you grow, you want to get your biggest possible audience."

After meeting with nearly 20 developers and scouting locations across the city (including PN Hoffman’s storefront at Union Row, now occupied by Yes! Organic), Ellwood formally partnered with MV+A Architects to resurrect a derelict storefront at 14^th and Irving that the architecture firm had been seeking to fill with a viable tenant. Once completed – with historic facade intact - the new Ellwood Thompson’s will share the block with a recently opened Washington Sports Club location and Best Buy.

According to Youngman, the local community registered almost immediate support once word got out that his organization was vetting it as the possible location for an independent, health-conscious grocer – a feeling that was reciprocated on Ellwood Thompson’s end as well. Says Youngman:

We really just loved the walk of it. We loved the people and the activism aspect of it. I’ve got thousands of e-mails of testimony from people who wanted us to come up there...we just got hit after hit after hit and we’d like to profess our undying gratitude. After 800 or 900 e-mails, it just became the obvious location for us. This is also an economy where we really need to be in a place where the discretionary income is there and it’s under-served in that area. Giant is cranking away up there, but there’s no alternative for a grocery.

Washington DC-based Prince Construction has been selected to build the project. Construction is slated to begin in March of 2009.

Washington DC commercial real estate news

Convention Center Marriott Awaits Zoning Approval

Final plans for a new Convention Center Marriott will head before the Washington DC Zoning Commission tonight for a public hearing. Now dubbed the Washington Marriott Marquis, adjacent to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, it is expected to catch little to no flak, as it conforms to the non-residential zoning standard already in place, and has been pushed for by District officials.

Additionally, Marriott is developing the project in unison with the Fenty administration under a handy piece of city legislation entitled the Public Space Utilization Act – which allows the Mayor to "enter into lease(s) with private parties for the rental of the space above or below streets and alleys in the District." That Act, however, leaves final approval of any such lease to the Commission, which will tonight discuss how the plans on hand sync with city regulations concerning building height, off-street parking, and traffic flow – all areas Marriott’s draftsmen appear to have to managed meticulously.

The plans for Marriott’s parcel at Massachusetts Avenue and 9^th Street NW call for construction of a new 1,150 room hotel with a two-level underground garage. Additionally, the AFL building currently on the site will get an extreme makeover into a 42 room “boutique hotel” connected to the main facility at several junctures. The PEPCO power station eyesore on the block will remain (but possibly receive an aesthetic makeover) and an underground tunnel linking the Marriott to the Convention Center’s east end will be constructed. Marriott has taken on Quadrangle Development Corporation to assist in the development process and has enlisted TBS Architects and Cooper Carry Architecture to design the project. Marriott hopes to garner a silver LEED certification for their flagship facility.

It is, however, important to note that tonight’s meeting will not address the project’s second planned component one block to the north, on the opposite side of L Street NW. Sean Madigan of the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development told DC Mud in 2007 that Marriott had abandoned plans to build a smaller, secondary hotel wing on that site and had instead chosen to redevelop the AFL building. The development team has yet to present any concrete ideas about what may happen with that parcel.

Tonight’s meeting is being held tonight at the Office of Zoning Hearing Room (441 4^th Street NW, Suite 220) and begins at 6:30 PM. The proceedings are open to the public, so this would be a good chance to get a head start on booking a room for 2012 inauguration.

Washington DC real estate development news