The Joy of CSX: Capitol Hill Braces for Big Dig

Thanks to expansion of the Panama Canal, Capitol Hill may be about to get its own Big Dig - a $174 million capital improvement project that will unearth the long-buried tunnel south of the Capitol Building to widen and deepen the antiquated freight line. For those that miss the obvious connection between Panama and DC, the $5 billion overhaul of the Big Ditch in Panama will now make it easier to ship cargo from Asia to the Gulf of Mexico, and from there into the midwest via rail lines, beating out formerly dominant west coast ports as the cheapest point of entry into the American interior. That is, if the rail lines can handle the increased cargo. Which brings us back to Capitol Hill.

In 2008, freight-hauling giant CSX, which owns the tracks that cross the Potomac and mole beneath the Capitol, launched its National Gateway project to improve the capacity of its rail lines, one of which happens to lie under Virgina Ave in Southeast DC. CSX plans to unearth the narrow tube from 2nd Street to 11th Street, beginning in 2011 and continuing for an estimated two to three years. Surely Bostonians are smirking sympathetically, but area residents and business are bracing for the worst.

According to officials from the company, the CSX rail lines that disect DC are some of the most congested on the line. According to the National Gateway website, a variety of factors lead to the decision to expand and renew the current freight system. Population growth, energy costs, and environmental factors will mean increased demand for freight. According to CSX, the current system of tracks, bridges and tunnels is outdated, hence the new plan to widen the tunnel and lower the tracks to allow for double-stacked trains, but in order to access the tunnels for construction, its Virginia Avenue ceiling will need to be removed.

In the late 1800's Congress authorized the B&O Railroad, now CSX, to build the tunnel and own the area below ground, while the federal government retained ownership of Virgina Avenue at grade. As with any major project in D.C., a spiderweb of authorities will have their say over the planned construction. According to National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) Senior Planner David Zaidain, since CSX is applying for federal TIGER Grants to fund a portion of the project, the company will have to comply with the National Environmental Protection Act and the National Historic Preservation Act. NCPC has oversight because Virginia Avenue is technically federal land and is inside the L'Enfant City plan. NCPC will review the concept and give final approval to the public space effects of the project during and after construction. For good measure, the District Department of Transportation will be working with CSX to evaluate impact on traffic.

Assuming CSX obtains the federal grant money and jumps sufficiently through the various oversight hoops, residents on Capitol Hill can expect an extended period of construction and all its attendant pleasures. Among the joys of CSX: new traffic patterns - including temporary bridges connecting the numbered streets and diverted flows from Virginia onto G Street - construction noise, and the unmasked noise of trains running through the Capitol Riverfront neighborhood. For three years. Or more. And that's before planners start getting ideas about what other infrastructure goals could be accomplished while they're at it.

The project is particularly irksome to residents and businesses such as EYA's Capitol Quarters housing development. The new townhomes line the streets near Virginia Avenue and the proposed CSX plan is giving some future homeowners a (possibly justified) case of buyers' remorse. Some would-be buyers have backed off when they caught wind of the area's construction future. EYA Partner AJ Jackson had this to say about the Capitol Quarter community and CSX, "EYA has been in contact with CSX and will be working with the company as well as the District government to ensure that Capitol Quarter continues to be a great community if CSX’s National Gateway proposal goes forward. Our goal is to ensure that any proposal that’s considered includes the needs and concerns of the Capitol Quarter." Like moving massive amounts of freight from the gulf to the north and west. At least Hill residents can console themselves that this will save alot of fossil fuel consumption. And Bostonians will tell them that this too shall pass. But not soon.

Images from the NCPC and DDOT Freight Railroad Realignment Study.

Washington DC real estate news

The Dirt On...Clarendon

Even if you haven’t heard it, the Arlington Rap bears no need for repeating. Its kitschy, incessant observational diatribe aside, the piece bathes in obviously stereotypical traits of those neighborhoods in North Arlington with lyrics that could describe any other well-to-do residential area in America today. It should then make sense that the author of the “song” is a product of the environment he chastises, and, hey, maybe that’s the crux of the material. I can empathize. As a resident of Clarendon, I find myself nitpicking the commercial and residential aspects of the neighborhood; for every Cheesecake Factory customer, there’s another with a trusty Whitlow’s mug for Thursday nights. For every Apple Store employee, there’s an indie kid covering Death Cab for Cutie at Iota. For every multimillion condo building, there’s a hollowed out 1930s house converted into several one-bedrooms. You get it. Classifying Clarendon as just another white-bread pocket of Arlington is a slippery slope, and it’s easy as a resident of the area to be slightly offended by any labeling that would be a detriment to the various elements that comprise the charming, pseudo-urban streets which knit together one of the best offerings of the DC Metro Area.

The balance between cultures within Clarendon isn’t the result of any absolute dichotomy. With George Mason’s law school just a half mile from Clarendon Station, and K Street just four Metro stops away, the nightlife atmosphere blends professional and academic to great success. Commuters litter the residential pockets that line the commercial ‘downtown’ of Clarendon, with condo buildings and apartment complexes providing a sort of transitional skin into a more settled environment. Small businesses cohabitate easily with a subliminal corporate presence, which appears to be tamed by the fact that Crate and Barrel, Pottery Barn, the Apple Store, etc. are all located at close quarters in Clarendon Plaza. This makes the Plaza a sort of financial nucleus, drawing residents from DC and further south in Arlington to the area. (And of course Whole Foods, the organic grocery Mecca is a Prius magnet, and 9 out of 10 that make the drive have District plates.) It’s also a clever sleight of hand that sort of tricks people into noticing the rest of the neighborhood, whether they came for it or not.

And there’s the charm. Clarendon’s small businesses aren’t so much allowed to exist as they are encouraged to thrive. The farmers market right off the metro on Wednesday afternoons is always well attended, and independent restaurants are clustered and crowded with customers. Nightlife booms toward the West, with the Clarendon Ballroom, Mr. Days, and Clarendon Grill all hosting happy hours conscious of their customers. Some bars try to go higher end, and succeed in pleasing the folks that bother to show up and deal with the pretty shoulda-woulda crowd that couldn’t bother with a short cab or metro ride into DC. (I’m looking at you, Eleventh.) Dinner outside in the spring and summer is unavoidable, it seems, as sidewalks are full of people enjoying Faccia Luna, 3, Harry’s Taproom, or Rien Tong.

Commerce aside, living in Clarendon is as easy as it is enticing. On the high end, established streets like Franklin Road and Key Boulevard present some of Arlington’s finer fare, with single family homes ranging anywhere from $700,000 to just over $1 million. Given that everything in the area seems to be on top of everything else, location is less a determining factor in price than, say, age or square footage. Garfield Street stretches back into an expansive neighborhood shaded by oak and pine, with sleight hills traced in well-kept sidewalks. Emerge from Garfield onto Wilson and find yourself in the shadow of commercial construction (to be completed in 2010) and shouldered by bars and restaurants. Further down, on the other side of Clarendon Boulevard, apartments are stacked over popular nightlife to the tune of $1900 a month to $4000, depending on, again, size and age. The neighborhoods down 10th Street across Lombard, toward Courthouse and Rosslyn, are a mixed bag of old Virginia ranchers, brick colonials, townhomes and apartment buildings with slightly more reasonable prices, whether you’re buying or renting.

Ten minutes from DC by Metro, maybe even ten with a car (we know how that goes), Clarendon enjoys island-like qualities, even though it’s one of the most connected neighborhoods to the District. In the end, it’s the odd mix of the urbane yet surrounding modest suburbia that draws its residents in and urges them to stay. Or at least it was for me.
Editor's note:
And for those of you who somehow never saw it, the Arlington Rap...

James Mitchell is a resident of Clarendon and a brave soul for contributing to our series of neighborhood features.

Arlington and Clarendon Real Estate News

Whole Foods - Gentrification Comes Belatedly to Chevy Chase

Chevy Chase may get its first Whole Foods, the much-anticipated second "anchor" to the Shops at Wisconsin Place, by the spring of 2010. While the Bethesda-Chevy Chase corridor may seem like a scripted stage setting for the Whole Foods phenomenon, Chevy Chasers have until now had to drive all the way down to Tenley for their organic Gruyere, or eke by (gasp) on Giant or TJ's foodstuffs.

New England Development (NED), Archstone and Boston Properties are jointly developing the Wisconsin Place shopping center at the Chevy Chase-DC border. The entire development took five years to complete. Today, the shopping center features 432, SK&I-designed, upscale apartments, 295,000 s.f. of office space, and 305,000 s.f. of swanky shopping destinations including Cole Haan, White House/Black Market, and Bloomingdales—a.k.a. "Wisconsin Place Anchor Number One."

Turner Construction began working on the shell that would become the new Whole Foods back in August of 2004. Just this past July, Wisconsin Place General Manager, Christine Norris assured DCMud that work on the grocery's escalators had already begun.

Now, four months after that update, construction by L.F. Jennings is underway and Amanda Orr, Communications Rep for NED, told DCMud that Whole Foods is "slated for a spring opening, for sure," but she could offer no more detail because the Whole Foods powers-that-be "made it very clear that they don't want any outside media reps speaking on their behalf."

Unfortunately, when it comes to answering questions about the new store's square footage, its design, and even the estimated Spring 2010 grand opening date posted on the Wisconsin Place web site - Whole Foods PR rep, Katie Hunsberger is only willing to confirm that the store will open sometime in the first half of 2010. And yes, we know River Road has its own, in a bad strip mall.

We got it: What happens in Whole Foods, stays in Whole Foods.

Chevy Chase Real Estate News

Twinbrook Developers, I Give You: Guidelines for a Walkable City

The Montgomery County Planning Commission just released its 2009 Urban Design Guidelines for the Twinbrook section of Rockville with a set of advisory rules 8 years in the making to guide developers in producing a more walkable, livable neighborhood that will "build a community."

In 2001, the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission joined with the Montgomery County Council and County Executive, residents, business owners, planners and architects to devise a plan for the Twinbrook neighborhood along Viers Mill Road to combat sprawl by improving pedestrian access and encouraging transit use and mixed-use development. What follows is the brainchild of eight years of meetings.

  

The guidelines seek to break Twinbrook into three zones of Metro Core, Light Industrial, and Technology Employment, and lay out a system that will be more ped-friendly, sustainable, and attractive. To save you from having to read 50 pages of municipal urbanspeak, we've taken the liberty of summarizing the recommendations below. You're welcome.

The first rule of developing in Twinbrook: Mind your P's & Q's. It's all about pedestrian-quality development, people.

Twinbrook needs crosswalks and street lights. And if you're thinking of building in the neighborhood any time soon, don't be chintzy with the streetscaping—pile on the street furniture and keep sidewalks tree-lined but with closely-spaced, single-file trees that are easier to navigate. Oh, and each street has its own specially designated tree species, because what's the use in lining up all those trees if they're not going to match?

Get ready to spend some extra money on community art and open spaces with public street access. And, lest you think you've filled your tree quota for this design, remember to include a 50% tree canopy in all open spaces. If you're looking for the right kind of inspiration, check out what the developers at JBG have planned for the Twinbrook Station Green with their "gold neighborhood" - one of the three designated open spaces included in the guidelines and part of JBG's much larger plan for the neighborhood.

The streets are going to be overhauled so that the blocks are shorter for on-foot commuters. Business district streets like Fishers Lane, Washington Street, and Wilkins Avenue need permanent on-street parking. The same goes for those four to six-lane streets like Twinbrook Parkway and Parklawn Drive.

If you're building near residential neighborhoods, especially near the Rockville boundary, try to keep your structures 60 feet or shorter. The "Light Industrial Area" is located along Wilkins Avenue and Parklawn Drive and features buildings designated for service industrial uses with smaller lots and shorter heights to match - 42 feet's the limit. The "Technology Area" has been set aside to "meet the needs of the advanced technology and biotechnology industries" as well as to provide some extra space for retail, offices, and some residential. 

The planners would like you to consider glass entry-ways if you're thinking of developing over there.

Buildings near the "Metro Core Area" must provide a minimum of 25% residential space and can reach a maximum height of 143 feet, just like its urban neighbor 10 miles to the south, thank you very much. Retail goes on the ground floor and if you could make your structures entirely out of non-tinted glass, that would be ideal.

A LEED Gold rating is preferable for new Twinbrook developments, but a LEED Silver rating is now mandatory. Additionally, "adaptive reuse of buildings is encouraged." Throw in some solar panels or integrate some green roof technology if you really want to suck up. Reduce paving in open spaces and have some ideas in mind for stormwater management. And there you have it: 50 pages of Urban Design Guidelines in one easy-to-swallow capsule. 

Rockville Maryland commercial real estate news.

Victory Square Slowly Contemplating Construction

Last September we reported that Hamel Builders was looking for subcontractors for the Victory Square development in Parkside near the Minnesota Avenue Metro, and now they are back at it. Located at 600 Barnes Street NE, the project is being developed as a joint venture between Bethesda's Victory Housing Inc. and the Bank of America Community Development Corporation (BACDC). Bids are due by December 2nd for the senior housing development to include construction of 98 apartments to total 94,336 s.f.

The units will be four stories of wood frame over a concrete parking garage. Individual units range in size from 612 s.f. to 1,016 s.f. and include 5 handicapped accessible units and 9 visual and hearing impaired units. The parking garage will have a total of 25 spaces, 4 of which will be handicapped designated. A representative of Hamel estimated the total project costs fall in the $11 to $13 million range.

The Hamel rep. said the delays in selecting subcontractors were related to updates to the plans and slight changes in engineering, but she asserted the plans have not changed substantially in any way. Once Hamel secures contractors, the team hopes to move forward in the first quarter of 2010; construction will likely begin in March, with an estimated completion 13 to 15 months later.

Victory Square will mark the developer’s fifth so-named senior housing facility in the region, after Palmer Park’s Victory House, Potomac’s Victory Terrace, Columbia Heights’ Victory Heights and Takoma Park’s Victory Tower. The architect for the project is the local architecture firm Grimm + Parker

Hotel Follies Continue in Dupont Circle

The saga surrounding five townhouses being converted to a hotel in the middle of Dupont Circle, the former Gralyn Hotel and Woodbine Apartments, continues as DC real estate tycoon Morton Bender, his N Street Follies Ltd. (NSF) and their latest architect, Andrulis Janezich Architects, go before the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) this week for review of the developer's newest site plan. In addition to HPRB, the group's plan is pending before the Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) for a special exception to construct a hotel in the Dupont neighborhood; the BZA decision is expected December 8th. For the first time since the property was purchased in 1988, it looks like NSF will be able to secure HPRB approval for a conceptual design with the support of the Dupont Circle Conservancy and the ANC. Architect Anton Janezich said his team has been working on the design for approximately six months, but indicated he was not well-versed in the previous designs for the site. The plan will leave the historic townhomes at their current height; the architect says the planned rear addition will not be visible from the street. In total the 5 townhomes make up approximately 98 rooms with an estimated 58 below grade parking spaces. The HPRB staff report gave approval to the revised conceptual design, adding that when/if the BZA approves the necessary exceptions, the staff will work with the architect and developers to move forward on a solid plan for N Street. In an appearance before the BZA in October, Architect Stan Andrulis said the plan retains "93 percent of the existing buildings" based on square footage. In that meeting, the discussion over the plans and the presentations from both the developers and opponents eventually ran out of time, forcing the BZA to postpone any further discussion or decisions until all parties involved had time to speak at a later date. It remains to be seen whether they can get through it all in December, a minor miracle giving the years of fighting that have taken place until now. 

Washington DC Real Estate News

New Townhomes Coming to Congress Heights

Residents of Ward 8's Congress Heights will be getting new affordable housing, this time from a private sector project beginning early 2010. The 4th Street Vistas are 94 single-family town homes designed by DC-based architect Atelier and being developed by Unidev on a currently vacant plot of land near the intersection of 4th and Mississippi Ave SE. The homes will offer 14 different floor plans for 2-, 3-, and 4-bedroom homes.

Unidev purchased the property in early 2007 and spent most of 2008 planning and designing the project, according to Project Manager Emmanuel Ogundipe. The units range in size from 2 bedrooms at 1,200-1,400 s.f., 3 bedrooms from 1,400-2,050 s.f. and 4 bedrooms at 2,050 to 2,100 s.f. The developers secured various permits in early 2009 and the initial 35 units will be built quickly, delivering in the first quarter of 2010.

Geared towards current Ward 8 residents who live in the community but rent their home, 4th Street Vista's offer workforce housing for the city's law enforcement, teachers and civil servants, according to Ogundipe. The units are priced from the $200's to the low $300s. According to Ogundipe, both Councilmembers Marion Barry and Kwame Brown had been aware and excited about the project, and the Ward 8 community supported it energetically.

The general contractor for the project is Harkins Builders.


Washington DC Real Estate News

Work Begins on Downtown Church Site

The First Congregational United Church of Christ and development partner Skanska have begun developing a 10-story, 200,000 s.f. mixed use building in downtown Washington DC where a Church has sat since 1865, and which PN Hoffman had previously attempted first a condo then an office project. The enviably positioned site between Metro Center and Chinatown is accessible from all 5 metro lines. The church will reclaim office space on part of the first and all of the second floor, and develop 5,000 s.f. of ground floor retail and eight floors of Class A office space where the church once stood, at 733 10th Street, NW (at G Street), a modern structure which had taken the place of yet another church. Designed by Cunningham | Quill to achieve LEED Gold certification, upward construction could begin as soon as this January with anticipated delivery in 18 to 20 months. The new building will be a huge improvement over a site that many a nighttime passerby used to scurry past, helped not at all by vagrant filled MLK Library next door. The church congregation began considering a new development over five years ago in light of the costly repairs needed for the old building. After an RFP, the church originally hired PNHoffman as the developer for what was then planned as a combined condominium, church office, and homeless shelter. According to Meg Maguire, a spokesperson for First Congregational, as the condo market slid into oblivion in the beginning of 2008, the church took their developer's advice and redesigned the plan for an office building. Shortly thereafter the market further deteriorated, and the project lost financing, making way for international developer Skanska to swoop in during the first quarter of 2009. According to Robert Ward, Executive Vice President at Skanska, the company, which only just entered the US market as a commercial developer in late 2008, sought out the project and stepped in to purchase the air rights above the church ground. The agreement between the new developer and the church is for $21 million to include the cost of construction of the 25,000 s.f. of new church space as well as 20 below-grade parking spaces. Skanska now acts as the developer, financier and general contractor with PNHoffman as non-financing partner. Ward estimated the total development cost at $85 million, including the church's $21 million. The building will feature six sides of glass facade and all sides of the offices from the fourth floor up will be glass walled and well lit, as there is no adjoining structure and the MLK Public Library rises only four stories. The floor plates on the office floors are 21,000 s.f. and consist of an outer ring of column-free window line offices and conference rooms, with an inner ring of interior offices, meeting spaces and common spaces. As part of the LEED Gold design, the building will feature a vegetated green roof. Depending on when tenants sign their leases, the new office spaces could see occupancy as early as 2012. Since demolition and excavation began in 2007, the church has made a temporary home at First Trinity Lutheran church. The congregation will have to wait another 20 months or so until the new church, designed by Todd Williams Billie Tsien Architects, is ready. Renderings were provided by Interface Multimedia. First Congregational UCC shared their former space with Thrive DC, which now has a permanent home in Adams Morgan. Keeping with their tradition of providing space for like minded groups, the church plans to find an "appropriate nonprofit" to lease approximately 2,300 s.f. of "flex space" in its new home. Ward described the neighborhood's reception of the project as "welcoming," adding that the ground floor retail space will be a "nice improvement" for the block. Maguire said the congregation is "excited about having a new home that is forward-looking and meets contemporary requirements for their outreach and mission." Look for signs of progress in the New Year. 

Washington DC real estate construction images courtesy of First Congregational.

Clarendon Condos Close Out

The Keating Group has closed its Clarendon sales center for the Phoenix Condos. Another developer gone out of business? You might think so, with gloom over real estate this year's bumper crop, but that would be incorrect. Keating sold the last of its 181 condos last week, and will now focus on selling its commercial remaining commercial space in the project it began building in 2005. The Pennsylvania-based developer renovated and expanded the historic Post Office on Washington St., now on the Federal Register of Historic Places, adding 52,000 s.f. of office space, retail, and of course the 11-story condominium on what had been a surface parking lot. Located 2 blocks south of the Clarendon Metro, the Phoenix was built by Turner Construction, and began selling more than 4 years ago, with prices originally running from the low $300's to the $700's. Construction completed in the summer of 2007. The project received approval by the Smart Growth Alliance - a mix of various smart growth and environmental groups, for its transit-oriented historic adaptation. The Phoenix condominium was designed by Dorksy Hodgson Partners, the main architects, with Oehrlein & Associates as the preservation architects. Keating will be going postal again, next time in Bethesda, where it plans another post office conversion with adjacent condo project. No timeline has been offered for that. 

Arlington Virginia real estate news

The Changing View on 14th Street

After two years of construction and $90 million spent, the SK&I-designed View 14 started accepting leases this month as the building prepares for its first tenants to move in by the end of the month. A joint project of Level 2 Development and Centrum Properties, View14 sits at the intersection of 14th Street NW and Florida Avenue, on a site that once held the Petrovitch body shop and a dozen two-story Comcast satellite dishes - few neighbors were sad to see them go. The project will soon lose the remaining 14 story antenna tower; that alone is a welcome change for neighbors. View 14 stretches U Street northward, where half a dozen projects are in either the planning or construction stage within a single block of the new apartment building. Though originally planned as a condominium endeavor, View 14 now offers 185 rental studio, one and two bedroom units with floor to ceiling glass windows and outdoor spaces on 80% of the apartments. David Franco, a Principal at Level 2 Development, boasted of the building's rooftop views, ranging "from the Potomac River to the Wilson Bridge." Not too shabby. Franco described the building as initially looking like a "solid sheet of glass window wall," which upon closer review "responds to the bend in the road" by breaking up the western facade into "varying volumes of glass wall." He added that the goal was always to create a "stunning piece of architecture" that acts as a "gateway to and from the U Street Corridor and Columbia Heights." The general contractor is Clark Construction, interior architecture is by Studio Architecture and interior modeling by 14th Street neighbor Vastu. Washington DC real estate news

Groundbreaking for Georgia Avenue CVS

Groundbreakings are never quite as exciting as officials or the press want them to be. Really they are an opportunity to get dress shoes dirty, make a few speeches and wait months for something to replace the ceremonious dirt. Today's groundbreaking at a CVS in Parkview/Petworth Community met all the aforementioned expectations, but DCMud attended, just in case something unexpected happened. Nothing did. That said, the fulfillment of promised retail for a community long underserved is certainly something to note and a welcome sign of progress for neighbors. The CVS is the first step in a line of promised retail on the Georgia Avenue Corridor. The lot in question is at the intersection of Georgia Avenue and New Hampshire Avenue NW, across from Donatelli's Park Place and diagonal from the Georgia Avenue Metro. The space sits just on the border of Wards 1 and 4 and will serve the communities there. The site once was home to a gas station that closed in the early 90's and the lot sat vacant until 2000 when a real estate developer proposed a plan for a 10-story residential tower. According to Robb LaKritz, the community and the city disliked the project so much that it eventually died. In 2007 LaKritz Adler purchased the property and began the long process of working with the community, where Principal and Managing Partner Robb LaKritz lives, to pursue the type of retail the area needed. There was one major obstacle the developer had to work through with the city - the soil of the former gas station was deemed contaminated by health officials. But with some finessing and consideration for the type of tenant the developer was pursuing, LaKritz Adler and city officials were able to obtain approval for development and secure CVS as the tenant. The 11,000 s.f. site is smaller than a typical CVS, which are usually 14,000 to 15,00 s.f. The Georgia Avenue CVS will also include a mezzanine to accommodate more space on a second floor. Construction, not yet begun, is expected to wrap up mid-2010. The project was made possible partly through a $2 million Georgia Avenue Great Streets Grant from the District, which spends approximately one-fifth of its $10 million budget for the area. The grant will be financed through TIF bonds, which make the District a development partner of sorts creating an added value for the lot in order to secure additional private financing. The TIF bond will be financed through the sales tax revenue generated by the new CVS and will expire after 25 years or when the taxes revenue fulfill the financial obligations. So, the Mayor shoveled some rocks as he lead Councilmembers Graham and Bowser with the cheer of "1-2-3, New CVS!" Get excited.

Washington DC commercial property news

Brookland and Abdo Getting Closer to New Development

Abdo Development's plans for a section of the Catholic University of America (CUA) were given a hearing this week, following up on its October review before the Zoning Commission for amendment to CUA's campus plan. The sizable mixed-use project is planned for 8.9 acres of land on the CUA South Campus, on either side of Monroe Street between Michigan Avenue and the Brookland Metro. The hearing set the stage for final approval come December, and, assuming PUD approval, the developer expects to begin construction in 2011. In May of 2008 Abdo beat out a group of competitors including EYA, Monument Realty and Trammell Crow for the right to purchase the land from CUA and develop it. Though the purchase is not finalized, Abdo is under contract to purchase the property prior to the start of construction. The development team is seeking a flexibile approval for a residential development that would constitute anywhere from 725 to 825 units in what is proposed as 4 multi-family buildings with room for 80,000 s.f. of ground floor retail space with an FAR of 2.37. Of that 8%, or 63,000 s.f., will be affordable at 80% AMI. The plans also include 45 single-family homes, ranging between 3 and 4 stories with 2 to 4 bedrooms. The PUD application also contemplates a 3,000 s.f. "Arts Flex" building to serve as a community meeting area with space for art shows, recitals, and well, any other artsy undertaking. The development team plans to build for some type of LEED certification. The Arts feature of the Abdo project will likely be the first phase executed once construction begins. The plan includes an arts walk to serve as a pedestrian connection from Monroe Street to the metro station. On either side of the arts walk will be one multi-family building split into two wings, joined below grade by a parking garage. The ground floor of the building will include 27 artists studios to frame the pedestrian walkway. Work space will feature glass roll-up doors that artists can open during fair weather and weekends to engage the public and invite them into the studios. The feel, according to Abdo Vice President Toby Millman, will be something of a mix between Alexandria's Torpedo Factory and DC's Eastern Market. In addition to the ground floor work spaces, the nearby Arts Flex building was designed to reflect an "old warehouse style," given its proximity to the railroad tracks. The multi-family homes will be built with a mixture of masonry and pre-cast stone and, though originally planned at eight stories each, the buildings will reach only six stories in order to comply with the Brookland/CUA Small Area Plan developed during Abdo's planning process. One structure will only reach four stories in response to requests for reduced height or scale from community members living in neighboring single family homes on Lawrence Street. Millman described the architecture, a combination of designs from both Torti Gallas and Maurice Walters, as bridging the styles between the 100-year old CUA collegiate gothic and Brookland neighborhood's arts and crafts style. During one Commission meeting, Commissioner May critiqued the design saying the design "doesn't need to be so overtly historic" and that "it just seems a little odd." In the end, though, the overall design did not run into many hiccups with the community, largely due to adherence with initial recommendations for use, size and design in the small area plan. Millman said one of the goals of the design was to take Monroe Street - which he described as "not very active or interesting right now" and to turn it into "a vibrant retail main street." Developers were adamant during their hearing and in conversations with this publication that the retail they seek is community-serving; big boxes need not apply. Millman envisions a "vibrant, eclectic college town type atmosphere" with bike shops, sidewalk cafes and bookshops to serve both the college and neighborhood. 

Washington DC commercial real estate news

Metro West - Urbanity on Hold

It has been heralded by green organizations across the country as "the answer to urban sprawl" - an urban village complete with more than 2200 new residences, fountains, cafes and over 100,000 s.f. of the all-important, ground-floor retail, concentrated around a Metro station as an outlet to relieve pressure for expansion outside of Washington DC.

When Pulte Homes' 56-acre Metro West development is finally completed, it will concentrate residences and offices south of the Vienna-Fairfax-GMU Metro Station, north of Route 29, and usher in a new era of "smart growth." That is, if it ever gets built.

The idea for Metro West first debuted in 2001, but it was March of 2006 before Fairfax County approved plans for up to 2,248 residential units and 300,000 s.f. of office space between Lee Highway and Saintsbury Drive; outside the beltway but still on a metro line.

"It took too many years trying to get it approved," laments Stewart Schwartz, Executive Director for the Coalition for Smarter Growth. In 2003, Schwartz's group began lending support to the project as it passed through Fairfax County's Proffer System. He credits green organizations like the Sierra Club, FairGrowth and his own for spurring a "turning point" with the Board of Supervisors, who began to see "a transit-oriented development as a green solution" that would help to make Fairfax and other Northern Virginia neighborhoods feel more connected to one another.

In light of the 2006 zoning approvals, an announcement appeared on the Metro West web site declaring that construction would begin in 2007. The bulletin still adds that "the first townhouse and condominium units could be ready for occupancy by the middle of 2008."

But three years after making that announcement, Pulte Homes Corporate Communications Manager, Eric Younan, tells DCMud that no sale dates have been set, and his office "doesn't have a date for when they're going to build [Metro West] at this time." There is nothing new to report "that's not on our web site," reiterates Younan.

So, will Metro West ever come to achieve its potential?

Mike Wing from the Fairfax County Department of Planning Zoning is optimistic, assuring that Metro West "is moving forward with the permitting process and working with the VDOT," but that these discussions "take time."

Pulte Homes' former Northern Virginia land acquisitions head, Stan Settle, takes a different perspective. In 2005, Settle battled with everyone from angry neighbors to then-US Congressman Thomas M. Davis of Virginia to win the right to raze 69 single-family homes so that Metro West could be realized.

But Settle says a lot has changed since then. In 2009, Pulte merged with Centex Corporation, becoming the largest home builder in America. Settle was let go from the company after the merger, and has since formed his own land company. Although no longer involved in Metro West decisions, Settle holds fast to the opinion that Pulte "projects like Metro West have gotten shelved until the market improves."

"They have a great land position," but he speculates that Pulte "is just sitting on the land," adding that in this market "it could be a while before Pulte has to worry about high rise construction again."

Despite Settle's foreboding, there have been signs that Metro West is still on Pulte's agenda. Just last June, the company began looking for Fairfax County approval to swap out 700,000 s.f. of residential space for office space, a move green organizations are supportive of because it still translates into increased density near a Virginia Metro station. But building anything close to 2200 housing units seems presently unimaginable, and Stan Settle remains the contact person on Pulte's website, which also lists a timeline that hasn't seen an update since 2004.