Buying Into Utopia

Though it may be hard to believe, U Street still has a few rough edges without the pizazz of chic bars and swanky loft apartments, but not for long: enter Utopia at the corner of 14th and U, where developers assert a construction timeline is nigh. Robert Moore of Georgetown Strategic Capital LLC (GSC) is the optimist behind Utopia's assemblage of parcels into a mixed-use residential and retail project; Moore recently shared with DCMud how his long gestating plans are coming into focus.

Though the Utopia project was "hammered by the economy in '08 and '09," said Moore, the team is deep in the process of "inking" an agreement with a large financial institution. Moore indicated everything has to "go through the lawyers," but that he could make an announcement about financing and a timeline "hopefully in the next couple weeks." With financial backing secured for the $93.5 million project, the team will then put together construction drawings and obtain permits, reportedly over the next nine months. Moore said construction would likely begin in 2011 and complete in 2012.

The Utopian vision is for 220 residential rental units on the corner of 14th and U Streets, with the building and all entrances facing 14th Street. Historic structures along U Street would remain, while their less historic neighbors will be sacrificed. An approved curb cut means that two levels of parking will be accessed from 14th Street, loading will take place in the back alley. Just a block from the U Street Metro, the new project will offer 150 parking spaces to service both retail and residential uses. The building with be tallest on U Street at 90 feet, stepping down to 65 feet, then 45 feet on the south side as it moves away from U Street. Moore plans 20,000 s.f. of retail and a roof top pool.

Though most of the buildings on 14th Street will be demolished, the historic structures along U Street will be spared by setting the project 60 feet back from U Street. Architect Eric Colbert of Eric Colbert & Associates said that the design process was highly collaborative, including near-monthly meetings with organizations such as the Dupont Circle Conservancy, the ANC and the Historic Preservation staff. Developers have pledged use of materials in keeping with the style of the neighborhood; team members consulted the community on window designs, and window and brick colors.

One "very important" aspect of the design, according to Colbert, is the density, which is greatest near U Street and gradually "terraces down towards the residential neighborhood to the south." Additionally, the architects "broke-up the facade" so that it reads as "different rowbuildings rather than some blockbuster building," according to the architect. The terracing is designed to provide a "sense of hierarchy of scale" instead of providing a flat, box-like facade from the street.

The team has not determined whether or not it will seek LEED certification, though Colbert assures us that "we are definitely going to make it as green as possible...it's definitely the trend."

Washington, DC real estate development news

Pentagon City Park Begins Construction

Arlington County officially kicked off construction last week on Long Bridge Park, its isolated brownfield on the edge of Pentagon City and Crystal City that it hopes will soon become a major attraction. The 46-acre Park, located just off the Potomac River, was contaminated with "differing levels of lead and PCBs" and had long served as an industrial site, including a brick factory and staging area for construction of the Pentagon.

In its place, the County is building "a distinctive showplace of environmentally sound development, featuring attractive public green spaces, high-quality outdoor recreation facilities and environmentally responsible structures." Planning for the project began back in 2001, completion is expected next summer.

The Park borders I-395, Roaches Run Wildfowl Sanctuary and Reagan National Airport. Donohoe Construction won the bid for construction work last December. The first phase of improvements will include lighted athletic fields, more than a mile of walking trails, a public river overlook, bike paths, restrooms, parking and new "rain garden" among other amenities. A new walkway "will be suitable for strolling, bicycling, train spotting, plane watching and small festivals," says a county statement.

On-street parking will be provided on Jefferson Davis highway for the heavy traffic the county anticipates the park will generate. While the county will pick up most of the initial $28m construction costs, Marymount University is providing a $2m construction grant. With the additional planned phases, the entire project is expected to cost roughly $90 million.

Arlington Virginia real estate development news

HITT Hits a Home Run with New Falls Church Facility

They say all that glitters isn’t gold. Sometimes it’s silver, and that’s the goal for Falls Church, Va.-based HITT Contracting Inc.

Seven months into its brand new 140,000 s.f. facility at 2900 Fairview Park Drive (HITT occupies 2 1/2 floors of the four-story building), the 73-year-old company with annual revenue of more than $900 million and 700 employees in five cities has just finished the LEED certification commissioning process, with Silver a viable prize.

Occupying only 6 percent of a 17-acre Fairview Park campus, reduced site disturbance was one of many objectives on HITT’s relocation agenda. The company was compelled to move from five disjointed buildings in another part of Falls Church due to a consistent growth pattern. But housing approximately 400 Falls Church-based employees and showcasing its business weren’t the only goals that HITT, with 47 green building projects in various stages of development or completion, wanted to meet. Working closely with owner/developers Fairview Property Investments, LLC and Rushmark Properties, LLC, along with Noritake Architects and interior designer Susan Stine, principal of Red Team Strategies, HITT chose to become a beacon of green construction in its own right.


“From the beginning we took the approach from a LEED perspective that we want to do things that make sense,” said Kim Pexton, HITT’s Director of Sustainable Construction, a LEED-accredited professional (AP) since 2001 and former 5-year member of the local U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) national capital region board. “But we don’t want to fit a square peg in a round hole. If there are particular credits and design requirements behind those credits that don’t make sense for us and our facility and our beliefs, we said we’re not going to do it. …We just wanted to do what we felt was right,” she affirmed.

To that end, and with the responsibility of maintaining its vast, gently sloping campus, HITT worked with landscape architects Rhodeside & Harwell, Inc. to institute rain gardens as part of a storm water management system (gardens for this purpose are not a LEED requirement). Utilizing a native and drought-tolerant planting scheme requiring no permanent irrigation system (LEED compliant, if one elects to have a garden, when pursuing water efficiency credits), the rain gardens treat runoff from the upper half of the parking lot. Without these gardens, untreated water would flow directly into the site’s storm water management ponds.

Two storm water management ponds - one large and considered primary - receive rainwater diverted through the gardens from other places on the property, some channeled by strategically placed regionally-imported boulders (rather than unattractive culverts and drainpipes), with suspended solids and phosphates settling into the ponds. The water then goes back into the watershed. To enlighten visitors about the way it works, with green education part of the LEED accreditation process, a series of recycled signs made of resin and metal with a VOC-free printing process punctuate the site.

Roots and Reflective Materials

Stine, who first designed the company’s headquarters 17 years ago, recalled that W.A. HITT Decorating Co. started as a tiny, family run business during the Great Depression. Co-founder and matriarch Myrtle Hitt, who Stine knew personally, worked and handwrote checks until a week before she died at the age of 90. Current Chairman Russell Hitt, Warren (W.A.) and Myrtle’s son, is credited with growing the business into a world class interior contractor. Though the mantle has been passed to Co-presidents James Millar and grandson Brett Hitt, Russell – with a proclivity for the word “howdy” and a legendary perfectionism that included taking a hammer to a wall of which he didn’t approve – reportedly still gets to work at 4 a.m. each day, crossing HITT’s light reflective outdoor concrete surfaces or “impervious paving.” According to Pexton, these surfaces, as opposed to blacktop, reduce the heat island effect. She noted they also have a white reflective membrane on the roof instead of a traditional black roof, which reduces roof temperatures by 30 degrees. “It has a huge impact on interior spaces and your overall demand for cooling,” she explained.

The building’s interior includes an aptly named “Redskins room” replete with leather recliners and a 50-inch flat screen TV. Other entities include a training room for ongoing classes, café for breakfast and lunch, coffee bar, reprographics shop, dry cleaning drop-off and pick-up point, hair salon (by appointment), and a 5,180 s.f. warehouse for building materials with protective plywood walls recycled from its former headquarters. Estimated to use 46 percent less water than the previous building, plumbing fixtures are dual flush with waterless urinals in the men’s rooms. Pexton said HITT met the LEED innovative wastewater technology requirement, which is to reduce sewerage conveyance by 50 percent. A ladies room across from the company’s fitness center boasts a steam shower and also a wheelchair accessible/no threshold shower, with fitness center floors made of recycled rubber. Sweeping glass doors open from the center of the gym provide access to a walking/bike path.

See and Be Seen

According to Stine, HITT’s lighting system uses T5 technology. Ninety-seven percent is motion sensor-triggered, including office task lighting, with metal halide systems in open work areas to cut down on wattage. Overhead lighting is reduced by about half from the old building, attributed in part to 25-30 percent more glass in the new facility. From most points in the building, employees have great views to the outside and a lot of natural light coming in. In fact, two of the facility’s three reclaimed White Oak staircases are glassed in and by their nature motivate employees to use them instead of elevators - a large part of the design statement and criteria, Stine said.

With visibility key in every sense of the word, in its continuing pursuit of business HITT liberally uses interior glass to display its bid room – the company’s nerve center – to clients and other guests, as well as in its recruitment strategy. James Landefeld, senior vice president of major projects, explained that the bid room’s 16 equally-spaced hanging microphones have replaced the relic spider phones in most conference rooms' middle of the table, allowing up to 32 seated staff to simultaneously participate in conference calls with subcontractor prospects. The room is also equipped for video conferencing, which according to Landefeld will come in handy for long distance meetings as HITT embarks on a $62 million Tier III data center for the Denver Federal Center. While placed outside the bid room for all-company access, a computer operated "Bid Board" that is displayed on a 65" monitor has replaced the traditional white board in terms of efficiency.

With 3,000 projects on its dance card each year and a campus designed to facilitate business into the future, HITT remains committed to life in its present environment. Casting an eye to the very distant future, however, the building was conceptualized to accommodate multi-tenants with minimal incursion into its current design, yet another hallmark of its sustainability.

The Monty: St. Elmo's Spire

According to sources close to the project, developer Monty LLC's planned-17-story, mixed-use building, The Monty, located at St. Elmo and Fairmont Avenues in Bethesda's Woodmont Triangle, may witness development activity within the next few months.

Robert Kronneberg, Lead Reviewer for the Montgomery County Planning Commission, confirms that the site plan for the project was approved last July, with final plans approved just this past February, finalizing all county reviews needed for the project. So if the details of the design are finalized and the site plan has been approved, does that mean building permits are on the horizon?

According to the architects at SK&I, the "owner is working on getting financing like anyone else," but they are "hoping to break ground by September or October of this year." Kronnenberg says Hillerson has sent consultants to meet with Planning Board staff "to look at the streetscape requirements," but adds carefully that "in terms of any kind of permits that have been submitted for buildings, I don't know that right now."

The SK&I design for The Monty will include up to 200 residential units, 7,700 s.f. of ground floor retail and and 5,500 s.f. of "animated" art experience, according to the artist - when it gets off the ground. Project Manager and Senior SK&I Associate, Marty Towles, says his team was proud to help usher in such a large-scale project in a neighborhood notorious for its abundance of "low-rise" single family homes.

"The design of the building on the 15th floor takes advantage of the views to the south of the city and panoramas over to Rosslyn," says Towles enthusiastically, who adds that planned amenities like The Monty's rooftop pool and sweeping terraces are not currently so easy to come by in Woodmont Triangle.

The owner behind Monty LLC's corporate veil is Robert Hillerson, the same developer whose Limited Liability Corp., Michael LLC, became entangled in a dispute with the Maryland Transit Authority over its Studio Plaza project. Located at the intersection of Georgia and Thayer Avenue in Silver Spring's Business District, Studio Plaza's ambitious plans call for 525 residential units and redevelopment of the public parking lot adjacent to the Purple Line. MTA got wind of the idea and lobbied to keep the lot vacant so it could be used in conjunction with future Purple Line development.

MTA eventually backed off from its parking lot crusade and Studio Plaza finally shows signs of moving forward. But with so many large-scale residential/mixed-use projects downsizing and sputtering to a halt inside the beltway, Hillerson is understandably uneasy when it comes to speculating about potential groundbreaking dates for his Monty project.

When asked about when his project will get off the ground, Hillerson told DCMud that he "would rather not talk about that project for a couple of months. But call me back June 17th." A developer with an exact date in mind for updates? Is that a sign of progress?

The architects are optimistic, and surmise that the developer is merely setting expectations. Towles reiterates that the developer's reticence to talk about the project until June could be a sign that Hillerson "wants to make sure everything's set in stone" before making any public announcements about groundbreaking dates. But since no one else is breaking ground in Woodmont Triangle, despite a surfeit of plans, one can't be too careful.

Silver Spring, Maryland Real Estate Development News

Bond, DC Bond

After much anticipation, the DC Bond, available through the DC Housing Finance Agency, is back in action, having hit the market on April 14th with a freshly funded mandate. The interest rate for borrowers is set at 5.25% with zero points and is currently only available as an FHA loan or a Veterans Administration loan, though financing without FHA or VA is being considered. The new bond requires all loans be purchased by Ginnie Mae. Funding for the program will likely run out come October, as it did last year, so any transaction would have to close prior to the fall.

As intended, the DC Bond program will largely benefit low-income borrowers. Lenders point out that FHA loans currently carry a 5.0% interest rate with no extra points (though all FHA loans, DC Bond and otherwise, come with a 2.25% up-front financing cost), noticeably lower than the 5.25% DC Bond rate. The true winners are therefore those who qualify for buyer down payment assistance, i.e. $10,000 towards a down payment or closing costs for qualified borrowers who have little to no cash upfront. To qualify, an individual must make less than $57,500; couples less than $65,700. A family of four can qualify if the household earnings are less than $82,200. DC Bond borrowers cannot finance more than $417,000.

Washington DC real estate development news

Northwest One to Get First of Many Affordable Housing Projects

This summer, construction may at last begin - fingers crossed - on Northwest One's first residential project, the SeVerna. Mission First Development, The Henson Development Company and project sponsor Golden Rule Apartments, Inc. (GRA) are working with architects Grimm + Parker to build 60 residential units to replace the former Golden Rules Center that occupied the site until its demolition in early 2009. The empty lot will be developed in phases, beginning with a 100% subsidized project at First and K Streets, NW. Phase 2, a 120-unit highrise, is still a distant vision.

The housing project falls within the District of Columbia's exulted Northwest One rebirth zone, though the site is privately controlled and not subject to the District's land disposition agreement made with developers of neighboring properties. Golden Rule Apartments, Inc. is an affiliate of nearby Bible Way Church, which owns several plots in the Northwest One neighborhood. The site at stake here formerly offered low-density housing, community center and grocery shared by nearby Golden Rules Apartments, a subsidized multi-family project the Church recently rehabilitated. The church began sponsoring affordable housing in the Northwest One community in the 1970s.

The site is also adjacent to the District-owned Temple Courts apartments, demolished by the District in December of 2008 to make way for its own Northwest One plans; namely, the first stage of its New Communities Initiative, which "provides resources so that the community, in partnership with public and private entities, can work to transform highly concentrated low-income neighborhoods into healthy mixed-income neighborhoods." The government's Northwest One initiative aims to bring more than 1,600 residential units to the former site of Temple Court and crime-ridden Sursum Corda Cooperative (picture, at left), which D.C. bought out in mid 2007, and turn the area into a model of affordable development. Sursum Corda (Latin for "lift up your hearts") was, it should be noted, designed for the same purpose, i.e., as a cooperatively-owned urban refuge to promote ownership and civic pride.

The District has already constructed the Walker Jones Education Campus, a school and recreation center, as the first installment of the $700m development. In October 2009, development partners Banneker Ventures and William C. Smith & Co. announced that the next phase of Northwest One, 300 units of housing, 30% of which would be subsidized, to replace the vacant parking lot at the intersection of North Capitol and Patterson Streets. The team announced that construction would begin this spring, though so far it has not.

The neighboring GRA project is asking for as much as $995,000 in tax credits from the District to build the project. The developers are working with PNC bank to finance the debt and equity for the project; gap financing of $1.9 million will be provided by the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development's New Communities Initiative. The total project costs will be $15.5 million with just over half, $8 million, coming from private sources.

GRA reports that its SeVerna development is moving forward with its portion of the Northwest One Initiative, 60 residential units, broken down into 48 mid-rise units and 12 two-over-two townhouses. According to Zak Schooley, a Project Designer with Grimm + Parker, the 70's era Golden Rules Center "turned its back on the community" and "wasn't successful" because of its purposeful architectural seclusion. Though the project is affordable, the architect says the mistake won't be repeated. The "goal is to begin to make this area more up and coming." You will not find any vinyl siding, according to Schooley. Instead, the architects will use "fiber cement siding and brick...to improve the aesthetics of the area." Though the interiors will not be "overly lavish" the project will be "very nice compared to what used to be on the site." Faint praise, maybe, but still an improvement.


The units will be affordable at 30 and 60 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI) with many going to former residents of the Golden Rules Center and Temple Court Apartments thanks to a right of return agreement signed by the developers of projects within the Northwest One New Communities Initiative. Yvonne M. Williams, Chair of the Board of Trustees of Bible Way Church, said, "as far as I know, we may well be the first development [in Northwest One] that will enable former residents to come back."

According to Elizabeth Askew, Project Manager for Mission First Development, the team "hopes to close on financing and begin construction this summer." The general contractor for the first phase is Maryland-based Hamel Builders.

Washington, DC real estate development news

Historic Gales School: The Anti-Shelter?

Though the Fenty Administration is keeping mum on the names of the Gales School RFP respondents, two of the three submitting teams have provided DCMud with details of the projects they hope to build on the visible and historic downtown site.

The Central Union Mission, which now operates out of Logan Circle, has plans to match the service they now offer nearby, expanding from 135 beds to at least 150 beds for the men's Christian homeless shelter. The Mission plans to add to the rear of the building with a design by Cox Graae and Spack Architects of Georgetown, a build-out that would allow for kitchens and extra classrooms.

Meanwhile, a joint venture between Ready, Willing & Working Inc. (RWW), the Doe Fund Inc. and Building Partnerships also met the RFP deadline in March. The RWW team has proposed a conversion into a facility providing housing and job training for upwards of 100 homeless and formerly incarcerated men. The RWW program currently supports only 20 men at a time, without housing, in its undersized trailer on the grounds of Union Station.

According to Patty Brosmer, President of RWW, her team offers "not just an overnight shelter," but rather a "more comprehensive" solution with plans for a "long-term shelter and opportunity center," with men receiving on-site training and support. RWW partners with local Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) to provide the men with a job and income. "The biggest thing we can do for the homeless is give them job opportunities," said Brosmer. Generally men remain in the program for 9-12 months, during which time - ideally - they learn a new skill, save money, and ultimately move on to affordable housing and stable employment. Brosmer said that with a waiting list of 150 names, there is no shortage of men seeking help from RWW.

With Bonstra Haresign Architects designing the project, the RWW team intends to transform the Gales School from its current state as "a hole in the urban fabric" into a vibrant new "Center for Opportunity." According to a press release, the architects plan to "respect and preserve the dignified character" of the 120-year old building. The exterior masonry will be restored and fitted with historically correct windows, and the four chimneys along the roofline will be restored, plans that must go before the Historic Preservation Review Board. The new interior will feature a "state of the art kitchen" for teaching culinary skills, conference and training areas, and of course beds. The Gales School Center will have "great food and a nice surrounding," making it the "anti-shelter" asserts Brosmer.

As far as financing goes, the New York-based Doe Fund has revenue-generating businesses, based on similar programs, that will help support some of the rehab and operations for the new center. RWW proposes that the District pay the organization to run the shelter. As Brosmer puts it, the District normally pays $25,000 to support one person in a homeless shelter annually, but this program, thanks to grants and other revenue, can do the same and give them job training for $17,500 a year. The best part, says Brosmer, is that after a year, the success rate is generally about 65%. Annually, she estimates, the program could save the District $1.5 million based on a 65% success rate.

Working with Harkins Builders, RWW is ready to "hit the ground running" claims Brosmer. "We'll have to secure some of the financing once we get the lease, but I believe it can be done from start to finish...in a year and a half."

Washington, DC real estate development news

Clearer Views at Clarendon

The Views at Clarendon Corporation (VCC) is one step closer to realizing its vision for a 10-story affordable housing project in the center of Clarendon now that a U.S. District Court judge has dismissed a lawsuit against the Views at Clarendon on all counts. With a victory in hand, developers hope to start construction within months on 46 market-rate and 70 affordable apartments one block from the Clarendon Metro station.

Planning for the development began back in 2003, when the First Baptist Church of Clarendon conducted an assessment that soon lead to the vision for the subsidized apartment community, but has been mired in lawsuits almost since its inception. Several groups of parties have contested the development as a violation of the Establishment Clause in the U.S. and Virginia constitutions, and have fought the use of county tax dollars on a project that would buy land from the church - a struggle that has twice landed in the lap of the Virginia Supreme Court and was covered extensively recently by the Washington Post. While this week's ruling is expected to be appealed, the decision is a welcome ruling for the project's promoters.

The Bozzuto Construction Company began site preparation work in January, and developers expect the project will begin construction in earnest this summer. The legal decision comes 7 years and 5 lawsuits after the Church hired the Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing (APAH) to consult on the need for affordable housing in the region, a study that culminated in the Church selling the land to a non-profit entity for $5.6m, with a set of plans for a 10-story building. The Church intends to use its funds, party derived from the sale, to purchase back two floors within the new development.

Nina Janopaul, President of APAH, says the ruling is consistent with fairness of the transaction. "There are many, many precedents for church and affordable housing projects, including the Macedonia project here in Arlington. We did the same thing there; in a slightly different set of circumstances...the church in this case gets compensation for the sale of its property, as is appropriate." Janopaul says the transaction was arms-length and did not disproportionately benefit the Church. "The sale price was well below the $14m appraisal for the property. That's pretty reasonable for a full acre of land in the heart of Clarendon...Clarendon literally has no affordable element in any of the new housing that has gone up."

Arlington developers face of choice of providing affordable housing or contributing to a fund for that purpose, some of which was used to provide a low-interest loan to the non-profit owner of the project. Janopaul says that while repayment of the loan to the county is always a struggle for a low-income housing provider, the market rate element of the Views will expedite that process. "Mixed-income properties are a little more robust in paying back those loans."

The residence is being designed by Arlington- based MTFA Architecture, Inc., which plans to achieve LEED Silver status for the project. Views at Clarendon will be operated by Bozzuto Management.

Arlington Virginia real estate development news

Lower Georgia Avenue Pines for Development

No one doubts that development throughout the greater Washington DC area has slumped. Minimal solace may be had knowing that DC is faring better than the rest of the nation, but even within DC some pockets seem destined to be condemned to all bust and no boom. Case in point: lower Georgia Avenue.

Despite much virtual ink being spilled on the development potential of the southern end of Georgia Avenue, the potential seems lost, as projects big and small fail to start. The same could once be said of the street's more northern leg, but thanks to recent projects like CVS (pictured, right), the District's RFPs and of course Chris Donatelli, Chris Donatelli and Chris Donatelli, the atmosphere is finally changing. But not to the south.

Park Morton and Howard Town Center are supposed to breathe life into the moribund boulevard, but neither project has begun. In fairness, Park Morton was only awarded in October 2009, though the timeline is still fuzzy and the District's budget to assist such projects is tight. The District's attempt to turn the Bruce Monroe school into a mixed-use project has failed, despite an RFP and ceremonial demolition. Even smaller renovations appear non-existent, with streetfront stores a window to DC's past.

For-sale lots sit vacant. The owner of a lot at the corner of Georgia Avenue and Kenyon Street in NW, is looking to sell his land and plans for $1.4 million. The property had been in the hands of Carthage Development, which asked $3m for the land and plans. 3205 Georgia Avenue LLC then purchased the lots in 2007 for a combined total of $1.4 million, but over two years of interest payments later, planning for a mixed-use project left the owner with construction permits in hand, but no construction. Designs call for a 21,000 s.f., five-story, matter-of-right development with retail, second floor office space and 18 residential units on the third through fifth floors in a building designed by Maiden and Associates.

Just to the south at Hobart Street, another vacant block long sported a for-sale sign until Howard University sold the lots in November to 2910 Georgia Ave LLC for $560,000. Now permits have been filed for a 22-unit four-story residential building with 11 parking spaces. As far as permitting goes, the project is on track, though the status of financing is always a guessing game.

Slightly to the north is another planned residential development, The Heights, which sits at 3232 Georgia Avenue, just down the street from the planned development at Park Morton. Despite inklings that project partners Neighborhood Development Company and non-profit developer, Mi Casa, Inc., were looking for a general contractor to begin construction this spring, work has yet to begin. The new, six-story, almost 86,000 s.f. project is among the more promising in the area.

In a neighborhood with so many potential projects, something may yet give, and the start of one large projects may be the shot heard round the city. But for now, long, hard fought battles for each development will be the way of lower Georgia Avenue.

Washington, DC real estate development news

NoMa's Constitution Square is Green, and Now Gold

Constitution Square, NoMa's largest mixed-use project, received a Gold ranking today from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). The project was awarded an enviable Gold ranking in the LEED ND category for sustainable neighborhood development.

But don't think of waterless toilets and recycled material; the "ND" standard is a fuzzier version of the older sustainability rankings. Rather than rate only the physical building, which can only be evaluated after construction completes sometime this summer, ND instead ranks the overall sustainability of the development with respect to potential impact on the surroundings. Factors that go into the certification include street width and building height, with an emphasis on mixing uses that allow more integrated living. According to the USGBC website, the system "integrates the principles of smart growth, urbanism, and green building" into one rating. Alicia Call at HOK Architecture adds that the ND ranking "its a little bit more stringent than the other rating systems...but with a focus on community development." In short, the ranking is an endorsement of Metro-oriented, mixed-use, sustainable construction.

Liz Price, President of the NoMa BID, says Constitution Square is one of the first ND-approved projects in the country, having been part of a pilot program to factor location and neighborhoods into green techniques and to "look beyond the footprint of the building." Price says the BID and DC's Office of Planning promoted NoMa to the USGBC as a candidate for the pilot, and that Constitution Square was the obvious choice within NoMa, being the largest development in the neighborhood and one DC more ambitious projects.

The project broke ground in April of 2008, a joint venture between Bethesda-based StonebridgeCarras and Walton Street Capital, which acquired the land in early 2006. The development will include a 206-room Hilton hotel, 440 apartments, and 340,000 s.f. of office space in 5 buildings, including a new Harris Teeter. SK&I Architects designed the residential space, which will begin renting this summer and will deliver by August, according to Doug Firstenberg, a Principal with StonebridgeCarras. Office tenants will begin taking delivery next month. Planners hope the buildings themselves will also qualify for LEED Gold certification, with the outside chance of a Platinum ranking. The office space in Phase I is 100% leased, with only about 4000 s.f. retail space remaining up for grabs.

Bethesda-based Clark Construction is performing construction.

Washington DC real estate development news

Watch Out Cosi, Panera is Coming to Dupont

New construction plans for a Panera in Dupont Circle make it look like DC will have a suburban sandwich/coffee shop turf war spilling into its confines late this summer. That's right, Cosi, Panera is coming to the District. The plans call for interior build out of an existing store front, currently occupied by Lawsons Gourmet, at 1350 Connecticut Avenue, NW, directly next to Cosi.

According to Tobias Washington, a Building Manager for landlord PNGS Management Company, Panera will take over occupancy on June 1st. Construction and build out should take 90 days. Plans call for a space with over 100 seats inside and 35 outside. This will be Panera's first store inside the District.

Panera is seeking a local general contractor to perform the build out of the 5,088-square-foot restaurant to include a dining area, kitchen, service counters, storage space, and restrooms. The bid for the $250,000 project went out on April 13th and are due May 12th.

Washington, DC real estate development news

Future Starchitects Redefine Eastern Market Metro Plaza

If you add up their respective ages, they barely break 100, yet five Catholic University School of Architecture and Planning seniors are proving that the one about “age and wisdom going hand in hand” may be a tired old adage at that.

Masterminding a radical redesign proposal for the Eastern Market Metro Plaza for their senior Comprehensive Building Design Studio (CBDS), in which faculty-directed student teams form “architecture firms” and compete against other “firms,” Connor Smith, Ron Elmo, Scott Gillespie, David Edwards and Chloe Rice are approaching their studio project in true “Vitruvian” style.

“Architects in general need to know a little bit about everything,” said Rice, a former politics major and daughter of a New York architect and landscape architect. “In his Ten Books on Architecture, Vitruvius said we need to know history; we need to know physics; we need to know everything.”

Left Brain Right Brain

Applying those principles to their work, the five students - who named their firm GEERS Architects (an acronym of the first letters of their last names) - parlayed a $100,000 DDOT-funded proposal to build a 1,000 s.f. information hub for the Eastern Market Metro on a tired and defaced triangular park site diagonally across from the Metro station, into a different concept entirely. Recognizing that the 50,000 s.f. site also had the
potential to include exquisite but low maintenance grasses and gardens (including a meditation garden), Japanese Maples, flowering trees, a sustainable water harvesting system, bike hub and coffee bar, the students expanded their design in this regard and also determined it should encompass a site of similar size and dimension across the street. In short, what was initially a plan for a single information kiosk, which Rice quipped usually looks like a “space ship” that has been dropped onto a site, would become a 100,000 sf oasis - or urban destination - replete with lush landscaping and key lighting for safety during nighttime use.

“These spaces are very open but there are dark areas and someone had to have time to mess up those benches,” said Michigan native Dave Edwards, who’d originally come to the university for a summer program as a high school junior. Pointing to remnants of a heavily vandalized park seating area, Edwards and company emphasized that a comprehensive lighting system could also serve to connect the two Eastern Market Metro Plaza sites to surrounding restaurants, Barracks Row and Capitol Hill.


Confluence of Clients

“When DDOT came to us, in their eyes they had one client, and that was the tourist,” said Ron Elmo, a Philadelphian who admitted he was equally smitten with art and business, which propelled him into architecture. “But we soon realized that the other client was the resident,” he added, noting part of the design studio process for them as seniors is to learn to interface with the community: to work with the varied clients and agendas a professional architect might face.

Per studio director and Visiting Assistant Professor of Architecture Rauzia Ally, area residents and businesses are truly on board with the depth and scope of the expanded Eastern Market Metro Plaza Project. It is also possibly the first CBDS project that could bridge the gap from concept to reality, with DDOT funds to be supplemented by the community. Ally said that construction documents and permitting will be addressed during the summer, with a projected autumn build date if everything is on course. “This community is very active, so they don’t feel they’ll have a problem raising the rest of the money,” Ally said.

A Little Competition

In addition to GEERS architects, 17 other student firms have considered the Eastern Market site, each creating their own buildable architectural design proposal, according to Scott Gillespie. Raised in New Jersey where he and his father were card carrying disciples of “Bob the Builder,” Gillespie says, “In freshman year, they told us that architects design the stage that people live their lives on. When you’re designing, you’re creating spaces, and I always try and picture what it would be like to walk through that space, as I did with Eastern Market.”

According to Connor Smith, “architecture changes your perception of everything around you.” A Manhattan resident with New Jersey roots, Smith was bitten by the architecture bug during a high school year abroad studying art and architectural history at Cambridge University. He is credited by his GEERS peers for generating the site’s more sustainable moves, including the use of materials such as Turfstone in its water harvesting system and a green roof for the information hub.

And The Envelope Please
On May 6, celebrated architects from around the U.S. will come to CUArch to select the winning design – or designs – with a composite design not out of the question in terms of proceeding with the execution of the project. Overall, Gillespie said, “It’s nice to see the community is thinking what we’re thinking.”

Debonair Student Housing in Woodley

Just when Woodley Park residents thought they were safe from college kids, tucked safely across the bridge from rowdy Adams Morgan, a new development, the Debonair, will bring the college students right to their doorsteps. Debonair, by developers Ashbourne Developments, will bring 11,000 s.f. of student housing to 2608-2612 Connecticut Avenue, which currently sports a drycleaner and surface parking lot in the rear. Groundbreaking for the project is April 20th at 11 AM. The four-story residential building, directly next to the Woodley Park-Zoo/Adams Morgan Metro entrance, will have one level of parking, accessed from 24th Street. DCMud reported the project last June, but recently Boston University signed a long term lease for the apartment building as a home for its student interns. According to Crispin Etherington, founder of Ashbourne Development, "BU is currently located in a building two blocks away and several other universities have housing in the Woodley Park area." In a press release, project architect Todd Ray of Studio27 Architecture said, "the building is designed to complement the existing urban fabric." The structure is described as having an "historically influenced limestone and brick" facade with "three bays of oversized balconied windows." The owners of the Debonair Cleaners at 2610 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Shahram and Maria Taginya, hired Ashbourne in 2009 to create a residential building directly behind their storefront. The cleaners will stay in place during construction and a neighboring space has been leased by an unnamed Italian restaurant, which will open late summer 2010. The student housing construction is expected to be ready in time for the spring 2011 semester. Monarc Construction will serve as general contractor. 

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