Truck Stopping Design 101

By Beth Herman

The grandson of a gifted painter, and with a childhood penchant for creating fine art himself, landscape architect and Principal Bruno Carvalho of Carvalho & Good, PLLC couldn’t have anticipated that requisites for the post-9/11 world in which he plied his craft would include the use of elements such as Jersey barriers, concrete blockades and bollards, and terms such as kinetic impact, all informing his profession.

Practicing for about a dozen years, Carvalho cut his designing teeth in explosive South Florida, careening through the real estate and condo boom but leaving a stalling market in 2006 for D.C., where security - aka perimeter - design was the new black.

"Before 9/11, except if you were dealing with very secure sites, usually military, it wasn’t mainstream at all,” Carvalho said, referring to evolving ideas of barrier design – or more or less making art out of harsh, prison-like barriers hastily erected after the World Trade Center incident. In fact, after 9/11, an incalculable number of cement blockades and barriers feverishly went up around federal buildings in cities throughout the U.S., Washington DC key among them of course, until security proponents began to take stock of the war zone ambience they created.

The challenge for landscape designers in the realm of security/perimeter design, in an area like Washington, according to Carvalho, is to incorporate reinforced but disguised security elements into park-like public spaces that evoke more of a sense of respite and harmony than duck and cover.

Beware of Trucks Bearing Bombs

In the case of the Office of Personnel Management, 1900 E St. NW, a retrofitting of the existing building included in an overall landscape upgrade involved redesigning the perimeter to include security outlets, Carvalho said. “Instead of simply designing a typical streetscape with trees, benches and bus shelters, all of these elements now serve to provide a secure perimeter,” he explained, adding that the former practice of simply placing intrusive Jersey barriers everywhere (3 ½-foot high tapering concrete walls originating in the NJ highway system) has been replaced by elements such as giant concrete planters teeming with flora, hefty, anchored benches or reinforced concrete bollards that are highly aesthetic, all of which meet rated security standards based on “kinetic impact.” In short, Carvalho noted, you can’t drive a truck through them. Even light poles, redesigned for heft and anchored differently, qualify in security/perimeter design, with the grand prize going to covert pit design. According to Carvalho, though quite rare, some entities have a camouflaged pit in the landscaped area where unknowing pedestrians can walk right over it, but the weight of a truck will surely collapse its camouflaged covering.

At the Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, a low, 2-foot seating wall where people can linger, made of granite for aesthetics, serves as a vehicle barrier with landscaping for shade just behind it. “This wasn’t as involved as the OPM,” Carvalho said, “but it’s a simple element you can incorporate within the landscape to provide a required safety perimeter. If a developer wants a federal tenant, Carvalho explained, it has to incorporate some kind perimeter security, now more than ever an integral part of D.C. development. You don’t always perceive they’re safety elements, and that’s the contribution of the landscape architect.”

Furthermore in our nation’s capital, security design needs to be more than a barrier: it needs to be a functional part of the urban streetscape, which in some cases means excluding vehicles as was achieved at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. “You don’t lose anything by not having everyday cars drive in front of the White House,” Carvalho noted, also citing similar pedestrian projects in cities such as New York and Philadelphia, “and you gain this great linear plaza.”

Dressing the Fortress

Listing the Israeli Embassy and the Vice President’s residence on their dance card, Carvalho maintained that sometimes it is incumbent upon the landscape architect to address - and dress - security elements that are already in place such as looming walls and cameras. “Security has always been part of high profile site design in Washington, D.C.,” he said, “regardless of the condition of the country.” To that end, and particularly with regard to the Vice President’s residence, planting schemes designed to upgrade the property could not obscure security cameras, and in other areas were devised to enhance or reveal existing security measures.

Earlier this year, Carvalho & Good was charged with landscaping the World Bank headquarters in Yemen where, Carvalho said, the country is almost a failed state. “There’s a lot of radicalism and extremism, and obviously there were tremendous security elements going on in that project: a huge perimeter wall and tons of cameras.” He noted their task was to work within those walls, designing a beautiful plaza and garden for the everyday use of employees, so that they would not feel as though they’d stepped out into a battle zone for lunch. Yemen’s World Bank, Carvalho reflected, is a symbol of world unity in a place that doesn’t have much unity.


Recently embarking on a project to landscape the Suitland Parkway entry road to the new headquarters for Homeland Security, where safety elements will clearly dominate the site, Carvalho said at the same time it will be important not to have them detract from the existing aesthetic of the parkway. “The main point of what our firm does is to bring balance to perimeter design,” he said. “Anyone can put a row of Jersey barriers around a building, based on the standard, and call it secure, but the difficulty comes in providing that same standard and making it beautiful.”

Washington DC commercial real estate design news

District Releases Hurt Home to Developers At Fire Sale Price

Roughly two months ago, the DC City Council voted to release several District properties for redevelopment, but the most noticeable deal in the large release is the transaction that enables Argos Group, in partnership with Potomac Investment Properties Inc., to scoop up the historic Hurt Home mansion at 3050 R St. NW, a "contributing" building in the Georgetown Historic District, for $450,000. The deal is pending, and Jose Sousa of DMPED cautions that "[t]hese numbers are not yet final." But Sousa and Argos Principal Gilberto Cárdenas estimate that all the minor details will be chiseled out in the next couple weeks. Cárdenas has plans to redevelop the former assisted living facility for the blind, and more recently the Devereux Children’s Center for foster children, into a 15-unit luxury condominium. This isn't Argos's first effort at acquiring and transforming a vacant, District-owned, historic property into high-end condos: the development group broke ground on the renovation of the Northeast's historic Firehouse No. 10 and Police Station No. 9 earlier this summer.

Argos has again contracted familiar partners Sorg Architects for the design work, and developers are leaning towards bringing in another interior design specialist to assist with some of the remodeling work. Three poorly executed wood additions will be stripped from the back of the original brick exterior, while the interior will be almost entirely gutted and rebuilt, walls, stairs, mechanicals, and all. The facade of the building will be improved and restored to its original historic charm, accented by giant two story front windows and an entrance stoop railed with hefty white columns. When finished the condos will be a spacious 1200-1700 s.f., each with two to three bedrooms and loft space. Given that the property was put mostly to philanthropic uses over the course of its long history, developers have agreed to offer three of the units at affordable rates and reserve them for blind citizens. Designers plan to link up with the American Council for the Blind to methodically outfit the units to meet the domestic daily needs of those living without sight. The back lot will be extensively landscaped, and a 30 car parking lot will be installed. Developers say there is a strong chance several Zip Car spaces will be included.

Sorg already oversaw the G-town Post Office Renovation

After the City Council meeting in July, Councilman David Catania seemed unsure of the decision: WBJ quoted Catania wondering why they'd "sell a property for $450,000 that’s worth $6.1 million," and asking, "Why not bid that out just to make sure we have the best reimbursement for the taxpayers?” But although at least five or six developers toured the property following the District's Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) last summer, Mr. Cárdenas and his partners were the only ones to go forward with an offer, and negotiations went from there. Initial plans called for an addition to the building and as many as 41 units, with the building being offered for more than $1.5 million. But it quickly became clear that community organizations, Zoning Commission, and the Historic Preservation Review Board would combine forces to put a quick stop to a proposal of such proportions, and so the number of units, with some back and forth community dialogue, was slowly reduced to 15.

Cárdenas reckons that other developers were reticent to get involved with the sometimes stubborn and often vocal Georgetown community. "They're a community that knows what they want, are well organized, and have the resources to force compromise," says Cárdenas, "but we came into this project with nothing but a positive attitude, good intentions, and willingness to compromise." Jose Sousa confirmed this, saying: "The development team worked in concert with the surrounding neighbors to address many of the concerns raised regarding parking and unit counts." Although the vetting process has already started, developers don't expect the receive final Zoning and HPRB approval for approximately a year. If all goes smoothly, construction will begin shortly thereafter.

Washington D.C. Real Estate Development News

Arlington Mill In Process of Selecting Newest Suitor

Plans for a mixed use development set for 4975 Columbia Pike that couples the construction of a new Arlington Mill Community Center with a large mixed-income residential project have been brewing for several years now. Originally devised as a three story multipurpose center with several levels of residential units stacked on top, the now 5-story Community Center stands solo and starkly modern in its newest configuration; the residential building will be constructed separately on the adjacent land. In its inception the development was billed as a large public/private partnership, packaged as a singular entity. But fed up with the roller-coaster-like search for development partners, and having lost their most recent teammate in Edgemoor Real Estate (a subsidiary of Clark Construction) to the slow economy, Arlington County officials decided to press on with their publicly funded side of the development (the community center) while they issued yet another request for proposals for the residential half of the project.

The County steering committee and involved public officials held an open meeting last night at Walter Reed Community Center to unveil the latest redevelopment plans for the Community Center. Looking to make up for lost time, planners are moving forward aggressively with the intention of demolishing the current building in October, breaking ground in early 2011, and opening the doors of the new center in the spring of 2013. The public development team will meet with the Transportation Commission, the Planning Commission, then wrap up proceedings with a final Board hearing on September 28th. With plans finalized, a request for general contracting bids will soon follow.

One of the earlier site plans.

Although a construction team won't be selected until winter, architects at DCS Design (Davis Carter Scott) have already supplied the updated schematics. The boxy, glassy building brings a bold, urban flare to the Columbia Pike thoroughfare, but an aquatic inspired color scheme of light blues and greens give a calming sensibility to the imposing structure. The five stories will be stacked on top of two tiers of underground parking (140 spaces) and feature a full gymnasium (8,700 s.f.), an entire floor's worth of fitness center, a game room, visual arts studio, mini libraries, a career center, computer labs, and a variety of multipurpose classrooms, study rooms, and meeting rooms.

A County spokesperson explained that their strategy for the updated programing line-up was to create "one stop shopping for County services." The plethora (10) of multipurpose rooms, as well as several fixed classrooms and conference rooms, will provide flexibility for programing, especially as new relationships are built with nearby schools and libraries that may utilize the new space. The Community Center will be financed with general obligation bonds already sanctioned by County voters, most recently a $26 million bond authorized in November of 2006. Community members seemed supportive, but anxious about the dearth of details for the accompanying residential plan.

The Starry Night version

Arlington County issued a request for proposals earlier this summer, receiving several official plans before the early August deadline. When asked about the proportion of affordable housing going forward, Arlington Mill Steering Committee Chairwoman Linda LeDuc explained that "all six of the received proposals would at least meet the originally stipulated 61 units at 60% AMI. We accepted both mixed income plans," she clarified, "and entirely affordable housing propositions. But it's all kind of up in the air right now." For those who've been tuned in since the beginning, the project has come together at a snail's pace, but once a new developer is decided upon, the process should move more quickly. Officials are expecting the new development team to be poised and ready to apply for HUD's Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) by spring of next year.

Because previous plans have already been approved for a 2-5 story residential building, and because the site is to be developed to Form Based Code as part of the Columbia Pike Special Revitalization District, the normally grueling planning process should be quicker and less painful. Financing and other details will of course remain obstacles, and so no time line has been issued. Vetting of submitted proposals will take place throughout the fall, and additional information will likely be provided as the County irons out their more immediately plans for the Community Center.

Arlington Real Estate Development News

Crescent Falls Church Construction Complete, Minor Finishing Touches Await

A representative of Texas-based Hanover Company confirmed that construction teams have nearly wrapped up the Crescent Falls Church project and the building received their Certificate of Occupancy earlier this summer. This is Hanover's second major development in the Metro area, having completed Ashton Judiciary Square in 2009. The 6-story, 214-unit Crescent, a mixed-use and multi-family residence in Arlington near the East Falls Church Metro, was delivered only ever so slightly behind schedule, originally set to finish earlier this spring. Given that the developers planned to start leasing this summer, and now report the building 25% leased, there is plenty for Hanover to celebrate in a downmarket summer that has seen many more groundbreakings, affordable housing plans, and proposal extension requests than ribbon cuttings. The finished community neighbors the Washington & Old Dominion Trail (W&OD) and Falls Church Park, but the area surrounding East Falls Church Metro remains underutilized - largely a commuter zone, often simply passed over by shoppers on the way to Tysons. This development is part of a larger effort by Arlington and Falls Church officials to encourage denser redevelopment that will help transform the vicinity into a more urban, mass-transit friendly locale.

The new building is stockpiled with the standard amenities: private screening room, concierge, daily hot beverage service, two courtyards – one with a fire-pit and outdoor grilling and dining areas, and the other with dual-sided fireplace and outdoor grilling and dining areas. Like Hanover's previous venture in Penn Quarter, the apartment building focuses heavily on a variety of sustainable features. Developers believe that its metro location, recycling center, technical features, "oversized" bike room, and underground parking garage with priority for low-emission vehicles will help the building receive LEED certification upon review.

Hanover's nationwide record of apartment construction and operation likely helped the company muster proper financing and get this project completed. Other projects originally expected to be delivered on a similar time-line continue to limp along through the recession with little material progress to show for their efforts. Akridge's nearby Gateway development, set for the 500 block of N. Washington Street and unveiled way back in 2006, has yet to get off the ground. Delayed by the economic downturn, developers continue to bicker with city officials over the ratio of commercial (offices and retail) to residential square footage. Akridge is proposing one 73-foot, 5-story office building with 71,000 s.f. of office space and 12,000 s.f. of retail, coupled with a slightly shorter second 5-story building, this one offering 200 units (averaging 800 s.f. in size) and 2,500 s.f. of ground floor retail space. Their current plans offer a 70-30 percent split between residential and commercial, but officials look to push developers closer to a 50-50 setup.

Hekemian's "Northgate" development, a mixed use project, including 124 rental apartments, on the N. Washington St. side of the old Pearson Funeral Home, also had an initial expected completion date in 2010, but continues to trudge through the final site plan approval process and futilely fish for financing packages. A site plan amendment to incorporate the approved North Washington streetscape design is currently under consideration; it is unknown when construction will start.

Falls Church real estate development news

Construction on Tysons Corner Apartment Building to Start Next Month

Tysons has it good these days. What was just a few years ago a distant, forgettable suburb with prohibitively wide streets that looked nothing like its urban neighbor to the east, now has the hope of a new comprehensive urban plan, a foursome of Metro stations on the way, and developers queuing up to build. The latest is AvalonBay, which paid the Penrose Group $13.3 million for just 2.64 acres of land on Westpark Drive and plans to start construction of a 354-unit apartment building next month.

The new Avalon Park Crest, as it will be called, follows on the heels of Capital One's application to create a gridded street system and multi-phase development on 23 acres at the Tysons Metro stations. With construction already approved by the county and designed by the Lessard Group of Tysons, the units are expected to be occupied in early 2012. Arlington- based AvalonBay will build, own, and operate the apartment building. AvalonBay will not seek LEED certification, but will incorporate "numerous" green features.

The site is now within Park Crest development that currently includes condos, apartments and a Harris Teeter grocery store, and already includes the 558-unit Avalon Crescent. Despite being an aggressive investor with 171 buildings and more than 50,000 units to its name, this is the first new community AvalonBay has built in the mid-Atlantic since 2005, though it has been planning another new community in Wheaton.

The building will hold a 2-1/2 level underground parking garage, wifi lounge, "ample" bicycle storage, and two private one-quarter acre courtyards with a pool, and outdoor cooking.

McLean, Virginia real estate development news

Wisconsin Giant "Launch Party" this Thursday

Despite a pending legal battle that has tied up the Wisconsin Avenue Giant, developers are moving forward - pretty soon - with their 56,000-s.f. grocery store project that will add additional retail, residential, and office space. Developer Steet-Works has announced a "launch party" for this Thursday to celebrate the impending demolition of the abandoned 1950's era G.C. Murphy Co. store and existing Giant, which will yield to a newly renamed "Cathedral Commons."

Parent company Stop & Shop owns the site bounded by Idaho Avenue, Wisconsin Avenue, and Macomb Street and divided by Newark Street, all of which now contains a mostly-abandoned, one-story retail strip and surface parking. Upset with the parking provisions, the threat of increasing density in the area, and even challenging the Commission's authority to make the specific zoning amendment ruling that approved the project, the Wisconsin-Newark Neighbors Coalition (WNNC) had filed a lawsuit to prevent the project, challenging, as they had previously, the Zoning Commission's 2009 approval of the project.

Despite the burst of optimism on the ultimate outcome of the development, the litigation has not yet been resolved, and Street-Works does not plan to begin construction until March of next year. DC officials and President of Giant Food Robin Michel, among others, will gather to announce their commitment to moving forward, ambitiously marking the last days of the 50-year old block that is a deteriorating and out-dated eye-sore. In an official press release Giant promises: "the development will create new jobs and feature neighborhood retail shops, restaurants, a 56,000-square-foot supermarket, townhomes, apartments, engaging open spaces, and an attractive streetscape." Developers insist that the current tenants will relocate into the new retail space upon completion.

When asked what circumstances changed to justify throwing a launch party this week, Sharon Robinson, a consultant for the Giant Team, explained that "this is simply a chance for the company to publicly voice its support for the project, and its commitment to move forward." She added that it will provide the opportunity for Giant officials to elaborate on the details and timeline of the development plans going forward. Councilwoman Mary Cheh is one of the many invested individuals who is happy to hear the news. "I am delighted, as I'm sure residents are," Cheh explained, "that after waiting for many years for this development, that we are finally on the threshold of it actually happening." There is always the worry that the litigation will again prove a hitch in the development's progress, but Cheh has been assured that the legal case of the opposition is not very strong.
In total, the proposed project will contain approximately 136,500 square feet of retail space and 140-150 residential units. After construction begins, developers expect the entire project to be completed within three years. How the project will be phased - likely in two phases - and how developers plan to transition from the old grocery store into the new, remains unsettled. Perhaps those answers will be revealed on Thursday.

Update: The launch party, as predicted by our prescient poster below, has been called off. Giant recently sent out an e-blast saying: "Giant Food wants to give all members of the community an opportunity to join us to launch the new project to redevelop the Wisconsin Avenue Giant and Friendship Shopping Center, which will be known as Cathedral Commons. To honor the High Holy Day, Rosh Hashanah, we will postpone the previously announced launch event." A new date has yet to be set.

Washington DC real estate development news

Reston Station: Planning for the Last Stop of the New Metro Line

When it comes to development along the new Dulles Corridor Metrorail Silver Line, connecting downtown Washington D.C. to Tysons Corner and Dulles Airport, developers think big. Reston Station, a transit-oriented, mixed-use development soon to be brought into the orbit of Washington DC as the terminus of Phase 1 of the Silver Line, is no exception. Zoned for 1.3 million s.f. of development and incorporating three office buildings, two residences, one hotel, retail space and a 2300-car underground garage, developers expect to break ground on the garage next March and start the residences in late 2012. Davis Construction, now at work on Reston Station's county-sponsored underground garage, intends to complete work by 2013 to sync with the Silver Line's debut.

Comstock Partners, the Reston-based developer behind the vision, is just now beginning to market to prospective office users and hotel operators to fill up the 60,000 s.f. of retail, 650,000 s.f. of office space, and 220-key hotel that have been planned 3/4 of a mile east of Reston town center. Comstock has just begun design process for the 500,000 s.f. of residential space with the search for an architect, but already plan pair of residential buildings, 205 and 140 feet high, with a total 370 units, 19.5% of it designated for workforce housing.

Turning what looks, at least aerially (mislabeled picture above courtesy of MWAA), like a land of parking lots dotted occasionally by office buildings, into a community that is "edgy, contemporary, with easy living and walking to the Metro" as Comstock's Maggie Parker puts it, will require a bold metamorphosis. Anchored by the indispensable Metro station, various groups are working to design a more urban Reston. Reston 2020, a committee of the Reston Citizen's Association, which represents residents of Reston in the Reston Master Plan Review process, has outlined its own optics for the area, A Strawman Proposal for The Wiehle Area Metro Station, that envisions a thriving mixed-use, beyond 9-5, transit-oriented community. The group calls for increased residential uses, pedestrian and bike interconnectivity along the Silver Line corridor, embracing the urban center paradigm and integration of growth along the corridor. According to Penniman, Strawman Proposal author and board member of the Reston Community Center,

"Reston is a wonderful, planned community of urban and village centers, but running in the middle of it is the toll road, which has historically been lined with office buildings. With the arrival of the Metro and three stations running through Reston, there is an opportunity to add some urban flavor that would allow more people to live, work, walk and play...If we can create more pedestrian connections and manage traffic, that should do a lot to energize the corridor and would fit in well with the image of Reston as a community of open spaces and quality architecture."

Not everyone would agree that Reston calls to mind architectural splendor or exudes urbanity, but Comstock hopes their site next to the Metro will afford the opportunity to change that. Comstock plans on entering Reston Station in the running for LEED-ND (LEED for Neighborhood Development) certification, a relatively new category in the LEED rating system, which the US Green Building Council, the Congress for New Urbanism and the Natural Resources Defense Council developed collaboratively to certify neighborhoods that are planned according to smart growth principles with attention to urban planning and environmental design characteristics at the community scale.

Debate on the project has focused on traffic mitigation from the beginning. The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority began increasing tolls on the Dulles Toll Road last January by 33% to help finance the Silver Line, with further toll increases expected in 2012. With increasing gas prices and suffocating traffic, the commute along the toll road has become less sustainable.

Comstock's Parker says the developer has focused on traffic management from the start, making the most of the pedestrian bridge that will link its project to the Metro station. Planners have designed Reston Station Blvd. as a new cross street, "an east-west spine road parallel to both Sunset Hills Road and the Dulles Toll Road provides a key cornerstone to the ultimate goal of a well-planned grid of streets." "We have proffered to significant traffic modifications to accommodate the suggested increase in traffic with the arrival of Metro. We are also committed to conducting other traffic studies as the development progresses through an aggressive Transportation Demand Management plan designed to reduce automobile trips generated by the office and residential uses" explained Parker.

Ultimately, construction timelines will be determined by economic realities, with even citizens groups acknowledging that "development will not proceed as fast as might have been thought a couple of years ago." With three years to go until the Metro station opens, time will tell what awaits sojourners venturing out to the end of the new metro line.

Reston, Virginia, real estate development news

New Grocery Store Chain to Land In Northeast

The supermarket wars rage on, now with a new competitor. The poor man's Trader Joe's is coming to Ward Five next week, as discount grocer chain ALDI will break ground on what is set to become their first store in the District of Columbia. Work will officially begin on September 7th at 901 17th Street, NE; ALDI executives will be joined by Ward 5 Councilmen Harry Thomas Jr. to celebrate the good news. ALDI summarizes their unique business model as this: "A select assortment discount grocer featuring its own ALDI select brands, ALDI applies smart and efficient operational and business practices to save more than 20 million monthly customers up to 50 percent on their grocery bill." With limited shelving, and most products displayed on the same wooden pallets they're shipped on, it seems as if the end product will be the less complicated, groceries-only version of Costco.

As it is now

Looking more like Soviet Safeway here

Although it may be tempting to poke fun at the grocer as the District becomes overpopulated with gourmet supermarkets, it will likely be a vast improvement upon the "UnSafeway" just next door. With a neglected Safeway on Rhode Island Avenue shut down earlier this year, it is clear that northeast has not received anything like the attention from grocers lavished on northwest. In Germany, where ALDI originated, the chain was once sneered at and dismissed as a low-quality, thrifty-alternative for impoverished shoppers, but has now gained momentum as hip and simplified shopping for the parsimonious. Future customers be warned however, you must come armed with a quarter (redeemed upon return of the grocery cart), and cash or a debit card (credit cards not accepted). Customers are also required to pay for the grocery bags they use, so bring your own reusable cloth sacks to save time, money, and the environment.

The new store should look something like this

Since their business philosophy is a no-frills shopping experience that focuses on cutting costs and passing the savings onto the customer, it's hard to imagine the architecture being inspirational. And like the majority of ALDI's business relationships, they've contracted with a single entity, ADP Engineering and Architecture, to bring their new stores across the country to life. No official construction timeline has been published, but it is expected the turn around will be fairly short. The need for better shopping options in the area certainly remains strong.

Washington D.C. Real Estate Development News

Smithsonian's New Museum of African American History and Culture Unveils Latest Design Changes

Awarded the rights to design the Museum of African American History and Culture by the Smithsonian back in April of 2009, a Smithsonian presenter and team of architects from Freelon, Adjaye Associates, and Davis Brody Bond unveiled the newest plans for the National Mall's next museum yesterday. Responding to initial concerns about the large size of the building and it's impact on the views of the Washington Monument and surrounding Mall, the team presented their augmented designs - lowered, and shifted back - to the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC). This is the first of many give and take meetings that will play out before the building is finally built and opened in November of 2015. Next stop: the Commission of Fine Arts will review the newest concept design, final approval on the design will not come until 2012.

The three tiers (the "Corona") of bronze, porous, pumice-stone-like material still form the bulk of the structure. What was originally a large base of the building, the "Porch," has been mostly pushed below grade so only the top pierces ground level, a concession to the prominence of Washington's Monument. The raised platform will retain its mezzanine functionality as a place to install skylights to illuminate below grade programming. Planners are proposing to mound the earth around the structure to replicate the sloping dimensions of the neighboring Monument grounds.

Overall, the building's footprint and profile have been reduced, and adjusted slightly to the south, to diminish the perceived brutish visual intrusion of the building as initially rendered. Although the designers admit that this new position shifts the building a bit offline from the center alignment of existing museums, the changes were made to create a less obtrusive structure, and allow more open sight lines to and pleasantly framed views of the Washington Monument from Constitution Avenue.

Initial renderings showed the Porch rising high above ground

Revisions on technical matters - security, landscaping, loading and docks - will continue, but the Commission had approved previous conceptual designs, and no comments from the NCPC panel appeared likely to derail the overall concept. But persisting complaints highlighted the difficulties that lay ahead for this design team. A long road to appease a plethora of the different guard dog and policy making entities awaits: DDOT, National Park Service, NCPC, the U.S. Commission on Fine Arts, Office of Planning, and more. One panelist commended the design team for both their efforts at middle ground and their endeavor to blend a modern design into the setting of the Mall. "I sympathize greatly with the design team...With all of their demands, it seems a lot of my colleagues seem to want to you build a building that is invisible." With that being unlikely, the design may well retain the form presented at yesterday's unveiling. Another interesting reaction was that of Commission member Herbert F. Ames, who after applauding the design team, slammed down his fist and implored Congress (who I'm pretty sure wasn't in the room) to put a stop to any new projects set for the National Mall. "We're going to ruin a national treasure," he said, "the Mall was full years ago, and the Mall is full now."

Washington D.C. Real Estate Development News

Feds Enable Affordable Housing Surge in the District

Significant press coverage has been granted to The Yards' Foundry Lofts over the last several days, and in the past as well, a project that will move forward thanks to the DC Housing Finance Agency (DCHFA) multi-deal bond release under President Obama's New Issue Bond Program (NIBP). This is all big news, as there are a few firsts here: the first HFA in the country to issue an escrow release under the new program, and the Agency's first mixed-income transaction, as 34 of the Foundry Lofts' 170 new rental units (20 percent) will be marketed to families making only 50% of the Area Medium Income (AMI). But the same funding mechanism also enabled yet more public housing; So Others Might Eat's (SOME) "The Scattered Site Project" will also move forward with the assistance of the released funds.

The Scattered Site Project has been in the works since early 2007 according to SOME's Housing Development Director Troy Swanda, and has been on the starting line and ready to go for sometime now. But with the market downtown, the start gun was without powder, and the project has idled. Now, the recently released bonds combined with tax credits, grants, and SOME's private fund raising will make this multiple-site development a reality. Totaling more than $36 million, the specific funding numbers go as follows: $8.1 million from DCHFA's Tax Exempt Bonds, $11.5 million DHCD Housing Production Trust Fund, $6.7 million from Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Proceeds, $2.9 million from DC Housing Authority LRSP Capital Grant, and $7.3 million from SOME's own financing. SOME and their team of contractors were so poised for action in fact, that they began construction the very day the bond release was finalized. The aptly named development consists of five different properties strewn across Wards 7 and 8 in the Southeast. Three of the properties (350 50th St, 3828 South Capitol St, and 2810 Texas Avenue) will be intended for single adults, while one property (730 Chesapeake St) will be geared for families, and the last (1667 Good Hope Road) for seniors.

The five buildings will offer a total of 245 apartments, all classified as affordable housing, meant to shelter residents making 0-30% AMI. Keeping carbon footprints to a minimum, the properties will feature very limited parking amenities, as residents of affordable housing projects are typically some of public transportation's most devoted users. Two buildings will feature green vegetation roofs and one will be topped with a passive solar water heating system. "Building to green standards is in mind with construction and design of every building," says Swanda. Local firm Nelson Architects is responsible for the design of each building. Developers expect to deliver their first building in early 2011, and will complete the roll out of all five by the end of that year.

Washington D.C. Real Estate Development News

Georgetown Streets on Track for Reconstruction

While the eastern half of Washington DC searches for ways to build tracks for its dust-collecting trolleys, the western half of DC has long been dealing with the opposite problem: plenty of tracks, no trolleys. The west side's problem may be at an end within the next two months. The District government will rebuild Georgetown's historic trolley lines that have divided Georgetowners over the fate of the iconic streetcar lines.

The District is proceeding with plans to rebuild the trolley lines that, depending on your perspective, are either an indispensable piece of Georgetown's culture and character, or make driving and parking a dangerous tightrope walk, or both. The problem is in fact not so much the trolley lines, which have remained intact, but the cobblestones that form the street that have sunk around them, creating a mid-street ridge as much as 4 inches high in some places. The city has wrung its hands over the issue for decades, with minor repairs that included patchwork asphalt that did little to quell the debate. Now the District will repair O and P Streets between Wisconsin Avenue and 37th Streets, removing the cobbles and tracks, laying a new foundation less prone to sinking, and reusing as much of the existing materials as possible. After renovation work the stone and rail will be flush. Motorists will still be able to test their driving acumen by aligning their tires on the rails, but without the tire-scorching thud now associated with an errant swerve. Sidewalks on both streets will also be rehabilitated.

Not all residents see the wisdom in repairing the rails. "Why not just cobblestones? Why do we have to have the rails? I don't quite see the need" said Georgetown resident Arne Peterson. Work on the project is expected to commence in "early November," according to a DDOT official familiar with the project.

Ansel Adams Slept Here

by Beth Herman

Well, OK, he didn't exactly sleep there, but for Group Goetz Architects (GGA) President and CEO Lewis J. Goetz, making a home at The Wilderness Society, 1615 M Street NW, for 75 of Adams' seminal landscape photographs was a design of somewhat personal proportions. "I got to meet him once," Goetz said, reflecting on his own interest in black and white photography and what it meant to stand before the iconoclastic naturalist and photographer himself. "Ansel Adams was a hero for a lot of photographers back then,” he affirmed, having purchased his first Nikon with the funds from an architectural award he received in college. "Adams was able to capture pure black and white and every shade of grey in between, not to mention the incredible sights he was able to photograph,” Goetz said. Because Adams and the Washington, D.C.-based Wilderness Society, founded in 1935 to protect and preserve natural resources and public lands, had confluent missions, it was both fitting and immensely generous that the photographer would have donated what Goetz believes is the largest assembly of his art to any institution. “Every famous picture he’s done is here, which is pretty amazing,” he said. The problem, according to Goetz, was that only about 20 percent of the collection had been displayed in the Society’s dark lobby for many years, with “portable elements” on which they’d hang lights. “The pictures are not that large,” he observed. “They’re 16x20 and some are smaller than that. There is very intricate and delicate detail. (The way they were displayed), you couldn’t see the pictures – this amazing collection.”Citing periodic economic delays and several subsequent efforts to pare down GGA’s initial concept for the gallery space (what should have been an eight-month design/construction effort stretched into 18 months), The Wilderness Society eventually secured the necessary funding to move forward with the gallery design, which complemented a renovation of its existing D.C. headquarters. Supported by art consultant Cynthia Reed and John Coventry of Coventry Lighting, Goetz maintained that gallery space wants to be about the art, not the gallery, noting the great galleries are secondary to what’s showing. “It’s the simplicity of it that sets it apart,” he explained, adding that you don’t want to compete with the subject. That said, designing for a specific, permanent collection instead of a revolving space that may support many different artists over time had its own set of advantages and challenges. While standard operating gallery procedure is to have a space that is clean and unfettered - a simple box without distractions, Goetz explained, because Adams’ photographs were black and white, it made sense that the space should also be black and white. And because the art reflected different subject matter, though within an environmental realm, the team decided to separate or break down the gallery so that it wasn’t just one 2,900 s.f. room. In this regard, and with extensive linear wall space, jagged breaks, or openings, were created to bisect the space so that visitors could peer through to other parts of the exhibit. The angular openings, resembling large, rugged faults in Adams’ natural rock formations, serve to mirror and enhance the experience rather than detracting or calling attention away from it. With Ansel Adams’ work, Goetz observed, “It’s not about the space. It’s standing two feet from the wall as you walk through it.” At the end a concealed door leads from the gallery into the Society’s conference room, with the objective that all who enter the building must first pass through its special gallery space, which is open to the public. With an eye to sustainability and where LED lighting was considered, in the end the team decided that generationally it doesn’t have the right quality for gallery use, though in another year, Goetz speculated, it may be considered. Occupying the entire second floor of the building, The Wilderness Society’s headquarters also underwent a makeover with an emphasis on sustainable features such as low-VOC paint, water saving fixtures in the bathrooms, recycled drywall and a concrete floor that was made in place, requiring no manufacturing. The mechanical system was zoned to provide a lot of control, according to Goetz, in order to save on energy, with lighting that utilizes motion sensors and controllable dimmers. With what may loosely be termed more ebullient designs in their passbook, such as Michel Richard’s Central restaurant, Goetz explained the firm has “a very pragmatic approach to design,” which enabled them to create a space that subordinated itself to something else. “To me, design is about solving problems,” he said, “so if we solve the problem, then we did a great job, and if we can do it in a beautiful, poetic way, then we did an even better job.” A good photograph is knowing where to stand. – Ansel Adams

Howard Theater Redevelopment Team Ready To Break Ground

DCMud is always happy to report project groundbreakings, especially when historic preservation is involved. But when redevelopment plans, mired in financing complications, have remained in holding patterns for years, it is only natural to question the legitimacy of a phoenix-like ground breaking, especially in election season. Despite that, it seems that Shaw's Howard Theater groundbreaking scheduled for tomorrow is paid for and ready to build.

Plans to redevelop the historic Howard Theater have been in the works for years, but like so many idling Shaw development plans and Ellis Development's other nearby project Broadcast Center One turned Renaissance Project, the financial hurdles have been frustratingly difficult.

Earlier this March, the Washington Business Journal confirmed that fund raising efforts for the Howard Theater redevelopment non-profit group and their development partner Ellis, through both private fund raising means, an eight million dollar public grant, and tax credits, had secured 74% of the needed $15.5 million. But developers were reported to have still been laboring fruitlessly for further bank financing.

Now, Chip Ellis of Ellis Development has confirmed that funding is in place, and the team will begin actual construction next week. Ellis added that a TIF loan and a five million dollar loan from Eagle Bank helped finalize phase one financing plans, adding to money already promised by the District government. Ellis qualified the good news, adding that $3.5m more needs to be raised in order to commence and complete phase two of the construction, which will extend and widen the back of the theater, making room for classrooms, offices, a library, and museum. So while a time table for a final ribbon cutting still remains conditional upon the speed with which the last few million is secured, the news confirms that the groundbreaking is more than symbolic.

The restoration of Howard Theater, once a mecca for listeners seeking out the performances of African American musical stalwarts like Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, and later Sammy Davis Jr., is vital to the revitalization of Shaw. It also makes sense to anchor a significant new performance space, part theater, part museum, in this particular area, sandwiched between the wealth of music venues along the U Street corridor to the north and the entertainment heart of the city in Chinatown to the south. Local firm Martinez & Johnson Architecture, which also redesigned the Strand, continues to carry the burden of design planning. Architect Naomi Ueki said the most important goal in this project, like so many restoration efforts, is to "keep the historical elements that define the theater in tact and work around them." The first order of business is the demolition of the interior - a complete gutting - while making sure to protect the footprint of the building. Excavation of the ground floor will follow in an effort to dig out a basement level. In addition to general masonry improvements, replica windows, signage, historical lamps, openings and architectural details will all help bring the famous theater facade back to life. The available financing and long to-do list is expected to keep construction crews busy through January; by then developers hope to have secured the additional funds to transition smoothly into phase two.

Shaw residents who are tired of being strung along by promises without much action to follow will finally hear some racket from the construction site at at the corner of 7th & T Streets. This is at least reason to put on a jazz record and smile. Now, we can hope for the Wonder Bread Factory to provide an overture.

Correction: Steve Cassell of Four Points LLC has informed DCMud that while the name "Renaissance Project" was thrown around the idea table it was never finalized. "Progression Place" is the official project name for the development formerly known as "Broadcast Center One," while the residential aspect of the project has been dubbed "7th Flats."

Washington D.C. Real Estate Development News