Bethesda's Smashing Summer

Lattes, IPads, Peg Perego strollers - downtown Bethesda on a wild night. But Bethesda's tranquil, manicured status is about to come to an end. By late summer, developers will take over the downtown, digging holes, tearing up streets, and reshaping the downtown streetscape now dominated by moms in heels. Relax, its only temporary. But by July, a pair of local developers say they plan to dig out the two metered parking lots in the center of Bethesda and close Woodmont Avenue for almost two years as they construct a giant underground parking garage, erect two new buildings that will extend Bethesda Row, and reconfigure the Woodmont Ave - Bethesda Ave intersection.

Stonebridge Associates and PN Hoffman, real estate developers selected by the county to joint-venture the project, have approved plans for an 88 unit condominium on the east side of Woodmont and a 170-unit residence (sale or rentals not determined) on the west side of the rebuilt street, a public-private underground parking garage 5 stories deep with 300 private spaces and 1100 public ones, and 40,000 s.f. of retail that will grace Bethesda and Woodmont Avenues, extending Bethesda Row south by a full block, built for small scale retailers. The buildings were designed by Bethesda's SK&I Architectural Design Group,

But all that infrastructure can only come with construction, and lots of it. And while developers are breaking eggs for the $150m development, they will also take the opportunity to remedy the distorted "X" of the intersection, shortening crosswalks and drawing together corners, giving Woodmont a more graceful, traffic-calming arch. Developers intend to close Woodmont south of Bethesda Avenue for up to 20 months, build the garage underneath, then deed the street back to the city.

The first building will be the Darcy, an 88-unit condominium (pictured, top), with 60 market rate condos and 28 home buyers getting subsidized views overlooking Bethesda Row; marketing and sales by PN Hoffman is expected to start "very shortly" says Stonebridge founding principal Doug Firstenberg. Retail will wrap around the building's first floor.

Next at bat is the more complicated west side of Woodmont, with 170 or so units still in the design phase and carrying the brunt of street-grade storefronts. Retail will be mostly parceled into smallish shops that roughly match Bethesda's current shopping district, with an anchor tenant as large as 9,000 s.f., large but significantly smaller than the Barnes & Noble across the street.

Stonebridge-Hoffman also has an agreement with the county to rebuild the adjacent section of the Capital Crescent bike trail, better integrating the path into downtown and fixing its dead end into Bethesda Avenue, where developers will widen and landscape the path with pavers. "Now there will be a place to stop" says Stonebridge's Firstenberg. "You will have a beautiful hardscape telling you you're in the middle of this urban area." Firstenberg also has plans for a bike drop-off on Woodmont once the residences are complete, now that bikers are loosing their unloading point, with a connection behind the building to the trail.

But developers will bury the most controversial portion, the project's 1400-space garage, for which the county approved $89m in 2008, a decision many saw as unwise, unnecessary, and wasteful. The complex land agreement with the county, which owns the land, requires developers to pay the county in a plan Firstenberg calls "tantamount to an air rights deal." The county will pay the Stonebridge team for its costs to build the public parking, up to $89m. "We're certainly hoping to spend less" says Firstenberg, who notes falling construction costs. "The construction world has changed." Project architect Federico Olivera Sala of SK&I notes that the team is "trying to reduce" the overall number of parking spaces.

But transit and smart growth organizations, while applauding the overall development as urban in-fill and transit-oriented, have called parking a boondoggle that puts cars before public transit, with a Metro stop two blocks away and the Purple Line coming soon across the street. "Montgomery County could lease parking from nearby office spaces. We need more flexible strategies...I think looking at pricing is the only way to effectively manage parking, there's plenty of parking within a couple of blocks. Given everyone's budget crisis, spending $80,000 per space hardly seems like a strategic investment," says Cheryl Cort of the Coalition for Smarter Growth, which opposed the spending. Firstenberg disagrees. "There is clearly a parking shortage in Bethesda... Bethesda is one of the county's prime economic engines. Other developers have large projects coming up in the area, those are all major plans. There's a parking shortage today, much less when all the development takes place."

Parking shortage or not, in 3 years Bethesdans will have another garage, an extended Bethesda Row, and calm, freshly paved streets for quiet meandering. Which should be just about the time that JBG digs up the opposite intersection to build a 200,000 s.f. office tower and 250-unit residential tower, and most likely the start of construction for Bethesda's Purple Line station in 2014 right next door. Looks like Bethesda is about to get busy.

Bethesda, Maryland Real Estate Development News

Shaw Developers Celebrate Step Forward with Progression Place

One of Shaw's chief development projects, slowed by lost tenants and missed start dates, is finally having its day as developers celebrate a "groundbreaking" Monday for a project that began in late 2010. Developers of Progression Place began work last December on the 320,000 square foot, $150 million development, with 100,000 square feet office space, a 205-unit residential apartment building, 20,000 square feet of street-level retail, but on Monday its developers will fete themselves and the sale of an office condo to anchor occupant United Negro College Fund (UNCF). UNCF officially purchased half the project's office space on December 24th, but developers were already doing site work on the vacant lot in anticipation of the settlement and Eagle Bank's $13m loan made possible by the sale, which was in turn made possible by the city's $3.6m financing subsidy for UNCF. Ellis Development, The Jarvis Company, and Four Points combined forces to build a project that would be hard to overestimate in importance as a beacon for Shaw's development, adding housing, jobs and retail in an area that had little investment in any of those markets. Progression Place is adjacent to the Howard Theater, also being developed by Ellis, and will build in parking for the historic theater and add a rebuilt Metro entrance. UNCF's office condo and the "7th Flats" will both be ready for occupancy in mid 2012. With a new library in place just to the south, and the Convention Center Marriott already underway, the O Street Market remains the largest holdout that could tie together development along the 7th Street corridor. Design is being handled jointly by architects Eric Colbert & Associates and Devrouax and Purnell, and built by Davis Construction and Gilford Corporation. The public ceremony will be held at the Lincoln Theater at 11am on Monday. 

Washington DC real estate development news

Arlington Mill Ready to Build

Demolition of the community center on Arlington's Columbia Pike is slated in the next two weeks to make way for Arlington Mill, a community center, garage and a low-rise affordable housing complex. "We're just waiting for our electricity to be rewired and then we can get started," said George May, Construction Bureau Chief of Arlington County.

The first phase of the project has a projected cost of 24 to 25 million dollars to build a new community center with a gym, learning center, public plaza and garage, designed by Davis Carter Scott. Residences on the north side developed by Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing (APAH) and designed by Kishimoto Gordon Dalaya Architecture (KGD) are scheduled to go under construction in 2012 with a targeted completion date of May 2013.

APAH will be applying for the Low Incoming Housing Tax Credit March 11th. The group is slated to build 122 subsidized residences in the second phase of the project, which starts after completion of the community center. In the original plans, 192 residences were to have been built, with 61 slated for affordable housing. Public Private Alliance was unable to secure financing for the market-rate apartments so the county went back to the drawing board in the planning stages, said Maureen Markham, Arlington County Development Specialist. "We had a couple of rough years for the housing market and funding, but things are looking up," she said.
Arlington, Virginia real estate development news

Hine School Project Shifts Plans

The Hine School Project, a development won by Stanton-EastBanc, is shaping up to provide more residential units than outlined in initial plans, partly because of business pullouts.

As reported by Michael Niebauer in Washington Business Journal, residential space has been allocated an additional 100,000 square feet, up from 144,594 in 2009. Though the additional residences will alleviate the District's current housing pinch, the shift was the result of the Tiger Woods Foundation decision to nix youth center plans and the International Relief and Development aborting a headquarters move. The total square footage has dropped nearly 100,000, to approximately 558,000 s.f. square feet of retail, office and residential space.

"We're still early in the process on this project," says Dave Garrison, Commissioner for ANC 6B. "We're not sure how static the plans are. There are still many layers to go before the formal submission of design." Stanton-EastBanc will feature slides on its website that reflect the changes in the design within the next couple days.

Garrison says the the plans will be formally reviewed by the Historic Preservation Board in early March, with a second hearing before the ANC board later in the month. It would then go on to the zoning board, at which point there will be a special meeting regarding the project's community benefits and amenities, since it creates greater density than is currently permitted by zoning. "This is an idiocyncratic process that will be shaped by circumstances, timing and the economy that really is a wide open discussion about the plans," said Garrison.

If all goes smoothly, the projected calendar for development is to apply for permits late this year, with construction to begin in 2012, with a completion date of 2015.

Washington DC real estate development news

Your Next Place...

By Franklin Schneider

A literal stone's throw from the Eastern Market metro station (please do not throw stones at the Eastern Market metro station), this is an incredibly appealing 2BR/2BA unit. With multiple skylights, and high ceilings, the space feels open and dramatic. There's a fireplace, a compact galley kitchen with stainless steel appliances, a washer/dryer, and two roof decks, from which you can in fact see the Capitol Dome. Now, when you see something on the news about the government doing something you don't like, you can dash out onto the deck and shake your fist at the thing itself! I bet that would totally make you feel better! It's also about as effective as voting. (Just kidding. Sort of.) The place also comes with garage parking which, if you're a car owner, you recognize as one of the greatest pleasures in life. I mean, there are few things more demoralizing than looking for parking. After circling my neighborhood for almost half an hour late at night last week, consistently rounding corners just as some other driver slid into a recently-vacated space, it hit me like a lightning bolt: life really doesn't have any meaning at all, does it? (I finally just parked it illegally.)
But really, what more could you want from a place? If I was the agent for this property, I would silently lead prospective buyers through each room, up to the decks, down to the parking garage, and then, at the conclusion of this tour, grab them by the shoulders and shake them violently while screaming, “WHAT MORE COULD YOU POSSIBLY WANT!?” But then that's why I'm not a real estate agent.

350 9th St SE #25
Washington
$528,500
2 Bdrms, 2 Baths, Parking

Neighborhood Report: NoMa

So named for its location north of Massachusetts Avenue, NoMa is a neighborhood that's beginning to assert an identity, if still gangly in its adolescence. But developers and restaurateurs have faith the area will take shape. Here's what's happening:

Gillian Clark's Kitchen on K: Clark's new restaurant, inspired by her now-gone Colorado Kitchen is between four and eight weeks away from permitting. A bigger space and proximity to the Metro means Clark, now the chef at Silver Spring's General Store, plans on daytime and late night hours. In a nod to its progenitor, the menu will showcase French technique via comfort food favorites, as well as donuts during brunch her customers keep asking about. Opening dates? "Ideally spring, but there is no such thing as ideal."

Work in Progress, Todd Gray's Watershed: A few blocks from Clark's spot, Equinox chef Todd Gray and wife Ellen are opening Watershed in NoMa's Hilton Garden Inn. In addition to the raw bar, patio, restaurant and lounge, the Grays will also focus on cooking up morning meals. "D.C. has a real need for power breakfast spots," said Todd. Perhaps Clark and Gray will draw business from Charlie Palmer, the reigning champion of the genre. Watershed will be the sole restaurant in the hotel, which is slated to open in April.

On Skanska's NoMa Development: Sara Krouse of Washington Business Journal reported on the Skanska deal earlier this week, which Executive Vice President Rob Ward says is slated to become office buildings, hotels and potentially residential space. The 63,790 square foot property is located at 1st and M Streets N.E.

NoMa Living: The Loree Grand, which will house Clark's restaurant, was the first new residential projects in the area in over a century. Of the 212 residential units, 66% have been leased. Archstone also has a residential project underway, 469 apartments set for completion in late 2012.

Constitution Square: Of the 440 residential units in The Flats 130, 90 have already been leased since its opening late last year, with 19 new leases just in January. Also set to open in the area is Roti as well as the largest location of The Perfect Pita, which has leased space across from The Courtyard Marriott.

90K: Of the space that's primarily for offices, 50% has been leased. The 412,000 square foot office building also houses retail, which has yet to be claimed. Built by Clark Construction, designed by SmithGroup, the building is the newest office building by Trammel Crow Company.
111 K Street: Sales of J Street's corporate condo (pictured, right), initially fast, have stalled as buyers such as Sierra Club and YWCA have backed out.

50 Florida Avenue: This former Metro Ice warehouse just sold as a redevelopment project to B & B Realty Investments. "We are in the middle of contemplating what we want this space to become," said Rick Brown, a Principal of B&B. "We had a three to five year plan but recent growth in the area has prompted us to reconsider."

Washington DC real estate development news

Eisenhower Memorial Draws Flack, Competition

After a contentious burst of outrage over the release of designs for the future Eisenhower Memorial in Southwest DC, at least one arts organization has decided to support its own competition for design of the monument. The National Civic Art Society, a Washington DC-based non-profit organization dedicated to promoting classical art and architecture, has publicly opposed the design and is seeking submissions for what it hopes will replace the current proposal solicited by the Eisenhower Memorial Commission and designed by famed architect Frank Gehry.

The NCAS intends to launch a publicity campaign this week to generate alternatives to the three, very publicly denigrated proposals now before The National Capital Planning Commission. Nearly unanimous public contempt of the proposals under consideration was apparent after DCMud and DCist reported on the plans under review, reports that generated overwhelmingly negative comments. "There are better options here for honoring President Eisenhower than big metal poles" said Eric Wind of NCAS, referring to the free-standing columns that will rise in the middle of the park as part of the Memorial. In sponsoring the competition, Wind says the ultimate design should reflect the subject of its tribute rather than salute the fame of its designer. "When you see the Lincoln [Memorial], 99% of the people don't think of the designer, its supposed to be a timeless monument. The emphasis is on the person honored." As for the architect, Wind says of Gehry "he has supporters and dectractors, but when it comes to this design I haven't seen anyone in favor. Some of [his designs] are better than others, but this is among his worst."

The NCAS competition was inspired in part by the design of the Alaskan state capitol building, which Wind says was the subject of a design competition that resulted in a "horrible" winner. In the aftermath of the competition and negative publicity it received, an architecture student "sat down in a few hours and designed something much better" that resulted in a rethinking of the project.

"In general this just does not match the aesthetics of Washington DC," said Wind, who wants to reach out to students and critics to come up with, well, anything better, though he has no illusions that forcing a do-over will be easy. "I think its safe to say we're an underdog." The Memorial was created by an act of Congress and has been approved by the Eisenhower Commission and The U.S. Commission on Fine Arts.

"If we can show the public what a truly classical, beautiful design looks like, we hope [the Commission] will reconsider, it will look much better than what Gehry has designed." The Eisenhower Commission selected architect Frank Gehry in early 2009 in a highly publicized national design competition. The deadline for submissions is April 15th, the contest is being cosponsored by the Institute for Classical Architecture Mid Atlantic Chapter. NCPC will review the Gehry designs today at its 12:30 meeting.

Washington DC real estate development news

Who Lived Here? Researching the History of an Old Home in the District

When he went searching for a home to buy in 1992 in Washington DC, Paul Kelsey Williams was seduced by a building at 1800 Vermont Avenue. Never mind that the neighborhood had been crime ridden, he was attracted to the corner house shaped like a miniature castle. After move in, a neighbor illuminated its history, it turns out that Williams lives in what used to be the Frelinghuysen University, a co-op for black working class adults built by Diller Groff in 1879.

With a graduate degree in historic preservation, Williams has an inclination to find the history of a property. As blogger for WashingtonHistory.com and author of several books on local history from Arcadia Publishing, including Greater U Street, Cleveland Park, Capitol Hill and Woodley Park, he wanted a home with an eclectic past. As a result, he ended up looking at homes in Logan Circle region in particular.

It doesn't take a degree from Cornell (though Williams has one) to find out the history of a home. Williams says it's easy if you start with the Washingtoniana Room of the Martin Luther King Library.

The Washingtoniana Room houses residency records from 1822 that include occupation of each homeowner and place of employment; individuals and families associated with a property can also be researched from 1790 in the HeritageQuest database by Census year. The library also files information on permits to build homes and additions from 1877 through 1949 (permits to build after 1949 are at the D.C. Archives). If you're really interested in going as far back as before the home was built, there's information associated with the city block and parcel of land that can be found in the Assessment Directory kept at the reference desk.

Speaking on his own neighborhood, Williams noted the treasures of the past he has discovered. "What I think is fascinating is the transition of Logan Circle and U Street from white to black-owned." Williams searched census records to discover the transition of home ownership in the neighborhood started in 1900 and continued through the '20's, during which time rowhouses were snapped up by middle class African Americans when whites moved to Dupont Circle and along Massachusetts Avenue where new homes were being built.

"Who was the architect, the original owner, how thick the walls are, the original cost, what the foundation and roof is made of, it's all there," says Williams. "Aside from adding to the story of your home, this information can be valuable if you're considering renovations."

If you're looking for information on an old home on Capitol Hill, Georgetown, Logan or U Street, there's a good chance it was built between the 1870's through the 1890's, during the first wave of building in D.C. An expanding government after the Civil War brought an influx of laborers and and a development boom.

Many homes in the area had been designed by one of three architects: Diller Groff who had built Williams' home, and Thomas Franklin Schneider was also prolific, having designed nearly 2000 buildings in the area between 1880 and 1900, including The Cairo as well as the 1700 block of Q Street, NW. George Cooper is the third most noteworthy architect of the era, having designed the Bond Building at New York Ave. and much of 14th Street, among others.

And as for Georgetown? "The funny thing is, many people think that the houses in Georgetown were among the most coveted," says Williams. "But unless they were the big mansions, they housed the butchers and the bakers in the 1870's and 1880's."

Washington DC real estate news

Eisenhower Commanding the Mall

Three design alternatives for the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial will be presented this Thursday at a public meeting before the The National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC). One of the three concepts selected by the Eisenhower Memorial Commission will be chosen for the 400 block of Independence Avenue, SW, in a plan that could get final review as early as this year.

The Eisenhower Commission selected architect Frank Gehry early last year to design the memorial, and several subsequent rounds of revisions have honed the site plan into three designs, one that creates a circular pattern of smooth, non-supporting and seemingly unfinished columns surrounding the park and tribute (top rendering), a second that follows the colonnade and deference to L'Enfant but allows Maryland Avenue vehicular traffic to continue through the site (middle rendering), and a third that leaves the original concept of a road closure and block-filling park intact, along with the original concept of a screen - "tapestries of woven stainless steel mesh supported on the colonnade of limestone" (bottom rendering).
The $90-120 million project (Washingtonspeak for $180m) mandated by Congress for the 34th President is behind schedule on its projected 2015 opening, but whenever it wraps up, it will provide "a cohesive and contemplative space for learning about President Eisenhower and his vast accomplishments." Each version will have a central tree grove strategically placed to frame local vistas, underneath which visitors relax, sit and learn amid a new orthogonal grid of urban canopy.

The Eisenhower Commission, a 12 member, bipartisan group that includes senators, representatives, former presidential appointees, and Ike's grandson, has expressed its preference for the Scheme 3 that eliminates Maryland Avenue and breaks up the L'Enfant plan, creating a more cohesive tribute to the General and President. "It would be extraordinary if we can build this memorial designed by the foremost architect in America in today" said Daniel Feil, Executive Architect for the Eisenhower Commission. "This will be the 7th monument for a President [in DC] and the first in a century."

The presentation by NCPC is the first of three phases before the Commission, in this case to render design guidance on each of the three plans. The second of three required NCPC hearings will review the ultimate plan once it is selected, with a third hearing for final plan review; NCPC reviewed and approved site selection in 2006, and Gehry made an informational presentation before NCPC a year ago. NCPC Public Affairs Director Lisa McSpadden notes that the Commission "did give very specific design principals" to the National Park Service, incorporating 7 guidelines such as maintaining views of U.S. Capitol. The U.S. Commission on Fine Arts CFA reviewed and approved it on January 20th, the next step will entail a public review and comment period. Gehry and his team will be on hand at Thursday's meeting to hear out the Commission's presentation.

Washington DC real estate development news

Adventures in Chakra-tecture!

By Beth Herman

When a mold-ridden, baby blue, vinyl-sided 1970s “fake” farmhouse in Frederick County, Va., needed a total architectural alignment (translation: to raze or not to raze), Reader & Swartz Architects recruited the growing young family who lived there in a proactive design effort largely about lifestyle.

With yoga practice paramount among homeowners Stephen and Julie Pettler’s daily requisites, the original 2,858 s.f. home was reimagined “poetically,” according to Principal Chuck Swartz, to reach up and out, emulating a yoga pose. Appreciating the sun’s path in the course of the day with considerable length and glass added to the southern face, the ultimate 5,125 s.f. design included a soothing, cork-floored yoga room and library, and a dedicated school room for home schooled Zoe, now 14, Olivia, 11 and Sophia, 8.

Kapalabhati (breathing technique for cleansing breaths)

“When we started the project, there was really nothing in the house worth keeping because it was neither historic nor special,” Swartz said, recalling a kind of initial 911 call from the homeowners. “One of the things that had happened along the way was that with each improvement to the house (purchased in 2002), things got worse,” he continued, explaining that contractors had clogged or sealed crawl spaces and attic vents through the years. Project manager Kevin Walker called its walls “…a haven for mold.” Suffering serious respiratory ailments as a result and requiring mold abatement, the family had considered demolishing the property except for a conservation conscience that impelled it to investigate other options.

“In another situation, we might have bulldozed,” Swartz conceded, “but our client charged us with doing as good as we could environmentally, so that meant fixing the mold situation and not using toxic materials that might off-gas. Anything that was going into this house had to be thoughtful,” he said. Construction waste was sorted and recycled when possible. Additionally, Swartz recalled that the structure was situated perfectly–on a private road with mature trees and lots of land and vistas, and siting that utilized passive solar gain – making the decision to maintain the footprint of the house that much easier.

Surya Namaskara (sun salutation)

Building a 2,267 s.f. two-story addition to the East containing the yoga room, a library and master suite above it, and a one-story living room to the Southwest, the house went from being a “boxy piece of something to something that stretched up and out to the sun,” said Swartz. Sporting a gable roof made of trusses, the architects were able to remove them and create a simple shed roofline. “By putting a new hat on it and adding the two wings, we really changed the house’s sense of self,” he affirmed.

Retaining the existing box as the core of the new house, this became the kitchen with three children’s bedrooms, a laundry room and bathroom above it. While working within the structure’s traditional though limiting eight-foot ceilings, the architects decided to open up the second floor above the kitchen, creating a space that at its apogee is 28 feet high, and which fosters easy conversation between downstairs and upstairs occupants (Swartz quipped about waking up the kids from the kitchen). A light monitor – or vertical window with a tiny roof – at the top channels sunlight everywhere, and cedar trees a friend of the Pettler’s was cutting down anyway were reincarnated as columns that support steel used in some of the kitchen construction.

In the kitchen, which Swartz called the home’s spiritual center because its design connects everyone, cabinets of maple, crushed sunflower seeds, bamboo and sorghum can be seen, with towering wood structures which hold the oven and refrigerator shooting up through the open space with a skyscraper-like or sun worshipping quality. Topped with wells (not planters that can leak), house plants nest in self-watering pots so as not be over-watered. On the second floor, little doors open up to the wells for plant maintenance. The living room addition, in part defined by a soapstone structure that houses a woodstove and bookshelves, has a surprise tree leaning out from a corner of the structure. Deep shelves are lined with metal to hold firewood, and in a nod to nature, a boulder–unearthed during the construction process–now doubles as sculpture and seating. The space reaches up and out, toward the sun, with a ceiling trajectory of about eight feet to more than 15 feet.

Namaste (the soul in me acknowledges the soul in you)

“We wanted to make a modern house that was really wonderful, but not make it all about the architect,” Swartz explained, also speaking to the façade. To that end, a decision to personalize the home’s exterior was manifested in the expanded use of “tattoos,” wherein art panels were painted by family members, relatives, friends and even an artist in Japan where Julie Pettler had worked. “They had friends over, and had champagne and chocolate, telling people they couldn’t leave until they painted a panel,” Swartz recalled, noting a clear poly coating was applied in the end. “Now it’s like a time capsule on the outside of the building,” he said.

Skinned in cedar siding, the exterior material finds its way to the interior, framing the staircase and seen again outside the kitchen where the living room is. Unpainted plaster walls on the first floor and drywall for bedroom walls maintain the space’s clean simplicity, with downstairs flooring of reclaimed wormy chestnut. The stairs themselves, made of hickory, are each two risers high, essentially creating bleacher seating for the girls and/or platforms for pots and plants. Rafts between the bleachers facilitate climbing, with a flying staircase effect achieved beyond the landing.

With a high efficiency HVAC that includes ground-loop geothermal, radiant floor tubing and an on demand tank-less water heater, as well as other sustainable elements such as low or no-VOC stains and sealants, and high efficiency fixtures and fittings, the house meets the personal criteria of an environmentally- and health-conscious young family.

“It was important to me to see how a family could be that involved in the architecture,” Walker said, noting the process was more about the people living there than the architects. “They are so much more in tune with the results because of that. It was good to see them come back to their home, but with a whole different life.”

"After" photography by Judy Davis/HDPhoto