Your Next Place...

By Franklin Schneider

If they were making a remake of "Family Ties," they'd shoot it in this victorian rowhouse near U Street. That's how wholesome this place seemed, from the soft yellow-walled open living room, to the classic bay windows, to the multiple fireplaces and impeccable woodwork. (Though if the remake was true to the original, Alex P. Keaton would have to be a birther. So maybe scratch that idea.)

With four bedrooms over five levels, you've got suburban-type space but without the drawbacks of actually living in the suburbs (inexplicable lack of sidewalks, cultural irrelevance). The palatial master suite is on the top floor, and has a master bathroom with a jetted soaking tub and separate shower. The chef's kitchen has stainless steel appliances and granite countertops, and there are two, yes two, decks. I have just one deck and when I had a party last week I had to cram the people I liked and the people I secretly disliked onto the same deck, so I had to constantly switch from sincere sincerity to fake sincerity. It was exhausting. Two decks is definitely the way to go. There's also a surround sound system installed throughout the house, so you can inflict, er, share your music with everyone else in the house. Also, the house is just blocks from U Street, with its profusion of fantastic boutiques, restaurants, nightclubs, and endless crowds of people walking up and back, looking for something they can't quite name and will mostly likely never find.

Downstairs is a legal, one bedroom rental unit to rent to a gullible intern to defray the cost of your mortgage, and upstairs is a spacious attic, convenient for storing all those things you don't want or need but can't quite bring yourself to throw out, like birthday presents from your parents. (For my last birthday, my mother bought me an XXXL Tommy Hilfiger stars-n-stripes rugby shirt. I burst into laughter, thinking it was a hilarious joke, but then I saw her expression. Oops! )

2134 13th St NW
Washington, DC 20009
4 Bdrms, 3.5 Baths
$1,039,555

Mixed-use: A Safe Way to Go in Tenleytown?

It’s a short Safeway with a long story.

As reported by the Washington Post, the nationwide grocery chain is looking to move forward with new, yet-to-be-fleshed-out plans for a mixed-use development where a low-slung, red-brick Safeway store currently resides just off of Wisconsin Avenue in Tenleytown.

The Safeway, built in 1981, sits with its backside to 42nd Street – the building was built to face away from the main drag – while conversely, Safeway execs are facing a call to action from the Office of Planning and Ward 3 ANC 3E-03 to address specific problems both groups had with a previous version of redevelopment, one which merely raised the Safeway to 2 stories and added a touch of retail.
The problematic PUD was submitted by Safeway in August 2009. Things began to unravel for Safeway as early as October – only two months after submitting plans –when substantial criticism arose from both OP and the ANC. Safeway chose to “indefinitely suspend” its plans in January 2010. OP expressed concerns about various elements of the plan, but was pointedly critical of Safeway’s request for rezoning.


As seen in the 2005 OP land use map (at left) the Safeway-owned land between 42nd and 43rd street and Ellicott and Davenport Street, is a mix of low-density residential (yellow), low-medium density residential (peach), local public land (navy), and commercial (pink).

The yellow-peach areas are what caused Safeway the most trouble, and led to a mixed-use plan.

Designed by Torti Gallas and Partners, the redevelopment was initially meant to expand and renovate the out-dated Safeway store there – which turns (gasp) 30 this year – and also tack on additional retailers on site: a coffee shop, dry cleaners, and florist.

Now, a year-and-a-half since scrapping plans Safeway is back at it, yet, taking it slow, and contrary to what was reported by the Post, Safeway has not yet issued a request for proposals. Craig Muckle, manager for public affairs and government relations in the region, says that Safeway is first gathering input from the community and is paying particular attention to the opinion of residents in the immediate area.

Jon Bender, chair of ANC 3E, noted that he and other ANC 3E commissioners suggested to Safeway more than a year ago that some kind of mixed-use development at the site could make sense.

Given that single-family homes immediately abut the Tenleytown site, he added, the details of the project matter a great deal. "A majority [of ANC3E commissioners] views this development positively in principle, but I think we’ve got a good distance to go before a majority could support a specific project," Bender explains.

Bender observed that Safeway’s preliminary, conceptual description of what it intends for the site raised concerns, and Safeway has stated that - until it selects a developer - it will not discuss significant changes to the project, share detailed renderings, or produce perspective drawings of the view of the development from adjacent residences.

This time around Safeway is looking for a plan that will work, but not before getting the go-ahead from the community, and that community has proven to be a difficult client many times over.

Update:

At left: Office of Planning Future Land Use Map (as designated in 2007)
This map shows more accurately that the land in question is zoned for moderate residential and light commercial development. The Office of Planning was opposed to rezoning in order to accommodate Safeway's 2009 PUD, and ANC 3E03 suggested that Safeway consider a mixed-use development for the site.

The yellow and peach areas at 43rd St and Ellicott St. on the Office of Planning Land Use Map from 2005 (within article) are currently residential areas - with residents - and it is these folks who are particularly concerned about Safeway's redevelopment plans for the site as it is quite literally in their backyard.

Correction: In paragraph five, "Safeway-owned land" is incorrect, and the article should read "the affected area"

Washington D.C. real estate development news

The Rainbow Stops Here

By Beth Herman

It's like unwrapping a bright, shiny birthday gift, with the cake, ice cream and confetti on the inside. From the outside, the traditional 4,500 s.f. "almost" Greek Revival -style house resembles its genteel Oak Hill, Va. country cousins, replete with an attentive group of dormers, a koi pond, Bernese Mountain dog and a couple of horses in the newly-built barn and dressage ring. In fact it's one of the few remaining horse properties in the Dulles area, which is what had attracted the homeowner in the first place.

But following a long interior structural renovation in 2004 where walls tumbled and open space prevailed, the homeowner’s affinity for all things bold and beautiful finally sought expression in a robust rainbow of fabric, furniture, fixtures, finishes, faux-design and glass. With details that include a fiesta of red, pink, blue and yellow Kitchen Aid small appliances to pump up the color volume even more, the home’s eclectic (and electric!) interior reflects the joy and optimism of its singular client.

"Initially, what we’d presented was very different,” said JDS Designs Inc. associate Nicholas Beck of the firm’s first meeting with the homeowner. “She’d mentioned she wanted color, and she wanted to use pink and purple, but the palette we did was definitely more subdued.” When it became clear she didn’t fear color the way most people do, and in fact mandated what some may consider risky peacock blue and hot pink hues over more traditional, muted tones, the designers embarked on a spirited treasure hunt to satisfy the tastes of its special client. With three full and two half baths, a foyer that flows into an open living room, dining room, kitchen and morning room, and multiple bedrooms—some of which became a sitting room, wife’s artist’s studio and husband’s study, the team recruited a legion of artists, custom furniture makers, upholsterers and craftsmen, and scoured New York, Seattle and New Orleans shops and galleries, to create spaces that fit the profile of its color-centric owner.

Paint brush poised

Past a mudroom with a multi-colored tweed window seat and raspberry walls, and on the two-story foyer wall, a vibrant, faux-painted damask pattern by Baltimore’s Valley Craftsmen Ltd. involved a multi-step process to build texture into the space. Designed by JDS Designs Inc. Principal David Herchik, a custom-made pink, purple, blue and lime green striped banquette by furniture maker Al Soussan of Custom Furniture and Wall Upholstery fits the curve of the foyer’s entryway, where one is tempted to pause and study a dynamic glass sculpture.“The client is very much into glass,” Beck said, explaining that “The Stinger,” a giant green and orange orb with sword-like protrusion, is part of a series in the vivid colors of super heroes from Seattle artist Nancy Callan. Because the homeowner is an artist with a predilection for hearts, Herchik acquired a painting of the same in bright colors from Rehoboth, Del. artist Murray Archibald to flank the banquette.

A purple dining room with green-shaded chandelier is visible from the foyer, as is the living room in the open-space design. Iced with peacock-blue walls, a custom-made rug that incorporates the room’s audacious turquoises, pinks, purples (and a little cream for good measure) underscores a largely azure-blue Nancy Corzine sofa with Osborne & Little cut velvet fabric. Small Odegard white marble tables, a larger gold leaf table, wing-back chairs upholstered in white patent leather, a taxidermy peacock and lamp shades dressed with actual peacock feathers completed the room, that is, until the homeowner and her husband returned from New Orleans with two unanticipated antique paintings. “Most of the artwork was intentioned and worked in to the ‘paletteing’ of the space, but it’s amazing how good these look—and their size and scale—it’s one of those finds,” Beck affirmed. Because of the client’s penchant for old mercury glass balls, the designers had a sizeable acrylic bin made to accommodate the collection. A marble fireplace surround was tiled on the inside with multi-hued Bisazza Mosaico tile, also seen in the master bath.
Though more traditionally programmed as a breakfast room, because the home owning couple takes an early meal at the kitchen island, a re-designated “morning room” with floor-to-ceiling windows is awash in sunlight. Window treatments for the room include vibrant striped drapes with sheers to help disseminate light to the space’s indoor plants and trees.

In the master bedroom, with its pink and lime green motif, Herchik designed the custom-made bed which included a gilt, antique-mirrored headboard carved in Italy. The client’s proclivity for bed trappings was manifested in embroidered sheer fabric from Etamine, a French collection from Zimmer & Rohde, and Zimmer & Rohde also did the striped silk fabric for the drapes. Trappings, suspended by a custom circular gilt ceiling rod, notably have a glass bead trim from Osborne & Little down the sides and across the bottom, and the master bedroom’s ceiling is light green glass beaded wallpaper, called “Bedazzled,” by Maya Romanoff. According to Beck, the embroidered sheers theme was carried over to windows, and the room’s back wall was draped to eliminate a tiny, rogue set of windows. "Like in all good decorating, it’s all about layers in this house,” Beck said. “When you get a client who is really invested in the project and wants to see it all the way to fruition - not stop short - that’s when you get these spectacular homes. This house is all about the details.”

To that end, bed linens were embroidered in Italy where a sample of the room’s embroidered sheers informed the process. “It was all very intentioned,” Beck affirmed, adding that a large, custom lime green with hot pink flecks rug for the space was designed by Herchik and executed by Rosecore.

Canvassing possibilities

The master bath echoes the Bisazza Mosaico tile from the living room, this time with a custom blend that infuses gold, platinum and silver with pink and purple. For added glamour, a silk ottoman and drapery panel were added, and the space is painted with a stenciled, faux finish, again from Valley Craftsmen Ltd. Plantation shutters, a purple silk shag rug and imposing glass vessels filled with water and purple food coloring add drama to the space. “We do that a lot—with an apothecary jar or any sort of vessel from a home store,” Beck explained of the easy but elegant feature.

Finally, a guest bedroom with a dark, older, nondescript bed, dresser and secretary was totally transformed by the enterprising designers to become a bold but restful sanctuary. “She loves pink,” Beck noted of the client. The room, which is a partnership of pink variations with beige walls, began with a newly upholstered headboard (the old bed), footboard and side rails in a cut velvet fabric from Osborne & Little. The dresser and secretary were transported to Mitchell Yanofsky Custom Finishes in Baltimore, with a sample of fabric used for the bed. Yanofsky stenciled the dresser and secretary to reflect the bed’s material, with the latter also painted pink and beige to match the room. “The furniture received a brand new life,” Beck explained, noting the decision to include a custom chair covered in silk roses, with an antique frame, and a Thomas Pheasant mirror on the wall.

“I think what’s really great about this home is it’s all about the client and her husband,” Beck said. “It’s not for everyone, but (design) is about listening and taking the client where they want to go. A lot was driven by her, and a great collaboration is why this house is successful.”

DCMud Posts

Sorry for the delay in our service, blogger went down on Thursday night and took all recent articles with it, service was just restored a few minutes ago. We have been able to restore most of the stories, but all comments on the stories have been deleted due to Google's malfunction, sorry for the inconvenience. Thanks for your patience and for reading DCMud.

Constitution Square Breaks Ground on Phase 2

StonebridgeCarras broke ground this week on their second phase of Constitution Square, queuing up another residential element in Noma's largest development. The construction will add 203 rental units to the mixed-use endeavor on Noma's northern edge, with another office phase to follow by July. StonebridgeCarras principal Doug Firstenberg says the 203 unit apartment building, designed by SK&I Architects, will be geared toward smaller, highly amenitized units to capture the segment of the market that has performed best next door at Flats 130, which Firstenberg says has been leasing more than 30 units per month and is now 45% occupied.

Stonebridge just now completed Two Constitution Square, which it also built without a tenant, and though Firstenberg initially banked on another large federal tenant, focus has now shifted to private tenants with the expected slowing of the expansion of the federal government and with it federal leasing.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Your Next Place

By Franklin Schneider

If the recent Royal Wedding left you with a taste for something English, but you're put off by monarchy, driving on the wrong side of the road, and Russell Brand's pants, this could be the house for you. An excruciatingly rustic and sophisticated brick home, complete with manicured gardens and a white picket-type fence, this house wouldn't look out of place in the British countryside. If it was any more British, it would be named “Neville” and wear a monocle.

There's a very sunny mint green-walled living room (windows on three sides), with fireplace, a golden yellow-walled dining room, and a sumptuous master suite with a tangerine-walled master bath. I like the clean simplicity of white walls, especially in a bright room, but I found the colors in this house to be very soothing and pleasing to the eye. It's a nice change from the same old thing, and besides, if, like me, you're the type of person who occasionally (four times a week) comes home a little stumbly, white walls can equal a smeared-handprint visual diary of all your worst nights.

My favorite part of the house was the huge sunroom, with a wall of glass that opens onto a spacious deck. If I lived here I'd move all my stuff into the sunroom and spend all my time there, like a crazy person. The house is right up against the park, so from the deck you get a breathtaking view of the woods. Stare out there long enough and you might forget that you live in a society that forces you to repress almost every natural urge you feel. Though to be fair, it's also the society that brought you frozen waffles, which you have to admit is a pretty good consolation.

1719 HOBAN RD NW

Washington, DC 20007

4 Bdrms, 4.5 Baths

$1,699,000

Planners Select 5 Firms to Redesign President's Park - DC Architects Not Invited

Urban planners at the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) have announced the selection of 5 architectural firms to redesign the parks south of the White House. NCPC selected the firms from 23 that submitted qualifications; no design ideas have been submitted, but the planners for the area's federal lands have set a June 17th deadline for submitting plans and expect to announce a winning idea by July 7th.

The idea is to create "durable and more aesthetic security elements in the President's Park South area and replace the existing temporary and unsightly security elements," no grand plans for new monuments. The area includes the parks bordering the southern fence of the White House, including the Ellipse and E Street, which has been closed to vehicular traffic for the past decade. Possibilities include reopening E Street to traffic (in true Washington fashion pending completion of a transportation study), but final decisionmaking rests with the Secret Service, which is generally inclined to close streets down rather than open them.

Pedestrians can enter the area to get to the fence surrounding the south lawn of the White House, but have to navigate security obstacles. Bill Dowd, Director of Physical Planning for NCPC cites that impediment as a prime directive for a new plan. "One of the biggest things we want to fix...is that pedestrians can get up to the fence but because of security barriers its very confusing how to get there."

The 5 firms selected are:

• Hood Design Studio, San Francisco, CA;
• Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, New York City, NY
• Reed Hilderbrand Landscape Architects, Watertown, MA;
• Rogers Marvel Architects, New York City, NY; and
• SASAKI, Watertown, MA.

Although several DC area firms competed for the rights, no local teams made the final list. The 5 winning design firms get bragging rights and a $20,000 honorarium, but not necessarily much else, as the design committee reserves the right to appropriate the designs without employing the architects. The process is being overseen by NCPC, National Park Service, and the Secret Service, but Dowd says that once the competition ends NPS and the Secret Service will take over responsibility for execution.

This being DC, the competition does not go hand in hand with funding, so no timeline has been set to make any of the recommended changes. Dowd hopes that creative ideas will spur the necessary funding, eventually to be provided by the Secret Service. "The ideas will allow us to cost out what the project will be." Says Dowd, "we looked for proposals that indicated...a creative approach that relfected an understanding of how important the historical entity was."

Beginning June 20, 2011, the public will be invited to view the designs submitted by the five project teams, both online and in person.

Washington DC real estate development news

Camden to Start Southwest DC Project Next Tuesday

Camden Property Trust will kick off its project on South Capitol Street in southwest DC a week from tomorrow, inaugurating what will be one of the few projects to actually begin construction lately in the littlest quadrant, with the building of a 276-unit rental building across the street from Nationals Stadium. The groundbreaking puts the project on track for a late summer 2013 completion, possibly in time for views of the stadium during regular season play. DC-based WDG Architecture, which also conceived the apartments just north of the ballpark, designed the building - officially called Camden South Capitol - that will take up the now vacant site north of O Street. Developers at Camden say the apartment building will fill a need in the saturated residential market of the Capitol Riverfront, which now has scant vacancy. Foundry Lofts on the riverfront will be open for lease by early fall, though no other residential development will open in the interim. WDG's Sean Stadler notes that the building was being designed in a very uncertain rental market - during construction of the ballpark. "It has a very rich feeling for a project that was in a unknown rental market when it was conceived," says Stadler. Given that, retail space was minimized in favor of a street presence for building services. "We tried to break down the facade...creating a street wall along South Capitol, but at the street the whole thing will break down on a human scale." Stadler says the grey brick is an alternating pattern, smooth and textured, light and dark grey. "So from up close the building starts to break down in scale...at the base, certain pieces pop out that give relief so the facade doesn't just hit the street." Stadler is also confident the apartments "will have great air and light with great views up to the Capitol." Mark Coletta of Camden says the residence will offer a rooftop pool and deck, underground parking, and possibly fabulous views into the ballpark across the street. Camden purchased the property in 2007 and has hired Donohoe as the general contractor. 

Washington DC real estate development news

Strong Hearts, Crumbling Brick

By Beth Herman 

For Eva Martinez and daughters, standing tall among the ruins became literal and personal when their environment was allowed to deteriorate to almost unrecognizable conditions in a low-income Mt. Pleasant apartment building. As the previous owner sought to convert the St. Dennis Apartments, at 1636 Kenyon St. NW, to market-rate condominiums by hasty and aggressive buy-outs, neglect and other measures to force tenants out, the intrepid Martinez women stayed the course for two years as sole residents of the building, "…enduring broken doors and windows, demolition crews, unlit hallways and other hazards," according to a National Housing Trust account.

With the support of city council member Jim Graham, and seeking pro-bono counsel from the firm of Arnold and Porter, Martinez and her two daughters, Eva Aurora and Anabel, believed low-income residents had the right to remain in their Mt. Pleasant neighborhood, filing suit against the owner for failure to comply with TOPA, or D.C.’s Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act. According to reports, a settlement was secured with an option to purchase the property at market value, with the National Housing Trust Enterprise Preservation Corporation (NHT/Enterprise) chosen to guide them in obtaining financing to acquire and renovate the property.

For Principal Michael Wiencek and project manager Maybell Laluna of Wiencek & Associates, veterans of housing revitalization and historic and adaptive reuse projects throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, the 1920s-era historic registry St. Dennis Apartments provided an opportunity to preserve history, and perhaps paramount to that, to restore dignity to its former residents, most of whom had left unaware of the means available to claim the 40-unit, five-story building for themselves (unit count was 32 following renovation).

“It had a nice presence and a very attractive front despite very significant issues of structural deterioration at the rear and within the building,” said Wiencek of the firm’s involvement beginning in 2008. Brought in during the continuing economic recession, the project percolated with the architects and planners but was placed on a slow burner, according to Wiencek, with monies filtering in from different sources on varied timetables.

Stabilizing history

Ultimately permitted in mid-2010, due to water penetration and other forms of neglect, the St. Dennis required a “complete gut” of all the interior walls, except for bearing partitions, all the way down to the shell of the building.

“The only things we were required to save were the corridor walls and existing unit entry door frames because they were historical,” Laluna said. Receiving historical tax credits as part of its extensive funding package, an historic consultant was hired to develop the project’s scope and documents which helped navigate D.C.’s copious historic review protocol.

Discovering a litany of problems that mounted almost exponentially during demolition, Wiencek said the rear wall was essentially just crumbling brick. To demolish and rebuild it, however, would have resulted in considerable construction waste and added an additional $600,000 to $700,000 to the project, making it “undoable.” In a bold effort to stabilize it, a patented limestone parging system consisting of limestone, Portland cement and polymers, and involving the scraping of loose mortar and brick material down to a hard material and embedding of a fiberglass mesh for tensile strength, was undertaken. “It’s a hard structural finish that holds all of the existing masonry together,” Wiencek said. Because it’s a 1920s-era structure, masonry walls are 16 inches thick at the ground floor and about 12 at the top, consequently much time was invested with engineers and contractors to ensure the safety and viability of the process.

Targeting sustainable elements, Wiencek said unlike the Wheeler Terrace renovation, geothermal heating and cooling was not an option due to the site’s narrow dimensions and additional budget constraints, though a mechanical system with a higher SEER rating was ultimately used. The owners had to be very creative in the way they put this project together, Wiencek and Laluna recalled, noting low-VOC paint, formaldehyde-free cabinets, Energy Star appliances, a low-albedo roofing system and low-flow fixtures were mandated.

Revealing that prior to the renovation, the St. Dennis apartments were “moldy, filthy and rat-infested,” though people needed to live there because of its prime location, bus lines, and affordable housing aspects, Wiencek talked about the emotional toll of having to call a place like that “home."

“The big idea is that we’re saving this building that would otherwise have gone to relatively high-end condos and displaced a lot of affordable housing tenants,” Wiencek said. “Through a lot of hard work by the owners and contractor, Hamel Builders, we’re getting to build an amazing new building within the historic shell so that the residents can afford to come back and live there. It gives residents a much broader and more positive outlook and really changes people’s lives,” he said, noting construction should be completed this summer.

This story is dedicated to the memory of Eva Martinez.

NCPC Reviews Draft Plan for Homeland Security AU Park Site

Concerns over GSA’s draft Master Plan for the development of the Department of Homeland Security's Nebraska Avenue Complex (NAC), located at Nebraska and Massachusetts Avenues in AU Park, led the National Capital Planning Commission - at its monthly meeting yesterday - to send GSA off with nine action points to address before returning in a few months.

After final approval from NCPC, GSA will begin acting on a finalized Master Plan, and GSA aims to please - in order to meet a Master Plan planning horizon of 2020 - which will require addressing the concerns raised by four of the 12 members of the NCPC, as well as the local ANC.

The plans call for raising the number of seats (employees on site at any one time) from 2,390 to 4,200, and decreasing onsite parking (from 1,239 to 1,150 spaces) without a site-specific Transportation Management Plan in place to assist with predicting the outcome on the surrounding area. DHS’s goal for expanding its operations at the NAC site - temporary headquarters of the DHS since 2003 - is to streamline the dilapidated and out-dated conditions at the aging NAC and save tax dollars by eliminating tens of facilities scattered across the District. With nearly 50 facilities now, DHS hopes to someday have seven or eight, and the NAC campus would be one of the biggest.

NCPC approved the expansion, but tasked GSA to continue to work with the National Park Service to minimize impact on nearby park lands, submit a phasing plan for the project, look at ways to increase the tree canopy, consider lowering the security level (from level 5, the maximum) to soften the public view of the complex, remove non-historically significant buildings, and to move the entry point for employees who commute (by metro, foot or bike) closer to the Tenleytown Metro stop. NCPC asked GSA to continue coordinating with the Department of Transportation and the Office of Planning on this issue.

The NAC is small compared to DHS’s future headquarters - St. Elizabeths' in Anacostia - a 3.4 million s.f. space that will accommodate 14,000 DHS employees and share land with the Coast Guard. The NAC sits on a more modest 1.7 million s.f. (38 acres), and all new construction will be done within the current complex area, leaving the forested portions of the site pristine.

As it stands now, the NAC area is 55% developed (30 buildings for a total of 653,400 s.f), the draft Master Plan proposes to add six new buildings and a four-level (two above ground, two below) parking structure, for a total 1.2 million s.f.
The plan would reduce onsite impervious surfaces by 17% by featuring a green roof on all new structures - the largest one nearly two acres (70,000 s.f.), which will cloak the top of the onsite parking structure in vegetation (also making the view easy on high-rise eyes).

The green roofs, coupled with a yet-to-be-determined combination of porous pavement installations, ponds, gravel beds and underground water detention systems, will not only help the NAC site to achieve an environmentally friendly LEED gold certification, but will help manage and reuse stormwater, reducing runoff. A stormwater management system is currently lacking onsite, something Jim Clark, principal at MTFA Architecture, the consulting firm for the NAC, called out at the meeting as a "grave issue."

The new, greener parking structure will replace the existing one, relocated to the back of the complex from its current location at Ward Circle. Taking the old structure's spot in the highly visible area will be a "signature building" which GSA deems the NAC's "flagship building" - something it hopes will give "the campus a public presence and face on the circle."

The development of the NAC also takes into account the preservation of existing historical structures left over from earlier manifestations of the site as both the Mount Vernon Seminary for Girls (in the early 1900s), until the Roosevelt administration took the property by eminent domain in 1942 to use in the war effort, staffed mostly by women for cryptanalysis. In 2005 the property was transferred from the Department of Navy to the GSA for exclusive use by Homeland Security. GSA is currently readying a nomination of the site to the National Register of Historic Places.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Congress Heights Housing: Turning Nothing into Something

A vacant DC police substation located at 1320 Mississippi Avenue Southeast in the Congress Heights neighborhood south of Anacostia will soon be available for 19 "vulnerable" DC families. The building is being developed by William C. Smith + Co., and its construction arm WCS. The red-brick building originally went up as an apartment complex in 1950 and was remodeled into a Metropolitan Police Department substation in 1973, but was abandoned thereafter and has sat vacant, with boarded-up windows, for nearly 3 decades. Dilapidated conditions required WCS to do an all-out gut of the structure; the interior was taken down to "the bare bones" and given a thorough hazmat remediation and abatement (lead, mold, asbestos). Some demolition was necessary, however the sturdy exterior will remain largely intact upon project completion. A good portion of the building will by ADA compliant, with wheelchair ramp access and a three-story hydraulic elevator.

Located on land owned by the District, the project was realized due to the coordination between: the Dept. of Human Services (DHS); the Dept. of Housing and Community Development (DHCD); and the DC Housing Authority (DCHA). William C. Smith + Co. and DC-based non-profit Community of Hope (COH) submitted a response to a "consolidated" request for proposals that was put into motion in 2008. Moving relatively quickly, all parties met with Ward 8 ANC groups to ease misconceptions that the unit would be a shelter - which the community opposed - and WCS broke ground on construction for the $3.8 million project at the end of last fall. The project is currently on track to be completed in early fall. A project that caters to a "vulnerable" part of the population is not new in the building's surrounding area, which has seen its share of socially minded projects including an attempt by the now defunct Peaceaholics - a non-profit that aimed to reform troubled youths and stop gang violence - to develop a halfway house that did not pan out. 

Yet this project is unique in that it will cater to families, and tenants will be determined by a Vulnerability Assessment Survey (as is procedure under the guidelines of DHS's Permanent Supportive Housing Program) and Community of Hope will provide on-going case management services to the families on site. Having support services on site is a hallmark of COH's approach to combating homelessness; however, it will be the first time on-site services are incorporated into a DHS-owned project. Because the families will be responsible for lease payments there is an expectation of responsibility that Community of Hope believes will be well-received by the neighborhood. In other words: it's not a homeless shelter. Judging by past successes - last year COH placed 113 homeless families in subsidized housing and 111 made good on rent payments, remaining stably housed - executive director of COH, Kelly Sweeney McShane, says that she hopes for similar results here.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

OPX is in the Details

By Beth Herman

With the bling and bang of Chinatown steps from its front door, reimagining a tired, nondescript, mid-1980s limited services hotel property to reflect its robust neighbors, and also honor Asia's serenity and tradition, was not quite your grandmother’s hospitality redesign. Charged by new owner RLJ Development - which had acquired the former Comfort Inn- turned-Red Roof Inn property in June, 2010 - with transforming the property for its brand Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott, OPX project designer Ryan Langlois cited the 21st century fusion that is D.C.'s Chinatown. An evolving venue defined by an international range of shops, eateries and entertainment elements from Tony Cheng's, Vapiano’s, a Thai restaurant or two, Starbuck’s and the MCI Center, to traditional Chinese jelly fish and snake soup at the corner market, Langlois said the design inspiration came from the “sights, the sounds, the smells,” of the explosive, melded Chinatown experience. Fireworks withstanding, the onus was also on the firm to integrate the quiet grace and centuries-old symbolism of Asian culture into the new design, producing what Langlois called an “organic, modern, contemporary” environment. In this vein, a strong tradition of latticework evident in Chinese architecture, intricate wood screens, shades and shutters were used to punctuate the space in various forms, restyled and updated for focal quality. Where Asian symbols and design were referenced, experts were retained to review their authenticity. 

At the starting gate 

“When we designed this originally, we noted Fairfield Inn & Suites is more typically a conservative brand for the limited service sector,” Langlois explained, noting OPX had been involved in a rebranding effort for Marriott Corporate’s nationwide brand when RLJ approached them about the Chinatown property. Accordingly, OPX had taken a conventional design approach. “But RLJ looked at it and realized they really wanted to see more design – more Chinatown – in the project, and challenged us to go back to the drawing board and build on what we had,” he said. Helmed by Principal Ken Terzian, the 198-room, 10-story structure went under a rather large knife in a high-velocity, $7 million, nine-month renovation that began by reconfiguring a 2,700 s.f. lobby. With lessor The Irish Channel restaurant and pub occupying about 50 percent of the space at the outset, the renovation involved an expanded lobby to accommodate Fairfield Inn & Suite’s breakfast program, resulting in a reduction of The Irish Channel’s dining space and reconfiguration of its seating, but retention of its bar. In the lobby’s reception area, a bold 7-by-22-ft. graphic custom mural developed by Langlois and HG Arts greets guests. Abstract and textured, a water scene in the image of a “scaled-up” stream with a dragon atop a stone column, and another dragon that is overlaid, complement overlaying modern graphic twig patterns in turquoise and white. According to the designer, everything is printed on wall covering and “bedazzled,” or covered with thousands of transparent beads one-eighth of an inch in diameter so it all glistens. Wall washes ensure ultimate sparkle, and the mural wraps the corner and keeps on going. Simple water drop light fixtures frame the area, but do not detract from the focal point. “When you first walk in, you see one portion of it, and then when you exit the space, you see things from another side,” Langlois said, speaking to a litany of the property’s “surprises.” Included on the short list are tiled columns with upholstery wraps – or leather-like corsets– that resemble a kind of fabric wainscoting, replete with decorative fasteners that might be seen on Asian clothing. 

Eggs and vistas 

In the redesigned hotel breakfast area, as in the rest of the lobby space, windows are spacious and open to court interest from passersby. Conversely, when having breakfast, guests will be able to look out and see Washington, D.C. start its day, Langlois said. Redolent of Chinese dining halls where ceilings are typically comprised of 12-by-12-ft. squares with applied woodwork, gold trim and bright colors, the breakfast area’s ceiling insets honor the tradition. Four distinct coves are painted gold with surrounding LED lights, along with painted red gloss trim that makes up the decorative motif. Medallions spawn sculptural lighting fixtures that are 60 by 30-inch tapered drum shades, created by Langlois specifically for the project. Using decorative, Asian-style paper from The Paper Source, the designer lined the insides to create opaque objects that channel concentrated light directly down and onto the tables. Overlapping circular patterns inside the drums change color with the use of blue, green, gold, red and orange paper, creating a surprise detail for observant diners. To the side of the dining room, column-based dark brown wooden chopsticks light fixtures bring an Asian organic quality to the space, reminiscent of contemporary twigs-and-wire fixtures. The inside of the chopsticks fixtures is a “juicy saffron color – like the yellow of Buddhist monks’ robes – that’s going to glow against the brown and bronze metal trim,” Langlois said.

In the vestibule, a screen of Dacron-stuffed green interwoven patent leather panels embossed with a dragon scale texture, with polished stainless steel buttons, was inspired by Chinese temple doors. “You always see the red doors with the grid of gold buttons on them; this is our version,” Langlois said of the architects’ efforts to honor but update tradition. The top portion of the screen, with its Chinese square-in-the-circle motif trumpeted throughout the hotel (loosely translated, heaven is represented by a circle and earth by a square), is infilled by an acrylic panel of red flowers and reedy bamboo stems for an organic element. According to Langlois, the lobby business center became an adventure in scale, function and whimsy. Gilded by a specially-designed 16-by-86-inch box kite light fixture which referenced Asian kite festivals, the small space needed something more to distinguish it without overwhelming its dimension and budget. As such, the designer found a large veneer wood panel and had a canvas-wrapped print made of a stock photography image from HG Arts (colors were manipulated to match the carpet) for the panel’s right side. On the left, a series of polished, 3-inch chrome fortune cookies pepper the panel, reflecting the light from H Street. “Even if fortune cookies didn’t start in China, they are ubiquitous in American culture and associated with Chinatown,” Langlois said. Counters for laptops are made of enduring white, grey and blue-veined granite to perform well, but resemble marble. 

Of koi and custom case goods 

For OPX, the challenge to transition from bold, bubbling lobby to sanctuary-like guest corridors and rooms was met with homage to organic and natural shapes, colors and textures. With water connoting restfulness and flowers a mainstay of Asian culture (there’s a whole protocol for giving, receiving, occasioning, etc. according to Langlois), a carpeted floating pond corridor was envisioned with colorful koi pulled off to the side, disappearing beneath corridor walls as they would swim beneath the edges of a pond embankment. Tree trunks are represented by dark brown columns flanking guestroom doors, and a pale yellow wall covering reveals abstract twig patterns in yellows and golds, much like branches. (Langlois did mention a nod to cherry blossoms on a wall. Though not from China, they bespeak the beauty of Asia and what’s Washington without them!) Guestrooms came with their own set of construction caveats the team had to overcome, according to Langlois, dominant among them walls that were precast concrete. “It’s great for sound, but not so great for renovation requisites like new power, Internet and other technology,” Langlois said. Addressing Marriott’s standard package for hotel rooms which includes a freestanding desk, chair, dresser, TV, full length mirror and welcome sconce in a 12 or 12.5-ft. floorplan, the designer noted these rooms, constructed years ago for another hotel and only 11-by-6-ft., were shy of necessary space. To that end, a slimmed down/component integrated custom case goods piece was designed with features like a smaller desk (scaled to laptop size) cantilevered off a chest of drawers, and a dual-purposed built-in bench accommodating luggage and providing extra seating. An open shelf beneath a wall-mounted TV houses a coffeemaker and amenity tray. Tantamount to the economy-of-space room design, an Asian theme was manifested in a headboard pattern with the traditional square-in-circle motif reflected in other parts of the hotel, this time inside a fleur-di-lis, and via the use of red accent color in a nod to Chinese lacquer ware. With the décor package for the guestrooms built upon the Marriott standard in part, carpeting is blue with a green geometric pattern overlay, but the colors flow from the corridors’ aforementioned “floating pond” theme for continuity. “You don’t want to walk in off bright orange carpet,” Langlois said of the objective to create a seamless, restful environment. “This is a unique hotel,” said RLJ Development, LLC’s Carl Mayfield, senior vice president for design and construction, speaking to the company’s catalogue of 141 properties. “It’s transformational. We’ve got a few gems in our portfolio, and this is one of them.”