Your Next Place

By Franklin Schneider

"A condo that lives like a townhouse." That's according to the copy from the listing on this one. I tried to confirm how exactly it lived for myself, but the agent found me hiding in the downstairs closet after the open house and threatened to call the police. The most embarrassing part was asking her to help me carry my bags out.

Nevertheless, it strikes me as a plausible claim. After all, the place is extremely roomy, a beautiful high-ceilinged unit sprawled over three levels. Very townhouse-y. One of the most striking things about the place, both from the outside and the inside, is the sheer number of windows. The vaulted, amphitheatre-like living/dining area is flooded with light from several very large windows going nearly from floor to ceiling, and the master bedroom is almost nothing but windows.

The unit also features two and a half of the nicest bathrooms I've seen, done up in blue tile and gray marble, respectively. They're so nice that if I lived here I'd probably run up the street to Starbucks every time nature called, so as not to defile their perfection. There's also a den in which you can sit and pretend to read a thick leatherbound book when there are guests over who you want to impress, and a very spacious deck from which you can survey your kingdom (also known as Ye Olde Dupont). Ideally situated between AdMo and DupCir (I'm going to keep using that until it catches on), you're close to pretty much everything; restaurants, nightlife, shopping. The unit also comes with garage parking, so no more waking up in the middle of the night wondering if you moved your car for street cleaning.

1624 18th St. NW
2 Bedrooms, 2.5 Baths
$1,099,000

CSIS Headquarters Under Construction Next Month

In exactly one month, September 26th, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) will begin construction on its new headquarters at 1616 Rhode Island Avenue, NW.

While a misleading "symbolic groundbreaking" took place in May, the event was mostly fanfare, done in large part for the benefit of the Board, confirms CSIS's external relations department. Four months later, CSIS will move dirt.

The new $100-million headquarters, designed by Hickok Cole Architects, will be 9 stories, 130,000 sf, and should achieve LEED-Silver certification, with substantial help from a green roof. HITT Contracting is the general contractor on the project.

CSIS is moving from its current, 50-year location at 1800 K Street, NW, when the project completes in the fall of 2013. CSIS bought its new 15,400-sf property in the Golden Triangle in 2007, for what was reported to be just over $31 million. With the sale came the working PUD which was approved by the DC Office of Zoning in August of 2009.

CSIS's new home will be sandwiched between the Human Rights Campaign headquarters, and the University of California Washington Center building, which sits on the other half of the PUD site. The property fronts 230' of Rhode Island Ave and the new structure will take up virtually all - 99.5% - of the site, which once held the Gramercy Inn, but has been a parking lot for some time.

Update 9/28: According to a CSIS spokesperson, ground breaking has been pushed back to mid-October, or "worst case scenario November 1st," due to subcontractor liaisons affecting the sheeting and shoring portion of construction

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Cathedral Commons Delayed Until 2012

Redevelopment of the Wisconsin Avenue Giant, a project that has inspired both relief and resentment, and has suffered from numerous lawsuits by a small group of locals hoping to derail the mixed-use project, seems destined to maintain the status quo well into next year. Despite notice early this summer that the missing financial partner could be on board "any day now," the project still lacks the financial partner needed to move forward, and store employees now tell DCMud that the store will remain open through the end of the year, at least.

Developers have successfully fended off various lawsuits attempting to stop Cathedral Commons (some claims are still being pursued), but what the suits have failed to do seems to have been accomplished by the market, as timelines continue to slip with the absence of funding. Early predictions had the project well underway, if not complete by this time. In 2006 officials thought the project could take 4 years to complete, and at least one team member told DCMud in 2008 that construction would begin within a year. The team then scheduled an aborted "launch party" nearly one year ago. Early this summer vendors began clearing out, and knowledgeable parties to the transaction predicted movement was at last imminent. But the Giant remains operational, and this week officials at Stop & Shop, Giant's parent company, told store employees to expect to work into next year.

Parties now say the financial partner is still not official (and won't release names), and Sharon Robinson, a PR captain for Giant, confirmed, "There is not another financial partner in the development at this time." Robinson added that Giant aims to break ground "sometime after the first of the year." Robinson insists that the project has not been delayed. "The PUD is still valid and Giant is moving forward with plans to redevelop Friendship Shopping Center and filed plans for its building permits last week." No general contractor has been selected.

The project will add a new 56,000 s.f. grocery store, 85,000 s.f. of additional ground floor retail, 150 condos or apartments and over 500 parking spaces, and bring back the familiar neon Giant sign that graces the present supermarket.

Robinson added by email that, "The lawsuit challenging the authority of the Zoning Commission, which was filed by a small group of opponents, is moving through the judiciary process. Many neighbors continue to contact the development team expressing dismay at the lawsuit and asking how they might show support for the project." While that may be helpful, it seems that for now it is also not quite enough.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

NCPC Unveils Map of DC Memorials

Ever find yourself sitting home on a Friday, wishing you could remember where the memorial to Dante Alighieri was? Wonder no more. The National Capitol Planning Commission has the map for you. The NCPC production is an interactive map of each plot of land in Washington D.C. dedicated to a remembrance of events great, and well, not so great. Lincoln is on the map, to be sure, but so are 129 other lesser known memorials whose importance is often overlooked by tourists and teens looking for a site not often patrolled by the Park Service.

The map highlights such lesser known locations as the memorial to James Buchanan, for those wanting to pay tribute to the man that did little to stop the Civil War. Or, stop by the memorial to Discobolus, the "Gift of appreciation from Italy to U.S. honoring American efforts to return Italian sculpture (including the original Myron "Discobolus" statue) to Italy after it was seized by the Nazis." Possibly not as momentus as Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, but obviously worth a permanent commemoration.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Beltway's Tallest Building to Launch in October

Hoffman Management Inc. will soon build the tallest tower, within the capital beltway, in Alexandria's low-lying Eisenhower Valley East.

Hoffman recently awarded the general contractor position for its Hoffman Towers, a component of the expansive Hoffman Town Center, to Clark Construction Group. Clark is accepting bids from subcontractors through early September, and expects to begin construction on the residential towers in October.

The towers, designed by Davis Carter Scott, will consist of three high rise components - 33, 28 and 22 stories tall. The 33-story tower is 396' tall; a mere six feet taller than Monday Properties' 1812 North Moore St, which is currently under construction and set to deliver first quarter 2013. Yet the Hoffman Towers will rise up in a valley that is only 18' above sea level, whereas 1812 North Moore - a 390' tall, 35-story office building - might loom larger, as it sits on ground in Rosslyn that is near 100' above sea level.

When completed, the Hoffman Towers will contain 1,197 apartments (55 affordable) and offer 1,162 parking spaces, at block 11 and 12 of the Hoffman Town Center.

Block 11, closest to the beltway, will house a new 50,000-s.f. Harris Teeter; the grocer has a contract ensuring its occupancy in the building by December of 2013, when phase 1 of the project is set to deliver - a feasible timeline if construction is soon underway.

Construction of block 12, closest to Eisenhower Avenue, will coincide with the City's redevelopment of the Eisenhower Ave Metro station, and a new Metro Plaza - paid for by the development team - which will serve as a public gathering place of sorts, near 19,000 s.f. of new retail (in block 12) broken up into several spaces, including some 200-s.f. "retail pockets." The project is located across the street from AMC Hoffman cinemas, already the region's highest grossing theater.

The development site plan has not been approved or released by the City of Alexandria; the City is waiting on comments from one last reviewer, after which the plan - with notes of concerns to be addressed - will then go to the development team for agreement.

Alexandria, Virginia real estate development news

Douglas Picks Up Another Penn Quarter Site

Douglas Development has picked up another building, this time a club in the making. After letting many of its DC-area properties slide toward tax sale for lack of tax payments, Douglas has picked up the Equitable Building at 915 F Street, NW, a building that had been previously pushed as the Museum of Arts and Sciences (MoA&S), a place where nothing was as it seemed.

Douglas' plans for the building are unclear. Owners of the building, who paid $10m in a recent sale, gave in to Douglas' negotiating ability for a sale price of $5m. The building was planned for the MoA&S, which in fact would have been a large, 3-floor dance club serving alcohol late into the night.

Peter Andrulis, through The Equitable Place LLC, bought the property for $10 million in June of 2009, hoping to turn it into a hot spot for receptions, fund-raising events, and art shows (read: partying) in the Penn Quarter neighborhood.

There had been serious concern from residents that the business operating under the moniker "Museum" and purporting to act as an "educational" event space for curated art events, live performances, poetry readings, and the like, was a guise for a nightclub like Platinum to be reincarnated. The MoS&A was shut down after only a couple soft openings in late 2010, and prior to its planned 2011 New Year's Eve grand opening.

Washington D.C. Real Estate Development News

Your Next Place

By Franklin Schneider

If this place is still on the market by the time this post goes live, then the economy must be even worse than the politicians are pretending it is. A stone's throw from U Street, this carriage house is definitely one of the most unique places I've seen in the District, and at just 419K, buyers should be lining up like it's free cupcake day in Georgetown.

Completely renovated and with a private entry, this place is basically like a luxurious urban cabin. You walk in off Caroline Street into a wide living room with a beautiful peaked skylight and fireplace. Directly adjacent to that is the dining area and, down a short flight of stairs, a surprisingly large (though not “large”) kitchen with exposed brick and breakfast bar. The two bedrooms are full of light and the master bath features a dual sink vanity and a walk-in shower big enough for eight people (or one incredibly obese one.)

I mean, the place isn't huge, but it's not tiny, either. I would describe it as “just right.” I think houses are much like cars in that size is overrated – if you've ever had to parallel park or fill up the gas tank of an SUV, you know what I mean. It's the law of diminishing returns; there's nothing sadder than visiting your friends in their new huge house and seeing that a full third of it is basically empty. (“And this is the room where we keep our empty cardboard boxes.”) Really, the only reason you need a big house with tons of space is if you live with people that you can't stand. And shouldn't we, as adults, be past that sort of thing? (And will someone please tell that to my parents?)

1919 16th St NW #1
2 Bedrooms, 1 Bath
$419,000

Washington D.C. real estate news

MLK Jr Memorial Unveiled Today

The recently finished Martin Luther King Jr Memorial, located in West Potomac Park at the intersection of West Basin Drive and Independence Avenue, SW, is officially open to the public, as of 11 am today.

The Memorial is the work of design-build team McKissack & McKissack, Turner Construction, Gilford Corporation, and Tompkins Builders Inc.

This week will play host to a number of events in advance of the official dedication on Sunday, August 28th, at 11 am. The dedication ceremony will be free and open to the public - preceded by music at 8:30 am and followed by a free concert, at 2 pm.

Entrance to the memorial begins at one of its principal symbols - the "mountains of despair," a reference in King's "I Have a Dream" speech. The twin granite slabs frame the entry, a pair of 30-foot stones 12 feet apart, appearing to have been sliced and parted, with inscriptions from the 1963 speech. Emulating the civil rights struggle, despair will lead to a path beyond, and having passed through it emerges the view of a single stone, the "stone of hope," appearing as if cleaved from - but beyond - the struggle.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Heritage Foundation Razes Capitol Hill Church

This morning, The Heritage Foundation razed the former Unity Baptist Church at 424-426 3rd Street, NE, after getting approval from the Historic Preservation Review Board at the end of June. The plan, which was proposed to the Historic Preservation Office in advanced of the visit to the HPRB, is "for a new residential building on the site, with this proposal coming before the Board later this year or early next in an effort to minimize the time that the lot remains vacant." In the meantime, the Foundation has said that they will, "fence the area and plant it with grass to ensure that it does not become an ad-hoc parking area." The HPO staff report stated that ad-hoc parking on this site has "been a problem in recent years." The Foundation claims that an architect has "already been employed to begin work on plans," however, plan specifics and the architect selected were not disclosed. 

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Your Next Place

By Franklin Schneider

Me personally, I like living in the city, with all that entails. I like the density, the traffic, the sirens, the gunshots, the trash, the crackheads fornicating in my backyard (tip: while scolding, shouting, and threatening to call the police will not repel them, blasting Danzig out the window will make them withdraw (get it?) almost instantly).

But (surprise) not everyone feels the same affection for the urban jungle. I know a lot of people who live in the city reluctantly, bemoaning at every opportunity the lack of space, the lack of greenery, but they have to live in the city for work, etc. If that sounds like you, this is the house you should be looking at. Located in heart-of-the-city Bloomingdale, it nevertheless feels like a semi-rural country house. It overlooks McMillan Reservoir, so all you see from your seat on the large front porch is trees and grass almost all the way to the horizon. The only other place in D.C. you’d get a view like this is around Rock Creek Park, and that would be at least three times more expensive. But while the views are quaint, the house is very much modern.



The open first floor is painted in a muted palette of yellows, blues and reds, with an expansive dining room and a large living room boasting a stone fireplace. There are windows everywhere, and the place is perpetually (almost) flooded with light. Upstairs is a fireplace-insert wood stove that will keep the entire level toasty come winter. An expansive master bedroom features exposed brick walls and an incredible closet illuminated by recessed lighting and fronted with frosted glass. It also has a two-car garage in back (that opens onto Channing Street, not onto an alley – all you drivers know exactly why this is exceptional), and a wonderful backyard with a huge patio and raised-bed gardens. Best of all, the basement is a separately-metered one bedroom unit with a private entrance, so your pastoral urban country house could potentially be financed entirely by a future tenant. America!

2429 1st St. NW
Washington DC 20001
4 Bedrooms, 3 Baths
$724,999

New Retail Center South of Georgetown's Social Safeway, Coming Soon

When the new Safeway at 1855 Wisconsin Avenue NW was constructed, the parking lots to the south, on Wisconsin Avenue, were left untouched, to be developed later. Later is now, as Safeway Inc. began work this week on the project, which also includes renovation of an existing building, south of the lots.

A retail center - known as Georgetown East Park Center - described as a "continuation of [Safeway's] overall Georgetown project," by Safeway spokesperson Craig Muckle, is now under construction, by Roche Constructors.

Superseding the parking lot will be a brick building (a nod to the look and feel of the Safeway) with three retail spots fronting Wisconsin Avenue. The building will be connected, by an archway over a driveway, to an existing brick building (at 1815 Wisconsin Ave) which will be revamped, and will retain two storefronts on Wisconsin.

Einstein Bros Bagels, now closed for construction, occupied the corner location of the monolithic brick building at 1815 Wisconsin Avenue, which once housed four retailers, but will soon house three.

Though the building's envelope will remain largely as is, the face on Wisconsin Ave will be split into two distinct architectural styles; additionally both styles will be unique from that of the new building to the north.

The project was designed by Torti Gallas and Partners, under the direction of lead architect Brian O'Looney, along with architect of record Rounds VanDuzer Architects; the same team was responsible for the Safeway next door, which delivered in May of 2010.

Rounds Van Douzer Architects, out of Falls Church, has also designed the Bethesda Safeway, coming in September.

In 2008, Safeway Inc. formed the subsidiary - Property Development Centers (PDC) - with the goal of developing grocery-anchored retail centers nationwide. Safeway Inc. also purchased the retail building at 1815 Wisconsin Ave in 2008, for $4.2 million.

KLNB Retail is responsible for the leasing of five new tenants for the retail center; Einstein Bros Bagels is set to return, but will likely settle into the new northern building, not its old corner spot.

Another, nearly identical brick building to the south of 1815, at 1803-1805 Wisconsin Avenue, NW - now occupied by Sherwin Williams Paint and Next Day Blinds - is not owned by Safeway, and will not be redeveloped.

Amendment to article, 8/22: In response to some confusion over what kind of retail will be offered at the center, a previously included mock-up layout has been replaced by one without the names of any potential retailers, as lease-ups on site have not been confirmed.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

County Rolls Out Arlington Mill Next Wednesday

Arlington will roll out the pomp next Wednesday for Arlington Mill, a community center on Arlington's Columbia Pike that will soon be followed by an affordable housing project. The county demolished the previous buildings last spring, and will likely start actual construction next month.

The community center portion of the project will cost an estimated $24 to 25 million and include a gym, learning center, public plaza and garage, crafted by architects at 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 begin construction in 2012 with a targeted completion date of late 2013. No general contractor has been selected yet.

Under Arlington's agreement with APAH, the county will build the garage for both the community center and the residential portion, and APAH will then reimburse the county for its expense. "We are hoping to close and break ground...sometime towards the end of Q2 2012" says David Perrow, Project Manager for Arlington Mill. The affordable housing provider will be waiting in the wings, starting work on housing when the county finishes construction.

Residences will include 121 "tax-credit units" that will be open to individual making 60% or less of area median income. In return for affordable housing, the state of Virginia has granted APAH a $2.13m tax credit per year for 10 years, a credit that can be marketed to a financial partner. "We can sell that on the equity market," says Perrow. Construction of the community center should complete by next summer.

Arlington, Virginia real estate development news

Historic Landmark Status Arises in Plan for Old Wonder Bread Building

An adaptive reuse plan by Douglas Development for the old Wonder Bread building has recently encountered a new factor in the mix - potential Historic Landmark status. An application, signed by Douglas and the D.C. Preservation League, was filed with the Historic Preservation Office on August 8th, requesting the Landmark status of the early-20th century industrial craftsman building.

The old Wonder Bread building at 641 S Street, NW in Shaw, is part of a seven-building industrial complex built between 1913 and 1936. The building was purchased by Continental Mills in 1936, and much more recently by Douglas Development (d.b.a. Jemal's Wonder LLC) in October of 1997.

As reported by the Washington City Paper, the 2- and 3-story, 60,000-s.f. building will be redeveloped as office space. Paul Millstein, in charge of Douglas' construction happenings, confirmed this fact, but acknowledges that there is uncertainty as to first-floor uses: "It could go retail or office, depending on the market."

Either way, the plan was always to retain the building's historic façade.

Millstein said, in July, that the redevelopment, designed by R2L:Architects' Sacha Rosen, will work around the building's well-known face on the block. Added density will be tucked into the back (not the top) of the building, which will push the building's envelope out towards the alley, and transform the structure into a "clean box shape" without significantly changing the building's appearance, said Millstein.

Rebecca Miller, executive director of the D.C. Preservation League, said the decision to submit the building to the HPO for Historic Landmark status was an easy one and has been in the works for the past year; the process was facilitated by the fact that Douglas' working concept has always included retention of the building's historic character.

As far as progress goes, Millstein reports that Douglas has not obtained construction permits yet, but, in July, he foresaw having the necessary paperwork in place by early September. Landmark Status review is not yet scheduled, although it could be as early as next month.

Expedited construction/repair permits were issued on the site in April, in order to ready the building for the D.C. Preservation League's 40th anniversary party, however the 90-year-old structure requires more than the last-minute nip-and-tuck (although impressive) that it underwent for the spring gala.

Of redeveloping the '20s-era structure, Millstein declared, “It’s a very cool building, a very cool project.”

The first Wonder Bread bakery in D.C. was located nearby at Georgia Avenue and Bryant Street NW, which was absorbed by the growing Howard University campus in the '90s. The Wonder Bread building being redeveloped at 7th and S Streets first housed the Bond Bakery, then the Dorsch's White Cross Bakery (responsible for the façade that now stands, with white crosses made out of tile), which was bought by Continental Mills.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Northwest One's Site 2 on its Way Up

In less than one month, according to the office of Victor Hoskins, the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, construction will "officially" begin on another piece of the District's $700-million-dollar Northwest One New Community at 2 M Street, NE, known as "Site 2 (of Phase 1)", where a 12-story, 314-unit residential-and-retail building will go up.

With all permits in place, and pre-construction activity having begun on site last month, the official groundbreaking, by general contractor WCS Construction, is slated for September 12th.

Construction was initially expected to be underway in March, and when questioned about stalled District developments at a WDCAR event in mid-July, Hoskins pointed to NW1 as an example of an active site. "We are currently bringing the community to that location," said Hoskins, of the project's footprint around North Capitol Street in Ward 6, both in and west of NoMa.

NW1, approved by Council in 2005, began gearing up in 2008 and the new Walker-Jones School was the first completed component, followed by the first residential component, the SeVerna, which broke ground last summer.

According to Jose Sousa at DMPED, the "slowing of debt markets" was the cause of the delay, which affected both the development team, led by William C. Smith + Co. along with The Warrenton Group, and the District. The group, Sousa explained, "adapted by securing FHA mortgage insurance from HUD." Final confirmation and approval of the HUD transaction is imminent, said Sousa.

With construction expected to last 28 months, the 314-unit apartment building, designed by Eric Colbert & Associates, should be complete at the end of 2013.

Of the 314 units, 221 will be rented at market rate, 59 units will be set aside for former Temple Court residents (30% of AMI), and 34 units will be available for those making 60% of AMI.

There will be 4,100 s.f. of ground floor retail and an 8,000 s.f. courtyard above two levels of underground parking, offering between 184 and 192 spots. The 290,000 s.f. building will be concrete, "clad with masonry, decorative metals and soaring full height windows," according to WCS.

2 M Street is estimated to be taking $82 million of the total $700 million needed for NW1, which includes in all: 1,600 units of mixed-income housing, 40,000 s.f. of retail, and 220,000 s.f. of commercial office space.

NW1 is one of five projects being realized by the New Communities Initiative, a public-private partnership that aims to develop areas that exhibit "high rates of poverty and unemployment, as well as blight and deterioration of the housing stock." The other four projects are Barry Farm (Ward 8), Lincoln Heights (Ward 7), Richardson Dwellings (Ward 7), and Park Morton (Ward 1). 

Washington DC retail and commercial real estate news

Your Next Place

By Franklin Schneider

This house bills itself as "one of the most unique homes in DC," and I'm inclined to agree. If I lived in this house, I'd carry around a little picture of it in my wallet and "accidentally" drop it whenever an attractive woman was around. (“What, that old thing? Oh, that's just my house.”)

The exterior is striking right off the bat – sort of an angular vertical chessboard look – and the inside is equally impressive. Lots of sleek, jet-black woodwork, which to my eye looked radically fresh and new, like the outfits of those Japanese hipsters who hang out in the East Village. Call me morbid, but there's not enough black in the interior design world. (Why is that? Is it a brightness thing? ) At any rate, black wood is a motif in this house. There's also an atrium-like living room with a massive window-slash-skylight set high up diagonally on the wall, and a great kitchen that's somehow at once massive but compact, a minor wonder of design and efficiency, like what I imagine Steve Jobs' kitchen looks like. (Only his woodwork is white, obviously.)



The master bedroom it truly palatial, as is the renovated master bath, which features a massive shower with a bench in it; I never understood what those were for until I lived with my ex girlfriend in a place that had a shower bench. When we were fighting, I'd wait until she was about to jump in the shower, zip in before her, and then doze on the shower bench while running the hot water. It did wonders for my skin, though not my relationship (I “won” though!)

Private parking, washer/dryer, and it's a short walk to Adams Morgan, Mt. Pleasant/Columbia Heights, and Meridian Hill Park, one of the most beautiful green spaces in Washington D.C and a great place to see drunk men sleeping under bushes.

2633 15TH ST N #4
Washington DC 20009
$779,500

Bainbridge Starting on 17-Story Bethesda Apartments

If Bethesda Row has bloomed into the urban village experience, Woodmont Triangle may one day be its downtown. While no large projects have begun in the quadrant just north of Bethesda Row - though many have been planned - that is about to change in a big way. The Bainbridge Companies will begin construction this week on their 17-story, highly amenitized apartment building a few blocks north of the Bethesda Metro station. Once known as the Monty, the project will be rebranded as "Bainbridge Bethesda" by the Florida based developer.

One of the tallest projects in the area, the apartment building will feature a four-story underground parking garage and is meant to animate both the skyline and street level, the former with its height and periodically receding facade, and the latter with a new pedestrian boulevard that will feature retail and art, breaking up the block and endowing the building with a corner presence.
Some sources say the project could cost $80m to build. The selling feature, to developers, is the raised amenities, placed at the top to take advantage of views over Bethesda and Washington D.C. The building will feature a gym leading out to a 15th floor terrace and rooftop pool. "Obviously that's really expensive real estate that high that we're forgoing, but its the kind of thing that inspires people on a daily basis" says Josh Wooldridge, Senior Development Director with Bainbridge. "You just can't compare that to a gym in a basement."

The project is a long time coming, having been before the county planning board for 5 years. Bainbridge purchased the site with approvals last summer, and expected to break ground almost immediately, but equity issues have held up construction, which has been billed as nearly imminent since that time. Now Bainbridge has corralled equity partners, including Greek shipping company Restis Group and DC-based National Real Estate Advisors, along with the Department of Housing and Urban Development, to provide the needed capital, having closed on financing just two weeks ago today. Since the county adopted the Woodmont Sector Plan 6 years ago, no highrises have been built in the area (Lionsgate was planned previously).

Bainbridge will now start 3-4 weeks of demolition, followed by an estimated 18-20 months of construction. The building will take over mostly vacant retail space, replacing it with a 20-foot wide pedestrian passageway that links Fairmont and St. Elmo Streets, with retail fronting both streets. Wooldridge says design of the 7500 s.f. of retail will be finalized next year when the project is under construction.

Architects at SK&I have designed a LEED Silver project with green roof that will be notably taller than the low density architecture of Woodmont Triangle. "We'll be 5 stories taller than anything else around" says Wooldridge, although the 174-foot project will fall short of the Clark building at 200 feet. With demolition permits in hand, site work will commence immediately.

Bethesda, MD real estate development news