Northwest of Heaven

By Beth Herman

It's off of Foxhall in NW D.C., but for preeminent interior designer Thomas Pheasant, the property is about as close to heaven as he can get.

Purchased three years ago, the designer's 6,000 s.f. residence - including a formidable Greek Revival-style pool house he built — took 18 months to renovate, becoming “almost unconsciously a kind of retrospective of years of (his) designs,” Pheasant said. Recognized worldwide for his noble furniture collections that span two decades, the fourth generation Washingtonian has filled his residence with an amalgam of his own furniture and collected artifacts ranging from antique mirrored consoles, tables and chairs, to a restored 1930s French Baccarat chandelier discovered in a Paris shop, and small bronze accent tables in the bedroom.

“There were certain pieces I designed for the house—sort of the centerpieces of each room, but most are from designs I did 15 years ago through my studio, or for my Baker collection, or my McGuire collection,” the designer said. Items culled from storage, due to size constraints of a prior home in Georgetown, also include art acquired over years of travel that gild the Foxhall-adjacent residence. “It was amazing to me how everything just went into that house,” Pheasant said.

Jettisoning the former 1,800 s.f. Georgetown dwelling in which he and his partner had lived for a considerable amount of time, the designer had undertaken a challenging, two-year search for real estate that moved him.

“When I saw that first house in Georgetown,” Pheasant reflected about the previous space, “I thought I could just turn it around in a year and move out. But because of my work, I’m the last one on my list of things to do.” He was there for 21 years.

With regard to his current residence, maintaining that he could have gone into a modern house or a Georgetown townhouse, Pheasant said that because he travels so much he’d specified absolutely no pool and no big garden to maintain as priorities. When the agent called to describe a house that was clearly in the wrong neighborhood, with a pool and behemoth gardens to boot, something about its immense privacy superseded everything else and Pheasant bought it. “The backyard has the potential to transport me far away from the city,” he recalled of his decision, adding that visitors are quick to embrace the property’s serene, pastoral qualities.

Character reference

Referencing an eclectic national clientele with enormously varied tastes, Pheasant’s transformational philosophy involves making a home a better version of what someone bought—because homeowners usually have a significant, “romantic” connection to it, the designer said. “It’s important to do this without changing the home or making it a different style, so I try to listen to what people are saying about the way they want to live,” he explained. Applying those principles to his own residence, Pheasant said he was initially chagrined that the property was only 10 or 12 years old.

“If I was going to move into a new house, I’d have wanted to be part of the design of it with the architect,” he said, reiterating that the property’s privacy factor is what trumped everything else and ultimately sold him. That said, making it a better version of what it was included infusing it with “strong character”—or the kind of soul found in an older home.

Gutting the interior to produce results in a modern classical vein, Pheasant proceeded to open up the interior to the outside.

A center hallway designed to flow from the front straight through to the back of the house allows one to see all the way through to the garden upon entry. The kitchen, dining room and living room all empty into the center hallway (the former can be isolated when the urge strikes), with mahogany doors and ivory paneling in each room, along with other shared finishes, providing an elegant common denominator.

With an eye to green building, Pheasant said all millwork, wood doors and furniture from his collections are recycled and/or sustainable materials. A NASA-developed invisible film called V-KOOL, blocking the majority of the sun’s heat and fading properties, was utilized on the multitude of south-facing windows and skylights. Radiant heat provides comfort from the ground up in winter. Expensive to install, it modifies heating costs.

Of Paris, Peace and Palettes

On a trip to Paris 10 years ago, the designer said he ran into a friend who had just purchased an apartment.

“I wasn’t looking for a place,” Pheasant said, “but it struck me that I was working all the time, and I’d never even had the time to look for a getaway house somewhere in Middleburg as I’d hoped. My life was going by so quickly.”

A meeting sans “seriousness” with a real estate agent nevertheless produced an apartment in deplorable condition off of Boulevard Saint-Germain, the property stripped of its moldings and character. Seduced by its light—banks of windows existed on both sides which most French quarters do not possess—as well as French doors that looked out across the Seine toward the Louvre and Basilique du Sacre-Couer, the designer jumped in with both feet, restoring the apartment to its former style. “I ended up fully renovating the apartment and designing a lot of furniture for it here in Washington, and shipping it to Paris,” Pheasant said, having nixed his original idea about peppering it with French flea market finds.

Noting that the palette for his Washington home is in sharp contrast to the Paris apartment, Pheasant said he looks out at green all the time from the former. In Paris, tones of grey and limestone on interior walls and furnishings reflect the surrounding cityscape, yet the same sense of balance and serenity permeates each residence.

Returning home to the lower level of the D.C. property, Pheasant created a lush library/office space that precludes what used to amount to marathon office visits on weekends. “I’d go for an hour on a Saturday and end up staying eight hours,” he conceded. The space is executed in a rich chocolate brown, which distinguishes its climate from that of the main floor.

“Sometimes I like coming home on Friday, closing the door and then forgetting everything until Monday,” Pheasant said of his D.C. residence overall, acknowledging he’s always evolving as a designer. “It’s a really nice place to relax.”

photos courtesy of Gordon Beall and Durston Saylor

Plan Revived for Live-Work Artist Lofts Near U Street

A plan to build funky artist loft space on a vacant lot at 1932 9th Street, NW in the U Street neighborhood, was shelved two years ago (rendering at left is from 2009). Now, a slightly slimmed down version of the plan has been revived, and will be taken to the Historic Preservation Review Board next week.

The property owner and developer, Paul So, purchased the property in July of 2008 for $1.4 million, and commissioned Greg Kearley of Inscape Studio to design an eco-friendly building with several aspects - passive solar design, green roof, and rainwater capturing system - ensuring that the project would achieve or exceed LEED Platinum standards. So is co-director for the Center for Neural Dynamics at George Mason University, and founder of the Hamiltonian Gallery.

Kearley didn't want to say much in advance of the HPRB meeting, but said that although the retail and residential project was put on hold, it was never deserted.

Before the plan was tucked away in 2009, a few doubts were raised over the project's economic feasibility, considering a large component of the 5- and 3-story building would be artist lofts asking characteristically low rents. Also, the concept in 2009 was already a slightly scaled back version of the initial 6-story design (5-story with a penthouse).

The new plan being brought before the HPRB next week is for a 4-story building with ground-floor retail; details are few as the staff report by senior preservation planner Steve Callcott will be completed this Friday, the 16th.

The HPO report in October of 2009 was also done by Callcott who then recommended, "that the Review Board approve the design direction of the building on 9-1/2 Street, and direct the applicant to restudy the direction of the building on 9th Street to improve its compatibility with the surrounding context."

At that time, in a 9-0 vote, the HPRB "approved the scale and mass of the building on 9-1/2 Street, and directed the applicant to restudy the fenestration, ensure that the occupied portion of the roof deck is pulled back from the street, and further work on the design to improve its visual interest... [and] directed the applicant to restudy the design direction of the building on 9th Street to improve its compatibility with the surrounding context, particularly with regard to its height and scale."

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Mt. Vernon Triangle Office on Track for September Start

The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) is readying for the construction of its new 285,000 s.f. headquarters on New York Avenue in Mount Vernon Triangle between 6th and 7th Streets, NW.

This past Friday, AAMC obtained the permit necessary to wrap fencing around 15 lots on square 451, in order to secure the site prior to demolition; a raze permit was also granted the same day for 628 New York Avenue NW, the hold-out property, finally sold to Douglas Development last month. Raze applications for 611, 617 K Street NW are pending.

After obtaining 628 New York Ave, however, Douglas sold the entire assemblage; it was reported by the Washington Business Journal that AAMC bought its new headquarters site for around $57 million, and Hines Interests LP has been selected as developer.

AAMC is moving from its current location at 2450 N Street, NW, and plans to occupy its new headquarters by spring 2014.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Your Next Place

By Franklin Schneider

A fully detached, three story Victorian on a huge lot in Ledroit Park? The District will have a Republican mayor before another house like this comes along.

Right off the bat, I liked this place. Ten foot ceilings, fireplace, tons of windows. After so many rowhouses, I forgot how much more light you get in a freestanding house. The interior is fully and perfectly restored – the living room has the original trim, mantelpiece, and pocket doors, and the grand staircase has been beautifully restored. But it’s also wired for sound. I like modern things, but living in a completely new bleeding-edge place can feel a little sterile, like living on a “Star Trek” set or something, whereas living in a totally historic house with antique fixtures can sometimes make it hard to relax. You feel like you should be wearing a powdered wig or something. This house strikes the perfect balance between the two – classy, timeless, irresistibly likable. If this house was a person, it would be George Clooney.

The kitchen has stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, and a sizeable pantry where you could hide if a serial killer broke into the house, or where you could have illicit trysts with your lover, depending on what movie you’re in. Upstairs are the three bedrooms; the master bedroom is en suite with huge closets and a huger bathroom. The attic is fully carpeted and has its own bathroom (with floor to ceiling marble). There’s a windowseat in the turret and the angled planes of the peaked roof gives the place a very interesting ambience. If I lived in this house, I’d insist on having the attic as my room. Rectangles are for squares.

In back there’s a large wooden deck that overlooks a sizeable yard. Also, the basement is a separately metered 1 bedroom apartment, and one of the nicest basement apartments I’ve ever seen. Most of these “English basements” are dank, dungeonlike ratholes for bachelors or couples who have no idea what they’re getting into – my pal lives in one, and no joke, you walk in and can smell meals he cooked months ago. But this apartment is large, relatively bright, not oppressively low-ceilinged, has lots of windows (fully detached!) and even has access to its own outdoor minipatio. It’s absolutely the gold standard of basement apartments.

1873 3rd Street NW

$1,099,000

5 Bedrooms, 4.5 Baths

Design Details Released for DC's Highest Rent District in Chinatown

Developing the only unused and deteriorating corner at 7th and H Streets, NW in the heart of Gallery Place - Chinatown has long been on many minds. Finally, a design by Sacha Rosen of R2L:Architects, which combines the preservation of the six historic structures on site with contemporary new additions, has materialized and is moving through the approval process. Granted unanimous ANC2C consent last Wednesday, Rosen will introduce the design to the Historic Preservation Review Board on September 22nd. Of the design, Rosen said, "This is a very contemporary, but respectful treatment of [the site's] important historic fabric." 

Owned by McCaffery Interests and Douglas Development, the property includes the corner site (801 7th St, actually two buildings combined in the early 1900s), an adjacent structure to the east (675 H St), a rear carriage house, and two buildings on 7th Street to the north of the corner (807 and 809 7th St). The joint venturers obtained the last piece of the puzzle - 675 H St - at foreclosure this past February, for $9.1 million. Rosen explained there will be a new one-story addition on top of 675 H St, and a two-story addition on top of the rear carriage house, however nothing will rise above the existing four-story corner building except for a rooftop mechanical penthouse (set back on the new construction portion). Structurally unsound portions of 807 and 809 7th Street will be demolished and replaced with new four-story additions. New facades, set back from the historic real estate along 7th and H Streets, will be primarily glass; a glass elevator will also be contained within, rising up to a rooftop deck. A four-story atrium will enclose an existing exterior courtyard between 675 H St and the rear carriage house. The entire project will contain approximately 60,000 s.f., and Rosen said that the project's main objective, in addition to honoring the history of the intersection, is to "make the overall development as flexible as possible to accommodate an exciting mix of retail and office spaces." Owners are asking for some of the most expensive retail rents in the city at the site. R2L is also currently working on designs for the Wonder Bread building in Shaw. 

Washington D.C. retail and real estate development news

Running a $700-Million Comb through the National Mall

With over 25 million visitors a year, the National Mall is showing some wear and tear; its restoration is the driver of a competition to select a winning design team to renovate three areas of the Mall - Union Square, Washington Monument Grounds at Sylvan Theater, and Constitution Gardens - hosted by the National Park Service's non-profit partner the Trust for the National Mall.

Yesterday, the competition's details and important dates were released - in one month, registration ends, on October 8th, and design portfolios are due five days later, the 13th.

The three stages of the competition will stretch until March 30th, 2012. A public exhibition will take place in April, competition winners will be announced in early May, and fundraising efforts will commence thereafter.

The three stages of the competition are as follows:

Stage I - Design portfolios are submitted for review by a jury. The jury will select 8-10 designers (per location) to move on to Stage II.

Stage II - Designers will be combined into teams, which will be evaluated and interviewed by the jury. The jury will select 4-5 finalists per location to move on to Stage III.

Stage III - Finalists will create a design concept for their assigned location, and be allowed 10 weeks to complete the concept. The jury will select one concept per location as the winner.

The competition is part of the Trust's Campaign to Restore the National Mall, which will become the largest public-private partnership in the history of the National Park Service. Over the next several years, the campaign aims to raise $350 million in private funds, which will be matched by federal funds, bumping up the total to $700 million. Corporate sponsorship is providing the funds necessary to host the design competition.

The Campaign has already been working on several restoration projects on the Mall: the Jefferson Memorial Seawall (completion in the Fall), the Lincoln Memorial landscape and Reflecting Pool (completion in Spring 2012), and the WWI Veterans memorial.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Shaw Giant Closes Today

The Giant supermarket has closed to make way for construction of the new Giant, anchor of the long-anticipated CityMarket at O in Shaw, with excavation planned for November, said Susan Linsky, project manager at Roadside Development. The new 71,000-s.f. Giant will be the first completed aspect of the project, as Roadside is contractually obligated to deliver a replacement within two years of closing the old store, meaning, by September 8th, 2013. "We're really excited," said Linsky. "However, there is a lot of work to do in advance of excavation." Facade support, utilities prep, etc. 

Construction, by Clark, will be in several phases and split between the east and west parcels. The east parcel, which is mainly comprised of the Giant, will be topped with affordable senior housing (84 units), and an apartment. Although the Giant will deliver first, the other two components of the east parcel will deliver last, likely in late fall 2014 or early spring 2015. The second phase of the real estate project, to deliver immediately following the Giant, will be the west parcel's 181-room hotel, a 400-unit apartment unit and several retail outlets (around 16,000 s.f. in all); likely completion date of these components is late fall 2013, or early spring 2014. A condominium, also on the west parcel, will be included in the last phase. The 1-million-s.f. urban infill project will be built on a parking podium consisting of over 500 spaces. Roadside believes the project will “serve as a catalyst for the revitalization of the Shaw community, one of Washington's oldest commercial, residential, and cultural districts.”

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Bethesda Safeway to Reopen October 13

Bethesda's downtown Safeway will reopen October 13, according to a spokesman for the supermarket. The supermarket closed last year for renovation, and will be reborn as a modernized, more urban version, part of Safeway's reinvention to compete head on with newer competitors that have captured more of the urban consumer. The previous store was built in 1956.

The newest Safeway designs put parking on the ground floor and shopping on the 2nd floor, with designs by Rounds VanDuzer Architects, designed to be Montgomery County's first LEED certified supermarket. The first floor garage will be disguised behind hand-shaped glass panels created by the Washington Glass Studio of Hyattsville, whose work will add hints of color and shapes of herbs along the sidewalk, with the new building pushed to the front of the lot to eliminate the street-fronting parking lot that once served the store. The 48,000 s.f. store will be double the size of the previous building.

The new Safeway will feature a "cheese expert,", olive bar, Starbucks, outdoor cafe, Bergmann's dry cleaners, pharmacy and on-site bakery. Safeway operates 66 stores in Maryland and 15 in the District of Columbia.

Bethesda Maryland real estate development news

Eyes on East of the Anacostia

Of late, eyes have been drawn and ears perked to new
public and private sector development, business forays and enhancement efforts east of the Anacostia River. Today, the Washington DC Economic Partnership (WDCEP) together with the District is leading a restaurant site tour, encouraging investment in three areas east of the river: the Minnesota Avenue orange-line Metro stop (site of new DOES headquarters), the intersection of Branch and Pennsylvania Avenue, SE (site of Penn Branch Shopping Center), and the Capitol Heights blue-line Metro stop (site of the Hope VI Capitol Gateway project). "The District is working with WDCEP to highlight opportunities for restaurateurs and retailers in Ward 7 and Ward 8. The locations [on the tour today] are just a handful of opportunities that we’ll be focusing on as part of our overall efforts to expand restaurant and retail options in these two wards," said Jose Sousa, communications director for the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning & Economic Development. In all, there is around 35,000 s.f. of retail space to be leased; the vast majority being at the Capitol Gateway Marketplace (27,000 s.f.) in the Deanwood neighborhood.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Mill Creek Begins Dunn Loring Metro Development

Six years after Mill Creek Residential Trust was selected by WMATA to develop 15 acres of land surrounding the Dunn Loring-Merrifield Metro stop in Vienna, Va., construction has finally begun, with the first component of the development to be a 250-unit apartment building.

In 2005, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) and MCRT completed a development agreement outlining a plan to build 628 apartment units (3 buildings), significant retail space including a 50,000 s.f. Harris Teeter, and a 2,000-space parking garage to consolidate the 1,355 spots now spread across a surface parking lot on site. MCRT has committed to 65,000 s.f. of retail but has the option to build another 60,000 s.f.

As reported by the Washington Post, MCRT secured a construction loan from Pacific Life Insurance Co. a month ago (August 8th), allowing the first phase of the development's estimated 4-year-long construction timeline to get underway.




Virginia real estate development news

Eisenhower Memorial Metal Tapestries on Display

In order to clearly demonstrate the artistry of the forthcoming Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial designed by Frank Gehry, the commission responsible for the memorial displayed two good-sized samples, showcasing two different production methods for bringing heavy metal tapestries to life.

The samples were on display at the site last week, and will return at the site - on Independence Avenue between 4th and 6th Streets, SW - next week, remaining up from the 12th to the 16th, during which time the Commission of Fine Arts will scrutinize the materials in question.

The Eisenhower Memorial Commission will meet with the National Capital Planning Commission for an informal design review on October 6th in advance of seeking preliminary design approval - from the NCPC - on December 1st.

Target date for delivery of the Eisenhower memorial is Memorial Day 2015.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Your Next Place

By Franklin Schneider

If you're like me, and you often wake up in the middle of the night thinking "my life needs more pagodas!”, then this is the house for you (us). A grand home with a prestigious pedigree (it was built by architect by Donald Drayer), this one has it all – sixteen-foot ceilings, an incredible library, not one but two balconies and, yes, a pagoda.

Houses built by architects are always a breed apart. It's like how fashion designers are always waaaay better dressed than regular people or musicians always have great records that you've never heard of. Generally, these houses have more space, more light, and are built with finer materials than our sad little shoeboxes, and this one is no exception.

There are windows everywhere, and everything is big, from the spacious all-white master bath to the cavernous great room to the stately library with floor-to-ceiling shelves and a fireplace (wouldn't it come in handy to have a fireplace in your library, for books that didn't make the cut?). And the flagstone patio out back – truly one of the finest outdoor spaces I've seen in D.C. Closely bordered with lush vegetation – even the pagoda is festooned with wisteria – it's large, private, and beautiful. I hate weddings, but you could have a great wedding back there. There weren't even any mosquitoes around as I sat in the pagoda surveying the patio, which struck me as just too perfect. If I was looking to buy, I'd have signed on the spot. Come to think of it, if I was a real estate agent showing a house with a fine outdoor space, I'd sprinkle blood in the neighbor's yards right before the open house, to draw off the mosquitoes. I guess this is a good example of why I'm not a real estate agent.

2741 Unicorn Lane NW
5 Bedrooms, 5 Baths
$1,129,999

LCOR Making Progress at North Bethesda Center

The last beam has been placed on the 14-story, $131 million office building that will accommodate 1,300 General Services Administration employees who work for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The new home of NRC is one of at least eight buildings planned for LCOR's 32-acre development North Bethesda Center, named for its location.

In July of 2010, construction began on the NRC building, which will be ready for initial occupancy in May of 2012, and finished for good in September. The NCR building was designed by HOK, is being built under general contractor Turner, will be LEED Silver upon completion, and is located just east of the White Flint Metro.

When finished, as there is still plenty of work to do after "topping out," the NRC building will join LCOR's previously completed component of the North Bethesda Center, the Wentworth House, an 18-story, 312-unit apartment with a green-roof Harris Teeter which, when finished in 2008, became the first of its kind. Mike Smith, VP of LCOR, says the Harris Teeter is doing well, and feels that the grocery amenity is one reason why LCOR has a healthy retention rate of residents at Wentworth - along with quick Metro access.

The 32-acre LCOR development site, formerly a golf course, is located between downtown Bethesda and downtown Rockville; an area surrounding the White Flint Metro that has grabbed the attention of several developers in the last several years, including Federal Realty (Mid-Pike Plaza), and JBG (North Bethesda Market).

Maryland real estate development news

Georgetown Park Goes Big Box

A recent effort to breathe life into Georgetown's only retail mall, The Shops at Georgetown Park at 3222 M Street, NW, has had the wind knocked out of it. The Georgetown Angels, a trio of ladies with boutiques at the mall and big voices for locally owned business, had banded together last year in a shared cause: to enliven the mall, increase exposure, and boost foot traffic off of M Street. But now, the mall is garnering some attention of a different sort, not what the Angels (think Charlie's, not Guardian) had in mind.

With the pending closure of Barnes & Noble down the street (the massive bookseller did not renew its recently expired lease) murmurs over the future of the mall (and inklings that H&M will move from the mall and take over B&N's corner spot) increased in volume, and are gaining validity now that several mall tenants have not only been asked to leave by the end of the year, but several packed up shop just yesterday.

Although property owner and operator, Vornado Trust Realty, would not confirm an 80,000-s.f. lease with Target, officials from the giant retailer have been exploring the viability of a large retail site with concerns about the traffic-choked location.

It's thought that Target will likely take up the basement (now a sorry food court and a DMV branch) and possibly the ground floor. A deal with Bloomingdales, for around 80,000 s.f., seems to have also been revived after initial talks fell through in 2008, although this is unconfirmed.

Along with a drastically different type of retailer and fewer retailers overall, Keith Sellars of WDCEP sees the potential for new restaurants to front the C&O Canal side of the property.  Retail tenant occupancy at Georgetown Park has fallen since 2009, and Kassie Rempel, DC native and owner/founder of mall-tenant SimplySoles, says of the change, "It's unfortunate, but I can't say it's a surprise." Rempel, one-third of the Angels, will be in the mall until the end of the year, and although considering a few relocation options, moving to the mezzanine level of the mall, as offered by Vornado, is not one of them.

Another Angel, Heidi Kallet, owner/founder of The Dandelion Patch, confirms she too is leaving Georgetown Park but says her shop "will stay in Georgetown." Finishing out the trio of Georgetown retailers, Stephanie Fornash Kennedy, owner/founder of the eponymous, eight-year mall tenant Fornash, has also received her official notice to vacate by year's end. Rempel says it's clear that Vornado, "is clearing out the first and second floors."

There has been talk of redeveloping the Georgetown Park mall since the late '90s; most notably when Herb Miller (of Western Development Corp.) and Anthony Lanier (of EastBanc, Inc.) entered into an agreement, in 1998, to pursue a joint venture to develop the property.

However, the mall, which opened in 1981 as a main component of the $200-million mixed use development by Western Development, was cruising along in the '90s, and into the early 2000s, and owner at the time Georgetown Park Associates (GPA) - which obtained the deed from Western Development in 1989 - wasn't looking to sell until 2006.

In March of 2006, GPA's sale of the property commanded a hearty $84 million, from Miller. Lanier sued Miller for breach of the 1998 agreement. Unease had been brewing between the two for a few years, after disagreeing on how to interpret an amendment, made in 2001, to the joint-venture agreement; Miller asserted that the 1998 agreement was void if not acted on by May 31st 2002.

Either way, the Georgetown Park deed was finalized on March 1st 2007.

In response to Lanier's lawsuit, as reported by the Washington Post in April of 2010, "Western sued EastBanc and Lanier personally for more than $50 million in damages, citing a malicious legal filing and other causes."

Though it was reported that Western defaulted in excess of $70 million owed to lender Capmark Financial Group, the foreclosure was called off in May, and a Vornado led group called AG Georgetown Park I LLC obtained the property from Capmark Finance/GP Partners LLC on July 9th 2010 for $30.8 million; significantly less ($54 million less) than Miller paid four years before.

Now, with Vornado a year into its ownership of the property, the site holds a mall that is a 30-year-old shell of its former self, and rapidly emptying. Long gone are the days when it drew local businesses, Georgetowners, out-of-towners and the like from M Street.

Washington D.C. commercial real estate news

Your Next Place

By Franklin Schneider

This house looks exactly like me when I'm at the club; not as tall as the two dudes on each side of me, but clearly much, much classier. If you could airbrush a pencil mustache onto the facade of the house and put, like, a scale-model PBR tallboy in front, the resemblance would be perfect.

I wouldn't say the house looks small initially, but the inside is far larger than you'd think if you were on the outside looking in. There are high ceilings and wide-open spaces and long uninterrupted sightlines everywhere, and distinctive tall windows. There's a double living room with two fireplaces, so you can segregate your guests by political party. (Third party supporters have to sit in the yard.) There are also a striking number of built-in bookshelves scattered throughout the house; I don't think I've ever seen a house with enough shelving for not only all my books but also for prized VHS tape collection. (VHS tapes are going to be the new vinyl, you just wait.) Out back is a fantastic lush garden, the perfect place to have breakfast or to unwind after work with a drink or eight.

If you lived here you'd also get the obscure prestige of having a two-digit house number (mine has four digits – lame!). And the house is just a stone's throw from the House and Senate office buildings, the Capitol building, and the Supreme Court, so if representative democracy is your “thing,” this is the place for you. Late at night, you can sometimes hear them making freedom over there. (Spoiler: it's made out of greenhouse gases.)

19 2nd St NE
3 Bedrooms, 2.5 Baths
$1,495,000

Freshly Baked, New Design for Wonder Bread Building in Shaw

R2L:Architects' Sacha Rosen has, this week, completed new design schematics for the adaptive reuse plan by Douglas Development for the old Wonder Bread/White Cross Bakery. Review of the design, by the Historic Preservation Review Board, could be as early as September 22nd.

The early-20th-Century brick buildings currently crumbling at 641 S Street, NW in Shaw, are also up for historic landmark status, and will be remade into "funky" office and retail space.

Of the recently completed design (below), Rosen says, "Our concept of the classic industrial north-facing skylights adds to the unique qualities of the building - and is great for energy savings. We think of the design as a barge stacked with shipping containers, which represents the mobile, international qualities of business in the new economy."

Currently two and three stories tall, the structure will be raised to three and four, and new basement space will be created, increasing the structure to approximately 60,000 s.f.

One retailer will be allowed half the ground floor, which will split uses - 25 parking spots will take up the back half.  The final 4th floor of office space is only located on the eastern-most portion, making it approximately half that of the others:


Retail space in the basement could be turned into a "cool underground" establishment, says Rosen, such as a bar, billiard hall, or restaurant. No retailers have been signed, as the project will be speculatively built, but Paul Millstein of Douglas says he expects something good to fall in place, considering the uniqueness of the building, and what he considers a "very cool project."

Washington D.C. real estate development news

MRP to Begin Phase One of Washington Gateway in NoMa

MRP Realty will soon move forward with a long- awaited three-phase, 1-million-sf mixed-use project on 3 acres in northern NoMa. Matthew Robinson, Senior VP of MRP, says the $360-million project known as Washington Gateway will break ground before the end of the year, with the first phase residential and retail. The project has been planned since at least 2006, with several near starts over the past 5 years.

At the intersection of Florida and New York Avenue, NE, the Washington Gateway development team will seek financing on a rolling basis. As for now, the team is focused solely on phase one: 400 units of residential in an 11-story building with 5,200 sf of retail.

In terms of getting the first phase off the ground, all seems to be in line for MRP. An equity partner is in place, construction loans are in the works, construction (sheeting/shoring/excavation) permits have been applied for, and a building permit will be filed at the end of September, according to Robinson. One year into construction, MRP plans to start phase two, which will consist entirely of office space. Further down the road, phase three will consist of office space and a retail component.

Nearly 1 million square feet of built area in all, the three-building project consists of approximately 350,000 sf of residential, 600,000 sf of office, and 12,200 sf of retail. The original plan called for significantly less residential space - 260 units versus 400 - with the space going to a 181-room hotel - a component that was scratched due to changing market needs as perceived by the development team.

Robinson says that getting rid of the hotel component, "makes the residential building better. The additional space allows for greater residential amenities [in the form of] increased shared spaces, [including] an extensive 3,700 square foot club room, and two-story fitness center." A rooftop pool and lounge area will offer "Capitol dome views," adds Robinson.

The 11-story residential building was designed by SK&I, and will be built under general contractor Davis Construction. Construction, if underway before the end of the year, should be complete within the next two years. The two 11-story office buildings, to be included in phase two and three, were designed by Gensler. And although the same height, the grade on site varies by about 40', confirms Robinson, creating a height variation optical illusion.

The overall design of the whole Washington Gateway project is a hollowed-out glassy triangle (labeled number 3 on the map to the left), offering an inner triangle of public space, accessible by an opening on Florida Avenue. All retail will front Florida Ave; retail tenants are being pursued, though phase one will be built on spec. Retail will most likely include "neighborhood serving retail," says Robinson, including sidewalk cafes.

Also a part of the development will be a widening, and repaving of the sidewalks along both Florida and New York Avenues. New trees and street furnishings will be added, and landscape architecture design will be the work of Oculus.

"It's exciting right now in NoMa," says Robinson. Washington Gateway will be followed by Camden Property Trust's 60 L Street, NE (1 & II), located just east of the new NPR headquarters currently under construction. Camden's 60 L Street will become NoMa's largest residential building, with 730 units, if it goes through as planned.

Mill Creek Residential's NoMa West, the largest single-phase residential project in NoMa to date includes 603 apartments with a single retail store. Located north of the FedEx building (just north of Washington Gateway) the Mill Creek project broke ground in March, and aims to finish in the spring of 2014.

Several other projects with substantial residential and office space are planned for the NoMa BID, including the Bristol Group's NoMa Station (II - IV), a follow-up to One NoMa Station (400,000 sf office, and 5,000 sf retail) next door at 131 M Street. NoMa Station II-IV is a massive mixed use project to front 1st Street between M and L Streets, NE, made up of: 700,000 sf office, 50,000 sf retail, and 700 residential units.

8/30 correction: 350,000 s.f. of residential, not 290,000 s.f.

Washington D.C. real estate development news