Connecticut Ave. Gets Even Better Looking Around Its Middle.

Connecticut Avenue, the heart of Washington D.C.'s business and retail district, is about to get even better looking around its middle. According to the Golden Triangle Business Improvement District, the initial 300-foot stretch of the median which runs from K Street to L Street, may soon gain another 600 feet, or three more blocks, running from L Street to Jefferson Place, beginning this spring.

The lower stretch of Connecticut Avenue is already home to some of Washington's swankiest hotels and businesses, including Marriott's Renaissance Mayflower, Brooks Brothers, Tiny Jewel Box, Burberry and Thomas Pink.

But the BID and the City are seeking the median improvements as way to position Connecticut Avenue as a grand retail destination on par with Fifth Avenue in New York and Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, said Leona Agouridis, executive director of the Golden Triangle BID.

"The street-scape creates part of the environment and enhances what's already here. We just need to tell the story to potential retailers," said Agouridis, who said some retailers along her section of Connecticut Avenue are averaging more than $1,000 per square foot in sales ($600 per square foot is considered respectable) and wants to use the median and other sidewalk improvements in the pipeline as a way to attract further best-in-brand names to the avenue. "We may not be on their radar screen right now, but hopefully they'll sit up and take notice," she said.

The attention District thoroughfares are getting around their middle is fairly recent. After the streetcars ran their last revenue runs in 1962, the middle stretch of most major arteries were paved over, either creating a impromptu center-turn lane (pictured, right) or a raised strip with grass that went untended. The flat asphalt medians sometimes became a place to park cars on the weekends, but did nothing to contribute to green space or lessen storm water runoff.

That began to change after the Golden Triangle BID back in 2008 got a grant from the District Department of Transportation to help plan and build an initial median along Connecticut Avenue starting from K Street. RMA Inc. was chosen as the architect. That stretch, which began construction in November 2010, was just completed last September at a cost of $397,000. The Golden Triangle BID will pay for the operating costs of maintaining the landscaping, as well as the lighting of the 12-foot wide median. Agourdis said the design for the second phase of the median is complete and the contract for construction should go out to bid shortly. Completion is expected in 2014, according to the BID.

Following in the footsteps of Connecticut Avenue, several other median strips around the city are getting a boost. The Downtown DC BID recently partnered with The National Museum of Women in the Arts to bring colorful sculptures to the 1200 block of New York Avenue.

Dupont Main Streets last year also received $85,000 from DDOT to make over a separate 600-foot long stretch of Connecticut Avenue's median between R and S.

The South Capitol Street project, (pictured, left) will also include landscaped medians in its plan for a grand avenue makeover.

Washington D.C. real estate redevelopment news.

Today in Pictures - 2400 14th Street

UDR's multi-family building in Columbia Heights broke ground in December of 2010 and has now topped out. Perched on the slope leading up 14th Street, the building should feature commanding views over the city from the top. The building takes the place of the Nehemiah shopping center, purchased by Level2, which developed the original plans before selling the project. The building was designed by Shalom Baranes and will have 255 units, built by Donohoe Construction.











Washington D.C. real estate development news

Your Next Place

By Franklin Schneider

This Kalorama gem has been exhaustively renovated and improved inside, while maintaining the fantastic exterior. (Where can Kim Kardashian sign up for this treatment?) Inside the 1905 Victorian exterior is a sophisticated and up-to-the-minute home, with every amenity you could possibly hope for - it's got a private elevator for Christ's sake! - and a huge amount of space. It's like two really nice houses were spliced together to make one really huge and even nicer house. (Fifty-six hundred square feet over four levels! There are parking garages with less square footage.)

The staggered living room (with fireplace) has wonderful spaces, high ceilings and recessed lighting. It was refreshing to see a main room that wasn't just a big box. The dining room is very large and dramatic, and the Cook's kitchen is more than generously proportioned – the island is actually like a literal island out there in the middle - and features Viking and Bosch appliances There are Brazilian Tigerwood hardwood floors throughout, which is definitely a detail you'll want to work into every single conversation. And even where the house doesn't exactly face southwards, it still gets a ton of light just by virtue of all the windows. This house has more windows than any other one I've ever seen - even the bathtub has several windows right next to it. Invest in some curtains or start going to the gym, that's my advice.


Upstairs is an incredible roof deck, with custom tempered glass, and great views of the city. It's in Kalorama too, so it's right by pretty much everything - Dupont, U Street, Adams Morgan, all within walking distance. It's right on Embassy Row too, so you can walk over and give, say, the French, a big bowl of Cool Whip and chopped Jell-O, just to welcome them to America. Wear your fanny pack too, they love that.

2126 R Street NW
6 Bedrooms, 5.5 Baths
$3,190,000

Circling the Wagons - 21st Century-Style

By Beth Herman

In pursuit of sweeping river vistas and the great outdoors, a young Bethesda, Md. family went west, in a manner of speaking, about 4.5 miles, securing a pristine lot on a Cabin John bluff overlooking the C&O Canal and roiling Potomac.

Tasked with building what would become a 4,589 s.f. four bedroom, four-and-a-half bath residence that provided comprehensive views of the evolving terrain, ecosystems and elements in all seasons, Mark McInturff and project architect David Mogensen of McInturff Architects confronted a not-so-uncommon Mid-Atlantic region issue. With 15-foot ceilings and an expansive southwest-facing wall of glass firmly on the family’s agenda, searing sun and heat—and their impact on heating and cooling—would require more than a conventional approach to climate control. What’s more, the homeowners wanted to spend the brunt of their day in an elevated wing, embracing their surroundings with an unobstructed view.

“When we first stood out there, the homeowner said she thought the main living spaces—living room, kitchen, dining room— should be on the second floor with the bedrooms below,” said McInturff, which he added is a strategy the firm often undertakes when considering the landscape.

Close the pod bay doors, HAL

In an effort to “circle the wagons,” according to McInturff, sheathing the home in adequate shading—kind of a preemptive strike before the sun heats the glass— European technology was employed in the form of computer-controlled exterior aluminum blinds.

“They’re almost like exterior venetian blinds but much more robust,” McInturff explained. “It’s technically fairly complicated and not inexpensive, though slowly creeping into the (U.S.) commercial market.”

Also acting as a buffer at night for high winds endemic to the coastal site, the louvers essentially allow the home to be closed down. “In a way the house is active,” McInturff said, affirming at the same time he does not endorse filled or tinted glass. “That’s like sunglasses or a Band-Aid. There’s a better way to do it, which is to prevent the sun from reaching the glass in the first place.”

With optimal energy efficiency on the homeowners’ dance card, geothermal HVAC systems, soy-based foam wall and roof insulation at R-21 and R-38 values, respectively, radiant heat throughout and passive strategies such as cross ventilation were utilized. On the entry side, which faces away from the river, a pitched roof provides for an 8-foot ceiling which ascends to 15 feet, accommodating the glass wall and band of clerestory windows. “Fifteen feet is a comfortable height which does a lot in terms of gathering natural light into the space; it becomes quite luminous,” McInturff said. An exterior overhang also precludes sun from flooding the space at this height, as the clerestories don’t have blinds.

On the lower level, two children’s bedrooms with 9-foot ceiling height, a bath and a “homework room” share a courtyard, with a master suite and private courtyard completing the composition. An outside paving motif is teased inside this level with the inclusion of a porcelain-tiled entry. A guest suite is featured above a garage, connected by the upper level living spaces, but which reads like two buildings.

On the exterior, factory-finished metal siding and metal-clad windows provide for a tighter, more energy-efficient envelope, with masonry used for the same purposes on the home’s lower level. When the sun goes down, indirect and strategic uplighting are key components in the residence’s energy conservation quest.

According to the architect, a balcony or loggia with durable ipe decking was located off the second level on the view side. Here, too, operable aluminum blinds off the railing can protect the home and outdoor materials from the ravages of intense sun, with the added aesthetic of a modified closure providing a beautiful, dappled light.

“It’s a house we really love and have put a lot of work into,” McInturff said.

801 New Jersey Ave Walmart Set To Break Ground In Spring, Spokesman for JBG Says

The planned Walmart at 801 New Jersey Ave. NW will break ground by spring, according to a spokesman on behalf of developer JBG Companies, one of six stores the world's largest retailer will bring to the District of Columbia.

"The planning and preparation is moving ahead quickly," said Charlie Maier, an outside spokesman on behalf of Chevy Chase-based JBG Companies. JBG Rosenfeld, JBG's sister company which focuses on mixed-use retail and will also partner on the project. Walmart has already signed its lease for the site, which will be known going forward as 77 H, as it will line up along H Street on its southern edge.

MV+A Architects, which designed the Whole Foods at 15th and P as well as mixed-use projects in Tyson's Corner, Alexandria and Herndon, along with The Preston Partnership, creator of the Kentlands plan in Gaithersburg will serve as designers, Maier said. JBG has already gotten its construction and zoning permits for the apartment and retail complex that will be built on the site, he said. "We've already started planning for a groundbreaking," he said.

Earlier this week, parts of the Ward 6 site along H Street, not far from Massachusetts Ave., and Union Station had been fenced-off and signage erected. The complex will include about 300 apartments on 280,000 feet along H Street and an 80,000 square-foot store. The red-brick exterior matches other commercial buildings in the area, including the Chicago-style Government Printing Office at North Capitol and H Street and 800 North Capitol, which was built in 1991 and designed by Hartman-Cox Architects

The entrance of red-state Walmart into deep-blue D.C. is not without controversy. As with other proposed Walmart openings in other states, many local businesses feared losing out to the retail giant, a view backed by unions like the United Food and Commercial Workers union, which represented Safeway and Giant workers in the District, who said their members would be threatened by Walmart's lower wages and benefits.

Walmart, in response, launched a Web site to help convince skeptical residents and activists that its presence would be a boon to improving access to groceries in poorer neighborhoods as well as provide jobs to DC residents, at least 1,200 spread out amid the six stores, and also 400 construction jobs. Walmart says that Washingtonians spent $40 million at its stores outside the District in 2010. Walmart also noted that the stores would contribute $10 million a year in tax revenue to the District. "The District is anxious to see something happen," Maier said. "It's not all 100 percent approved but its pretty close," he said.

Walmart now has expanded its plans in the District to six stores, all of which it says will be open before the end of 2012. Besides New Jersey Ave, there will be two in Ward 4 with one at Georgia Ave and Missouri Ave. (rendering at right), where some site prep work is happening as well.

Another store, known as Fort Totten Square will be built at Riggs Road NE and South Dakota Ave. NE (rendering above). Another is planned for Ward 5 at New York Avenue at Bladensburg Road, while two are planned for Ward 7, at East Capitol and 58th and one at Good Hope Road and Alabama Ave.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Bethesda Lot 31 Project Delayed (Again) Until February

Groundbreaking for Lot 31, the public-private StonebridgeCarras-PN Hoffman project on Bethesda Row, in the works since 2004, missed its January target date after being delayed yet again. But lead developer Stonebridge and Montgomery County government officials say it's not because the project is flagging on the home stretch - nor was the delay a response to complaints from local businesses about the closure of the lots and of Woodmont Avenue during construction.

"Just paperwork," said Esther Bowring, Montgomery County public information officer. "The project is still very much full steam ahead. We just need to make sure all the paperwork, all the permits, are in place before we proceed."

Doug Firstenberg, principal at StonebridgeCarras, agreed. "The hard part, the financing [with Northwestern], is already done, we formally closed on that in late November. I'm not sure I would even use the term 'delay.' With a partnership of this magnitude, there are so many I's to dot and T's to cross, we just want to get all the documentation straight." StonebridgeCarras originally set a start date of last summer, then pushed that back to January of 2012.

The SK&I-designed Lot 31 project, which will straddle Woodmont Avenue, is a keystone of the ongoing revitalization of Woodmont Triangle. In addition to 40,000 s. f. of retail space, and two residential units - The Flats, 162-unit apartment complex, and the Darcy, an 88-unit condominium building - the project will also incorporate a massive underground parking garage of nearly 1200 spaces. Of these, around 940 are earmarked for public use, with the rest associated with the two residential buildings. Presently, Lots 31 and 31A offer just under 280 parking spaces, so the finished complex will represent an almost fourfold increase.

Growth comes at a price. The existing spaces will be unavailable once construction starts, and the new garage isn't projected to open until two and a half years from groundbreaking. In addition, a stretch of Woodmont below Bethesda Avenue is going to be closed for twenty months as developers correct the distorted 'x' of the intersection, prompting some local businesses to wonder if they can weather an extended period of (perhaps sharply) reduced foot traffic.

Ultimately, those concerns were outweighed by what some see as Bethesda's urgent need for more parking. The zoning in the area requires zero parking for residential projects, a policy designed to steer people towards public parking and public transit.

Short-term, locals will have a number of alternatives once Lot 31 closes. Aside from increasing Circulator bus service, the county is shifting many long-term spaces out of the immediate area, as well as creating over a hundred new short-term spaces. They're also optimizing the parking that already exists. "We're installing a car-counter at Garage 57 [Bethesda-Elm Parking Garage] so people will be able to get the most out of that facility," says Bowring. "Right now you have to drive all the way to the top to see if there are any spaces, and that can be tight. Hopefully if we have the available spaces displayed on the outside for everyone to see, it will encourage people to use it."

In the big picture, Lot 31 is just one of several projects currently underway in downtown Bethesda. Stonebridge is also building a residential tower on the former Trillium site, Bainbridge Bethesda (formerly the Monty) is coming along on schedule, and JBG/Ross are turning 4900 Fairmont Avenue into a residential rental units. And of course, the Purple Line is on the horizon for 2014.

Bethesda, Maryland real estate development news

Chinese Ready to Take Out 2300 Conn. Ave

The embassy of the People's Republic of China received an OK last week from the District's Historic Preservation Review Board to finally demolish its aging residential and office building for embassy staff at 2300 Connecticut Avenue.

As part of its weekly reviews of raze permits, the HPRB said Jan. 20 that the 200,000 square foot, 8-story brick building was clear for demolition.

The building, formerly the 1940's-era Windsor Park Hotel, was purchased in the early 1970's just as diplomatic relations between the U.S. and the PRC began warming after President Richard Nixon's historic visit in February 1972.

Esocoff & Associates, which has also designed 400 Mass. Ave and the Dumont, is the architect for the new embassy staff residential building, (pictured, above) which is expected to be completed in 2014.

The new Chinese embassy (pictured, left), designed by famed architect I.M. Pei, moved to its new location at Van Ness Street and International Drive in April 2009.

Clark Construction Group LLC of Bethesda is listed as the contractor for the demolition, according to the permit. The construction of the Chinese embassy using imported labor in 2008 led to some grumbling among the building trades about not using American hard-hats, though embassy construction is usually performed by the resident country's workers for security and diplomatic reasons.

Washington D.C. real estate redevelopment news.

JBG Releases New Renderings for Sedona | Slate

JBG Companies has released new renderings of its Rosslyn project Sedona | Slate. The two-building apartment project, now under construction, will also feature 25 townhouses and 55 units of subsidized housing. Officials at JBG say the project will be complete by the first quarter of next year. Clark Construction is building the project designed by Architects Collaborative, Collins & Kronstadt is the architect of record. Both apartment buildings are expected to be LEED Silver Certified.

Sedona

Slate

Arlington, Virginia real estate development news

Streetcar Plan To Boost District Real Estate Values by $8 Billion, District's Chief Planner Says

The District's ambitious plan to restart its streetcar network will cost $1.5 billion -- but could pay for itself more than fivefold with increased property values, more jobs and development along the 37 miles of planned streetcar lines, says Harriet Tregoning, the District's chief planning officer.

Tregoning unveiled the Streetcar Land Use Study and her office's number crunching session today at a smart-growth planning session at the National Building Museum. "It's really our transportation infrastructure that shapes our development," said Tregoning, noting that the District has earmarked $100 million in capital funding for the development and building of the eight-line streetcar expansion. Already the District has two lines under construction, one in Anacostia and the other on H Street NE, where more than two miles of tracks have been laid as part of a Great Streets revitalization. The District recently agreed to expand service over the H Street "Hopscotch" Bridge to connect the streetcar system with Union Station and to buy two more cars in addition to the three in storage in Greenbelt. Both lines are expected to begin limited service starting in mid-2013 with some on-rail non-revenue testing of the Skoda-Inekon-built cars beginning this year, Tregoning said.

While much of the grunt-work and operational details are being handled by the District Department of Transportation, its been up to the Office of Planning to detail the 30,000-foot view of the impact to the city as a whole, if the District can return a city-wide network of streetcars, similar to what existed for nearly 100 years up until January 1962, when the last streetcar rolled on a revenue run.

The Office of Planning's study showed that the current $100 billion values of District properties would increase by as much as $ 5 billion to $7 billion over ten years as the plan is completed and would attract investment of $5 billion to $8 billion during the same period. That might allow the District to sell $600 million to $900 million in bonds paid for the by the new revenue, the study claims.

"The streetcar's visibility and permanence will attract private real estate investment," she said, echoing a line long argued by streetcar proponents. "You don't have to worry about the route changing like you do with buses," Tregoning said in a pitch to potential real estate investors in the 100-person audience. "Please look at these corridors for your strategic acquisitions."

While drilling deep into streetcar proponent's talking points, including improving access to schools, expanding an already growing "creative class" and reviving historic neighborhoods, Tregoning poured some cold water on calls for Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), which would be cheaper and faster to get into service, saying they won't get the same bang-for-the-buck as streetcars. "BRT does not attract the same level of investment," she said.

Tregoning said that the Office of Planning estimated that the streetcar lines would add 5,000 to 12,000 additional households over ten years, above the increases already projected. That in turn would spur a further burst of retail, as 1,000 households typically support an expansion of 30,000 to 50,000 square-feet of shopping, equal to a large supermarket.

Tregoning however wouldn't answer questions on whether the ridership projections would be enough to pay for the operating costs of the system, or where the financing of the remaining $900 million-plus estimated to fully build out the system would come from. The federal government is always an option, but the study notes typically that the federal government funds only up to 50 percent of the project's cost and can add delays while the community waits for the feds to decide.

The District, according to the study, is counting on increased revenue from real estate development along the streetcar corridors to help finance future construction of the system. "We want to be able to finance the whole system," Tregoning said. That may take the help of the real estate development industry, which, she said, historically supported mass-transit systems as part of building new communities. "We are going to need private partners as well as public."

Washington D.C. real estate redevelopment news