Your Next Place

This penthouse loft is fit for a king or, more practically speaking, someone gainfully employed with really good credit who can qualify for a mortgage.  Which in America these days is pretty much as rare as actual royalty.  (If you just thought, "But Franklin, I'm all of those things!", do me a favor and punch yourself in the face.)

This wide-open dramatic space sports exposed ductwork, windows upon windows, and sky-high ceilings.  Finishing touches include maple hardwood and porcelain tile floors, and a gas fireplace that will almost certainly not - but might - seep gas into the unit until your home is a massive combustible cube of invisible accelerant just waiting for a spark to come along and let hell loose.  (This message sponsored by the Association of Wood-Burning Fireplace Manufacturers.)  The bedrooms have wonderful views and lots of light and space, and feature Elfa closets, which is a lot like the system you use for your clothes storage now, except with more of an emphasis on organization and accessibility, and less on just sort of throwing them anywhere except the corner with the cat's litter box (unless you're drunk).

Outside, there's a five hundred square foot private terrace that features a hot tub.  Yes, you too can be a cliche! (Fine, I'm only saying that because I'm insanely jealous. Not only do I not have a hot tub in my apartment, I don't even have hot water. Apparently if you don't pay your gas bill for three years, they'll cut you off.)

2020 12th Street NW #808
2 Bedrooms, 2 Baths
$849,900

Chinatown: Monument Looks to Expand Foothold

A few lots on H Street near the intersection of 7th and H, NW are some of the last undeveloped lots in Chinatown / Penn Quarter.  If things go as planned, Monument Realty's 10-storey Gallery Tower will occupy the vacant parcel at 627 and 631 H Street NW, just a block from the corner.  The future 10-story building, with a design by architect Chris Morrison with Cunningham Quill, is due for delivery in 2014.  The site formerly housed China Doll Gourmet, which closed in 2006 and was razed shortly thereafter.

Monument Realty acquired the empty parcel in 2011 after foreclosing on the note it bought from Yeni Wong in 2010.  Wong had plans to develop the whole corner, but failed to secure financing when financial markets soured around 2008.  Douglas Development scooped up the neighboring corner lot to the west - 675 H Street NW - last year during the same week Monument clinched 627-631, from the auctioneer.  Douglas also owns the Vapiano building to the east of the Gallery Tower spot.

Gallery Tower rendering
courtesy of Monument Realty

According to one company representative, Monument hopes to expand its foothold in the neighborhood of Chinatown / Penn Quarter.  According to director of marketing Natasha Stancill, Monument's acquisition team is looking for opportunities to develop a residential parcel close to the future Gallery Tower site. She said the firm was excited about its plans for Chinatown.  "We are looking at other possibilities in the area because it is such a vibrant, exciting part of town," Stancill told DCMud.

The Gallery Tower building plan calls for two floors, or 11,000 square feet, of retail and another 60,000 s.f. office space on floors three through 10.  The project went through zoning, Office of Planning (OP), area neighborhood commission (ANC), and Chinatown Design review approvals processes when Yeni Wong controlled the property.  According to the project's development manager Pam Frentzel-Beyme, the first two floors will likely house a restaurant.

Frentzel-Beyme said the building's location would be its biggest selling point. "You can't beat being next to Gallery Place, and the design is really modern but also compliments Chinatown's history."  A lot of Chinatown's office space, she noted, is in historic buildings where tenants don't get the great views that she said Gallery Tower, with its large, modern windows, would one day offer.

The  former China Doll Gourmet was on the site

Developers describe the future Gallery Tower, with floor plates that are less than 8,000 square feet, a "Class A boutique space." "We'll be targeting the type of tenant that is not going to want much more (than 8,000 square feet)," Frentzel-Beyme said.  She said Monument would be targeting businesses with a "fun and creative employee base", such as design or architectural firms.  "They are young, they might want to grab dinner, go over to the Verizon center, but don't necessarily need 50,000 square feet of space."

Gallery Tower is now in the building permit process and Monument says it will break ground in the first part of next year.

Floor plan courtesy of Monument Realty

Floor plan courtesy of Monument Realty

Floor plan courtesy of Monument Realty

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Today in Pictures - Jefferson at 14W

 

Back in December of 2010, Perseus Realty and Jefferson Apartment Groups (JAG), an Akridge affiliate, broke ground on 14W, replacing the former Anthony Bowen YMCA with apartments and a new YMCA.  The project had languished for years before finally getting the cash infusion from JAG that finally got it going (despite a faux-groundbreaking), and is now reaching its final stage of construction.

The HOK and Dorsky Hodgson & Partners-designed project will feature 231 rental apartments, a brand new, state-of-the-art 44,000 s.f. YMCA, and over 12,000 s.f. of ground-floor retail. The new gym and apartments will deliver later this year.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Douglas Announces Plans for Historic Hecht's Warehouse

Any commercial logos in the rendering are maskings for any large tenant.

In the last five years, the former Hecht Co. warehouse east of Gallaudet University on New York Avenue NE has changed hands and seen plans sparkle and fade.

Lights designed to glow inside the iconic crown tower atop one of the most significant art deco commercial buildings in the region - and perhaps the country - stayed dark. 

But those lights could shine again soon.  According to its new developer, the building will be converted into office space and retail and ground breaking could come in the next 90 days, Douglas Jemal of Douglas Development told DCMud.
 

Tower and lighting element.
Image courtesy of NRHP

Financing secured, architects announced

Jemal said that financing for the project came through at the end of July.  The conceptual design is the work of architectural firms Shalom Baranes and Antunovich Associates and calls for 550,000 square feet of office space, 200,000 s.f. of retail, and 1,400 parking spaces.  The approximately 10-acre site is bounded by NY Ave. NE to the north, Okie Street NE to the south, Fenwick Street NE to the west, and 16th Street NE to the east.

Shalom Baranes will focus on work that involves the original structure, which features tan glazed brick and glass block with ribbon windows around the main facades.  The original structure, built in1937, got additions in 1948, 1961, and 1986, and a renovation in 1992, according to the National Register of Historic Places.  Antunovich will focus mainly on the design for new retail buildings that will replace structures built as additions on the eastern two thirds of the site.  Those structures have not been determined to be historically significant.

Developer plans to offer alternative to expensive downtown office rates

Jemal said plans for the site would meet a growing need for office space in the area, which he said was under-served. "I feel I can offer office at below downtown rates," Jemal told DCMud.  "It has easy parkway access, and you are 15 minutes away from the capitol, you are two miles from 7th and H, and you are one mile away from a Metro," he said. "I will be renting office space there at $25 a foot and downtown space is $45 a foot."

Corner of NY Ave. NE and Fenwick St.
Image courtesy of the NRHP

The announcement comes slightly more than a year after Douglas picked up the title to the 4-parcel property at 1401-1403 and 1545 New York Avenue, NE and 2001 16th Street, NE at auction in July, 2011 with a bid of $20 million.  Douglas already held the promissory note on the property, which, as reported by CityPaper, it bought from U.S. Bank in March of last year after Penn.-based Patriot Equities was unable to keep up with a $66 million loan.

Patriot Equities abandoned plans for "Patriot Yards"

Patriot Equities had initially bought the complex in 2007, for the hefty price of $78 million. The building - a classic Streamline Moderne with a striking facade and extensive glass block - was a canvas for the bubble's finest po-mo dreams.  Developers showed off the art deco gem and there was even talk of a grandiose multi-level car showroom.  But the scheme fell through.

Another developer with eyes on the corridor, Abdo Development, permanently shelved plans for a 16-acre mixed use development called Arbor Place, in 2010.  Patriot Equities scuttled its own mixed-used plan, called Patriot Yards, and the Hecht's Warehouse property went into foreclosure in 2011, when Douglas scooped it up.  It's not the first time Douglas Jemal has moved on New York Ave. properties.  Jemal was behind renovation of the old People's Drug Stores Inc. warehouse on NY and Forida avenues NE, which he also turned into office space.

Good bones

Architect Patrick Burkhart of Shalom Baranes, who will be mainly working on parts of the plan that involve the historic structure, said the building would be a good fit for offices.  "It has really good bones for that - it has tall floor to ceiling heights and a robust concrete frame." Architect Kevin Sperry of Antunovich will be working on the retail portion of the project.

NY Ave. NE, looking west. Image courtesy of the NRHP

The six-story building, designed by engineer Gilbert V. Steel of the New York engineering firm Abbott and Merkt, was part of a plan by the Hecht department store chain of Washington, DC to improve deliveries and add stock space. Burkhart said the Hecht Company also planned to one day open a department store in the building as well, so the design is dual-use, but those plans were sidelined as the U.S. went into World War II. 

Original developers had hoped New York Avenue would become a major corridor into the city, but things didn't quite go like that, Burkhart said.  "New York Avenue went from a major corridor into the city to really a service corridor and a commuter arterial to the city," Burkhart said.  When Macy's bought the Hecht's chain in 2006, the warehouse closed.

Image courtesy of the NRHP

Burkhart compared the structure to the former Trans-Lux Theater and retail space, which opened in 1936 (just one year earlier than the Hecht Co. building) at 738 14th street between H and NY Ave.  The Trans-Lux, which had art deco ribbon windows similar to the Hecht Co. building, was torn down three decades ago.

"Preservation was in its infancy and there just wasn't enough political will to preserve it," Burkhart said.  "It was one of the losses that helped bolster the will for preservation in the city, especially for commercial buildings."

The bottom line, Burkhart said, is that the building is very special.  "I can't think of anything of this size and scale that exists anywhere, in this city or really anywhere," he said.  "It really is a special project and something I really look forward to working on."

And the lights in the facade tower at NY Ave. NE and Fenwick St. are still in good shape.  "The lighting element needs a little renovation, but it still would be capable of producing that magnificent glow," Burkhart told DCMud.  "It has been such a long time."

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Image courtesy of the NRHP archive

Your Next Place

This fabulous hillside Colonial is located in Barnaby Woods, which sounds like the name of a pro basketball player from the Seventies, but is actually a really swank section of Chevy Chase.  Did you know (no you didn't) that Barnaby Woods has no commercial zoning at all?  Which means it's entirely residential, and almost unnervingly sedate and beautiful.  It also means that if you forget to go on a beer run until like five minutes before the store closes, you're going to be stuck drinking cooking wine for the rest of the night.  (Pro tip:  hold your breath during each drink, then exhale as slowly as possible afterwards.)

This wonderful house boasts a bright, large living room (with fireplace), a formal dining room, and a sporty wood-paneled den.  The kitchen, which was recently renovated, has acres of counter space and top-shelf appliances.  Upstairs, the bedrooms are realllly spacious and have a ton of personality, and the master bedroom has a small adjoining room you can use as a nursery, or sitting room, or the world's nicest walk-in closet.

I also loved the massive screened-in porch.  I have a non-screened-in porch, which means I'm wearing black socks this week so the little spots of blood aren't visible from the mosquito bites all over my ankles that I've scratched until they bled.  There's also a beautiful, private backyard screened off by a wall of greenery - perfect for nude sunbathing!  Growing up in Iowa, a couple lived next door who constantly laid out naked in their backyard, only my bedroom window looked right down into their yard.  Everything I know about sex, I learned by watching a Journey roadie roll around with his girlfriend on a filthy picnic blanket after like eight hits from an apple bong.  (Any of my exes reading this just nodded knowingly and then shuddered.)

6687 32nd Place NW
3 Bedrooms, 2.5 Baths
$725,000

Washington D.C. real estate news

Vacant Lot In 14th Street Corridor to Be Mixed-Use Building

The Zipcar lot at the corner of 14th and Corcoran is likely to be replaced by a seven-story mixed-use development, as the concept design was recently recommended for HPRB approval. The Hickok Cole Architects-designed building at 1617 14th Street, NW would feature ground-floor retail and six stories of dwellings on the site, which was formerly an Amoco gas station. The proposed building would be bookended by "a row of early 20th century commercial buildings" on the north and, to the east on Corcoran Street, "a coordinated row of Italianate rowhouses." On the opposite corner is the historic and Romanesque John Wesley AME church (pictured below), and right next to it is the Central Union Mission building.

According to the HPRB report, the design calls for a "five-story masonry block fronting on 14th Street," with another slightly smaller four-story masonry block facing on Corcoran. Each block would feature "punched windows deeply set within the masonry walls." Along 14th Street, plans call for "projecting storefronts," as well as a "vertical projection consisting of canted glass bay windows extending to the top of the fifth story." The six and seventh crowning stories would be built of metal and glass, with each floor offset with the other, and "wall planes broken between apartment units."  According to the report, "design intent is to provide a contrast between the more formal, disciplined masonry blocks below with the more dynamic canted glazed upper stories."  Developers are seeking zoning variances to decrease the parking spaces requirement, and to increase the building's height to allow for the elevator overrun.

The staff evaluation of the concept design found that "the design has been developed in recognition of its site, influenced by the large auto showrooms along 14th Street (all long since replaced), the smaller-scaled rowhouses on Corcoran, and its location in the Uptown Arts District. The reports finds the height and masonry "compatible and complementary" with the church and the mission, with the building's stepdown and smaller windows on the Corcoran side preserving a successful relation to the adjacent rowhouses. The report goes on to heap praise upon the "exemplary" juxtaposed design of the top floors; whereas most buildings in the area are "begrudgingly recessed simply in an effort to squeeze additional space while trying to make the building appear smaller," this building's "setbacks and unusual geometry" result in "a harmonious juxtaposition of design elements and a distinctive roofline."

The site was formerly approved in 2005 for a similar steel-glass-and-limestone building, designed by Brennan Beer Gorman Architects and developed by FLGA, LLC, a decision that, at the time, created a minor controversy, as the similar "Rapture Lofts" project at 14th and T was rejected by the board, raising accusations of preferential treatment from some community members.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

New Project to Add to H Street Corridor

Thanks to small and not-so-small developments along H Street, the once troubled area is enjoying a renaissance and rejuvenation. 301 H Street, NE is the site of the newest project along the H Street corridor.  Located across the street from completed Senate Square and 360° H Street - Steuart Investment Company's project to build a Giant supermarket and apartments now underway (pictured, below) - 301 H Street is a smaller piece of the development puzzle.

The original lot, pictured above, has 5000 s.f. available for multi-family and retail. Capital City Real Estate shared that although they are still in the permitting and design phase, they plan a mixed-use building with 20-plus condominium units and ground floor retail and/or commercial space. They may also build commercial units available on the second floor and basement.  Permits have been submitted to DCRA detailing the project plans. According to Anthony Bozzi, of CCRE's brokerage company, "the project is still so new and delivery is at least a year out."

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Your Next Place

This house has a rooftop pool.  Not the cleverest opener, I admit, but I feel like we can agree that this fact deserves top billing.  I'd live in a hospital for the criminally insane if it had a rooftop pool.  I'd even live with my parents if they had a rooftop pool.  (Which is sort of another way of saying I'd live in a hospital for the criminally insane.  Though perhaps that's a tad unfair - hospital for the criminally annoying, maybe.)

But even aside from the rooftop pool, this house is one-in-a-million.  Originally two carriage houses, they've been combined into a spectacular, yawning, four-bedroom, five-bathroom living space.  The atrium-like living room is an incredible two stories tall; if you think the silence between you and your significant other during commercial breaks is awkward now, in your normal apartment, just wait until you live here.  The awkwardness will grow to epic proportions!

The dining room and kitchen also sport 20+ foot ceilings, as well as all the high-end finishes you'd expect from a house of this caliber; recessed lighting, stainless steel appliances, hardwood floors, magical phone booth.  Yes, you read that right.  There's a bright red British-style phone booth that magically moves up and down between levels, ie. an elevator, if you insist on being all boring and unmagical about things.  Think of it this way, you'd definitely be the only one of your friends who had a whimsical elevator, unless you're friends with, like, Willy Wonka.

There are three decks up top (yes, three), and each of the four bedrooms features an en-suite bathroom; just a short drunken crawl from toilet to bed!  (Or, since no one else shares your bathroom, just collapse right there on the bathroom floor and sleep it off.  Just try to slide a towel under your face as you lose consciousness, or you'll have the tile-grid imprinted on your cheek the next morning, and everyone at brunch will ridicule you when you claim that it's "just eczema."  I speak here from experience.)

2220 Q Street NW
4 Bedrooms, 5 Baths
$3,999,500