Plans Presented for a New Woodridge Library

Despite its intense building spree over the past couple of years, the DC Public Library system isn’t quite finished. A final big project included in the budget for the city’s rebuilding of existing libraries is a redo of the Woodridge Library, located on Rhode Island Avenue in Northeast DC. On Monday night, architects Bing Thom and Wienceck + Associates met with local residents to introduce the new plans, which showed a three-story building with a roof deck, windows overlooking nearby Langdon Park, and a potential adjoining café.

The meeting, held at the existing library, was crowded with roughly 50 residents, according to library spokesman George Williams. Many had submitted suggestions earlier in the year for what they’d like to see in a new facility: a business center that included a fax machine, up-to-date books, more sitting areas, and better computers, lighting and restrooms.

The designs incorporated some of those hopes. While the skin of the building isn’t visible in the drawings and 3-D models, the structure is clearly airy, open and organic. From the outside, the facility’s most notable feature is its broad roof, designed to glow at night.  Internally, a series of balconies open the atmosphere, and a circular third story reading room looks out on a wide terrace largely shaded by the trellaced roof. Throughout the structure, southeastern walls are lined with windows to take advantage of the green hills of adjacent Langdon Park.

There are still lots of maybes on the table—like whether the facility will include that café, something residents throughout the city have clamored for in their libraries, but which doesn’t yet exist in any of the new structures. The architects would also like to close Hamlin Street, an east-west artery that runs just in front of the library, and create a public plaza instead. Williams said that library officials are discussing the issue with other government departments - and are also talking about how many parking spots can be accommodated on the site.

The presentation was largely well received by residents, who are by all accounts eager to see their library transform like so many others in the city. The only library within miles, the Woodridge facility is a squat, two-story brick structure built in 1958 that encompasses about 19,500 square feet. The new structure, which is fully funded at $16.5 million, would be approximately 22,500 s.f.

Library advocates and Rhode Island Avenue residents rejoiced when the architecture team was announced in April. Bing Thom, based in Canada, is responsible for the much-heralded renovated Arena Stage in Southwest, and the local Wienceck + Associates built the new Francis Gregory and Washington Highlands libraries. The Friends of Woodridge Library held a “meet and greet” to introduce Thom to the community in May, and Chief Librarian Ginnie Cooper traveled to British Columbia earlier this month to examine a library designed by Thom there.

Demolition is scheduled to begin next summer. The new library is slated to open in 2015.

Correction: The library is a two-story structure. The original post described it as having only one story.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

EastBanc's West End Project Encounters More Legal Hurdles

The redevelopment of West End's library and fire station--that long running saga--has hit another speed bump. EastBanc-W.D.C. Partners LLC, the development team, had spoken optimistically about breaking ground in 2012, but it looks like a lawsuit filed by a library watchdog group will push that back until March 2013 at the earliest.

It's been a long road. The development team--which consists of EastBanc, The Warrenton Group, Dantes Partners, and L.S. Caldwell & Associates--was granted the project in 2007, then lost it due to community outcry that there hadn't been a fair bidding process. In 2010, they won a competitive bid, beating out one other competitor, and since then have held some 70-odd meetings (by their own count) to keep the community abreast of plans. 

The project has always been a complicated one. It includes two separate parcels: one, Square 37, sits at the corner of 24th and L streets and includes the low-rise, funky West End Library, as well as a police operations facility and a parking lot; the other is Square 50 at 2225 M Street and and includes the West End fire station. EastBanc won the project by promising to rebuild the library and fire station; in return, the city gave the developers the land, then valued at $20 million, for free.

And therein lies the problem. The DC Library Renaissance Project, an organization founded by Ralph Nader to improve the city's library system, claims that EastBanc is dodging the affordable housing requirements that exist under the city's newish inclusionary zoning policy by calling the library and firehouse "amenities."

"We don't understand why [the library and firehouse] would count on the balance sheet of the PUD process for the developer," explained Robin Diener, director of the DC Library Renaissance Project. "The city is selling the land to EastBanc. They're not giving money, they're giving new facilities as payment." As a result, says Diener, the developers should still provide a certain percentage of affordable housing in each square as required under inclusionary zoning.

But the DC Zoning Commission agrees with EastBanc. This spring, the commission granted the developer's application for a map amendment for Square 37. And in June, when the DC Library Renaissance Project applied for a reconsideration of that decision, the Zoning Commission denied their effort, writing, "The enhanced level of service that will result from the construction of the new library and fire station so clearly will enhance the neighborhood that they set a benchmark in excellence for any future requests for Inclusionary Zoning waivers through the PUD process."

In response, the library advocates filed a notice last week in the DC Court of Appeals that they intend to appeal the Zoning Commission's decision, not an idle threat since the group has been at least partially successful in stopping the project since at least 2006.

"We're certain there's no merit, but we'll file a brief arguing that no, the Zoning Commission didn't make mistakes in its decision," said Joe Sternlieb, EastBanc's vice president for real estate acquisitions, in response to questions about the suit. "It can take up to a year, and can cost developers up to $1 million to defend. It's really a nuisance suit."  When will the issue be resolved? "The courts will decide," said Sternlieb. "Hopefully before March."

Despite the threat hanging over its head, EastBanc is moving forward. Sternlieb said that the Square 37 project has gathered all the necessary approvals, including from the Commission on Fine Arts, and the firehouse is almost there. The company is currently working out construction documents and getting financing in place, and Sternlieb is hopeful that they could still break ground in March 2013.

The project, which is being designed by TEN Arquitectos, WDG Architecture and Lemay Erickson Willcox Architects, hasn't changed substantially since 2010 (though TEN hasn't bothered to add the project to its website). Square 37 will become a 10-story building with a library and roughly 7,000 square feet of ground floor retail that faces 23rd Street--including a coffee shop on the corner, adjacent to the library--plus 164 market rate units above. That section does not include any affordable housing.

But the fire station portion does; in fact, all 61 rental units will be priced at 60 percent of the area median income. Some of those units are created under the inclusionary zoning policy, but EastBanc said it couldn't afford to make the entire building affordable without assistance, and so the District kicked in an extra $7 million to go the final distance.

Robin Diener and her colleagues aren't happy about that. Given that the two sites comprise some of the most valuable land in the District, they believe the initial development deal should have been structured so that the city made, rather than spent, money on it.

But neighborhood groups, including the West End Library Friends, Foggy Bottom Association, and the ANC covering the region, overwhelming support the project. 

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Douglas to Seek Second Extension for Uline Arena Redevelopment

With their two year extension on the Uline Arena entitlements running out in mere days, Douglas Development has made a decision - they're sticking with the oft-delayed, complicated project.

"No way are we walking away from this," says Paul Millstein of Douglas Development.  "We're going for an extension as a commercial mixed-use development.  We're still working very aggressively with prospective users.  Thing is, we've got Central Armature right across on the other corner, and it's ugly.  That doesn't help.  And the other corner, catty corner across, isn't developed at all, that doesn't help either.  But we love the site, we believe in it.  We committed early, before they did the grocery store site and the residential. We've put a ton of time into meetings, architecture, planning."

Since purchasing the property in 2004, there has been much speculation, but little certainty, about what Douglas has planned for the historic space.  The space had been used as a trash transfer station, and is now an indoor parking lot - a long way from its auspicious past as a venue that once featured the Beatles, Bob Dylan, and the Temptations.  (Though not all on the same night.)

Part of the problem is that while the space is on the National Register of Historic Places, meaning it can't be demolished as part of any redevelopment, it's not, well, very good at its intended purpose.  When a local arts group put on a drama performance at Uline in early 2011, reviewers noted the poor acoustics of the space, a complaint that some local historians claim has echoed (see what I did there?) through the ages, right from Uline's opening.  Still, the poor acoustics could be remedied, at least in part, by a redevelopment, preserving Uline as an arts performance space - a prospect that is still very much on the table, according to Millstein.

"We're still looking at an entertainment component on the ground floor," Millstein says.  "Something, for example, like the Fillmore in Silver Spring, or maybe an even larger venue.  Retail use could also do extremely well."

The HPRB approved Douglas' preliminary plan in 2008, a GTM Architects-designed concept that keeps the familiar Uline facade intact and preserves the cavernous interior as a multi-level atrium, into which extensive skylights would admit natural light, giving the shell the illusion of transparency.  Those plans - which remain very much in flux - would incorporate 290,000 s.f. of commercial office space, 75,000 s.f. of ground floor retail space, and up to 225 residences.  That design received one two-year extension already, in September 2010, which brings us to the present day.  That extension expires next month, though Douglas has every intention of applying for another.

So what's the next step?

"The next step is to file a request for extension, and get those entitlements extended," says Millstein.  "There will be a hearing, but I think we'll be successful in our extension.  The last couple - three years, nothing much has happened in the area, though now there's a lot of residential stuff popping up, even some office.  But the area's still got quite a ways to go.  I would hope that in the next cycle, the next 24 months, Uline will really take off, and I think it will.  I think our time has come."

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Brookland's Colonel Brooks' Tavern Demolition Within the Month

Despite significant pushback from some locals, Colonel Brooks' Tavern in Brookland is scheduled for demolition in the next month, marking the end of one of the neighborhood's most recognizable landmarks.

"We anticipate the raze permit coming in the next thirty days," said David Roodberg, President at Horning Brothers.  (The application was filed on August 7th.)  "Of course, it could come sooner.  At this point we're thinking about when we're going to do the work.  We'll probably raze in October and then start in immediately on construction, which should take about two years."

The five-story project at 901 Monroe Street slated to replace the tavern will feature 220 residential units over five stories.  Jointly developed by Horning Brothers, The Menkiti Group, and owner Jim Stiegman, the Esocoff and Associates-designed project is said to be designed to blend in with the neighborhood's brick townhouse aesthetic, and will offer 12,000+ s.f. of ground floor retail space.  (And thanks to an agreement with the ANC, these commercial spaces will be leased to small- to medium-sized stores.)

The project has had a sometimes-rocky road to fruition, though, as community groups feared the new building would usurp the intimate scale of Brookland's commercial strip.  In deference to these concerns, developers revised their plans to shrink the new building's footprint by 12%, reducing its footage down to 197,000 from an original estimate of 220,000 s.f.  The development will also create 150 below-grade parking spaces and 66 bicycle parking spaces, as well as much wider sidewalks, thanks to 15-foot setbacks.

While the tavern will certainly be missed, tavern owner Jim Stiegman has said that business dried up after the tragic robbery/murders in 2003, essentially forcing him to sell.  Rumor has it that Stiegman proactively approached the Menkiti Group about development, and that Horning Brothers were brought in shortly after.

Brookland has seen a surge of development as developers woke up to the potential of a walkable, small scale neighborhood in such close proximity to transit and Catholic University.  The 901 Monroe project follows on the heels of Bozzuto's $200 million Monroe Street Market project that broke ground in late 2011.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Your Next Place

First impressions are vital, and this duplex co-op impresses from the moment you walk in, the foyer lit from far above by a huge skylight.  It was a lot like that time I met my girlfriend's parents and refused to take my sunglasses off the entire meal (what, I was hungover!), except, you know, the complete opposite.

From the entry level you ascend to the main level, which features a huge triangular living area.  The skylit dining area is next to a wall of french doors, which open onto a panoramic view of the city.  Next to that is the superlative kitchen.  Look at that diamond-shaped, marble-topped island!  Look at the custom cupboards, the commercial-grade appliances, the six-burner stove that comes equipped with a griddle!  The gap between the quality of your cooking and the quality of your kitchen will never be larger.  There's also a beautiful study, for your studying (just kidding, being an adult means not ever learning anything ever again), and a truly fine master bathroom that's far too nice for the disgusting things you're going to do in there.

The unit comes with a parking space (indispensable in Adams Morgan) and storage.  Also, the prospective owner will have the rights to build a private roof deck.  I don't know about you, but designing and building your own roof deck sounds like a no-brainer.  I'd just cover the entire roof with Slip-n-Slide material, put up a padded barrier around the edge's perimeter, and let loose.  Yes, I'm 33 years old.

2370 Champlain St. NW #34
3 Bedrooms, 2.5 Baths
$775,000

Clarendon Project Underway

Clarendon is on its way to getting yet another apartment building. Zom Inc., which is developing USAA Real Estate's parcel at 1200 N. Irving Street in Arlington, finally began construction earlier this month on a 10-story apartment building with ground floor retail that will front both N. Irving Street and Washington Boulevard. The project was designed by Esocoff & Associates.

Formerly known as The Waverly at Clarendon Station, the development has now been christened The Beacon at Clarendon West, according to Greg West, chief development officer for the Florida-based Zom. "We’ve revised the design and rebranded the project," he said.

The company's original condo concept is off the table. Instead, the project will include 187 one- and two-bedroom units averaging 850 square feet, each with de rigeur hardwood floors, granite countertops and stainless steel appliances. About half will have balconies, and a rooftop pool is included in the package.

The building will have "a very unique and interesting radius shape," said West. In part, that curvilinear facade is designed to take advantage of the lot's outline. On the ground floor, lining both N. Irving Street and Washington Boulevard - but not the corner itself - will sit 17,000 square feet of space designed for retail. Zom has hired Asadoorian Retail Solutions to fill the spaces, but West claims the development partners have not decided on a specific mix of types. "We have a lot of flexibility as to the size and variety of what we can take," he said. "We just want to find the best tenants who will provide a good amenity value to the building."

Construction of the project, which is being done by Donohoe Construction, is beginning with a major excavation to make room for two floors of underground parking. The development, which will incorporate an historic facade that’s still on the property, should be finished in about two years.

The site, located two blocks from the Clarendon Metro station, has a fairly long history. Zom bought it from Faison in 2006 but the property lay empty for several years. In 2011, USAA bought the property and is developing it together with Zom.

The partners are also involved in a second Arlington venture, located at 1919 Clarendon Boulevard in Courthouse. The Clarendon Boulevard project, which is also currently under construction, is similar to the N. Irving Street one: although it's five stories rather than 10, the development includes 191 high-end apartments and another 17,000 s.f. of ground floor retail. Asadoorian is screening tenants for that property as well. "We'll be selecting retailers soon," said West.

Arlington Virginia real estate development news

Unbuilt DC: Public Murals Dot DC's Underdeveloped Landscape

Map of BicycleSpace & MuralsDC bike tour

While DC is rife with cranes and construction projects, for some sites the time has not yet come - at least not for condos. In a whirlwind, art-chasing bike journey that led through the northwest DC neighborhoods of Shaw, Columbia Heights, Kalorama, and the U Street Corridor, MuralsDC hosted a mural bike tour this weekend chasing down 18 of the city's (officially sanctioned) murals.  

MuralsDC and bike purveyor BicycleSpace, located on 7th Street NW between the Shaw and Mount Vernon Triangle neighborhoods, organized the mural tour.  The (official) murals are publicly-funded through the MuralsDC program, an organization established in 2007 with the goal of deterring graffiti on historically "frequently-tagged" walls.

Eric B. Ricks (right) in front of his mural at 8th and S Streets NW

Through the program, building owners can apply for their building to be considered for a mural.  The city - through the DC Department of Public Works (DPW) and the D.C. Commission on the Arts and the Humanities (DCCAH) - works in collaboration with the group Words Beats & Life Inc to settle on the artists and designs.  In DC, at least 35 murals have been painted through the MuralsDC program and seven more are being created this summer.  Four of those, according to MuralsDC tour guides, were due to be completed yesterday.

Albus Cavus's "Blended", 2030 8th St NW

During a stop at one of the newest MuralsDC works - due for completion this summer - mural artist Eric B. Ricks, whose art appears at S and 8th Streets NW,  said his hummingbird piece reflects the ideas of work and productivity, and is also a symbol that could be a harbinger of joy for the neighborhood.  "The humming bird is one of the hardest-working animals," Eric B. told us.  "As a totem animal, it always carries joy and brings joy wherever he goes."

From Albus Cavus's "Blended"

Other graffiti art groups create non-publicly funded murals, such as the D.C. collaborative public art and art education group Albus Cavus.  One of the group's murals - "Blended" - appears at 2030 8th St. NW, a building due for demolition in October.  Albus Cavus artists painted the building's walls during an art performance party and fundraising event - organized by Albus Cavus and AIGA Washington - at the site in June.  The event raised money to support Albus Cavus's programming. JBG Companies donated the site for the event.  The building is also currently home to the pop-up gallery The Randall Scott Projects.

MuralsDC mural at Walter Pierce Park

The MuralsDC program also aims to engage youth in the neighborhoods where the murals are painted; one mural was painted by an artist who worked with neighborhood children, giving paint to passersby for contribution.

A public art mapping platform by the ArtAround project has created an open-source inventory of DC public art, including murals.  Users can search by type of art, funding source, and location.

"Every Day I See Something New," by Cita Sadeli, Champlain Street NW

"Let's Meet at the Corner", artist Alicia Cosnahan, 13th St. and Park Rd. NW

"My DC" - Corner of 14th and Randolph Streets NW

Your Next Place

This penthouse is everything a penthouse is supposed to be; huge, open, full of light, and expensive enough so that when you casually mention the price at a party, a hushed silence falls over everyone.  (If you don't have a multimillion-dollar penthouse, the same effect can be achieved by announcing the exact opposite:  "I made nine thousand dollars last year!"  If I'd known when I was young that poverty was such a social advantage, I never would have majored in English with a minor in Painting.  Oh wait, yes I would have.)

This luxury gem boasts interiors by Zaptaka Interiors, and it shows.  Everything, from the faucets to the windowframes, to the basins and cupboards, exhibits a sort of unifying aesthetic, which I would describe as "really nice."  (What, I'm not a designer, I don't know the lingo.)  The main area is wide open, loft-style, with separate dining and living areas, as well as a large, well-appointed kitchen.  There are three bedrooms, all of them large and boasting floor-to-ceiling windows.  The master bath is massive and has sweet twin basins facing a frosted glass window, and a futuristic walk-in closet that's literally bigger than some studio apartments.

The unit comes with two garage parking spaces, as well as multiple outdoor terraces with stunning views of the city.  You could use one just for pensive gazing at the horizon, and the other just for throwing pots of spoiled food down into the yard.  That's what I do with my outdoor deck.  (True, possibly related, story: the guy who lives below the aforementioned deck stepped out to have a cigarette the other night and was attacked by a opossum.  Oops.)

2818 Connecticut Avenue NW #PH4
3 Bedrooms, 2.5 Baths
$1,750,000

Washington D.C. real estate news

Petworth Safeway Announces September Start Date

Duball LLC and Safeway have announced a start date for their Safeway project at 3830 Georgia Avenue.  The project, announced several years ago, will develop a 62,000 s.f. Safeway with 220 apartment units above.  The development will replace the dated 21,000 Safeway building.  A groundbreaking ceremony will be held September 19th.

The "transit oriented state-of-the-are Safeway," sitting on 1.56 acres, is one block north of the Georgia Avenue-Petworth Metro and will include 86 below grade spaces for customers and 135 spaces for residents.  The development agreement, worked out between landowner Safeway and developer Duball, keeps Safeway as the owner of the land with Duball granted development rights for residential units and parking on top of the Safeway.

Marc Dubick, founder of Duball, was the principal developer of the CityVista Safeway in Mt. Vernon Triangle.  Duball previously developed Lionsgate in Bethesda and Rockville Town Center.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

MRP Breaks Ground on Washington Gateway

Earth movers arrived at the Washington Gateway site in NoMa several weeks ago, signaling the imminent groundbreaking of the $360 million Washington Gateway, and now MRP Realty officials have acknowledged that construction is in fact beginning on the mixed-use project.  A groundbreaking ceremony will be announced shortly.

In February 2012, DCMud reported that MRP had moved equipment to the site for preliminary work, but nothing substantial followed.  Now, officials say that construction is beginning on a 14-story, 400-unit apartment building at 100 Florida Ave., NE.  The promotional material states that the building will feature a "brick and metal panel exterior with floor-to-ceiling glass at the prominent corners."  The residential building will be the first of several phases that will eventually include an office component. SK&I designed the building, Davis Construction is the general contractor.

An important component in the growth of NoMa neighborhood, Washington Gateway is bordered by the intersections of New York and Florida Avenues to the west and the Metropolitan Branch trail to the east.  It is also situated one block from the New York Avenue Metro Station and neighborhood amenities including Harris Teeter.

Washington Gateway will join Archstone's First and M 469 luxury apartments and Mill Creek's Trilogy NoMA project (pictured, at left) which includes 603 units, just to name a few of the "3,500 residential units delivered or under construction."

Update:  Developers say the project will be in 3 phases, with 2 and 3 being office buildings.  The project will break ground Sept. 12.

Washington D.C. real estate development news