St. Matthew's Residential Project Meets Resistance

It was a rough Monday night for CSG Urban Partners and their proposed 11-story, 210-unit residential building on the former site of St. Matthew's church at 222 M street SW, as a large number of neighborhood residents showed up to voice opposition to the project over the course of an occasionally heated four-hour hearing.

The hearing started on a moderate note, as board members from the nearby Carrollsburg Square condominiums voiced qualified support for the project. "This is not the perfect project," said resident Jonathan Beaton, before going on to say that it's "likely better than future projects that will be proposed."

But the testimony took a negative turn from there. One resident said the proposed building "doesn't match the existing development pattern," describing a "wall-like effect from over 200 feet of unbroken frontage along the street." A representative of a senior housing complex at 1241 Delaware Avenue said the new building will block natural light and accessibility for ambulances. Others said that mature trees adjacent to the development will be killed by construction, and that toxic mold could harm some residents. Still other residents complained that the developers had told them they wouldn't be allowed to use the swimming pool in the new building (pond would be good for you, Carl).

Criticism reached a peak when a local doctor said the building would turn the 3rd Street extension into a "darkened alley of high crime," that the loss of views would cause "mental anguish," and that the arbitrary changing of zoning standards represented a "bait and switch" for local property owners. ("Which is punishable by law!")

Fox News correspondent Catherine Herridge, who lives nearby, was one of the sharpest critics of the project. Herridge passed out a packet illustrating the neighborhood's "

severe doubling parking problem," and provided the night's finest unintentional comic relief when she fidgeted and glared and grimaced through the previous testifier's speech with Chaplinesque intensity. (She did everything but take out a huge hammer and bonk him on the head with it.)

On rebuttal, it was revealed that the developers had actually made an unusual concession on the parking issue, promising that no residents of their building would be eligible for residential parking permits. (The plans also call for 150 below-grade parking spaces.) Architect Shalom Baranes defended some aspects of the design, saying the "darkened high crime alley" would actually be well-lit, and have units looking onto it. Josh Dix, representing the developers, pointed out that the previous design had been much denser with much less greenspace. "We've been meeting with the community since 2004," he said. "At this point, does it satisfy everybody? Probably not. But the pros outweigh the cons."

The board didn't vote, instead asking for more information, and putting off a vote until the April 30 session. The tone at the hearing verged at times on contentious, and the mood seemed unencouraging. But Simone Goring Devaney, who's spearheading the project for CSG Urban, was unperturbed when I talked to her the next day. "The zoning board requested more information, and we're going to get them the info they requested," Goring Devaney said. "We're feeling very positive about the project's future."

Goring Devaney added that, if approval comes through as planned, construction should begin in early 2013 and conclude in about eighteen months.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Debate over Eisenhower Memorial Continues at House Hearing

There are few things on which proposed Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial stakeholders agree, but two clearly emerged Tuesday: They want to honor the distinguished president, and more time is needed to make it right for everyone.

The House Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands was the latest forum for the ongoing controversy surrounding plans for an Eisenhower Memorial designed by well-known architect Frank Gehry whose portfolio includes designing the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. Discussion boiled down to whether the current proposal can be altered to reach a compromise or whether it is necessary to go back to the drawing board altogether.

"Clearly we do not have consensus today," said retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Carl Reddel, Executive Director of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission, when asked about his perceptions at the end of the Congressional hearing. He told the subcommittee that the commission believed it had consensus from its members, the Eisenhower family and the public until last July when conflicting views surfaced. The Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission worked with the U.S. General Services Administration to select a design through the GSA's Design Excellence Program and was reviewed by the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC). The selection immediately drew an alternative competition from arts groups opposed to the Gehry plan.

The proposed design includes reliefs of two famous images of Eisenhower in his roles as president and general, large steel "tapestries," a statue of Eisenhower, interactive educational technology, and column-like structures placed throughout the 4-acre park.
During the hearing, critics of the project voiced concerns about the size, materials and message included in the current plan. Susan Eisenhower said her grandfather would neither like nor understand the memorial intended to honor his life.

"He would have wanted something on a smaller scale, I believe," she said. "This is an enormous thing."

Supporters of the proposed design defended its merits, pointing out the range of elements representing Eisenhower's myriad accomplishments throughout his life. And they pointed to ways the Eisenhower Family's opinions and the public's concerns were considered. A letter submitted into the record seemed to indicate that Gehry was willing to work with the family to alleviate their concerns.

A final version of the design still must be approved by the NCPC before construction can begin. While originally scheduled for review by NCPC at its April 5 hearing, the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission asked the National Park Service to remove it from the agenda.

The decision was announced in a March 14 press release without an explanation for the delay. It does, however, state that the additional time will allow the group "to inform and fully brief other interested parties - including other Members of Congress and the Eisenhower family about all aspects of the Commission's preferred design concept."

On February 29, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., sent a letter to the NCPC asking that any decision to approval final plans for the monument be postponed at least 120 days to allow more time for understanding the complex issues surrounding the decision.

Another point of contention is the process used to select Gehry. Susan Eisenhower said the process was neither democratic nor transparent. The National Civic Art Society (NCAS), represented by chair emeritus and Director Howard Segermark, testified to the process that he said excluded new or unknown designers from applying because they were asked to submit a portfolio instead of a design proposal.

William Guerin, assistant commissioner for the office of construction programs in the public buildings service of the GSA, explained the program as a three-phase process that requires the evaluation of past work, a shortlist of proposals for interviews, and then the review of proposals for design. In this case, a review board considered the recommendations and selected Gehry for the project.

NCAS has been among those questioning the actions of the committee during that time frame, including the lack of meeting minutes. "I think the main thing we want to hammer out is what happened between July 2007 and March 2009," said Eric Wind, chairman emeritus and secretary of NCAS. "That's almost a two-year gap." And he said the minutes from the 2009 meeting reference votes and decisions from the missing time period.

Some of those questions might be answered in a House Oversight Committee review initiated by another Feb. 29 letter from Issa asking the Memorial Commission to submit copies of all designs submitted for the project and "a detailed description of the process leading to acceptance of the Frank Gehry submission, including a breakdown of any and all votes taken pertaining to any submission." Those documents now are under review by the committee.

The Memorial Commission did not return a call for comments about the Tuesday hearing.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Penzance Announces Partner and Start Date for Clarendon Office Project

D.C. based Penzance announced today it has partnered with Invesco Real Estate in a joint venture to build its 2-building office project at 3001-3003 Washington Boulevard near the Clarendon Metro station, setting up development for a May groundbreaking.

The partnership with Invesco comes after Penzance had teed up the development, gaining county approval of plans for the 280,000 s.f. project in January, at which time it also leased most of the space - 173,000 s.f. - to federally-funded CNA (the Center for Naval Analyses), which will transfer 600 employees from its Mark Center location in 2014.

Penzance plans two office buildings - 8-stories and 10-stories - with shared 4-level below-grade parking deck and 28,000 s.f. of combined ground floor retail space with outdoor seating area. Several of the older buildings on the block will be kept intact during construction. Noritake Associates designed the project that is expected to earn a minimum ranking of LEED Silver, while holding out the possibility of a Platinum ranking for the site.

Penzance has developed and operates numerous properties throughout Washington D.C. and Arlington, including 455 Massachusetts Avenue in Mt. Vernon Triangle.

Arlington, Virginia real estate development news

Retail, Fountain, Ice Rink Slated for Washington Harbour

Work to upgrade the retail offering of Georgetown's Washington Harbour has begun, owners MRP Realty and Rockpoint Group LLC announced today.  Washington Harbour is undergoing a $20 million exterior renovation led by architecture firm Gensler and general contractor Clark Construction, after a flood pushed out the restaurants that once lined the riverfront pavilion. Some of the most significant changes are slated for the lower level. Those upgrades include retail storefront improvements and a revamped fountain with lights and animated jets that will double as a 12,000-square-foot ice skating rink in the winter.

Work on the lower level is scheduled for completion in the fourth quarter of 2012, and the fountain will be completed by the end of this summer.

Rendering courtesy of Gensler Architects

Washington DC commercial real estate news

Today in Pictures - Ripley District

Once a forlorn street with only ramshackle buildings better for disposing of cars than for strolling, despite its location in downtown Silver Spring and proximity to the Metro, Ripley Street is on its way to birthing two residential developments. The first, by Washington Property Company and Lessard Design, will feature 295 rental units (9 live-work replaced what was to be a retail space) inside a 17-story structure, with a "resort-style" pool at 1150 Ripley Street. WPC broke ground in September of 2009 and will now deliver the first units the 1st week of May. Work is expected to continue through August.

The second site, by Home Properties, will deliver a Shalom Baranes designed residential tower late next year. Eleven55 Ripley, originally conceived as Midtown Silver Spring, will offer 379 "premier apartments" in a 20-story building and adjacent 5-story building, adding a small pocket park as a public amenity.



Silver Spring real estate development news

Your Next Place

By Franklin Schneider

This fantastic 1921 Colonial was extensively renovated just three years ago, making it the best of both worlds. Looks super old on the outside, but is fresh and new on the inside, sort of like my grandmother when she had her late-life crisis. (But much more dignified. After all, there's no chance this house will suggestively sing karaoke to Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'" in the community room of her nursing home during one of your visits, during which you later see a copy of "The Illustrated Kama Sutra" displayed prominently on a bedside table. True story!!)

Aaaaaanyway. This massive house has it all; the great room with peaked skylights, the everything-you-could-ask-for-and-more kitchen with acres of cabinet space and that wraparound wall o' windows, a light-flooded main level with an open floor plan. In keeping with the running theme of a-plenty, the bedrooms upstairs are all extravagantly roomy, and the master suite even has his and her baths. Did you know that relationships in which each person has their own bathroom last twice as long as relationships in which the two people share? Okay, admittedly I just made that up and yet - we all know it's true.

And as spectacular as the house is, the outside is even better. The lot is just under half an acre, with a rolling terrace and gardens that double as privacy screens. Of course, there's also a large, in-ground pool. Everybody loves a pool. A house with a pool is like a really tall man - whatever other shortcomings they may have, in the end everyone loves them. My friend who's six foot six could go to the bar in a trashbag poncho and women would still flock to him. Not that I'm bitter. (I'm bitter.)

3102 Ellicott St. NW
4 Bedrooms, 4.5 Baths
$2,895,000

Residential Building Proposed for Former St. Matthew's Site In SW

A proposed 11-story, 210-unit residential building from developer CSG Urban Partners, on the former site of St. Matthew's Lutheran Church at 222 M Street SW, is headed to the zoning board later this month, over the objections of some neighborhood residents.

The applicant, TC/CSG St. Matthew's LLC, proposes an L-shaped building, varying in height from 110 to 35 feet, that would include a small church sanctuary on the northeast corner of the 50,000 square foot lot, one of several projects locally to take unused church space. Included in the plans are about 151 below-grade parking spaces, and of the approximately 210 projected units, ten percent would be provided for moderate income households (51% to 80% AMI). The application also details a plan for allocating much of the ground floor and basement space as a publicly-accessible community center run by St. Matthew's. A description of the proposed design lists "tiered and modulated use of one or two-story bay, projections or loggias articulated with metal frames, glazed areas and metal clad panel," which are all elements found in nearby buildings.
"It's going to match the character of the neighborhood," confirms Dan Stuver, of Shalom Baranes Architects. "A lot of metal, a lot of glass, a lot of screens. It's going to fit in with the surrounding buildings, most of which date from the Sixties and Seventies."

Oh, so it's going to be retro?

"No, no," says Stuver. "I'm from the Sixties and Seventies too, and I'm not retro. It's going to be very modern. At least, a style we call modern."

The site is well situated at a block from the Waterfront metro station and on the route for the proposed M Street streetcar. In addition, plans call for the inclusion of electric car charging stations, extensive bike parking, car sharing spaces, and anticipates a LEED Silver Certification.
However, some residents have objected to the project; a Change.org petition characterizes the project as "out of character with the very fabric that is SW," and that it's variously too big, not set back enough, doesn't include green space, blocks views from nearby residential buildings and "is a 1000 lb sack of potatoes trying to fit in a 5 lb sack." Many of these concerns seem to have been addressed - developers have already agreed to an additional 2' setback from M Street, and are including a large courtyard (though of unspecified size) in the front and rear of the building - though the matter of blocked views could be problematic.

The zoning hearing is tentatively scheduled for Monday, March 26.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Tysons Developer Begins Route 50 Apartment Project

Tysons-based Insight Property Group has started construction on a 67-unit "luxury apartment" building in Arlington near the Courthouse Metro station. While this will be the first completed development for the Insight team, it claims to have more than 1000 units "in the development pipeline."

Grayson Flats will be a 4-story ("luxury") building on a 1.67-acre site at 1200 North Rolfe Street, near Ft. Myer, which Insight acquired in 2010, demolishing the post-war apartment building that existed on the site.
Lessard Design and Preston Partnership collaborated for the design, with apartments "larger than typical Ballston/Rosslyn offerings." And forget old school, the building will feature the absolute latest in amenities package - think bocce, Wi-Fi, billiards, cyber cafe, bike storage and an electric car charging station. Such amenities may soon be coming even closer to your own neighborhood, as Insight is planning to dot the area with similar apartments:

"Insight development projects include two buildings scheduled to break ground later this year: one in downtown Silver Spring, MD and one near the Huntington Metro station in Alexandria, VA. Two more projects -- another development in Arlington and one on H Street, NE in Washington, D.C. -- will follow shortly thereafter."

Clark Builders Group is the general contractor, Buvermo Investments of Bethesda is the equity partner in the $25 million development. Construction began on the project last year and is expected to be complete by this fall.

Arlington, VA real estate development news

Today in Pictures - Flats at Atlas District

Clark Realty Capital, which broke ground on the first phase of Arboretum Place in October of 2010, is getting close to delivering its project at 1600 Maryland Avenue, NE. The first phase of construction, "The Flats at Atlas District," will yield 257 apartments when the dust settles this summer. Originally expected to initiate construction back in 2009, the project idled but a HUD loan put air beneath the developer's wings in a submarket that has seen little development of this kind. The project was designed by Niles Bolton, with interior design by RD Jones, with construction by Clark. Completion is expected "this summer." Initial leasing, which began last Thursday, is going well, according to Tracey Thomm of Clark Realty Capital, with "higher leasing volume than expected" on the 24 units just released. The Clark project sits on 5 acres, only 3 of which have been used for the Flats, leaving another 2 on which the developer will likely add another 200 units or so in the next phase, beginning pre-development this year. The developer notes that the Flats is the product of several years worth of design work that "respects the history of the neighborhood." Thomm says that "we made alot of changes based of community feedback that has substantially improved the design," something she hopes will be apparent to the community now that the project is open to the public.
Washington D.C. real estate development news

Your Next Place

By Franklin Schneider

Reading about this gem before the open house, the blurb said it was a "magazine quality" rowhome, and boy was that accurate. With its just-perfect details (the moldings, the exquisitely stained floors, those fairy-tale-ish under-staircase closets) and totally unique furnishings, I felt a distinct "through the looking glass" sensation as I toured the place, almost like I'd stepped into the pages of one of those glossy interior design magazines my ex-girlfriend's mother would always pretend to leaf through in an effort to convince everyone she was, in fact, human. (Nobody was fooled.)

There's a streamlined, well-lit living room (with fireplace), dining area, and the kitchen has beautiful pale gray marble counter tops, Subzero and Viking appliances, and one of a kind custom cabinets. (I don't care how many late-night infomercials you fall for, you will never be able to buy enough crap to fill all these cabinets.) The adjacent sitting room opens, via a pair of french doors, onto a large stone-paved wraparound patio, probably one of the finest outdoor spaces I've seen in this part of the city. It's large and open and simple and private and immensely appealing, aesthetically and otherwise. I like greenspace as much as the next guy, but it can often be more trouble than it's worth. (Take it from someone who weedwhacked his ankle almost down to the bone last summer.)

The master bedroom is a sprawling, luxurious affair, with a cozy window nook and a fireplace. And the master bath, with its very deep soaking tub and glass-enclosed shower, is as nice as the bathrooms in a five-star hotel in Vegas, but without invisible traces of prostitute vomit on every surface. (What, you know it's true.)

1618 Corcoran Street NW
4 Bedrooms, 3.5 Baths
$1,799,000