Thursday, August 31, 2006
The Greening of Development: Eco-Conscious Development in DC
A mixed-use development along I-270 at Wootton Parkway in Rockville is about to get bigger, and though the size is not notable by a city in the midst of a development boom, the developer hopes to attract national attention. Tower Companies, a North-Bethesda based developer, has already completed office space at Tower Oaks, a gleaming silver highrise overlooking the highway, a familiar but little-contemplated building the developer sites as "Washington DC’s first green office building."
Tower now intends to expand the site into one of the largest LEED Gold Certified mixed-use projects in the country, including 200,000 s.f. of office space, 100 "luxury" condominiums, a 200-room hotel and a 75,000 s.f. executive-style health club and spa. The "gold" designation is the premier LEED certification for measuring the environmental impact of the development. The existing office space earned its awards by features such as super energy efficiency and air-scrubbers that ventilate the air every 55 minutes.
"Going Green is a major trend in housing development across the country," says Marnie Abramson of the Tower Companies. Tower Companies, founded in 1947, began a major shift in its approach to real estate at the beginning of the 1990’s, when the company began to pursue a policy of environmentally conscious development in Washington DC. Today, The Tower Companies sites itself as the 20th largest purchaser of Green Energy in the country and are internationally recognized as authorities on Green Building Technology, setting new standards for green development in business, residential, and retail real estate environments.
The Tower Oaks project will be green throughout: condos, a green hotel, a fitness center and a green office building. Another office building is already under construction and Abramson expects it to be completed by June 2008. "Green gives you more buck for your condo dollar," she said, adding, "it comes down to good business sense; the technology is improving and as it improves and people get better at using it, the prices will continue to drop for developers and construction companies."
Abramson described the growth and cost benefits to firms like Tower over the past few years. The investment in green technology is paying off and it’s going to continue to trend upwards. "It is the next big thing in development." She added that the condos will begin construction after that and will be built to coincide with the construction of the hotel.
In another project, Tower Companies announced today that it is teaming with the real estate firm Lerner Enterprises (whose owners have killer seats at all Washington Nationals games) to purchase wind-renewable energy to power a D.C. office building called Washington Square at 1050 Connecticut Avenue, as well as for their combined headquarters in Bethesda.
Arlington-based Pepco Energy Services, a subsidiary of D.C.-based Pepco, will supply more than 64 million kilowatt-hours of renewable energy for the two buildings, which total more than 1 million square feet, making Tower Pepco’s largest commercial purchaser of green energy. Lerner's and Tower's use of eco-conscious energy will help offset carbon dioxide, a key greenhouse gas. Tower partner Jeffrey Abramson says in a written statement that the agreement "demonstrates that wind renewable energy credits can also be a viable option to meet our country's energy needs through a sustainable resource and reduce air pollution and the threat of global warming at the same time."
Part I: Going Green - New Condo Roofs Will No Longer Pollute
Tuesday, February 07, 2012
Hoffman-Madison Details Second-Stage Plans for Southwest Waterfront
Labels: BBG-BBGM, Carr Hospitality, Southwest, Wharf
Monday, December 27, 2010
DCMud 2010 Year in Review
Thursday, October 25, 2012
White Flint Mall Plan Goes Before County
Labels: Lerner, Montgomery County, Tower Companies, White Flint
As indoor malls fade across America, mall owners Lerner Enterprises and the Tower Companies plan to replace the mall, and an adjacent office building, which sits on 45 acres on the east side of Rockville Pike, half a mile from the White Flint Metro Station. An attorney representing the developers said the owners have declined to comment before the hearing.
The genesis for redevelopment plans came after the County's approval of the White Flint Sector Plan in 2010. That plan allowed additional development on properties in the 430 acres covered by the plan, many along Rockville Pike and near the metro, from single-use commercial to vertical mixed-use.
White Flint Mall property, Image: Montgomery Planning Dept. |
The mall redevelopment is part of the White Flint Mall District within the larger Sector Plan. Plans call for replacing acres of surface parking and the 874,000 s.f. mall with a 5.2 million s.f. development that will include commercial, residential, and hotel space. To date, the Pike and Rose has been the only project to commence since passage of the Sector Plan.
White Flint Mall Redevelopment Plan. Image: County |
Unlike the existing mall, the new plan calls for primarily underground parking and includes 1 million s.f. of office space, 280,350 s.f. of hotel space, 2,426 residential units (2.8 million s.f.), and 1 million s.f. of retail. Plans also set aside a site for a possible future elementary school, lay out a grid of public and private streets, and sketch out a new a public park area north of the existing White Flint Neighborhood Park.
Planned building heights range from 40 feet to 250 feet, with the tallest fronting Rockville Pike and the shortest buildings facing the public park. The plan, which would be built in three phases, details other public-use spaces - a central plaza, a gateway plaza, north and south gateway plazas, and a neighborhood plaza - which county planners say must be built to completion.
County planners are also requiring developers to include wayfinding signs, vegetated areas and walls, small business opportunities, moderately-priced dwelling units (MPDU's), and bicycle parking, among other obvious things like transportation and storm water management plans.
White Flint Mall Redevelopment Phases. Image: Montgomery County Planning Dept. |
Washington DC real estate and retail news
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
National Gateway Developer Sells Hotel Portion to Marriott
Labels: Archon Group, Arlington, Crystal City, Marriott, Meridian Group, national gateway
Tuesday, January 03, 2012
Celebrating NoMa
Labels: Archstone, JBG Companies, MRP Realty, NoMa, StonebridgeCarras, Trammell Crow Companies
So just how are things going? "Fabulously. Things are amazing," says NoMa BID President Robin-Eve Jasper.
According to the Broker Roadshow Book released this month, the BID has $4 billion in assessed value this year with another $1 billion under construction. There were 380,000 s.f. of private sector space leased in the last year. Twenty restaurants and shops opened in the last three years. New residents signed leases for 1,200 apartments, and another 2,200 units are under construction.
First + M |
NoMa BID reports a 17 percent increase in average household income since 2010. Jasper said that increase helps coax stores and restaurants to come into the area.
More residents soon will call NoMa home as Archstone's First + M apartments prepare to welcome tenants. The leasing office opened this week, and Jasper said the first residents are expected in June.
With all of those new residents, the neighborhood will need parks. Jasper said a "public realm vision" will be unveiled at the annual meeting. Without giving away all the secrets, she did say that the vision considers how people use parks to create the most useful spaces.
Capital Square |
JBG says it plans to break ground on the 200-room hotel this summer. It will be completed next year.
A spokeswoman for MRP said permits are still in progress, but the project is on track to start work this summer.
Several projects started construction in the past year, including Trammell Crow's Sentinel Square office project and Stonebridge's third building at Constitution Square.
And there still is more to come in the already booming area that exceeded initial expectations.
Jasper said that initial estimates were about $1 billion investment and 15,000 jobs, but says that today there are 45,000 jobs just in the NoMa BID. "All the right pieces were there, the right people to push to make things happen," she said, adding that the plans were not too restrictive or directive with planning and regulation. "And it enabled the private sector to come in and do what it does best."
"The vision that I have, for what it’s worth, is that in the next few years you start to feel this gravity and cohesion in the neighborhood generally where...there’s a vibrant commercial spine in the area of 1st street, and there’s a great feeling and sense of community in all of the adjacent neighborhoods," she said. "And if you go several streets out -- to all the row houses and apartment buildings --that people feel they’re all part of it. That this whole part of town becomes an area that has its own gravity."
Washington, D.C., real estate development news
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Alexandria Eyes New Metro for Potomac Yard
Both the Planning Commission and City Council expressed interest in a possible Metro expansion into Potomac Yard back in May 2008, when they undertook a "preliminary analysis of concept." That study resulted in a Washington Metro Area Transit Authority estimate that priced the project at $125 to $150 million with an operating cost of roughly $1 million per year. The hope is that a Metro outlet in the currently barren Potomac Yard quadrant of Alexandria will kick start – or, at the very least, accelerate - the redevelopment effort that aims to add 1 million square feet of office space, 750,000 square feet of retail, 2500 residential units and an undetermined number of hotel rooms to Northern Virginia.
Members of the Work Group include William Euille and Timothy Lovain of the City Council; Eric Wagner of the Planning Commission; Noah Teates of the Potomac Yard Planning Advisory Group; and Jennifer Mitchell of the Transportation Commission. The Work Group will hold its first public meeting on Thursday, February 17th. The meeting will be held at the Sister Cities Conference Room at 7 PM.
Though the House and Senate versions of the stimulus package have yet to be reconciled with one another, both versions contain large - though differing - amounts for infrastructure spending. Once the money is routed to the State Legislature (and possibly WMATA), these seems like precisely the type of project they'd be willing to explore. Barring, of course, that it doesn't cut into the caviar fund.
Wednesday, May 05, 2010
Cohen Proposes Southeast Development
Labels: Anacostia River, Cohen Companies, NCPC, Southeast
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Gateway On Its Way
Labels: Gensler Architects, Greenbaum Rose, MRP Realty, NoMa, Oculus, SK and I Architects
The project will consist of three buildings, two of which will be office towers. The northern tower - the tallest in the NoMa and Capitol area - will have about 415,000 s.f. of office space. Its sister tower to the south will have roughly 210,000 s.f. The taller building caused MRP a setback in December of 2006 when the National Capital Planning Commission objected to its height, an attribute at least in part caused by a 40 foot height difference between New York and Florida Avenues. The Zoning Commission overrode their objection (yes, they can do that) and made the final approval in February of 2007, deciding to measure the building's height from New York Avenue, although the foundation for the building will be poured on the Florida Avenue level. This allows MRP an extra three stories, making the Washington Gateway more visible to those entering NoMa from New York Avenue - a rare coup for height in our two-dimensional city.
The opposite side of the site features a "T" shaped building, housing a 180-room hotel and a 260-unit apartment tower, of which 8% of the units will be reserved for affordable housing. The rental units will feature 'condo level' finishes like granite counter tops and undermount sinks. A public central plaza will connect each building.
Washington Gateway will also give commuters and residents easy access to the New York Avenue Metro and the Metropolitan Branch Bike Trail. The three-story glass Bicycle Atrium will provide bike storage, lockers, refreshments, trail and neighborhood maps, and an automated bike pump.
MRP is teaming up with Gensler Architecture as master planner and designer of the commercial office buildings. SK&I Architectural Design Group is working on the residential building and hotel while Oculus is planning the plaza and streetscape design.
According to Gensler's Michael Patrick, Washington Gateway "extends the urban grid of NoMA from the south into what was an abandoned and isolated eyesore, and creates a great urban space in a plaza with first class materials."
"The residential building cantilevers an energetic volume of triangular glass which will capture and frame the view for those eastbound on either Avenue. The residential tower and south office building create a ceremonial entry from NoMA, with the office building's plaza facade articulated in high detail of stone, glass and metal to set the tone for the Class A office space inside," Patrick added.
Completion of Washington Gateway is expected in the fall of 2010.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Stonebridge to Start Phase 2 in NoMa
Labels: Harris Teeter, HOK Architecture, NoMa, SK and I Architects, StonebridgeCarras
Firstenberg, who pre-leased 100% of Phase 1 to GSA and DOJ before trading the building, said Phase 2 will be "targeted to go after some of these large GSA bids that are out there." Stonebridge will again use SK&I Architects to design the residential space and HOK Architecture for the commercial portion. The residences are expected to be available by late 2012, the office space should be ready for the first tenants in early 2013. The third and final phase of the 7-acre site, still in conception, will add 470,000 s.f of office space.
Firstenberg says the restaurant, to open in March along with the hotel, will be "NoMa's first upscale, sit down restaurant," good news for residents at the Flats 130 where 60 of 440 units have leased since its opening October 1st, and where significant retail leases have already been signed. Stonebridge is expected to flip the office building once lease-up is complete. "We're not long term owners in the project" said Firstenberg.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Florida Avenue Market Redevelopment – What’s Next?
According to Jeff Davis, Ward 6 Neighborhood Planner, the next landmark for the development is a meeting on May 30th to examine various alternatives to the project. The Office of Planning is in the process of preparing a report that examines the fiscal impact of the proposed plan, identifies the best uses of the space, and analyzes what the proposed project would bring to the area in terms of jobs and “unique services” preserved. The report will be completed in June at which time several sets of alternatives and their consequences will be compared with the current proposal.
The public meeting will be held in Gallaudet University’s Foster Auditorium at 800 Florida Ave, NE. There will be two presentations of the same information, at 3:30 and 6:00 pm.
The 24-acre Florida Avenue Market is located to the northwest of Gallaudet University between New York and Florida Avenues NE, just blocks from the New York Avenue Metro station. The planned "Gateway Market and Residences" project would put condominiums, retail shops, a hotel, and offices in this location. Up to 40% of the planned 1,700 residential units would be made affordable and available to DC employees, while the remaining 60% will be set aside for DC residents who are first-time buyers. In addition, the developer plans to build a 570,000-sf wholesale distribution space (with hope of luring back displaced vendors who now operate out of the market), plus almost 330,000 sf of retail, restaurant, and merchandising space. Also envisioned is a YMCA building, a health clinic, and library.
Friday, April 08, 2011
Eastbanc to Unveil West End Residences
Labels: Eastbanc, LeMay Erickson Willcox Architects, WDG Architecture, West End
Eastbanc's proposal is for a 52-unit low-income (max 60% AMI), 90 foot residential building above a new fire station on M Street, and a 10-story residence of up to 180 units above a new library and retail filling the 2300 block of L Street. The developer was selected by the District of Columbia in March of 2010 to redevelop the 4 city-owned sites - 1 at the fire station and 3 contiguous sites between the West End Library and special operations facility at 23rd and L, each a 2 story, deteriorating building subsumed by development and recent population surge. Eastbanc is not releasing its designs until the ANC meeting, but early renderings (at left, above) indicate the projects will be in keeping with the designer's minimalist, contemporary style.
The project is being designed by New York and Mexico-based TEN Arquitectos, (for Taller de Enrique Norten) and will add 10,000 s.f. of ground floor retail to the street.
Enrique Norten, lead designer on the West End project, started TEN Arquitectos in Mexico City in 1986 designing small, modern single-family homes. The firm has now swelled to an international presence, though still with a predominantly Mexican portfolio, and seeks to "straddle the line between Mexican and New York sensibilities," says a spokesman, who says Norton creates for a "very minimalist aesthetic." The architect has received attention for his redesign of federal buildings throughout Mexico as well as several high profile projects in New York City.
Completed projects and proposals bear that out, with designs that encompass simple, angular and monument- style towers with expansive footprints as well as diminutive rectangular buildings in more clustered urban spaces, most of which reject the graph paper effect of even lines and flat facades in favor of broken, asymmetrical contours and surfaces. (see visuals: Harlem Park in NYC above left, James Hotel in Los Angeles, above right, Mercedes House in NYC below 1, Chopo Museum Mexico, below 2, New York library below 3, Reforma in Mexico, below 4)
Sean Stadler, Principal of WDG Architecture which was chosen as the architect of record to execute the designs, says Eastbanc's choice of Norten demonstrates Eastbanc's commitment to "trying to assert good architecture into the community." Says Stadler, "they approach development not just from a dollars and sense position. I think that TEN Arquitectos is thinking with a much more global eye on architecture than DC tends to, and I think that's part of the strategy that Eastbanc has had in the past." Citing Eastbanc's other accomplishments at 22 West and Ritz Carlton Georgetown (a former power plant), Stadler credits Eastbanc with the transformative effect of well executed project. "If you look at the old power plant in Georgetown, its really made it a much more personable place."
To accomplish the LEED - possibly gold - ranking that Stadler says the team is striving for, and which Eastbanc didn't apply for on prior projects, the architect says to expect efficient glass, solar shades, exterior louvers, a green roof, and the latest wastewater management strategies. Noting the "strategy in this project in reducing our carbon footprint," Stadler calls the mostly glass, louvered shell "a much more efficient vehicle to stop heat from entering the building. Its not an eyebrow, but a more European approach, an operable full louver, somewhat like a blind on the exterior." According to Stadler, the exterior blinds block heat before it enters the building, in contrast to interior blinds, but also "visually adds texture and depth to the facade."
Eastbanc's Joe Sternlieb says the April 25th unveiling will be just the end of a years-long roadshow, acclimating the public and seeking input that has honed the design. "We tend to do alot of community meetings before we file...we've had over 60 community meetings so far over last 4 years, and retooled project many times based on community feedback." Sternlieb says he hopes to file the PUD application with the zoning forces in the first week of May, in conformance with milestones dictated by the District government, though he declines to set a timeline for construction, saying only that construction could begin within a year of zoning approval, or late 2012, at best. Only the library-police site is subject to zoning review, with the fire station "within the zoning envelope." LeMay Erickson Willcox Architects, which has expertise in designing fire stations, is helping craft the M Street site.
While the library and fire station will be rebuilt on site, the special-operations unit will be moved elsewhere.
Washington D.C. real estate development news