Southwest's Hotel and Apartment Project Set for Occupancy Permits

Just a block away from the L'Enfant Plaza Metro station, the new citizenM hotel and adjacent apartment building are near completion, with Certificates of Occupancy expected to be issued today.  The project is the second portion of a two-phase redevelopment, which transformed an old firehouse and vacant lot into two hotels, first with the development of Hyatt Place, which required construction of a new fire house into the hotel at 400 E Street, SW.  Phase two, now completing, started with demolition of the old (non-historic) fire house and forensic laboratory, and replaced it with a 253-key "European-style" hotel, 58 "deeply affordable" housing units for seniors 62 and older, 136 market rate apartments and 10,000 s.f. of retail.

Development was a joint partnership between the District government, which issued an RFP in 2008 and awarded redevelopment rights in April 2009 to the E Street Development Group, which leased the land under the old fire station for a 99-year term.  The buildings add residential density to what has been a predominantly office-oriented section of southwest.  The design by FxCollaberative took advantage of the newly enacted changes to the height limit laws of DC to add additional height and activation of the roof.  The District's issuance of a certificate of occupancy, expected today, clears the way for what is expected to be an imminent opening of both buildings.

Project:  555 E Street, SW

Address:  555 E Street, SW, Washington DC

Developer:  CityPartners, Potomac Investment Properties, Adams Investment Group, DC Strategy Group

Architect:  FxCollaberative

Construction:  Donohoe Construction

Use:  136 market apartments and 58 senior affordable units, 253 room hotel

Expected Completion:  Summer 2020

Washington DC real estate development news

Thoreau Slept Here

by Beth Herman   


In his quest for an unembellished life, transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau took to the woods with perhaps a not-so-novel battle cry. "Our life is frittered away by detail," he famously wrote. "Simplify. Simplify."

In their pursuit of a renovation and addition to a 1950s modern house that would reflect a Thoreau-esque aesthetic, and also court the abundance of mature trees around their Arlington, Virginia property, homeowners Jed and Marie joined forces with award-winning architect Patrick Carter of Reve Design Studio to achieve their goal.

'The client had a 1 1/2-story house with a master suite, kitchen and living room on the first floor and a tiny hallway with two secondary bedrooms on the second," Carter said of the 1,666 s.f. residence. "It was an open floorplan and though not really a formal space, there were no informal places for the kids to play." At certain times of the year, it also provided a view of the D.C. skyline.

Parents of two young children, Jed grew up in a modern Michigan home designed and built by an architect father. Marie is a card-carrying minimalist, according to Carter, and creating a modern-minimalist residence for a growing family that tipped its hat (or roof slope) to nature was a tall architectural order.

With a program to keep the master on the first floor and add 549 s.f. by reconfiguring the upstairs to maintain the two children's bedrooms, but add a family room, home office/music room (the family plays multiple instruments), and also retain a portion of the roof deck as a second floor balcony, Carter reached out to Mike Madden and John Page of Madden Corporation (construction) and Andrew Greene of Potomac Woodwork. A prodigious use of custom millwork came to define the new space, including a strong display of sandblasted rift-cut oak door panels between the family room and office/music room.

"Sandblasting eats away at the soft grain and leaves a physical texture - not just a visual one," Carter explained. The result of a "tricky" treatment in the drywall, when the closet doors are closed there are five equal segments: two wood and three wall.

With the design driven largely by Marie's need to compartmentalize and eliminate clutter, the house, which had virtually no storage, received a series of ample closets with double doors in the new space. Keeping the rooms open, furnishings are sleek and spare, including designs by LeCorbussier, Marcel Bruer and Charles and Ray Eames. And because you're up in the trees, Carter explained, keeping a clean color palette was imperative to draw attention out to the home's exterior. To that end white oak flooring, originally found on the first level, is carried through upstairs, along with pristine white walls and ceiling.


Room with a view
"Because the house is on a hill in the woods, and there's no yard, having a way to be outside was important. We wanted to keep that outdoor space on the second floor," Carter said of the now Ipe-decked balcony with tongue-in-groove cedar ceiling, citing the tree house effect as a key design component. Double-paned, low-E floor-to-ceiling windows, operable at the bottom and at full length on the ends, give the effect of "stepping out into the trees," as does the bay that cantilevers out, extending beyond the building's main box envelope.

With Jed an Air Force Academy graduate, the idea to represent the roof line as an inverted wing also provided the opportunity for a Frank Lloyd Wright Prairie-style moment inside the home. As the roof butterflies with the low point at the center of the house, the occupants' experience of the space is compressed, beginning with the 8-foot. ceiling height, and then swept up and out through the expansive glass, where the ceiling is 10 feet.

On the exterior, bronze accents and siding in muted green tones - specifically Benjamin Moore Nantucket Gray and Celery Salt - harmonize with the surrounding Evergreens and other arbors. Carter worked to preserve the existing 1950s brick and matched its natural-hued mortar with the exterior paint choices so not to create additional maintenance issues for the homeowners.

Cable rails, creating an open and closed railing system, were a device to open up the outdoor space as much as possible. Though the house is in the woods, there are neighbors on either side and across the street. "It was a balance of privacy and openness, of taking advantage of the views and still allowing privacy if you're out on the deck," Carter explained.

Showing you the door


Recalling that the first time he went to the Arlington house a solid wall atop a brick wall prevented him from finding the front door, opening the front to engage the street was paramount for the architect. "It was a little foreboding and unapproachable," Carter said, identifying a rhythm of open and closed cable railing systems that now punctuate the building.

Seinfeld and I

With a nod to the episode where Jerry's new girlfriend, a victim of capricious lighting, looked alternately angelic and haggard, Carter's lighting tenets include horizontal lighting as opposed to direct, overhead, which he firmly eschews. "Some architects tend to fill a room with recessed lights, somewhere in the middle, which is not always flattering when they shine down on you," he explained, adding the key is to light the room's perimeter so it bounces off the walls for a gentler result.

Delving into his architecture philosophy, the professed closet Frederick Law Olmsted said the way he thinks about work is in terms of something "subtractive.

"A lot of architects think about design as additive," he explained. "They say you're creating a building on the land, so you're adding something to it. But when I get into design, it's a lot like pushing and pulling of volumes so you're breaking the box - carving out spaces. In this project you see it on the front porch and how it works with the bay window above above that protrudes. On the second floor the deck is recessed."

Citing a personal mantra and phrase, "levels of 'insidedness'," as a student Carter recalls an architecture professor who told him a door is more than a hole in the wall. "It's all about approach and that level of 'insidedness,'" he affirmed. "Are you inside when you climb the stairs to the front porch? Are you inside when you cross the threshold of that beam and column? What about when you're covered but then you take a step to the right and you're not? Architecture is about creating a progression - a series of stills." 

Photos courtesy of Paul Burk

The Shaw Shine Redemption

Q and A with Suzane Reatig  
by Beth Herman

Heralded for her consistent redesign and accruing revitalization of D.C.'s deteriorating Shaw neighborhood, where she practices architecture, Israeli-born and Technion-educated Suzane Reatig of Suzane Reatig Architecture continues to shine a tenacious light on Shaw's blighted blocks. Moving to Maryland during the 1975 recession, Reatig toiled for two years as a carpenter before finding work for various architectural firms, finally posting her own shingle in 1989. While her award-winning buildings are considered affordable as opposed to luxury designs, they are tantamount to the latter in many respects and celebrated for their exuberant facades, spare spatial qualities and prodigious use of natural light and air. DCMud spoke with Reatig about her latest multifamily project in Shaw.

DCMud: What is the genesis of the 623 M Street building, your eighth building in 20 years in Shaw, which we understand didn't start as a housing project at all.

Reatig: The existing building with eight apartments was in terrible shape, next to a church. The occupants were elderly, and they could walk to the church, though the building had a lot of exterior  steps which made it hard for them. The client, with whom I'd worked on another project, asked me to design a ramp. It really didn't make sense because there were also stairs inside the building these people would have to negotiate on their way to the ramp. I was able to convince the client that something more drastic was needed: a new building.

DCMud: But how did that work in terms of displacing an elderly group of residents - even temporarily?

Reatig: I was doing another building for the client on 7th Street and told him we would have some of the units accommodate these people for a while. Then we could bring them back. Interestingly, some of them loved the other building so much, they let us know they were going to stay.

DCMud: Did this alter the M Street design in any way?

Reatig: When we realized the elderly residents were not coming back, we added a mezzanine (with staircases) to three top floor units, making them larger and fancier. These could be rented at market rate and there were nine units in all.

DCMud: What about the site itself, which we understand was a real challenge?

Reatig: We were dealing with only a 4,700 s.f. site, including building and parking, and all the zoning regulations. But we achieved the design, in three stories, with an elevator though it was no longer critical in terms of the residents' needs. The exterior is concrete and has brightly-colored panels.

DCMud: Can you explain the absence of wood in this design, and perhaps in some of your other projects.

Reatig: We could have built it like you build houses, but it's an urban design, so for noise and fire safety purposes we do it the way highrises are built.

DCMud: Some may say there's an absence of sustainable elements in the M Street building, but you have other ideas about that.

Reatig: To build sustainably, you want to build something that will stand a long time and that people will want to use. It's not about LEED points but rather if it's built well, it will endure and people will continue to be comfortable living there.

DCMud: Tell us about the interiors, with your signature focus on light and ventilation.

Reatig: The lower six units are one bedroom, 800 s.f. The top floor (three units) are 900 s.f. with the mezzanines, and a roof deck. Some apartments have three exposures so they are more like a house. Glass is low-E with a mix of fixed and operable windows. The units have cross-ventilation. There are exposed polished concrete floors.When they were marketed, they rented immediately. I've said before that whenever we design housing, we do something we would want to live in.

DCMud: You have spoken a great deal in the past of infill architecture, like this building on M Street. So how does it reflect the neighborhood vernacular?

Reatig: Actually it's very different than the surrounding buildings, which are very old and a brown brick - very monotone. We have a building that is cheerful and makes people smile. You can always see the light inside and lots of color.

DCMud: In what ways does your considerable stint as a carpenter in the '70s affect your work today?

Reatig: It gives me something important in terms of understanding materials as we don't always consider how things are built. I also have a great appreciation for these people who do the work. I always tell the contractor that as architects, we do a small portion of the work. They are the ones who build and are much more important than us, though the teamwork is also very important.

DCMud: Speaking of a city that thrives on teamwork, is there a particular D.C. site that appeals to you?

Reatig: There are a lot of buildings I love in D.C. like the Corcoran and I.M. Pei's National Gallery. I love buildings like the Freer that have courtyards. The Portrait Gallery enclosed theirs in glass, but I loved it when it was open and you could sit there with fountains and trees. It was lovely - a real oasis.

Photos courtesy of Alan Karchmer.

Envisioning the Visio and Murano

Q and A with Suman Sorg   
by Beth Herman

Seeking to venerate but modernize Washington D.C.'s classic row house archetype, and drawing from the surrounding urban U Street corridor neighborhood, Suman Sorg of Sorg Architects created the 19-unit Visio and Murano, 2109 10th Street NW. Studying historic preservation at Cornell University, though a modernist at heart, Sorg's work is often a confluence of the two, with compatibility a word she uses to define her efforts in the contextual realm. The Visio and Murano has won six awards, including two AIA awards for Architectural Excellence and one for Washington Residential Design. DCMud spoke with Sorg about the project.

DCMud: What was the design impetus behind the Visio and Murano?

Sorg: The idea was to build so-called stick buildings that are not steel or concrete but wood, and to redefine the concept of infill row housing. When we built the Visio, we used mezzanines -- or internal stairs -- in each apartment so you could get extra space and still build a building out of wood frame, though the exterior is brick and glass.We had really tall ceilings -- 11 to 18 feet high -- each one has a double-height living room. We used English basements to create extra square footage at street level.

DCMud: How did the neighborhood's vernacular manifest in the design?

Sorg: We wanted to make these buildings compatible with the adjacent church. There's an alley between the church and Visio and Murano, but they almost form a street line. My idea was to look at what's important in the church, which is a turret, and how to add that kind of verticality to the facade of Visio. I wanted to work with the church's material which is red brick -- traditional Washington. We used that but in a modern application. I was also thinking about the industrial character of the area. You look at the Visio's front stair through bent steel - almost sculpture, and then the windows have steel mullions. The brick is sharply cut; it's not antiqued at all. These are some industrial features in the design.

DCMud: In what ways does the design emulate more doctrinal area architecture?

Sorg: In D.C. we have what's called the traditional bay house which allows you to project into public space by four feet. I was interested in incorporating that concept, but in a modern way. I wanted a modern vocabulary -- one that's Washington's own vocabulary rather than an imported one -- as well as taking advantage of what zoning allowed so we could have maximum square footage inside.

DCMud: Can you elaborate on the concept of imported, or as some have called it borrowed, architecture?

Sorg: I believe we've been importing architecture from Europe since the very beginning, and lately importing architects themselves. Washington's own architecture can develop in its neighborhoods rather than downtown where there's more commission scrutiny. We should look at what's traditional to D.C. and then reinterpret it.

DCMud: There is a prodigious use of glass in these buildings, and they are not towers, so with that how was privacy executed in the Visio and Murano?

Sorg: There's a general trend right now -- a shift from post modern to modern. Because the shift was so quick, people went back to early modernism -- the 20s and 30s. In residential architecture, however, people don't want to live in a glass box. They do want a sense of privacy and warmth.

When there are large amounts of glass in residential architecture, proportion is important. Again people don't want to live in glass boxes, so we broke it into smaller panes. We used zero sightline windows so the ones that do open don't look different from the rest of the glass. We also set the glass back behind balconies for shade. Hardwoods were used in the interior, including wood stairs. We followed LEED Silver requirements and used some natural materials, low-E windows and Energy Star appliances, though did not pursue certification.

DCMud: You work extensively internationally, as well as in D.C. Does the Visio and Murano reflect anything you have done before?

Sorg: I did a similar housing project in Kuwait in 2005. Following the war, the U.S. was given a piece of property by the king on which to build a new embassy. We did the housing in the embassy compound. It's somewhat the same in its proportion and materials, including glass and shading.

I've also been working in historic neighborhoods for a long time. The Visio and Murano are the evolution of townhouses that we did in Georgetown and particularly in Ledroit Park, south of Howard University, where we built 14 brand new infill townhouses. While you couldn't tell them apart from other historic townhouses in the neighborhood, it taught me about proportion and management of materials in these historic buildings. It became a foundation for the Visio and Murano's modern interpretation.

DCMud: Speaking of interpretation, is there a place in the District that calls to you?

Sorg: I like buildings that are unassuming -- beautiful, quiet buildings or spaces where, when you walk or bike around the city, they do not scream for your attention. One of these is the Decatur Terrace Steps and Fountain (sometimes referred to as D.C.'s Spanish Steps) between 22nd Street and Decatur Place. The large trees that surround it make for a perpetually shaded resting spot to listen to the bubbling fountain and enjoy a respite from the busy city.

Your Next Place

Look how cute this little building is, nestled cozily between two much-larger buildings, and yet with an undeniable appeal all its own.  (Insert your own "size doesn't matter" joke here.  It sounds too autobiographical if I do it.)

This beautiful unit is one of 22 in this boutique building, which means it's just big enough that there's probably at least one other person in the building you can have an ill-advised romance of convenience with, but not so small that you won't be able to avoid them after it crashes and burns.  It's a corner unit too, so it's a bit bigger and brighter than the other units, a fact you should bring up constantly when you run into other building occupants.  ("You look depressed, is it because your apartment is slightly smaller than mine?")  The main area is open and gets a ton of light; it features glowing hardwood floors and recessed lighting.  The kitchen comes with the granite countertops/stainless steel appliances one-two punch, and there are a ton of built-ins for your collectible plate collection.  The master bedroom is spacious and wide, and boasts a world-class walk-in closet.  It got me thinking, "wait, why doesn't my bedroom have a walk-in closet?"  And then I realized, my bedroom IS a walk-in closet.  Explains all the built-ins, and why my twin mattress takes up 90% of the floor space.

This building also comes with concierge service, extra storage, rental parking, and even a gym.  Imagine how much guiltier you'll feel about not working out when there's a gym right downstairs!  It's located in Penn Quarter, so it's close to Chinatown, downtown, NoMa, and other neighborhoods people go to, look around, and say, "wait, is this it?  Really?"  (I kid, I kid; aside from that horrible intersection where they have the huge tvs, I actually really like Chinatown.)  Also, it's equidistant from two metro stations, turning each morning into an agonized internal debate over where exactly you want to go to get the back of your neck breathed on by total strangers.

675 E Street NW #500
1 Bedrooms, 1.5 Baths
$509,000

Washington DC real estate news

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