Washington Gateway Finally Breaking Ground?

MRP Realty edged closer to a groundbreaking of the $360 million Washington Gateway in NoMa, as crews this week began disassembling commercial billboards occupying the three-acre site at the intersection of New York Avenue and Florida Avenue, NE.

While some real estate insiders said construction would start shortly, Julie Chase, a spokeswoman on behalf of MRP Realty, said in an e-mail not to read too much into the action on the site as MRP is still in the permitting process. "Yes, the billboards are coming down, but that does not mean they are starting any construction," she said.

The two billboards on the site, both facing the railroad tracks, the Metro Red Line and inbound New York Avenue drivers, have been a familiar sight for road and rail commuters, but now it appears they could finally be replaced by construction cranes and equipment.

The million-square-foot project, designed by SK&; I Architectural Design Group and Gensler and to be built by Davis Construction, will be completed in three phases. The first step will be SK&I's 11-story apartment building with 400 units and 5,200 s.f. of retail.

The initial phase will be followed by two Gensler-designed 11-story office buildings, one with 200,000 s.f. and the other with 400,000 s.f., along with 10,000 s.f. of retail. Gensler is the designer of PNC Place at 800 17th Street NW, and SK& I recently designed Wisconsin Place in Friendship Heights.

All told, the 170-foot high (by some ways of measuring), triangle-shaped project with green space in the middle will have about 15,000 s.f. of retail facing Florida Avenue, NE, which will get its own facelift with new sidewalks, street lighting and landscaping.

The anticipated construction of Washington Gateway comes as the District is in the middle of a $36.5 million rehab of the nearby New York Avenue bridge which will run through September 2013, thanks to federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act stimulus funding. The bridge reconstruction, which began in March 2011 is about 40 percent complete, according to contractor Fort Myer Construction Company. Already, on the northwestern side of New York Avenue, NoMa West, by Mill Creek Residential Trust, is nearly a year in towards constructing more than 600 residential units, having broken ground in March 2011 and is expected to be complete by spring of 2014.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

MRP Plans "Trophy" Office Space in Penn Quarter

MidAtlantic Realty Partners LLC, better known as MRP, today announced a joint venture with real estate investment management firm Rockpoint Group LLC to build a new Class A "trophy" office building at the southwest corner of 9th and G Streets in Penn Quarter, the former location of the National Capital Area YWCA.

The 112,000 s.f., nine-story building will be designed by San Francisco-based Gensler. Like many of its Washington contemporaries it will include a glass-wrapped exterior with nine-foot ceilings for levels two through seven and two penthouse levels with ten-foot ceilings that have views of the Capitol and the Washington Monument. The company says it will be LEED-Gold certified and will also include a "green" roof with storm water treatment. MRP says the building will use 12 percent less energy and 40 percent less water than typical office spaces.

"We will develop a dramatic building that visually captures the corner while creating an active and memorable street-level retail experience," said Bob Murphy, managing partner of MRP Realty in a statement.

Julie Chase, a spokeswoman for MRP says the tenants of the 9-story building currently on the site are expected to move out by June of this year and that the building will be torn down "immediately after." Chase said MRP was not willing to release the overall costs of the construction. "They will be commensurate with a high-quality trophy building," she said.

The corner is already home to the Ludwig Mies van der Rohe-designed

Martin Luther King Jr. library, and will sit astride the Smithsonian Museum of American Art, the National Portrait Gallery and Gallery Place Metro, connecting to the Red, Green and Yellow lines. Skanska Commercial Development recently completed an $85 million "trophy" space at 10th and G Street.

The National Capital YWCA, which occupied the lower floors of the 9th Street building, moved to a new 15,000 square-foot location at 14th and Florida in December.
Washington D.C. real estate development news

DDOT Planning 14th Street Facelift

Washington D.C.'s fast-growing 14th Street corridor between Thomas Circle and Florida Avenue may finally get some much-deserved street-scaping improvements soon, says John Lisle of the District Department of Transportation.

Plans that have been in the works since 2009 may get accelerated after DDOT commences on a similar street-scaping project for U Street later this year, Lisle told DCMud. The 14th Street design, which wrapped up last April at a cost of $450,000, includes iconic "twin-20" Washington Globe lighting along pedestrian walkways and "teardrop" pendant lighting for street illumination.

Included will be dedicated bike lines and pedestrian "bulb-outs" for safety. At key intersections, such as Rhode Island Avenue, Florida Avenue and U Street, crosswalks and sidewalks will get special iconic identification. Cracked cement sidewalks will give way to London pavers, similar to those required in the Downtown DC Business Improvement District. New street furniture such as garbage bins, tree boxes and bike racks are also in the works for the 14th Street upgrade.

Already, parts of 14th Street in the downtown area have gotten similar treatment. The District was able to use $3.6 million in federal Recovery Act funds in 2009 and 2010 for improved street lighting and sidewalks for a stretch of 14th Street between K Street and Thomas Circle, which got its own facelift. A stretch of 11th Street between Massachusetts and O got its own similar upgrade in 2009.

Lisle says that the city has focused on completing its "Great Streets" programs first before tackling major upgrades of other corridors. The "Great Streets" program, started in 2005 by then Mayor Anthony Williams, is working in conjunction with the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development to jump-start retail and development on long-dormant corridors that have historically been gateways to the city, such as H Street, Pennsylvania Avenue and Georgia Avenue.

The H Street "Great Streets" corridor has just completed, and includes tracks for the District's trolley car plans, while the $3.6 million Georgia Avenue "Great Streets" project is also nearing completion. Pennsylvania Avenue's Great Streets construction, running from 27th Street to Southern Ave, will finish next month at a cost of more than $25 million in federal Recovery Act money. The District has also used $4.5 million in federal funds to rehab stretches of 17th Street, NW with similar lighting upgrades and street furniture, as well as a project on 18th Street in Adams Morgan to improve lighting and pedestrian access, scheduled for completion in May.

The 14th Street Logan Circle corridor has been ground zero for the District's inner core revitalization. Whole Foods, between 14th Street and 15th Street on P Street, which opened in 2000, now anchors the corridor.
Washington D.C. real estate development news

2011 Year in Review

Looking back on 2011, the year may be known in the real estate world as a year of binge-buying and construction of apartment buildings, or the year Walmart came to town, at least on paper. But with Washington DC's population growing and construction financing available, the city added many new restaurants, apartments (though condos still lagged) and even some office buildings. Here's a look at some of the many developments that shaped the year:

14th Street Rules
14th Street saw developers lining up in swarms as JBG broke ground on District Condos (Jan 10) and quickly leased up retail in the future building (pictured below), showing the commercial strength of 14th Street, though the building later converted to rentals, showing the relative strength of the apartment financing market. Nearby, Georgetown Strategic Capital readied to build Utopia at 14th & U, though JBG took that up too. Level2 Development got support for 144 units across the street on the 1900 block of 14th, UDR got underway on its 255-unit apartment building replacing the Nehemiah Center, Douglas Development got approval for 30 units on the 2200 block, Habte Sequar started work on his 30 unit project at 14th & R, while PN Hoffman began converting the Verizon building across the street into 40 condos. The Irwin neared final approval for 60 units on lower 14th Street, and Furioso put up a design for a 42,000 s.f. office in the 1500 block.

Virginia, Towering Above Others
Virginia went big this year: Dittmar submitted plans for 500 apartments in Virginia Square (Jan 11), though construction has not yet begun. The beltway's tallest building - at nearly 400 feet - got underway in Alexandria, another just a hare shorter got closer in Tysons Corner, both barely eclipsing the Rosslyn tower that poked above ground (pictured, left) just a few days ago. JBG contributed with its 474-unit Rosslyn Commons groundbreaking (Jan 6).

There was finally a kick start for Buzzard Point (Jan 17), thanks to Duane Deason, who is planning the first residential project in the largely forgotten area, with zoning approval secured in August. Not too far away, Camden Properties began their residential project on South Capitol (June 13) giving the area some momentum. A new bridge and streetscape on the way for South Capitol gave the area even more buzz.

Columbia Heights saw nothing like the boom that hit it in previous years, but Chris Donatelli began adding another building next to his two centerpieces at 14th & Irving.

Getting Malled
It was a busy, if controversial year for the Mall: Eisenhower drew the most attention as Frank Gehry, the chosen architect, put forward 3 plans for a tribute. One was selected, but public discontent with the starchitect's vision was strong, and one arts group put forward its own competition. The winning vision was displayed, briefly. Three areas of the fading Mall were designated for a redesign (Oct 26). Rogers Marvel Architects was chosen as the designer for President's Park South (July 7), while DC residents begged for the reopening of E Street, and The Disabled Veterans' Memorial got nearly ready for construction near the U.S. Capitol (Oct 5). The Martin Luther King Memorial progressed from dirt piles to completion, opening this summer (Aug 12), and the African American Museum of History and Culture got nearly off the ground. Not to be outdone, Latinos pursued sites nearby for another museum on ethnicity and race (July 2).

NoMa boomed, again. Its second hotel, a Hilton, opened in April, Mill Creek Residential broke ground (March 18) on 603 rental units, Skanska purchased a lot in January and planned its largest office building in the DC area (Aug 10). Camden started off 320 units of housing in September, and MRP let slip that they intended to kick off Washington Gateway at NoMa's northern edge (Aug 29) after years of waiting. StonebridgeCarras started digging for phase II of Two Constitution Square (May 12) for 203 residential units and then broke ground on Three Constitution Square (Oct 18) on spec, like its predecessors. NoMa East, however, continued to idle.

Shaw had its day, again and again, as Four Points (officially, anyway) got to work on Progression Place (Feb 5), while the CityMarket at O got underway (pictured, below) two months after the Giant closed. New designs were released for the Wonder Bread buildings (Aug 30) Jefferson Apartment Group bought Kelsey Gardens (Oct 27), promising a quick start of removing the eyesores. Finally, Two more Marriotts were planned next to the Convention Center (June 22).

Take Me to the River
Construction was everywhere in the Capitol Riverfront neighborhood in southeast with the construction of Canal Park (Feb 15), and a new bridge (Nov 21). Foundry Lofts opened to the public, reconstruction of the boilermaker building got underway for the area's first retail component, work on the Harris Teeter and apartment building commenced and Florida Rock demolition finally began. Other waterfronts made progress too as plans in Old Town and southwest DC inched along.

Elsewhere around the city, the CityCenter mega-project got underway in April, still without a tenant; GW faced a public outcry over its plan to demolish historic rowhouses on Pennsylvania Avenue, the Wisconsin Ave. Giant finally got the financing to go forward with the residential and retail project, then beat off the NIMBYs, and Dakota Crossing was purchased, facilitating a big-box retail development where a forest now stands. Tenleytown got an unsightly library, finally (Jan 19) and new school, Eastbanc unveiled its designs for the West End (Apr 8), and the Bozzuto/Abdo team broke ground for the 2nd big project in Brookland.

Bethesda, and its Northern Neighbor
In Bethesda, Bainbridge got to work on its 17-story apartment building, while the Trillium site was sold to StonebridgeCarras and Walton Street Capital (Mar 9), injecting the moribund project with hoped-for new life. Way up north in the neighborhood that no one can agree what to name, White Flint (aka North Bethesda, aka Rockville) got ready for a building boom as JBG and LCOR beefed up residences (1275 by LCOR) planned for the ongoing construction sites and Federal Realty planned 1725 residences. JBG already has the tallest residential building in Montgomery County, which it plans to surpass with its next phase (pictured, at right).

Projects that wanted to be on the 2011 list but will now have to dream of the 2012 list: anything in Fort Totten, Skyland redevelopment, Arlington's first LEED Gold apartment building, reconstruction of Babe's Billiards, the Florida Avenue / Capital City Market, the Adams Morgan hotel, the Akridge and Monument Half Street projects in southeast, and Howard Town Center, to name just a few.

Today in Pictures - Florida Rock

Just below Nationals Stadium, Patriot Transportation Holding Inc. and DC-based Midatlantic Realty Partners LLC, (MRP) began demolishing the concrete plant to make way for RiverFront on the Anacostia, 1.1 million s.f. of residential, office, retail and public access to the riverfront. Construction is expected to begin in 2013.




Washington D.C. real estate development news. Photos courtesy Rey Lopez.

Anacostia Riverwalk Trail Gets a New Extension

The goal of a 20-mile trail to line both sides of the Anacostia River is getting one step closer. Forest City, which is the middle of a developing much of the Capitol Riverfront waterfront and sponsored the trail, will hold a ceremony tomorrow to unveil its latest section: a 611 foot pedestrian bridge connecting Diamond Teague Park and the Park at the Yards. The new bridge will surmount the DC Water facility now dividing the two parks, furthering the pedestrian path that will eventually parallel the Anacostia River and wrap around Buzzards Point, connecting northeast D.C., the southwest waterfront, and the tidal basin. (photo below credit to Capitol Riverfront BID)

The bridge - an arched pier with wood (ipe) planking and steel cabled rails - was designed by Paul Friedberg of MPFP LLC, a New York landscape architecture and urban planning firm that designed the neighboring park and Capitol Riverfront's first footbridge (pictured at right).

The new bridge will rise up to 18 feet above the average waterline to allow service boats to access the O Street pumping station, which pumps water to the Blue Plains treatment facility. The incandescently lit pier will offer interpretive graphics talking about the use of water and history of DC water.

Diamond Teague Park, just below Nationals Stadium, now becomes the western terminus of bike trail. Michael Stevens, Executive Director for the Capitol Riverfront Business Improvement District, says the next westward expansion depends on development of the Florida Rock development site, which is still in the planning stages. Stevens predicts that by 2013 the trail could connect the baseball stadium to Minnesota Benning.

Your Next Place

By Franklin Schneider

Would you like to live in Ledroit Park? Of course you would. Any neighborhood with its name on a metal archway over the main road in has to be good. That, or you live in EuroDisney.

This gleaming new condo unit offers an open plan first floor that's made for entertaining; the space is bisected by a huge kitchen, with a bright living room in the front of the house, and a generously sized dining area in the rear. The kitchen itself boasts a gas range (with hood) and silestone counters. There are also the requisite high ceilings, recessed lighting, hardwood (maple) floors. Out back, there's also a private deck, off which you just know that one stupid friend of yours will urinate during halftime of your Super Bowl party. What's wrong with him?

Upstairs are two master bedroom suites, both very fine. Also, this stretch of Sixth Street is one-way and in that sort of weird limbo between Florida Avenue and the Howard University campus, so it's really really quiet. I live just three blocks west on Sixth, but in front of my house it's a nonstop ambulance drag race-slash-siren exhibition. So I was pretty jealous. I offered to trade places straight up, but the agent turned me down. I thought this was rather shortsighted of him. Sure, it comes with a huge colony of black mold on the living room wall, but just do what I do – put a “Wolverine” poster over it. Problem solved!

1915 6th St. NW
2 Bedrooms, 2.5 Baths
$565,000

DC's Land Grab

Federally-owned property islands throughout Washington, D.C. puncture the District government's urban domain, often for obvious reasons, but in some places that seem without rationale for federal jurisdiction. Recent efforts by Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton and the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development have begun to sew together some of the holes, parcel by parcel, adding more territory of the city. The Louisiana Purchase it is not, but a recent bill in the House of Representatives may transfer a cluster of lots from the Department of the Interior to the District. The lots are:

1) Square 336, Lot 828, the site of the Shaw Junior High School recreational fields, valued at $14,689,890.00 as of 2009 (all property values according to the DC Citizen Atlas)

2) Square 542, Lot 85, the site of the Southwest Library, valued at $15,318,280.00 as of 2008,

3) Square 2864, lot 830, the site of Meyer Elementary School (across from Howard University), valued at $13,378,420,

4) Reservation 277-A, a small traffic island at Florida Ave. and North Capitol St.

5) Square 2558, Lot 803, part of the Marie H. Reed Community Learning Center, valued at $519,570, and

6) Square 2558, Lot 810, part of the Marie H. Reed Community Learning Center, valued at $4,758,510.

Shaw Junior High Rec Fields

As part of an effort to consolidate administrative rights on land within the District's jurisdiction, Congresswoman Norton (D-DC) introduced a bill (H.R. 5494) to the House of Representatives on June 9th. The bill mandated that the Director of the National Park Service and the Secretary of the Interior transfer six properties to the District of Columbia, gratis.

Southwest Library

Valerie Santos, Deputy Mayor for Planning and Business Development sat on the panel that addressed the subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands on June 24th, testifying in favor of the transfer of the parcels to the District. While Santos advocated for the transfer, her office explained the rationale:

Meyer Elementary School

"There are no defined uses identified at this point in time. The parcels in question were aggregated through a variety of means. In some cases, the transfer was borne out of community-based discussions on possible future alternatives for these properties. In other cases, the parcels were selected by virtue of the existing uses on the site and the possibility of future co-locations at some educational campuses," said Jose Sousa in the Deputy Mayor's office.

Florida Avenue

The two Department of Interior parcels present a pertinent example of how one building - the Marie H. Reed Community Learning Center - constructed over multiple parcels, sits on both Federal- and District-administered land. The Deputy Mayor's office reports that while there have not been any problems with the administration of the building as is, "complete site control guards against the possibility of any difficulties in the future." There are no plans to redevelop this site. The Shaw Junior High School Recreation fields and Meyer Elementary School are unoccupied, and the intersection of Florida Ave. and North Capitol St. is a traffic island. This intersection is slated as a mixed-use zone under the District's 2006 Future Land Uses map. The city shut down the Meyer Elementary School because of persistent poor performance and violent crime on the premises.

Marie H. Reed Community Learning Center

"This administration is committed to the re-activation of fallow sites across the District. Our office will work with the communities in which these parcels are located to determine what possible uses are best suited to the sites. Similarly, we will continue to evaluate whether there are other parcels in the Federal inventory that would benefit the District in the same fashion," said Sousa. On a large-scale perspective, he compared the city's efforts to redevelop these parcels to the Hill East Project, another federal acquisition, which began the master planning process in 2002 with the intent of better connecting DC to the Anacostia waterfront through a mix of uses. Time will tell if that means new developments on any of the city's newfound property.

Washington DC real estate development news

Riverfront Area South of the Ballpark: Out With the Old, Nothing New Until 2013

Just south of the Nationals stadium, one of the last remnants of the area's industrial past will soon fall, making way for 1.1 million s.f. of residential, office, retail and public access to the riverfront. Despite the progress, the wait time for new apartments, condos, restaurants, shops and water features continues to increase, with construction likely pushed back to 2013, at least.

The development team behind the long imagined mixed-use RiverFront on the Anacostia, located along the unit block of Potomac Avenue, SE, in the Capitol Riverfront area, asserts that the project is moving forward, albeit slowly due to the decision to deliver a residential building in the first phase, and not office space, as the PUD currently allows.

David deVilliers, president of Florida Rock Properties, the project developer and wholly owned subsidiary of land owner Patriot Transportation Holding Inc., confirmed that the first phase switch - announced this summer - is still being pursued, and that an informal process is currently ongoing in order to prepare a formal filing with the Office of Zoning to rezone the PUD in the "next 30 to 60 days."

deVilliers said he hopes Zoning will be "quick" to approve the request, but he is realistic about the time required to pursue the market-driven change. After approval, if granted, construction drawings will take approximately 9 months, followed by the several-month-long permitting process, resulting in construction likely to begin in 2013.

Meanwhile, the defunct concrete plant - Florida Rock - currently on site will be razed in the coming months. Activity at the plant wound down in mid-September, and a raze permit was issued last week, allowing demolition to begin, to be followed by environmental remediation.

In the year-long interim, the site could be used for something, but just what remains to be seen. Ted Skirbunt with the Capitol Riverfront BID acknowledged that while there probably won’t be any use before next summer, the BID has, and continues, to discuss potential uses with MRP and FRP.

Coinciding with the July announcement of the rezoning pursuit, was disclosure that local Midatlantic Realty Partners LLC, (MRP), founded by Fred Rothmeijer, came on board to partner with Florida Rock Properties on the stalled development, bringing with it $4.5 million in capital. Due to previous difficulty securing financing for the project - conception of which dates back to the '90s - the PUD was given a two-year time extension in 2009.

deVillers added that the partnership with MRP, under the leadership of Rothmiejer, is going well and the team is "fully engaged" in the project and committed to moving forward with the rezoning process, soon.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Douglas Apartment on 14th Street, Financed and Waiting for Permit

With construction financing secured a little less than a month ago, Douglas' 6-story, 30-unit apartment at 2221 14th Street, NW, is moving forward, having awarded the general contractor position to Donohoe Construction last week.

As reported in June, the project was expected to be underway around this time, however, a building and raze permit for the site (applied for in May and in August, respectively) are still pending.

Designed by Sacha Rosen of R2L: Architects, the building is a contemporary assortment of glass, metal, brick and terra cotta panels with sharply angled bay windows fronting 14th Street and Florida Ave. Not going condo - as several projects on 14th Street are - the building is designated as apartments with ground-floor retail space and 10 below-grade parking spaces.

Demolition of the defunct auto shop on site will take place before construction can begin. A large mural will cover the exterior wall of brick (the building's backside) that will rise over the adjacent 3-story building to the south - a requirement put in place by the Board of Zoning Adjustment.

Douglas had previously worked on bringing a 10,000-s.f. retail structure, designed by George Myers of GTM Architects, to the site.

Amendment: Permit application filing dates were transposed; raze permit was applied for in August, and building permit in May

Washington D.C. real estate development news