Cluster Luck?

The Department of Housing and Community Development has issued a solicitation for developers to bid on four clusters of land in the Southeast, Northeast, and Northwest quadrants of DC, in the hopes of turning underutilized property into affordable and market rate housing. The Property Acquisition and Disposition Division (PADD) of the DHCD is offering the sites in an effort to dispose of properties in its inventory while maximizing the city's profit from their sales. PADD will base its selection on proposed development plans, pricing proposals, the amount of affordable housing offered and the potential community and local business benefits. Developers must present evidence of complete funding for their proposal; the developers selected will take title to their respective cluster on which all existing non-historic structures will be razed.

The clusters are:

Site Cluster #1 (Anacostia)
1700 W Street, SE
1704 W Street, SE
1708 W Street, SE
1712 W Street, SE
1716 W Street, SE
1720 W Street, SE




Site Cluster #2 (Old City)
4540 Kramer Street, NE
1613 Kramer Street, NE







Site Cluster #3 (Old City 2)

4 Q Street, NW
6 Q Street, NW
8 Q Street, NW
10 Q Street, NW
14 Q Street, NW
14 Florida Avenue, NW
16 Florida Avenue, NW

Site Cluster #4 (Old City)

1621 Kramer Street, NE
1627 Kramer Street, NE
1629 Kramer Street, NE
1631 Kramer Street, NE
1632 Kramer Street, NE
1633 Kramer Street, NE

The solicitation encourages proposals to include a mix of uses including family-style affordable dwelling units with two or more bedrooms so families can "grow in place". As usual, the District wants to see evidence of community outreach, complete financing that requires minimal financing from the City, and proof that the units will remain affordable for 15-24 years.

Proposals should specify the type and number of housing units offered, and the scope of new construction and renovations by providing floor plans, site plans, and amenities. In keeping with the Fenty affordable housing pledge, 30% of all proposed housing must be affordable with preference given to those who exceed the requirement.

The lucky developers selected must "participate in a transparent and collaborative process involving the District, PADD, and community stakeholders", and, as with any good business deal, the winner will offer the greatest economic benefit to the District and require the lowest amount of subsidy.

Submissions are due by September 17th; the District will select a winner on November 3rd.

MRP Breaks Ground on Washington Gateway

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

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

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

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

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

Washington D.C. real estate development news

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

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

Washington Gateway Project Images, Details

One of the more exciting proposed projects to hit the New York Avenue NE corridor the past year is MRP Realty’s Washington Gateway project, a $350 million development to be located in the NoMa section of Washington, just above the New York Avenue metro station at the southeast corner of New York and Florida Avenues NE, now the location of an abandoned lot and gas station (which will be going out of business in March). And MRP Realty has now provided us exclusive images and information about this anticipated project. Earlier this month, the DC Zoning Commission granted Final Action approval to MRP Realty’s plan for this 1 million-sf, mixed-use project, which will feature two office towers (600,000 sf of office space total), plus a T-shaped structure, with one side containing a 180-room hotel and the other side a 250-unit residential tower (with 8% reserved for affordable housing). 

MRP will also reconfigure, widen, and upgrade the walking areas along New York and Florida Avenues to enhance pedestrian access and safety, and also include new plantings and furnishings. In addition, sidewalk cafes and shops are planned for these thoroughfares. The project will also provide a direct connection to the metro through the Metropolitan Branch Trail via a three-story atrium. There will also be a public central plaza with cobblestones, benches, and a fountain, and will feature bicycle racks and a bicycle pump station. The architect for the office towers will be Gensler, with SK&I handing the residential and hotel tower. Land and streetscaping will be designed by Occulus. MRP expects to break ground in early 2008, with completion scheduled for early 2010. See the Washington Gateway site plan and more images of the project.  MRP Realty was created in 2005 by former Trammel Crow executives, and is quickly rising in the Washington metro developer scene, with over 2.25 million sf under development and another 3 million sf of development in the pipeline. Speaking with dcmud, Jonathan Lischke, MRP Vice President, stated that “[w]e are very excited about the project as Washington Gateway combines elegant and sophisticated urban architecture with sustainable design and smart growth. The buildings will be a combination of glass, metal, and pre-cast; incorporate green elements; and encourage pedestrian and bicycle use through proximity to metro and the Metropolitan Branch Trail. As one of the tallest projects in the District, Washington Gateway will not only have views of the Capitol Building but it will also be highly visible as a gateway to NoMa and downtown DC.”

Washington DC commercial real estate news

Howard Town Center to Finally Take Place of Bond Bread Building

One of the District's oldest property struggles may soon see resolution, ending a dispute that began with a promise by Mayor Walter Washington, DC's first elected mayor. Last week, current Mayor Adrian Fenty signed an agreement saying the District will at long last swap land with Howard University, a deal that will give Howard the property it has eyed since beginning its LeDroit Park Initiative for redevelopment more than a decade ago.

This exchange means Howard will receive the former Bond Bread Building at 2146 Georgia Avenue, NW. The lot provides redevelopment space for the long-planned Howard Town Center: 300+ residence units, 70,000+ s.f. of commercial property, a supermarket, and parking. The District will receive in exchange, the site at Florida and Sherman Avenues, and will solicit bids for a mixed-use project to include at least 300 housing units (30 percent affordable). Both Howard University and the District have wanted to complete this seemingly simple exchange but had been foiled by a legal conundrum dating back to Mayor Washington's promise to the Peoples Involvement Corporation (PIC), a 30-year tenant in the Bond Bread Building.

PIC, a federally funded nonprofit focused on community development, was founded in 1968, the year after DC Mayor-Commissioner Walter Washington took office. Washington, who became the first Mayor of the District under home rule, supported PIC, and verbally promised the organization that if it retained tenancy for two decades and made improvements to the property, the District would turn over its ownership of the Bond Bread Building. But, as any first year law student will attest, exchanges of lands do not meet the Statute of Frauds if not in writing.

In relying on the District's promise, PIC renovated the crusty digs, somewhat, and occupied the building for the requisite term. When the District announced its intention to swap the Bond Bread Building with a property belonging to Howard University, the PIC learned that it risked losing what it had seen as a multi-decade investment. The organization sought and received from Mayor Washington a written statement from the former mayor confirming his verbal promise to give away the site. In 2003, to protect its interests, PIC filed a lawsuit with the D.C. Superior Court against the District.

If PIC won its suit, Howard University stood to lose its planned project. The university had already hired Trammell Crow Company’s subsidiary, High Street Residential, and alumna Michelle Hagans to develop the property. The Howard Town Center project had received press coverage from the Washington Business Journal and other local publications as part of its plan to transform the neighborhoods surrounding the university. But Hagans, High Street, the architects, the construction firm, and planned lessees such as Fresh Grocer were now all put on indefinite (or potentially permanent) hold as they waited for the Bread Building dispute to rise.

And rise it did, doubling in size; the District decide to instigate its own suit, and it sued PIC to establish itself as the rightful owner of the property. Legally, Washington’s verbal property promise did not pass muster with the courts. In what would make a picture-perfect law school exam over tenancy rights and verbal promises for land subsequently written, PIC lost both cases, concluding that a Mayor's verbal promises could not be relied upon (duh).

In 2006, the D.C. Council considered the issue, first in a bill sponsored by Councilmember Jack Evans that would have halted the swap, but finally approving the exchange of the Bond Bread Building with Howard University’s 63,400-s.f. property at Sherman and Florida Avenues.

As DCMud reported in June 2007, legislation sponsored by D.C. Councilmember Jim Graham was supposed to get Town Center construction moving that year, with possible completion projected for 2010. Now, almost halfway through 2008, it looks like Howard Town Center may soon get out of its jam and into the Bread Building. The Mayor has said he intends to issue the solicitation for a development partner later this year.

Capital City Market to Get Pop-Up Restaurants?

For several years now, DC's Capital City/Florida Avenue Market area has had its generous, but fully stocked, 27 acres ogled by big developers and investors - MRP Realty, Sang Oh Development, J Street, Edens & Avant, to name a few - without any action post-PUD approval or, in one case, even District support.

Yet a new role to be assumed by Richard Brandenburg, well-known D.C.-area foodie and formerly of the ThinkFoodGroup, signals that some real development could be happening in the market area, and soon. Brandenburg has been hired by Edens & Avant, a large national property developer and owner, as its director of culinary strategy - a newly created position. As reported by the Washington Post - Brandenburg's job will center on restaurants and the Capital City Market. Sources familiar with the project now say Brandenburg is planning pop-up restaurants as a short term way to enliven the space.

Eventually, Brandenburg sees the potentially valuable commercial land as a "wholesale-retail center with multiple restaurants, a culinary school, even a USDA hub." But Edens & Avant's long-term goals for its property - based on Brandenburg's ambitions - might be a while in the making.

Edens & Avant controls approximately 140,000 square feet (3.2 acres) of land on the eastern edge of the market along 6th Street, NE, through a joint venture with J Street Development. The property slated for new culinary inputs borders Gallaudet and co-mingles 3.8 acres owned by the university. With low overhead and no real commitment, pop-up restaurants have been touted as a venue offering restaurateurs the freedom to experiment with concepts, without a large up front financial commitment. It's also a way to get money coming in quickly, as an intrepid chef, or property owner, and is a growing trend in big cities nationwide.

There have been many plans for redevelopment of the market over the past decade, including a small area plan by the Office of Planning in 2009, but the market has been a real estate quagmire: 120 lots, with 108 owned by 68 different entities, many still operational. No word yet on whether Edens & Avant and J Street are looking to roll up their shirt sleeves and try to acquire more market property.

Edens & Avant is "temporarily holding off on discussing [Brandenburg's] full position" until he is officially on board, says a press release, along with its vision for its market property, though a media contact noted that Brandenburg will have a broad role that will impact the entire Edens & Avante portfolio of 125 properties along the East Coast.

The Capital City/Florida Avenue Market is the current incarnation of the Union Terminal Market, opened in 1928 to replace D.C.'s Center Market, first opened in 1802, which was razed to make way for the National Archives.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Old Trash-Transfer Structure to be Thrown Out of Southeast

An old Department of Public Works (DPW) trash-transfer site at 900 New Jersey Avenue SE currently stands in the way of plans to reconnect I Street SE between 1st and 2nd Streets, and nicely square off the parcels to the north and south. But it won't stand for long; a raze application was filed on June 13th by the property owner, the D.C. Housing Authority (DCHA), and according to David Maloney, D.C.’s Historic Preservation Officer, “We will clear the raze application, it’s not a historic building; it’s a pretty typical industrial building from the 1940s, and we are not asking them to try to salvage any of it.”

Demolition of the structure will allow DCHA to sell the bit of land that currently overlaps the future I Street and protrudes into the land to the north, at 880 New Jersey Avenue, owned by William C. Smith + Co. (WSC). The belief is that DCHA will sell this small section to WSC, which will fill out the Square 737 site for WSC. However, DCHA will likely retain the majority of the property at 900 New Jersey Avenue, and develop it into additional Arthur Capper Hope VI housing.

"We hope that it's gone by the end of the year," says Michael Stevens, Executive Director of the Capital Riverfront BID, which will allow "I Street [to become] a major east-west connector."

Post demolition, land purchase, and the I Street connection, WCS will be able to begin phase one of its 1.1 million s.f. mixed-use project planned for the northern site, which it purchased from the Washington Post in 1999. Phase one will be a 13-story, 430-unit apartment complex.

Stevens adds that, "[WSC] intends to break ground in March of 2012, if everything goes according to plan with the trash transfer site."  The two-story, brick-concrete-and-steel structure was built in 1948 and is one of many designed by the municipal architect for the District, as was standard practice from the 1910s through the ‘50s.

The site is currently being used solely for the storage of Department of Public Works' vehicles.; trash-transfer operations and administrative offices have both already been relocated to Northeast, where the vehicles will also be headed. The old transfer site will likely need environmental remediation before construction is to begin, as it has dealt with waste for over a century. Previous to the current, 63-year-old structure, was a more rudimentary trash operation in place on the site at the turn of the 20th century.

The site is in a prime location, two blocks north of the Navy Yards Metro and east of Canal Park (now in development), and is part of the steady, ongoing transformation of the Southeast neighborhood into a vibrant live-work-play area.

"We'll see the trash transfer site and the [Florida Rock] concrete plant disappear, two of the last vestiges of our industrial history," says Stevens. "These sites will be put back to productive use. The Florida Rock site is already entitled as a major mixed-use project with office, hotel, residential and retail, but we don't know when they're going to pull the trigger on that."

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Lacey Condos Grand Opening

The Lacey, a new condominium in the U Street neighborhood, will have its first public grand opening party this Thursday, from 6:30-9:30pm. The Lacey is a new 26-unit condominium at 2250 11th St. designed by Division1 Architects and developed by a partnership of Imar Hutchins and Division1. The ultra contemporary project took the place of the empty lot next to the fabled Florida Avenue Grill at 1100 Florida Ave., itself a bit of a Washington institution. The catered event is being co-sponsored by Washington Humane Society.

Condos at the Lacey, now about half sold, start at $319,000 for one-bedroom units and the low $600's for two-bedroom units. The building is strikingly non-traditional, with design features like floating common hallways, glass demising walls that project light throughout the building, an ultra-quiet and hyper-efficient pistonless elevator, sliding glass interior walls, and Italian Snaidero cabinets. Four glass box penthouse units crown the project, featuring multiple private roofdecks with views stretching across Washington DC. Construction of the project, which began in May of 2007 and being carried out by Eichberg Construction, is almost entirely complete; deliveries began last month.

Washington DC real estate news

Washington Gateway Project Ready to Get Going

In late December, the DC Zoning Commission approved MRP Realty’s plan for its Washington Gateway project, a $350 million development to be located in the NoMa section of Washington, just north of the New York Avenue metro station along New York and Florida Avenues NE. The 1 million-sf, mixed-use project (pictured) is expected to feature two office towers, plus a T-shaped structure, with one side containing a 150-room hotel and the other side a 250-unit residential tower (with 8% reserved for affordable housing). MRP (created in 2005 by former Trammel Crow executives) will also reconfigure the walking areas along New York and Florida Avenues to improve pedestrian access and safety, and also include new plantings and shops along these routes. The architect for the office towers will be Gensler, with SK&I handing the residential and hotel tower. Land and streetscaping will be designed by Occulus. MRP expects to break ground in late 2007, with completion scheduled for early 2010.

Eckington Fairfield Residential Project Now Off?

Despite earlier reports that groundbreaking would start in June 2007, it now appears that Fairfield Residential and CSX Realty Development will not be pursuing their $150 million mixed-use development at Eckington Place and Harry Thomas Way, NE. Word on the neighborhood Bloomingdale blog is that CSX has decided to not sell the land for this project. The development, to be located on 4.3 acres across the street from XM Satellite Radio and north of the Fedex center just off the intersection of New York and Florida Avenues, was to feature three buildings containing up to 675 condo units, 15,000 sf of retail, and almost 800 parking spaces, with about 70 of the units reserved for workforce housing. The project was to also extend Q Street NE through the project, and connect it to the nearby Metropolitan Branch Trail (which travels under New York Avenue and then becomes elevated over Florida Avenue alongside the Red Line tracks). 

Washington D.C. real estate development news

New Townhome/Condo Project Breaks Ground in SoFlo

They may call it Capitol Hill, but to you and me it's in SoFlo (south of Florida Avenue) near Gallaudet University. Ground has officially been broken on Capitol Hill Oasis, a 10-townhome development at 915-935 12th Street, NE - the southern intersection of 12th and K Streets at Florida Avenue, NE. Each townhome supposedly consists of one fully self-contained, four-story dwelling unit — each unit with elevator, five bathrooms and five bedrooms (if you're stylin' enough for a 'vette, judging from the image on the project's homepage). In addition, the developers - 12th Street Partners, LLC, G. B. Herndon & Associates, Inc., and International Concept Homes, Inc. all - are constructing a four-story building containing 16 condo units (a mix of 2 and 3-bedroom units) behind the townhomes. Construction is expected to be completed in Spring 2007, though this might be ambitious. Pricing for the townhomes is believed to be $1.5 million each – quite a hefty price tag. Then again, this up-and coming neighborhood has not seen luxury five-bedroom townhomes before, so we shall see....

DCMud's 2009 Year in Review

DCMud looks back on 2009 by presenting the real estate year in review. In what might go down as "The year nothing got built," officials and builders at least found time set up the pins for 2010. And while 2009 is a year most real estate professionals would like to pretend never happened, it did.  Here's the best and the worst: 

Howard Theater Plans Approved (Jan 1) - The District approved plans to turn historic but dilapidated Howard Theater into an arts venue. Ellis Development expected work to begin by summer, but financing obstacles have left the building unmolested. 

Hilton Gets OK'd (Jan 2) - Lowe Enterprises received approval by the HPRB to renovate the "Hinkley" Hilton hotel and add a large residential tower on the site of its outdoor pool.  Renovation work got underway in the spring, closing the pool, but the condo tower appears far off. 

Work Begins on East-West Apartment Project (Jan 6) Post Properties began work on their 364 apartments in Hyattsville, MD. 

DC's Southwest Fish Market Loses Shacks (Jan 8) Several fish shacks on the waterfront were ordered razed as part of the plans for PN Hoffman to build its massive mixed-use waterfront community nearby, but the project remains a long way off. 

Ft. Totten Promises Development (Jan 14) Mayor Fenty joined Lowe Enterprises to announce the sale of 9 acres at Ft. Totten that will house nearly 900 new apartments, but work is not anticipated in the near future. 

Eckington Convent Gets Moving (Jan 15) In a literal push for affordable housing, Northstar Development tugged a historic convent to a new site to make way for a large, low-income housing project. Neighbors were less than thrilled about yet more affordable housing in the area. 

Montgomery County Votes to Endorse Purple Line (Jan 21) Amid copious argument, county planners said yes to adding a light rail line to the bike trail, enabling construction of the Purple Line from Bethesda to New Carrollton. 

Developers Propose Razing Meads Row (Jan 21) Owners of historic rowhouses on the 1300 block of H Street proposed knocking down the old beauty queens to replace them with a parking lot. Neighbors did not love the idea.

McMillan Sand Filtration Plans Get First Details (Jan 24) Developers chosen to build the crumbling McMillan site showed the public initial designs and ideas they hope will turn the vacant patch into a thriving town center.

Bethesda Post Office To Turn into Mixed-Use Project (Jan 27) The Post Office at 7001 Arlington Road received approval to turn it into a mixed-use development with 105 residences, thanks to Arlington-based Keating Development and KGD Architects, work has not yet begun. 

Eisenhower Ave Towers Approved (Jan 25) Lane Development's 22-story, 4-building complex on Eisenhower Avenue received initial design approval. The county voted June 13th in favor of the project. Much work remains before towers stand alongside the beltway. 

Alexandria Goes Green (Jan 26) - A working group adopted a LEED-certified plan for all buildings in Alexandria requiring special approval. The recommended standards are not binding. 

Auctioning Babe's (Jan 30) - Having kicked out rent-paying tenant Babe's Billiards, Clemens Construction was unable to get support for its years of effort to build a condo, and having paid $7.4m for the site, the wait couldn't last forever. The property was foreclosed, and Douglas Development added the real estate to its portfolio, intending retail, but the space remains vacant. 

Poplar Point Development Abandoned (Jan 31) - The District government and Clark Realty decided developing the 110-acre parcel of prime waterfront space wasn't such a good idea after all, calling the whole thing off.

Institute of Peace Gets Underway on the Mall (Feb 2) The five-story building, now nearly complete, took the place of a parking lot near the Lincoln Memorial. The building was designed by Moshe Safie and Associates, in the hopes of fostering world peace. Meanwhile, world strife continued. 

Kettler Produces Another Crystal City Project (Feb 3) Kettler began the third phase of its 10-building, 8-phase Metropolitan Park Development with a 411-unit apartment building designed by Dorsky Hodgson Parrish Yue. 

Fitz Condos in Rockville Auctions Remaining Units (Feb 10) Condo developer Elad ended nearly 5 years of marketing on the Fitz condos and sent the remaining 40 units of the 221-unit building to auction. In October, Elad did the same for the Colonnade, its Gaithersburg condo project. 

Metro station at Potomac Yards (Feb 11) Alexandria formally established a working group to explore the technical and practical viability of a metro station at the Yards, in preparation for further real estate development that does not choke area roads. 

Del Ray Apartments Roll Out (Feb 13) Work began turning vacant storefronts into 141 apartment units in the Del Ray section of Alexandria. 

Mixed-Use in College Park (Feb 24) The Mark Vogel Companies got the go-ahead for the Varsity, a 258-unit mixed-use apartment building in College Park. 

JBG Gets OK for Whitman Walker condos (Feb 25) After getting bashed by grumpy neighbors, the ANC, and HPRB for designs that seemed to please no one, JBG Companies and architect Shalom Baranes tweaked the designs to get the green light to build condos on the site of the Whitman Walker clinic on 14th Street.

JBG Plans 4-Star Hotel for U Street (March 2) JBG began plans to build a 250-bed luxury hotel in place of the Rite Aid, on a strip once known for its destruction in the '68 riots. 

Riverfront's Canal Park Steps Forward (March 25) Canal Park, a 3-block park through southeast's Capitol Riverfront, moved closer to reality when OLIN was named as the landscape architect for the project.

DCMud Chosen as Best Real Estate Blog (March 26) CityPaper selects this real estate journal in its annual "Best of DC."  Thank you, and thank you to our readers for all your feedback. 

Smithsonian Designs New Museum (March 30) The Smithsonian unveiled designs for its museum of African American History at 15th and Constitution on the National Mall. The Institute also said its costs had nearly doubled, to $500m. The following month, the Smithsonian announced that the Freelon Group, Adjaye Associates and Davis Brody Bond in association with SmithGroup were chosen to carry out the design. 

Frank Ghery Selected to Design Eisenhower Memorial (April 3) The memorial to the General and President will be built on Independence Avenue, between 4th and 5th Streets. 

District Selects Team to Redevelop SW Site (April 6) DC Selects Potomac Investment Properties, City Partners and Adams Investment Group to build half a million square feet of office and retail, and replace the fire station. 

Towers on the Way for New York Avenue (April 7) Bozzuto said it would soon begin building a 13-story residential building at 460 New York Avenue, and possibly makeover the abandoned warehouse too.

Donohoe Unveils Big Plans for Bethesda (April 16) The developer will build 81,000 s.f. of office, 457 residential units, and retail, on two sites in the Woodmont Triangle of Bethesda. 

Social Safeway Says Goodbye (April 20) The preeminent Georgetown grocer announced it would shut its doors and rebuild from ground up, but will it still be "social"? 

JPI unveils southeast DC apartments (April 22) JPI completed the 421-unit 909 at Capitol Yards, as well as the Axiom and Jefferson, a threesome of large apartment buildings near the new ballpark, bringing life to the "Capitol Riverfront" neighborhood. 

Arlington's First Platinum Residences (April 28) Erkiletion Development won approval from Arlington for a LEED Gold, 16-story apartment building in Courthouse, a 254-unit apartment designed by the Lessard Group. (see picture at right)

JBG wins approval for Bethesda Row centerpiece (May 5) The Planning Board said yes to Woodmont East, a 250-unit residence and separate office building built around the bike trail. 

High-rise Planned for Downtown Bethesda (May 23) The Clarrett Group announced plans to build an office building on the site of the McDonalds and its parking lot. 

Noma Gets its First Hotel (June 3) The Finvarb Companies and Marriott joined for a new hotel, one of many new Marriotts in the DC area, but the first place to sleep in Noma. 

Floridian Goes South (June 9) Sales at Kady Development's condo project, a bit of South Beach on Florida Ave., were stopped by the bank. 

Room and Board Picks 14th St. for DC (June 10) The retailer added to the growing 14th Street retail corridor. The store should open in the 2nd half of 2010. 

Founders Square Begins Demolition Work in Ballston (June 17) Work begins on the WMATA site that Shooshan will turn into two office towers and a sizable residential building. 

W Comes to DC (June 24) After a few changes in ownership, the Starwood Capital Group purchased the fading Hotel Washington, making it hip once again. 

Eastern Market Reopens (June 25) After a fire gutted the beloved market, the city had a new one built, with improvements to boot. 

JBG Gets Approval for Massive Twinbrook Project (June 29) The developer plans for Twinbrook Station, a 2.2 million square foot complex at the Twinbrook Metro. 

Florida Avenue Gets Jazzed (July 7) Banneker Ventures promised it was partnering with Bank of America to get going on the Florida Avenue project it won from WMATA more than a year ago, but which had not gotten underway; work has not yet begun. 

DC Passes Bill for Convention Center Hotel (July 14) Quadrangle Development is to build the 1100 room Marriott, but JBG protests the selection process, and the site remains a parking lot. 

DC Seeks to Finish Off West End (July 15) The District sought a developer for 3 low-density parcels, anomalies in the now-dense neighborhood. 

Curtain Call for Takoma Theater (Aug 1) Owners of the Takoma Theater promised to bring down the house, literally, to make way for an office building, then a theater, but the community is calling for an encore. 

Penn Quarter Gets Luxury Apartment Building (Aug 4) Hanover Co. opened its first DC-area project at Judiciary Square (see picture at right), while building another in Falls Church. 

District Cancels Lincoln Theater Development (Aug 6) Quietly, the District government withdrew its plans to redevelop the back lot, a scheme that would have helped fund the struggling theater.

Arbor Place Returns (Aug 7) Scrapping plans to build as many as 3500 market-rate residential units on outer New York Avenue, Abdo shifts in favor of less than half as many subsidized homes. 

DC Mandates Subsidized Housing (Aug 11) After the Executive Branch slowed the process, the Council finally got its way and forced builders to provide the city with cheap housing for the poor. 

Columbia Pike Lurches Ahead (Aug 20) After seceding from Virginia (bureaucratically), the Pike gets 325 new residences underway at Penrose Square. 

Southwest Towers Foreclosed (Aug 21) Fairfield Residential loses its grasp on The View, a refurbished apartment building in southwest DC, in another foreclosure statistic for the real estate market. 

Montgomery County Gets Taller (Aug 21) JBG caps its 24-story residential tower on Rockville Pike, making it the new tallest residence in Montgomery County. 

St. Elizabeths Team Chosen (Aug 28) The GSA selected Clark, WDG, and HOK to build out the new landlocked Coast Guard Headquarters, in what will be one of the largest construction sites in the District of Columbia. Less than a month later, the Feds broke ground on the site.

NoMa Caps Largest Mixed-Use Building (Sept 1) Soon residents will outnumber construction workers in Noma, as StonebridgeCarras and SK&I Architects finish 440 apartments and a hotel, possibly in early 2010. (see picture at left)

A Giant Delay (Oct 1) Street-Works vision for a large mixed-use replacement for the forlorn low-rise Giant on Wisconsin seemed to please no one, but developer Bozzuto plows ahead and discussions move forward. 

Park Morton Team Moves Forward? (Oct 7) Washington DC officials picked the team to build the capacious Georgia Avenue project - now with the Central Union Mission site included. Probably. Someday.

Clarendon's Affordable Housing Breaks Ground (Oct 15) The Views at Clarendon starts work on 116 mixed-income units after a long zoning dispute, going up to the Supreme Court, gets resolved. 

Northwest One Team Selected (Oct 27) The massive project that could transform the area close to the Capitol Building is set in motion, but the Mayor's choice of real estate developer raises eyebrows on the Council. 

Silver Spring Designs Downtown Library (Oct 29) The county releases its plans for the urban repository; the new building will straddle the new Purple Line, someday, when further details are worked out. 

Capitol Hill's Big Dig (Nov 15) CSX says it needs to tear up Virginia Avenue to rebuild the train tracks, just when residents of southeast DC thought construction in the neighborhood was nearly complete.

Bethesda's Parking Quagmire (Dec 2) Montgomery County wants PN Hoffman and Stonebridge to build 1100 parking spaces below Bethesda Row, but the $80,000-per-space sticker gives some locals road rage. (rendering at right)

Street Cars are Here (Dec 16) At long last, H Street's public transport arrives from Europe, but DC officials say that getting them running in Northeast is another matter.

Solea Condo Project in Columbia Heights Acquires Site, Groundbreaking Possible This Month

Last week, the Jair Lynch Companies, leading a team that includes the National Capital Revitalization Corporation (NCRC) and MacFarlane Partners, announced that the group has officially acquitted the land in Columbia Heights for its Solea project, a mixed-use and mixed-income live/work property. The Solea will be located on what was formally known as Parcel 34 at the northwest corner of 14th Street and Florida Avenue NW, just above the U Street corridor at the start of Columbia Heights. The 60,700-sf project will feature 52 residential condominiums (21 of which will be set aside for affordable and workforce housing), seven live/work units, and three retail condos (two of which will be affordable space for local business). Architecture will be by Sorg & Associates, with both Hamel Builders and Gilford Corporation as the general contractor. Tania Jackson, Director of Community Policy for Jair Lynch Companies, tells dcmud that the company expects to break ground on Solea later this month.

A Common Building for Petworth

Petworth's newest multi-family, Georgia Commons, will break ground by early next summer, according to developer Jair Lynch Companies (JLC). The 130-unit apartment building with 22,000 s.f. of retail will go up two blocks north of the Petworth Metro station by JLC and development partner AHD Inc. (Affordable Housing Developer). The pair was awarded the contract to build by the National Capitol Revitalization Corporation in 2006. The $38 million project, at 3910 Georgia Ave. NW is being designed by EDG Architects and Frank Schlesinger Associates.

JLC is the only developer that has two projects accepted into the eco-friendly pilot program LEED Neighborhood Development, which encourages Smart-Growth, transit-oriented development. According to the Congress for New Urbanism, an anti-sprawl organization with similar goals as Smart Growth, the new LEED program is "a joint venture of the Congress for the New Urbanism, the US Green Building Council, and the Natural Resources Defense Council...just as other LEED systems have improved building efficiency and energy performance, LEED-ND will reward efficient use of land and the building of complete and walkable communities." According to Tania Jackson, Director of External Affairs at Jair Lynch Companies, the new LEED designation targets sustainability on a macro-level instead of just "sticks and bricks." JLC's two LEED ND projects are Georgia Commons and the upcoming Solea, a mixed-use project at 14th and Florida, NW.

When completed, Georgia Commons will hold five-stories of mixed-income residential apartments organized around a central courtyard, sitting atop one level of street retail and two underground parking levels. It will be a contemporary structure, fitting into the Georgia Ave overlay zone, which aims to catalyze retail activity. "It's contextual but contemporary," said Don Tucker, Principal at EDG Architects. The project is a bit behind its original deadline, but is said now to have the financing in place to begin construction within 6 months.

North Bethesda Developers Seek Density as Solution to Sprawl

Developers of North Bethesda, having just completed the county's tallest residential building and the Pike's largest recent project, are hoping for an encore. Now nearing completion of the North Bethesda Market, developer JBG has begun courting the community for a second phase, seeking an increase in density for new office and residences that will produce demand for the 200,000 s.f. of retail built in the first phase.

Developers of Rockville Pike in North Bethesda have long hoped that if development continues, and smart urban planning matches pace, the congested corridor might make the triple-jump to a walkable urban district. JBG unveiled initial plans to the community last week, still just conceptual, that would add 745,000 s.f. of development with a 40% increase in density to the block just north of its current project. JBG isn't the only player in the game, as the White Flint Sector Plan highlights several other major developments in the area, including Federal Realty's "Mid-Pike Plaza," and LCOR's White Flint development. JBG submitted initial plans to the Montgomery National Capital Park and Planning Commission early on Friday the 27th, depicting additional retail fronting Rockville Pike and a series of residences on the block behind it. Approval could take anywhere from 18 to 24 months, so construction on the newest phase is not expected to start until late 2012 or early 2013.

After announcing earlier this summer that Florida-based restaurants Season 52 and Dolcé Amoré Café, along with furniture juggernauts Arhaus, will join Whole Foods and L.A. Fitness at the round table of tenants in the nearly completed North Bethesda Market, JBG hopes to broaden the scope of NoBe (or NoBeMa, take your pick) with an array of new residencies, office space, and expanded retail options. NoBe sales representatives said they are hoping Whole Foods will open for shoppers by spring of next year.

The new site extends the Market north to Nicholson Lane, replacing three low density 40-year-old office and retail buildings, and one new office and retail building. Torti Gallas will stay on as the planning architect. One of the goals in maintaining some sort of unifying theme within the development is the extension of Paseo north into Phase II.

Paseo is the "concept of an intimate, pedestrian-oriented, retail lined street" that is meant to tie together the residential and commercial aspects of the project.

Senior VP of Marketing Matthew Blocher depicts the community feedback so far as positive, as developers expect the enthusiasm surrounding the opening of the first phase to carry over as they continue to unveil second stage plans. But one of the obstacles to moving forward with redevelopment is getting the community and county officials on-board with the increased density. Developers say a minimum base density of 3.5 FAR is necessary to buoy the requisite investment, and appropriate given the proximity to the White Flint Metro, but authors of the White Flint Sector Plan currently recommend 2.5 FAR. County officials have been keen on spurring the kind of redevelopment that JBG is pursuing across the region, but have also been conscious of just how fast that growth is developed.

Washington D.C. Real Estate Development News

A Blossoming Bloomingdale

Bloomingdale - DC’s funky, off-the-beaten-track Northwest neighborhood - is on the verge of a clutch of new dining and nightlife options. When the dust clears in six to nine months, the neighborhood could have up to eight new drinking and dining establishments, potentially turning it into a genuine destination.

Sprawling west from the intersection of Florida Avenue and North Capitol Street, the architecturally rich neighborhood has offered few amenities to the swarm of newcomers, until now.  The area only gained its first table-service restaurant, Rustik in 2010; a second, Boundary Stone, took another year to open.  Now, it seems, restaurateurs and other entrepreneurs have discovered the area.  On First Street, a short commercial block will soon hold three new restaurants.

Aroi Fine Thai and Japanese Cuisine opened several weeks ago.  Directly across the street at 1837 1st Street will be Costa Brava, a Spanish tapas restaurant that could open in the next few months. According to a placard in the building’s window, the restaurant hopes to stay open until 3am on weekends, though the owner and neighbors (who oppose the hours) met for a mediation process last week, and ANC Commissioner Hugh Youngblood says the owner will probably be held to the same hours as Rustik next door, closing around midnight on weekdays and 1am on weekends.

An empty space at the corner of 1st and Seaton Place is scheduled to become the Red Hen, an Italian-influenced restaurant that Youngblood predicts will become a city-wide destination restaurant. According to the Washington Post, the owners are DC restaurant veterans Sebastian Zutant and Mike Friedman, and the interior architect—Zutant’s wife, Lauren Winter—is responsible for some of the city’s hipper eateries, like Rogue 24 and Chez Billy. There’s no word on an opening date.

Around the corner on Rhode Island Avenue, Grassroots Gourmet, a bakery serving cakes, cookies and coffee with a progressive twist, hopes to open at 104 Rhode Island Avenue in two weeks. At this point, the shop won’t have seating for patrons, but co-owner Jamilyah Smith-Kanz says the market will help determine the store. “We’ll see what happens: the neighborhood is shaping it as much as we are.”  

Next door, Demers Real Estate, which is leasing the building, says the company is negotiating a lease with the owner of Petworth’s Domku restaurant. The new establishment would supposedly be a vegetarian one, but Domku owners are not talking publicly.

Across the street at 113 Rhode Island Avenue, in a former barbershop, a window placard announces the Showtime Lounge, a coffeeshop by day, beer/wine/spirits hangout by night. There’s no word on when the establishment will open. “I think they’re taking their time on it,” said Youngblood.

Even North Capitol Street, not known for its high end retail, will sport several new establishments. Teri Janine Quinn, ANC representative-elect (who just won Youngblood’s seat) is opening a wine bar - Lot 1644 - at 1644 North Capitol Street. The bar will also serve food, and Quinn hopes to eventually add a cheese shop to the front of the building, though the latter may not come for a while. “I’m concerned about rolling that out immediately, because North Capitol doesn’t have foot traffic,” explained Quinn. She could not give a date for the bar’s opening.

A building two doors south of Quinn’s, at 1626, has been a neighborhood sore spot for years. Engine Company 12 Firehouse was taken over by local developer Brian Brown years ago, who promised to establish a hopping three-story restaurant, each floor with its own theme. The project was supposed to be completed by spring 2011, but construction simply languished.

Finally, last week, amid negotiations with the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, Brown sold the building to Abbas Fathi, who also owns Shaw’s Tavern. “We promised the city to have the entire project done in nine months,” said Steve May, who’s handling renovations. The final product will be a full service restaurant featuring American/southern cooking: po boy sandwiches, burgers, and hush puppies. But both Fathi and May were already involved in the project prior to the sale, and neighborhood observers are skeptical.

Washington D.C. real estate development news