The Flats will front M St., the alley and 9th St., one block from the Convention Center in the heart of Shaw and directly across from the Whitman. WSD’s version, designed by Eric Colbert, had been priced from the high $200’s to the $800’s; the new plan calls for one-bedroom units to start in the upper $100’s to mid $300’s, with target incomes from the mid $30,000’s to the mid $80,000’s. The original project was designed to be a mix of 45 residential condos, ground floor retail, artist lofts, and office space for associations and small businesses; the revised plan calls for 49 one-bedroom condos and 14 two-bedroom condos. Self Help says it expects completion in late 2008.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Flats at Blagden Alley Back to Life
Labels: Blagden Alley, Eric Colbert, Shaw, Walnut Street Development
Monday, March 29, 2010
Camp Springs Eternal
Labels: Archstone, Branch Avenue Metro Station, Prince George's County
In 2008, Archstone secured approval for a massive 19-acre mixed-use development, the Town Center at Camp Springs. The Town Center plans called for 801 rental apartments and 65,359 s.f. of retail to attract young professionals and employees of several nearby federal facilities. Though groundbreaking was supposed to begin this past fall, like so many projects, the Town Center remains another undeveloped Metro site, another victim of the times.
Peter Jakel, a Communications Manager for Archstone, told DCMud, "the project is planned for a future construction start, but we have not yet established a definite start date." An all-too-familiar chorus for a promising metro-oriented development.
In 2008, Archstone Senior Vice President Rob Seldin described his project as a sort of tipping point for the County, that drawing in young professionals and their entrepreneurial spirit would mean jobs and a new tax base. Seldin explained that, historically, "in PG County, it is typically very difficult to have housing approved, so really, what's been happening is these highly educated, highly skilled, highly compensated workers have been systematically disenfranchised, so they go to Arlington." The horror. Camp Springs would, according to Seldin, offer the same Arlington appeal to the young professional demographic and draw them into Prince George's County. But now that many college-educated, potential-homebuying, young professionals are unemployed and living at home, the Town Center at Camp Springs target market has dwindled.
The project, when begun, will deliver in three phases. Ideally, the first phase will offer 416 units, a 7,000 s.f. private club house with pool, followed by the second phase with similar amenities and 385 units. Phase three will be the retail space, all designed by The Preston Partnership, LLC. What year this will happen, no one seems willing to guess.
Other nearby metro-centric projects have fared better. Metropolitan Development's Metroplace at Town Center, situated between Auth Way and Suitland Parkway, began leasing its 397 rental units in 2006, and report being 92% leased. Across from Metroplace are two more residential projects, Chelsea Way and Tribeca, both developed by Wood Partners. Without the added value of retail from Town Center, however, Camp Springs will continue to be relegated to the category of sprawl rather than high-density metro-oriented development.
Prince George's County real estate and development news
Monday, October 18, 2010
Transforming Pee-wee’s Playhouse
For a bilingual 3-year-old in Washington, her father’s Russian heritage and a TV program’s format resulted in an unprecedented bedroom design challenge where Vienna, Va.-based interior designer Rachel James was concerned.
As a guest designer on HGTV’s child-centric program “Kidspace,” the former elementary, middle and high school guidance counselor-turned-designer, celebrated for her inspired children’s designs, set out to honor the family’s legacy but also to cultivate the interests of a spirited toddler with a predilection for nesting, reading and hide-and-seek – all on a $1,000 budget. The result: a Russian-themed room that reflected the cathedrals of St. Petersburg, including a headboard reminiscent of the fabled onion domes of Russian architecture, and a special domed tent into which the child could escape with books and just about anything else.
“In real life,” James elaborated, “the cathedral domes are candy-colored.” To that end a wooden headboard was “jigsawed out,” with batting, and the colorful fabric stretched across. The top of the headboard consisted of wooden sconces turned upside-down to emulate the points of the cathedral: high and low. The English and Russian alphabets were splashed across an opposite wall, and instead of an all-too-popular pink, the designer chose a kid-friendly but more elegant shade of purple, with a little chandelier to boot, so that as the child grows there will be less need for an additional redecorating expenditure. “It spoke to the needs of the parents and the child’s own preferences,” James said, “and it also is a fun, colorful room for her to grow up in.”
Don’t Eat Paste
Color palette, parental ideas and the child’s personality all withstanding, James takes the concept of kids’ design quite seriously when it comes to issues of safety, functionality and the kinds of toxic emissions readily found in such items as carpeting, where glue, backing and stain guards contain high levels of VOC’s. “In a study I think was done in Europe,” James said, “they actually found those compounds in breast milk, so it’s getting to the child somehow.” The designer said that more and more, parents are interested in eco-friendly carpeting and while she believes no product is 100 percent green, there are rugs made of natural wool and backing. And on the heels of hundreds of reported child choking fatalities, James’ drapery workroom, Stephenson Vestal, is the noted inventor and initial manufacturer of the Safe-T-Shade, a cordless conveyor for Roman and Balloon shades that eliminates visible cords and their inherent threats to young children. They work on a spring issue, according to James, and have been endorsed by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. She uses them liberally, when warranted, in her kids’ room designs.
Out Came the Sun
Where window treatments are concerned, James recalled a client whose 4-year-old was waking up each day at about 4 in the morning, and the exhausted parents came to her inquiring about blackout shades. Incorporating such with their daughter’s penchant for princesses and ball gowns (translation: things that are sparkly, magical, light and airy) presented another design challenge for James.
“Window treatments are very expensive and good design, along with quality furniture, is also very expensive,” James said candidly. “And kids grow so fast and their preferences change so much, sometimes every day, the majority of my clients want something that’s going to grow with the child.” Blackout lining, for example, can be put into almost any kind of fabric aside from a sheer or mesh, so James took the child’s two favorite colors, pink and a “turquoise-y blue,” in a shimmery fabric, and made drapery panels that contained the blackout element. A standard pleat and traversing rod on top, which helps them open and close quickly, finished the concept. “It’s flashy and iridescent,” James recalled, “and at 12, she’ll like it. Maybe even at 16 or college age, she’ll like it.”
According to James, while there are plenty of “child-centered, child-themed, child-sized things, and some of these things are so hopelessly adorable you can’t help but get a little club chair or mini-desk,” most manufacturers today recognize that people buy things into which children will grow. Sometimes the price point is higher for furniture that lends itself to conversion, and you have to pay for a conversion kit, James said, but for many parents the cost of a kit for when the child makes the transition from crib to bed is better than buying a whole new bed, for example. “It all depends on the motivation of the client to keep redoing the room,” she added.
Where the Wild Things Are
Fabrics-wise, especially for kids of toddler age, James said it’s a function of being a kid to smash trucks, spill Kool-Aid or drop popsicles. Stores such as Jo-Ann and entities such as eBay are good resources for more inexpensive and so-called kid-proof fabrics, and people tend to gravitate towards Target, Kmart or Walmart for durable kids’ furnishings and the like. “I have a designer friend with two kids who has just slipcovered everything,” James quipped.
Because of her education and psychology background, James said parents are often excited because they know that she is really in touch with their child’s sensibilities. If the child is older, James includes him or her in the design process by asking about favorite colors, favorite things to do, where and how the child plays, and how the child would describe him or herself.
“I think just like with any other design, there is a balance between functional interiors and beautiful interiors,” James said of her child-centered motifs, adding that she really misses being in school with the kids. “At some point, I’d like to go back into the helping professions, but for now, I really love what I’m doing.”
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Shops Open in Fairfax’s New “Urban District” at Mosaic
DC’s favorite shops and restaurants are flocking to Mosaic District, a $150 million Edens development with retail anchors such as Matchbox Restaurant, Black’s, Cava, MOM’s Organic Market, Nieman Marcus Last Call Studio, Dawn Price Baby, Anthropologie, South Moon Under, Angelika Film Center and much, much more. Target, the largest retailer at Mosaic District, will open its doors this Sunday, October 14th. A full list of retailers, opening dates and events is available at the Mosaic District website.
Also onsite are new townhomes by DC’s leading urban developer, EYA. The townhomes at Mosaic District feature three and four bedroom floorplans, contemporary architecture, garage parking, plus the company’s signature rooftop terraces. New homes start from the mid $600s and include luxury finishes such as hardwood flooring, granite countertops and stainless steel appliances. The townhomes are now 50% sold out and a limited number remain for Spring 2013 move-in.
In addition to the 40 shops and restaurants onsite, Mosaic District offers a shuttle to Dunn-Loring Metro station for easy access to the Orange line and downtown DC. It is perfectly situated where I-66, Route 50 and the Capital Beltway meet and Tyson’s Corner is a quick ten minute drive. Mosaic District is EYA’s 17th new home community in northern Virginia and a destination designed by leading retail shopping center developer Edens.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Skyland's Supreme Challenge
Labels: DMPED, Marshall Heights, Rappaport, Skyland, Torti Gallas, William C. Smith
Eight years ago, the National Capital Revitalization Corporation (NCRC) began planning a makeover of the strip mall, proposing 450-500 residential units and 280,000 s.f. of retail at the intersection Alabama Avenue and Good Hope Road, an area that saw none of the rejuvenation that occurred downtown over the last decade. The District-funded NCRC recognized the spot as a bullseye to spur development, one where private industry alone might not be tempted. The choice seems apt; shuttered beauty salons accompany a check-cashing outlet, a Discount Mart offers faded displays in the window, and the mismatched storefronts are united as much by their nearly-matching green awnings as by their peeling paint and disrepair. On a warm day, car traffic is heavy but the few pedestrians seem more inclined to linger on one of the park benches in front than patronize the stores.
Promoters have a vision: "A 20-year old dream, conceived by Ward 7 residents when this 16-acre site in southeast Washington, D.C. was declared a redevelopment zone in the late 1980's...will transform a disjointed retail area with limited offerings into a cohesive, well-designed, prominent living, shopping, and gathering place." Planners presented at a meeting to the ANC in February, promising a new retail experience for southeast: concentrated retail, multi-family residences, three above-ground parking garages, a 5-story streetfront presence, and reducing vehicular access points for less interrupted pedestrian traffic. As a bribe to locals, builders will throw several million dollars at homeowner counseling services, retail build-out subsidies, park improvements, sidewalk and road enhancements, and job preparedness.
The project was initiated during Mayor Williams' term, but the Fenty administration has gotten squarely behind the project, helping bring together the parties and promoting the project. The Council has even offered a $40 million Tax Increment Financing (TIF) package to provide gap financing to the team, a consortium including Rappaport Companies, William C. Smith & Co., Harrison Malone Development LLC, the Marshall Heights Community Development Organization (MHCDO) and the Washington East Foundation. The Feds, for their part, threw in $28m of funding to show their support. Even the ANC, which usually love development as long as its not in their district, voted to support the project.
With all the economic incentives and mutual bonhomie, what could stop such a beloved juggernaut? The people who own the land. A not-so-small detail in the rehash is that neither the development team nor the city owns most of the property; private owners (originally 15, predominantly retailers) still claim title to the land. And with concerns about displacement and the possibility that once the site is emptied developers will not have financing to build up again, owners fret that selling out means closing down, for good.
The District government is sympathetic, but not very. In view of the greater good for the area, the economic development that will ensue and tax revenue that will one day flow, District planners have opted to proceed with or without the owners' approval. In May of 2004, the District passed "emergency" legislation authorizing NCRC to use eminent domain proceedings - where the government determines and pays a fair market value and takes over the land - to acquire the 40 parcels it needed "in order to show the commitment of the D.C. government to the project." As the argument went at the time, if the District could not pull together a united front, financiers and an anchor store would be hard to come by.
That gave gastric reflux to at least some of the owners, who filed a counter suit to prevent the taking. The owners had two primary arguments: that the original PUD filed with the Zoning Commission was filed by a group that did not include the owners - an issue that is still outstanding - and that the eminent domain proceeding was unconstitutional, i.e., that the land was being taken for private use, not "public use" as required for eminent domain.
At this point forgive us for a brief Constitutional digression. The 5th Amendment to the Constitution reads, in part: "nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation." Characteristically simple language for the foundation of U.S. law, but one that has caused recent debate. Until recently, it was obvious that sole authority for snatching land had to spring from a "public use" (building a new road or sidewalk, laying electric cables, forming a park, or even laying a railroad which served without exclusivity) - one where the government could take the land to further provision of a community service.
All that changed dramatically in 2005, when the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Kelo, et al. v. New London, CT, et al. In the Kelo decision, the city of New London created a development plan for a waterfront neighborhood around an upcoming Pfizer research center. The plan was for parks, office space, retail and parking that would enhance the Pfizer site, one that was “projected to create in excess of 1,000 jobs, to increase tax and other revenues, and to revitalize an economically distressed city..." Some lifelong homeowners, however, resisted giving up their waterfront homes, so the city and a private entity called the New London Development Corporation (NLDC), used eminent domain proceedings to oust the residents.
The Court found for the city, arguing that although much of the space would not go to "public use", the Court decided it "had long ago abandoned any literal requirement" for reading the 5th Amendment, literalism being "impractical given the diverse and always evolving needs of society." So much for the 5th Amendment. The court abandoned the "public use" requirement in favor of a "public purpose" requirement; in other words, if the local government found a generalized benefit of some sort (such as "economic development") to the community, it was free to authorize the seizure of one party's land by another party. In addition to getting value-enhancing development next door, Pfizer received corporate subsidies to encourage it to build, while the shore-front owners were soon evicted and had their homes razed.
Kelo remains the Court's official position, and the Skyland project has nearly identical circumstances. But owners here see even less public use than in Kelo - no parks or public waterfront - distinctions that helped the court reach its decision. With the Court having lost Justice Souter, a key liberal vote in the 5-4 opinion, another look at the same issue might find a distinction in the circumstances that warrants a different outcome. (Conservatives, more furious with Souter than ever after this decision, later proposed an eminent domain proceeding against his private New Hampshire home for the "public benefit" of turning his family home into a museum dedicated to individual liberties and the study of the Constitution. Property rights activists used the decision to launch national speaking tours).
While the ruling is a bitter pill to retailers at Skyland, the worse aspect may be the knowledge of what took place after the decision. In New London, the city removed the homeowners and bulldozed historic homes, only to have the development plan fail for lack of financing. The former neighborhood remains flattened and unused. Pfizer later announced that it will pull out of its research center, just as its tax incentives reach their 10-year expiration.
Dana Berliner, Attorney with the Institute for Justice, was co-counsel on the Kelo case. In a conversation with DCMud, Berliner said the instance of eviction without subsequent development is a very common one. "What you are talking about here [at Skyand] is really speculative. Its a big development in a difficult part of town...that project could easily end up destroying the jobs that already do exist at Skyland. They could spend tens of millions of dollars and end up with nothing. Now, the project actually does employ people and raise tax dollars." Zina D. Williams, ANC Commissioner for ANC7B is more sanguine. "We have worked carefully with the developers to ensure there will be a space for the old tenants." Will the developers have the money to proceed with construction? "Yes, they definitely do. Rappaport and the development team have been working with assisting [owners]. ANC7B and the developers have been working very hard to accomplish what's best for the project; we are confident this project will go forward, we definitely support the development team."
In the wake of Kelo, many states revised their eminent domain laws to prevent such abuse, but the District did not. Elaine Mittleman, an attorney representing several of the parties in litigation with the District and aware of the Kelo fallout, refutes the notion that owners and tenants have been well cared for, and notes that this development is "highly speculative." Mittleman believes the developers have neither sufficient financing nor any substantial tenants, despite having previously teased the community with the promise of a Target. Representatives at Target have repeatedly denied they have any plans to open a store there, and the Skyland website says only that "the site is being marketed to prospective tenants."
Mittlement notes a change for the worse once NCRC was abolished and negotiations shifted to District attorneys, claiming that the District has never negotiated in good faith with the current owners, some of whom have come to agreements on a buy-out, only to have the offer reneged when the District took over from NCRC. But others may have it still worse. "While the owners have a right to 'just compensation,' tenants don't have such rights and have never received an offer to be made whole...and while homeowners must be relocated, businesses have no such right, and the District has done very little to help them."
The Mayor's office says only that "there are several outstanding legal issues associated with the project that have complicated the development process, but the District is working closely with the development team...to accelerate the pre-development work so the project moves on a parallel track with the legal process." Mittleman contends that fighting eviction during a recession has pushed several of her clients close to bankruptcy. "Some of the business that are now shuttered were operating when the this plan became known, this process has already forced some to close." Berliner supports that contention. "Many, if not most, condemned business do not reopen. They almost never get enough to start over" she said, citing the Nationals Ballpark as an example of eminent domain that cost alot more and produced less development than predicted.
Councilmember Kwame Brown, who may have the last word on the subject, told DCMud that property owners are at fault for not listening to the community and allowing their businesses and Skyland to become blighted. Brown said neighbors want to be able to shop in their community, but have had to watch as other neighborhoods throughout the city have been redeveloped, some of which came about through eminent domain. "The community is sympathetic toward the owners, but it's hard to attract an anchor tenant when you are mired in a lawsuit...We are going to move forward and get this done. We will develop Skyland shopping center."
Washington, DC real estate development news
Monday, February 05, 2007
Crystal City Office-to-Residential Conversion Expected to Start this Spring
Labels: Arlington, Charles E. Smith, Crystal City
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Kenyon Square in Columbia Heights Fills Up its Retail Space
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Flats at Blagden Alley Cancels Condo Plan
Labels: Blagden Alley, Eric Colbert, Faison Development, Walnut Street Development
Thursday, May 04, 2006
DC USA Project in Columbia Heights Breaks Ground
Revitalization Corporation (NCRC), together with
developers including Grid Properties and The
Development Corporation of Columbia Heights, will
break ground on the new DC USA project in Columbia
Heights. The event will begin at 11 a.m. on Hiatt
Place between Irving and Park Road. DC USA will be
a 500,000 square foot urban retail and entertainment
center next to the Columbia Heights metro that will be anchored by Target and include Bed, Bath and Beyond, Washington Sports Club, and Best Buy. It is expected to generate more than $12 million in new tax revenue per year for the city and will create more than 1,000 permanent and 700 construction jobs. Completion is scheduled for early 2008.
Friday, December 28, 2012
First Look at Parcel N at The Yards
Labels: Forest City, Robert A.M. Stern, WDG Architecture
Parcel N at The Yards. Image: Robert A.M. Stern |
Robert A.M. Stern is the primary design architect on the "Parcel N" project, WDG is the architect of record. Planning for the building is still in the design stage, although architects said they expect permits for the 340,000 s.f. structure to be secured by May 2013, with a groundbreaking set for August of 2013, according to WDG.
Parcel N at The Yards. Image: Robert A.M. Stern |
The Foundry Lofts, a 170-unit adaptive re-use project and the first residential building in the group, completed last year. In June Forest City secured funding for an adaptive reuse project called The Lumber Shed, described as the The Yards' "retail centerpiece". Another adaptive reuse of a century-old building into retail and restaurants, The Boilermaker Shops, is set for opening this spring.
Parcel N at The Yards. Image: Robert A.M. Stern |
Peter Garofalo, architect with Robert A.M. Stern in New York, said the building's design references the area's industrial architectural tradition. There used to be an old foundry on the site, Garofalo said, but it was torn down in the 1970's.
"What we are striving to do is build a building that references historical essences, but updates them in a playful and modern way and stitches those two vocabularies together..." Garofalo told DCMud. He said the design features glass on top of a traditional base. Materials include glass, concrete, and dark metals.
Parcel N at The Yards. Image: Robert A.M. Stern |
Designers anticipate one and two-bedroom units that Garofalo called "standard DC-sized," and don't foresee any micro-units. "There is some debate about it, but I doubt that is going to be included," he said.
Parcel N at The Yards. Image: Robert A.M. Stern |