Shops at Dakota Crossing and Costco to Start Now, Open Next Year

It's official. The District and the developers of the Shops at Dakota Crossing - a forthcoming 42-acre big-box retail destination revolving around Costco - have struck a deal.

On Friday, the development team, facilitated by a $46.5-million construction loan, acquired the Fort Lincoln land from the District. In turn, the District pledged a final $17 million in tax increment financing (TIF) subsidies. The site is now ready for construction to begin on the 430,000-s.f. mall, capping a portion of the city's urban renewal retail redevelopment vision for Fort Lincoln that dates back to the '70s.

Joint developers Trammel Crow Companies, Fort Lincoln New Town Corporation (FLNTC), and CSG Urban Partners (a CBE partner) will commence site work immediately ("any day now" sources say) to prepare for a formal ground breaking - likely in January or February - under general contractor Harvey Cleary.

The approximately $60-million project, with urban planning/architecture by Bignell Watkins Hasser, was also on hold pending environmental approvals, secured about a month ago says Cel Bernardino, VP of Development and Construction for FLNTC. Bernadino adds that despite skeptical press of late, the project still has the interest of several big retailers, and that the loss of Target, which is halting expansion nationwide, is not fatal. In addition to Dakota Crossing, Target at one time was also considering - but abandoned - both Georgetown Park and Skyland.

All incoming retailers will benefit from the $17 million in TIF subsidies from the District, which has supported the development as a neighborhood improvement initiative. Developers expect Costco to be open for business in less than a year - next November - just in time for large-scale, back-your-truck-up holiday shopping.

As for the rest , the Washington City Paper pointed out earlier this fall that it appears that the development is moving forward essentially on spec, after Shoppers Food Warehouse (and pharmacy) and Target pulled out of the site. But Bernardino says that although that lease has not been signed, Shoppers, along with plenty of others, did not back away and continue to eye the site, but that Costco is driving the project. "Costco has always been the big dog."

In all, the plan allows for 26 tenants in 13 buildings at the Shops, but as of now, only 182,060 of the 430,000 s.f. has been claimed by tenants: 154,000 s.f. by Costco and 28,060 s.f. by Marshalls. After Costco's building is delivered late next year, the rest of the development will continue to rise and retailers are expected to be able to settle into spaces by mid-2013.

CBRE has been responsible for leasing retail space at the Shops' site, which the company is marketing as "a strategic location on New York Avenue/Route 50... [with] easy access to an impressive 100,000 vehicles per day." Of these vehicle passersby, 2,500 will be able to swoop into a parking spot at the Shops.

Bounded by New York Avenue NE, South Dakota Avenue and 33rd Place, the location was hotly debated because the site is currently a forested area with wetlands that filter waste and prevent flooding. In order to move forward, the developers agreed to incorporate a new wetland into the site, with the design reviewed and approved by the US Army Corps of Engineers, the EPA, and the District Dept. of the Environment.

Additionally, in April of 2010, the District committed $3 million toward an effort to construct stormwater management ponds that will support the entire 360-acre Fort Lincoln redevelopment area, which includes the $80-million residential portion, The Villages at Dakota Crossing, with 334 townhomes and condominiums. The first of three phases will be underway soon, development of the site (roads, etc.) has already begun. Ryan Homes expects the first phase - construction of 63 townhomes and 11 townhome condominums (2 condos contained in each, for a total of 22 condos) to begin to deliver in 2012. Sales have begun, and already 15 condos have sold.

In the decades since developers of the Shops have been trying to gain ground, players have come and gone, and then come back again. Before Trammel Crow was involved, it was The Peterson Companies, and before The Peterson Companies there was Federal Realty Investment Trust and Trammell Crow. When Peterson Companies bowed out in 2007, Trammell Crow Companies stepped back in.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

GW to Demolish Last of Pennsylvania Avenue Rowhouses

George Washington University plans to demolish a group of historic townhouses along Pennsylvania Avenue, dating back to 1910, to make way for a large office building designed by Gensler.  The townhouses are nearly the last remaining historic real estate fronting Pennsylvania, excepting the Mexican Embassy. The six properties to be demolished from 2134 - 2142 Pennsylvania Ave., include tenants the Froggy Bottom Pub, Panda Cafe, Mehran, and Thai Place. 

The area lies just outside the Foggy Bottom Historic District, and the buildings are not "landmarked" as historic, so no historic review is required. A GW spokesman said "The 2007 Foggy Bottom Campus Plan included a historic preservation plan... During that process, the properties were examined and were determined not be historically significant." Convenient.  GW's idea is to create a sizable development akin to the recently completed Square 54 - located just west, at 2200 Pennsylvania Avenue - a $250-million, 2.6-acre development of GW-owned land developed by Boston Properties. 

For this project, GW would create a similar stream of revenue by again partnering with a third-party real estate developer responsible for developing, leasing and managing the building, creating income for GW through office and/or retail leases. GW media relations affirmed, "The future space will be commercial property with the potential for retail at street level along Pennsylvania Avenue. While similar in type of redevelopment, it will be on a much smaller scale than The Avenue/[Square 54]." The large building at 2100 Pennsylvania Avenue, now occupied by Kaiser Permanente, would be partially demolished, with the east portion left intact, and the west portion expunged. Kaiser intends to vacate the building in October of 2012. 

The glassy design by Gensler will be 11 stories and 130' tall, with an additional 3 floors below grade for 178 parking spaces, resulting in a total of 255,550 s.f., and will target LEED Gold upon completion. The University anticipates filing an application with the Zoning Commission early next year in order to modify what was approved for the site in the overarching Planned Unit Development "2007 Foggy Bottom Campus Plan" and increase by 40' in height and 45,000 s.f. the remaining building at 2100 Pennsylvania Avenue. An initial presentation of the project was given to ANC 2A this past Wednesday, and a second trip to the ANC should take place early next year. A Zoning hearing could come in the summer of 2012. The university aims to begin construction in early 2014.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Eisenhower Memorial Metal Tapestries on Display

In order to clearly demonstrate the artistry of the forthcoming Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial designed by Frank Gehry, the commission responsible for the memorial displayed two good-sized samples, showcasing two different production methods for bringing heavy metal tapestries to life.

The samples were on display at the site last week, and will return at the site - on Independence Avenue between 4th and 6th Streets, SW - next week, remaining up from the 12th to the 16th, during which time the Commission of Fine Arts will scrutinize the materials in question.

The Eisenhower Memorial Commission will meet with the National Capital Planning Commission for an informal design review on October 6th in advance of seeking preliminary design approval - from the NCPC - on December 1st.

Target date for delivery of the Eisenhower memorial is Memorial Day 2015.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Georgetown Park Goes Big Box

A recent effort to breathe life into Georgetown's only retail mall, The Shops at Georgetown Park at 3222 M Street, NW, has had the wind knocked out of it. The Georgetown Angels, a trio of ladies with boutiques at the mall and big voices for locally owned business, had banded together last year in a shared cause: to enliven the mall, increase exposure, and boost foot traffic off of M Street. But now, the mall is garnering some attention of a different sort, not what the Angels (think Charlie's, not Guardian) had in mind.

With the pending closure of Barnes & Noble down the street (the massive bookseller did not renew its recently expired lease) murmurs over the future of the mall (and inklings that H&M will move from the mall and take over B&N's corner spot) increased in volume, and are gaining validity now that several mall tenants have not only been asked to leave by the end of the year, but several packed up shop just yesterday.

Although property owner and operator, Vornado Trust Realty, would not confirm an 80,000-s.f. lease with Target, officials from the giant retailer have been exploring the viability of a large retail site with concerns about the traffic-choked location.

It's thought that Target will likely take up the basement (now a sorry food court and a DMV branch) and possibly the ground floor. A deal with Bloomingdales, for around 80,000 s.f., seems to have also been revived after initial talks fell through in 2008, although this is unconfirmed.

Along with a drastically different type of retailer and fewer retailers overall, Keith Sellars of WDCEP sees the potential for new restaurants to front the C&O Canal side of the property.  Retail tenant occupancy at Georgetown Park has fallen since 2009, and Kassie Rempel, DC native and owner/founder of mall-tenant SimplySoles, says of the change, "It's unfortunate, but I can't say it's a surprise." Rempel, one-third of the Angels, will be in the mall until the end of the year, and although considering a few relocation options, moving to the mezzanine level of the mall, as offered by Vornado, is not one of them.

Another Angel, Heidi Kallet, owner/founder of The Dandelion Patch, confirms she too is leaving Georgetown Park but says her shop "will stay in Georgetown." Finishing out the trio of Georgetown retailers, Stephanie Fornash Kennedy, owner/founder of the eponymous, eight-year mall tenant Fornash, has also received her official notice to vacate by year's end. Rempel says it's clear that Vornado, "is clearing out the first and second floors."

There has been talk of redeveloping the Georgetown Park mall since the late '90s; most notably when Herb Miller (of Western Development Corp.) and Anthony Lanier (of EastBanc, Inc.) entered into an agreement, in 1998, to pursue a joint venture to develop the property.

However, the mall, which opened in 1981 as a main component of the $200-million mixed use development by Western Development, was cruising along in the '90s, and into the early 2000s, and owner at the time Georgetown Park Associates (GPA) - which obtained the deed from Western Development in 1989 - wasn't looking to sell until 2006.

In March of 2006, GPA's sale of the property commanded a hearty $84 million, from Miller. Lanier sued Miller for breach of the 1998 agreement. Unease had been brewing between the two for a few years, after disagreeing on how to interpret an amendment, made in 2001, to the joint-venture agreement; Miller asserted that the 1998 agreement was void if not acted on by May 31st 2002.

Either way, the Georgetown Park deed was finalized on March 1st 2007.

In response to Lanier's lawsuit, as reported by the Washington Post in April of 2010, "Western sued EastBanc and Lanier personally for more than $50 million in damages, citing a malicious legal filing and other causes."

Though it was reported that Western defaulted in excess of $70 million owed to lender Capmark Financial Group, the foreclosure was called off in May, and a Vornado led group called AG Georgetown Park I LLC obtained the property from Capmark Finance/GP Partners LLC on July 9th 2010 for $30.8 million; significantly less ($54 million less) than Miller paid four years before.

Now, with Vornado a year into its ownership of the property, the site holds a mall that is a 30-year-old shell of its former self, and rapidly emptying. Long gone are the days when it drew local businesses, Georgetowners, out-of-towners and the like from M Street.

Washington D.C. commercial real estate news

From Native Dancer to Native Son: Restoring Sagamore Farm

By Beth Herman If you listen quietly and long enough to sounds in the mist at Glyndon, Maryland's Sagamore Farm, Native Dancer's hoof beats will join up with your heartbeat. Shining star of the (now) 530-acre horse breeding farm established in 1925 by Bromo-Seltzer inventor Isaac Emerson, the fabled "Galloping Gray Ghost" stands tall among the greatest racehorses of the 20th century, winning 21 out of 22 races, as well as a place in successive Sagamore owner Alfred P. Vanderbilt II’s own heart. The stoic, "unsentimental” scion of industry was reportedly never quite the same after his beloved horse’s death in 1967. Before its sale to entrepreneur James Ward in 1986, Sagamore Farm, which had been a 21st birthday gift to Vanderbilt from his mother (Emerson’s daughter) in 1933, would produce winners such as Discovery, Bed o’Roses and Native Dancer, and employ many dozens of grooms, trainers, blacksmiths, hot-walkers, domestic personnel and the like. When Maryland’s horse racing industry succumbed to revised federal tax laws and recession, Ward’s decision to convert the property to home sites was rejected by the community, so he commissioned renowned equestrian architects Blackburn Architects, P.C. to turn a portion of the farm into a private home/equestrian center for his wife. Several old barns were leased to thoroughbred breeding and training entities. But in 2007, smitten by the same dreams that were said to have seduced Alfred P. Vanderbilt II, Maryland native son and founder/CEO of Under Armour apparel Kevin Plank bought the farm, so to speak, with a goal to help revitalize the state’s racing industry. Plank’s mandate in also retaining John Blackburn, and project manager Daniel Blair, was to transform what had become a largely decaying historical landmark into a peerless 21st century breeding and training operation—without sacrificing its provenance. Loading in “Kevin had an outline and series of points—a program of what he wanted to do—how he wanted to get there,” Blackburn said, noting the former University of Maryland football team captain clearly wanted to return Sagamore Farm to its original glory. “His goals were to restore the farm, to build on that history and to develop his own thoroughbred breeding operation that would, at some point, produce a Triple Crown winner.” Embarking on a 10-to 15-year master plan, an existing 20-stall broodmare barn and 16-stall foaling barn comprised an early phase of the renovation with methods and materials emblematic of Blackburn Architects’ “health and safety of the horses first” philosophy. Known for their prodigious use of natural light and ventilation— the latter a component in a passive energy system, as well incorporating aerodynamic principles and recycled materials into more than 150 horse farms over 25 years, Blackburn and Blair applied these tenets to produce Sagamore Farm barns that entirely supported the needs of their diverse equine residents, but without altering the exterior aesthetic of the existing buildings. Removing typically large haylofts from each structure, opening up large but enclosed stalls and adding skylights and Dutch doors along the exterior to court natural ventilation, both the broodmare and foaling barns instantly went from “dark to bright, like night and day” Blackburn said, especially important for the broodmares. “You want as much light as possible, as early in the season as possible for them,” Blackburn explained, “so the horse cycles naturally, without the use of artificial light.” Citing temperatures that parallel each other both inside and outside the barn as key to the horses’ health, Blackburn also took measures to ensure smooth transitions. And using the sun’s heat from the rooftop and skylight, and the horse’s own heat and humidity (horses give off a great deal of moisture), the architect worked to bring air in low and exhaust it out high. This creates ventilation in the barn so it’s constantly venting whether it’s winter or summer,” Blackburn said. Additionally, a fan is typically placed high on a wall, directed into only one area of a stall, enabling the horse to move in and out of the breeze as needed. “Going back to the health and safety of the horse, when driving the design of a barn, you have to duplicate nature—where they can control their environment,” Blackburn explained. “As soon as you put horses in barns they lose that control, so the barn now needs to provide them those choices.” A sustainable tack Where humans and sustainability measures are concerned, rubber paver flooring, recycled steel in stall systems, recycled wood finishes— from the original barn— in flooring, cabinets and desks, and preservation of an existing exterior concrete block frame and roof framing, as well as insulated barn offices to reduce energy waste, were part of the design. With the inception of Sagamore Farm’s most recent phase, and particularly renovation of a 24-stall yearling barn which began on February 1, smaller 12x12 stalls will accommodate the younger horses, with sustainable materials from the two previous barns applied here, along with elements that include a signature Blackburn barns passive energy system also seen in the previous two barns. Speaking to various additional projects on the property, Blackburn said Sagamore Farm’s three quarters-of-a-mile training track was completely redone with footing developed by Plank himself and Under Armour, something separate from the architects’ work. According to Blackburn, the most interesting structure on the venue is the 90-stall oval-shaped training barn with an interior quarter-mile track. “It’s a very unique barn, with maybe only one other similar to it in the entire state,” Blackburn said. Acknowledging that Plank probably won’t need 90 stalls, the team is exploring how best to redesign the behemoth building. Another existing structure that fronts the track, and has been gutted, is a former dormitory where employees were housed and fed, along with an old blacksmith shop currently used for storage. A stallion barn, home to Native Dancer, also stands tall but devoid of life and purpose, with possibilities that include transforming it into a museum to honor Sagamore Farm’s most eminent equines. “Their use is a moving target,” Blackburn said of these and a host of other idle, existing buildings, including guest and reception spaces that dot the property. “As they develop the farm and breeding stock and get into more operational aspects, their needs may change.” While Sagamore Farm has yet to produce a Derby, Preakness or Belmont Stakes winner (Native Dancer’s great-great-great grandson Monzon ran most recently at Belmont), on November 5, 2010, its Shared Account, a 46-1 shot, won the $2 million Breeders Cup Filly and Mare Turf, defeating the celebrated Midday. Plank is admittedly taking his time building breeding stock, and a racing reputation, having crossed his first professional finish line as the creator of Under Armour apparel before he turned 30. And even with a quarter-century of specialty barns in his personal paddock, Blackburn, like Plank, is just getting started. 

Photos courtesy Cesar Lujan

The Shops at Dakota Crossing to Break Ground in May

May will mark the groundbreaking for the big box shopping center - The Shops at Dakota Crossing - on New York Avenue and South Dakota Avenue, NE. The $52 million dollar project on 42 acres is a joint project between Fort Lincoln New Town Corporation, CSG Urban Partners, and Trammel Crow Company that will house 430,000 s.f. of buildings and include Costco, Target, Marshalls, and Shoppers Food Warehouse.

Costco is scheduled for an August 2012 opening, with the remainder of retailers to open in March 2013.

The pursuit of retailers at Dakota Crossing has been at least a decade in the making with Costco the lead in committing to the site. The plans had been hindered by two obstacles, the primary one being the controversy that ensued over paving the current wetland that filters waste and prevents flooding; Ft. Lincoln New Town Corp. has responded by creating new wetlands reviewed by the US Army Corp of Engineers, the EPA and DC DOE. The second hurdle had been the delay in inspiring additional retailers to sign on to the location.

The shops at Dakota Crossing are part of an extensive development of the area that had started in the 70's under the city's Urban Renewal Plan. The development includes 1370 residential units, including condos and rentals that were built during the 1980’s and 1990’s; the 127-unit Wesley House senior apartments opened early last summer; and 209 town homes were completed in July 2010 that have sold out at an average listing price of $460,000.

Still in the works are the Villages at Dakota Crossing situated at Ft. Lincoln Drive and 33rd Street N.E., an $80 M, 334 town house and condo project for which the January ground breaking has been delayed, as well as the Ft. Lincoln multi-family development of 352 units on target to break ground in 2012. Townhouse construction on the 54 City Homes at Fort Lincoln started this past January.

Despite Fort Lincoln's stated commitment to the environment regarding the retail project in particular - with cisterns, green roofs, green walls, and other low-impact development measures - dismay over the 2000-plus surface parking spaces has fueled the ire of community groups and residents. On its website Anacostia Riverkeepers wrote, "The developer has proposed ways to mitigate storm water, but. . . [we do not] feel the proposed plan goes far enough. Anacostia Riverkeeper is not opposed to the project per se but believes strongly the proposal should be redesigned to protect the existing wetlands and control stormwater pollution in the Anacostia Watershed."Washington, DC Commercial Real Estate Development News

Mayor Predicts Lift Off for Skyland

D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray predicted on Tuesday that the contentious development of the Skyland shopping center will be underway as early as September. News of the impending construction caught its developers and occupants by surprise, but both seemed to take announcement of the project's birth in stride.The foundering Southeast D.C. shopping center has been in the government's crosshairs for more than a decade, with Washington D.C. planners dreaming of Skyland Town Center, an economic nativity centered around big box retail and new mixed-use, 18 acre community. Planning for the site began more than 20 years ago, and rather than buy out the owners individually, in 2005 the city began eminent domain proceedings against its many owners, and has since claimed title to the property with the intent of handing it over to developers to redo. But jettisoned owners, backed by property rights advocates, have fought tenaciously to reclaim their titles they say were wrongly seized.

Meanwhile, erstwhile developers Rappaport Companies and William C. Smith & Co. et al have continued to promote the expected vitality from a redesigned building despite the lapse of time and lack of forward motion. For several years promoters and the District government maintained that Target was on board, anchoring the project, lubricating capital, and ensuring success. With Target now officially out, Walmart has become the dream (potential) anchor. But with a thicket of legal challenges, no signed tenants, financing uncertain and lack of a land agreement with the District, the project seems much the same as it did 5 years ago, excepting approval of plans by the Zoning Commission last summer.

Despite the Mayor's confident prediction, the developers are sanguine, noting that much work remains even if some demolition takes place on the Mayor's schedule. "There are still eminent domain issues" says Sheryl Simeck, Vice President of Marketing and Communications for Rappaport. "The next step is for the District of Columbia to own all of those parcels. We've taken it as far as we can." Lawyer Elaine Mittleman, representing several owner-tenants, agrees, and says the transfers of title were not only unconstitutional but ineffective, making demolition unthinkable. Mittleman's suits have been denied by the courts, but other suits continue to work their way through the legal dockets, and Mittleman points to a variety of ailments to the District's claim to clear title.

Still, the government might win by attrition, outliving tenants slowly driven out by uncertainty and by a neglected shopping center that becomes ever more decayed. Some tenants have paid rent to the District government, others have not done so for years. "It's a tragedy" says Mittleman. "There's no funding, no agreement, no title, no tenants. It's the opposite of economic development." Mittleman says the government has stonewalled her FOIA requests and has failed to provide answers to many procedural requests, complicating representation of the owners. Still, having seen eviction deadlines come and go, tenants remain more frustrated than fearful, and yet none seem to doubt the ultimate resolve of the government to see the project through.

The development team also includes Harrison Malone Development LLC, the Marshall Heights Community Development Organization (MHCDO) and the Washington East Foundation, Silver Spring based architects Torti Gallas, and Washington D.C. based WCS Construction.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Barracks and Castles and Gardens

On Thursday night's calendar of the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) is a plan regarding the ongoing construction of an 8th Street Bavarian beer garden at 720 L Street S.E., on the heels of last month's raze application from the National Community Church for the Miles Glass site at 8th and Virginia, where it plans to build what will amount to its headquarters.

While these may represent ordinary changes in Barracks Row, it's the beginning of a series that will include the transition of behemoth The Blue Castle - formally known as the Navy Yard Car Barn - a 99,000 s.f. space that its developers intend to eventually turn over to retail.

This significance of the change on the street is not taken lightly. Even The New York Times had taken notice last month.

The building, purchased for $25 million by Madison Marquette in 2007, now 100% leased, currently houses social service providers and charter schools. "We don't want word to get out there that we're changing something soon because we don't want to scare the tenants," said Retail Director Christina Davies of the Madison Marquette retail group. "They're great tenants."

And yet retail for the neighborhood has always been in the plans. The Blue Castle allows for a massive influx of retail to the area without having to build new construction. In its former life, the building was built in 1891 as the repair center for trolleys and street cars.

What is Madison Marquette waiting for? "The right tenant," said Davies. In the meantime, superstores and smaller businesses are actively courting the developers, they say. "We have the option for both," said Davies. "We can lease to a series of restaurants and banks, for example, or a big box client. We just haven't decided yet."

Davies cites high ceilings as a draw for superstore retailers or, say, a gym. But folks from the Barracks Row Main Street would prefer "vibrant ground level tenants," said Martin Smith, Executive Director for the organization. "We would like to see retail that engages with passers-by," he said. "That traditionally does not include big box stores. There are two levels to the building, however, which may be a terrific place for a big box tenant." Columbia Heights' DCUSA serves as an example, with smaller retail at street level, with Best Buy and Target on upper levels.

Earlier this year, Madison Marquette, ICP Partners LLC, Barracks Row Main Street and Capitol Riverfront District discussed possibilities in zoning changes for various projects. While all storefronts facing historic 8th Street SE will remain at 45 feet in accordance with the zoning overlay, Smith noted the possibility of back-end building expansions of 65 to 85 feet in height on a per project basis, amendments that would allow for bigger clients.

Also in discussion is a second restriction in the overlay of Barracks Row which requires that no more than 50% of available street frontage is allowed to have a liquor license. "This may not be a problem now, but it could be as we move forward," said Smith.

Washington, D.C. Real Estate development news

Arlington's Block Busting Year

One of Arlington's most stubbornly static development sites - a superblock of three stagnant development parcels at the Courthouse Metro station - is finally ready to start construction in what could be a fraternity of development initiatives. Developers of the 1800, 1900 and 2000 blocks of Wilson Boulevard, all located on the same block, have been working separately for years to build large, mixed-use projects on their respective sites, and now the latter two say they will start construction this year for vast amounts of retail, housing, and office space, broken up with a new street between them.

Elm Street Development plans to start its construction on 2000 Wilson Boulevard (formerly the Taco Bell and Dr. Dremo's site), known now as 2001 Clarendon, with 30,000 s.f. of retail space and 154 residential units, while USAA, which purchased the 1900 block of Wilson Boulevard late last year, plans to start work this fall on a mixed-use, predominantly residential project. Working out approvable developments on both sites required land swapping and an endowment of land to Arlington to extend Troy Street, connecting Wilson and Clarendon Boulevards. Meanwhile, developers at the eastern end of the superblock on Rhodes Street are still vying to get financing to double the size of the office space and integrate retail.

2000 Wilson
The stuttering progression at 2001 Clarendon was initially planned to begin in late 2007 as a condominium, but in 2008 switched to apartments (in theory), shooting for a 2010 completion. In early 2010 Elm Street VP Jim Mobley said the team was again "looking at" the concept of condos, "financing dependent." With financing now in place (underwritten as apartments), construction is near, with the likely chance of condo conversion down the road. Retail space will front 3 streets, subdivided into small storefronts. Because of Elm Street's rejiggering of the plans, at Arlington's suggestion, no permits have been issued, but sources for the project say work is expected to commence late this year.

George Dove, Managing Principal at WDG Architecture, which designed the 6 story "extremely contemporary" building, notes the challenges facing the climbing site. "From a zoning standpoint, between Courthouse and Rosslyn, you have a sequence of height limits, and you have elevation changes, so it has a series of levels that drop-off as you move down the street, like stair-steps. This had alot to do with driving the design." Besides shooting for basic LEED certification, an Arlington requirement, 2001 Clarendon will incorporate a series of green roofs. "This is the antitheses of the high-rise, urban, compact residential project. It stretches out over a much larger floorplate. That gives alot of rooftop areas at different levels, it is definitely not a boring facade," said Dove.

1900 Wilson
Across the (not yet built) street, USAA has purchased 1900 Wilson Boulevard, along with its plans for a 5-story mixed-use residential building. USAA bought the Hollywood Video site from Zom, Inc., which had already birddogged plans to construct residences through Arlington's approval process. USAA will retain Zom as a fee developer to build out the project. Torti Gallas designed the more urban seeming structures with large retail spaces along Clarendon Boulevard and live/work spaces along Wilson Boulevard.

Sources involved in the development say no dates have been set, but that work is "on target" to materialize this year, and Hailey Ghalib of USAA says the the developer expects to build in the third quarter of this year and is working with Harkins Builders on pre-construction issues, but has not yet signed a construction contract nor obtained construction permits. Construction is expected to last 22 months.

1800 Wilson
The lone holdout at this point is the eastern end of the block, slated to demolish Rhodeside Grill and Il Radicchio to more than double the office space used by the National Science Teachers Association. The NSTA has teamed with developer DRI to expand their Arlington headquarters at 1840 Wilson, with an approved site plan in hand. NSTA hopes to build a 107,000 s.f. office building with 10,000 s.f. of retail, taking up an adjacent surface parking lot. The site plan was initially approved in November 2005, amendments were approved in July 2008 and November 2008 to resolve façade and parking issues, but the project is on hold pending financing, which the team is "working very hard" to secure, of course. The NSTA has already contracted Davis Carter Scott as the architect and DPR Construction Company as the general contractor, if and when the bankers come to the rescue.

As if that weren't enough, work is now underway next door in the 1700 block of Wilson Boulevard, where Skanska is building a 5 story office building. Get ready for a loud but productive year, and lots of cranes.

Arlington Virginia real estate development news

The War On Windows

By Beth Herman

Designing a 5,900 s.f. home for his own family in Bethesda, Md., interior designer I. Michael Winegrad, of I. Michael Interior Design, decided to travel a controversial road when building for himself – strictly without an architect. The three bedroom, three full and two half bath home, still under construction, and which includes the designer’s office and library with a separate entrance in its finished basement, is an exercise in creativity and independence for Winegrad, who admittedly tires of battling architects and mending their mistakes.

“It’s a touchy subject”, Winegrad said, “but most of the time architects and interior designers don’t agree about how to design a house and really don’t like each other for different reasons. I’m continually fixing problems,” the designer said. “Quite simply, as an interior designer, our job is to manipulate, control and create the interior environment in which one works or lives. We work from the inside out,” said Winegrad, whose portfolio includes residential, hospitality, commercial and religious projects in greater D.C. and throughout the world. “An architect works from the outside in.”

The Charge of the Light Tirade

Citing a litany of issues including a ubiquitous window placement flaw perpetrated by architects, Winegrad said it is standard for an architect to fenestrate with eastern or western exposures, contingent on light and view. “If you have them facing sun or view,” he said, “and then the homeowner moves in on that first day, when the sun comes up or sets, depending on the room, they can’t sit there – they can’t use the room because the sun’s in their eyes.” In addition to that, sunlight can promote intense heat gain in the summer, taxing HVAC systems and the environment. It will also fade fabrics and bleach artwork and rugs, he indicated, adding that he generally espouses a northern and/or southern exposure.

Speaking to other fractious design issues, Winegrad said he can’t begin to count how many phone calls he gets from people who say they “… don’t know how to dress this window, don’t know where to seat the furniture, or can’t put their TV in the bedroom,” all because architects are not sensitive to where windows ought to be, where doors ought to be, how furniture lays out properly. “How many times have you seen a fireplace on a 45-degree angle in a house?” he asked. “They do it for various reasons because buildings have clipped corners and curves,” he explained, “but nobody can use those spaces.”

Blinging the Barracks

Residing in Darnestown for about 10 years before breaking ground in Bethesda, Winegrad revealed that his former house, “a Colonial on a cookie-cutter block,” was part of a development, but at an increased cost he’d been able to prevail upon the builder to allow him to customize to some extent, in part by moving windows around to open up wall space. Recalling that neighbors commented consistently on the differences between the Winegrad house and their own, where in some cases they’d been forced to situate furniture so as not to block windows, where light fixtures were consequently off-target and displaced furniture narrowed a room considerably, Winegrad said analyzing how design and construction need to work for the homeowner right out of the starting gate is vital to creating a livable space.

For the designer and his family, an issue with two adults sharing a bathroom (an admittedly universal problem with humidity from a shower precluding effective use of a hair dryer, mirror, etc.) precipitated the creation of a master bath in their new Bethesda home that boasts a common spa-like shower, but with his and hers dressing rooms, each with its own sink, hair dryer, mirror and space for clothing. In the family room, floor outlets eliminate running electrical and extension cords around furniture and under rugs, and slot windows frame a flat screen TV area. “It’s enough for daylight, but not enough to interfere with where the built-in unit goes or create glare on the screen,” Winegrad explained. A linear gas fireplace is anchored on both sides to give it balance, and traffic flow is considered with the seating group easily accessed, unlike a lot of rooms the designer said he sees where one must enter around the backs of a couch and chairs. Due to architecture-related issues, things can’t practically or aesthetically be configured another way. The designer’s own new home reflects and promotes an active family’s lifestyle by facilitating traffic flow, diffusing Mid-Atlantic sunlight and its thermal effects, eliminating conventional though unused rooms (there is no living room because Winegrad said their Darnestown living room was very rarely used) and increasing kitchen space to accommodate family activities and entertaining.

Make Lofts, Not War

“Right now, I’m doing an expensive waterfront condo where it’s a battle to get the rooms to work because there are silly little niches that are the result of a column in the wrong place,” Winegrad said. “You can’t put up draperies because they ran the ductwork in the wrong place,” he continued, adding the dining room isn’t wide enough for a dining room table. “You could step back and look at a photo of that building from the outside and you could admire it, and you might like the materials, but then you go inside and see the inherent design problems,” he said, noting condos are often poorly designed.

“I think the idea is to have an interior designer lay out the room– where windows and doors are; where the TV needs to go; where sunlight comes in; do you have to scoot around something to get to a closet–all so you don’t have to fight with anything,” he explained. “This is what’s really going to dictate the success of your space."

Transforming Pee-wee’s Playhouse

By Beth Herman

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.”

Costco Tantalizing DC's Gateway

Twenty years in the making, and plans to develop Washington DC's first Costco at Dakota Crossing are still trudging along. The stage set is a remote patch of forested land in the Fort Lincoln neighborhood, better recognized as the land opposite the Washington Times on Route 50. The players are likely to be Costco and Target, potentially Shoppers Food Warehouse and Staples, even Walmart was once in the lineup. The director is Fort Lincoln New Town Corporation, which brought in Peterson Companies to develop retail as part of a mixed-use, suburban-style shopping center with housing, offices, retail and acres of parking lots. When Peterson bowed out in 2007, Trammell Crow Companies stepped in to oversee its stock and store - big box power centers. All that is missing is the financing and wetland remediation plan approval from the city. And, of course, final commitment from at least one of the big retailers.

The site seems a developer's dream: 42 empty, contiguous acres, flanking one of DC's main migratory routes. Because it is situated in the residential Fort Lincoln neighborhood and nearby industrial uses are mostly defunct, residents pine for a major retail center somewhere, anywhere, in their quadrant. The plan shows 430,000 s.f. of retail served by 2500 surface parking spaces, connected to a 362-acre housing development planned across the street - The Village at Dakota Crossing, with 537 townhouses, 30 affordable workforce units, 500 more parking spaces and a pedestrian-friendly layout with wide sidewalks, tot-lots and community spaces. The land is a stone's throw away from the National Arboretum and within a 5-minute walk of the Anacostia River But development has hit two main obstacles. The first is getting retailers to commit to a large project in a suburban setting, which tests current financing models, although Costco has signed a non-binding Letter of Intent to occupy the property. The other is the dated nature of the plans: 20 years ago, paving over a large, unused plot in the city to build a regional shopping center would have easily passed city government hurdles, whatever the environmental or historic implications. But the contentious, yet sought-after site is now entirely forested and home to wetlands, filtering nearby industrial waste and acting as a natural barrier against flooding. "Our plans call for creating new, high quality wetlands near the retail center as mitigation for taking away the existing wetlands, which have been documented as very low quality, marginally functioning wetlands. 

 These plans are currently being reviewed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the EPA, and will be reviewed by D.C. DOE once the federal regulators finish," said Cel Bernardino of Fort Lincoln New Town Corp. He also noted that the current plan "envisions a model 'green' shopping center with cisterns, green roofs, green walls, and other LID (Low Impact Development) measures." Costco has been eying this site for the past ten years. Target and Shoppers do not lag far behind in enthusiasm. They might all benefit from TIF (tax increment financing) subsidies from the District, which has supported the development as a neighborhood improvement initiative. Costco alone expects $15 million in TIF financing. But the District must mediate between the environment, small business owners who have fought the behemoth onslaught of all-in-one-for-a-portion-of-the-price big boxes, and competing revitalization projects throughout the city. "The Office of Planning has worked very closely with the development team to ensure the project is green and pedestrian friendly," reported Victoria Leonard, Director of Policy and Strategic Communications in the office of Ward 5 Councilmember Harry Thomas, Jr. The District likes it so much it plans on paying $3 million upfront to build retention ponds to offset the 3000 new parking spaces. The funding would come out of the D.C. libraries capital budget, an initiative spearheaded by Council Member Thomas, who noted that "the Shops at Dakota Crossing have been in the books for a decade" back in April of 2009. The funds are being transferred from a Ward 7 libraries project, which should begin to see repayment in 2011. Ward 5 library services will remain unaffected.

According to data on the Deputy Mayor's website, Dakota Crossing envisions that residents would walk to the shops from the Villages, suspending disbelief that shoppers at Costco and Target could buy anything that could be carried by hand. An additional wrinkle is that HUD approved an Urban Renewal version of the Fort Lincoln Redevelopment Plan in 1972; amended in 1990, the plan requires 3000 units of housing, 2463 units more than Fort Lincoln New Town's current proposal. Cel Bernardino recounted the various phases of housing that have already been built under the 1970s Urban Renewal Plan for the Dakota Crossing site. About 1370 residential units, including condos and rentals were built at Fort Lincoln New Town during the 1980’s and 1990’s, with most of the rental units built for senior citizens. The 127-unit Wesley House seniors apartments opened early last summer, and 209 "Dakota Crossing" town homes were completed last month. "We have two additional planned residential developments (town homes and condos) that construction hasn’t started on yet – the 334-unit 'Village at Dakota Crossing' across from the shopping center, and the 50-unit 'City Homes' development at the corner of Bladensburg Road and Eastern Ave." Robert King, Commissioner on ANC 5A12 (Advisory Neighborhood Commission), has been involved in planning Dakota Crossing since the 1970's. He's seen developers come and go, and has remained a reliable supporter of the plan, representing the leading voice of the commission he heads: "The project is finally on track. Some of the first residential units to break ground will be dedicated to firefighters and school teachers, and I am happy about that. The neighborhood is bracing itself for the development of Costco, which is expected to bring jobs, but also increase traffic." He believes the 1970's plan calling for 3000 units of housing was too ambitious and needed to be scaled back in a neighborhood of just 4000. "There is a significant retirement community in Fort Lincoln, and I am concerned about access to the retail site." Mr. King said he has been trying to organize a bus service to transport seniors across Fort Lincoln Dr. and 33rd Place. Although a contender for a Dakota Crossing spot a few years ago, Walmart is out. The city refuses to provide subsidies to the union-shunning employer. Nevertheless, word on the street is that Walmart may yet settle into the neighborhood, but now on triangular site bounded by New York Ave., Blandensburg Road and Montana Ave., the site of the Abdo project that fell apart earlier this year. From a traffic perspective, the development of two big box retail sites in such proximity could produce a tangle at what is already a busy thoroughfare. In an area that lacks Metrorail, the arrival of the big boxers and all the parking infrastructure that comes with them does not foreshadow a favorable future for TODs (transit oriented developments). The architects of the proposed retail development at Dakota Crossing, Bignell Watkins Hasser, with offices in Annapolis, MD and Vienna, VA, have built several local retail centers at both the neighborhood and regional scales. The big box retailers would create what is estimated at 800 new jobs by establishing what developers hope becomes a regional destination, capturing incoming and outgoing DC traffic at the entrance of the Baltimore-Washington corridor. "I want everybody to know from here to Timbuktu that Fort Lincoln is getting ready to complete plans for Costco. We want to make sure we can tap into every dollar for the city and create as many construction and other jobs as possible" said King, who echoed concerns about the wetlands and retention ponds on the new development site. Area residents seem enthused. "I think its hard to argue against development in one of the last development holdouts in DC" said Hans Posey, who moved to the neighborhood recently. "Its a very established neighborhood, but everybody, everybody, in the neighborhood is gunning for something bigger, something more than the kind of stores that are there now." Cel Bernardino estimates an August 2011 groundbreaking for the retail part of the development. "I’d say Spring 2011 would be the soonest we are likely to break ground on the shopping center. We have 'solid' commitments from our anchor tenants. No leases signed yet." The current site plan/design for the shopping center received concept design approval from NCPC on June 3, 2010. 

Washington DC real estate development news

La Vida VIDA: New Affordable Senior Housing in Brightwood

La vida living is about to get easier in Washington D.C. District-based VIDA will break ground tomorrow on a new residential project in Brightwood, adding 36 residential units in a new building structured for affordable senior housing.

Formerly known as Educational Organization for United Latin Americans, the newly renamed 501(c)(3) that serves over 600 DC-area seniors annually is getting ready to add another 36 units to its stock. Located on Missouri Avenue on a now vacant lot, VIDA will build affordable senior housing in Ward 4, where the largest concentration of the District's seniors live. This is the first time VIDA is developing housing, with financing that got creative. The development team - comprised of VIDA Senior Centers, Dantes Partners as the Development Consultant, Zavos Architecture and Design, NDC Real Estate for property management, and Hamel Builders as General Contractor - used a multilayer financing approach. Tapping into federal stimulus programs (Section 1602 Tax Credit Exchange), Neighborhood Investment Funds (NIF), private bank debt and an Enterprise Green Communities grant, the development secured financing for an area that has seen little new residential development since the financing bust several years ago. "We were fortunate to have been selected as an innovative project that served a unique need. We were lucky enough to have partners who believed in our vision," said Jordan Bishop of Dantes Partners.

With four stories of new affordable and accessible rental units, the five-story independent-living senior center will provide services that include meals, music, presentations, dancing, minor checkups, medication management, "spiritual activities," and private van transportation, and of course bingo and chess. The project is being billed as "transit-oriented development," despite the lack of a nearby Metro station, which makes it easier to get the zoning variance of 4 parking spots rather than the required 6.

Zavos Architecture and Design, a firm with experience in non-profit, affordable and sustainable community-oriented development, designed into the project a number of "quality of life improving" and energy reducing features. Those include a vegetated roof with walk-on terrace space to manage storm water, reduce heating and cooling loads on the building and provide outdoor green space for residents; permeable parking and other drive areas to allow storm water to filter naturally into the ground and reallocate infrastructural funds to services; high-emissive roofing rather than traditional EPDM to deflect the sun's heat and reduce associated cooling costs; privately metered electricity and hot water to encourage reduced consumption (for a generation always yelling at you to wear a sweater and turn down the heat, that shouldn't be an issue); improved indoor air quality through the installation of non-toxic and non-allergenic flooring; and the maximization of daylight in all units to minimize the use of artificial lighting and improve indoor environmental quality.

"I am most proud of having been able to fit so many services in such a small building. Envisioning people spending the latter part of their lives in this building is something we took seriously. We have designed a quality place for them," remarked Tim Daniel, the project architect for the VIDA-developed housing.

While the elderly account for 12% of the District’s population, retirement age individuals make up over 18% of the population of Ward 4. VIDA has traditionally served the District’s Latino senior citizens, but it is expanding its target demographic to meet growing needs in other populations, specifically identifying African-Americans and immigrants of Caribbean and Brazilian backgrounds, among others.

"The initial goal was always to provide high quality senior housing at affordable rental rates (50% AMI - Area Median Income) and to combine this with space on the ground floor to provide services specifically targeted to seniors. With the recent closing and groundbreaking, we are well on track to achieving these desirable goals," said Jordan Bishop of Dantes Partners. The groundbreaking will take place at 10:30am.

Washington DC real estate development news