"The Avenue" (Park Morton Phase One) Unveiled

Once again, neighborhood-blog fiends have a reason to saturate the online comments board with rabid debate over the merits of affordable housing. Yes, more Ward One "workforce housing" construction is set to get under way early next year, as the DC Council recently approved a loan injection of $16.5 million to jump-start the Park Morton redevelopment project. With a bit of pomp and optimism, developers have officially dubbed the first phase of the project "The Avenue." The much neglected area could certainly use an infusion of pride and confidence in addition to this desperately needed residential development. Located on the southwest corner of Newton Place and Georgia Avenue, 83 apartments will be built on three parcels of vacant land. Twenty-seven units of the 7-story building will be reserved as "public housing," while the remaining units will be classified as "affordable housing," serving residents with up to 60% of the area median income (AMI). Last month, in accordance with the Georgia Avenue Overlay District, The Avenue was reviewed and approved for construction by the BZA.

The broad-scoped $130 million, 500-unit Park Morton redevelopment project is a dual partnership between the Warrenton Group and the Landex Companies. Wiencek & Associates Architects & Planners are currently completing the designs for the phase one building. General contractors Hamel Builders will carry out the construction, which could begin as early as December 1st. But in all likelihood, ground will break sometime in January of next year. Once started, construction is expected to last 14 months. The PUD application process for the subsequent phases of the redevelopment plans will begin in tandem with initial construction, with the goal of transitioning rather smoothly and quickly from phase one completion to phase two construction. The general intention for the entire redevelopment project is aimed at securing quality living quarters for the current public housing tenants (phase one) that will allow the construction of the new higher density residencies (later phases) - the proportion of purely public housing in the area diminished as the planned mixed-income projects come to life. Upon the completion of all phases, the new housing will follow the rule of thirds, units divided evenly between public housing, affordable or workforce housing, and market rate housing.

The hope of developers and the design team is to amass a work of architecture that exudes modernity and sophistication, to challenge preconceived notions about "affordable housing" by using high quality materials and employing an elegant design on the exterior as well as the interior. The focal point of the design is the central corner of the building at the intersection of Georgia and Newton, where a two-story glassy entrance way, accented by a timber curtain wall, attracts the attention of the onlooker. A cutout top level terrace disrupts the plain single-box shape of the brick building, giving texture to the building, and drawing the eye up along the cornerstone of the design (pun intended). When addressing the Georgia Avenue frontage, like any good painting, the canvas is partitioned into a foreground, middle, and background, or more appropriately a bottom, middle, and top. The bottom floor is pronounced by large glass and metal, protruding store fronts that will house retail upon completion. The brick middle section is accented by boxy, extended bay windows, while the top of the building dissolves plainly and gently into the skyline. The opposite building frontage along Newton Place is an asymmetrical doubling of the Georgia Avenue design elements. The bay windows are stepped down to the first three levels so as to better transition the building across the alleyway and into the neighboring townhouse facades. This allows for a milder, friendlier, more residential feel on Newton place, and a slightly bolder, urban flavor on the more commercially-geared Georgia Avenue.

Amenities for The Avenue building include a spacious entrance lobby, featuring a wide, monumental staircase, leading up to a glass walled fitness room on the second floor. The interplay of elevation change, sight angles, and visible space provide for an open feel. The building will also feature an open and exposed internet lounge, complete with computers and printers - enabling work but also encouraging networking and social interaction. An elevator to the roof will access two landscaped rooftop terraces, one of which will be outfitted with numerous planters for community gardening opportunities. This green roof will not only provide residents a chance at producing healthy produce, but also lower the energy bill by decreasing the solar load on the flat building top. Other sustainable aspects include the exclusion of carpet and all mold-propagating building materials, floors will be a combination of wood and tiles, and bathrooms will be purely ceramic tiles. The steel frame of the building will be reinforced with insulating sheeting to prevent temperature transfer and help maintain a consistent indoor climate. The building will be equipped with high efficiency heat pumps, and solar energy panels on the roof will provide hot water for a communal laundry facility. Builders will replace all sidewalks with brick pavers, granite curbs, and two rows of continuous planter strips, where trees, shrubs, and flowers will bring shade, color, and life to the public space. Classic twin-fixture lighting will illuminate the sidewalk along Newton in the evening, and the elimination of two curb cuts will allow for increased on-street parking. Also included in the plan is a 29 space below-grade parking garage.

Developers admitted there are challenges to producing mixed-income projects, including the task of overcoming negative perceptions about the neighborhood and the stigma of mixed-income residencies. But architect Scott Knudson explained that such a test is most effectively bested by setting a lofty bar of excellence. "The way to overcome such notions is by setting a high architectural standard and creating a building worthy of residents of all income levels," said Knudson, arguing that quality and style were not sacrificed here to meet budget. The designer's commitment to excellence extended to their refusal to compromise on small details like ceiling height and top-of-the-line kitchen appliances. Knudson says the design process for each new building will be approached and evaluated on a project by project basis; and new designs will refrain from replicating too closely the appearance of the first apartment building; "neighborhoods are richest when developed over time, and this phased process encourages both consistency and a sense of texture and variety."

Washington Real Estate Development News

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.

Project Taken to New Heights on Georgia Avenue

Like a snowball rolling downhill, the number of residential developments on Georgia Avenue is getting bigger by the minute. The latest project on the boards is The Heights at Georgia Avenue by the Neighborhood Development Company (NDC) - a 100,000 square foot mixed-use building that will feature 100% affordable housing. Besides adding 69 new apartments to the Petworth real estate market, the project at the intersection of Georgia Avenue & Lamont Street NW will also add roughly 10,000 square feet of retail to the mix. The developer is currently engaged in talks with a hardware retailer about the site and hopes have a sit-down restaurant in place when The Heights opens its doors in early 2011.

The Heights' all-affordable status has put it in a unique position with the District of Columbia. This week, Councilmember Jim Graham will introduce a bill before the City Council that aims to grant the project an exemption from property taxes for the next 40 years - provided it maintains an at least 50% margin of affordable housing in that time. The proposal should be voted upon sometime this fall.

NDC president Adrian G. Washington told DC Mud that ANC approval for The Heights at Georgia is forthcoming. “We’ve met with the ANC on several occasions and gotten a letter of support from the single-member district commissioner…We’re actually going tomorrow and we hope they will formally approve it.”

The Georgia Avenue site was acquired by a partnership of NDC and Mi Casa Inc. – a DC-based non-profit that specializes in restoring aging properties and converting them into affordable housing. The Heights will be their second brand-new new construction project (the first being the Rittenhouse Project in Brightwood). The building is being designed by architect Graham Parker and will come in at a cost of approximately $25 million. Construction is slated to begin in the fourth quarter of 2009.

The Heights is only one of numerous projects currently in development in the Petworth neighborhood. Up the street at 4136 Georgia, Formant Development's proposed 57-unit, 7 story condominium tower is still scheduled to go to ground in 2009. Meanwhile, Donatelli Development’s Park Place is currently under construction and their proposed project across the street at 3801 Georgia recently issued a BID to contractors. These twin projects are joined by the massive redevelopment just up the street of the Park Morton public housing complex.

UPDATE: The Heights at Georgia Avenue's final address has been confirmed as 3232 Georgia Avenue NW - across the street from the NDC's Lamont Lofts project that was completed in 2005.

Washington D.C. real estate development

DC's Development Pipeline in 2009

Developmentally speaking, 2008 was a big year for the District of Columbia. While it was the annus horribilus for real estate, it did witness the opening of eagerly anticipated projects like CityVista, Union Row, and of course, Nationals Stadium, to name a few, and saw other big ticket developments like the Southwest Waterfront project and The Yards stride further toward realization.

Still, many District-solicited projects await the green light to begin construction, in the process of selecting a team or are still up for grabs. Here's a breakdown of those projects and where they stand for 2009.

Available Proposals:

In one of their more unique offers, the Office of the Deputy Mayor Planning and Economic Development (ODMPED) is currently seeking a developer to take control of a 13.5-acre concrete manufacturing facility at 1515 W Street, NE. The site is currently operated by the District Department of Transportation, which plans to vacate the facility by August. Any new tenant will be required to submit to a ground lease agreement for a minimum of 10 years. Proposals for the “Develop and Operate a Concrete Plant Solicitation” are due by January 9th.

As previously reported, ODMPED is currently seeking a development team to revitalize two long-abandoned properties at 400-414 Eastern Avenue and 6100 Dix Street, NE, in the Deanwood neighborhood. The city government is looking to redevelop the properties into an affordable housing complex with a local retail component. Proposals are due to ODMPED by February 16th.

One of the bigger projects currently on deck with the city government is the redevelopment of several “excess” schools, closed due to recent budget shortfalls and threadbare facilities. These include Backus Middle School, Grimke Elementary School, Hine Junior High School, the Langston School, M.M. Washington High School, the historic 1911 school building of Randle Highlands Elementary School, Rudolph Elementary School, the Slater School, the unoccupied portion of Slowe Elementary School, Stevens Elementary School, and Young Elementary School. The sites will not be put to their former use; any plans will be considered, provided they exhibit a “creative vision for development or reuse” and “an understanding of neighborhood context.” A pre-bid conference will be held January 9th, proposals for the redevelopment of any or all of the facilities are due by February 27th.

ODMPED has also “amended and restated” their solicitation of offers for the Park Morton public housing project redevelopment that had been previously announced in September of last year. Proposals for that project are now also due by February 27th.

Proposals Submitted:

Bidding recently closed on three vacant parcels the District intends to re-appropriate as parking lots: 463 I Street, NW (available for 24 months until construction commences on Donohoe’s Arts at 5th & I project), 2 Patterson Street, NE and 33 K Street, NW (formerly the demolished Temple Courts public housing complex).

Proposals were received in September for two District-owned parcels at Fourth/Sixth and E Streets, SW – one piece of which is intended to house the Metropolitan Police Department’s new Consolidated Forensic Laboratory.

An announcement is anticipated soon regarding proposals submitted in October for the Hill East Waterfront/Reservation 13 project, which is intended to include more than 5 million square feet of mixed-use development and an extension of Massachusetts Avenue, SE – the latter of which is already underway. As of November, the District had narrowed down the contenders to competing four development teams.

The so-called “Lincoln Lots” – two V Street, NW parcels adjoining Shaw’s historic Lincoln Theatre – were also the subject of an RFP that closed this past September. ODMPED was seeking “developers to assist in repositioning real estate associated with the [theatre] to complement and benefit the ongoing operation of the Lincoln.”

Development Partners Selected:

Of the projects solicited by ODMPED over the past year, the majority have already been snatched up by development teams. These include Blue Skye Development, in concert with the Mayor’s New Communities Initiative, for an abandoned apartment complex at 4427 Hayes Street, NE; Donatelli Development and Mosaic Urban Partners for two parcels at 3813-3815 and 3825-3829 Georgia Avenue, NW; Blue Skye Development and the Educational Organization for United Latin Americans for the abandoned Tewkesbury building at 6425 14th Street, NW; Argos Group for two District-owned Capitol Hill properties at 525 Ninth Street, NE and 1341 Maryland Avenue, NE (aka Old Engine House 10); Donohoe Companies for the Arts at 5th & I project in the Mount Vernon Triangle; Donatelli Development and Blue Skye Development for the $108 million mixed-use project adjoining the Metro station at Minnesota Avenue and Benning Road, NE; the William C. Smith & Co., Jair Lynch Companies, Banneker Ventures LLC and CPDC for the $700 million, 1600 unit Northwest One New Community that also includes retail, office and medical components; Clark Realty for the massive, $2.5 billion redevelopment of Southeast’s Poplar Point community; and, lastly, Washington Community Development Corporation and Banneker Ventures, LLC for the transformation of Deanwood’s dilapidated Strand Theatre into a mixed-use retail and office complex.

From AWC to NCRC to DMPED, Fenty Lauds Change

Mayor Adrian Fenty, Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development Neil Albert, and Councilmember Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) held a public ceremony this morning to celebrate the one year anniversary of the District's decision to disband and take control over the portfolios of the Anacostia Waterfront Corporation (AWC) and National Capital Revitalization Corporation (NCRC). In a tribute to their combined foresight, the Mayor lauded the District's "significant progress" on over two dozen key from the portfolios since the merge, and offered up morsels of imminent announcements. "There were a lot of properties in these two quasi-public entities and it was the decision of the Council of the District of Columbia to make sure that those properties moved a lot faster, that they got developed quicker, and most importantly, that people saw results and I can say that a year later there has been a flurry of consistent activity," Fenty said. With $60 billion in the citywide pipeline since 2001 and $13 billion in current economic development projects, the Office of the Deputy Mayor's portfolio now includes over 12,000 residential units - including 4,500 "affordable" units - 1,800 hotel rooms, 2 million s.f. of retail space, and 8 million s.f. of office space.

Looking back on their recent successes, the Mayor noted that on May 14th, the District issued a RFEI for a master developer for Hill East Waterfront, 50 acres around the former DC General Hospital site. On June 4th, the District issued a solicitation for a development partner for Parcel 69, a potential $130 million office/hotel project by the Southwest Freeway. Master land planning began at Boathouse Row in SE on July 11th. On Tuesday, the Council approved a $198 million TIF/PILOT package to fund park and infrastructure improvements for the $1.5 billion Southwest Waterfront redevelopment. Yesterday the District selected Argos Group to develop two properties on Capitol Hill, including the Old Engine House 10 into eight condominiums. And looking forward, Albert told DCMud the Strand Theatre project (5131 Nannie Helen Burroughs Avenue, NE), developed by Washington Metropolitan Community Development Corporation and Banneker Ventures, will break ground in the next two weeks. He added that his office will also announce a developer for 6425 14th Street, NW in the coming weeks, a 12,100-s.f. parcel of land in Brightwood. Sean Madigan, Director of Communications in the Office of the Deputy Mayor, predicts an announcement for 5th and I, as well as Minnesota-Benning Road, NE, in the next few weeks, and that the Park Morton development group will be announced "imminently." Evans, who had a hand in the creation of both the NCRC and the AWC, said the decision to create the organizations was correct at the time, as was the decision to consolidate them. "I was there for the creation of NCRC and AWC and at the time when we were looking at putting those semi-private entities in place, the District government wasn't functioning, and so the idea of having an NCRC was something like the Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation model to get economic development projects done in the city," Evans said. "Then we learned that the semi-private entities were not doing what they were supposed to and we rolled them back into the government and put them under the Deputy Mayor and as we said today, it seems the decision was absolutely the correct one, because now we have a unified government and we can now focus on these projects and get them done. What we did in the past made sense and what we did last year made sense and we are now celebrating the results of those actions," 

Evans concluded, as the development troika lauded each other's vision and accomplishments. Albert added that a major goal of the consolidation was to establish one point of accountability for economic development in DC, but also to save taxpayers money. "One of the reasons the Council and Mayor worked so hard to consolidate the agencies, was to make sure that there was a single point of accountability on all economic development projects here in the District. Citizens had been asking for it, and they got it with this merger. Also, this merger resulted in significant savings for the taxpayers - over $5 million in savings because of the consolidating," Albert said. Like a gloating parent, Fenty added, "I just love efficient government, we have too much waste - a lot of these quasi-public commissions and entities and boards, they just spend money wastefully and we're gonna put a stop to that too." 

Washington DC retail and commercial property news

DCMud 2010 Year in Review

2010 may not have been a chart buster for real estate, but by most accounts it beats 2009. DCMud presents its annual report of what happened, and what didn't, this year in the world of commercial real estate. 

To start the year, the Coast Guard Headquarters received a thumbs up (Jan 7) from NCPC for the WDG Architecture and HOK designs. Silver Spring will get its arts venue now that the county has reached an agreement (Jan 15) with developers to swap land.  Lee Development Group intends to build a hotel, office building, and 2,000 person music hall in the CBD. Another church sold out to developers (Feb 2), as Lakritz Adler planned to build 200 apartments in place of the First Baptist Church of Silver Spring, just across the street from the library that just got going. Right next door, the county asked developers to submit bids (Feb 3) for another residential project. Progress crept forward on the purple line when the county decided to place it next to the bike trail. The Moda Vista finally took off (Nov 8). Wheaton could be transformed, now that Montgomery County and WMATA have asked developers to submit bids (Jan 21) to control 10 sites downtown, with a B.F. Saul lead team chosen for most of it (July 29). Patriot Realty submitted formal plans (April 13) for 500 apartments above a new Safeway downtown (pictured). EYA began plans to demolish the James Bland Addition public housing project in Old Town Alexandria, which it followed through on, to make way for a mixed-income housing project, now for sale. The Takoma Theater was the subject of a showdown between its owner, who wanted to tear it down and build apartments, and the Historic Preservation Review Board, which liked it just the way it was. The District pushed forward with plans for Skyland, pushing out owners to make room for a developer, testing constitutional boundaries (March 12), even after a national trend by states to stop such practices. Middle Georgia Avenue boomed this year, while the northern and southern ends were a bust. Middle Georgia got a new restaurant (Jan 27), and a new apartment building by Chris Donatelli (March 21), now that both have started construction and are well on their way to completion, as well as a new CVS. NDC got underway on The Heights (May 24), and proposed The Vue (Dec 12). On the lower end, redevelopment of the Bruce Monroe school fizzled (Aug 10), and the planned Howard Town Center went nowhere.

Moving to downtown DC, L'Enfant Plaza stands a chance of becoming less frightening, now that a cabal of federal planners and developers are in cahoots (sort of) (Jan 29) to rebuild the '60's era mass of concrete into something less awful. Not quite ready for prime time: a 14th Street condo project in Logan Circle promised for 2009 failed to get underway in 2010, despite ongoing predictions things were "imminent". The Arts at 5th and I took one step forward and two steps back, as Donohoe Companies and Holland Development, which won the rights to develop the site in 2008, admitted they were not ready and turned the Mt. Vernon site into a parking lot (Feb 9). Holland later said (Nov 18) that they were getting "closer." Alexandria pondered how to make the King Street Metro less unfriendly to pedestrians (Feb 10). The District began a long process (Feb 12) of reshaping Dupont's underground trolley station into something useful, long after it failed as a restaurant venue. The District eventually selected an arts coalition (Oct 21) to build out the space. The Corcoran, which had partnered with Monument Realty to convert southwest's Randall School into a large apartment building, gave up the ghost and sold the project to private investors (Feb 18). Senate Square on H Street was sold at auction (Feb 22) to its mezzanine lenders, relieving New York's Broadway Development of one its DC debacles. Broadway had already defaulted on the Dumont, and soon Arbor Place, its investment in Jim Abdo's New York Ave project-that-wasn't, would also fall apart (May 14). M.M. Washington High School was given to a team of local developers who planned to turn it into subsidized senior housing (March 15), construction is expected by mid 2011. A Woodmont Triangle church has been trying to morph into an 8-story, 107-unit apartment building along with a new church, moving through approvals and looking for a partner after Bozzuto backed out (March 16). DC and the feds gave money ($7.2m from DC) to Urban Atlantic and A&R Development Corp. (March 18) for the 8.5 acre Rhode Island Station, which then broke ground May 18th. Greenbelt Station gets more hopeless by the year (March 24). H Street swelters: The Rappaport Companies got ANC approval (March 26) for its Torti Gallas designed, 400-unit building on H Street, heating up the retail corridor just as the trolley lines are finishing up. Clark Realty broke ground on Arboretum Place (Sept 15) at the eastern end, and new supermarkets are planned for the east (Aldi) and west (Giant) ends. After years of litigation, Ed Peete's Bromptons project made a comeback in Arlington (March 27). Alexandria skyline rising: The Hoffman Company will put 1,200 new rental apartments and upwards of 70,000 s.f. of retail adjacent to the beltway in Alexandria, rising up to 31 stories (March 30). An Arlington church cleared its last legal hurdles (April 16) and began building the Views at Clarendon (pictured), a mixed church and residential project, which other urban churches eyed with interest (Oct 11). Arlington kicked off Long Bridge Park (April 21), its 46-acre isolated brownfield on the edge of Pentagon City that it hopes will become a major attraction. DC opened its riverfront park next to Nationals Stadium (April 27). Next door, Canal Park got underway in Southeast's Capitol Riverfront (Aug 26), a neighborhood that added more than a thousand new residents in 2010. Hopes of Utopia were raised, then deflated, U Street developer Georgetown Strategic Capital predicted imminent progress (Apr 22), then got a 2-year extension (June 26) to build his apartment building and retail project. LCOR broke ground on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission building in North Bethesda (April 28). The MBT bike trail opened a new leg in Northeast DC (May 3). Georgetown's Social Safeway reopened, newer, bigger, better (May 4), as did the Georgetown Library (Oct 14) after a devastating fire in 2007 on the same day that Eastern Market smoldered. The Cohen Companies floated plans for a large residential project at 14th Street and Virginia Avenue, SE (May 5). Brookland had a great year, breaking ground on Dance Place and Artspace, EYA broke ground (May 6) on 237 townhouses, and Bozzuto and Pritzker Realty Group partnered up to build Jim Abdo's mixed-use project (Aug 20). Abdo's other grand plan, Arbor Place on New York Avenue, got no such reprieve, and faded away (May 14). The District broke ground on Sheridan Station, a 344-unit public housing project in Southeast, hoping to cure its crime and upkeep problems (May 10), as well as a host of other affordable housing projects. Construction got underway on the Martin Luther King Memorial (May 14). Louis Dreyfus demolished a block of historic homes (May 20) on the edge of Capitol Hill, ostensibly to build Capitol Place, with 302 apartments, but so far have only turned it into a parking lot. Columbia Pike saw several apartment buildings open (May 23) as development of all kinds took hold, but no trolleys yet. The Loree Grand opened to residents (May 31) just after Paradigm opened its doors (May 28) as the first new housing in NoMa in a century. Archstone broke ground on more residences for NoMa (July 21), 469 apartment units (pictured, right) designed by Davis Carter Scott, on track for a mid 2012 opening. DC reached the 100th anniversary of the act of Congress that gave the District height limits (June 1). Southwest DC passed several milestones, as the Southwest station reopened (June 3) along with a new Safeway. It made nominal progress on the Waterfront (Aug 18) with its first demolition and release of early designs (Sept 30), but construction is not expected any time soon. Capitol Hill's Old Naval Hospital began the rebuilding process on its way to becoming a community center (June 10). The Monty, a long-planned Bethesda high-rise, got a new owner (Bainbridge) (July 1) and soon after got ready to break ground (Nov 5). Work got started on 1000 Connecticut Ave, designed by Pei Cobb Freed, perhaps DC's most visible office building (July 12). Post Properties got underway (Aug 9) on phase two of its Carlyle Square apartment project in Alexandria, 344 new apartments designed by SK&I Architectural Design Group. Park Morton got another public injection of cash, likely clearing the way for a large affordable housing project. Developers should break ground on the 500 units during 2011. JBG found a financing partner (Aug 15) for its 14th Street condo project, gave it a new name (Oct 27), and said it was ready to break ground this year, though that hasn't happened yet. A 42-acre parcel in Northeast was planned by Trammell Crow for a big box destination (Aug 17). Capital One proposed a more urban remake of 23 acres (Aug 19) in downtown Tysons Corner. The Bonstra Haresign design, however, is expected to be built only a few bits at a time, if at all. A long time coming, the Howard Theater began a transformation that should help restore some if its former glory (Sept 1). The Smithsonian unveiled revised plans for the the Museum of African American History and Culture, to take up the last free spot on the Mall (Sept 3). Reston Station got underway as the public garage component began construction (Sept 6), and Comstock Partners planned an early 2011 groundbreaking on their portion, more than a million s.f. of development at the end of phase 1 of the Silver Line Metro extension. Urban planners began thinking through a full makeover of Mt. Rainier nearly a century after the city peaked as an inviting community (Sept 22). Washington Property Company started work on its 16-story residential building in Silver Spring's Ripley district, designed by the Lessard Group (Sept 29). After decades in the making, Marriott's development team began site prep (Oct 20) in downtown DC next to the Washington Convention Center, then broke ground on the 1175-room hotel. Equity Residential bought the plans for a Lyon Park project in Arlington and expected to break ground soon on the new apartment building and retail (Oct 5). Arlington selected Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing as the developer of the residential portion of Arlington Mill, a subsidized residence and community center (Oct 6). In Rosslyn, the Artisphere opened, adding a touch of nightlife to the 9-5 neighborhood, a new office building and street got underway courtesy of Skanska (Sept 18), and JBG nearly started work on Rosslyn Commons (Oct 3), 454 new units of housing. Monday Properties began work (Oct 12) on 1812 N. Moore, their speculative 35-story, 390 foot office building (pictured), what will be the region's tallest building when completed. The Davis Carter Scott-designed structure will rise above the new Rosslyn Metro station. Developers of CityCenter DC said they would be ready to fill the gaping hole downtown by next spring (Oct 22), despite the apparent lack of an anchor tenant. Paradigm Development began work on more than 400 apartments in Mount Vernon Triangle (Oct 27). Carr Properties and architects at SmithGroup came up with plans to add an office building onto the Corcoran Gallery of Art (Nov 5). The cash-strapped Perseus sold 14W to JAG, which said it could start building the 14th Street project almost immediately (Nov 24). Next door, work began on UDR's apartment building after delays and extensions (Dec 15). In the last item of note, Shaw's Progression Place started up (Dec 22), though the more meaningful O Street market got nowhere, despite an official groundbreaking (Aug 30).