Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Takoma Park Condos Go Rental
According to the developer, the lack of financing for a new condominium building became the insurmountable hurdle in the development process, requiring a new financing agreement that precluded condo sales. Domus Realty had presold 35 of the 85 units as of last fall, when the sales center closed. "I'm really excited that the project is still moving forward despite the turmoil in the markets." said Sas Gharai, the architect and developer of the project. But Gharai also suggested that with the dwindling condo construction the decision may not be irreversible, "At some point, we may re-evaluate when the market changes."
Ecco Park is designed to include 6,500 s.f. of retail, and at one time was mentioning a Trader Joe's Express as a possible tenant. It would also feature underground parking, and patios or balconies for most of the units. Prices started at $180k for a studio and in the high $200k's for a one-bedroom, and at $495k for a two-bedroom. SGA recently completed and is selling the last few units at the Butterfield House on Capitol Hill.
Monday, May 05, 2008
Will Montgomery County Put the Brakes on Bethesda's Parking Garage?
Labels: Bethesda, Bethesda Row, Coalition for Smart Growth, PN Hoffman, StonebridgeCarras
But rather than add such massive garage space, the Coalition for Smarter Growth recommends that Bethesda consider making use of a “smart parking” system, similar to those used in Rockville Town Center and at the Baltimore/Washington International Airport. A digital readout at the entrance to a garage or floor of parking displays the number of available parking spaces to approaching motorists, reducing the time, traffic, and frustration used in circling for spots. As Cort puts it, “Bethesda was just a suburban outpost 30 years ago…[Now] Bethesda has grown up…The question is, how do we treat automobiles in this context?”
David Hauck, Chair of the Montgomery County Sierra Club, has a suggestion for how to assess this situation. “Step back, take a breath, and think about it,” he advises, “What will Bethesda look like five years from now?” If the pedestrian-, bike-, and Metro- supporting contingent has its way, says Hauck, the proposed parking garage will be a “white elephant.”
Update, May 7: According to a representative from the Montgomery County Council, at its work session today, the full Council tentatively approved the parking garage planned for Bethesda's Lot 31. While a few council members did raise concerns about the project, no one introduced a motion to overturn or alter granting approval. On May 22, the project is expected to receive the final go-ahead when the Council officially votes on the county government's capital budget. Any changes to the plan between now and then are unlikely.
Sunday, May 04, 2008
5th & I: The Final Four
Labels: Donohoe Companies, Mt. Vernon Triangle, Shalom Baranes
Since we now only had to research four proposals, instead of seven, we thought we would show you a preview of what to expect:
The Arts at 5th and I (Holland-Donohoe): A Shalom Baranes-designed creation (rendering below) that would reach 120 feet in height, with a swanky ME by Melia, a Spanish hotel chain opening their first venue in the States. Sitting on top of the 174-unit hotel would be a 96 unit residence, and underground (alleviating noise issues) would sport Boisdale, a London-based live jazz club.
Buccini/Pollin: With master Architect Sorg & Associates, BPG is planning a 130-foot, 12-story building that would house not just one but two hotels: A 186-room Aloft hotel and 128-bed Element hotel, sitting on top of a two-story, 30,000-s.f. entertainment venue called World Cafe Live.
JBG: No catchy name yet, but with design by New York-based FXFOWLE (we're not being obnoxious, they spell it in all caps), the project would include a 230-bed hotel, 187 market rate residences, 34 subsidized residential units, and 44,000 s.f. of retail/commercial space "appropriately scaled to serve the community" with "priority to local retailers." In addition to the subject parcel, JBG will add its contract negotiations with the sellers of adjacent parcels, upping the space that could be developed.
i5 (Potomac Investment Properties): And since it looks like a hotel is destined to occupy the site, PIP is proposing a 79-room Avalon hotel - an independent four-star hotel now in Portland and, it claims, only the 7th LEED certified hotel on the planet. Capping the hotel would be 84 units of mixed income apartments, some of which would be dedicated to artists who would live, work, and just plain be creative on site. Designed by Martinez & Johnson Architecture, the whole building would be designed to achieve a LEED Gold rating. But forget environmentalism, Constantine Stavropolous - owner of Tryst, Open City, and the Diner - would open a fourth retail venue on site (we don't want to bias the decision makers, but they make the only good cappuccino in the city). The scrupulous reader has already realized that PIP has a far smaller total unit count, an intentional decision that building the project as Matter of Right, rather than seeking zoning changes, would allow it to start the project 'within a year' of gaining control of the site.
Thursday, May 01, 2008
New Condo in Columbia Heights
There's a new condo in town. Though that wouldn't have been so newsworthy a few years ago, the dearth of new construction makes us happy to be able to report that inventory doesn't just shrink. Drummond Development has come out of the ground with Privado, its most recent project, a 16-unit building on Chapin Street in Columbia Heights.
The project will sit on the crest of the Hill overlooking DC, reportedly providing rare views across the city from the upper floors. Developers hope that adjacent Meridian Hill Park, as well as the recently opened DC USA and newly revived Columbia Heights center, will be an attractant for condo sales, but aren't taking chances. According to Steve Schwat of Drummond, the condominium will feature "real wood stained entry doors, solid real wood floors...dove tail drawers, and Siedle full color video/audio entry systems with biometric fingerprint access." Not mincing words, Schwat says that interior details permeate the thought behind the building, including "super-silent powerful bath fans - not those cheap noise makers everyone else uses...even our garbage disposals are better. Its designed for those that appreciate true quality."
Drummond has seemingly not lost its footing in the current market, completing numerous apartment renovations throughout DC as well as having recently completed Meridian Heights, The Drummond, Archbold, Providence Square, and Penn Circle, all condo projects in or near downtown DC. The project is designed by PGN Architects., and should be complete late this year; the units will range in price from the high $300's to the $900's.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Restoration to Rejuvenate Aging Eyesore in Shaw
The house was built in the late 1870s and had fallen into disrepair (see picture); as a result, the Board had “previously determined that [the property did] not contribute to the character of the historic district.” After complaints from neighbors, in May 2007, 444 M St. became the subject of one of Mayor Adrian Fenty’s Ward 2 “Operation: Fix It” projects, wherein government agencies devote several days to improving a particular neighborhood. Representatives of the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs built a temporary blockade to prevent use of the garage. But first, the Department of Public Works had to tow an equally abandoned truck from the property, apparently used solely for “illicit criminal activity”.
Now, Grant Epstein, the President of Community Three Development, LLC, intends to make Bob Vila proud. Besides renovating the gutted, deteriorating original row house, he plans to take advantage of the depth of the lot (194) by building a four-story addition behind the original house. Epstein describes the project as “one structure with a courtyard in the middle… in order to provide light to all the units.” His current plan calls for eight units that would be designed for use as either condo or rental units.
Given that the Review Board has given the go-ahead, Epstein projects that creation of architectural drawings will last approximately six months, the process of receiving a permit will take two to six months, and construction should last about a year.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
814 Thayer Street Seeks Approval
The plan calls for a 52-unit residence at 814 Thayer Avenue, between Fenton and Grove Streets, a five-story building with shifting floorplates to create overlapping residences (see above rendering). The new condos, replacing the NAD building and adjacent parking lot, would include 45 market-rate residences and seven Moderately Priced Dwelling Units. In building residences, the project will address concerns of the Silver Spring Central Business District Sector Plan, which notes that currently the "disjointed pattern of commercial activity and the lack of a residential population [in Fenton Village] dilute pedestrian traffic - a key component of retail activity."
Because of regulations mandating that 20 percent of the project's area be developed as public-use space, the proposed condos would be set back 17 feet from Thayer Avenue, allowing for a 4,2620-s.f. public plaza, with plans for trees and other greenery, game tables, and two county-mandated art projects
Since its last reviewed submission in November, planners have consulted with an artist and can now provide more details about one of the proposed - well, mandated - displays, designed in honor of the NAD (now half a mile away, on Fenton Street): "Down-lit glass columns separate the work into panels of inspirational quotes to add color and vibrancy. The free-standing piece on the northeast side of the plaza will be a historic teletype machine...A glass piece of 'paper' will serve as an artistic intervention and show how Braille text was created by the machine."
814 Thayer LLC purchased the $4-million property, which currently houses an office building, in May 2006, and its development plan was first reviewed by the Montgomery County Planning Board in November 2007. The original NAD building dates back to 1965, and was purchased by the Association in 1971 for $640,000.
UPDATE: This project is a joint venture between owner/developer Banneker Ventures and co-developer Four Points, LLC. Banneker projects the project will break ground in fall of 2008 and complete construction the following year.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Parkside Terrace Apartment Renovation to Begin
The twelve-story high-rise at 3700 9th St., SE, vacant since 2005, will be converted into 316 units of "affordable" rental housing, with seven floors of housing for low-income seniors with rental assistance by the DC Housing Authority. The remaining five floors will become "workforce housing" targeting small families, in all a $73 million project financed entirely by the city through the DC Housing Finance Agency through a bond program.
CPDC's own press release called Parkside Terrace Apartments, built in the late 1960's as a Section 8 housing provider, "a major source of blight" in Ward 8, despite early visions of a new era for occupants. Monday's ceremony will mark the beginning of a complete gut of the building by Harkins Builders, with hopes of a new start for working families, and of improving the general community. Let's hope the plan works out better this time.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Fenty Announces Petworth Metro Development Opportunities
Basilica Lofts
Final phase: Beautiful new condominiums starting at $299,500 for spacious condos with two-bedroom plus den, with a three-bedroom, three-bath, three-level penthouse available. Basilica Lofts, the conversion of a historic row of storefronts into two and three-level lofts, named after the ideal vistas of the nearby Dome of the Immaculate Conception at Catholic University. Classically traditional on the outside, interiors evoke the best of true loft living - large, open spaces, long expanses of hardwood floors, Close to Metro, Catholic, and Trinity College, Basilica Lofts borders the booming NoMa neighborhood, now realizing the long-planned development of massive commercial space that makes it the fastest-growing neighborhood of DC. Only 3 units remaining.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Lincoln Theatre's Development Debut
Labels: Jim Graham, Mayor Adrian Fenty, rfp, U Street
Among the requirements for any potential developer: the stipulation that at least 30 percent of any housing units be set aside as affordable housing, as would be obligatory in any DC-owned property. Also, projects must include "at least 7,500 square feet of flexible event space, including a restaurant-quality kitchen, which would be managed by the theater management."
Ward 1 Councilmember Jim Graham, also in attendance, expressed his obvious excitement that the project has begun “moving and shaking.” He and Mayor Fenty both emphasized the importance of the lot’s development to the continued economic growth of the U Street area —and its benefit to Lincoln Theatre. As Mayor Fenty put it, “This is and was black Broadway” - and he wants to keep it that way - and by combining affordable housing, some needed development on U Street, and saving the theatre all in one act, we're guessing he'll get a standing ovation.
Washington DC commercial property news
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Washington Adventist Hospital Presents Silver Spring Move
The hospital describes its current facilities as “crowded,” "difficult to access,” “aging,” and “inefficient.” Geoffrey Morgan, Vice-President of Washington Adventist’s Vision for Expanded Access, WAH's strategic planning group, spins it more professionally, citing “a host of physical challenges related to a constrained campus.” The hospital’s property used to be bounded by woods, which have since been developed into a residential area leery of helicopter noise and confined by neighborhood- sized roads; i.e., slower route to the ER.
The new property is located about six miles north of its current location, on Plum Orchard Drive just off of Cherry Hill Road, less than a mile from the intersection with Route 29. The development plan calls for growth in two phases. The first includes construction of the main eight-story hospital, an ambulatory services center, two parking structures, and a medical office building; and later, construction of a second medical office building. Morgan’s theoretical timeline has the project breaking ground in 2010, with the first phase estimated to take three years.
Vision for Expanded Access has consulted RTKL Associates throughout the site planning and master planning process. According to plans, while the new facility will have approximately the same number of beds as the old, the increase in space means that most of them will be private, rather than shared. The hospital will feature “state-of-the-art equipment and technology, and more space for clinical services, including cardiac care, emergency medicine, oncology services, behavioral health care and other medical services. The new design also incorporates enhanced patient safety and improved visitor and patient flow throughout the facility.”
True to its Adventist founders, the hospital emphasizes its “holistic approach to community health care, which focuses on the well-being of mind, body and spirit of patients, visitors and staff.” In keeping with these beliefs, it is planning to build green and achieve LEED certification.
If the Planning Board recommends approval, the process will move to the Hearing Examiner and Board of Appeals for consideration, followed by the Planning Board. Morgan expects that zoning approval will take the rest of 2008. To move, the hospital must also apply for a certificate of need, administered by the Maryland Health Care Commission.
Good luck, Washington Adventist Hospital. We hope you get approval stat.
A Giant Project on Wisconsin
Labels: Street-Works, supermarkets, Wisconsin Avenue
Sizes and costs of the individual residential units are premature, but 10% will most likely be designated as affordable housing. And what new development would be complete without some green? Pedestrian- friendly public spaces are being designed to grace Idaho Ave. and Newark St. with trees, fountains, and places to sit. Street-Works is still deciding which green components to add to their buildings, which could include green roofs on the residential units. According to George Idelson, president of the Cleveland Park Citizens Association, "One of the things the community wanted was a lively streetscape. That is what the plan calls for, and it seems to be doing a pretty good job with that."
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Harris Teeter To Open First DC Store
The 37,000 s.f. building, owned by DC-based Douglas Development, was an old roller rink built in 1947, and had been vacant prior to the occupancy by HT. The Honorable Adrian Fenty will be on hand at the 10:00am ceremony to honor the city's newest taxpayer; the first of three Harris Teeters to eventually stock the District's shelves. Jenkins Row, JPI's new 247-unit condominium at 1390 Pennsylvania Ave., SE, has long been marketing the bourgeoise market, which was slated to occupy the first floor of the building in mid 2007, but has yet to open its doors. And just two weeks ago, the Mayor was at the mike at Constitution Square to announce that a lease for a 50,000 square foot version would open in NoMa in early 2011.
But meeting deadlines may not be HT's forte; the Adams Morgan store was originally scheduled to open in the fall of 2006, but issues such as delivery through the narrow and one-way streets that surround the building held the project at bay for some time. Jennifer Panetta, Director of Communications for HT, would only say that the delay stemmed from the company "trying to be a good neighbor," saying that specific requests took "alot of development."
But the grocer will make up for lost hours, shoppers will be able to obtain their Angus Reserve or choose from the "extensive selection of seafood" from 7am to 11pm. Which, coincidentally, beats Whole Foods.
Glenmont MetroCenter Facing Roadblocks
The Montgomery County Council's traffic concerns may have put the brakes on—or at least stalled — a JBG Companies plan for Glenmont MetroCenter, a mixed-use development in Silver Spring. If approved, the project would be built on Glenallen Avenue between Layhill Road and Georgia Avenue, at the eastern end of the DC Metro's Red Line, the Glenmont Metro Station.
JBG intends to demolish Privacy World's 352 garden apartment units and replace them with new construction: 90,000 s.f. of retail space and 1,550 residential and live-work units. In June 2007, the Montgomery County Planning Board voted in favor of rezoning the project. But the MoCoCo gets the final say in whether the project can proceed, and it fears overburdening local roads; though JBG has offered to fund road overhauls, an agreement with the Council has not been reached. In January 2008, the Council remanded the project to the Hearing Examiner. A representative from the Council said it's now up to JBG to submit a revised proposal, at which point a new public hearing can be scheduled as early as June.
If it goes through, the proposed community would exhibit an urban street grid, with a central park and other public recreation spaces. Tantalizing features include pocket parks and, as the project website promises, the central plaza's "interactive water feature."
JBG confirms that they have not yet hired an architect for the project, which is still in the early stages of development. The company line? "While the architectural character of Glenmont MetroCenter has not been determined, the intent is for the architectural character to contribute in a significant manner to the quality of the streets, open spaces and neighborhood." Translation: The buildings will look lovely.
Very early estimates (the project isn't scheduled to be completed for at least eight years) put Glenmont MetroCenter’s townhouse costs at $500,000 to $600,000, condos at $300,000 and up, and rents at $1,500 to $2,000 per month. The tentative unit breakdown offers “about 1,300 apartments and condominiums and 250 town homes…including 3 to 4 story townhomes, 4 to 5 story multifamily dwellings, and up to 5 to 10 story dwellings over retail.”
JBG's other MoCo Metro-focused development projects in the works include Twinbrook Station and White Flint Crossing.
In JBG's favor is their emphasis on building a community designed for pedestrians and Metro users, with the county pushing for transit-oriented design. They also could benefit from the possibility that the county will build an interchange so that Georgia Avenue can run above Randolph Road. To the county's point: no matter how many sidewalks JBG builds, replacing 352 apartments with 1,500 residences and adding 90,000 s.f. of retail to boot will create more traffic at an intersection that is already a disaster at rush hour. But JBG might ask, if not at the Metro, where?
Friday, April 18, 2008
U Street Hotel in the Future?
Labels: hotel, U Street, Washington DC real estate
Though in its very early stages and likely to evolve, the vision is to replace the current strip mall across the street from the Ellington Apartments, replacing it with a single building that would house underground parking, retail on the ground floor, a boutique hotel on floors 3-8, and possibly capped by two floors of residential to max out the density. The existing strip mall takes up most of the block on the south side of the 1300 block of U Street. The area falls within a historic protection zone, but no historic building would be affected.
With neighbors apparently in favor of supplanting the current retail, the largest obstacle, financing notwithstanding, will be to change the underlying zoning, which does not now allow for density sufficient to support this project. Phil Spalding, Commissioner for ANC 1B, says the development has local support, and that there will be "a strong push for retail to animate the street," speculating that some of the current retail could reopen in the new space, though stressing that the plans will likely see "another 9 or 10 redrawings" before construction could begin. Renderings are not yet available, but Spalding describes the current iteration as 'classical.'
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
"1" Hotel Sees the Green Light at End of Tunnel
Labels: Perseus Realty LLC, Starwood Capital Group
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Bridging the Gap to Roosevelt Island
The proposal is to connect the land in front of the Watergate Hotel to Roosevelt Island, then across to Virginia. Mallof chose the Virginia location to connect the bike paths that nearly converge in the area, and proposes that the bridge could not only provide recreational use, but also serve as a main thoroughfare for sweaty commuters biking in from Virginia, who currently have a more complicated route after crossing Key Bridge, which involves either descending stairs or threading Georgetown's traffic, though even at this location bikers would still have to face a series of frogger-like challenges to get to the Mall. Still, some are concerned about the visual obstruction down the river, which has few open vistas thanks to the series of vehicular bridges.
Aside from the practical uses, Mallof stresses that the park falls within DC's perimeters, not Virginia's, forcing DC residents to cross the Potomac and park their cars on Virginia soil in order to take advantage of their park. Roosevelt Island remains so lightly trafficked, thanks in part to its inaccessibility, that it still boasts a mature white-tailed deer population.
Washington DC commercial real estate news
Monday, April 14, 2008
National's Get First LEED Stadium
Friday, April 11, 2008
Takoma Shopping Center to Get Addition, Facelift
Because the site serves as one of the main entryways into Maryland-DC, the current owners are seeking to increase the site's 'gateway' status by designing the new infill structure as a "billboard" for the neighborhood to "mark [their] arrival into the Takoma Park Community," according to Wnuk Spurlock Architects, which is designing the new building as a visual centerpiece of the block. According to Joseph Wnuk, Principal at Wnuk Spurlock Architecture "The one main goal was obviously to continue the current street facade, the other was because of its location, it should act as an introduction to Takoma Park. One portion of the building is a little higher and has much more emphasis, like a tower. We were not trying to duplicate any traditional style, we weretrying to do it in elements of this time and day. In terms of its context, its modernist, but we are sympathetic both in the scale and in the materials, of what's in the area."
Wnuk Spurlock will have to incorporate a historic building that occupies a corner of the site, at the intersection of Laurel and Eastern Avenues. The architecture firm refers to the development as an "integral component in completing the center's street facade." Owners of the shopping center have plans to operate a brand new restaurant out of the top floor, and some additional retail on the lower levels. The site was left vacant due to a fire almost 50 years ago.
In order to further accomodate shoppers, Wnuk Spurlock redesigned the parking lot, trying to make it easier both on the eyes and on our vehicles by making a few aesthetic upgrades, like a retaining wall to seperate the property from a neighboring lot, and reworking the flow of traffic to enter and exit from Eastern Ave.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
First Step for Falls Church Affordable Project
The Falls Church Housing Corporation, which provides affordable housing opportunities, currently awaits a formal staff review of its project at 350 South Washington Street, where it plans to demolish its recently purchased office building and a neighboring office building, and replace them with a seven-story, 'affordable' apartment building. The non-profit is preparing for their meeting with Falls Church City Council on May 12, officially beginning the public review process, in which organizations like the Architectural Advisory Board, the Planning Commission, and Zoning can have their say. FCHC hopes to get a final approval from the Council by the end of June so the arduous financing process can begin, all to begin construction by summer of 2009.
The properties to be redeveloped are owned by FCHC and Homestretch Inc., working together to bring down their separate office buildings and provide affordable housing. Homestretch, like FCHC, is an non-profit organization that serves lower-income families. But while FCHC is an affordable housing provider, Homestretch serves the community by renting transitional housing and offering services to families that are at risk of homelessness. The duo will work with Atlantic Realty Companies, the master developer, and the City of Falls Church. Virginia-based architect Butz Wilbern is designing the new building.
Homestretch acquired their building roughly six years ago, and rents out some of their building to local businesses, using the remainder for administrative functions. FCHC just purchased their building in February, with the goal of redeveloping it, and now leases two-thirds of the space. Carol Jackson, Executive Director at FCHC, pointed out that the firm has no interest in being a commercial property owner: "If we get turned down any step of the way [in the development process], we will be selling the building." Both firms use their respective commercial leases to subsidize the outstanding mortgages.
The two 1970's office buildings currently on the site will be cleared away to make room for a mixed-use 150,000-s.f. building which will hold office space for both firms on the ground floor, and offer 172 rental units for families earning 60% of the Area Median Income, or about $40,000. According to their November '07 pitch to the City government, the project will serve to restock the affordable housing supply in Falls Church, which has recently been depleted. "By the City’s own estimate, Falls Church: lost nearly 200 affordable rental units between 2001 and 2006; [has] a shortage of 262 affordable housing units in 2007 – not including 650 additional units that may still be lost through conversion or redevelopment; [and] suffered a 60 percent loss since 2001 in the number of for-sale units affordable to households earning less than 120%."
FCHC has referred to the development as turning "an isolated area of obsolete office buildings into well-located, quality affordable housing for a vital local workforce...who will otherwise be unable to remain in Falls Church." Said Jackson, "Like many of the older 'inner ring' suburbs, Falls Church is transitioning into an expensive, newly urban environment where property values have left behind 75% of the local workforce who are unable to live in the city where they work and contribute to the balanced economy Falls Church desires to foster."