Monday, March 26, 2012

Today in Pictures - Old Post Office

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Last month, the GSA selected the Trump Organization to breathe life into the historic Old Post Office at 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, the iconic building begun in 1892 that now stands as the tallest building (Washington Monument excepted) in the city. The building survived at least two attempts to raze it, ironically for lack of money to do the job, but the Bush administration made its redevelopment a priority, and the result was pressure on the GSA that resulted in the current plan.

In the works is a 250-room Trump hotel with restaurants and a spa, replacing what has been federal office space and seldom-visited food and retail court. Construction could commence in in 2014 with completion in 2016. "The Trump Organization plan will preserve the historic nature of the building and improve the vitality of Pennsylvania Avenue, said Robert Peck, GSA's Commissioner of the Public Buildings Service said in a statement.







Washington D.C. real estate development news

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Your Next Place

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By Franklin Schneider

This one-of-a-kind house has a distinctly European flavor, only without the sixty percent income taxes and black-socks-and-sandals. (I imagine a European real estate blogger somewhere typing, "This house has a distinctly American flavor, only without the stars-n-stripes fanny packs and large-print bibles.")

But really, this house is one of the more unique properties I've been in, from the incredible skylights (they're everywhere in this house) to the stunning kitchen. I've never seen a kitchen space anything like it, and yet it makes so much sense that I really feel this sort of design should be ubiquitous. (I feel the same way when I see a woman with a poodle perm.) The vertically-striped dining room really won me over, and so did the divided living room. And as befitting a house of such distinction, the bedrooms are all spacious and have their own individual character. Best of all, wherever you look in this place, there's a little unexpected skylight or cupboard or long desk or built-in shelves. It's like the last surviving work of some extinct master builder who thought of absolutely everything.


Outside is a sweeping stone patio and a tiered garden, and there's also a beautiful in-law suite. Even if you don't have in-laws, it could come in handy. My parents recently moved into a new house and during my first visit I noticed they had an in-law suite. "But who's going to stay there?" I asked at dinner. "Your father," said my mom without hesitating. We all continued eating in silence.

3615 Chesapeake Street NW
6 Bedrooms, 4.5 Baths
$1,299,000




Thursday, March 22, 2012

Your Next Place

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By Franklin Schneider

This fully-renovated Federal is bright, open, and worth every penny - the complete opposite of my ex! (Canned laughter) But seriously, I loved everything about this place, from the fantastic, light-filled living room (check out those built-ins) to the long dining room, to the dynamic floor plan. My favorite part was that the huge chef's kitchen is open to the den and family room, so you can continually shout helpful suggestions to the cook from your spot in front of the tv until they throw a wokful of hot vegetables at you and demand a divorce.

The palatial master bedroom suite sports a MASSIVE walk-in closet (it made me realize for the first time that there's no such thing as a "hoarder," only someone with insufficient storage), and a separate powder room. If I had a room like this, I'd start wearing makeup, just because. I've always thought it was unfair anyway that women get to draw circles around their eyes so they look bigger and rub brightly colored wax on their lips to make them look like a delicious piece of candy, while men get, what - ties? They're just big cloth arrows pointing at our ill-fitting pants. Not fair.

The lower level is a beautiful in-law suite - far too good for your actual in-laws, which is exactly what they think of their daughter compared to you. So that works. The house is also on a nice sedate(ish) one-way street, which should not be undervalued. I've lived on both, and living on a two-way street after living on a one-way, it feels like my house is beside an airport runway now. Out back is a splendid deck-n-garden and a two car garage - you can either park two cars in there or just sort of slide in sideways with one car like they do in the movies. (No, really, try it!)

1652 33rd Street NW
4 Bedrooms, 3.5 Baths
$1,525,000






Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Ft. Totten on the Rise

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One of Ft. Totten's most transformative developments is at last on the way, and with it, a new neighborhood. The Art Place at Fort Totten, the 826 unit mixed-use complex that sits between the Metro station and South Dakota Avenue, is ready to begin construction "within the next few weeks." The project, conceived by the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, will form a new community with over 300,000 s.f. of retail, 2282 parking spaces, a children's museum, and senior's home in 4 separate buildings.

The plan has been on the boards for years - developers hoped to break ground in 2010 even after the market crash - as part of plans by the city to spur all local owners to coordinate development of the area, one of the last Metro centers that has not seen significant development. The first phase is expected to complete 30-36 months from now.

With construction fences now up, and raze permits all but finalized, developer Jane Cafritz says demolition will commence "in the next 3 to 4 weeks" on "Building A" at South Dakota and Galloway. The multi-phase project will start with the demolition of 5 of the 15 buildings on the 16 acre site in order to make way for 1 of the 4 planned mixed-use buildings. This phase will incorporate about 530 residential units and 110,000 s.f. of retail, though no grocery store at this point due to the Walmart planned across the street, which may be underway as early as this summer.
Cafritz says timing on the project was not affected by the announcement of Walmart. "We're there to be a catalyst in the neighborhood."

Phase 1 will also incorporate a small subsidized housing component and the senior living center; and about half of the 98 units of senior housing will go to current residents of Riggs Plaza. Cafritz notes that the project was designed in phases partly to accommodate existing tenants "that we have great repsect for that have been on site literally for generations." Ultimately all the buildings will be connected by an underground parking garage. All buildings have been approved by DC zoning officials but timing and design issues for Buildings B, C and D have not yet been finalized. While no office space has been planned, Cafritz notes that the first phase will incorporate flex-space that could be either retail or office. The Children's Museum is planned for the second phase of construction.

The Cafritz Foundation had earlier dangled the prospect of hosting both the Washington National Opera and the Shakespeare Theatre for storage, rehearsal space and related shops, a scenario that has now been shelved, but Jane Cafritz says her team is now talking to other similar non-profits. All residential units will be for-rent, the "Foundation owns this and intends to keep this," says Cafritz.

Master planning for the site was done by Ehrenkrantz Eckstut and Kuhn (EE&K), Shalom Baranes Architects (SBA) has designed the first of the four buildings, and MV+A Architects is designing the retail, all to meet basic LEED certification standards.

The eight-story Building C is planned as entirely residential, built in two C-shaped wings, joined at the second level, to accommodate the possibility of a new 3rd Street connecting the Arts Place property to the neighboring Food and Friends property, should the neighbors decide to sell or redevelop at a later date.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

St. Matthew's Residential Project Meets Resistance

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It was a rough Monday night for CSG Urban Partners and their proposed 11-story, 210-unit residential building on the former site of St. Matthew's church at 222 M street SW, as a large number of neighborhood residents showed up to voice opposition to the project over the course of an occasionally heated four-hour hearing.

The hearing started on a moderate note, as board members from the nearby Carrollsburg Square condominiums voiced qualified support for the project. "This is not the perfect project," said resident Jonathan Beaton, before going on to say that it's "likely better than future projects that will be proposed."

But the testimony took a negative turn from there. One resident said the proposed building "doesn't match the existing development pattern," describing a "wall-like effect from over 200 feet of unbroken frontage along the street." A representative of a senior housing complex at 1241 Delaware Avenue said the new building will block natural light and accessibility for ambulances. Others said that mature trees adjacent to the development will be killed by construction, and that toxic mold could harm some residents. Still other residents complained that the developers had told them they wouldn't be allowed to use the swimming pool in the new building (pond would be good for you, Carl).

Criticism reached a peak when a local doctor said the building would turn the 3rd Street extension into a "darkened alley of high crime," that the loss of views would cause "mental anguish," and that the arbitrary changing of zoning standards represented a "bait and switch" for local property owners. ("Which is punishable by law!")


Fox News correspondent Catherine Herridge, who lives nearby, was one of the sharpest critics of the project. Herridge passed out a packet illustrating the neighborhood's "
severe doubling parking problem," and provided the night's finest unintentional comic relief when she fidgeted and glared and grimaced through the previous testifier's speech with Chaplinesque intensity. (She did everything but take out a huge hammer and bonk him on the head with it.)

On rebuttal, it was revealed that the developers had actually made an unusual concession on the parking issue, promising that no residents of their building would be eligible for residential parking permits. (The plans also call for 150 below-grade parking spaces.) Architect Shalom Baranes defended some aspects of the design, saying the "darkened high crime alley" would actually be well-lit, and have units looking onto it. Josh Dix, representing the developers, pointed out that the previous design had been much denser with much less greenspace. "We've been meeting with the community since 2004," he said. "At this point, does it satisfy everybody? Probably not. But the pros outweigh the cons."


The board didn't vote, instead asking for more information, and putting off a vote until the April 30 session. The tone at the hearing verged at times on contentious, and the mood seemed unencouraging. But Simone Goring Devaney, who's spearheading the project for CSG Urban, was unperturbed when I talked to her the next day. "The zoning board requested more information, and we're going to get them the info they requested," Goring Devaney said. "We're feeling very positive about the project's future."

Goring Devaney added that, if approval comes through as planned, construction should begin in early 2013 and conclude in about eighteen months.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Debate over Eisenhower Memorial Continues at House Hearing

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There are few things on which proposed Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial stakeholders agree, but two clearly emerged Tuesday: They want to honor the distinguished president, and more time is needed to make it right for everyone.

The House Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands was the latest forum for the ongoing controversy surrounding plans for an Eisenhower Memorial designed by well-known architect Frank Gehry whose portfolio includes designing the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. Discussion boiled down to whether the current proposal can be altered to reach a compromise or whether it is necessary to go back to the drawing board altogether.

"Clearly we do not have consensus today," said retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Carl Reddel, Executive Director of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission, when asked about his perceptions at the end of the Congressional hearing. He told the subcommittee that the commission believed it had consensus from its members, the Eisenhower family and the public until last July when conflicting views surfaced. The Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission worked with the U.S. General Services Administration to select a design through the GSA's Design Excellence Program and was reviewed by the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC). The selection immediately drew an alternative competition from arts groups opposed to the Gehry plan.

The proposed design includes reliefs of two famous images of Eisenhower in his roles as president and general, large steel "tapestries," a statue of Eisenhower, interactive educational technology, and column-like structures placed throughout the 4-acre park.
During the hearing, critics of the project voiced concerns about the size, materials and message included in the current plan. Susan Eisenhower said her grandfather would neither like nor understand the memorial intended to honor his life.

"He would have wanted something on a smaller scale, I believe," she said. "This is an enormous thing."

Supporters of the proposed design defended its merits, pointing out the range of elements representing Eisenhower's myriad accomplishments throughout his life. And they pointed to ways the Eisenhower Family's opinions and the public's concerns were considered. A letter submitted into the record seemed to indicate that Gehry was willing to work with the family to alleviate their concerns.

A final version of the design still must be approved by the NCPC before construction can begin. While originally scheduled for review by NCPC at its April 5 hearing, the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission asked the National Park Service to remove it from the agenda.

The decision was announced in a March 14 press release without an explanation for the delay. It does, however, state that the additional time will allow the group "to inform and fully brief other interested parties - including other Members of Congress and the Eisenhower family about all aspects of the Commission's preferred design concept."

On February 29, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., sent a letter to the NCPC asking that any decision to approval final plans for the monument be postponed at least 120 days to allow more time for understanding the complex issues surrounding the decision.

Another point of contention is the process used to select Gehry. Susan Eisenhower said the process was neither democratic nor transparent. The National Civic Art Society (NCAS), represented by chair emeritus and Director Howard Segermark, testified to the process that he said excluded new or unknown designers from applying because they were asked to submit a portfolio instead of a design proposal.

William Guerin, assistant commissioner for the office of construction programs in the public buildings service of the GSA, explained the program as a three-phase process that requires the evaluation of past work, a shortlist of proposals for interviews, and then the review of proposals for design. In this case, a review board considered the recommendations and selected Gehry for the project.

NCAS has been among those questioning the actions of the committee during that time frame, including the lack of meeting minutes. "I think the main thing we want to hammer out is what happened between July 2007 and March 2009," said Eric Wind, chairman emeritus and secretary of NCAS. "That's almost a two-year gap." And he said the minutes from the 2009 meeting reference votes and decisions from the missing time period.

Some of those questions might be answered in a House Oversight Committee review initiated by another Feb. 29 letter from Issa asking the Memorial Commission to submit copies of all designs submitted for the project and "a detailed description of the process leading to acceptance of the Frank Gehry submission, including a breakdown of any and all votes taken pertaining to any submission." Those documents now are under review by the committee.

The Memorial Commission did not return a call for comments about the Tuesday hearing.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Monday, March 19, 2012

Penzance Announces Partner and Start Date for Clarendon Office Project

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D.C. based Penzance announced today it has partnered with Invesco Real Estate in a joint venture to build its 2-building office project at 3001-3003 Washington Boulevard near the Clarendon Metro station, setting up development for a May groundbreaking.

The partnership with Invesco comes after Penzance had teed up the development, gaining county approval of plans for the 280,000 s.f. project in January, at which time it also leased most of the space - 173,000 s.f. - to federally-funded CNA (the Center for Naval Analyses), which will transfer 600 employees from its Mark Center location in 2014.

Penzance plans two office buildings - 8-stories and 10-stories - with shared 4-level below-grade parking deck and 28,000 s.f. of combined ground floor retail space with outdoor seating area. Several of the older buildings on the block will be kept intact during construction. Noritake Associates designed the project that is expected to earn a minimum ranking of LEED Silver, while holding out the possibility of a Platinum ranking for the site.

Penzance has developed and operates numerous properties throughout Washington D.C. and Arlington, including 455 Massachusetts Avenue in Mt. Vernon Triangle.

Arlington, Virginia real estate development news

Retail, Fountain, Ice Rink Slated for Washington Harbour

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Washington Harbour retailWork to upgrade the retail offering of Georgetown's Washington Harbour has begun, owners MRP Realty and Rockpoint Group LLC announced today.  Washington Harbour is undergoing a $20 million exterior renovation led by architecture firm Gensler and general contractor Clark Construction, after a flood pushed out the restaurants that once lined the riverfront pavilion. Some of the most significant changes are slated for the lower level. Those upgrades include retail storefront improvements and a revamped fountain with lights and animated jets that will double as a 12,000-square-foot ice skating rink in the winter.
Washington Harbor fountain, Gensler design, MRP Realty
Work on the lower level is scheduled for completion in the fourth quarter of 2012, and the fountain will be completed by the end of this summer.

Rendering courtesy of Gensler Architects

Washington DC commercial real estate news

Today in Pictures - Ripley District

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Once a forlorn street with only ramshackle buildings better for disposing of cars than for strolling, despite its location in downtown Silver Spring and proximity to the Metro, Ripley Street is on its way to birthing two residential developments. The first, by Washington Property Company and Lessard Design, will feature 295 rental units (9 live-work replaced what was to be a retail space) inside a 17-story structure, with a "resort-style" pool at 1150 Ripley Street. WPC broke ground in September of 2009 and will now deliver the first units the 1st week of May. Work is expected to continue through August.

The second site, by Home Properties, will deliver a Shalom Baranes designed residential tower late next year. Eleven55 Ripley, originally conceived as Midtown Silver Spring, will offer 379 "premier apartments" in a 20-story building and adjacent 5-story building, adding a small pocket park as a public amenity.



Silver Spring real estate development news
 

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