Your Next Place

By Franklin Schneider

This fine Georgetown home is as cute as a button. A 1.5 million-dollar button. Seriously though, this house is adorable. Inside, the house is exactly what you think of when you think "Georgetown" - classy wainscoting (is there any other kind?) crown moldings, gleaming hardwood floors, and two fireplaces. This house is more "Georgetown" than a cupcake in a polo shirt. (Why is that image so disturbing?) There's a cozy kitchen and three generously proportioned bedrooms upstairs.

Out back is a beautiful walled garden and patio with a fantastic cherub-themed fountain that I strongly suspect was looted from a museum. It just seems too nice to have been bought retail. If I was a better person I would've said something to someone, but instead I made a mental note to buy a Powerball ticket so I could buy my own house with a possibly-looted fountain. (What's that you say? Accomplishing things through hard work instead? What do you think this is, China?)

Also, the house is on a quiet one-way street, and located mere blocks from Georgetown University, so you'll often see peppy young people walking by who, unlike you, have their whole lives ahead of them. (Don't feel bad, they'll almost certainly screw things up just as much as you have. It's "the Circle of Life"! Hakuna matata.)

3526 P Street NW
3 Bedrooms, 3.5 Baths
$1,499,000

Washington D.C. real estate news

Crystal City Office Project Gets Started Thursday Morning

Lowe Enterprises will host a "groundbreaking ceremony" Thursday on a $70 million office redevelopment project at 1400 Crystal Drive in Crystal City. Fox Architects designed the new building.

The company will seek LEED Gold certification for the project to convert an existing 300,000 square-foot office building in Jefferson Plaza into "Class A" office space complete with a glass facade and roof top terrace. The lobby will be moved to Crystal Drive.

Demolition will bring the building back to its concrete frame before new construction begins, keeping a quick turnaround time and earning LEED points as a retrofit.

"When we acquired the building, we new knew it had good bones," said Harmar Thompson, Vice President of Lowe Enterprises Real Estate Group. "So we knew it had a good structure, that we could work with that structure, and not have to do ... ground-up development."

Thompson said the 30-by-30 column grid is solid and lends itself to flexible configuration of the new building, compared to the 20-by-20 grid common in the area that makes renovation more difficult.

Other elements incorporated to achieve LEED Gold certification include using high-efficiency glass the facade and upgrading HVAC to a dedicated outdoor air system that brings cold water to many units throughout the building instead of having it in a centralized basement location.

The new building is scheduled to open in early 2013, with 30,000 square feet more space than the old building, creating more corner offices and pushing it out into the view corridor. "The views out of this building are spectacular," Thompson said.

Lowe acquired the building in 2008. Thompson said the company had the opportunity to initiate the rebuilding project because the National Guard Bureau vacated, leaving it empty. Rebuilding on top of the existing frame allowed the company to create an essentially new building in a short period of time and open it to tenants earlier than other projects in the area. Lincoln Property Company will handle leasing.

The groundbreaking ceremony is set for 8:30 a.m. Thursday.

Arlington, VA real estate development news

New Residential Planned for Shaw's Blagden Alley

The United House of Prayer for All People has teamed up (again) with Suzane Reatig Architecture, this time to develop a mixed-use residential and retail building in the Blagden Alley-Naylor Court Historic District.

The DC Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) approved the concept for a 12-unit residential building with ground floor retail space at 926 N St. Northwest. A 1953 warehouse and loading dock on the property will be torn down to make way for the new building.

Megan Mitchell, project designer for Suzane Reatig Architecture, presented the early-stage design to the HPRB at the March 22 meeting. She said she thought the meeting went well, and now they can move on to the next stage.

Preliminary concept rendering of the front of the building showing
the three sections and proposed screen
(Rendering provided by Suzane Reatig Architecture)

"I think the next step for us is to develop the materials and work on the little details of how the bays meet the ground and meet the sky," Mitchell said. "(We're) really getting into the design of the building now."

And that is exactly what the HPRB wants to see. Comments during the meeting focused on the desire for more renderings, a detailed site plan and consideration of materials that will incorporate the varied historical neighborhood.

This first presentation to the HPRB was intended to get input and approval for the overall concept, Board member comments will be incorporated into a later presentation.

Preliminary alley designs include garage doors, alley access and balconies. The street front would be broken up into three sections emulating the row-home effect present in the area. Residential units would feature private outdoor space.

Mitchell said the design has been shared in various forums with the community, and it is clear that the neighbors care about the project. She said residents have different opinions about how modern the building should appear in the historic alley. Preliminary rendering showing the sidewalk view with ground-level retail spaces.

Another presentation with greater detail of the project will take place in the near future. Mitchell said she hopes to break ground on the project within a year, but no specific timeline has been set.

"We're very excited about building in this unique historic neighborhood," Mitchell said during her presentation. "We'd like to do a building that would contribute not only to its historic context but also to the community."

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Today in Pictures - Old Post Office

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

Your Next Place

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

Your Next Place

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

Ft. Totten on the Rise

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

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

Debate over Eisenhower Memorial Continues at House Hearing

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