WASHINGTON, DC | Development News

[202_Cyclist]

Metro board mulls deal with GSA


Jeffrey MacMillan/Washington Post - The Naylor Road Metro Station is thought to be one of the sites that would be part of a deal between Metro and the General Services Administration

By Jonathan O'Connell
November 27, 2011
Washington Post

"Next month Metro’s board of directors will consider a broad agreement aimed at enticing the federal government to relocate agencies to four prominent Metro-owned sites in the District, Maryland and Virginia.

According to Steven Goldin, director of real estate at Metro, the memorandum of understanding being negotiated with the General Services Administration would outline a process whereby the federal government could secure rights to the Metro sites in advance of large agency relocations..."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/busine...M2N_story.html

[dgreen]

Originally Posted by 202_Cyclist

Metro board mulls deal with GSA

Goldin declined to publicly name the four Metro sites included in the agreement, but a source familiar with the negotiations said they are located at the Anacostia, Branch Avenue, Huntington and Naylor Road Metro stations.

There's still plenty of land for one or two more large government agency buildings in the Suitland Federal Center, but that doesn't seem to be a focus here? Is it better to start building up around several stations or continue building up around one station?

[202_Cyclist]

Partners envision condos at GSA heating plant site
Development: Feds weigh sale of prime parkside land

By BRADY HOLT
Current Newspapers
11/30/2011

As developers begin eying Georgetown’s two-acre West Heating Plant site — which the federal government listed as excess last month — one team has announced its concept to convert the property into an 80-unit luxury condominium and public park.

The plan from the Georgetownbased Levy Group and the New York-based Georgetown Company is to renovate the six-story heating plant building into Four Seasons Private Residences, the developers and the hotel firm announced Friday.

The proposed Four Seasons design would also convert the site’s open space — now home to storage tanks and parking — into a grassy park with public access to Rock Creek and the C&O Canal, and a trail connecting the parcel to other parkland nearby..."

http://currentnewspapers.com/admin/u....30.11%201.pdf

[202_Cyclist]

This is great news. This development can't begin soon enough, as the NIMBYs have bee fighting this for a decade. Attractive townhomes, condos, and new retail will replace a large surface parking lot that is a mile from two metro stations and well-served by several bus routes. Additionally, the Giant is from the 1950s and totally inadequate.

Bozzuto Group buys into Wisconsin Avenue Giant development


Courtesy of Bozzuto Group - A rendering of the 56,000-square-foot Giant Food grocery store as envisioned for Cathedral Commons. In the left corner is Wisconsin Avenue. The road extending to the right is Newark Street.

By Jonathan O'Connell
December 4, 2011
Washington Post

"The Bozzuto Group has acquired a stake in a promising parcel of land that has been subject to one of the District’s longest-running development debates.

The Greenbelt-based homebuilder has been selected by Giant Food as a development partner for the grocer’s $125 million mixed-use project on Wisconsin Avenue Northwest, where it will attempt to finally break ground on plans that have been in the works since 1999..."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/busine...GTO_story.html

[202_Cyclist]

The DC Urban Turf blog compiled a list of all the housing units either planned or under construction on the 14th Street corridor. There is just a massive number of places under construction now, exciting to watch. As someone pointed out, if everything is built, there will be 1,150 new housing units along 14th Street alone.

Residential Development Aplenty for 14th Street
http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blo...72762#comments

[shakman]

Originally Posted by babybackribs2314

I feel as though it's easy to forget how much development is planned outside of the expanding downtown area.

While CityCenter et al are massive, the infill going on is the big story... I'm really beginning to wonder whether the District will have over 700,000 residents by the 2020 Census? The pace of development is just mind-boggling and shows signs of speeding up if anything.

I think one of the biggest projects that needs to get underway is the separation of the Blue and Orange lines... the Blue line needs to go through Georgetown etc, both to expand access and to expand D.C.'s core itself...

In the 1950 Census, DC had a population just over 800,000.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demogra...ashington,_D.C.

Point being it can happen again.

[202_Cyclist]

shakman:

In the 1950 Census, DC had a population just over 800,000.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demogra...ashington,_D.C.

Point being it can happen again.

I'm as optimistic as anyone about DC but I think reaching 700,000 residents in 10 years will be difficult. This will be 16% growth from the current population of 604,000 residents in one decade.

This is from the Washington City Paper:
"That transient constituency isn’t going away, and unlike other cities where buildings aren’t capped by height limits, it won’t be diluted by other kinds of residents, either. The last big piece of downtown is getting built right now: CityCenterDC, which will have 674 condos and apartments total. Only 150 units are in the pipeline after that, compared to 5,444 in NoMa and 4,624 in Capitol Riverfront, by the baseball stadium..."

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/b...ndos-backyard/

Downtown 800 units
NoMA 5,444 units
Capital Riverfront 4,624 units
14th Street 1,150 units
H Street, NE 1,373 units
Wisconsin Ave 500 units
Brookland/Catholic U. 765 units

This gets you 14,680 new units by the middle part of this decade. According to the US Census data, there are 2.39 people per occupied housing unit in the District, so this would put you at about 30,000 new residents by 2015. Admittedly, there is more planned for Georgetown, SW waterfront, Foggy Bottom, etc... The big question, to, is how much development there will be east of the Anacostia.

Although I'd like to see the District reach 700,000 residents by 2020, I think this is too optimistic. Perhaps 650,000 people.

[shakman]

I apologize for not being clear with my statement. I am not expecting the population to get to 800,000 by the 2020 census though some decades out it can be attainable.

I do agree with you that 650,000 seems more reasonable by 2020.

[202_Cyclist]

No need to apologize-- there has been some discussion on this thread about whether DC will reach 700,000 residents by 2020. We have some time as there is still plenty of land in Northeast, but I think at some point there will have to be a discussion about revising the height limit in the District. We have some time, maybe 15-20 years but if this growth continues, it will have to be revised.

[202_Cyclist]

JBG unveils plans for White Flint


Courtesy of JBG - A rendering of the 345-unit residential building that would anchor the North Bethesda Market II project.

By Jonathan O'Connell
December 5, 2011
Washington Post

"The JBG Cos. wanted to make a bold statement in building one of the first mixed-use projects in the White Flint section of Rockville, and the result was the tallest building in Montgomery County, one featuring a Whole Foods Market and 397 apartments that fetch some of the county’s highest rents.

The company and its partner, MacFarlane Partners, are sticking to the script of big and bold as they prepare the next act for the project, located off of Rockville Pike across from White Flint Mall.

For the second phase of North Bethesda Market, the developers plan a 345-unit residential building that, at about 300 feet, would be slightly taller than the first. Its design, by architects at Studios Architecture, is anything but uniform; picture a Mayan Temple whose glass bricks have been shaken earthquake-like out of position..."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/busine...JTO_story.html

[Kingofthehill]

I really hope that gets built! The DC region as a whole is in dire need of cutting-edge contemporary architecture.

[turigamot]

There is also this planned in DC, in regards to contemporary architecture: http://dcmud.blogspot.com/2011/12/ea...eps-hopes.html





An exciting prospect. Love the way it looks.

[dgreen]

Originally Posted by 202_Cyclist

shakman:
According to the US Census data, there are 2.39 people per occupied housing unit in the District...

This is the biggest reason that 700k and 800k aren't in the near future. In 1950, when the population peaked at 802,178, DC had 3.58 people per occupied housing unit.

Big gains could be made in lowering the vacancy rate, though. The 1950 vacancy rate was a very low 2.4% (5,596 units - could have potentially accounted for 20,000 more people). In 2010, the vacancy rate was 10.1%, or approximately 30,000 units. That's potentially 70,000 people. Of course, DC won't reach a 0% vacancy rate. But, still, an area where additional population can fill.

Household size isn't going to increase any time soon. It may even lower a little more. So, that leaves new construction (ideally with higher density) and lower vacancy rates as the two main avenues for population increase.

[202_Cyclist]

7 Reasons D.C. Is Experiencing a Strong Multifamily Market

By Jeffrey Kottmeier, Vice President, Director of Research, Cassidy Turley

Multihousing News
December 7, 2011

Washington, D.C.—Multifamily investment in 2011 has been the golden child of commercial real estate. With strong economic and employment fundamentals, large metros such as Washington, D.C., have attracted investors. Through the third quarter of 2011, the D.C. metro market saw over 17,500 multifamily units trade hands for $3.2 billion, thus ranking this market just behind number one ranked Manhattan, based on total sales volume. Washington, D.C., investment sales are on pace to match those of D.C. metro from 2006, second only to the record $8.5 billion in sales recorded in the D.C. metro area in 2007.


Image courtesy of Multihousing News.

So, why has multifamily investment been so hot, especially in Washington, D.C.?

There are a number of reasons that stimulate a strong appetite for multifamily assets. At a macro level, U.S. homeownership rates reached their apex in 2004 and have continued to decline. By the end of 2010, ownership rates were slightly under 67 percent. At the end of the third quarter of 2011, the homeownership rate was 66.1 percent—still higher than rates in the mid-1980s to 1990s. Further, renting has been a viable alternative to owning a house. On a regional level, D.C.’s underlying economic and demographic trends are driving a strong multifamily market..."

http://www.multihousingnews.com/feat...004045615.html

[202_Cyclist]

Navy Yard development projects getting new life after languishing in downturn


A rendering of the Boilermaker Shops at The Yards project, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2012. (Image courtesy of the Washington Post, via Forest City)

By Jonathan O'Connell
December 11, 2011
Washington Post

"When the housing market collapsed and took the economy with it, the area around the Nationals Park became Example A of how the fallout had affected Washington real estate.

Developers with the land near the ballpark had been promoting their planned condominiums, restaurants and bars with large, flashy banners for baseball fans to ogle as they walked to the game. But few of the projects started, and many of those that did struggled..."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/busine...anO_story.html

[202_Cyclist]

One blog posted photos of the Rhode Island Avenue infill development:

http://rhodeislandavene.com/2011/12/...de-island-row/

It's good to see some more housing next to the metro station, espeically a fairly under-utilized one. That said, however, the design of this is lacking. There is a larged structured parking garage next to the large big-box stores, with a large surface parking lot (which is mostly empty much of the time). I also couldn't imagine paying $500,000 - $600,000 for a stick-built condo with three floors of people living above you.

[202_Cyclist]

DC Mud has a post about a proposed development in Brookland that would have nearly 220 units of housing and nearly 13,000 square feet of retail. Abdo's Monroe Street Market, which will have approximately 750 units of housing is also planned for Brookland, near Catholic University. This area has a lot of potential, as it is only three metro stops away from Union Station and is more affordable than many other locations in the District.


Image courtesy of DC Mud.

Brookland Mixed-Use Project to be Reviewed by Zoning Commission, Finally
http://dcmud.blogspot.com/2011/12/br...ect-to-be.html

[202_Cyclist]

DC Mud posted some good photos of demolation of the Florida Rock concrete plant right next to the Nationals stadium. This site is located along the Anacostia, near the new Yards waterfront park. A large mixed-use development is planned here (http://dcmud.blogspot.com/2011/10/ri...lpark-out.html), with construction beginning in 2013.

Today in Pictures - Florida Rock
http://dcmud.blogspot.com/2011/12/to...rida-rock.html

[202_Cyclist]

The US Census Bureau released population data for the period since the last 10-year Census was released, for thte dates from Apr 1, 2010 to July 1, 2010. The District had the nation's fastest population growth, expanding at a 2.7% rate for the 14-month period. At the last Census, DC had a population of 602,000. This latest growth would give DC a population of over 618,000

Here's the link for the Census press release: http://www.census.gov/newsroom/relea.../cb11-215.html

[turigamot]

That is absolutely insane growth for such a short period of time. Vacancy rates must really be dropping a decent amount, or people are rooming together in larger quantities. Or both. I wouldn't think that enough new units could have been completed in the past year to account for any sizeable portion of that 16k.

Is this rate of growth possible through to 2020? Or will it slow down, or *gasp* even speed up?

This also makes me quite curious about Arlington's growth.