WASHINGTON, DC | Development News

[202_Cyclist]

I am excited about this. When we were in Istanbul earlier this year, the Roman cisterns were very interesting. Admittedly, Istanbul's cisterns are about 1,400 years older but hopefully the filtration site can become an attractive public space.

HPRB Approves McMillan Plans: New Renderings

November 1, 2013
By Shilpi Paul
Urban Turf


Image courtesy of Urban Turf.


Image courtesy of Urban Turf.

"On Thursday, Vision McMillan Partners (VMP) received the go-ahead from the Historic Preservation Review Board to move forward with their master plan and building concepts for the redevelopment of the McMillan Sand Filtration site.

The HPRB voted unanimously to support the Historic Preservation staff report, which was largely supportive of the newest version of the plan. They offered supportive commentary on both the master plan and the individual buildings, with some targeted suggestions on how to improve upon specifics of the building designs..."

http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blo...enderings/7770

[easy as pie]

Originally Posted by 202_Cyclist

Not really. The 11-story square box is standard DC architecture, this site is right against I-395, and Federal Center SW is about as sterile a neighborhood as you'll find in DC. This is also directly across the street from the Metropolitan Police Department's crime and forensics lab.

I'd be more concerned about having a fire station on the first floor of the building if I was a guest at this hotel.

ah, google was mapping it wrong, had it straight in a residential hood

[202_Cyclist]

Originally Posted by easy as pie

ah, google was mapping it wrong, had it straight in a residential hood

I noticed that as well. I bike past here daily on my way home from work. I will try and take a photo next week.

[Eightball]

Hopefully they will start building McMillan soon!

If I never hear about FOM again I will be a happy man. They have pushed so much misinformation!

[202_Cyclist]

Ward 3 Vision is helping sponsor a Tenleytown visioning workshop, to make Tenley a better and more vibrant neighborhood. Please forward this along to anyone you know who supports smart growth. Email me if you'd like additional information.

Tenleytown Visioning Workshop

http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/2041/p...vent_KEY=74266

Sat, Nov 09, 2013
9:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Neighborhoods across DC are changing in ways not imaginable even a decade ago. New housing developments are popping up all over the Logan Circle area, Shaw, NOMA and other downtown areas; new restaurants open weekly; bike lanes, Cars-2-Go and other new transit modes abound. We even have Union Market – DC’s aspiring answer to robust city markets like Reading Terminal in Philadelphia.

And then there’s staid Tenleytown. Home to very desirable residential neighborhoods but bounded by the at-best uninspiring Wisconsin Avenue retail corridor. Why hasn’t Tenleytown experienced the same renaissance as other parts of the city? More importantly, what are the opportunities for its future?

Ward 3 Vision is sponsoring a “Tenleytown Visioning Workshop” and invites interested parties to discuss these questions and more. The workshop will bring together denizens of Tenleytown and surrounding neighborhoods to share your vision, hopes and blue-sky dreams for Tenleytown.

Event Location
American University - Nebraska Hall
4400 Massachusetts Ave NW
Washington, DC

[Kingofthehill]

Loving all the infill, DC!

[202_Cyclist]

This is excellent news. Currently, this area is a kind of no-man's land and is right next to the 11th Street Bridge and I-295 but the lower 8th Street corridor has tremendous potential. Hopefully this also provides some momentum for the M Street streetcar.

Switcheroo: Once mostly office, Cohen Cos. now proposes residential space for Anacostia waterfront site

Michael Neibauer
Washington Business Journal
November 1, 2013

"In early 2010, the Cohen Companies presented its early vision for an Anacostia waterfront project east of the 11th Street Bridge consisting of 815,000 square feet of office, hotel, retail and commercial space — no residential.

Now three and a half years later, Cohen has finally submitted formal plans to the District, and it's an about face. The project, the subject of a planned-unit development application, is now all residential, with a sprinkling of ground-floor retail. The office, commercial and hotel space are gone.

"The office market is just not there in the D.C. market," said Eric Siegel, Cohen's executive vice president. "We felt after taking a fresh look at the parcel and what's coming online in terms of transportation access, we felt creating a sense of place with a residential community was a much better opportunity than just creating an office environment..."

http://www.bizjournals.com/washingto...article_search

[202_Cyclist]

This is excellent news! I am interested to see how much revenue WMATA could earn if it sold all of vacant or underutilized land it owns around the metro-rail stations. Of course, the big opportunity is the western bus garage at Friendship Heights, directly next to the metro station.

Metro seeks developers for five sites in Maryland and D.C.

By Jonathan O'Connell
Washington Post
Nov. 4, 2013

"Developers have been calling the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority to inquire about the transit agency’s properties — many of them surface parking lots in developing neighborhoods — and the agency has responded.

In an effort to take advantage of some of the boom in development near public transit, Metro launched a search Monday for companies interested in building on properties the transit agency owns at five of its stations: Brookland, Navy Yard, Fort Totten, Grosvenor-Strathmore and Morgan Boulevard.

Many of the properties, outlined in a 135-page document the agency posted online Monday, are in neighborhoods where private sector development is already underway or expected shortly, potentially boosting the value of Metro’s parking lots or land. Three of the stations are in D.C., one is in Montgomery County and another is in Prince George’s County...."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/busine...484_story.html

The JD Land blog has more info about the Navy Yard site:
http://www.jdland.com/dc/index.cfm/3...opers---Again/

[202_Cyclist]

For various reasons, I was hoping that Forest City would have won the right to redevelop this. Oh well... at least it will be good to see this site redeveloped.

Hines, Urban Atlantic To Redevelop Walter Reed

Nov. 5, 2013
Urban Turf

"The team led by Hines and Urban Atlantic has been chosen by the city to redevelop Walter Reed Medical Center.

The winning team will act as master planner of the massive redevelopment project, which will include 3.1 million square feet of development, with housing, retail, and office space..."

http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blo...lter_reed/7784

[Eightball]

Originally Posted by 202_Cyclist

This is excellent news. Currently, this area is a kind of no-man's land and is right next to the 11th Street Bridge and I-295 but the lower 8th Street corridor has tremendous potential. Hopefully this also provides some momentum for the M Street streetcar.

Switcheroo: Once mostly office, Cohen Cos. now proposes residential space for Anacostia waterfront site[/URL]

This one, especially, could be incredible! Right on the water, and what a game changer for that area.

I own a rental house in Historic Anacostia and the development just continue to creep closer and closer

Super excited about the mixed use projects on Metro lots as well.

[Eightball]

Whole Foods Market signs lease for H Street NE store and eyes another at Walter Reed
http://www.washingtonpost.com/busine...484_story.html

Not two weeks after inking a deal to open a store in a $443 million development on New Jersey Avenue SE, near Nationals Park, the grocer’s regional president said the store has signed a lease to open another on H Street NE between 6th and 7th streets...

[202_Cyclist]

Good news about the H Street Whole Foods. This makes six immediately in DC (7 if you count the store in Friendship Heights). Good thing, too, because the aisles are getting pretty crowded and you might get hit by a rouge yoga mat... Six Whole Foods in one city has to be one of the highest concentrations of them anywhere. They are becoming the new CVS!

[202_Cyclist]

JD Land has a good post with a lot of information about the planned residential development at 1333 M Street, SE.

Four-Phase Residential Project Proposed for East M Street
http://www.jdland.com/dc/index.cfm/3...East-M-Street/

A couple of thoughts:

1) It looks like this is pretty close to the Potomac Avenue metro station (much closer than the Navy Yard metro station) but, according to Google maps, there is no north/south connection on 13th Street SE and 14th Street, SE.

2) Hopefully this encourages development of the lower 8th Street corrdior. There is tremendous potential there.

3) Hopefully this provides more momentum for the M Street streetcar: http://www.dcstreetcar.com/projects/...eetcar-system/.

4) This development will make it more important to get the redevelopment of RFK stadium right (i.e. no 100,000 seat stadium and golf course, as proposed yesterday). The entire area from Buzzards Point to RFK stadium can have an active waterfront.

5) Regarding who might live in these apartments, I would think employees who work at the Coast Guard headquarters or Bolling would consider this. It would be a quick drive on I-295. Additionally, if north-south pedestrian improvements are made, it would be a ten minute walk to the Potomac Ave metro station and then a ten minute metro ride to the Hill and the Capitol South station.

[202_Cyclist]

Here’s What So Others Might Eat Has Planned for Benning Road

Posted by Aaron Wiener
Nov. 6, 2013
Washington City Paper


Image courtesy of the Washington City Paper.

"Last year, the low-income and homeless services nonprofit So Others Might Eat purchased three parcels of by the Benning Road Metro station with the goal of erecting a mixed-use development. Now, at long last, we have a detailed look at what they'll be building there.

The 180,000-square-foot complex will feature 202 affordable housing units, a sit-down deli, SOME's Center for Employment Training (a school to give adults job skills, currently located in Anacostia) and administrative offices, a medical and dental clinic, and three levels of underground parking. It'll be SOME's largest project to date, dwarfing the organization's other 12 housing locations..."

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/b...-benning-road/

[202_Cyclist]

Awful, ridiculous, proposal. I hope nothing becomes of this.

Councilman wants to see 'superdome' complex at RFK

WTOP
November 6, 2013

"WASHINGTON - Imagine a "superdome" complex rising from the grounds of the current RFK Stadium site.

D.C. Councilman Vincent Orange wants to see a 100,000-seat domed stadium for the Washington Redskins and has asked for a feasibility study on his plan, Fox 5 reports.

Five other council members signed on to co-introduce the measure calling for the study, DCist reports..."

http://www.wtop.com/109/3498884/Supe...roposed-at-RFK

[Eightball]

Good comments on the M St project. I would imagine they would have to some kind of (at least pedestrian) access over the highway, right? Adding Potomac Ave metro access helps exponentially, being a different metro line and all.

[202_Cyclist]

Developer Doug Jemal plans to build apartments in the former Hecht’s warehouse


Image courtesy of the Washington Post.

By Jonathan O'Connell
Washington Post
November 7, 2013

"D.C. developer Doug Jemal has a philosophy and he is sticking to it: buy whatever historic buildings he can get his hands on and figure out what to do with them later.

In recent years, the model has worked out well. Jemal and his sons have taken buildings the family bought when they were crumbling and vacant and rehabbed them into the type of funky, unique office space that tech firms adore. Living Social leased space in a handful of Jemal buildings near the 7th Street corridor, including the Acme Stove building near the convention center, and the start-up incubator WeWork leased 33,000 square feet in the Wonderbread Factory in Shaw..."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/busine...484_story.html

[202_Cyclist]

Ten-Screen Movie Theater Coming to NoMa

Posted by Aaron Wiener
Nov. 7, 2013
Washington City Paper


Image courtesy of Washington City Paper.

"Landmark Theatres is planning to open a 10-screen movie theater in NoMa, with an anticipated opening in fall 2016.

The cinema will be part of the Capitol Point development by the Chevy Chase, Md.-based JBG Companies, which is located at the corner of New York Avenue and N Street NE and will also include a 200-room Hyatt Place hotel that is currently under construction, as well as residential, retail, and office components..."

http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/b...oming-to-noma/

[Eightball]

Office is so stagnant right now, I think going residential with the Hechts is a great idea. NY Avenue NE continues to improve at a fast pace! Once that Elevation building at NY and Florida that will help tremendously as well.

[202_Cyclist]

Originally Posted by Eightball

Office is so stagnant right now, I think going residential with the Hechts is a great idea. NY Avenue NE continues to improve at a fast pace! Once that Elevation building at NY and Florida that will help tremendously as well.

It is a beautiful building.