Showing posts with label Tewkesbury. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tewkesbury. Show all posts

Saturday, May 09, 2009

Blighted Brightwood Apartments Born Again

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Mayor Adrian Fenty and Ward 4 Councilmember Muriel Bowser made their second joint appearance of the week in Brightwood today, this time to announce the commencement of major renovation procedures at 6425 14th Street, NWa long empty, dilapidated apartment building formerly owned notorious DC landlord, Vincent Abell.

"After essentially two decades of inactivity, frustration and blight…the District of Columbia government finally seized control of the property [in 2008]," said Fenty. "Don’t forget, it had been owned by countless private sector landlords [and] slum lords…People who just had no interest at all in making this the type of fantastic residential apartment building that it was once was and that it will be again.”

To that effect, the District has teamed with Blue Skye Development to repurpose the now-gutted apartment complex for the Tewkesbury Condominiums - a 30,000 square foot, 26-unit condo building that will, according to the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, be comprised of 51% affordable housing.

“We want to promote home ownership,” Deputy Mayor Neil Albert told DCmud of the decision to make the building a for-sale property for the first time in its fifty plus years of existence. “It was originally conceived as a condo project and we were able to get financing for it. Again, there’s a level of affordability that’s going into this building. It’s not a luxury condo building…It’s easier to get that financed than your mid-level and high-priced condos”

Purchased by the DC government early last year for $3 million, after filing suit against its owner for “numerous building code violations,” the total cost of the renovation will come in at $4.6 million. New amenities slated for the complex, as outlined by PGN Architects, include “a community room, roof deck, energy-efficient aluminum windows...as well as outdoor spaces directly behind the building.” With selective demolition already underway inside the complex, the development is scheduled to be open by March 2010 – a full year later than the District initially anticipated when they acquired the property.

“[These] haven’t been easy projects. The reason some of these projects have taken a long time is because there’s a lot of trouble and legal trouble that the city’s been dealing with,” said Muriel Bowser of the numerous concurrent, affordable housing initiatives under way in her ward. “But this administration has taken a ‘can do’ approach. Not 'we can’t,' not 'we won’t,' but that we’ll figure out how to get it done.”

Fenty and Bowser teamed-up earlier these week to oversee demolition at 3910 Georgia Avenue, NW, future site of the 130-unit Georgia Commons project, and for the opening of the Neighborhood Development Company's Residences at Georgia Avenue in March.

Friday, October 17, 2008

Nothing But Blue Skies Ahead for Brightwood Apartment

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Yesterday, the District of Columbia announced its selection of Blue Skye Development and the Educational Organization for United Latin Americans to redevelop the Tewkesbury, a long-abandoned Brightwood apartment building.

A piece of real estate DC Mayor Adrian Fenty called "a disgrace" and "a blight on the Brightwood community for more than 20 years," the 26-unit apartment building at 6425 14th St., NW, dates from the mid '50's and has been vacant (officially) since 1985. The District had cited Vincent Abell, the former owner, with over 100 housing code violations, and initiated a suit against him and several other landlords in April for repeated code violations. Not a bad deal for Abell then, who received $3,000,000 for the property from the District, or $115,300 per blighted, disgraceful unit.

Deputy Mayor Neil Alpert's office moved quickly through the selection process, issuing the RFP just this May, selecting the winning bid from the four received by the August deadline. In addition to the Blue Skye team, the District had received bids for the 30,000 s.f. building from Mi Casa, Inc., PML Real Estate, LLC, and 14th Street Partners - a group including UrbanMatters Development Partners LLC, Northern Real Estate Urban Ventures, and Emory Beacon of Light, Inc. A plus factor that appeared to cinch the deal for Blue Skye was its inclusion of a 54 unit building at 1330 Missouri Avenue, a property the developer now controls and will turn into a senior living center.

Mayor Fenty announced that the building will be converted into 13 market-rate condos and 13 "affordable" units, without specifying that nature of those units. The Deputy Mayor's Office for Planning and Economic Development predicts that construction "could begin" by summer of next year.

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