Showing posts with label William C. Smith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label William C. Smith. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 07, 2011

Sheridan Station Celebrates Opening, Now Nearly Half Built

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Ribbons were cut today at Sheridan Station, a $100-million effort by the D.C. Housing Authority and William C. Smith & Co. to redevelop 11 acres in Ward 8 that once held the public housing complex Sheridan Terrace, torn down in 1997.

The ceremony this afternoon marked the completion of Phase I (of three), which delivered 114 apartment units (with gym, business center, etc.) to Barry Farm/Anacostia, confirms Carol Chatham, spokesperson for William C. Smith + Co.
Washington DC real estate development news

Construction on the first phase of the project began in May of 2010. Now complete, the apartment building, designed by SK&I, is in the queue for LEED-Platinum certification (the highest certification possible from the U.S. Green Building Council), due to incorporation of rooftop solar panels that will generate energy to cover 30 percent of the building's needs, a rainwater collection cistern, LED lights, and low-VOC materials - among other green building tactics.

Expected to be in attendance today were the appropriate local and federal government representatives on behalf of DCHA, the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, and DMPED - all celebrating the ability to fund the project, which includes the use of a $20-million HOPE VI HUD grant and ARRA funds.

Phase two - 80 for-sale townhomes - is under construction now; 22 of these townhomes are currently for sale and will deliver in February of next year. Chatham added that three are under contract now. The third and final phase is still in development, a start date has not been specified.

The 11 acres of Sheridan Station are jointly owned by DCHA and William C. Smith & Co. As lead developer, Smith partnered with Union Temple CDC and Jackson Investment Co. to form Sheridan Terrace Redevelopment, LLC.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Builders Break Ground on New Northwest One Residence in NoMa

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Northwest One, DC, WCSmith, Warrenton Group, Noma, Temple CourtYesterday, developers broke ground on the first residential project Northwest One New Community at 2 M Street, NE, a 12-story, 314-unit residential building in NoMa. Led by developer William C. Smith + Co. along with The Warrenton Group, opening of the $92 million building is expected in late 2013.

Nearly a third of the units will be designated for low-income tenants, with 59 units set aside for former the Temple Court residents (30% of AMI), demolished to make way for this project, and 34 units available for those making 60% of AMI, with retail on the first floor.

Northwest One, DC, WCSmith, Warrenton Group, Noma, Temple Court, Eric Colbert
Construction was initially expected to be underway in March, but was delayed due to lack of funding. Northwest One was approved by the City Council in 2005, began gearing up in 2008 and the new Walker-Jones School, followed by the first residential component, the SeVerna, which broke ground last summer. 2 M Street was designed by Eric Colbert & Associates.

There will be 4,100 s.f. of ground floor retail and an 8,000 s.f. courtyard above two levels of underground parking, offering between 184 and 192 spots. The 290,000 s.f. building will be concrete, "clad with masonry, decorative metals and soaring full height windows," according to WCS. 2 M Street is estimated to be taking $82 million of the total $700 million needed for NW1, which includes in all: 1,600 units of mixed-income housing, and 220,000 s.f. of commercial/retail space.

NW1 is one of five projects being realized by the New Communities Initiative, a public-private partnership to develop areas that exhibit "high rates of poverty and unemployment, as well as blight and deterioration of the housing stock." The other four projects are Barry Farm (Ward 8), Lincoln Heights (Ward 7), Richardson Dwellings (Ward 7), and Park Morton (Ward 1). WCS Construction is building the residence.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Northwest One's Site 2 on its Way Up

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In less than one month, according to the office of Victor Hoskins, the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, construction will "officially" begin on another piece of the District's $700-million-dollar Northwest One New Community at 2 M Street, NE, known as "Site 2 (of Phase 1)", where a 12-story, 314-unit residential-and-retail building will go up.

With all permits in place, and pre-construction activity having begun on site last month, the official groundbreaking, by general contractor WCS Construction, is slated for September 12th.

Construction was initially expected to be underway in March, and when questioned about stalled District developments at a WDCAR event in mid-July, Hoskins pointed to NW1 as an example of an active site. "We are currently bringing the community to that location," said Hoskins, of the project's footprint around North Capitol Street in Ward 6, both in and west of NoMa.

NW1, approved by Council in 2005, began gearing up in 2008 and the new Walker-Jones School was the first completed component, followed by the first residential component, the SeVerna, which broke ground last summer.

According to Jose Sousa at DMPED, the "slowing of debt markets" was the cause of the delay, which affected both the development team, led by William C. Smith + Co. along with The Warrenton Group, and the District. The group, Sousa explained, "adapted by securing FHA mortgage insurance from HUD." Final confirmation and approval of the HUD transaction is imminent, said Sousa.

With construction expected to last 28 months, the 314-unit apartment building, designed by Eric Colbert & Associates, should be complete at the end of 2013.

Of the 314 units, 221 will be rented at market rate, 59 units will be set aside for former Temple Court residents (30% of AMI), and 34 units will be available for those making 60% of AMI.

There will be 4,100 s.f. of ground floor retail and an 8,000 s.f. courtyard above two levels of underground parking, offering between 184 and 192 spots. The 290,000 s.f. building will be concrete, "clad with masonry, decorative metals and soaring full height windows," according to WCS.

2 M Street is estimated to be taking $82 million of the total $700 million needed for NW1, which includes in all: 1,600 units of mixed-income housing, 40,000 s.f. of retail, and 220,000 s.f. of commercial office space.

NW1 is one of five projects being realized by the New Communities Initiative, a public-private partnership that aims to develop areas that exhibit "high rates of poverty and unemployment, as well as blight and deterioration of the housing stock." The other four projects are Barry Farm (Ward 8), Lincoln Heights (Ward 7), Richardson Dwellings (Ward 7), and Park Morton (Ward 1). 

Monday, June 27, 2011

Old Trash-Transfer Structure to be Thrown Out of Southeast

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Washington DC commercial real estate newsAn old Department of Public Works (DPW) trash-transfer site at 900 New Jersey Avenue SE currently stands in the way of plans to reconnect I Street SE between 1st and 2nd Streets, and nicely square off the parcels to the north and south. But it won't stand for long; a raze application was filed on June 13th by the property owner, the D.C. Housing Authority (DCHA), and according to David Maloney, D.C.’s Historic Preservation Officer, “We will clear the raze application, it’s not a historic building; it’s a pretty typical industrial building from the 1940s, and we are not asking them to try to salvage any of it.”

Demolition of the structure will allow DCHA to sell the bit of land that currently overlaps the future I Street and protrudes into the land to the north, at 880 New Jersey Avenue, owned by William C. Smith + Co. (WSC). The belief is that DCHA will sell this small section to WSC, which will fill out the Square 737 site for WSC. However, DCHA will likely retain the majority of the property at 900 New Jersey Avenue, and develop it into additional Arthur Capper Hope VI housing.

"We hope that it's gone by the end of the year," says Michael Stevens, Executive Director of the Capital Riverfront BID, which will allow "I Street [to become] a major east-west connector."

Post demolition, land purchase, and the I Street connection, WCS will be able to begin phase one of its 1.1 million s.f. mixed-use project planned for the northern site, which it purchased from the Washington Post in 1999. Phase one will be a 13-story, 430-unit apartment complex.

Stevens adds that, "[WSC] intends to break ground in March of 2012, if everything goes according to plan with the trash transfer site."  The two-story, brick-concrete-and-steel structure was built in 1948 and is one of many designed by the municipal architect for the District, as was standard practice from the 1910s through the ‘50s.

The site is currently being used solely for the storage of Department of Public Works' vehicles.; trash-transfer operations and administrative offices have both already been relocated to Northeast, where the vehicles will also be headed. The old transfer site will likely need environmental remediation before construction is to begin, as it has dealt with waste for over a century. Previous to the current, 63-year-old structure, was a more rudimentary trash operation in place on the site at the turn of the 20th century.

The site is in a prime location, two blocks north of the Navy Yards Metro and east of Canal Park (now in development), and is part of the steady, ongoing transformation of the Southeast neighborhood into a vibrant live-work-play area.

"We'll see the trash transfer site and the [Florida Rock] concrete plant disappear, two of the last vestiges of our industrial history," says Stevens. "These sites will be put back to productive use. The Florida Rock site is already entitled as a major mixed-use project with office, hotel, residential and retail, but we don't know when they're going to pull the trigger on that."

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Mayor Predicts Lift Off for Skyland

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D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray predicted on Tuesday that the contentious development of the Skyland shopping center will be underway as early as September. News of the impending construction caught its developers and occupants by surprise, but both seemed to take announcement of the project's birth in stride.The foundering Southeast D.C. shopping center has been in the government's crosshairs for more than a decade, with Washington D.C. planners dreaming of Skyland Town Center, an economic nativity centered around big box retail and new mixed-use, 18 acre community. Planning for the site began more than 20 years ago, and rather than buy out the owners individually, in 2005 the city began eminent domain proceedings against its many owners, and has since claimed title to the property with the intent of handing it over to developers to redo. But jettisoned owners, backed by property rights advocates, have fought tenaciously to reclaim their titles they say were wrongly seized.

Meanwhile, erstwhile developers Rappaport Companies and William C. Smith & Co. et al have continued to promote the expected vitality from a redesigned building despite the lapse of time and lack of forward motion. For several years promoters and the District government maintained that Target was on board, anchoring the project, lubricating capital, and ensuring success. With Target now officially out, Walmart has become the dream (potential) anchor. But with a thicket of legal challenges, no signed tenants, financing uncertain and lack of a land agreement with the District, the project seems much the same as it did 5 years ago, excepting approval of plans by the Zoning Commission last summer.

Despite the Mayor's confident prediction, the developers are sanguine, noting that much work remains even if some demolition takes place on the Mayor's schedule. "There are still eminent domain issues" says Sheryl Simeck, Vice President of Marketing and Communications for Rappaport. "The next step is for the District of Columbia to own all of those parcels. We've taken it as far as we can." Lawyer Elaine Mittleman, representing several owner-tenants, agrees, and says the transfers of title were not only unconstitutional but ineffective, making demolition unthinkable. Mittleman's suits have been denied by the courts, but other suits continue to work their way through the legal dockets, and Mittleman points to a variety of ailments to the District's claim to clear title.

Still, the government might win by attrition, outliving tenants slowly driven out by uncertainty and by a neglected shopping center that becomes ever more decayed. Some tenants have paid rent to the District government, others have not done so for years. "It's a tragedy" says Mittleman. "There's no funding, no agreement, no title, no tenants. It's the opposite of economic development." Mittleman says the government has stonewalled her FOIA requests and has failed to provide answers to many procedural requests, complicating representation of the owners. Still, having seen eviction deadlines come and go, tenants remain more frustrated than fearful, and yet none seem to doubt the ultimate resolve of the government to see the project through.

The development team also includes Harrison Malone Development LLC, the Marshall Heights Community Development Organization (MHCDO) and the Washington East Foundation, Silver Spring based architects Torti Gallas, and Washington D.C. based WCS Construction.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Monday, December 13, 2010

Tax Abatement For NW1 On the Way, Groundbreaking Around the Bend

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Phase One of the Northwest One project, located at 2 M Street NE, is progressing steadily towards their predicted 2011 late first quarter groundbreaking. A tax abatement bill for the property passed smoothly through the first round of deliberation at last week's District Council meeting, and has been put on the consent calender for the next Whole Council meeting on the 21st. The 10 year abatement would begin in the fiscal year 2015, and relieve developers from up to $5.7 million in District property dues. Developers at William C. Smith and Co. also report that they're nearly half way through the process to lock up financing through HUD’s Section 220 loan program. It seems a waiting game on multiple fronts, with plenty of time to cover all the bases before construction begins; project manager Steve Green reports, "We're in for every building permit there is."


The 12-story building, designed by Eric Colbert & Associates, is the first new construction project under the District-conceived New Communities Initiative, a program aimed at improving both the physical and social conditions of some of the District's most troubled neighborhoods. Not only will the transformation offer affordable places to live, but will also include social services; comprehensive efforts will be made towards connecting residents with job opportunities, offer guidance towards financial stability, and programs to reduce crime and substance abuse. The new construction, to be carried out by WCS Construction, will offer upon completion 314 units, as well as an on-site fitness center, pool, and basketball court. Fifty-nine of the residential units will be reserved for those earning 30% AMI, 34 at 60% AMI, and the remaining 221 will be rented at market rate. The building will also include 4,000 s.f. of ground floor retail.

Earning a lot of firsts, the building will be the initial installment of the Northwest One Initiative, the first neighborhood makeover of the New Communities program. The expansive project will offer much-needed development-first-aide for the scarred, crime-plagued real estate extending from K Street in the south to New York Avenue in the north, and stretching from North Capitol Street in the east to New Jersey Avenue in the west. The initial building will claim $82 million of the estimated total of $700 million in development and construction costs. The project's next phase will likely be the construction of a building directly to the north of phase one, but developers aren't getting ahead of themselves just yet; the lengthy two-year construction time for the first phase projects a delivery in the early part of 2013.

Washington D.C. Real Estate Development News

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Northwest One Project Aims to be First New Residence in Northwest One

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Northwest One's race for the first residential project is showing some contest. The development team for the SeVerna had forecasted earlier this year that their 60-unit affordable housing project would get moving this summer, which DCMud reported last spring, but construction has not yet taken place, and now William C. Smith & Co claims their $80 million, 314-unit "classy, rental building" will in fact be the first to break ground - next spring. But not so, says Jose Sousa, a spokesman with Mayor Adrian Fenty's office, the SeVerna's developers settled on their property August 12 and will be breaking ground, at least officially, "in the next couple of weeks."

The District has already built the Walker Jones Education Campus, a school and recreation center, officially the first successful portion of the redevelopment plan, but it remains unclear where its next students will come from, as neither the Severna developers ( MissionFirst Development, The Henson Development Company and Golden Rule Apartments, Inc.) nor William C. Smith have offered a definitive date for actual construction. William C. Smith's proposed building will stand twelve stories tall upon completion,
with a small ground-floor retail component, a first installment on the larger Northwest One Initiative (part of the New Communities Project), a $700 million redevelopment project in Ward 6, providing a makeover for the scarred, crime-infested real estate extending from K Street in the
south to New York Avenue in the north, and stretching from North Capitol Street in the east to New Jersey Avenue in the west. In 2007, the Mayor and DMPED awarded the rights to the redevelopment project to One Vision Development Partners headed by William C. Smith & Co in partnership with Jair Lynch, with Banneker Ventures and affordable housing provider Community Preservation and Development Corporation also involved with portions of the larger project. As promised, the building will offer 93 affordable units, 30% of the total apartments.

The first parcel (out of a total of 5 or 6) will be situated on the corner of North Capitol and M Street, NE, technically in NoMa. Architectural designs are courtesy of Eric Colbert & Associates; William C. Smith-affiliated WCS Construction will build the structure. Architect Brian Bukowski says the industrial nature of this part of DC was the major inspiration for a unifying aesthetic theme. "We wanted to give the building an updated post-industrial flavor," Bukowski explained. The exposed fixed post steel, generous use of red brick, and angular, geometric fenestration seem to bear out his claim. But if on whole the building brings to mind a downtown warehouse, the ten two-level townhouses serve as a friendlier introduction to the large facade on the M Street side of the building. The townhomes and accompanying courtyard will help relate to the residential-nature of the immediate neighborhoods. Loading and and parking access will be relegated to the opposite site of the building on Patterson Avenue. A roof penthouse will crown the building.

The main rooftop will not only provide panoramic views, but will also be ornamented with a landscaped green terrace and lap pool. A rain harvesting cistern on the roof will conserve run-off and curb water consumption; low-flow showers will further aid the conservation effort. On what will likely be a crowded roof are several solar panels, funneling electricity to the building's energy grid. In the end, residents will be able to brag about one of the greenest roofs in the city, collecting water, converting the sun's rays into usable energy, and deflecting thermal load with it's organic plant life, all aspects in an effort to earn a LEED Silver certification, with the possibility of becoming the first LEED Gold-rated multifamily residential building in the District.

William C. Smith is in the final steps of negotiating the lease agreement with the District, and although financing is not in place, developers are working toward securing funds, still optimistic that groundbreaking will happen in the late first quarter or early second quarter of next year. A request for subcontracting bids has been issued by WCS, a sign that the developers and teammates are serious about moving forward. The estimated 20-24 month construction time places delivery in the early part of 2013.

Washington D.C. Real Estate Development News

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Skyland Hearing Nixes Neighbor Concerns

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Skyland Town Center had its day before the Zoning Commission on Monday, reviewing the development team's Planned Unit Development (PUD) application for the Skyland shopping center and residences. The applicant's sponsors are proposing that the city rezone the entire site, currently a mix of residential and commercial usage, to an entirely commercial C-3-A district.

The rezoning is central to the developers dreams to turn the aging, low-density retail site into 450-500 residential units and 280,000 s.f. of retail, creating a mixed-use destination retail center. The project has been mired in controversy, not the least of which is the fact that reluctant owners of the property are locked in a struggle with the city and development team, which together want to use eminent domain proceedings to force the owners off their land. Owners contend that the city has pushed the envelope of judicial proceedings rather than negotiate with the owners for sale of the land, noting the unenviable fate of property owners in similar circumstances. In the now infamous Kelo decision, the Supreme Court ruled in 2005 that developers are within their right to force owners off their land in the name of economic development, a result which still makes conservatives and property rights advocates seethe.

Yesterday's hearing brought up additional concerns, this time from a nearby group of homeowners with the opposite problem. In a May 12th letter submitted to the Zoning Board by Fort Baker Drive residents, attorney Martin Sullivan suggested that the most effective method for protecting the adjacent homeowners from construction risks could be forcing Skyland to purchase four of their homes. Ironic, given that the owners of the underlying Skyland properties don't want to sell, but the city is forcing them to do so. But neighbors believe this would protect them from damage resulting from the excavation and construction process going on next door. In a double irony, the developers have declined the offer, and the Zoning Commission appears unwilling to make them do so.

In last evening's hearing, Commission Chairman Anthony Hood went as far as to "commend the applicant [Skyland Holdings]" for its thorough construction management plan and its responsiveness to neighbor concerns.

Although not completely unsympathetic to the Fort Baker Drive homeowners, Chairman Hood found that the construction management plan submitted by Skyland Holdings was more than sufficient in addressing concerns about property damage. Any repair and damage to the properties that are sustained during construction of Skyland will be repaired by the developers, said Hood, and promises to do so are "enforceable."

Our more focused readers will have noticed a twist, something that landowners complain of as one of the injustices of the system that is pushing them out: that the applicants for the zoning change do not hold title to the land. The development team has applied for, and the city is considering, rezoning land that neither owns. Advocates for the owners have challenged this aspect of the PUD process, so far to no avail.

Skyland Holdings LLC is a joint effort of The Rappaport Companies, William C. Smith & Company, Harrison Malone Development LLC, The Marshall Heights Community Development Organization, and the Washington East Foundation).

By June 4th, the Skyland team will have to submit its final community benefit plan and list of proffers to the Zoning Board. Look for a final ruling on PUD at the end of June.

DC Real Estate and Development News

Monday, May 10, 2010

Sheridan Station Breaks Ground

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Sheridan Station, WC Smith, WCS Construction, Washington DCWashington DC commercial real estateToday, Anacostia's Sheridan Station development kicks off with a ground breaking for the first phase of the HOPE VI residential project. The 344 mixed-income housing units are funded in part thanks to a $20 million HOPE VI competitive grant that the District of Columbia Housing Authority (DCHA) received from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development in 2008. Sheridan Station’s 11 acres in Anacostia are owned jointly by the DC Housing Authority and William C. Smith & Co. Washington DC retail for leaseThough the project was initially set to begin construction in January of this year, DCHA only recently closed on financing. Phase 1 of the 344-unit Sheridan Station, formerly Sheridan Terrace, will revolve around an initial 114 units of public housing and 69 Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) units. The 114 units will deliver in the form of a 104 unit multi-family building and 10 single-family rental units. At least 25 of the public housing units available in Phase 1 will be reserved for current Barry Farm residents. Phases 2 and 3 of the redevelopment will begin once all units in Phase 1 are filled, but the entire project is expected to be complete by 2015. Washington DC commercial propertyThe multifamily building is registered with the US Green Building Counsel for LEED Certification Gold. Green features include a 100 KW solar photovoltaic array which provides 30% of the buildings core energy, a vegetative green roof, and an 8000 gallon rainwater retention cistern underneath the slab of the building. The building will also have a health and wellness center which will provide general family practice care for the neighborhood, provided by Core Health. Construction on the first phase is expected to be complete in December 2011. When all three phases are complete, the 344 units will be almost double the amount of the original Sheridan Terrace - a troubled project that was torn down in 1997. As with the original Sheridan Terrace, the new-and-improved Sheridan Station will contain 183 public housing rental units. An additional 161 units will go up for sale; 117 of these will be sold at market rate and another 44 will be sold as affordable units. Sheridan Station apartments sk&I architect Washington DCAs lead developer, Smith partnered with Union Temple CDC and Jackson Investment Co. to form Sheridan Terrace Redevelopment LLC. Sheridan Station will comprise a small piece of the Barry Farm/Park Chester/Wade Road redevelopment planned for Ward 8. The project was designed by Bethesda's SK&I Architects, which furnished the seven different building designs that will include landscaped green space and a pedestrian trail.

Washington, DC real estate development news

Friday, March 12, 2010

Skyland's Supreme Challenge

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Real estate development is sometimes an agreeable collaboration, sometimes a struggle, and all too often a wordy brawl, but seldomly is it constitutionally challenging. But that may well be the case in southeast DC's Skyland Town Center project, now in its 8th year of development. What began as a plan to redevelop a needy southeast neighborhood, a benefit most agreed was overdue, has morphed into a property rights battle that tests the U.S. Supreme Court's decisions on property rights.
Eight years ago, the National Capital Revitalization Corporation (NCRC) began planning a makeover of the strip mall, proposing 450-500 residential units and 280,000 s.f. of retail at the intersection Alabama Avenue and Good Hope Road, an area that saw none of the rejuvenation that occurred downtown over the last decade. The District-funded NCRC recognized the spot as a bullseye to spur development, one where private industry alone might not be tempted. The choice seems apt; shuttered beauty salons accompany a check-cashing outlet, a Discount Mart offers faded displays in the window, and the mismatched storefronts are united as much by their nearly-matching green awnings as by their peeling paint and disrepair. On a warm day, car traffic is heavy but the few pedestrians seem more inclined to linger on one of the park benches in front than patronize the stores.

Promoters have a vision: "A 20-year old dream, conceived by Ward 7 residents when this 16-acre site in southeast Washington, D.C. was declared a redevelopment zone in the late 1980's...will transform a disjointed retail area with limited offerings into a cohesive, well-designed, prominent living, shopping, and gathering place." Planners presented at a meeting to the ANC in February, promising a new retail experience for southeast: concentrated retail, multi-family residences, three above-ground parking garages, a 5-story streetfront presence, and reducing vehicular access points for less interrupted pedestrian traffic. As a bribe to locals, builders will throw several million dollars at homeowner counseling services, retail build-out subsidies, park improvements, sidewalk and road enhancements, and job preparedness.

The project was initiated during Mayor Williams' term, but the Fenty administration has gotten squarely behind the project, helping bring together the parties and promoting the project. The Council has even offered a $40 million Tax Increment Financing (TIF) package to provide gap financing to the team, a consortium including Rappaport Companies, William C. Smith & Co., Harrison Malone Development LLC, the Marshall Heights Community Development Organization (MHCDO) and the Washington East Foundation. The Feds, for their part, threw in $28m of funding to show their support. Even the ANC, which usually love development as long as its not in their district, voted to support the project.

With all the economic incentives and mutual bonhomie, what could stop such a beloved juggernaut? The people who own the land. A not-so-small detail in the rehash is that neither the development team nor the city owns most of the property; private owners (originally 15, predominantly retailers) still claim title to the land. And with concerns about displacement and the possibility that once the site is emptied developers will not have financing to build up again, owners fret that selling out means closing down, for good.

The District government is sympathetic, but not very. In view of the greater good for the area, the economic development that will ensue and tax revenue that will one day flow, District planners have opted to proceed with or without the owners' approval. In May of 2004, the District passed "emergency" legislation authorizing NCRC to use eminent domain proceedings - where the government determines and pays a fair market value and takes over the land - to acquire the 40 parcels it needed "in order to show the commitment of the D.C. government to the project." As the argument went at the time, if the District could not pull together a united front, financiers and an anchor store would be hard to come by.

That gave gastric reflux to at least some of the owners, who filed a counter suit to prevent the taking. The owners had two primary arguments: that the original PUD filed with the Zoning Commission was filed by a group that did not include the owners - an issue that is still outstanding - and that the eminent domain proceeding was unconstitutional, i.e., that the land was being taken for private use, not "public use" as required for eminent domain.

At this point forgive us for a brief Constitutional digression. The 5th Amendment to the Constitution reads, in part: "nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation." Characteristically simple language for the foundation of U.S. law, but one that has caused recent debate. Until recently, it was obvious that sole authority for snatching land had to spring from a "public use" (building a new road or sidewalk, laying electric cables, forming a park, or even laying a railroad which served without exclusivity) - one where the government could take the land to further provision of a community service.

All that changed dramatically in 2005, when the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Kelo, et al. v. New London, CT, et al. In the Kelo decision, the city of New London created a development plan for a waterfront neighborhood around an upcoming Pfizer research center. The plan was for parks, office space, retail and parking that would enhance the Pfizer site, one that was “projected to create in excess of 1,000 jobs, to increase tax and other revenues, and to revitalize an economically distressed city..." Some lifelong homeowners, however, resisted giving up their waterfront homes, so the city and a private entity called the New London Development Corporation (NLDC), used eminent domain proceedings to oust the residents.

The Court found for the city, arguing that although much of the space would not go to "public use", the Court decided it "had long ago abandoned any literal requirement" for reading the 5th Amendment, literalism being "impractical given the diverse and always evolving needs of society." So much for the 5th Amendment. The court abandoned the "public use" requirement in favor of a "public purpose" requirement; in other words, if the local government found a generalized benefit of some sort (such as "economic development") to the community, it was free to authorize the seizure of one party's land by another party. In addition to getting value-enhancing development next door, Pfizer received corporate subsidies to encourage it to build, while the shore-front owners were soon evicted and had their homes razed.

Kelo remains the Court's official position, and the Skyland project has nearly identical circumstances. But owners here see even less public use than in Kelo - no parks or public waterfront - distinctions that helped the court reach its decision. With the Court having lost Justice Souter, a key liberal vote in the 5-4 opinion, another look at the same issue might find a distinction in the circumstances that warrants a different outcome. (Conservatives, more furious with Souter than ever after this decision, later proposed an eminent domain proceeding against his private New Hampshire home for the "public benefit" of turning his family home into a museum dedicated to individual liberties and the study of the Constitution. Property rights activists used the decision to launch national speaking tours).

While the ruling is a bitter pill to retailers at Skyland, the worse aspect may be the knowledge of what took place after the decision. In New London, the city removed the homeowners and bulldozed historic homes, only to have the development plan fail for lack of financing. The former neighborhood remains flattened and unused. Pfizer later announced that it will pull out of its research center, just as its tax incentives reach their 10-year expiration.

Dana Berliner, Attorney with the Institute for Justice, was co-counsel on the Kelo case. In a conversation with DCMud, Berliner said the instance of eviction without subsequent development is a very common one. "What you are talking about here [at Skyand] is really speculative. Its a big development in a difficult part of town...that project could easily end up destroying the jobs that already do exist at Skyland. They could spend tens of millions of dollars and end up with nothing. Now, the project actually does employ people and raise tax dollars." Zina D. Williams, ANC Commissioner for ANC7B is more sanguine. "We have worked carefully with the developers to ensure there will be a space for the old tenants." Will the developers have the money to proceed with construction? "Yes, they definitely do. Rappaport and the development team have been working with assisting [owners]. ANC7B and the developers have been working very hard to accomplish what's best for the project; we are confident this project will go forward, we definitely support the development team."

In the wake of Kelo, many states revised their eminent domain laws to prevent such abuse, but the District did not. Elaine Mittleman, an attorney representing several of the parties in litigation with the District and aware of the Kelo fallout, refutes the notion that owners and tenants have been well cared for, and notes that this development is "highly speculative." Mittleman believes the developers have neither sufficient financing nor any substantial tenants, despite having previously teased the community with the promise of a Target. Representatives at Target have repeatedly denied they have any plans to open a store there, and the Skyland website says only that "the site is being marketed to prospective tenants."

Mittlement notes a change for the worse once NCRC was abolished and negotiations shifted to District attorneys, claiming that the District has never negotiated in good faith with the current owners, some of whom have come to agreements on a buy-out, only to have the offer reneged when the District took over from NCRC. But others may have it still worse. "While the owners have a right to 'just compensation,' tenants don't have such rights and have never received an offer to be made whole...and while homeowners must be relocated, businesses have no such right, and the District has done very little to help them."

The Mayor's office says only that "there are several outstanding legal issues associated with the project that have complicated the development process, but the District is working closely with the development team...to accelerate the pre-development work so the project moves on a parallel track with the legal process." Mittleman contends that fighting eviction during a recession has pushed several of her clients close to bankruptcy. "Some of the business that are now shuttered were operating when the this plan became known, this process has already forced some to close." Berliner supports that contention. "Many, if not most, condemned business do not reopen. They almost never get enough to start over" she said, citing the Nationals Ballpark as an example of eminent domain that cost alot more and produced less development than predicted.

Councilmember Kwame Brown, who may have the last word on the subject, told DCMud that property owners are at fault for not listening to the community and allowing their businesses and Skyland to become blighted. Brown said neighbors want to be able to shop in their community, but have had to watch as other neighborhoods throughout the city have been redeveloped, some of which came about through eminent domain. "The community is sympathetic toward the owners, but it's hard to attract an anchor tenant when you are mired in a lawsuit...We are going to move forward and get this done. We will develop Skyland shopping center."

Washington, DC real estate development news

Monday, December 28, 2009

The Continuing Saga of Skyland Town Center

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Apparently three hours worth of a Zoning Commission hearing was not enough time for all interested parties to have their say about Skyland Town Center, a the proposed mixed-use residential and retail development. Neighbors showed up in force to voice their concerns and hesitant support for - or outright opposition to - the project set to bring 450-500 residential units and 315,000 s.f. of retail to the intersection Alabama Avenue & Good Hope Road, SE. The five-member development team, made up of the Rappaport Companies, William C. Smith & Co., Harrison Malone Development LLC, the Marshall Heights Community Development Organization (MHCDO) and the Washington East Foundation, has been working with the community on the plans for Skyland for 7 years. The December meeting ended with a "to-be-continued" status, set to finish (in theory) February 4, 2010.

Original plans called for 80% of the residential units to be condominiums, an obvious non-starter today. According to one resident who spoke before the Zoning Commission, the community first began pushing for new development in the town center area in 1989, in 2000 then - Mayor Anthony Williams' administration chose the current development team to plan and build the mixed-use center. The DC Council has already approved a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) package to provide gap financing for the project.

Residential units will be provided in three apartment buildings and approximately 20 townhouses. Developers hope the retail will include a big box retail store, multi-neighborhood retailers, and local retailers.

ANC-7B submitted a letter of support, but it listed approximately 20 concerns or items that needed further discussions, including concerns over traffic mitigation, litter control, and promised transportation enhancements. One group of neighbors, the Ft. Baker Drive Party, remains in complete opposition citing concerns over, naturally, the proximity of the planned development to their homes. Neighbors such as Tiffany Brown, a resident of neighboring Akron Place, said they opposed any type of development on the site that added housing to the retail mix, citing abundant housing already in existence.

After three hours of testimony from the developers and residents, the Zoning Commission set the schedule for February to hear the Office of Planning's report on the project.

Washington DC real estate development news

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Northwest One Project Announces Start Date

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The District announced today its decisions on how to proceed with the first major phase of Northwest One. In an 11am press briefing, the Mayor announced that DC-based Banneker Ventures will join developer William C. Smith & Co. to build 300 units of housing in place of the vacant parking lot at the intersection of North Capitol and Patterson Streets. Groundbreaking is now expected in "spring" of 2010, according to Mayor Adrian Fenty.

The $80m project will include 313 new housing units, with 30% pledged for "affordable" housing. 59 of the units will be set aside for former Temple Courtiers.

The Warrenton Group has been having a good year with DC officials, having been named recently as the local partner for the planned Park Morton, a $130m project announced earlier this month, and having been selected last December (as Banneker Ventures) to build the Deanwood Community Center, and last October rebuild the Strand Theater. Warrenton Group was also given a new lease on life for the Florida Avenue parcel, awarded to Banneker by WMATA in 2008 but not built out.

Architecture firm Eric Colbert & Associates will design the 12-story building, and William C. Smith & Co affiliated WCS Construction team will build it. The larger Northwest One project, in all $700 million worth of development, will also include Jair Lynch and affordable housing provider Community Preservation and Development Corporation, which together will team up as the One Vision Development Partners as a Certified Business Enterprise.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Northwest One Announcement on the Horizon

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It appears that construction is imminent on the next phase of development at Northwest One, the ambitious, $700m mixed-income housing project in the bursting NoMa neighborhood. Developer William C. Smith & Co. has been collecting subcontractors and is expected to announce shortly a schedule for work at the vacant parking lot - formerly the Temple Court Apartments - at the intersection of North Capitol and M Streets.

William C. Smith & Co. partnered with Jair Lynch, affordable housing providers Community Preservation and Development Corporation, and the Warrenton Group (formerly of Banneker Ventures) to create One Vision Development Partners, a Certified Business Enterprise that promises to create jobs for DC workers during the subcontracting phase of development.

Planned along a five-block stretch of North Capitol Street, the mixed-income Northwest One community is being born out of a need to confront the high crime and poverty rates within the public housing developments in the area.

Deputy Mayor’s Office Spokesman Sean Madigan told DCMud that a formal announcement about the city’s plans may appear as early as next week once they’ve finished “working out a few of these details” about timelines and participants. Until that happens, most participants in the project have been mum about details.

Eric Colbert, whose architecture firm Eric Colbert & Associates will design the 12-story 2 M Street NE building, confirmed that this portion of the mixed-use development will include 4,600 s.f. of ground floor retail, 326 apartment units, 10 town houses, and a rooftop pool.

Although William C. Smith & Co's affiliated WCS Construction team will handle the main contracting of the building at 2 M Street NE, W. Christopher Smith, Jr. pledged a 40% CBE (designated "local" business enterprise) goal at a July Northwest One public round table.


Thursday, October 08, 2009

Congress Heights Project to Stimulate Neighborhood "On the Edge"

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Yet another project, originally planned as condominiums, will now be developed as affordable rentals, this time in the Congress Heights neighborhood. William C. Smith & Co. (WCS Development) will soon begin the interior fit of 82 units in three apartment buildings at 13th and Mississippi Ave SE, across from Oxon Run Park and walking distance from the Congress Heights Metro Station. The developer expects construction to begin by March 2010 after financing issues delayed the project initially slated for completion in Spring 2008. WCSmith, Congress Heights, construction, new constructionJeffrey Smith, Project Manager at WCS, said the switch to rental, with 50 of the 82 units slotted to be 975 s.f. two-bedroom, two-bath rental apartment homes, will make available spacious apartments "not really equaled" in the neighborhood. The condos will total 98,000 s.f. with an added 429-square-foot bump-out to accommodate the two-bedrooms. An original surface parking lot and an additional new lot will provide 56 parking spaces total for the property. Smith said the area of Congress Heights is "on the edge" of a lot of new development with several projects in pre-development and completed projects like Savoy Court delivering new units. He said the community is looking forward to the infusion to "help stabilize their neighborhood." All of the units will be affordable for individuals making 60 percent or less of Area Median Income in accordance with Department of Housing and Community Development's (DHCD) 9 percent Low Income Housing Tax Credits. To comply with DHCD's standards for the tax credits, the building is designed to meet and exceed DC's Green Communities standards, featuring roofs with Energy Star reflectivity standards, low-flush plumbing fixtures and even green (not the color) carpeting. WCSmith, Congress Heights, construction, new construction, Eric Colbert architectGutting the interior, the first phase of construction which began quite some time ago, is now 95% complete. Describing the project as "almost like new construction" Smith indicated that the only remaining elements of the original structure are the external walls and the floors. Smith said the developers are "anxious" to get moving on the next phase of construction and that they have all of their permits lined up. Now if that financing would just come through... The project architect is Eric Colbert and Associates and WCS Construction, LLC is the General Contractor, but the project is still in the planning phase for subcontractor bidding for around $4 million worth of work. According to Smith the total cost of the project is estimated at $19 million.

Washington DC commercial real estate news

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Northwest One Unfolds

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On Monday, DC finally began work on the Northwest One site, the ambitious but still conceptual site located across the street from NoMa, on the northwest side of North Capitol Street. DC Mayor Adrian Fenty initiated the first groundbreaking of Northwest One by commencing demolition of Terrell Junior High School, at 1000 1st St. NW, making space for a new $47 million mixed use facility including a new school, library, and recreation center. The Northwest One site is bounded on the east by North Capitol, on the west by New Jersey Ave., and on the south by K Street. The District, through Forrester Construction, will replace the junior high and the distressed Sursum Corda and Temple Courts housing projects, which haven't been doing much to bring up property values in the neighborhood.

The next stage of development will be to demolish Temple Court, which the District bought last summer and has begun relocating tenants in anticipation of tearing down the building this summer; both housing projects remain mostly occupied at this point. Ordinarily, the District would build replacement housing before evacuation of existing subsidized housing, but according to Sean Madigan of DC's Office of Planning, the condition of the projects is "so bad" that the Fenty administration decided to purge and demolish immediately.

The District currently owns most of the entire development site, part of which was acquired when it took control of and disbanded NCRC last year; the remainder is owned by the DC Housing Authority.
Late last year, the District selected One Vision Development Partners, a joint venture between William C. Smith, Jair Lynch, Banneker Ventures, and CPDC, as its development partner for the entire project. Details of the project - both the scope of development and compensation to the development team - have yet to be finalized, but the team has proposed the construction of more than 1,600 new apartments, condos and townhouses priced for mixed-income buyers and renters, as well as a 21,000-s.f. clinic, about 40,000 s.f. of retail and 220,000 s.f. of office space. According to Madigan, an increase in density and the "right mix" will be crucial to the success of the project. Once the administration comes to an agreement with the developer, the project will be placed on the lap of the city Council for approval.

Immediately replacing Terrell Junior High will be the Walker Jones school, library, recreation center and athletic fields, a project that Mayor Fenty described as being "a first-class facility from top to bottom." "If we are to expect excellence from our students we've got to provide great facilities that promote an integrated environment for learning," Fenty added Monday during his on-site speech. According to the Office of Planning and Economic Development, Walker Jones will be one of the first new schools constructed during Fenty's reign, and it will be ready, says he, in time for the kick-off of the 2009 school year. The new Walker Jones will house 100,000 s.f. of classroom, a 20,000-s.f. community recreation center and a 5,000-s.f. library along with some new playgrounds and sports fields. The entire project is expected to meet the District's green building standards.

The complete project is said to be in the ballpark of $700 million in new development. After production of the new school and its amenities, the District will then focus on the new housing, of which a third will be market rate, a third will be affordable, and a third will serve as workforce, some of which will serve as replacement housing for current residents. Madigan referenced NPR's recent decision to build its new facilities across the street from the site as "a huge vote of confidence for Northwest One."


 

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