$25 Million Renovation Underway at Holiday Inn Capitol

 

Interior renovations began in November at the Holiday Inn Capitol, located at 550 C Street.  About three years ago, the exterior of the hotel was refurbished with new signage, lighting, and paneling, but now the interior is getting some attention, to the tune of $25 million.  The 552-key hotel is staying open during the renovation, which will be done floor by floor. The third floor was the first one to be completed and reopened for use by guests last week.  Each room has been stripped and given a more contemporary look, with improvements including new lighting, furniture, artwork, headboards, bedding, carpet, wallpaper, window treatments, upgraded cable, wall-mounted 42" LED HDTVs with free HD programming, a slide out desk, refrigerator, safe, and a Keurig coffee maker. Bathrooms have also been modernized with new wall tile, flooring, fixtures, wallpaper, and mirror. The only thing that remain in the bathrooms from the old rooms are the counter tops which are still in good shape. The King rooms have a chaise lounge and shower stalls.

Below are some before and after photos of the rooms and hallways.

King room before

Double room after

Double room after

 

Bathtub before

Bathtub after

 

Vanity before

Vanity after

Hallway before

Hallway after

In addition to the rooms, the two ballrooms and three breakout rooms are being modernized with new carpet, wallpaper, and lighting. The lobby will also get new carpeting and furniture in June. WiFi access is being upgraded throughout the hotel. Elevator cabs will be renovated once the rooms are complete.  The fitness center will be moved to the top floor and will offer views of the Capitol, next to the rooftop pool and deck, which will also be remodeled once the pool season ends this fall.  21st Amendment restaurant will be renovated starting in June. The rooms are scheduled to be complete in April and the rest of the hotel by next year.

There are three job openings currently available - Catering Sales Manager, Conference Center Manager/Director of Catering, and Marketing Office Assistant. A job description for each is located here. Holiday Inn Capitol is owned by Donohoe Hospitality Services and is the 5th largest Holiday Inn in the system.

A Couple Quick Items: Demolition and Construction North of the Freeway

Demolition is now complete at the former Donohoe Building at 400 6th Street, where Trammell Crow plans to build a new, 12-story 342,000 SF office building. The building was purchased in 2012 by Trammell Crow and the AFL-CIO Building Investment for $41.9 million and it was formerly occupied by the District’s Child and Family Services Agency. Demolition began in the fall. Space on the ground floor will be convertible to retail if the market can support it. The new office building is scheduled for completion next year. 

  

Demolition is complete.

Rendering courtesy of Gensler 

Meanwhile, heavy construction equipment arrived this week at 400 E Street, which by next year will be a 214-key Hyatt Place hotel and a new Engine 13 firehouse. The groundbreaking ceremony occurred back in mid-December. E Street Development won the rights to the site back in 2009 along with a second parcel at 6th and E streets. With the new Hyatt Place and the Intercontinental Hotel, Aloft, and Element hotels planned for Phase I of The Wharf, there will be a net gain of three hotels in Southwest by 2017 (Channel Inn will be demolished since it’s within the footprint of The Wharf). 

Construction is underway.

Rendering courtesy of WDG

Arena Stage Receives 10 Helen Hayes Nominations

Nominations for the 30th Annual Helen Hayes Awards were announced on Monday and Arena Stage productions received 10 nominations. Leading the pack with five nominations is The Mountaintop, followed by Good People and Maurice Hines is Tappin' Thru Life, each receiving two nominations. Mary T. & Lizzy K. received one nomination. Below is a list of categories for which these productions received nominations:

Outstanding Director, Resident Play

- Robert O'Hara, The Mountaintop

Outstanding Choreography, Resident Musical

- Maurice Hines, Maurice Hines is Tappin' Thru Life

Outstanding Music Direction, Resident Production

- Dr. Sherrie Maricle, Maurice Hines is Tappin' Thru Life

Outstanding Set Design, Resident Production

 - Clint Ramos, The Mountaintop

Outstanding Costume Design, Resident Production

- Merrily Murray-Walsh, Mary T. & Lizzy K.

Outstanding Sound Design, Resident Production

- Lindsay Jones, The Mountaintop 

Outstanding Lead Actress, Resident Play

- Johanna Day, Good People

- Joaquina Kalukango, The Mountaintop

Outstanding Resident Play

- Good People

- The Mountaintop

This year's Helen Hayes Awards will take place on April 21 at the National Building Museum.

Photo taken by Scott Suchman, courtesy of Arena Stage

A Few Quick Items: L'Enfant Plaza Hotel, DC United Poll, SW Duck Pond Fundraiser

It was reported last week in the Washington Business Journal that the new owner of the L'Enfant Plaza Hotel is anticipating to begin a $30 million renovation in the spring. An affiliate of Sanford Hotels Group closed on the sale of the hotel in December from The JBG Companies. According to the article, the owners plan to bring the hotel up to four diamond status. From the article:

The renovation will include revamps of all the meeting spaces, the rooftop pool area, the lobby and associated food and beverage offerings. The room number is expected to stay relatively the same at 372, with the possibility that it will go down slightly if the upgrade of fitness facilities or the addition of a concierge lounge requires some of that space, Gibbs said. 

A Washington Post poll states that 59 percent of respondents are against using city funds to help build a stadium for DC United in Buzzard Point. Under the terms of the agreement, the city would spend up to $150 million to acquire land, do remediation, and make infrastructure  improvements to the stadium site at 2nd and R streets. The team would then spend $150 to build the stadium. The same poll revealed that 71 percent of respondents stated that the $650 million spent on a publicly-financed stadium for the Nationals was a good investment for the city.  A Housing Complex article's spin on the poll suggests that the poll question wasn't worded properly and that the stadium proposal is more popular than the poll results.

Update: City Administrator Allen Lew responds to the Post survey.

Rendering courtesy of Gensler 

The Neighbors of the Southwest Duck Pond will be having a Chinese New Year fundraiser on Thursday, January 30 at Jenny's Asian Fusion restaurant starting at 7pm. Tickets for the fundraiser are available online.

Apartment Sale Activity Picking Up

 

The last quarter of 2013 included a couple of apartment building sales transactions in Southwest – Channel Square and Capitol Park Tower. Channel Square was purchased in October by a joint venture of Somerset Development Company and the National Housing Trust-Enterprise Preservation Corporation. The tenants association chose the new owners in a competitive bid process through TOPA. Channel Square is located at 325 P Street and has 223 units in a mix of high-rise and townhouse buildings. The property will undergo a major renovation with a focus on green features. One third of the units will be targeted for voucher holders, one third for residents at or below 80% of AMI, and one third under a rent stabilization program similar to rent control. 

Capitol Park Tower

In November, Urban Investment Partners, PRP LLC, and Perseus Realty purchased the 289-unit Capitol Park Tower, located at 301 G Street. According to the press release, the new owners plan to invest in significant improvements over the next several years, but the property will remain rent-controlled. Capitol Park Tower was under contract in 2012 to UIP by the previous owner, but then the tenants association exercised their first right of refusal, which began a process to find an alternative buyer for the property. After a vetting process, eventually the current ownership group was able to purchase the building. 

In response to the pending sale of the building and potential for infill development, an application was filed in 2012 by SWNA to place Capitol Park Tower on the DC Preservation League’s endangered list. Capitol Tower was designed by Chloethiel Woodard Smith and built in 1962, part of the Capitol Park residential complex – a series of five high-rise buildings and two groups of townhouses arranged around open spaces and pathways. The property is also pending designation as a historic landmark by the Historic Preservation Review Board. However, it was reported in today’s Washington Business Journal that a foundation permit was issued for a six-story addition, which presumably will be built to the north of the existing building overlooking the Southwest Freeway where the parking structure and landscaped area are currently located. DCRA's website states that as of yesterday, the permit was still pending approval.

2013 Southwest Waterfront Real Estate Market Snapshot

Below is a summary of pricing and average days on the market for condos and rowhomes in the 20024 zip code in 2013, courtesy of Slate Properties.

M Street Yoga Opening Soon

Yogis, rejoice! A new yoga studio is on its way to the ground floor of Carrollsburg, A Condominium at 300 M Street. M Street Yoga will have two yoga studios that will be able to accommodate up to 35 mats. Southwest resident Pamela Fierst and her fiancée purchased a ground floor unit at Carrollsburg in 2013 that was originally used as storage, but was converted to a residential unit. Fierst was surprised that there were no yoga studios in Southwest aside from those in fitness centers, Randall, and 7th Street Landing in the summer, so she is excited to open the first studio in the neighborhood. Fierst has been practicing yoga for over 10 years and has been teaching for about two years. 

300 M Street.

There is an organic dry cleaners already in Carrollsburg, but a zoning change is needed to convert the condo unit to a yoga studio. Fierst hopes to obtain the necessary zoning change from residential to retail in order to move forward with opening the studio. The condominium board and the ANC have supported the zoning change and a hearing is scheduled with the Board of Zoning Adjustment on February 4. Renovations are scheduled to begin in either late January or early February and the studio should be open sometime in March. Fierst has been holding donation classes in the space three times a week until the zoning change is approved. So far, between $300 and $350 has been raised for Wounded Warriors. Since her fiancée is an army veteran and she works at the National War College in Fort McNair, the charity is near and dear to her heart. Donation classes are held on Tuesdays at 6pm, Thursdays at 7pm, and Saturdays at 10:30am. 

View of courtyard.

The larger yoga studio space faces a courtyard and has floor-to-ceiling windows, making it a serene location to practice yoga. M Street Yoga will operate seven days a week and at first will be offering evening and weekend classes. Eventually, morning classes will be offered. Prices have not been determined yet and a website is under development. For more information, contact M Street Yoga.

Second Southwest Neighborhood Plan Meeting Summary

 

While more than 250 people attended the Southwest Neighborhood Plan kickoff public meeting in September, turnout for the second meeting on December 11 was much lower. During the meeting, the audience was presented with the results of the Existing Conditions Analysis and detailed demographic data from the market study that is underway for the study area. There were ten themes that emerged from the September meeting from comments made by those who attended:

1. Southwest Culture: Foster an environment that encourages and embraces cultural and economic diversity 
2. Neighborhood Character: Preserve the varied scale and green character of the neighborhood
3. Pedestrian/Safety: Designed buildings, connections and sidewalks to improve safety, security and pedestrian circulation 
4. Retail: Support, enhance and expand neighborhood retail amenities 
5. Parks: Enhance, connect and better utilize parks, both active and passive, as open space 
6. Community Amenities: Invest in community and arts uses that serve resident needs 
7. Housing: Preserve and develop a range of housing for a mix of income, age and family size and encourage quality design and architecture 
8. Transportation: Strengthen multi-modal transportation; improve street connections, parking and safety 
9. Historic Preservation: Remember the history and legacy of the Southwest community while looking ahead 
10. New Development: Develop a strategy for height, density and open space that enhances, acknowledges and complements the character of the neighborhood 

Existing Conditions Analysis 

Even though Southwest is not currently in a historic district, several buildings have been registered with the Historic Preservation Review Board, including Potomac Place, Arena Stage, Waterfront Tower, and others, while Randall Recreation Center and Capitol Park Tower are pending designation. Southwest is unique in the city for its block structure, which is much longer than the typical block length in the city, a result of urban renewal. 

Several of the streets in Southwest have dead-ends due to the reconfiguration of the neighborhood during urban renewal. Only a few streets connect through the neighborhood to other areas, such as Maine Avenue/M Street (which carries between 17,800 and 26,400 cars per day), I Street (a section of I Street, SE in Near SE is currently under construction), South Capitol Street, and 4th Street. Vehicular access may not be ideal, but the entire planning area is within a 10-minute walk from a Metro station and 20 bus lines serve the area. Capital Bikeshare access is spotty, though - only one station is located in the planning area. 

Most of the publicly owned land is on the east side of Southwest and that is where there is the highest potential for change. These sites include Greenleaf, MPD first district headquarters at M Street and Delaware Avenue, the DMV just to the east, the FEMS Maintenance facility, as well as the inspection station and the privately owned lots along South Capitol Street. The Southwest Neighborhood Plan will not make recommendations for changes to existing, established residential areas, but will make suggestions to improve amenities such as parks and open space.

Greenleaf Extension was built in 1959.

Bike and Roll Coming to L'Enfant Plaza

 

Bike and Roll is moving from the Old Post Office Pavilion in NW to make way for its redevelopment as a hotel. The tourist bike operation will reopen on March 8 in the retail promenade at L'Enfant Plaza.  From the press release:

Centrally located, L'Enfant Plaza provides Bike and Roll with the perfect starting point for customers to begin their tours. Half a mile from the Washington Monument, less than a mile from the Thomas Jefferson Memorial and Capitol Building, and accessible by four metro lines, Bike and Roll DC's new location is the ideal gateway to Washington, DC. The new proximity to the Tidal Basin and Hains Point also offers tour-goers unparalleled, direct access to the storied cherry blossom trees.

The other Bike and Roll location in DC is located at Union Station.

Another Vacancy on ANC

ANC 6D Commissioner Ed Kaminski resigned from his post representing SMD 6D02 effective January 1, which leaves a vacancy on the ANC. This particular SMD is the only one that covers both sides of South Capitol Street. In Southwest, the SMD includes Capitol Park IV, Capitol Park Plaza, and Capitol Park Twin Towers. Residents of these communities as well as those in Near SE have a chance to run for the seat. In order to do so, candidates will need to visit the Board of Elections and file the necessary paperwork, then obtain 25 signatures over the next three weeks (which began last Monday). After a one week protest period where the signatures are verified, those who meet the requirements will be able to run for the seat. There will be a special election at the March 10 ANC meeting where residents of SMD 6D02 will be able to vote for a new ANC commissioner. If only one person qualifies for the position, they will win the seat without the need for an election. The newly elected commissioner will serve the remainder of Kaminski's term, which ends this year.

This is the third vacancy on the ANC since October. SMD 6D03 Commissioner Ron McBee passed away and SMD 6D01 Commissioner Donna Hopkins resigned shortly thereafter. Replacing them on the ANC are Rachel Reilly Carroll and Sam Marrero, respectively.

The next general election will be in November when all ANC 6D seats will be up for grabs.