Randall School Developers Seek Extension

At last Monday's ANC 6D meeting, Marilyn Melkonian from Telesis came before the commissioners to request their support in extending the PUD for the Randall School project at Half and I Streets.  The Telesis/Rubell team have yet to submit their own PUD for the project, so the extension is for the original plans when the site was owned by the Corcoran and Monument Realty. The Telesis/Rubell team agreed to purchase the site from the Corcoran in 2010, but the sale closed only a few months ago. Telesis is putting together the programming, financing, and design of the project and hopes to start construction in 2013 with completion in 2015-16. While the project is still in the design phase, some particulars were revealed during the presentation. Below is a massing study done on the project by Bing Thom Architects that was presented at the meeting.  

The model shows the three heritage buildings that will remain along with two residential buildings with a total of approximately 400 units that will rise up to 110 feet behind. Of the 400 units, 20% will be set aside as affordable housing for households earning up to 80% of Area Median Income (AMI). A boutique hotel was also planned previously, but it was determined that it was not financially feasible, so the residential component was increased. It's envisioned that the modern art museum that will house the Rubell Family Collection/Contemporary Arts Foundation will be located within the heritage buildings. In addition, a restaurant may be placed in the easternmost heritage building. A new mid-block east-west street will be created behind the heritage buildings to remove some traffic off of I Street, but deliveries will primarily occur on H Street. With the removal of the newer wings of the Randall School, the back of the heritage buildings will be exposed and the development team is still contemplating whether to build townhouse units alongside the rear of the heritage buildings or retail spaces. A courtyard will be created behind the central heritage building that will be open to the public.  Ms. Melkonian said she hopes the entire project will be built in one phase starting in 2013, but the residential buildings could be done in two phases.  While the residential buildings are currently planned as apartments, it's possible that one of the buildings could be done as condos if built in phases and depending on market conditions. Regardless of when the residential buildings are completed, the modern art museum will be done in the first phase.

The ANC voted to support the PUD extension 6-1 after agreeing to rescind their prior disapproval 5-1-1 when no one from the Telesis team came to the February ANC meeting. Next, the Telesis/Rubell team will meet with the Zoning Commission on March 21 to seek the PUD extension.

Potomac Place Tower Delayed Again

The general contractor at Potomac Place Tower, the condo conversion project at 800 4th Street, has filed for bankruptcy. This is is an excerpt from an email sent to the owners of Potomac Place Tower last Wednesday by the management company describing what happened:

The general contractor, Dietze Construction Group, filed Chapter 11 today. Apparently, Dietze had not been paying its subcontractors, despite being paid by the Declarant [Monument Realty], and the pattern of non-payment wasn't confined to this project. The developer is working expeditiously with the subcontractors to resolve the matter, which is expected to take between 14-21 days. In the interim, there will be no settlements or significant progress in the Phase III renovation schedule. We will forward an update when new dates are set for the items remaining, including the presently vacant Phase III units, canopy roof repair and community room upgrade. Due to the fluidity of the matter, there is very little information available at this time. However, we will do our best to update you on the matter on a weekly basis until the project resumes normal pace.

The news was confirmed in an article in Friday's Washington Business Journal. Since Monument Realty isn't able to demonstrate a clean title to the condo units due to the liens placed by subcontractors on Dietze, about 25 settlements have been affected. This is the second time that renovations have been delayed at Potomac Place Tower - back in late 2008, construction was halted at the condo conversion when Dietze placed a lien on the building, because Monument lost the financial backing of Lehman Brothers.

Update: A representative from Monument Realty states that sales are still occuring at Potomac Place Tower, but some settlements have been postponed due to the bankruptcy of Dietze.

Pending Announcement Regarding Randall School?

At next Monday’s ANC 6D monthly meeting, the agenda (not yet posted online) includes an announcement about the future of the Randall Junior High School site. This project has been in limbo since Monument Realty backed out of a deal with the Corcoran Gallery of Art in 2008 to redevelop the school as an offshoot of the Corcoran College of Art & Design and build apartments behind the historic school. Perhaps the Corcoran has found a new developer partner? We’ll find out next week. The meeting will take place on Monday the 11th at 7pm at St. Augustine's Episcopal Church.

Potomac Place Tower Back on Track

Renovations and sales at Potomac Place Tower (PPT) condos, located at 800 4th Street, will now continue since local developer Monument Realty has been able to find a new lender to finance the project, according to a press release on Monday. Swedbank, AB, a Swedish-based bank, is the new lender on the project. Back in December, Southwest...TLQTC first reported on the work stoppage at the condo conversion project, due to the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, and the subsequent liens placed on the property. The news of PPT restarting sales comes just a couple weeks after Waterfront Tower, a new condo conversion project nearby, began marketing. Perhaps the thought of having a competing condo project in the market helped negotiations move along for the developer and the lender. Natasha Stancill, Director of Marketing at Monument Realty, tells Southwest...TLQTC that the renovations at PPT should be complete by the first quarter of 2010. Approximately 15 units in the North Tower and 100 units in the South Tower are available for occupancy within the next 30-45 days. Another 100 units in the South Tower will be available for occupancy by year end. The final 35 units in the North Tower will be available in the first quarter of 2010. Prices range from approximately $180,000 for a studio to approximately $330,000 for a two bedroom. Below are a couple of photos of unit interiors in a model unit at PPT, courtesy of Monument Realty. To the left is a photo of the kitchen and on the right is a view of the living room with a balcony.

Additional Liens at Potomac Place Tower

In last week's Washington Business Journal (thanks for the tip, reader DavidSW), there was a brief article (subscribers only) about the troubles that developer Monument Realty has experienced with liens at Potomac Place Tower, a condo conversion project at 4th & G Street. From the article:

At the end of May, at least three contractors filed suit in D.C. Superior Court to enforce more than $1.3 million in mechanic’s liens the contractors filed against the last of three condominium buildings Monument is building at [Potomac Place] near the Southwest waterfront.

Back in December, Southwest...TLQTC first reported on a lien placed on the condo building by general contractor Dietze Construction. (Above is a photo of Potomac Place Tower taken in December 2008)

Top Southwest Stories of 2008

Although it's no longer 2008, I wanted to put together a list of top stories from the prior year. Southwest...TLQTC came into existence on June 4, 2008, and since then, several events have happened in the neighborhood - some good, some bad, and some ugly. Following is a recap of what I think are the top local stories of the year, in no particular order:

Southwest Waterfront Redevelopment Advances

The drama surrounding the land transfer of the Southwest Waterfront dominated the news in the last couple months of the year, with the D.C. Council finally approving the deal on December 16th, at their last legislative session of 2008. Back in July, the Council permitted the use of $198 million in bonds for infrastructure improvements along the waterfront. For instance, as a part of the redevelopment, Water Street will be closed, and utilities will have to be moved. The Hoffman-Struever development team plans a $1.5 billion mixed-use project along 51 acres of the Southwest Waterfront. Here's a description of what's planned from the press release announcing the land transfer approval:

• Housing – approximately 770 residential units with 30% being affordable housing.
  
• Cultural – a Maritime Center showcasing the region’s maritime history through a variety of educational, entertainment, and cultural exhibits
  
• Hotel – Three new hotels
  
• Office – Significant Class A commercial office space
  
• Neighborhood amenities – neighborhood-serving retail such as a gourmet grocery, casual and upscale dining, cafes, jazz venues, shops and opportunities for local, small retailers
  
• Parks – Acres of quality public parks, open space, and waterfront promenades throughout the project
  
• Water-focused development – significant improvements to the existing marina and pier facilities, water taxis and public piers
  
• Sustainable Design – the first LEED-Silver certified mixed-use project in the city and a LEED-ND Pilot Project
  
• Significant Certified Business Enterprises (CBE) – participation in all aspects of the project, including ownership and development

The development will go through the design phase starting in 2009 and construction of phase one is slated to begin in 2011-12.

(The above photo is a sunset shot of the Southwest Waterfront taken from Cantina Marina in July of 2007)

Waterfront Station Comes Out of the Ground

Demolition of the old Waterside Mall started in November of 2007, but by mid-2008, the site had been cleared and foundation work was underway on the two new office buildings that are a part of phase one of Waterfront Station. In October, more demolition was done to make way for the reopening of 4th Street and construction had reached ground level. By December, the east and west office buildings reached the third and fourth floors. The Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs and the Office of Tax & Revenue have pre-leased all 500,000 SF of the office space planned in phase one. Also included in the first phase will be a 55,000 SF urban lifestyle Safeway, which will replace the current store. In November, I visited the recently opened urban lifestyle Safeway at CityVista in NW to get an idea of what we have in "store" for us once our new Safeway opens in May 2010. The office buildings and 4th Street will open by March 2010.

(The above photo is of the 4th Street right-of-way at Waterfront Station taken in December 2008)

The New Arena Stage Begins to Take Shape

Groundbreaking of the new Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater occurred in January 2008. Since then, the new cradle theater has risen to its maximum height on the north side of the construction site. Canadian architect Bing Thom designed the new Arena Stage with a transparent exterior with three theaters connected together by a common lobby and a cantilevered roof. While Arena Stage is under construction, performances have moved to Crystal City and the Lincoln Theater. Arena Stage should be reopened in time for the 2010-11 season.

(The above photo is the 6th Street frontage of Arena Stage under construction in November 2008)

CSI: Southwest

Designs were approved for the new Consolidated Forensic Laboratory (CFL) in 2008. Currently, the District doesn't have its own forensics lab and has to use the FBI's lab in Quantico, VA. As a result, evidence takes longer to get analyzed and crimes don't get solved fast enough. The CFL will be home to MPD's Crime Lab, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, and the DC Public Health Lab. A total of 300 - 350 employees will be housed at the facility. The HOK-designed CFL will be a LEED Gold-certified building at the site of the MPD 1st District headquarters building at 4th Street & School Street. The 1st District headquarters will be moved to the former Bowen Elementary School site on M Street once renovations are complete during the 1st quarter of 2009. Once the MPD headquarters is moved, the building will be demolished and the new CFL will be complete by 2011.

(The above rendering is of the new CFL, from the CFL website)

Fall Crime Spree Brings Guardian Angels

The new CFL can't come soon enough to help get crimes solved in the city, including Southwest, where during the fall, there were a rash of assaults by juveniles, including the brutal attack of Waterside Towers resident Mark Blank, who subsequently died from his injuries. As a result, in November the Guardian Angels descended on Southwest to do weekly neighborhood walks in order to highlight safety concerns and help empower residents.

Delays at Randall School

The credit crunch and bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers over the summer caused local developer Monument Realty to back out of a deal with the Corcoran Gallery of Art to redevelop the Randall School on I Street into a campus for the Corcoran and an apartment building. Before the Corcoran purchased the Randall School, it served as the Millennium Arts Center and a homeless shelter. Currently, the building's windows are boarded up and a security guard patrols the school complex. Now, the Corcoran is looking for a new development partner and hopes to find one in 2009.

(The above rendering is of the Randall School site, courtesy of Monument Realty)

As you can see, a lot has been going on in Southwest...The Little Quadrant That Could over the past year. 2009 should be no different, despite the weakened economy.

Culture News

- Arena Stage receives additional $10 million in funding from the D.C. Council, according to an article from this week's Washington Business Journal. This is in addition to the $5 million it received from the city back in 2006. Construction is moving along and the new Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater is set to open by 2010. As a matter of fact, Stage Banter: The Arena Stage Blog reports that there was a "Topping Out Celebration" on December 13th. (The rendering is the new Arena Stage from the Arena Stage website)

- The Corcoran Gallery of Art is offering free admission (normal admission is $14) to residents of ANC 6D on Friday, December 26th at the second annual Randall Neighbor Day 2008. ID is required in order to prove residency. The Corcoran is located at 500 17th Street, NW. I went last year to see the Annie Liebowitz and Ansel Adams exhibits, and both were excellent. This year, in addition to the permanent collection, there are special exhibits, including Richard Avedon: Portraits of Power and Wounded Cities Portraits by Leo Rubinfien. Randall Neighbor Day was one of the community benefits that the ANC negotiated with the Corcoran as a part of their PUD submission last year. Southwest...TLQTC posted back in November that the Corcoran's development partner Monument Realty pulled out of the Randall School deal, but the Corcoran was looking for a new partner.

Construction Halted at Potomac Place Tower

The bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers has another local casualty. Construction at Southwest's only actively marketing condominium project, Potomac Place Tower (PPT), has been stopped for over a month. Lehman was the financial backer of PPT's developer, Monument Realty, so when Lehman filed for bankruptcy in September, PPT lost its funding, including the ability to pay Dietze Construction, the general contractor for the project. As a result, Dietze placed a lien on PPT and construction stopped. Also, residents of PPT recently received certified letters stating a sub-contractor was placing a lien on individual units.

Potomac Place Tower at 800 4th Street.

PPT was originally built as apartments in 1959 as a part of the Capitol Park development, the first residential project built during urban renewal in Southwest, and was designed by Chloethiel Woodard Smith. Monument purchased Potomac Place in 2001 and built two condo projects on the building's parking lots and adjacent park in 2004 and 2005. They began converting the existing 400-unit building to condos in 2006. Monument is in the process of finding a new financial partner, so renovations can continue and units can go to settlement. In the meantime, sales continue at PPT. Potomac Place Tower has been one of the fastest selling condo projects in the District, selling approximately seven units a month since sales began in 2006. Most condos are lucky these days if they can sell two units a month.

Delays and Progress in the Neighborhood

In today's Washington Post, there's an article describing the slowdown in construction around the Washington metro area due to the credit crunch. The Randall School project is mentioned in the article. From the article: "A half-mile from the ballpark, the Corcoran Gallery of Art and developer Monument Realty intended to turn what was once a public school and then a homeless shelter into an art school and apartments. But Monument withdrew in August, as its equity partner, Lehman Brothers, collapsed, leaving Corcoran to find another developer." Southwest...TLQTC reported on this story back in November. Another victim of the delay at Randall School is the old Friendship Baptist Church site (AKA Square 643) at 734 1st Street (H Street & Delaware Avenue). Developer Steve Tanner has plans to renovate the historic church into office space and build a residential component behind the church, which has been in the works since at least 2003. The timing of delivery, though, is dependent on the completion of the Randall School project. Now that the Randall School is delayed, Tanner will have to wait to see who will be the new developer partner of the Corcoran. The old Friendship Baptist Church is over 100 years old and was one of the few structures saved when Southwest was razed during urban renewal in the 1950s. According to the Cultural Tourism DC website: "In December 1902 the congregation dedicated a new church at 734 First Street, SW (at H Street). The eclectic Victorian style structure, built by James A. Boyce over a 12-year period, had Romanesque, Gothic Revival, and Queen Anne elements. A name change -- to Friendship Baptist – in June 1905 followed the congregation’s move...In September 1965 it celebrated its 90th anniversary and dedicated a new building at 900 Delaware Avenue, SW. The old Friendship Baptist Church at 734 First Street, SW, was designated a DC Historic Site on May 27, 2004." A rendering of the site is above - the white church is the existing building and the Shalom Baranes-designed 7-story residential addition is at the rear of the church (rendering courtesy of Steve Tanner).

At least one major Southwest project is moving ahead. Waterfront Station received construction financing in September to build the two new office buildings as a part of phase one of development, but the fate of the adaptive reuse of the old EPA towers to residential is unclear.

The rendering above is the metro plaza in front of the new SW Safeway under construction at Waterfront Station, courtesy of Vornado.

Monument Realty Pulls Out of Randall School Project

From today's Washington Business Journal (available for subscribers only): "In other news, Monument has pulled out of an agreement with the Corcoran Gallery of Art to redevelop D.C.’s Randall School in Southwest into apartments and 80,000 square feet of studio, exhibition and classroom space. 'The financial backing no longer existed,' but 'the partnership dissolved in an amenable manner and only ended due to an unfortunate set of circumstances,' Jocelyn File Adamoli, the Corcoran’s director of special projects, said in a statement. The contract does expose Monument to some liability for pulling out, but Adamoli declined to release any details. The gallery did say, however, that it does not plan to sue Monument. With its city approvals already complete, the Corcoran is meeting with other prospective developers and hopes to have a new development partner named by the first quarter of next year, Adamoli said." Before the Corcoran purchased the Randall School, it served as the Millennium Arts Center and a homeless shelter. Currently, the building's windows are boarded up and a security guard patrols the school complex. Hopefully the Corcoran will be able to find another development partner, but since financing is hard to come by these days for most developers, this site may stay vacant for a while. Rendering is courtesy of Monument Realty.