Cotton Annex Sold

The auction of the historic Cotton Annex building at 12th and C streets by the GSA was completed last month and it was revealed this week the winning bidder was Douglas Development. Due to some sleuthing by the Washington Business Journal, they figured out a new company called Jemal’s Cotton Annex LLC was filed with the District Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs. Douglas’ bid for the property was $30.3 million. 

During an interview with Bisnow, Douglas Development’s Norman Jemal did not reveal its intended use for the building. From the article: 

"We loved the location," Jemal said. "It's a block away from Metro and Southwest is absolutely going through a renaissance and the tide is rising. We want to be a part of that rising tide. We have some very exciting ideas for it." 

Douglas Development’s other holdings in Southwest include a block of one-story retail buildings on the 1200 block of South Capitol Street and a large office building at 1900 Half Street in Buzzard Point, the latter of which will be redeveloped as a 462-unit rental apartment building with ground floor retail. Elsewhere in the city, the company has specialized in redeveloping historic structures or incorporating them in new development, including commercial buildings near the Verizon Center in Chinatown (now retail and office space), the Hecht warehouse in Ivy City (now apartments), and the Uline Arena in NoMa (now a flagship REI store and offices). 

With its location a block from the Smithsonian Metro and the National Mall, just off an exit ramp from the 12th Street Expressway, and within walking distance of the Portals and District Wharf, there is potential for the redevelopment of the Cotton Annex. What do you think Douglas Development should do with the Cotton Annex building and adjacent land? Vote in the poll on the left sidebar or leave a comment.

A Few Quick Items: SW Waterfront House Legislation Advances, Fish Market is Location of the Month, SEU to be Removed from Metro Name, Maine Ave Road Work Delayed

- Last week, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee passed DC Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton's bill to allow the development of the Southwest Waterfront as currently planned to proceed. H.R. 2297 clears up some legal issues regarding the transfer of the Southwest Waterfront that occurred between the Federal government and the District back in the 1960s which will allow the construction of piers that extend out to the Washington Channel. The bill will also ensure the Maine Lobsterman statue and Titanic Memorial will be maintained, although the Lobsterman statue may be moved to another area of The Wharf. An affirmative vote in the full House and Senate will allow the development to proceed. Rendering courtesy of Hoffman-Madison Waterfront

- DC's Office of Motion Picture and Television Development has designated the Maine Avenue Fish Market as the One City Location of the Month for the month of November. Back in March, the MPTD began the monthly designation to help bring attention to sights in the city that can be used as filming locations. The fish market was most recently featured in the film "State of Play". Arena Stage was designated back in April.

- WMATA decided in a meeting last week to make some changes to Metro station names ahead of a reworking of the Metrorail map needed to reflect service changes as well as the introduction of the Silver Line. In Southwest, the Waterfront-SEU station will revert back to its original name - Waterfront. Since Southeastern University is no longer in existence, that appendage has been dropped. A bid to add Arena Stage to the station name, which was supported by ANC 6D, was rejected by the Metro board. Also, a proposal to add National Mall to the Smithsonian Metro station name was rejected. The Navy Yard station in Near SE will become Navy Yard-Ballpark. These changes will be implemented in the fall of 2012.

- ANC 6D 01 Commissioner Bob Craycraft reports on his Facebook page that DDOT has pushed back the completion date of the road work on Maine Avenue near the fish market to the end of November. The road work was originally scheduled to be complete back in mid-October. Below is a description from DDOT about what is being done to the road:

The project will replace the existing 4-foot-wide sidewalk with a new 14-foot-wide trail, accommodating both bicyclists and pedestrians, and replace the existing road surface. Installation of new storm water drainage elements, bio-retention areas, trees, lighting, signs, curb, gutter and fencing is also included in the project. To accommodate these amenities, on-street parking in this area will be eliminated. The number of vehicular lanes will be reduced from two to one and some driveway entrances to businesses will be realigned. 

What Bloggers Are Saying About Southwest

- Urban Igloo interviewed the founders of UrbanTurf, a real estate blog in the Washington metro area. When asked which neighborhoods are considered to be DC's best kept secret, UrbanTurf responded:

For a more urban option, the “neglected” quadrant of Southwest is affordable (by DC standards) and very well located. It doesn’t have much in the way of bar and restaurant options, but it has two Metro stops, a shiny new Safeway, and the waterfront, Nationals Park, and the Mall are all within walking distance. It’s a great neighborhood for people who like the idea of having the hustle and bustle a short ride away, but enjoy coming home to a quiet neighborhood. Also, there are very big plans afoot for redeveloping Southwest, though they will take years to come to fruition.

- According to Greater Greater Washington, a Movie Solution DVD rental kiosk may come soon to L'Enfant Plaza Metro and an Old Town Trolley Tours ticket & information booth may arrive at the Smithsonian Metro. WMATA is looking for ways to earn additional revenue and has solicited bids to vendors to sell goods at Metro stations. If the WMATA board approves these proposals, the licenses will last eight years (will DVDs still exist in eight years?).

Metro Delays Due to Incident at Smithsonian Station

DCist reports that Metro passengers had to be evacuated from a train at the Smithsonian Metro station because the train made contact with a communications wire hanging from the track bed and caused smoke inside of the station. There were no injuries, but as a result, WMATA states there are delays on the Blue and Orange lines as trains will be sharing a track between Smithsonian and Federal Center SW Metro stations.