ICG's Luxury Georgetown Hotel Still Alive

Expectedly there was a bit of a buzz in 2009 when ICG Properties announced its intentions of converting a 47-year old office building at 1050 31st Street NW into a "luxury" boutique hotel. But since Castleton Holdings Inc. first bought the property from the American Trial Lawyers Association in 2008 for $18.3 million, and shortly after revealed their 50/50 partnership with ICG, little progress has...

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Del Ray Project Stalls

A development darling of Alexandria's Del Ray neighborhood is on hold, with the green office building on Mt. Vernon Avenue sidelined until market conditions improve. Del Ray Greens was designed to replace Anthony's Auto Center with a small retail and office building high on green credentials and capable of supporting a small vegetable farm, but the project's developer has asked the city to...

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Mr. Callison Builds His Dream House

By Beth Hermanp { margin-bottom:Clearly architects, film buffs and maybe a few former Hollywood civilians, such as I, know the Cary Grant classic (see story title) by a similar name, where unwitting advertising executive Jim Blandings, wedged into a cramped NYC apartment with his family, takes leave of his home and his senses when purchasing a deeply plagued fixer upper in the hinterlands of post-war...

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Perseid Adventures at 14 & W

On October 7th, Ward One Councilman Jim Graham relayed a message of good news to his listserv and Twitter followers from Bob Cohen of Perseus Realty, who had recently testified at a Council Hearing. Pressing Cohen on a start date for the YMCA redevelopment project at 14th and W, Graham quoted the developer as promising the the ability "to start construction before the end of the year.” The pledge...

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A Time to Give Thanks!

This is the time of year when the weather begins to change and thoughts of being thankful come to mind. We at SI Real Estate wish to give thanks to our families, our friends and our loyal clients. We are very thankful to be thriving in a difficult industry and challenging economy. Thanks to all of you for your continued support. We wish you and yours a Very Happy Thanksgivi...

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Dominion Heights Development Anxious to Break Ground

Earlier this year the Arlington County Board approved developers' request to attempt addition by subtraction at an infill redevelopment site in north Arlington. MacArthur Development LLC, in partnership with the Christopher Companies, will increase the number of residential units set for their "Dominion Heights" project from 49 to 66, while slightly shrinking the gross floor area of the residential,...

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NoBe Gateway: White Flint Blowin' Up

After receiving positive feedback from the Montgomery County Development Review Committee, developers of "North Bethesda Gateway" in White Flint expect their Sketch Plan to go before the Planning Board sometime in January, marking the beginning of what will likely be a multi-year public approval process. While construction, or even detailed architectural renderings, are some time off, developer Hilary...

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Stonebridge to Start Phase 2 in NoMa

Real estate developer StonebridgeCarras and financier Walton Street Capital are betting on NoMa again, announcing they will start the next speculative phase of Constitution Square in May. Stonebridge is just now completing Two Constitution Square, which it also built without a tenant, a bet that paid off big when it sold the property in May for $305m to Northwestern Mutual, and now Sarah Krouse reports...

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A Black Belt in Kitchen Design

By Beth Hermanp { margin-bottom:In the ever-evolving, big-ticket world of kitchen renovation, particularly in the toniest of D.C., northern Virginia and suburban Maryland neighborhoods where the average culinary redesign can cost $50,000 - $200,000, eviscerating the kitchen is not for the faint of heart. At the apogee of kitchen reinterpretation, former North Carolinian Beverly Glover-Wood of Bethesda-based...

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Hilton Residential Addition Gets 2-Year Extension from HPRB

After purchasing the iconic Hilton for $290 million in May of 2007, a pair of California dreamers (and developers), LA-based Lowe Enterprises Inc. and Beverly Hills-based Canyon-Johnson Urban Funds (CJUF), are still hoping to follow through on their intentions of adding an apartment tower to the 1,119-room hotel. Unfortunately the market has been rather uncooperative, to say the least, since their...

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REALTORS® in Tampa, Florida Gain New Perspective on Global Real Estate Market

SI Real Estate has specialized in working with international real estate clientele for many years, and it appears that many other REALTORS® in Tampa, Florida and around the nation are learning the importance of understanding this sector of the real estate marketplace. The real estate market continues to enjoy a large international investor pool of buyers. This is great for the real estate market and the economy as a whole as it helps to reduce inventory of properties for sale and will lead to housing...

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Rolling Along

Nothing much new has been happening on the investment property front. My hard money loans are being paid on time. Operations at the Houston apartment complex were essentially unchanged for September (the last month I have data for) from August. As I mentioned after the last investor conference call, the property is currently losing money, but things are slowly turning around. Management expects a return to profitability in early 2011 and a resumption of investor payments at that time. I think some...

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The Arts at 5th & I: Closer Than They Were

Development partners Donohoe Companies and Holland Development of the highly anticipated high-end hotel, retail outlets, and jazz club crowned "The Arts" think they are close to wrapping up negotiations with DMPED over the disposition of the currently District-owned site at 5th and I Streets NW. The heart of the project is a 260-room ME Hotel from luxury Spanish hotelier, Melia that promises to "seduce...

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Classically Styled Townhomes in Old Town Get a Modern Kick

Sponsored StoryThese days it seems every new proposed multifamily condominium in the metro area has some sort of green roof involved, but it's rare that one reads or hears about green-roofed townhomes. For architect and developer Sassan Gharai of SGA Companies, who recently finished a twin home project in Old Town, it seemed logical to offset the heat island effect with a little rooftop landscaping,...

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Forest City's Parcel D: The Yards Gets Moving

Last month Forest City presented their updated plans for a mixed-use development at the Yards to the local ANC, gratefully receiving a vote of approval. The National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) also voiced their support for the project earlier this year. And now the proposal, which sees rental apartments stacked atop ground floor retail, goes before the Zoning Commission next month in hopes...

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Now this takes some guts (or lack of brains)

This guy is letting his house go into foreclosure because his bank erroneously charged him a $25 fee and refused to refund it. If he can buy his house back at auction for less than what he owes, he'll come out ahead.Not sure if he fully understands what he's doing though. He seems to think that at the foreclosure, it will automatically become owned by the bank and then he can buy it back as a REO property. Does he not realize that when it is at auction, anyone can buy it? It only becomes an REO...

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Rosslyn Mixed Income Apartments Redeveloped "Using Density Not Dollars"

In their quest to redevelop Key Boulevard apartments, AHC Inc. has adopted a slightly augmented proposal and a brand new motto: "Using density, not dollars." That is the team's credo for tackling the challenge of nearly doubling the number of affordable housing units on the 1.24 acre site while staying within limited density allowed by the County's Zoning guidelines. But with available space near...

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The Evolution of Cavemen and Castaways

By Beth HermanIn prehistoric times,it was a means to keep warm and char that woolly mammoth (please pass the salt), and in the 2000 film “Cast Away,” Tom Hanks unabashedly called himself a god on the night he created it. But in the dense, exploding, urban atmosphere of today, a roaring fire isn’t the answer.For Reston, Va.-based LeMay Erickson Willcox Architects, purveyors of safety design and creators...

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