Today in Pictures - 455 Eye Street

Equity Residential's mixed-use redevelopment encompassing several historic properties at 443-459 Eye Street, NW is close to beginning construction.  With a predicted groundbreaking in August, and with Clark now signed up as the General Contractor, developers will soon begin tearing down the non-historic portion in favor of a residential tower with 174 units.  Hickock Cole Architects has designed the new building.

Washington D.C. real estate development news.  Photos by R

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Equity Residential's Mt. Vernon Triangle Project Set to Break Ground

Equity Residential's mixed-use redevelopment encompassing several historic properties at 443-459 Eye Street NW is set to begin construction this summer.

"We're looking at an August groundbreaking," said Greg White, Vice President of Development at Chicago-based megadeveloper Equity Residential. "We're working with Clark Construction, and finalizing construction documents now.  We hope to deliver first units in a little less than two years; the summer of 2014."

Once touted by former owner Walnut Street Development as Eye Street Lofts, Equity Residential purchased the property for $5.1 million in April of last year and, with HPRB approval for the plans secured since 2006, advanced the project swiftly.

The design, by Hickock Cole Architects, preserves the two 1880s-era historic rowhouses on the lots (as mandated by law), and incorporates the also-historically-designated industrial buildings, while erecting two additional residential towers directly adjacent.  When complete, it will offer 165,000 square feet of residential space and just over 2000 square feet of ground floor retail.

"It was originally conceived as 162 units, but the plans have been increased to 174 units," White said.  "Architecturally, it's a little old, a little new; you have the historic rowhouses, and then a different type of high-rise on top, and a new one to the side. We're blending it all together to make it work."

The site was formerly the home of Gold Leaf Studios, an artists' space, and an auto body shop housed in a former blacksmith's shop. Another building on the parcels, which was leased by BicycleSPACE, is marked for demolition.


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Equity Underway on Lyon Park Apartments

Equity Residential is now officially bullish on the DC market, having broken ground several weeks ago on its newest apartment project in Arlington's Lyon Park neighborhood. With its confidence in the Washington DC area market boosted by its success at 425 Mass, a new but empty building that Equity bought after foreclosure for $167m and then filled more than 70% of its 557 units, Equity is now taking on a project that also struggled for several years in a neighborhood not quite obvious for its retail and residential potential.

The project at 2201 Pershing Drive will replace several dated stripmalls with 188 rental apartments on top of a substantial 33,000 s.f. of retail base. Equity, the largest owner-operator of apartments in the country with 133,000 units (and counting), owns the adjoining Sheffield Court apartment building, so it presumably knows something about the not-entirely-obvious site away from the Clarendon Boulevard golden strip. Despite the large retail footprint, individual shops will be scaled small for local-serving operators, and Equity representatives say they have not even begun trying to secure tenants yet.

Marty McKenna of Equity says

his company will complete the apartments in the third quarter of 2012, a culmination of years of waiting for a project once anticipated to break ground in 2008 under plans approved for a previous developer by Arlington County in January of 2008. Designed by Bethesda-based SK&I, the traditional brick, stone masonry, glass, and cementitious fiberboard sided structure consists of two buildings, each using the same materials and rising four and five stories - LEED certified as part of the county's approval - with 18 subsidized apartments and parking behind each building for the retail and one level below-grade parking for residents.

The Washington Smart Growth Alliance has given the project the smart thumbs up, prodded by the stripmalls-into-anything philosophy, despite the generous

concession to the automobile, but helped by the 85 bicycle spaces and proximity to bus routes. Equity will salvage the small historic facades by dismantling the limestone blocks, cleaning them, and reassembling them back into contemporary apartment building. Demolition should be complete within the next 2-3 weeks. Details from Abbey Road, the previous developer, are available on their website.

Arlington, Virginia Real Estate Development News

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The (Distant) Future of Getting from Home to Work in DC

Equity Residential unveiled the latest gadget today in its "flagship" apartment building, a recharging station for electric cars, a move it hopes will have instantaneous appeal to apartment dwellers and, someday, practical application for commuters.

Equity demonstrated the new charging station at 425 Mass, which opened last year as Equity's highest priced apartment building in the DC Metro area, and has already generated its own positive charge after buying out defunct Broadway Development and leasing 40 of the 557 units per month on average, making it now 68% leased. But that doesn't photograph as well as a new Tesla, and promoters had one on hand to demonstrate how an electric vehicle owner could plug in, swipe their credit card and, for $1 - $3 per night, recharge sufficiently for most DC area commutes. Equity touted the feature as one of its "environmentally conscious" design features, and will soon offer Zipcar as another green alternative. The message: live in style here, drive in style nearby, and save money, time and the environment.

The $109,000, fully electric Tesla Roadster can charge in 3.5 hours at the high voltage outlet now at 425 Mass, or in half a day (1 hr per 5 miles) at a typical 110v outlet (adapter included). The plug-in station is currently available only to building residents, but several other charging stations such as at the Capitol Hill Hyatt offer public stations, and sites like MyChargePoint.net offer apps to find the nearest station. The Roadster - "the smoothest acceleration on the planet" - says a corporate rep, needs no oil, gas, and almost no servicing, but don't expect to see a garage-full soon. Only 2 of the building's 560 spaces are sequestered for it's lone charging station, and even promoters know to take a distant view of the technology. "The cars just aren't there yet" says Andy Kinard of CarCharging, which installs the stations for free and gives Equity a kickback on sales of electricity at the plug.

CarCharging and Equity plan a slow roll-out together, with stations to open in Boston and Seattle as "testbeds" to gauge and prime the market. Kinard sees the future of voltage-powered autos in "smart" technology in multi-family buildings and public garages, where the plug feeds usage data to the power source and shows its location to the public. But this is the company's first DC locale and it has no immediate plans for a second. Equity, the largest owner-operator of apartments in the country with 133,000 units, is well-placed to guide the technology but is not rushing headlong into the market, though it can quickly add more plug-in stations if needed.

Equity also owns 2400 M and 1210 Mass, and is "increasingly focused on urban core, mixed-use" property, says Area VP Robert Grealy. Equity entered the DC market in 1995 with a portfolio purchase of the Artery Group's apartment buildings, garden-style apartments it has been shedding in favor of "higher quality" residences since 2005.

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Arlington Boulevard Development Ready to Break Ground with New Owners

In January of 2008, the Arlington County Board approved plans to redevelop two "decaying old" strip malls at 2201 N. Pershing Drive into a mixed-use development consisting of 188 residential units over 35,000 s.f. of ground floor retail space. The project plans were originally developed by Abbey Road Property Group and anticipated to break ground in late 2009. But like so many development plans approved in 2008 just before the market rolled southward, the property has idled for the last two years. That may change. Equity Residential acquired the property and the accompanying development plans earlier this spring, and now the project looks set to move forward. In September, developers held a preliminary meeting with the Lyon Park Citizens Association, during which the attending public was informed of impending construction. Currently in the process of securing final building permits, and looking to award a general contracting bid next week, the development team expects to break ground on the project by December of this year.

Designed by SK&I, the traditional composite of brick, stone masonry, glass, and Hardie paneling (brick-like "cementitious" fiberboard product) will be set back several feet atop the glassy ground floor retail facade. The project consists of two buildings, each utilizing the same materials and rising four and five stories, designed to be LEED certified. Of the 188 units, 18 will be designated as affordable dwelling units. Structured parking behind each building will service retail shoppers, while a one level below-grade garage will provide parking for residents. Each building will hug its own small, central, landscaped courtyard, outfitted with benches, trees, shrubbery, and a small water fountain.

The Washington Smart Growth Alliance lists "reusing older shopping centers as a key smart growth strategy," making this development an apparent choice for its "Recognized Smart Growth Project" designation despite not being adjacent to a metro station (Clarendon Metro is about 7 blocks or three quarters of a mile). But adjacency to major bus routes makes the project a better example of urban in-fill. The influx of new restaurants and shops set to occupy the future retail spaces will make for an more walkable living experience for residents given the lack of immediate options. To further encourage public transit and green transportation alternatives, and garner more green points, over 85 bicycle spaces are being included in the design.

Pedestrians in Arlington may find it difficult to recognize any semblance of a recession on the street, but residential developments that were once popping up like spring tulips have been largely absent since the financial collapse. But clearly, Equity senses a barometric change. By investing in what is currently a relatively isolated block across from Ft. Myer, Equity Residential seems to be banking on a widening of the dense but narrow Ballston to Rosslyn corridor. While many projects remain on ice, signs of a thaw are significant. With such major local projects now on the docket such as 1812 N. Moore's speculative build out, Rosslyn Commons, and Skanska's Rosslyn office project, indicators of increased construction are apparent. Or perhaps Equity is enjoying the greater DC market, having signed leases with 182 new tenants within its first 90 days at its recently acquired 425 Mass Ave apartment, and is hoping for the same kind of success across the river.

Arlington, VA Real Estate Development News

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