Today in Pictures - Progression Place

Progression Place may be only one of numerous projects underway in Shaw, but it will be one of the first large development to be completed.  Developers began work in 2010 on with 100,000 s.f. of office space, a 205-unit residential apartment building, and 20,000 square feet of street-level retail. The project was designed by architects Eric Colbert & Associates and Devrouax + Purnell, and built by Davis Construction.
Ellis Development, The Jarvis Company, and Four Points combined forces to build the project above the Shaw Metro station. 

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Shaw Developers Celebrate Step Forward with Progression Place

One of Shaw's chief development projects, slowed by lost tenants and missed start dates, is finally having its day as developers celebrate a "groundbreaking" Monday for a project that began in late 2010. Developers of Progression Place began work last December on the 320,000 square foot, $150 million development, with 100,000 square feet office space, a 205-unit residential apartment building, 20,000 square feet of street-level retail, but on Monday its developers will fete themselves and the sale of an office condo to anchor occupant United Negro College Fund (UNCF).

UNCF officially purchased half the project's office space on December 24th, but developers were already doing site work on the vacant lot in anticipation of the settlement and Eagle Bank's $13m loan made possible by the sale, which was in turn made possible by the city's $3.6m financing subsidy for UNCF. Ellis Development, The Jarvis Company, and Four Points combined forces to build a project that would be hard to overestimate in importance as a beacon for Shaw's development, adding housing, jobs and retail in an area that had little investment in any of those markets. Progression Place is adjacent to the Howard Theater, also being developed by Ellis, and will build in parking for the historic theater and add a rebuilt Metro entrance.

UNCF's office condo and the "7th Flats" will both be ready for occupancy in mid 2012. With a new library in place just to the south, and the Convention Center Marriott already underway, the O Street Market remains the largest holdout that could tie together development along the 7th Street corridor.

Design is being handled jointly by architects Eric Colbert & Associates and Devereux and Associates, and built by Davis Construction and Gilford Corporation. The public ceremony will be held at the Lincoln Theater at 11am on Monday.

Washington DC real estate development news

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Construction Begins Quietly At 7th & S Streets NW

Shaw seems to be the land where development dreams go to die, or at least be indefinitely put on hold, where groundbreakings happen and aren't followed by actual construction. Too often news of impending construction starts dissolve quickly, giving way to news of severed financial partnerships and runaway tenants. Such was the case for Broadcast Center One and their developers (Four Points LLC and Ellis Development) which, even after the loss of Radio One (and the project name along with it), predicted an August groundbreaking earlier this year. The programming was downsized, United Negro College Fund was brought in as a major new tenant, and the project was renamed Progression Place, but August (and a few other months) has come and gone without a groundbreaking celebration. But construction equipment can at last be seen sprawled across the grounds, and the porta-johns are installed, sure signs of progress. As the plan stands, Progression Place will have 100k s.f. of office space, 224 apartments, and wrap-around ground level retail, serviced by 188 below-grade parking spaces. The development plans also call for a face-lift for 7th Street retail frontages.

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Four Points Teams With Comstock On Two DC Redevlopment Projects

After a lengthy hibernation in development limbo, Four Points LLC's W Street Townhomes, which earned HPRB approval in 2007 and a go-ahead from Zoning in 2008, is finally moving forward after developers announced their newly formed joint venture with Comstock Housing, a move that no doubt provided the capital injection necessary to jump-start a couple dormant projects. The project, now being nicknamed Cedar Hill, is planned for the corner of W Street and 13th Street SE; at roughly 40 units, it will be one of the most significant multi-unit residential construction projects to hit the streets of Historic Anacostia in many years.

The PGN-designed development will include a combination of larger, single-family townhomes and duplex-style units that double as condominiums. The seven single-family homes will each offer three bedrooms, a parking spot and a front yard. "What we tried to do is capture along W Street the historic nature of Anacostia," explains project architect Jeff Goins, "and then also create something unique for the neighborhood." Developers are waiting to hear back on their applications submitted for necessary building permits, but expect that they'll be able to break ground by mid-2011.

The joint-venture between Four Points and Comstock will also initiate redevelopment of a Lamond Riggs community, a development that went before the Zoning Commission as far back as 2006. The Northeast project that was most recently dubbed The Hampshires, with the design process headed by Arthur C. Lohsen of Frank & Lohsen Architects, proposes approximately 110 units, a healthy mix of townhomes, single family homes, and condominiums. The project also include a generous amount of green space, arriving in the form of a large, centrally located “great lawn,” as well as a number of smaller parks and gardens. The development will replace what was most recently the Med-Star Health facilities, and utilize a series of vacant lots along the 6000 block of New Hampshire Avenue, Peabody Ave, and Quakenbos St.

Each development will offer 10-20% of the total units at affordable housing rates. In a press release issued by Comstock last week, Four Points Principal Stan Voudrie said "We are big believers in the continuing demand for reasonably priced, for-sale housing in Washington, DC. These joint ventures with Comstock will allow us to deliver exactly that in both the Lamond Riggs and historic Anacostia neighborhoods." Christopher Clemente, Comstock's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer added: "We believe the strength of the Washington, DC area economy, and the demand for new housing in the District of Columbia provides tremendous opportunity to complement our existing platform in the greater Washington DC area."


Washington D.C. Real Estate Development News

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