Georgia Ave. Housing Overhaul Moving Forward

A city plan to overhaul a DC affordable housing neighborhood on Georgia Avenue, called Park Morton, is moving forward and the city will unveil its first apartment building on Friday.

Workers put finishing touches on The Avenue on Thursday

"The Avenue at Park Morton" is an 83-unit mixed-use apartment building located at 3506 Georgia Avenue NW.  City officials will gather to celebrate its grand opening  Friday from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Completion of the building is a mile-marker for "The Park Morton New Communities Initiative", which has realized only a small part of its potential.  The $170 million initiative was established under then DC mayor Anthony Williams to replace an aging public housing complex on Georgia Avenue.  The initiative is a collaboration between the District's Housing Authority (DCHA), which owns and manages the complex, and the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development.

Image courtesy Wiencek + Associates

The old Park Morton housing has 17 apartment buildings.  In a report on the overhaul initiative and the old Park Morton housing, the city notes "the site consists of suburban-style apartment buildings and incorporates design elements that tend to foster criminal activity."

In 2008, then-Mayor Adrian Fenty sent out a Request For Proposals for developing in the project in 2008, promising that no former residents of the complex would be displaced; the building broke ground in 2010.  The overall plan calls for 317 market-rate housing units, 206 affordable housing units, a 10,000 square foot park, and a new community center with green designs throughout.

The entire Park Morton redevelopment is being carried out by the Park Morton Development Partners (PMDP), a joint venture between Landex Corporation and the Warrenton Group. Wienecek + Associates designed the project.  Hamel Builders is the general contractor.

Image courtesy Wiencek + Associates

The building, which has 81,044 square feet of residential space and 2,388 square feet of ground floor retail, includes a mix of one and two-bedroom apartment units.  Residential space features lounge, a fitness center, meeting rooms, and underground parking.  It also will include ground-floor retail. While overall the plan calls for some market-rate housing, the Avenue is 100 percent affordable under the city's affordable housing laws.

The development was funded by a mix of city agencies and departments, as well as Freddie Mac, Prudential, Hudson Housing, and Capital One.

1-BR Unit Rendering, courtesy Wiencek + Associates

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Petworth Safeway Announces September Start Date

Duball LLC and Safeway have announced a start date for their Safeway project at 3830 Georgia Avenue.  The project, announced several years ago, will develop a 62,000 s.f. Safeway with 220 apartment units above.  The development will replace the dated 21,000 Safeway building.  A groundbreaking ceremony will be held September 19th.

The "transit oriented state-of-the-are Safeway," sitting on 1.56 acres, is one block north of the Georgia Avenue-Petworth Metro and will include 86 below grade spaces for customers and 135 spaces for residents.  The development agreement, worked out between landowner Safeway and developer Duball, keeps Safeway as the owner of the land with Duball granted development rights for residential units and parking on top of the Safeway.

Marc Dubick, founder of Duball, was the principal developer of the CityVista Safeway in Mt. Vernon Triangle.  Duball previously developed Lionsgate in Bethesda and Rockville Town Center.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

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Petworth Library Reopens Today

The Petworth Library reopened today at 4200 Kansas Avenue NW, a 1939 Revival-style building that had been gutted and renovated to accommodate the changing needs of the neighborhood. Designed by Franck & Lohsen Architects, the renovations cost $12.4 million and were built by GCS/Sigal, LLC.

DC Public Library Chief Librarian Ginnie Cooper says improvement to the branch includes new web-based tutorials and a doubling of computers to 48 Dells and Macs for teens. On opening day, the branch offers 50,000 books with space for 80,000.
The library is one of thirteen of the 24 in the city that will have been built or renovated over the course of the past two years. During Mayor Anthony Williams' administration, and through Mayor Adrian Fenty's tenure, a re-distribution of funds has translated to beefier collections, more targeted programming, and updated technology in all branches. Over the past five years, she says, community library attendance has doubled.

"There are a lot of little ones in this community," says Cooper of the Petworth neighborhood. "We look at the demographics and shape our plans accordingly." A whole wing of the second floor is dedicated to children's books and reading space.

Ironically, "this library used to have a side entrance for kids so no one would see them and they wouldn't disturb people working," said Cooper. "Libraries are no longer hushed rooms unwelcome for children and families." Officials also emphasized the library as a hub for job searches and for securing help with resumes.

The ground floor level offers wide open spaces with plenty of light as well as lounge seating around the non-working fireplace.

The second floor houses the children's level, an expansion to accommodate more kids in the neighborhood.

The cork floors are new, yet "historically accurate" said DCPL spokesperson George Williams.

Two private study rooms flank a corner of the building on the second floor, with seating for up to ten people. On the lowest level, residents can reserve one of two conference rooms: one that seats twelve and a larger room for up to 100 people.

The second floor also offers space for travel guides and teens (who like the magazine section, apparently).

Washington, D.C. Real Estate News

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New Condo Opens in Petworth

DC's newest condo project has opened in Petworth. The Flats at Taylor Street began sales in July after completing a one-year renovation of the 26 unit apartment building, with prices ranging from $199,900 to $299,900 for one and two-bedroom condominiums. The condo project, near the Petworth / Georgia Avenue Metro, is in one of DC's more active development districts, joining a cluster of other large projects either recently completed or underway.

The new condominiums will beef up the housing stock, along with recently completed Park Place apartments and NDC's newly opened Residences at Georgia Avenue with Yes! Organic market, as well as the 130-unit apartment building Georgia Commons now underway one block south, Donatelli Development's apartment building going up across from the Metro and a new retail development next door, as well as a CVS that opened just last week, effectuating years of promises for upper Georgia Avenue.

Taylor Flats, at 804 Taylor Street, NW, is the rebirth of an apartment building that was fully gutted in 2009, with unit layouts redesigned by Bonstra Haresign Architects for more contemporary living spaces that include in-unit washer & dryer and larger living rooms. Taylor Flats condos will also be the first large condominium to utilize CityFirst Homes, a District-sponsored program to give condo buyers downpayment assistance. The program provides moderate-income purchasers with $75,000 toward financing and downpayment costs, with an interest-only repayment for the first seven years at a fixed 3.79% interest rate, allowing a 2% downpayment without mortgage insurance. The remaining purchase price is financed privately through Bank of America.

The condominium sales office is open on Sundays or by appointment, email sales @ TaylorFlats.com, or call 202-309-0935.

Washington DC real estate development news

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