12th and Pennsylvania Ave, NW

Back in Aug. 2011 I I asked if you liked the idea of the Old Post Office Pavilion becoming a Luxury Trump Hotel. Yesterday GSA announced it’s gonna happen:

The Old Post Office is located at the corner of 12th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue in the Federal Triangle neighborhood. Recognizing that the building had outlived its usefulness as Federal office space, Congress directed GSA in 2008 to enter into a long term lease for the Old Post Office under Section 111 of the National Historic Preservation Act, thereby guaranteeing the restoration and retention of all of its historic features while allowing the private sector to determine how to develop it to its fullest potential.

“The Trump Organization plan will preserve the historic nature of the building and improve the vitality of Pennsylvania Avenue,” continued Peck. “This redevelopment represents good business sense on behalf of the American taxpayer, the Federal Government and the District of Columbia.”

After closely evaluating the submissions, GSA determined the Trump Organization proposal represented the strongest development team, best long term potential for the local community, and most consistent stream of revenue for the Federal Government. GSA is committed to effectively and efficiently managing the Federal real estate footprint to achieve the best value for America’s taxpayers and communities, consistent with the President’s Campaign to Cut Waste.

The Trump Organization proposal calls for converting the Old Post Office to a luxury hotel with more than 250 rooms, along with world renowned restaurants, a spa, and conference facilities, while preserving and enhancing all of its historic features.

In accordance with the request for proposal, GSA and the Trump Organization will spend the next year negotiating a detailed agreement for the building’s redevelopment – specifying building usage, historic preservation requirements and details of the Federal Government’s revenue stream. GSA will only move forward if an agreement is reached that provides a positive return for the taxpayer.

While negotiations proceed, GSA will relocate the existing Federal tenants in the Old Post Office, including the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

If negotiations proceed as anticipated, redevelopment of the Old Post Office is expected to commence in 2014 with occupancy in 2016. At the end of the lease, control of the building will revert to the Federal Government.

I was psyched to learn that BakeHouse is coming to 14th and T St, NW. I emailed owner Niall Cooper for some details and she writes:

We are in the final stages of lease negotiations for a space in a new build on T street, right off 14th (behind Policy, across T St from Room and Board). The development is due for completion in the Fall, to be built by Eichberg Construction. The one-story post office is part of the same project, but our shop will be located in a new building that will be constructed in the small empty lot next door.

Our menu will consist of house-made baked goods and high quality coffees and teas. We’ll serve updated classics with modern flavor profiles.

We took part in the last the Grey DC Market, which was a great success, and we hope to do more markets over the coming months.

Sounds great. I’ll let everyone know when the next market is scheduled. They project to open in 213 days and counting. Think this’ll be a good fit for 14th and T St, NW?

These are gonna make for some sweet before and after photos.

According to the Neighborhood Development Company:

“The project will consist of a sustainable, mixed-use affordable rental housing development with ground floor retail to be built at the intersection of Georgia Avenue, NW and Lamont Street, NW of Washington, DC.

The project is being jointly developed by NDC and Mi Casa Inc. It will contain 69 units with 10,000 square feet of ground floor retail. At least 50% of the units will be affordable at 60% to 80% AMI. Delivery is scheduled for the 3rd Quarter 2011.”

Not sure when the delivery is scheduled for now, but it’s def. encouraging to see demo start. Here’s a rendering of The Heights on Georgia Avenue (3232 Georgia Avenue, NW):

Thanks to a couple readers for sending the great photos of the Howard Theater sign going up right now. Howard Theater is located at 7th and T St, NW and plans on reopening in April 2012. You can see what it looked like in Nov. 2011 here.

Thanks to a reader for sending an update on the reno going on at the corner of 14th and Taylor St, NW. You can see what it looked like in May 2011 here.

Dear PoPville,

I’ve thought for years this would make a great spot for a pub – same block as the Passenger,
across from the Convention Center, growing neighborhood. Any word what’s actually going in here?

Back in June 2010 I nominated these buildings for a horse’s ass award.

I hear that one of the buildings had a portion of the second floor that was threatening to fall off possibly after the earthquake. So I think Douglas Development (the owner) is taking the opportunity to gut all three buildings. At the moment there is no planned use for the space.

It’s amazing to see the progress at the building going up in Shaw at Rhode Island and R St, NW, I wish I could find my before photos…

Renew Shaw notes:

625 Rhode Island Avenue NW – located on Rhode Island Avenue between Sixth and Seventh Streets, this is a project designed by Suzane Reatig Architecture that will be developed by The United House of Prayer for All People. It will be a 32,125 square foot multi-family building comprised of 16 units, eight of which will be affordable to households earning 60 to 80 percent of the AMI, with a mix of two and three-bedroom units, ranging from 1,150 to 2,200 square feet. Additionally, there will be 11 surface level parking spaces, open green space at ground level, a green roof, small rooftop deck, and developers will shoot for LEED certification.

Rendering of 625 Rhode Island Ave, NW via Suzane Reitig Architecture

From the Capitol Riverfront BID:

Over the past decade, increasingly affluent young professionals and their employers have chosen to move into communities around Metro’s Green Line Corridor stations, a shift that remains below the radar of many real estate and economic observers, a new study released today reveals. The study, Greenprint of Growth: A Decade of Population Growth, Job Creation and Investment Along DC’s Green Line Corridor, sheds new light on the extent of changes taking place along the Green Line Corridor and their role in the District’s and regional economy.

“This study debunks conventional thinking about the neighborhoods along the Green Line. We knew anecdotally that change has been occurring along the corridor but we didn’t have the hard data to underscore what we were seeing until today. The results are dramatic, and demonstrate that the Green Line Corridor, and neighborhoods along that corridor such as the Capitol Riverfront, have caught up to and in some cases surpassed the traditional development corridors of NW DC along the Red Line and Northern Virginia’s Rosslyn-Ballston Corridor. The Green Line has become a desirable location and an economic engine for the District and the region creating a new spine of development that connects the city,” said Michael Stevens, Executive Director of The Capital Riverfront Business Improvement District, which commissioned the study.

The study was executed by RCLCO, a widely respected real estate advisory firm. Among the study’s findings:

The Green Line Corridor communities captured more young and affluent households in the 2000’s than the NW DC Red Line or the Rosslyn-Ballston Corridor.
Compared to the 1990’s, the Green Line Corridor captured nearly ten times as many young households in the 2000s.
The Green Line Corridor captured 32 percent—nearly one third—of all growth in 18-to-34-year-old households in the District during the last decade.
The study reveals new household incomes of new residents along the Green Line Corridor are as much as 50 percent higher than estimated by conventional data sources.
Stations along the Green Line Corridor are a magnet for high-paying private sector jobs. in the region, and are outcompeting areas in Northwest D.C. and Arlington County.

· Green Line Corridor station neighborhoods are the future: new development projected within a quarter-mile of the Green Line Corridor study area could generate $2.32 billion in additional tax revenue and 19,000 permanent jobs over the next 20 years.

The study affirms that the Green Line Corridor is out in front of the District’s overall growth curve and can continue this growth into the next decade and beyond. The connection to the Green Line Corridor and its aforementioned competitive advantages, combined with its ample development capacity, position the Capitol Riverfront/Navy Yard as a “receiving zone” for this development energy. Specifically, the analysis conducted suggests that the Capitol Riverfront—given its Green Line access at the Navy Yard Station and its significant amount of development capacity—is among the most competitive locations in the region for households, companies, and retailers.

“We are witnessing the re-urbanizing of America. Younger households – those between 18 and 34 years old – are an important driver of this trend. In the D.C. region specifically, especially during the last decade, a large proportion of affluent, young professionals—along with their employers—moved into neighborhoods not only in urban neighborhoods or in the District itself, but specifically proximate to Green Line corridor. It’s a trend that can be expected to become even stronger in the future. The findings of this study suggest that the Capitol Riverfront and other Green Line Corridor neighborhoods have established themselves as economic engines over the past decade and are ripe for future investment,” said Shyam Kannan, a principal at RCLCO (Robert Charles Lesser & Co., LLC), who conducted the study.

Read the executive summary below:

GREEN LINE STUDY FINAL EXEC SUMMARY 1-11-12

Dear PoP,

I don’t know the last time that you came into Crestwood, but in the last 6 weeks or so a brand new house has been under construction. For as long as I have lived in the neighborhood (2005), there have been two empty, wooded lots for sale on the right side of Mathewson, as one comes up the hill from Blagden. Well, there now is a new house under construction on one of those lots.

Looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

It’s obviously to early for a proper judging but I’m just curious about the opening on the street level. Do you think this indicates there will be a retail space? Or is it just a big window?

Serious renovations have started on the building next to Mood Lounge at 1320 9th St, NW (near the Convention Center.) Back in May ’09 I shared some scuttlebutt that this would be the workshop/showroom for designer Darryl Carter. I still believe those are the plans.

Should be a pretty sweet reno. Stay tuned for the before and after photos.

The huge old church at 14th and Maryland Ave, NE looks like it may finally be getting fixed up. It had been for sale last I checked but just last weekend I noticed that the very early demo appears to have started. Though, I didn’t see any dumpsters so I’m not sure how far along the plans are. But the location and property are pretty amazing so it’ll be interesting to see how the renovations turn out. Anyone hear any news/scuttlebutt about who’s coming?

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What do you think of the new Park Road banners in Columbia Heights?

Is it now finally time to take down the banner announcing the facade improvement project?

I’m all for historic preservation but this seems like a pretty ordinary structure to me. Anyone know why it would be preserved? It’s on Shepherd St, NW just east of Georgia Ave.

Thanks to a reader for sending the heads up. Back when Chidogo’s closed at the end of Oct. we learned that major construction would start in Dec. Looks like they’re on schedule. I had noticed that raze permits had been posted on the old storefronts (taco bell, foot locker, domino’s, el paraiso etc.) It’s gonna be wild to see this block transform. Can’t wait for the before and after photos. Well, here’s the before: