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The largest commercial real estate publication in the United States.
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February 29, 2012 |
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Big I-395 Project
In The Works |
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| The Fashion 4 Paws Runway Show draws VIPs as well as fashion and animal lovers alike. The top male and female fundraiser will be awarded “Model Washingtonian of the Year” on the runway on April 14. Find out more here. |
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| It's been years since Property Group Partners—then affiliated with Louis Dreyfus Group—was awarded a five-building, 2.2M SF office development sitting right above I-395 (yes, the highway) between Capitol Hill and the East End from developer Conrad Monts. Now that project looks like it may finally move forward. |
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| Prez Jeff Sussman, snapped yesterday, expects to gain full approval for the site (bounded by Massachusetts Ave, E St, 3rd St, and 2nd St) from the city and federal government in 90 days. Groundbreaking (or “ground-creating,” as he calls it) is set for 2013 .“We see the light at the end of the tunnel, and we hope it's not an oncoming train,” he jokes. (That joke gets more and more feasible with every light rail track in DC.) “When we started this process, there were literally thousands of loose ends. And we've still got a lot of work to do.” For starters, nearly nine months of planning lie ahead. “If this was just a piece of ground without a building on it, planning would probably take around five months,” he says. “This thing is complex, and it's just going to take longer because of the intricacy of architecture and engineering.” |
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| Jeff reminds us the project won't sit on a thin platform: “The only difference between this and a typical office is that it'll have a highway instead of a three-level garage underneath.” (To be fair, 395 has often been called a parking lot.) To attract tenants, the firm has retained Cassidy Turley as leasing agent and opened a marketing center at 1101 New York Ave. Jeff hints that it's talking to large users, but declined to comment further—“In my view, we're going to find the right tenant while we take this time to prepare the site. We're trying to get it all done.” |
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| Property Group is betting the location, not a traditional office hot-spot, will emerge as a destination for professional services tenants. “This is the crossroads between Capitol Hill and the CBD,” says Jeff. “We're three New York blocks from Union Station, and we're also three blocks from the Verizon Center. It's filling in a gash in the city that's been there since the '60s.” He thinks the Georgetown Law School (the country's largest urban law campus) next door is an attractive amenity and notes that it's close to burgeoning neighborhoods in Chinatown and NoMa. |
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| The buildings promise to be among Washington's more memorable offices. Designed by renowned architect Kevin Roche, each is “emblematic of what we think are right-sized floors for certain kinds of users, such as law firms and institutions.” Jeff describes the appearance as “sleek,” saying “I don't want it to look like a suburban office park—we're trying to create a place here.” Features to look for: Floor-to-floor glass and a green rooftop with reception space and gardens. |
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| Jeff gives high marks to the District and federal agencies involved, calling them “an absolute pleasure” to work with. The development has not been without challenges—both the Jewish Historical Society (above) and the Holy Rosary Church had properties on the site. Both are being relocated at Property Group's expense, and Jeff says the firm took the view that “we have to make obstacles into stepping stones.” (For example, meeting with both groups—especially if it took place in a bar—is the stepping stone into a great joke.) |
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Bisnow Exclusive:
Pair of Loans for Shooshan |
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| Shooshan Co. prez John Shooshan tells us his firm has secured two loans totaling $171M for Founders Square in Ballston. Details: a $100M, 15-year perm loan with Prudential on the fully-leased, soon-to-be delivered LEED Gold DARPA headquarters building, and a $71M construction loan from SunTrust for The Place, a 17-story, 257-unit apartment tower. And The Donohoe Cos. are making progress on their parcel at the project—it'll house a Residence Inn, which broke ground in October and will deliver next year. Shooshan now looks to drum up leasing activity at 4040 Wilson Blvd. (to the right above), the site's second office, via listing agent Avison Young. It'll be Ballston's tallest building when complete; construction is expect to commence by the end of the year. The site will also include over 25k SF of retail space, including two full service restaurants. |
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| Goulston & Storrs Welcomes Sean Glynn |
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| Congrats to Sean Glynn, who joined Goulston & Storrs’ DC office as a non-profit finance director. He focuses his practice on representing non-profits in business issues including leasing, construction, and general corporate advice, with a particular focus on tax-exempt bond finance. He also performs lender work for a broad array of clients and was most recently a partner at Arent Fox’s DC office. Sean says he’s glad to be a part of a firm with a stellar reputation and a deep, historic commitment to the real estate sector. For more information on our sponsor, click here. |
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| More on National Harbor Casino |
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| Talk about a possible casino at National Harbor got us thinking: How could gaming affect surrounding commercial development? “Obviously, every market is different,” Atlantic City-based DLA Piper casino expert Tim Lowry tells us, “but if you look at developments near casinos in Atlantic City and Las Vegas, a model that seems to work well is timeshare condos.” He attributes the trend to lower price points, but notes economic circumstances play a large role. It also depends on the kind of casino: “If you build what we call a 'slot box,' it's unlikely it would have the same economic traction as that of a destination casino.” |
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| Bringing a casino to National Harbor will come down to a referendum, Tim says, which means it'll be some time before the issue is settled. And it'll be a contentious process. “Since Maryland is a small market, I imagine some of the existing regional operators may fight it heavily for fear of cannibalization or dilution.” If a license is granted, the development process for high-end, destination-style product typically takes around two to three years, he says. |
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| Trammell Crow, Rubenstein Buy in MD |
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| This morning, Trammell Crow and Rubenstein Partners announced their joint purchase of Maryland Trade Center III in Greenbelt from a special servicer. The two companies, working with Morgan Gick McBeath and Associates, will immediately refurbish the 184k SF, 40% leased building's lobbies, elevators, common areas, and restrooms. CB's Tim Jaeger and Todd Bosley have been tapped to lease the property. Who knew such pretty buildings lay at the end of the metro? We should fall asleep on the Green Line more often. |
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| Send story ideas to mike.leon@bisnow.com. |
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