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July 7, 2009
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Around Town
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Mark Warner headlines our New Washington IV event. Sign up now to hear him, Alice Rivlin, Hunt Burke, Russ Ramsey, and many others! July 21 at the Reagan Building.
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| We need a second opinion: Is CVS “sexy?" |
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That’s what retail broker David Crowley, right, tells us: a $90 billion company that’s just the kind of “stable, predictable tenant that landlords want in this market.” David runs Old Town-based Capital Properties Group, which finds sites around the region for CVS (10 so far) as well as other retail clients like Brickskellar Dining House. We snapped him yesterday afternoon with colleague Tom Sorrell at CVS’s newest location, 1101 Connecticut, opened last month. A Vermont native, David came to DC 21 years ago because his best friend in high school was the son of Sen. Jim Jeffords, so they had couches on which to crash.
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The CVS deal started a year ago when David, always on the lookout for “transit-oriented prime corners,” approached Woodmark broker Alex Green, representing building owner Penzance, about replacing the departing Big & Tall store there. In a fast six months, they had a letter of intent for the 6800 SF space. Two facts that may startle: there’s another CVS just half a block away (“there’s more than enough demand”); and this one doesn’t have a pharmacy (“customers are learning there’s way more to CVS than drugs”). Oh, and a third: David has switched to Colorado skiing.
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The new Metro line to Tysons "will make the area explode,” Fairfax County Economic Development Authority CEO Jerry Gordon tells us. That’s saying something considering Fairfax already has more jobs than DC. Jerry politely turns the knife a bit more: “We’re the new downtown.” You can make statements like that with less than 5% unemployment (up from 1% in good times) and companies such as VW and Hilton moving their HQs to your community. Speaking of which, Jerry says FCEDA is in talks with a couple other companies “that are either household names or could be in 20 years.”
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Alan Feltoon, who became managing principal last fall of architecture firm Leo Daly’s 100 person DC office, may have looked a little corporate yesterday against the backdrop of Connecticut Avenue’s Luna Grill (which we help keep in business), but don’t let that fool you. After practicing architecture 20 years in Philly and starting two tech firms, he took some time off to do the following: (1) ride his BMW R1100RSL 4400 miles along Route 66 from New Jersey to California; (2) go to the famed Dorian Paskowitz surfing camp in San Diego; and (3) race Formula Fords at Lime Rock Park in Connecticut. Oh, and (4) spend time in Reno architecting casinos.
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Ah, now he appears much hipper, maybe because he’s standing next to the tres chic Bisnow offices at Dupont Circle. A double masters in city planning and architecture from Penn, Alan was originally recruited to Daly in January ’08 as director of interior architecture; the firm has 1,100 employees worldwide and a century old history. Here in DC, it was executive architect for the expansion of Reagan National, designed the World War II Memorial, redid the McPherson Building, and is currently doing Starwood’s new One Hotel near the downtown Ritz, the Teamsters HQ near Union Station, the Lockheed Center for Learning Excellence, and the Chad Embassy. None is being done in the shape of a surfboard.
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We know the Obama administration’s spending is helping the area’s government contractors, but . . .high-end stationery stores? Its true says Heidi Kallett, owner of The Dandelion Patch, in Reston Town Center and Vienna. Those doing gov’t work are still employed, so they’re more inclined to shop her store. Heidi is also working with The 3/50 Project, a national effort which encourages shoppers to spend $50/month at three locally owned stores, because 68% of each dollar goes back into the local economy through taxes and employee salary (as opposed to 43% at big box stores and 0% online).
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Fast casual dining, like Bobby’s Crabcakes in Rockville Town Square, is weathering the downturn by becoming the new fancy place out, says owner Bobby Bloch, who opened the spot 20 months ago. “The downtown restaurants will struggle more because people still want to go out, but they don’t want to spend $200.” While restaurant volume is down, Bobby says the economy has allowed local restaurants to save at least some on declining food costs. “With gas more than $4 a gallon everyone was hurting, so now we’ve traded that for a decrease in customer volume.”
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We asked DC-based experts from real estate giant Jones Lang (John Gibb, Patti Restrepo, and Greg Lubar) what actions non-profits should consider in the face of recession. They suggested three: sublease any possible space to increase revenue, but be sure to add up, in advance, all costs of demising space and returning it to original form; “blend and extend,” ie, get better lease terms if you can show that reducing price in exchange for lengthening the term is to the landlord’s benefit; and think about buying, if you can obtain financing and overcome internal objections about why you’re buying at a time you’re making program cuts. (Answer: if you can buy low and use tax-exempt financing, you may well be able to reduce your occupancy costs over time.)
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| Despite what you see on the news, the government has standards, albeit tech ones. As director of the IT Laboratory at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Cita Furlani sets IT standards for the entire federal gov't. Currently top of mind: the conversion to IPv6. (Basically, a new Internet. It’s a big deal, ten years in the making; we recommend asking your nerd friends to explain.) She's also is working on the FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standards) that give agencies guidelines for securing their networks and systems. Oh, and that’s not just any tree Cita’s standing under: It grew from a branch that came from the tree Sir Isaac Newton was sitting under when he developed his thoughts on gravity. |
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We were on hand last night for a some very elegant carb-loading with Team Tennis’ Kastles at fan fave Teatro Goldoni; they start tonight at the old Convention Center site, with an expanded stadium of 3,000 to accommodate demand after last year’s surge of interest. Owner Mark Ein, center, likes to point out that team members boast an aggregate 37 grand slam championships. With him, from left: team captain (and '93 French Open doubles winner) Murphy Jensen, Olga Puchkova, Scott Oudsema, 2009 Wimbledon doubles finalist Rennae Stubbs, Teatro owner Michael Kosmides, NBC4 Sports Anchor Lindsay Czarniak, and Leander Paes.
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This newsletter is a journalistic news source which accepts no payment for featured interviews. It is supported by conventional advertisers clearly identified in the right hand column. You have been selected to receive it either through prior contact or professional association. If you have received it in error, please accept our apologies and unsubscribe at bottom of the newsletter. © 2009, Bisnow on Business, Inc., 1323 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20036. All rights reserved.
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