DC Metrocentric

Some buildings in DC seem like they have been around forever, but in most cases there was always something there before… and before La Tomate in Dupont there was the Sawyer Stone Mansion.

The mansion built by politician Philetus Sawyer was built in 1888, and while he resided there, it was apparently built for his daughter. The mansion was designed by architect William H. Miller and was built at an impressive estimated cost of $80,000, when the typical townhouse in Washington during the time period were built for less than $3,000. Eventually the Sawyer mansion was sold in 1921 and demolished.

So next time you see a building that you think has been standing there as long as time itself, remember old Philetus and chances are there was something there before it!

The 1 Hotel by Starwood Capital and Perseus Realty is the big glass boutique hotel currently going up in the West End across from DC Ritz. We absolutely can not say enough good things about this project!

The soon to be ivy covered building designed by Chad Oppenheim will be a truly green hotel in all aspects of the word. The hotel will donate 1 percent of its profits to local environmental organizations and it will receive LEED certification from the Green Building Council.

The developer plans to plant the ivy next month and it will not only serve as an architectural highlight, but it will also act as an organic shell to insulated the building and absorb pollution. The building employs almost every sustainable design feature we can think of and truly sets the standard for green design! Good on ya! [Credit: Perseus Realty LLC]

National Mall -A night at the Newseum. The Newseum opens on April 11th, but some people got a sneak peak! [MeshMedia]

Kalorama Heights -Mark your Calenders, it’s the 30th anniversary of Textile! [Textile Museum]

Penn Quarter -The case of the mysterious Cherry Blossom at the Willard InterContinental. [The Spy Museum]

[Flickr Photo: Don Whiteside]

There are some things that are distictively DC. You can take one look and know right away that you got yourself a little bit of the District. These rooftops in the late afternoon sun could only be from the District! We love this shot of the Victorian roofs of Columbia Hieghts.

[Flickr Photo: IntangibleArts]

Breaking News… the big hot mess that is the Capitol Visitors Center may well get finished by the end of the year! This is a big improvement from when we last talked about the project late last year.

Apparently according to the main contractor, the construction of the Capitol Visitor Center is substantially complete. Grunley Construction, along with its subcontractors, only needs to complete a few more punch list items in preparation of building acceptance and occupancy by the Government.

The remaining work includes the installation of dais stone & mill-work, bronze handrails, carpeting, and leather acoustical panels. Installation of the bronze rails and terrazzo treads will continue in the atrium. After that work is done the Architect of the Capitol and the Fire Marshal need to give their final approval. The grand opening is anticipated to occur in October/November 2008.

If they end up opening by the end of 2008 the entire project will have only taken 13 years to complete (that’s government efficiency for you)!

This is Abbey Road’s first development project Pershing Road, which is currently in the entitlements and design phase. The planed project is located at 2201 North Pershing Drive at the intersection with Arlington Blvd in an older retail center. The building is nice enough, but we have one problem… 

The design incorporates a nice mix of different colored bricks as well as a more modern glass corner. We really like this project… honest… but the one problem we have is that in the little retail center that will need to be torn down for this development, is dive bar the Royal Lee.

The “Lee” happens to be THE best karaoke bar in the DC Metro area, no question, so you can understand how our feeling are mixed! Sometimes you just have to sing, and that Avada Day Spa in the rendering above just won’t help us scratch that itch! [Photo: Abbey Road]

The Georgetown Waterfront Park is just about ready for action just in time for Spring! However it wasn’t that long ago that the entire area was just a huge parking lot. And even before that, back in 1946 (as you can see) it was just a stretch of industrial enterprise.

The park is going to be a great public use of a long neglected location and a benefit to the entire area. One of the most interesting parts will be the planned river viewing area for boat races, which could turn the area into a premier location for staging and viewing crew races. Exciting! [Photo: DDOT]

The Yale Steam Laundry Building could not be more trendy. It’s got the high ceilings, modern interiors, and of course the rooftop pool, but behind the hip “NY style Lofts” (whatever those are) is a great historic building with an interesting story.  

The Yale Steam Laundry Co., founded in 1885 by former postal clerks Frank Walker and Frank Smith serviced the district for over 80 years. Even with the redevelopment the building is unmistakably an industrial facility: the roof held a pair of 5,800-gallon water tanks, whose pedestals remain in place today. Many great details were preserved in the new design and how can you miss the big vertical “Yale” painted on the side of the main tower. 

The 16 lofts in the historic laundry building on the left of the rendering are the newest refurbishment within the Yale Steam Laundry development. This is in addition to the new 133-unit tower.

Though the tower building has great views, we suspect that they are not going to last that long as NoMa gets further developed and another “trendy” project goes up and blocks the view. Plus the neighborhood is still very ruff around the edges. Still history and preservation goes a long way in our book, so the we like it overall! 

The Districts public housing in Ward 8 has been long overdue for a makeover. Many of the housing projects and low income developments have fallen into deep disrepair. Well yesterday, the DC Housing Authority received a $20 million Hope VI grant towards bringing redevelopment to SE.

The funds will be used for the Sheridan Terrace housing complex, which was demolished in 1997. The 336 new units will include 70 stacked townhouse units, 110 family townhouses, 56 manor homes and a 100-unit family and senior apartment. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2009. The development will bring some much needed life to an often neglected area of town!

Well things sure arn’t getting better just yet. The S&P/Case Shiller Home Price Indices report released today showed price declines in the Washington area averaged 10.9 percent from last year.

This is the largest drop for the area since it started being measured in the 1980s. It comes as no surprise that around the country Las Vegas led the way with over a 19% drop but slightly more surprising is that not a single market being tracked had an increase over last year.

The Photo is by Mr T in DC of a house for sale on Rhode Island Ave in Northeast. Guess we are not at the bottom yet, but it does seem like things are beginning to price more reasonably, is it time to buy? 

Things sure are progressing along nicely down in Southeast around the Navy Yard Metro entrance at New Jersey and M Street. However with the Onyx on First, 1111 NJ Ave 55 M Street, and 100 M all currently under construction, there is still going to be a lot of work going on when the area gets its first flood of visitors this Saturday for the first game at the new stadium. How do you think the area will hold up to it’s first test?

[Flickr Photo: ShepDave]

After putting out a request for proposal on the Fifth and Eye Street lot in Mount Vernon Triangle, the District received seven submissions at the deadline last week from some of the areas top developers.

The District received proposals from Buccini/Pollin Group; Clark Realty Capital (which recently won the Poplar Point bid); Donohoe Development Co and Holland Development Group; JBG Cos.; MVT Associates, LLC; NDC-Jarvis; and Potomac Investment Properties, Inc. The various proposals for the site include proposals for everything from boutique and high-end hotels, restaurants, and fitness clubs, to cafes and coffee shops.

The one proposal that interested us the most was the one from Holland Development Group. The plan calls for a London based Jazz club and a hotel by Sol Melia. The Boisdale Jazz club is a group with several successful clubs in the UK and would fit right into the neighborhood. Interesting though is the choice of a hotel chain which mostly has experience running tropical properties.

The DC Planning and Economic Development office is planning to have each proposal presented to the community within the next two months. We will keep you posted. [FlickrPhoto: Everyskyline]

Georgetown - “Trees for Georgetown has begun its 2008 Spring planting; 40 of the 60 trees are already in the ground and we expect the last of the trees to be planted by mid-March“  Trees make a huge difference to an area obviously, and the folks in Georgetown know this better than most! [Georgetowner]

Ivy City - “The neighborhood of rowhouses and small apartment buildings tucked behind the old Hecht’s warehouse off New York Avenue NE has a contractor remodeling or building on nearly every block”  Isn’t this what it was like in NoMA a few years ago, could it be a sign of things to come? [WPost]

Near Southeast - “With a surprise motion at the end of last night’s second-stage PUD hearing, the Zoning Commission has given preliminary approval to the design of RiverFront on the Anacostia“ The Florida Rock site is the closest riverfront access to the new stadium and offers the best opportunity for creating a promenade where people will want to stay after games and come to even when there isn’t one! [JDLand, Photo Credit]