DC Metrocentric

As you may have heard from us in the past, we are obsessed with the old O Street Market in Shaw. Unfortunately progress has been slow to get the development underway which includes preserving the gorgeous facade while building new housing and retail space for the community. Well finally the District is getting behind the project fully and Mayor Fenty announced a $35 million tax increment financing package for the project.

Hopefully this will get things moving, as the property has sat vacant for years. According to Fenty’s office, ground could be broken as early as fall 2009 if the District Council gets around to approving the plans. Following this time line, the project could be completed by 2011. [Flickr Photo: DaveinShaw]

 New Communities Initiate - Three years since it’s inception, the initiative is largely intact and wider in scope, despite a flat-lining housing market. It remains the centerpiece of Mayor Adrian Fenty’s strategy to aid and upgrade the city’s poorest neighborhoods, however market conditions are skewing the mix of future residents which may push out the very people it intends to help. [WBJ]

Sometimes it’s fun to think about what could have been. This design by Muse Architects for a civic center and town square for Silver Spring includes a huge public lawn for festivals. We’re big fans of the ”urban” lawn as a great destination to relax, read a book, and hangout. Unfortunately all to often these design choices get paved over. 

Columbia Heights - Obama runs into a little trouble at the new DCUSA Washington Sports Club.  [NewColumbiaHeights]

Penn Quarter - Will the Penn Quarter finally get a grocery store? Balducci may be the answer to residents dreams!  [PennQLiving]

Shaw - Developer finally selected for the Florida Ave parcel to build 104 apartments as well as some ground-floor retail and arts space.  [RenewShaw]

Your weekly chance to take a stab at real estate appraisal. Submit your guesses in the comments and closest guess gets the PriceChecker crown for the week. This weeks PriceChecker is an incredible wooded brick home from the 1930s in Cleveland Park.

Yes folks, that’s a pond in the front yard! This secluded home is a five bed, five bath looker that’s secluded but also only a half mile from the metro. The first floor is all wood and did we mention the house has it’s own fish pond!?!?

So take your best guess and we will crown a winner next Wednesday afternoon, and should you need some more information to help you, follow the jump for the realtor spin and some photos of the nice kitchen and an expansive patio…

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Question? Do people actually lease from buildings that are months or years away from being built? The Capitol Yards project in SE is encouraging people to ”Lease Now” and we have seen similar signs on other unfinished projects around the city as well! We’re also curious as to what type of promises they are making about the time-frame for delivery to people who reserve apartments.

[Credit: Justin Thorp]

We have been giving Zahn Architects a hard time lately about some of their designs, and this rendering we found for Basilica Lofts isn’t going to help their case. However we are pleased to learn that this did not turn out to be the actual color scheme used on the finished building (which was built last year). We can only speculate, but maybe the computer program they use to render buildings only has ugly colors.

We are thinking about taking up a collection so they can spring for a better program that has some nicer and more natural looking textures. [Credit: Zahn Architects]

The Pittsburgh based bank PNC just revealed their plans for a new regional headquarters at 17th and H Street just a few blocks from the White House. The new 12 story glass structure (pictured) will replace three existing buildings on the block and should be completed by 2010. 

The project is designed by Gensler Architects and what has to be the most interesting building feature we have heard of in a long time is the “eco lobby” with a three-story climate wall that cools the lobby with flowing water. Sounds amazing! [Rendering: Gensler]

They sure are working hard over there on 23rd and Constitution NW. The three cranes pictured have made quick work leveling the terrain for the foundation of the new US Institute for Peace over the last few weeks. Once finished, the building will serve as a nice gateway to the city for those coming across the Potomac from Virginia. 

[Credit: Kidsturk]

As you may have heard, the old Walter Reed hospital in D.C. has been slated to move to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. As you can see from the rendering, the plan is to expand the grounds of the Naval Hospital around the older historic buildings. We especially like how two of the new buildings symmetrically frame the tall historic old Naval building in the center.

The relocation of facilities will include over half a million square feet of new medical office, emergency room, and patient care construction in addition to renovations of existing facilities. In addition to being the main facility for treating members of our military, the center will also become home to research and postgraduate education. The $100 million dollar project is expected to be completed by 2011. [Rendering: HKS Architects]

Looks like DC’s mega mansions aren’t selling like the were in 2006! Remember that nice eight bedroom in Kalorama that we featured in our little Pricechecker game way back in November? After being on the market for A FULL YEAR at close to $6 million they finally chopped off an even million dollars bringing the price to $4,995,000… talk about following the market down.

Named after the road in Bethesda and not the movie, Arlington Road is a mixed use project designed by KGD architects. It has a nice enough design for the area but the interesting thing is that the project incorporates a Post Office into the design similar to what they have done over in Clarendon. It is a great ideas for a post office built years before the area was as developed as it is now.

[Rendering: Kishimoto/Gordon/Dalaya]

Mayor Fenty has been touting his school restructuring plan for a while, and now we finally got word on what the District’s going to do with some of the 23 schools that are being closed under the plan. The idea is to turn the buildings, which are no longer being used as schools, into offices for the various District agencies as well as nonprofits.

This is great news because the plan will not only find new uses for buildings the district already owns (thus reducing rents paid), but also makes the services more accessible and part of the community.

The D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation will move its headquarters into Young Elementary School in NE and Meyer Elementary School will get the parking enforcement division of the Department of Public Works and Keeley’s boxing program, a nonprofit youth development organization. Also included will be new homes for the DMV, Department of Corrections, the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services, and two charter schools among others.

We’re not sure how they grouped the Parking Enforcement with the Boxing program, but maybe they are training future parking police? Regardless, this is definitely a sign of improvement for the DC government and we are all for it!

Pictured is the old John Mercer Langston School which is not part of the plan but is being reused as you can see for the DC Service Corps. [Photo: M.V. Jantzen]