DC Metrocentric

The year 2008 was a big year in terms of development in the Washington Metro area. We figured now is as good a time as ever to take a look back at the year that was, and review some of the biggest events from the past year that have shaped our region.

Lots happened on the museum scene… the new Newseum opened, the American History Museum re-opened, and one of the last spots on the National Mall was secured for the African American History Museum.

We FocusedOn a bunch of neighborhoods both old and new… including Shaw, Near Southeast, Columbia Heights, Southwest, and the PQ to name a few.

Some restaurants opened… some closed… and some we’re still waiting on. One became a cult favorites despite being really hard to find. We checked in on Eastern Market one year after it was devistated by a fire.

We got a peak at how new developments are going to transform our areas skyline, and spoke with Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton about other transformational development efforts underway. Perez Hilton chimed in on our cities architecture… and we kind of agreed with him.

There was an election in the city… and we checked out where the candidates live when they are in town… and when the’re back home. But none of the candidates had anything on Condi Rice’s Watergate retreat with a view.

We did a lot of speculation about which way the market was headed… but clearly the concensius was down. However despite the downturn, construction projects continued to break ground all over the city, and our obsession with demolition shots continued.

What do you think were some of the biggest development, real estate, and architectural design stories of 2008? Any future projects you are looking forward to seeing built in the new year?

We are certainly looking forward to what 2009 brings. Happy New Year from the folks at DCMetrocentric! [Photo: PatsSoxfan]

Turnberry Towers is the new 25 story residential development going up in Rosslyn and despite the current market conditions, the luxury condo building is apparently already 50% sold. The WBJ sat down with Jim Cohen from Turnberry to get some more details on the building and its amenities, plus some of the sweeping views from the upper-level units.

More fun renderings from folks at Travis Price Architects and this time the design has a great view of the Potomac to work with. Of course there’s a poem to go with the design as well, does anyone know what the heck ”Dappled” means?

What the design looks like in 3D after the jump…

Read the rest of this entry »

Near Southeast - It’s official… Artomatic will be coming to Near Southeast in May and June of 2009. Anyone know which of the many new buildings gets hosting honors? [JDLand]

Bloomingdale - The old sand filtration plant will soon be no more with the site being redeveloped by EYA and Jair Lynch Development Partners. Check out this nice photo set of how it currently looks. [Bloomingdale]

Anacostia - The District has finally broken ground on the site of the new Anacostia Neighborhood Library, which should be complete by Spring 2010, but who knows what will end up being the final design. [And Now Anacostia]

[Photo: IntangibleArts]

Whatever holiday you are celebrating this time of year, may you have a very happy holidays from the folks at DCMetrocentric! Take some time to enjoy how great this area looks during this time of year. We think this shot by Jeff Schrade perfectly captures the feeling of December in the Capital City!

[Photo Credit: Jeff Schrade]

The redeveloped office building at M and 19th Street seems to be just about finished up. The building was acquired by Hines Investment  Fund back in 2003 and they decided to redevelop it last year, they have since added three additional stories and a whole bunch of glass. It’s also pre-certified LEED silver. Yay for more glass downtown!

[Photo: DCMetrocentric]

Back in 1920 if you needed some shoes and were in the District you didn’t have to go far to find a Hahn shoe store. Pictured is the Hahn’s shoe store that was located at Seventh and K streets N.W. How incredible is the architectural detail that went into this building?

Now-a-days where can you get a good pair of shoes downtown? and don’t you dare say the Payless at Metro Center! [Photo: National Photo Co. via Shorpy]

We have made reference a few times to the gas station built into the side of the new 22 West condo development which is across the street from the West End Bistro in the Ritz. Clearly if your neighbor is a top of the line hotel chain and you’re just a gas station you have to come up with ways to step up your game.

The station not only has a digital price sign, it has a green roof! The greenery is spilling over the edges and must make for a nicer view for the buildings residents and the hotel guests looking out from across the street. How long before every flat surface in the city is covered in green? [Photo: DCMetrocentric]

Wonder what the neighbors think? This house is on a quiet side street in Georgetown lined with classic conservative row-homes. We know that approval is required for structural changes, but not paint jobs. The art has been up for a while so we guess it has grown on the neighbors, the longer we stare at it… the more we like it! 

[Photo: DCMetrocentric]

A bi-weekly take on the area from our friends at UrbanTurf.com

Inauguration Rentals: DC’s Gold Rush?

Soon after Barack Obama was elected president, we wrote an article about what seemed to be a very lucrative opportunity for DC-area residents: renting out your apartment or house for the week of inauguration. Within days of Obama’s win, Craigslist was flooded with hundreds of posts from residents offering to rent their homes, and it looked like you stood to make a nice profit off the historic occasion if you were willing to have strangers come lodge at your place. However, just like those who headed west in search of gold in the 1850s, it seems that, for most, the opportunity has turned out too good to be true.

Read the rest of this entry on UrbanTurf.com »

The new Constitution Square development in NoMA broke ground back in September, and is really picking up steam now that they have the on-site concrete factory up and fully running. The funny part is that they still need cement trucks to get the concrete the last 50 yards to the base of the site.  

[Photo: Coeller]

The iconic works from Travis Price Architects often get poetic. Timothy Ward of The New York Times has said the Architects work is from “both the spiritual and material worlds.” And that is especially the case when it comes to some of his latest residential designs, but the descriptions are sometimes a little to much for us!

This residence pictured we have dubbed the “new falling water” but read how the architect describes it,

“luminous light bathed all around ….
               watery enclosures beneath …….
                         the Coptic heavens ……………..”

We’re not sure we get it, but we do know it is one amazing looking structure, no mater what words you use to describe it. [Rendering: Travis Price Architects]

Though we have never heard it before, we are dubbing the 1800 block of N Street “Architect Alley.” The short little street near Dupont is home to almost 10 different Architecture firms each occupying a different row home along the block. It clearly needs a name, but we are open to other suggestions too. Pictured is the offices of Wiencek and Associates.

[Photo: DCMetrocentric]

CB Richard Ellis has got over 200,000 sq-ft of class A LEED certified office space down at 1801 L Street NW and apparently it’s got your name on it. The majority of the buildings street frontage is covered in ads for the property. And if you want our answer to the question ”top floor, corner office” thank you very much!

If you look very closely you can see that every floor, at least along the left side, is occupied by what looks like an art gallery, some how we think those aren’t exactly the type of tenants this prime property is searching for. [Photo: DCMetrocentric]