DC Metrocentric

Get ready because we suspect this is just the beginning of a big shift in our cities housing inventory as more and more people look to step back into the condo market. UIP just bought the 42 unit building at 1800 Wyoming Ave in Adams Morgan to convert into condos.

Originally The Classical Revival style apartment buildings were constructed in 1912 by Hunter and Bell Architects and will get the full makeover before being marketed next year.

What’s a Million dollars among friends right? The 3,000 sq-ft condo in the Watergate that we featured on PriceChecker last August is still on the market, but for a cool million less than the $4.5 million it was originally asking. That’s over a 22% discount, but our question is, does $3.5 M bring it into the good deal range, or is $1,200 a sq-ft for Potomac views still a steep price to pay?

Earlier this week we reported on the sale of the old Italian Embassy in Adams Morgan to Valor Development, and now we know what they are planning to do with the beautiful Renaissance style building… turn it into condos of course! The project is being called the Flats at il Pallazo.

Apparently the building doesn’t need much work, because the developer is planning to start delivering units next summer.

Exciting news this week on the redevelopment of the 3800 block of Georgia Avenue, NW. Ground has officially been broken on the project to convert two empty District owned properties into a first class restaurant on the historic site of what was once Billy Simpson’s House of Seafood and Steaks.

Mosaic Urban, in partnership with Donatelli Development, is developing the vacant lot and two dilapidated storefronts into a $5M mixed-use, mixed-income project including 12 condos (4 of which will be low income set asides) and 8000 sq ft of restaurant and retail space.

Not only is this project helping to revitalize the block, which is right around the corner from the Petworth metro station, but it is also helping to preserve history. Billy Simpson’s restaurant originally occupied the space on Georgia Avenue in the 1960s-70s and was the site of many historic events in the Districts history. In March of 2009 the site was named to the National Register of Historic Places, so it will be nice to see the finished product.

[Renderings: Mosaic]

Now that construction on the Yale Steam Laundry West has started back up, you may be wondering why the about face… well of course it is all about the benjamins. The developer IBG Partners secured $50 million in Housing and Urban Development loans to start back up.The second phase will include over 200 new condo units and they are shooting for a Summer 2011 delivery. We have a question though… is high end condos apartments a good use of HUD loans?

We just got word that the Floridian Condo’s right off U Street on Florida Ave are going with a new sales strategy to finally sell out their remaining units… they are lowering prices! The buildings new owners Goldstar, bought the property in a fire sale last year and are planing on pricing the 86 unsold units to bring prices into the low 400s.

We have always loved the look of this building and now that prices are under the $500 per sq-ft point, the building might finally start to fill up. Amazingly sales have been going on for five years already, which must be approaching a record of some sort!

[Photo: Sean Robertson]

Remember back when news about new condo construction was a common occurrence? Well the folks a Bonstra think it’s time to start building again. On the vacant lot at the corner of 14th and R street, this new condo building will be “patterned after the showrooms of the former 14th Street Automobile Row.” Interesting… based on the rendering below it doesn’t exactly look like that’s the case does it? [via 14th & You]

[Credit: Bonstra]

We hope it wasn’t all the hor’devours we ate at the Allegros lavish launch party last April. Even though close to 60% of the units are rented, it may not be enough for the buildings owner Metro Properties to pay the bills. The WBJ is reporting that the company was served a foreclosure notice in October from one of its lenders, and is now going to auction.

When this project was first started, this development (like so many others) was going to be condos, so the conversion to high end apartments was always a stop gap. There clearly is a ton of inventory of these so called high end apartment buildings that were meant to be condos, and area renters are benefiting from this with special lease deals and all sorts of other amenities like high-end appliances and gyms. The Allegro has a ton of these features, a great location, and an amazing courtyard… but that apparently wasn’t enough for many renters.

[Photo: Sean Robertson]

We just got word that after four years of sales, the 163 unit Ten Ten Mass development has sold and closed on every single condo! While the name isn’t exactly original, we always were jealous of the amazing rooftop pool and cool wavy brick facade.

Developed by Faison, RCP Development and The Carlyle Group, the building has units ranging from 1 Bed/1 Bath, to a full on penthouse. Being able to close such a large building out is impressive in this economy, especially considering some of the similar developments like the Dumont are still sitting empty. They even ended up selling right in range from the low $300s to over $1.5 million.

In an area of town that doesn’t see much in terms of new development, right around the corner from the Woodley Park metro construction has started on the Woodley-Wardman (rendering above). The units start in the $400’s with penthouses going up to the $900’s. They should be complete just in time for Summer 2010… and the complete recovery of the real estate market?

[Rendering: Murilllo/Malnati Group]

Some interesting news out of Georgetown on the future of the old post office. According to the Georgetown Current, the post office is planning on selling the top floor to East Banc to turn into condos. Apparently the top floor is unoccupied so it seems like a win-win situation for a prime location and a cash strapped USPS, but we still feel a little uneasy about turning another historic building into condos.

[Photo: Bvrdc]

The WBJ does a nice round up of the status of many of the condo projects downtown and apparently almost every new condo project is at least half sold out. Bogdan Builders’ CityScape on Belmont is 93 % sold. Jair Lynch Development Partners’ Solea (pictured) and DC Hampton’s Citta 50 are over 60 percent sold.

Other area projects including PN Hoffman’s Flats at Union Row and Robertson Development’s The Beauregard are both also close to being completely sold out. Given that there aren’t many new condo projects on the horizon it begs the question, are we getting close to a condo vacuum?

Though progress has slowed down in Near Southeast, there still are some projects moving along. Factory 202 is one such project that already had a leg up because the exterior structure already exists. The building built back in 1941 has served many purposes over the years (up until recently it was a federal protective service gun range) so there is still lots of interior work that needs to be done.

The new design includes adding two additional floors on top of the structure, with a delivery date some time in 2011. We like the way it looks. What do you think?

[Rendering: Forest City Washington via JDLand]

Sometimes the smaller condo developments around town get over looked with all the attention being paid to the mega projects, but in truth the majority of new condos on the market right now are in smaller “boutique” buildings. Take the Magdaline, which is billing itself as a luxury 20 unit property on Euclid Ave NW. Interestingly we noticed recently the luxury building has put up a big FHA banner.

Historically FHA loans have been to help lower income Americans afford a home, however more recently they have also been used by people who can’t afford a full down payment, but are not necessarily in the traditional lower income bracket. Any thoughts on the prevalence of FHA loans over the last few years?

[Photo: Sean Robertson]