Beltway Lane Closures for Bridge
Project
(08.11.05 - AP)
-- If you use the Wilson Bridge or drive near it,
officials are urging you to find another route this
weekend.
Will Williams Run Again? Depends What
Day He's Asked
By Lori Montgomery
The news swept through
local political circles over the weekend: DC Mayor
Anthony A. Williams told a reporter for Bloomberg News
Service that he is not inclined to seek a third term.
"I'm leaning that way,
there's no question about it," Bloomberg quoted Williams
as saying in a story published Friday. The mayor cited
his frustration with the city's troubled and
unmanageable public school system as a primary factor.
Yesterday, however,
Williams (D) was back to playing coy.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/08/AR2005080801419.html
Once Displaced, Now a Homeowner
By Lindsay Ryan
When Camillia Osuji
was on welfare and in the projects, she knew she would
find a job but doubted she'd ever own a house. That
seemed fantastical to a woman who grew up in a series of
dilapidated rental homes in
Now, she says proudly,
"I've got a piece of the rock."
Osuji's "piece of the rock" is a new four-bedroom house
in the 1800 block of Alabama Avenue SE, part of the
600-unit Henson Ridge development. By completion in
2007, Henson Ridge is projected to include a community
center, new school, recreation center, park, library and
credit union. A program offers residents financial
literacy classes, job training, health services and
other benefits. Residents are organizing committees
including one for beautification and one for voter
registration.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/05/AR2005080501723.html
Land Buying For Stadium Can Proceed
By Carol D. Leonnig
A federal judge
yesterday declined to issue an emergency 30-day
injunction that would have stopped the District from
purchasing or taking 33 properties it needs to build a
baseball stadium in
U.S. District Judge
Richard W. Roberts said the three property owners
seeking the injunction failed to show that they would be
irreparably harmed if the city was allowed to proceed in
trying to buy the parcels required for the stadium
project. He said the group also failed to convince him
that it would prevail in its lawsuit, which alleges that
the city's efforts to acquire the property are illegal.
"The loss of property
is easily compensated by monetary damages," Roberts
said. "Clearly, the city council has concluded a stadium
is in the public interest. . . . The public interest is
not served by blocking the city's effort to build the
stadium."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/05/AR2005080501709.html
St. Regis Hotel Sells for $47M
Starwood decided to excise the first-rate hotel from its
extensive portfolio of high-end holdings as part of its
strategy of disposing of properties in order to direct
the proceeds toward the repurchasing of shares and other
corporate activities. Brickman and
The St. Regis made its official debut just a few blocks
north of the White House with President Calvin Coolidge
holding the scissors at a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Decorated in the Italian Renaissance style, the property
has amenities such as a fitness facility, business
center and 11,000 sf of meeting space. It also has two
restaurants, the
http://www.globest.com/news/346_346/washington/137178-1.html
Metro Ponders Sale of 430,000-SF HQ
As
per the mayor's plan, WMATA's new headquarters on a
five-acre parcel along the Anacostia Waterfront would
serve as an anchor for a the mayor's proposed mixed-use
development there, which would include a residential
element, retail offerings and approximately 200,000 sf
of office space targeted for government use. Williams
has already suggested that the Anacostia Waterfront
Corp. establish its headquarters at the development. The
idea is to use WMATA, which houses 1,100 employees at
its current locale, as a magnet to attract new
businesses and commercial development to the neglected
Anacostia area, while freeing up coveted development
space Downtown.
http://www.globest.com/news/344_344/washington/137084-1.html
Italian Defense Contractor Inks $20M
Lease
WASHINGTON, DC-Finmeccanica Inc. signed a 10-year,
$20-million lease agreement for 32,900 sf at 1625 I St.
NW. The Italian defense contracting and high technology
concern's commitment marks the second lease put in place
as of late--consulting firm
Ballentine Barbera Group
recently signed on for 10,800 sf. Finmeccanica
currently makes its home at about four blocks away at
The 384,200-sf office property is close to the White
House and two blocks from
Kerri Mulligan and Zeke Dodson of Cassidy & Pinkard
represented owner Brookfield Properties, while Jim Clark
and Matt Sullivan of ML Clark Real Estate represented
the tenant. Cassidy & Pinkard currently markets space in
the building for $42 to $47 per sf.
http://www.globest.com/news/342_342/washington/137018-1.html
Building Moratorium Targets Mansions
By Stephanie
McCrummen
The town of
Even as builders
prepared lawsuits to challenge it, the town's
five-member council adopted the measure to allow time to
consider ways it might control "mansionization" and its
effects in the 1,032-home neighborhood where Cape Cods,
colonials and the occasional 1970s-era rambler are
rapidly being replaced by houses two or three times as
large.
"It's important to send a signal to developers that a
lot of people in town don't want these big mansions
built," said Mayor William H. Hudnut, a former mayor of
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/10/AR2005081002155.html
Loftiest Names in Luxury, Under 2
Chevy Chase Roofs
By Michael S.
Rosenwald
They are some of the
most hallowed names in extreme high-end retail: Cartier
($25,000 watches), MaxMara ($8,000 mink coats), Barneys
New York ($350 denim jackets).
With their luxury
siblings -- Dior, Louis Vuitton, Ralph Lauren and
Tiffany & Co. -- they are setting up boutiques at a $165
million development on
Whatever the preference, the two multi-story buildings
going up between Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus --
formally called the Collection at Chevy Chase -- will be
something this region has never seen, a critical mass of
luxury retailers, some of whom are coughing up an
unheard-of $150 per square foot in rent to tap this
area's growing wealth.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/10/AR2005081000796.html
More Problems for Planning Panel
By Tim Craig
Hundreds of homes have
been built in Germantown without the simultaneous
construction of moderately priced units the developer
promised, a lapse that is raising further questions
about Montgomery County's planning for its
fastest-growing communities.
County Council
members, still angry over planning failures in
"How did this happen? If you know the policies and know
the procedures, how did we let this happen?" council
member Michael Knapp (D-Upcounty) asked.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/10/AR2005081002118.html
Doug Duncan Comes Calling
By Daniel de Vise
Douglas M. Duncan
, the
"The goal of the tour is to introduce him to people
outside of his home base," said Jody Couser,
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/10/AR2005081000651.html
Rural Life vs. the Road
By Nancy Trejos
The blocks of
apartment complexes, punctuated by fast-food places and
convenience stores, south of Norbeck give way in these
three miles to a driving range, a produce stand and
tree-shaded single-family homes set comfortably back
from the road.
Take a right off
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/04/AR2005080402013.html
House-Hunting, Religiously
By Gayle Young
When Tamar Zacheim and
her husband heard from their agent about a two-bedroom
condo for sale in Georgetown, they immediately sat down
and crunched the numbers.
But unlike other young
couples, the Zacheims weren't calculating mortgage
payments and taxes. Instead, they first wanted to
determine how far the property was from an Orthodox
Jewish synagogue.
They punched in addresses on the popular Google maps Web
site and the numbers that came up were fantastic. The
condo is about one-third of a mile from the Orthodox
Kesher Israel synagogue. The walk would take only about
seven minutes.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/05/AR2005080500745.html
Low-Income Housing With Emphasis on
Design
By Roger K. Lewis
In June, I served on
the jury for the first John M. Clancy Award for Socially
Responsible Housing, sponsored by the Boston Society of
Architects, that city's chapter of the American
Institute of Architects. I wondered about the term
"socially responsible" housing. Does it mean that all
other housing is somehow socially irresponsible?
Setting aside semantic
questions, this long-overdue national award program was
established to recognize outstanding new examples of
low-income urban housing or urban housing for special,
disadvantaged populations.
The program is named
in honor of the late Boston architect whose firm, Goody,
Clancy & Associates, has a distinguished record of
designing urban housing that is architecturally
noteworthy yet also affordable.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/06/AR2005080600416.html
On Solid Ground
By Sandra Fleishman
Barbara Wishner has
seen a lot of changes since she moved into Kenwood Place
in Bethesda.
Her son, for example,
was 3 months old when she took an apartment in what was
then a new luxury rental building off Westbard Avenue
near River Road. He has just celebrated his 45th
birthday.
When Wishner moved in, the long, low brick building,
with hallways that went on and on, and extra-spacious
units, was the talk of the town.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/05/AR2005080500746.html
Angelos to host Ehrlich fund-raiser by Thomas Dennison
ANNAPOLIS -- Baltimore Orioles owner Peter G. Angelos, a
pre-eminent Democratic moneyman for decades, has agreed
to host a fund-raiser for Republican Gov. Robert L.
Ehrlich Jr.'s re-election campaign.
Angelos confirmed Thursday that he will host a "meet and
greet" event for the governor at Oriole Park at Camden
Yards on Sept. 27 when the Orioles play the New York
Yankees.
Angelos and the governor's press secretary, Greg Massoni,
said the formal fund-raising event will be scheduled at
a future date.
http://www.gazette.net/200532/weekend/a_section/289465-1.html
Tea, tax cuts and whiling away a
summer day
Aug. 12, 2005
Gov.
Bobby
was sipping an iced chai tea outside a downtown
Annapolis bookstore with a couple of aides and a
reporter Wednesday afternoon when his interview about
fund-raising was interrupted by a friendly passerby.
Dave
McNair,
who said he recently moved from Chevy Chase to
Annapolis, had some kind words for the governor. McNair
commended Ehrlich for not always being politically
correct and for his willingness to take a stand on
issues.
"I'm glad that you're willing to stand on principle,"
said McNair, who was pushing his 14-month-old son in a
stroller.
http://www.gazette.net/200532/weekend/a_section/289455-1.html
Busch
cools legislature's hopes for eminent domain amendment By
Margie Hyslop
Enough delegates want to limit the effect of the recent
U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding governments' right
to take private property that the House could provide
the two-thirds vote needed to add new protections to the
state constitution, House Majority Leader Kumar P. Barve
said Wednesday.
"It will be easy to get the requisite votes," said Barve
(D-Dist. 17) of Gaithersburg. "I'm convinced personally
that we need to tighten up the rules." To
amend the constitution, two-thirds of the House and the
Senate would have to approve putting the proposed
changes on the ballot, then voters would have to ratify
the changes.
http://www.gazette.net/200532/weekend/a_section/289458-1.html
Census Finds More Whites In DC,
Close Va. Suburbs
By D'Vera Cohn and
Leef Smith
The white populations
of the District, Arlington and Alexandria have grown
this decade even as the region's outer counties have
grown more diverse, according to new census estimates to
be released today that underscore how the area's soaring
housing prices and job sprawl are reshaping its racial
and ethnic dynamics.
The city and those
close-in Virginia suburbs had higher percentages of
non-Hispanic white residents in 2004 than in 2000, a
reversal of past trends, the estimates say. Minority
groups grew more slowly than in the past, or declined.
In the District, Arlington and Alexandria, whites became
a larger share of the population -- by a rate that
ranked in the top 10 among the nation's jurisdictions,
according to Brookings Institution demographer William
H. Frey. Whites account for 30 percent of the DC
population, up from 28 percent in 2000, and their
numbers rose 3 percentage points in both Arlington, to
64 percent, and Alexandria, to 58 percent.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/10/AR2005081002032.html
More Tax Breaks Advocated for
Baltimore
By John Wagner
BALTIMORE, Aug. 4 --
Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R) and Comptroller
William Donald Schaefer (D) teamed up Thursday to
advocate giving this city a greater share of state tax
breaks for developers who restore historic properties.
The bipartisan appeal
came during a morning event called to announce this
year's recipients of nearly $20 million in tax credits
-- and highlighted perennial tension between state
lawmakers from Baltimore and the Washington suburbs.
Under a law passed
last year, no jurisdiction can receive more than half of
the historical preservation tax credits awarded
annually. Ehrlich and Schaefer argued that the cap is
unfair, saying Baltimore's need for redevelopment far
outstrips that in the rest of the state.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/04/AR2005080401974.html
Maryland Highway, Transit Projects Get
Green Light
By Tim Craig
Maryland will be able
to build highways and upgrade its mass transit system
because of a federal transportation bill that was
recently approved after a two-year delay, state and
federal officials say.
With the state
scheduled to receive more than $4 billion over the next
six years, the construction of the intercounty connector
and plans to add rail cars to Metro can proceed,
officials say. Numerous other projects across the region
will also be funded under the $286 billion bill Congress
approved late last month.
Maryland will be able to continue construction on
several projects and begin others that have long been in
the pipeline. And some of the money will be used to
study future endeavors.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/09/AR2005080901661.html Cost of Tysons Rail Plan Trimmed 25%
By Peter Whoriskey
Managers of the
project to extend Metrorail through Tysons Corner
announced yesterday that they have revised their
drawings and cut estimated construction costs by 25
percent, reviving prospects for building the financially
troubled line.
Engineers said they
have reduced the estimated cost of the 11-mile Metrorail
extension from $2.4 billion to $1.8 billion by
shortening a proposed tunnel through Tysons Corner,
altering the "architecturally significant" design of the
columns supporting the elevated portions of the track
and revising the design of stations.
Neither the extent of the line nor the number and
position of stations has changed, the engineers said.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/10/AR2005081002028.html
Integic Building Brings in $32M
Located at
http://www.globest.com/news/345_345/washington/137135-1.html
Financing Closes for Flex Acquisition (To read more on
the debt and equity markets,
click here.)
ASHBURN, VA-A joint venture involving Minshall Stewart
Properties and an unnamed Philadelphia institutional
real estate fund has won financing in the sum of $11.4
million toward its $12.5-million acquisition of the
124,700-sf, two-building flex/industrial park. The sites
are located at 21330 and
John B. Levy & Co. orchestrated the transaction for the
borrower and invested its own proprietary funds in the
deal, as well. The funds came in the form of a highly
structured, floating-rate loan with a three-year term.
The Beaumeade buildings occupy a parcel totaling just
over 10 acres between
http://www.globest.com/news/344_344/washington/137120-1.html
Tysons Corner Offices Get New Leasing
Team VIENNA, VA-More
changes have occurred at 1951 Kidwell Dr. and 1953
Gallows Rd., two office structures featuring a total
432,000 sf of class B+ space in the Tysons Corner
submarket. The
properties came
under new ownership just one month ago--when Lowe
Enterprises Investors and joint venture partners
Minshall Stewart Properties and Blue Vista Sponsor
Equity Fund purchased them from New Boston Fund
Inc.--and now they have been appointed a new leasing
team.
Mike Ellis, Herb Mansinne and Robert VeShancey of Jones
Lang LaSalle's leasing and management group have come
onboard to handle the responsibilities for both
structures, which have a current average occupancy level
of 90% between them. Prior to the change in ownership,
McShea & Co. had handled the responsibilities.
Situated within a couple of blocks of each other off the
Capital Beltway and near the two million-sf
http://www.globest.com/news/343_343/washington/137064-1.html
The most severe lane closures of the
project to build a new bridge on the south side of the
Capital Beltway will take effect this weekend, from 8 pm
Friday up to 5 am Monday.
Officials with the Wilson Bridge
project say backups of 10 to 15 miles and delays of up
to an hour and a half are likely. The worst delays are
expected Saturday night.
The Beltway's Inner Loop will be cut
from the normal four lanes to just one lane from just
before the Interstate-295 interchange in Maryland until
after Route One in Virginia.
The exit from I-295 to the Inner Loop
also will be closed, as will the exit from Route One
north to the Inner Loop. Ramps from the Inner Loop to
Route One will be closed.
The ramp from the Inner Loop to Mount
Vernon will be closed through 2008.
Tuesday,
DC's Henson Ridge Fulfills Former Public Housing
Tenant's Dream
Saturday,
Court Denies Injunction To 3 Property Owners
Saturday,
Chevy Chase Votes For 6-Month Halt
Thursday,
Thursday,
Germantown Violations Just Latest of Montgomery's Woes
Thursday,
Thursday,
Md. Residents Fear Connector Will Invite Growth
Friday,
Special to
The Washington Post
Saturday, August 6, 2005; Page F01
Saturday,
August 6, 2005; Page F03
Condo Residents Win Lengthy Battle for Rights to Own
Land
Washington
Post Staff Writer
Saturday, August 6, 2005; Page F01
Dem heavyweight '100 percent' behind governor
Staff Writer
Aug. 12, 2005
Staff Writer
Aug. 12, 2005
Minorities Growing Outside the Beltway
Washington
Post Staff Writers
Thursday, August 11, 2005; Page A01
Ehrlich, Schaefer Decry Cap on City's Share of Historic
Restoration Incentives
Washington
Post Staff Writer
Friday, August 5, 2005; Page B05
Washington
Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 11, 2005; Page AA04
By Barbra Murray
August 9, 2005
By Barbra Murray
August 9, 2005
By Barbra Murray
August 8, 2005
