No
Step Too Small in Mayor's Race
By
Lori Montgomery and Eric M. Weiss
Why do the current DC mayoral contenders insist on
turning routine campaign announcements into the dance of
a thousand veils?
First, the city watched council members Adrian M. Fenty
(D-Ward 4) and Vincent B. Orange Sr . (D-Ward 5) shimmy
around. The two men:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/31/AR2005083100993.html
Md.
Firm in Line To Build Ballpark
By
David Nakamura
The DC Sports and Entertainment Commission yesterday
voted to award a $23 million contract to Clark
Construction of Bethesda to build a baseball stadium in
Southeast Washington by March 2008.
The contract, which needs approval from the DC
Council, includes a $9.4 million fee for managing the
project and $13.9 million for expenses. Clark also
received $700,000 for pre-construction planning, an
amount that does not need council approval.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/26/AR2005082601189.html
After Defense Decision, a Realigned Landscape
By
Lori Montgomery
Hours after a federal commission recommended closing
Walter Reed Army Medical Center, District officials
started drawing up wish lists for the 113-acre site.
Council members imagined acres of housing, while the
mayor conjured visions of an "urban gateway" with the
commercial pizazz of downtown Silver Spring.
Realizing those dreams will be neither quick nor easy,
federal and local officials said yesterday. A host of
obstacles stands in the way, from potential
environmental contamination on the site to the
possibility that the federal government might want to
keep Walter Reed for purposes of its own.
But the District should move quickly to map out a new
master plan for the property, according to those
familiar with the base-closure process. And within the
next few months, they said, city officials should begin
the labor-intensive process of persuading Congress and
the Pentagon to buy into their vision.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/26/AR2005082601782.html
City Hopes New Bicycle Lanes Will Get More People
Pedaling
By
Lindsay Ryan
With gasoline prices approaching $3 a gallon,
transportation that doesn't require crude has become
increasingly attractive.
And that makes the District's program to encourage
people to pump pedals instead of gas all the more
welcome to those who commute on two wheels.
The city has installed 17 miles of bike lanes and 305
bike racks since 2001. The city's Bicycle Master Plan
calls for adding another 10 miles of lanes and 100 racks
in the coming year, according to Jim Sebastian, bicycle
and pedestrian program manager for the city's Department
of Transportation.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/31/AR2005083101029.html
Environmental Organization Renews for 28,000 SF
By
Barbra Murray
WASHINGTON, DC-The 220,000-sf office facility at 1200
New York Ave. NW will continue to be the home of the
Natural Resources Defense Council now that the
environmental action organization has renewed its lease
on 28,000 sf in the building for an additional five
years. Developed in 1996, 1200 New York Ave. is a
12-story structure located a few blocks northeast of the
White House and a few blocks northwest of the MCI Center
in the city's East End area. NRDC has been a tenant at
the property since its completion.
Brian Rich of the Staubach Co. represented NRDC.
Property owner and occupant the American Association for
the Advancement of Science represented itself.
http://www.globest.com/news/359_359/washington/137748-1.html
75M
Land Acquisition Closes
By
Barbra Murray
(To read more on the multifamily market,
click here.)
WASHINGTON, DC-Locally based Akridge purchased a
nine-acre parcel at Buzzard Point near the Anacostia
from public utility concern Potomac Electric Power Co.
Holdings Inc. for $75 million. The site is near the
future Washington Nationals baseball stadium.
The land covers three full city blocks and can
accommodate up to 2.7 million sf of development, with
1.6 million of that space allotted for residential
development. Akridge is planning a mixed-use project for
the site.
http://www.globest.com/news/360_360/washington/137758-1.html
Organization Takes 50,000 SF at Woodies
By
Barbra Murray
WASHINGTON, DC-A new tenant has signed on for 50,000 sf
of office space at the Woodies Building, the historic
class A office and retail structure at 1025 F St. NW in
the East End. The National Endowment for Democracy will
occupy the entire eighth floor of the 10-story,
500,000-sf property, relocating from its current
36,000-sf digs on three floors at 1101 15th St. NW.
Gene Sachs of Cresa Partners represented NED with
property owner Douglas Development Corp. The average
leasing rate for class A office space in the East End
submarket is $48.56 per sf, according to Cushman &
Wakefield's Mid-Year 2005 Marketbeat office report.
http://www.globest.com/news/361_361/washington/137833-1.html
Farragut Building Brings in $59M
By
Barbra Murray
WASHINGTON, DC-ING Clarion has acquired the Farragut
Building from TIAA-CREF in a $59.2-million transaction.
The 145,100-sf office structure is located at 900 17th
St. NW.
With the assistance of Holliday Fenoglio Fowler LLP,
TIAA-CREF sold the property about three years after
purchasing the class A facility from an affiliate of
Quadrangle Development Corp. for $45.6 million. ING was
self represented.
The building's sale price of approximately $408 per sf
surpasses the average sales price of $322 per sf for the
first half of the year, according to Delta Associates'
Mid-Year 2005 Report on the Washington/Baltimore office
market. "The investment sales market remained
extraordinarily hot," the report notes of activity
during the second quarter. The current assessed value of
the building and the nearly half-acre parcel it occupies
in the city's central business district is approximately
$46.4 million.
http://www.globest.com/news/362_362/washington/137858-1.html [ Back to Top ]
Duncan Makes Another Visit to Charles
By
Ann E. Marimow
On
his third visit to Charles County in four months,
Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan walked
what is fast becoming a popular path for politicians
preparing campaigns for 2006.
Duncan's statewide tour took him to La Plata on Monday,
where officials showed off how local businesses and
government leaders have rebuilt the town since the
devastating tornado three years ago. The all-but-certain
Democratic candidate for governor praised the town for
its quick recovery.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/31/AR2005083100012.html
Please Vote for Me -- Now Hold That Thought
By
John Wagner
A
recent Saturday found Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin strolling
past barbecue booths and sheep-shearing tents at the
Montgomery County Agricultural Fair, making small talk
with strangers about the oppressive heat and spreading
the word about his 2006 U.S. Senate bid.
The outing was part of the Baltimore Democrat's Fair
Shake for Maryland Tour, a string of appearances during
the late-summer fair season.
Cardin was flanked by supporters wearing T-shirts that
proclaimed "Everyone deserves a fair shake," and he
later mused about what his campaign would do with them
after the tour ends in a few weeks.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/31/AR2005083100007.html
17th Best Is Plenty Good Enough
By
Aruna Jain
The initial reaction was: "Wow!"
When Gaithersburg was recently ranked the 17th best
place to live in the country by the online magazine
CNN/Money, Gaithersburg Mayor Sidney A. Katz was "very
surprised."
According to the magazine, Gaithersburg excelled in real
estate appreciation, housing affordability, economy,
education, environment, crime, leisure, population
growth and weather, among the magazine's major ranking
criteria.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/31/AR2005083101312.html
Group: Take away power to alter site plans
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
The authority given to county planners to make changes
in site plans for new developments -- in consultation
with developers and out of the public eye -- should be
eliminated, the Montgomery County Civic Federation said
Tuesday.
Following the scandal over altered plans in Clarksburg's
new town center, the federation studied eight projects
about which residents had complained that developers did
not follow approved plans.
The federation said that some site plans were changed by
staff planners who have authority to make ''minor"
changes in approved plans. In the aftermath of the
Clarksburg revelations, the planning staff has been
prohibited from changing site plans without permission
of the chief of the department.
http://www.gazette.net/stories/083105/silvnew235418_31887.shtml
How Far Is Too Far?
By
Eugene L. Meyer
To
what lengths will they go? How far are people willing to
drive for the privilege of working in the metropolitan
area while living in more affordable housing in a more
rustic setting?
A
hundred miles, one developer is betting.
Drive about 100 miles from the District and you could
wind up south of Cambridge on the Eastern Shore, or
north of York, Pa., or on Town Hill in picturesque
Allegany County, what boosters call "the Mountain-Side
of Maryland."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/26/AR2005082600795.html
Memories, Makeovers In Prince George's
By
Tony Glaros
Cristine Squires loved being a kid in Colmar Manor. So
it's no surprise that when she grew up and left the tiny
Prince George's County community, it was not forever.
"All this was a dirt road," she recalled from her front
yard in her tidy neighborhood, thick with houses of
varying sizes and styles. "We rode our bikes and roller
skated. At one time, the street was a lot darker. They
added streetlights last summer."
Her neighbors, she added, "are wonderful people. Many
have been here since we were little kids."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/26/AR2005082600746.html
Verification Services 'Rent' Bank
Deposits
By
Kenneth R. Harney
Call it funny money for the housing boom: Now you don't
need actual cash in the bank to buy a house. All you
need is somebody who says you have money in the bank.
Need a hundred grand on deposit to convince a lender
that you deserve a million-dollar mortgage? You've got
it . . . even though you haven't really got it, because
you "rented" it from a company in Nevada for an upfront
fee of 5 percent -- $5,000.
Sound bizarre? Welcome to the world of "asset rentals,"
which has caught the interest of bank and mortgage
industry fraud experts.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/26/AR2005082600768.html
Newcomers Packing Md. Senate Race
By
John Wagner
Nearly six months after U.S. Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes (D)
announced that he would not seek another term, a second
wave of Democratic candidates could reshape Maryland's
first open Senate race in two decades.
Lise Van Susteren, a forensic psychiatrist and sister of
FOX News anchor Greta Van Susteren, plans to make her
bid official today. Allan J. Lichtman, a fellow Bethesda
resident and American University history professor, has
penciled in a date this month to announce his candidacy.
Potomac businessman Joshua Rales and former Baltimore
County Executive Dennis F. Rasmussen also say they
probably will enter the 2006 contest this month. Rales
has hired a campaign manager and is pledging to spend
millions of his own money on the race. Rasmussen said he
has conducted polling that shows that there is room for
a more conservative candidate in the primary, which is a
year away.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/31/AR2005083102544.html
Big Ballot for County in 2006
By
Ovetta Wiggins
Prince George's County politicians are already
maneuvering for the 2006 contests for county executive,
state's attorney, sheriff and nine council seats. School
board elections also will be held for the first time
since the elected board was disbanded amid controversy
in 2002.
The only contender to step forward to challenge County
Executive Jack B. Johnson (D) is Rushern L. Baker III,
one of the five candidates in the county executive's
race three years ago. Baker, an education advocate and
former chairman of the county's House delegation, is
trying to raise money in a county where Johnson has
amassed more than $600,000.
The big question is swirling around State's Attorney
Glenn F. Ivey (D), who has been mentioned as a possible
candidate for lieutenant governor, governor or attorney
general.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/31/AR2005083101380.html
Sunrise Senior Living Will Receive $80M from Contract
Buyouts
(To read more on the multifamily market,
click here.)
MCLEAN, VA-The cancellation of 12 long-term management
contracts will leave Sunrise Senior Living with an
$80-million payment of buyout fees now that Newton,
MA-based Five Star Quality Care Inc. says it will
exercise its right to terminate Sunrise's management of
the dozen properties. The option to cancel the contracts
was stipulated as part of Sunrise's 2003 acquisition of
Marriott Senior Living Services. That purchase
transferred 30 management contracts from Marriott to
Sunrise.
Sunrise's release on the impending transaction notes
that, "Five Star's right to terminate these contracts is
not related to Sunrise's performance at any of these
communities." According to Sunrise's second quarter 2005
earnings report, "revenues under management increased
10% to $482.2 million in the second quarter of 2005 from
$436.7 million in the second quarter of 2004." Those
revenues included properties owned by third parties such
as Five Star, as well as Sunrise's consolidated
communities and co-owned communities.
http://www.globest.com/news/362_362/washington/137883-1.html
Spaulding & Slye Colliers Wins 220,000-SF
Westfields Project
FAIRFAX, VA-Developer Starco Properties has tapped
Spaulding & Slye Colliers' Harry Klaff and Brooks Brown
to handle leasing activity for StoneLeigh at Westfields,
the 220,000-sf trophy office development in the works at
Westfield Corporate Center. Construction of the
two-building project, spearheaded by Smith Management
Construction Inc., is scheduled to commence this fall
and conclude in late 2007.
Spaulding & Slye is marketing the space for $26 to
$26.50 per sf, according to Brown. Designated StoneLeigh
I and II at 4800 Westfield Blvd. and 14300 Park Meadow
Dr., respectively, the five-story structures sit in the
Rte. 28 corridor near Washington Dulles International
Airport and across the highway from the National
Reconnaissance Office, a US Department of Defense
agency.
http://www.globest.com/news/361_361/washington/137836-1.html
Halliburton Subsidiary Will Consolidate
Into 155,000 SF in Crystal City
ARLINGTON, VA-Park Five, the 433,000-sf office structure
in Arlington's Crystal City submarket, will soon become
the single northern Virginia home of Kellogg Brown &
Root Services, the government and infrastructure
division of leading government contractor Halliburton's
construction and engineering group, KBR. The firm has
signed a lease for 155,000 sf of space at the class A
property, where it will consolidate three offices
accounting for about 120,000 sf in the neighboring
Rosslyn submarket.
The Staubach Co. represented KBR, while property owner
Charles E. Smith Commercial Realty represented itself.
Financial terms of the approximately 10-year lease have
not been disclosed; however, Smith Commercial markets
space in the 15-year-old building for $32 to $34 per sf.
"This is a new quality corporation coming to Crystal
City, following on the heels of the PBS and BNA deals,"
Jim Creedon, executive vice president of leasing at
Smith Commercial, tells GlobeSt.com. BNA acquired a
289,400-sf office property from Smith Commercial in
June, and PBS leased 110,000 sf in a 276,000-sf Smith
Commercial building last October.
http://www.globest.com/news/361_361/washington/137813-1.html
200-Unit Senior Rental Gets Under Way
(To read more on the multifamily market,
click here.)
GAINESVILLE, VA-Developer Diversified Investment
Associates LLC has broken ground on the Marque at
Heritage Hunt, a 200-unit senior rental housing
property. The multifamily project consists of a single
four-story structure of four interconnected wings.
Diversified will spend $30 million to complete the
development.
Harkins Builders is the general contractor on the
project. Located in the Virginia Piedmont community at
13550 Heathcote Blvd., the Marque sits off I-66 near
Washington Dulles International Airport on a 12-acre
parcel that Diversified acquired from Buchanan Partners.
http://www.globest.com/news/359_359/washington/137739-1.html
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, September 1, 2005; Page DZ02
Clark Contract Awaits DC Council's
Approval
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, August 27, 2005; Page B04
DC Considers Future of Hospital Site
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, August 27, 2005; Page B01
Trails, Racks Also Planned
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 1, 2005; Page DZ08
August 29, 2005
August 30, 2005
August 31, 2005
September 1, 2005
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 1, 2005; Page SM03
For Those Seeking High
Office, It's Never Too Early to Campaign
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 1, 2005; Page T16
Gaithersburg Surprised by
Rank
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 1, 2005; Page GZ03
Developer Plans 4,300 Homes 100 Miles
From DC
Special to The Washington Post
Saturday, August 27, 2005; Page F01
Special to The Washington Post
Saturday, August 27, 2005; Page G01
Saturday, August 27, 2005; Page F01
4 Democrats Would Be First to Join
Primary Contest Since April
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 1, 2005; Page B04
Election to Include Top Offices and a
New School Board
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 1, 2005; Page T17
By
Barbra Murray
September 1, 2005
By
Barbra Murray
August 31, 2005
By
Barbra Murray
August 31, 2005
By
Barbra Murray
August 29, 2005
