Running, Yes, but in
Circles?
By Eric M. Weiss and Del Quentin Wilber
What's in his coffee?
The recent actions of
council member and mayoral candidate
Vincent B. Orange
Sr.
(D-Ward 5) have left some in city hall scratching their
heads while others simply duck out of his way.
Just in the past week,
Orange has sued his council chairman because she
wouldn't allow him to hold a hearing on baseball, called
a weekend committee hearing to consider a living wage
bill only to cancel it at the last second and tried to
make a rare legislative end run around his committee by
taking the wage bill straight to the full council, only
to withdraw it. Now Orange -- one of the biggest
supporters of the baseball stadium deal last year -- is
accusing the lords of the sport of fleecing District
taxpayers. He has introduced bills that challenge the
financing deal and would force a showdown with Major
League Baseball over tax revenue.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/02/AR2005110201138.html
DC Council May Overhaul
City's Rent-Control Policies
By Eric M. Weiss
The DC Council is
considering the most extensive changes to the city's
rent-control laws in two decades.
A series of bills would
cap yearly rent increases, change the way vacant
rent-controlled apartments are priced and make it easier
for tenants to form tenant associations and to receive
information on how rents are computed.
In addition, the council
will consider instituting an income limit or requiring
DC residency to reap the benefits of rent control.
Those provisions would apply only to new renters.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/02/AR2005110201141.html
$131M Deal Fuels
Subsidized-Housing Conversion
(To read
more on the
multifamily market,
click here.)
WASHINGTON, DC-The federally
subsidized housing complex Sursum Corda will undergo a
redevelopment, courtesy of a plan put in place between
the 167 families who own the low-income property and KSI
Services Inc., a multifamily and residential/mixed-use
property developer. The Vienna, VA-based company
committed to an agreement with the co-op board that will
allow KSI to convert the 199-unit property into a
500-unit condominium project.
The deal is valued at
approximately $130.9 million. KSI will spend $235,000 on
each of the new units and give the 167 households
$80,000 each, as well as a 49% ownership stake in the
development. Additionally the existing residents will
have the opportunity to use the $80,000 as a
down-payment for the purchase of one of the new condos
at cost.
Sursum Corda was developed in
1968 on a nearly six-acre parcel near New York Avenue
and N. Capitol Street, just a mile northeast of the MCI
Center and 1.5 miles southwest of Gallaudet University.
The property, consisting of 115 townhomes and 44
apartments, went co-op in 1992 when residents purchased
it for $10. But the co-op board was left with the task
of restoring a complex that had fallen into disrepair.
So when HUD announced plans to foreclose on Sursum Corda
after it failed to pass inspection last year, board
members sought help from private developers in an effort
to save the complex.
http://www.globest.com/news/406_406/washington/139830-1.html
NFL Players Association
Buys Office Building for $47M
WASHINGTON,
DC-An approximately $46.9-million deal has left the NFL
Players Association and NFL royalties division Players
Inc. in possession of 1133 20th St. NW. The NFL entities
acquired the 118,000-sf office building from the St. Joe
Cos., which had owned the property since purchasing it
in 2001 for $27 million.
A 20-year-old structure, 1133
20th St. sits about four blocks from George Washington
University. According to St. Joe's Second Quarter 2005
Earnings Report, the building was 99% occupied. The
transaction will allow the NFL groups to sell and
relocate from their current building nearby at 2021 L
St. NW, assessed at $9.9 million, according to District
real estate records. The eight-story structure at 1133
20th St. and the nearly half-acre parcel it occupies
have a combined current assessed value of $29.8 million.
http://www.globest.com/news/405_405/washington/139816-1.html
GlobeSt.com UPDATE:
Brascan Takes 350,000-SF Office Building
WASHINGTON, DC-Toronto-based
Brascan Corp.'s Brascan Real Estate Opportunity Fund
acquired the 350,000-sf office property at 77 P St. NE
from Washington, DC's Douglas Development Corp. News
emerged in March that Brascan had signed a binding
agreement to purchase six office properties totaling
900,000 sf from Douglas; 77 P St. NE, also known as 64
New York Ave. NE, was purported to be among that list of
properties.
Cassidy & Pinkard represented
Douglas in the disposition, the value of which has not
yet been disclosed--nor has it been reported in the
District's property records database. The class A
property has a proposed 2006 assessed value of $82.2
million. For previous coverage,
click here.
Once the home of a drugstore
warehouse, 77 P St. is located in the NoMa district. The
freestanding building underwent a redevelopment at the
hands of the seller five years ago and is currently
nearly 90% occupied. The District of Columbia is the
lead tenant. The city leased nearly 150,000 sf of the
high-tech office space in 2002, and maintains offices of
the Department of Employment Services and Department of
Mental Health and Human Services at the property.
http://www.globest.com/news/405_405/washington/139793-1.html
Republic Puts Team in
Place to Lease the Portals
(For more
retail coverage, click
GlobeSt.com/RETAIL.)
WASHINGTON,
DC-The 120,000-sf retail portion of the Portals, a
three-million-sf mixed-use development along the Potomac
River, has been assigned a team to handle leasing
activities. Republic Properties has called on Eric Rubin
and Chris Harlepp at Madison Retail Group to take on the
responsibility. The retail space, the first segment of
which is scheduled for availability delivery next year,
is being marketed for $30 to $45, triple net.
A $1-billion multi-phase
development sited on approximately 11 acres, the Portals
is the largest commercial project in Washington, DC's
history. The property is already home to the 400-room
Mandarin Oriental Hotel, and will ultimately feature a
total of 2.5 million sf of office space.
"The project has often been
cited for its architecture and as one of the best
entrées into the District," Rubin says. "Our retail
strategy will build on these assets, the strength of the
tenants and local market, as well as restaurants at the
Mandarin." Harlepp tells GlobeSt.com that most of the
leasing is expected to be completed within the next 18
months and "hopping solidly by 2008."
http://www.globest.com/news/402_402/washington/139677-1.html
New Firm Buys Two
Office Properties
WASHINGTON,
DC-Newly created real estate investment firm JOSS Realty
Partners LLC has acquired the office buildings located
at 1776 Massachusetts Ave. NW and 2131 K St. NW. The
firm is spearheaded by longtime industry players Steve
Klein and Larry Botel. The class B properties, totaling
162,700 sf are indicative of JOSS Realty's core
acquisition plan, which focuses on properties here, in
New York, Philadelphia and Southeast Florida in the
range of $20 to $50 million.
"Our strategy is to target
smaller commercial and residential properties in
metropolitan markets, where land is scarce, but job
growth and demographics are favorable," Klein says. JOSS
purchased the properties from two separate sellers.
Located in the city's Dupont
Circle area, 1776 Massachusetts, an eight-story building
of 91,300 sf, marked JOSS Realty's debut acquisition.
The firm purchased the 35-year-old facility from 1776
Massachusetts Avenue Associates LP, which was
represented by Paul Hanafin and Rick Siegel of West,
Lane & Schlager, for $34.5 million. Jones Lang LaSalle
had been marketing space at the property for $34.50 to
$36.50 per sf. According to District records, the
building and the one-third-acre parcel it occupies have
a current assessed value of $19.9 million.
http://www.globest.com/news/404_404/washington/139745-1.html
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Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, November 3, 2005; Page DZ02
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, November 3, 2005; Page DZ03
