Barry Acted
to Block Stadium
By David Nakamura and Lori Montgomery
DC Council
member Marion Barry accused Mayor Anthony A.
Williams yesterday of "fumbling and
bumbling" the debate over a new baseball
stadium and claimed credit for rallying a
majority of the council to block the mayor's
ballpark plans.
Barry (D-Ward 8) said he
had been negotiating his own deal late last week that
would have ensured the council's support of the lease,
but that plan fell through after the mayor's office
botched it. Barry said, he
then recruited a council majority to vote against the
ballpark lease agreement. Late Monday, Williams (D)
asked the council to postpone the vote.
"I'm standing strong to
say whether the vote is tomorrow or whether it is
later, there are at least seven of us on the Council
who remain strong and will still block this horrible .
. . agreement," Barry said in a written statement.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/20/AR2005122001703.html
In Baseball Melodrama,
No Shortage of Critics
By Robert E. Pierre and Paul Schwartzman
The Washington Nationals
put money in Rodney Smith's pocket this year as he
rang up sales at his Capitol Hill athletic store for
jerseys, T-shirts and license plates with the team's
insignia. But as the price tag for a new stadium kept
rising, Smith soured on the deal.
"We really don't have
baseball -- baseball has got us," he said.
It's
comments from constituents such as Smith -- in phone
calls and in person -- that have emboldened several DC
Council members to oppose the stadium lease and
prompted Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D) to ask this
week that the council delay action.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/20/AR2005122001616.html
DC Prods Md., Va. to
Join in Funding Metro
By Eric M. Weiss and Lyndsey
Layton
The DC Council announced
unanimous support yesterday for a plan to dedicate
about $50 million a year to Metro, putting pressure on
Maryland and Virginia to follow suit.
A regional agreement
that would create a steady flow of local money to
Metro is key to securing
federal funds to help fix the aging transit system.
Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.)
has introduced legislation that calls for Congress to
give Metro $1.5 billion for capital projects only if
the region comes up with dedicated operating funds for
Metro.
"This is encouragement
and a challenge to the commonwealth of Virginia and
the state of Maryland," said council Chairman Linda W.
Cropp (D). The city's
measure would go into effect only if the two states
approve similar funding plans.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/20/AR2005122001475.html
In DC, Baseball as a
Political Football
By Joel Achenbach
It's the bottom of the
ninth for DC baseball! Metaphors are flying out of the
park!
"Let's welcome the
mayor, our slugger!" said Charlie
Brotman, the legendary stadium announcer turned
PR baron, addressing a lunchtime rally at Freedom
Plaza yesterday.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/19/AR2005121901826.html
2121 K St. Sells for
$68M
WASHINGTON,
DC-Acting on behalf of a commingled investment fund,
ING Clarion purchased 2121 K St. NW for $67.5 million.
Seller M & J Wilkow had
acquired the 133,000-sf office property in July 2004
for approximately $49.8 million.
Following
M&J's acquisition, the
company secured a transferable development right,
which paved the way for the expansion of the
five-story structure by three floors and 52,000
sf. ING Clarion plans to
upgrade the property to the tune of $30 million. The
renovation project, scheduled to get under way in
mid-2006, will add another three floors to the
structure for an increased aggregate size of 192,000
sf.
http://www.globest.com/news/434_434/washington/141147-1.html
Interest-Only: Borrower
Beware
By Kirstin Downey
Steve
Clerman decided to refinance his townhouse in
Montgomery Village back in 2003. One offer jumped out at
him from the flood of loan solicitations that arrived in
his mailbox, and he signed up for an interest-only,
adjustable-rate mortgage.
It was a relatively new
type of loan, tempting to him and a growing number of
people because it required very low monthly payments in
its early years, since none of the money was used to pay
off the loan's principal.
"I think I'm going to sell
and get whatever I can for it," said
Clerman, 50, an insurance
salesman. "I'm in a really lousy mortgage."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/20/AR2005122001510.html
Housing Starts Rise 5.3%
in November
By Kirstin Downey
Housing starts rose 5.3
percent in November, and 17.5 percent compared with the
same month last year, according to a Commerce Department
report, baffling some housing-industry analysts who had
predicted that housing starts would level off or decline
slightly.
Permits for new
construction climbed as well, rising 2.5 percent in the
month and 3 percent from the same month in 2004,
according to the government report.
The statistics "are above
most people's expectations, including mine," said David
Seiders, chief economist of
the National Association of Home Builders, who had
predicted a slight decline in construction activity. The
association on Monday released its monthly survey of
builder confidence, which found that builder
expectations, though still optimistic, had fallen in
December after a similar dip in November.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/20/AR2005122001312.html
Keeping a Close Eye
On the Master Plan
By Sandra Fleishman
Tom
Norville thinks he did his "due diligence" before
signing a contract a year ago for a new home in Dominion
Valley, a gated golf-course community on Route 15
outside Haymarket.
He studied the builder's
maps, plans and scale model and looked at a master plan
from the Prince William County planning and zoning
office.
Still,
Norville says he never
guessed that a water tower shown on the model as a tiny
plastic ball on a tee would turn out to be the massive
tank towering behind expensive homes finished this
spring. Some neighbors say the tank -- light blue and
about 120 feet tall -- looks like a giant spaceship.
Norville, who lives around
the corner from the tank, also says he had no idea that
a 13,000-square-foot fire station is planned even closer
to his back yard.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/16/AR2005121600871.html
Agents Aplenty
By Sandra Fleishman
Jamie Finch said goodbye
to a high-pressure job in New York and "more money than
I ever thought I'd make" to return to Washington 20
months ago and try his hand as a real estate agent.
He jumped into a field
that seemed to be on fire at the time. Houses were
selling in a day, with bidding wars epidemic. Potential
buyers were camping out overnight at new-home projects.
Finch may have anticipated
making money when he came back home, but he may not have
known he'd be working just as hard -- the pace in the
Washington real estate biz has proved to be pretty
exhausting. And extremely
competitive.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/17/AR2005121700106.html
Teacher Pension Plan Faces
Hurdle on Costs
By John Wagner
Maryland's two leading
Democratic candidates for governor stood in solidarity
this fall with the state's largest teachers union,
pledging their support in a battle to improve what
educators say are the worst pensions in the nation.
But since then, Baltimore
Mayor Martin O'Malley and Montgomery County Executive
Douglas M. Duncan seem to be suffering sticker shock
after learning that the initiative could cost $480
million annually.
"Is that something they
want to do all in one year?" O'Malley asked in a recent
interview. 
Ex-Mayor Says He Had Been Negotiating Deal
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, December 21, 2005; Page B01
Latest Twist in the District's Stadium Deal Generates
Advice, Complaints, Predictions
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, December 21, 2005; Page B01
City's $50 Million Boost Wouldn't Raise Sales Tax
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, December 21, 2005; Page B03
With the Stadium Vote on the Line, Both Sides Are
Mixing It Up With Metaphors
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, December 20, 2005; Page C01
Popular but Risky
Mortgage Draws Government Scrutiny
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 21, 2005; Page D01
Latest Figures Surprising to Some Analysts
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 21, 2005; Page D03
Before Plunking Down a Deposit, Study Up on Maps and
Zoning Rules -- And You May Still Get a Water Tower
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, December 17, 2005; Page F01
Career-Jumpers Looking For Easy Commissions Made a
Low-Percentage Play
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, December 18, 2005; Page F01
Md. Union Seeks $480 Million Boost
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, December 18, 2005; Page C06
By Steven Ginsberg and Lyndsey
Layton
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, December 21, 2005; Page A01
The authority that controls Dulles International Airport made a move yesterday to take over the state-run Dulles Toll Road and seize control of construction of a rail line to the airport, hoping to ensure that the troubled project moves forward.
As owner of the land on which the toll road is built and much of the rail line would reside, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority could stop efforts underway to privatize the highway if its proposal is rejected. Because of the authority's clout, the proposal carries enormous consequences for one of the biggest rail projects in the nation and promises higher tolls on one of the most heavily used commuter routes in the region.
Airport officials said they could build the entire Metrorail line from the West Falls Church Station to Loudoun County faster than current plans, which call for it to be done in two phases, completed by 2015. They said they were concerned that the second half of the project -- bringing rail to the airport -- would be abandoned for lack of funds and political will.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/20/AR2005122000935.html
German Investor Takes
Parkway Square for $44M
HERNDON, VA-A private Germany-based investor has acquired Parkway Square for $44.1 million. Real Estate Capital Partners sold the 205,000-sf office building.
Developed in 1986, Parkway Square sits at 460 Herndon Parkway just off the Dulles Airport Access Rd. in the Dulles Corridor. The class B property has a current occupancy level of 76% and features Boeing Aerospace Co. as the lead tenant with nearly 97,000 sf. Other businesses making their home at Parkway Square include communications trading electronic marketplace Arbinet and IT services provider Digicon Corp.
The deal was brokered solely by Dek Potts and Jim Meisel of GVA Advantis. The firm had been marketing available space in the two-story building for $21.50 per sf. "The demand for real estate investment remains robust," Potts says, "regardless of whether a property is a value-add play, a major redevelopment or a stabilized asset."
http://www.globest.com/news/437_437/washington/141289-1.html
Vornado
Buys Interest in Mixed-Use Complex
(To read more on the multifamily market, click here.)
ROSSLYN, VA-Vornado Realty Trust has become part owner of a mixed-use complex here with its acquisition of a 46%-partnership interest in partnerships that own the office and residential property. The Paramus, NJ-based REIT bought the interest from a limited partnership that includes Vornado trustees Robert H. Smith, Robert P. Kogod and other family members that owned 19% one of the partnership.
The price of Vornado's partnership interest purchase was 730,000 Vornado Realty LP partnership units and $27.3 million to cover a potion of the existing debt on the property. The complex involved in the transaction consists of four structures containing a total of 714,000 sf of office space, and two additional buildings featuring 195 rental apartment homes.
http://www.globest.com/news/437_437/washington/141290-1.html
65,000-SF Office
Building Trades for $16M
OAKTON, VA- Columbia Equity Trust Inc. has acquired Oakton Corporate Center from Carfax Enterprise for $16 million. According to Fairfax County records, the 65,000-sf office building is currently assessed at $11.2 million. Columbia Equity financed the transaction with funds from its revolving credit facility.
Oakton Corporate Center is located at 10467 White Granite Dr. off Interstate 66. The 21-year-old building, previously known as Oakton Corporate Center III, had been part of the two-structure ELV Portfolio before Columbia opted out of buying both.
A fully leased, three-story structure, the building has a three-name tenant roster that includes Vance International, General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems and SunTrust Mortgage.
http://www.globest.com/news/434_434/washington/141162-1.html
City Taps Clark to
Develop 28-Acre Mixed Use Project
(For more retail coverage, click GlobeSt.com/RETAIL.)
MANASSAS PARK, VA-Plans for the construction of Park Center, a mixed-use community conceived by officials of the city of Manassas, move forward. The city has selected Bethesda, MD-headquartered Clark Realty Capital LLC to head up development of the 28-acre endeavor.
Having committed to an agreement of purchase and sale, Clark will acquire the land from the city for an as yet undisclosed figure. "Partnering with Clark ensures that Park Center will be a first-class project that will make a significant positive impact for the city and those who travel through our city," Manassas Park Mayor Francis C. Jones says.
http://www.globest.com/news/435_435/washington/141184-1.html
Bill Would Raise Fines
For Building Violations
More Powerful
Board Sought in Montgomery
By Cameron W. Barr
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 21, 2005; Page B01
A Maryland lawmaker said yesterday that he would introduce legislation to increase fines for building violations in Montgomery County and give the county's Planning Board the power to subpoena witnesses and compel testimony in enforcement cases.
The proposal by Del. William A. Bronrott (D-Montgomery) would be one of a series of changes in the county's oversight of development spurred by the revelation this year that hundreds of buildings at Clarksburg Town Center, a community of 1,300 homes north of Germantown, were built too high and too close to the street.
The Planning Board found itself unable to compel witnesses, including former county planner Wynn Witthans, to testify at hearings it held on Clarksburg in October and November.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/20/AR2005122001350.html
