WASHINGTON, DC NEWS

With Money in the Bank, District Decides to Spend It

By Eric M. Weiss
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, February 2, 2006; Page B04

The District ended the 2005 fiscal year with a $370 million surplus, but all of it -- and more -- has already been allocated, city financial officials said yesterday.

City leaders voted last year to spend the surplus, plus $236 million in reserves, on capital projects such as recreation centers and road improvements and on retiree health benefits.

That spending will cause the city's total reserve funds to dip for the first time in 11 years, Chief Financial Officer Natwar M. Gandhi said. But the District will have more than $1 billion in the bank, compared with its $518 million deficit in 1996, when Congress appointed a control board to oversee the city's finances.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/01/AR2006020101595.html

Private Stadium Funding Canceled
Deutsche Bank Deal Collapses

By David Nakamura
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, February 2, 2006; Page B01

A District government plan to use $246 million in private financing from Deutsche Bank to help build a new baseball stadium has collapsed, a political blow to the DC Council, which spent months pushing to reduce public investment in the project.

DC Chief Financial Officer Natwar M. Gandhi said the deal has been called off in part because the bank was seeking a $5 million fee to structure the financing arrangement. But another complication emerged yesterday when bank spokesman Ted Meyer said the bank had a signed contract with the District and remains entitled to the payment if the city uses the bank's strategy.

"We have an agreement with the city," Meyer said. "The fee involves over a year's worth of work in which we developed a structure that met the specifications laid out for us by the District."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/01/AR2006020102203.html

Fenty's Mayoral Bid Packing the Most Cash
Among Democrats, Cropp Is No. 2

By Lori Montgomery and Eric M. Weiss
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, February 1, 2006; Page B04

DC Council member Adrian M. Fenty has raised more than $900,000 since launching his campaign for mayor in June, outpacing his four major Democratic rivals, including council Chairman Linda W. Cropp, according to campaign finance reports filed yesterday.

Cropp (D), who entered the race in September, has collected slightly more than $821,000, the reports show. Her fundraising operation collected more than Fenty's during the six-month reporting period that ended yesterday. But Fenty (D-Ward 4) has shepherded his cash, amassing about $616,000 -- by far the largest bank account -- for what is expected to be a hard-fought battle leading up to the Sept. 12 Democratic primary.

For months, private polls have painted the mayor's race as a two-way contest between Fenty, a populist council sophomore renowned for constituent service, and Cropp, a former schoolteacher who has served more than 25 years in District government. Yesterday's campaign finance reports did little to alter that picture.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/31/AR2006013101956.html

Doubling of DC Funds For Housing Proposed
Task Force Backs Adding Affordable Units

By Lori Montgomery
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, February 1, 2006; Page B04

The District's Comprehensive Housing Strategy Task Force called on city officials yesterday to pour nearly $6 billion into housing over the next 15 years, doubling the current budget.

With that sum, the city could encourage the creation of an additional 55,000 housing units, a third of them priced for low-income families, according to a task force report. The city also could preserve the affordability of 30,000 existing units that might otherwise be lost in a real estate frenzy that is driving mortgage and rent payments skyward.

"Despite the fact that the city has ramped up its spending considerably in the past few years, we are losing affordable housing faster than it's getting created," said task force Chairman Alice M. Rivlin, director of the Brookings Institution's Greater Washington Research Program. "There needs to be a doubling of expenditures. We're proposing a considerable stepping up of the pace of activity."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/31/AR2006013101517.html

Stadium Pact To Be Revised For Financing
Fiscal Chief Stressed Effect on Bond Ratings

By David Nakamura and Thomas Heath
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, February 1, 2006; Page B01

DC Chief Financial Officer Natwar M. Gandhi said yesterday that Mayor Anthony A. Williams has agreed to alter a new baseball stadium lease agreement to make it acceptable to Wall Street bond raters.

After seeing an amended lease agreement between the District and Major League Baseball, Gandhi said Friday that he would not issue stadium construction bonds because a reserve fund had been omitted, along with two other fiscal provisions that he considered critical. Gandhi said the provisions are necessary to secure an investment-grade rating on the bonds and obtain a lower interest rate for the city.

District officials met for 3 1/2 hours yesterday with former Detroit mayor Dennis W. Archer, who is mediating a dispute over the lease between the city and Major League Baseball. During the meeting, Williams (D) agreed to reinsert the three provisions into the agreement before the council votes on the deal, Gandhi said.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/31/AR2006013101461.html

183,000-SF Office Building Gets New Owner

By Barbra Murray
Last updated: February 1, 2006  03:45pm

WASHINGTON, DC-Boston-based Fidelity Investments' Pembroke Real Estate has acquired the 183,000-sf office building at 1801 Pennsylvania Ave. The Mark Winkler Co. was the seller. The sale of the building was part of Winkler's disposition of its entire real estate portfolio in several transactions--some still pending--for an aggregate $2.3 billion.

The sale price was not disclosed. The property at 1801 Pennsylvania Ave., which has a proposed 2006 assessed value of about $60 million, last traded in 2001 in a $44-million deal. Pembroke relied on internal representation, while Winkler was represented by Goldman Sachs.

http://www.globest.com/news/466_466/washington/142567-1.html

REGIONAL NEWS

Fishing for Hot Investments in A Cool Market

By Hans L. Wydler and Steven C. Wydler
Special to The Washington Post
Saturday, January 28, 2006; Page F01

As the frenzied local real estate market appears to be cooling down, we are being asked a lot whether real estate is still a good investment.

As real estate agents, we tell our clients that it can be, but the risk of making a poor investment is increasing because prices are high and there's no guarantee that returns will justify those prices. Now more than ever, an investor must understand the fundamentals and remember that evaluating an investment property is like peeling an onion: There are many layers, and if you do it wrong, you'll cry.

Your first step in evaluating a potential real estate investment should be to determine whether it fits your portfolio and financial plan. People tend to be at one extreme or the other: Either they have no real estate exposure or they are overexposed. A well-diversified portfolio should include some real estate, but not all real estate.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/27/AR2006012700728.html

A Good-Faith Effort To Clean Up Estimates

By Kenneth R. Harney
Saturday, January 28, 2006; Page F01

It's a distressingly familiar scenario for home buyers and refinancers, and it was one of the major mortgage-related consumer complaints to federal agencies in 2005: "good-faith estimates" of settlement costs that turn out to be hundreds, even thousands, of dollars off the mark.

Previously undisclosed charges for "processing," "administration" and other vague services mysteriously appear out of nowhere on the HUD-1 settlement form. What was estimated upfront as $2,200 in total fees turns out instead to be $3,400 at the actual close of the transaction.

That, in turn, forces consumers into a difficult choice: Do I pay the extra charges even though they were never included in the good-faith estimates? Or do I blow up the whole deal -- potentially losing the house I want to buy or the mortgage I need -- because of a lowball estimate?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/27/AR2006012700706.html

Upbeat Ehrlich Stresses Cooperation in Speech

By Matthew Mosk
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, January 27, 2006; Page B01

Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. used the final State of the State address of his term to declare himself a "change agent," and in the process, he gave Democrats a preview yesterday of how he'll forge his bid for reelection.

"Most pundits regard an election year session as an opportunity for the two parties to frame issues and garner political advantage in advance of the approaching election," the Republican governor told the General Assembly. "The people we represent see things differently. They want results. They want responsiveness."

The address presented a repackaged Bob Ehrlich -- a Republican governor eager to find common ground with Democrats in the legislature, craving an end to "Capitol Hill-style" politics in Annapolis and willing to spend on an array of new programs. Among those are initiatives previously championed by Democrats, including strict limits on university tuition increases, a reduction in power plant pollution and funding of stem cell research.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/26/AR2006012601262.html

O'Malley: City's Progress 'Irrefutable'
Annual Address Cites Education, Anti-Crime Efforts Over Tenure

By John Wagner
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 31, 2006; Page B05

BALTIMORE, Jan. 30 -- Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley on Monday used his final State of the City address before standing for election as a gubernatorial candidate to make the case that Baltimore has seen "progress that few people would have thought possible" since his arrival six years ago.

O'Malley (D) acknowledged that the "addicted and violent" city he inherited in late 1999 still faces major challenges. But during a 23-minute address laced with statistics, he argued that his city had made "sometimes nation-leading progress" in fighting violent crime, improving schools, reducing teen pregnancies, bolstering economic development and turning the city's finances around.

"Some in public service run away from tough challenges," O'Malley told a chamber packed with City Council members, city administrators and other dignitaries. "Together, we ran into the breach. Together, we chose to take responsibility."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/30/AR2006013001420.html

Development Permits Are First Sign of Activity at Landover Mall Site

By Krissah Williams
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, February 2, 2006; Page T05

The owners of Landover Mall could soon begin knocking down walls at the closed shopping center. The Prince George's County Department of Environmental Resources approved three permits two months ago to allow interior demolition of the mall and the installation of a temporary construction trailer on the property.

The permit approvals are the first sign of activity at the mall since Lerner Enterprises closed it in 2002. Lerner has not given any indications about the mall's future, although local real estate developers have said it is probably dead as a retail center.

Speculation about plans for it have included a center for county government offices and a new site for Prince George's Hospital Center The most recent buzz is that it will become a residential development. Lerner Enterprises did not return calls last week to discuss the mall's future.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/01/AR2006020101245.html

Ehrlich Unveils $1.4 Billion Plan for Construction Projects

By Ann E. Marimow
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 31, 2006; Page B05

Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R) announced a $1.4 billion spending plan for capital projects yesterday that includes $193 million to make room for new students at the state's four-year colleges and universities.

Standing in front of the clock tower at Towson University, Ehrlich said the money in his fiscal 2007 capital budget would provide the "bricks and mortar to accommodate a growing need. The numbers are enormous."

The University System of Maryland's student population of more than 100,000 is expected to increase 20 percent by 2012, according to Chancellor William E. Kirwan. "For the first time in memory, the state has recognized and supported enrollment growth," he said. "It signals a great time for our state."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/30/AR2006013001399.html

Va. Senate Votes to Let Hybrids Stay in HOV Lanes

By Rosalind S. Helderman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, February 2, 2006; Page B05

RICHMOND, Feb. 1 -- The Virginia Senate passed a bill Wednesday to allow hybrid vehicles to continue using the carpool lanes of state highways until July 1, 2007, despite concerns that they are crowding out the carpoolers.

The bill also would impose higher fines on drivers who violate high-occupancy-vehicle lane rules by driving in them alone.

The two provisions, which would have to be approved by the House and signed into law by the governor, address the hotly debated topic of how best to use highway lanes that have become increasingly popular -- and congested. Carpoolers complain that a flood of hybrids, as well as cheaters, is slowing traffic and reducing their incentive to share rides.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/01/AR2006020102058.html

Kaine Plan Could Ease Rail, Bus Commutes

By Steven Ginsberg
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, February 2, 2006; Page VA03

The transportation financing plan that Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) released last month holds the promise of considerably better service and less crowding on Metro and Virginia Railway Express.

The plan the governor has submitted to the General Assembly would more than double the state's contribution to bus and rail services, and it includes nearly $600 million for transit over the next four years. State officials said about 70 percent, or approximately $410 million, of the money would go toward needs in Northern Virginia.

That amount includes one-time funding for more rail cars for Metro, moving it closer to its goal of running eight-car trains during peak periods. Most rush-hour trains now have six cars, and often people get left at stations because there's no room for them. Metro this week began testing eight-car trains on the Orange Line, in a six-month experiment.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/01/AR2006020100116.html

Holiday Inn Trades in $66M Deal

By Barbra Murray
Last updated: February 2, 2006  11:12am

ALEXANDRIA, VA-A $66 million deal has left the Holiday Inn Select--Old Town Alexandria in the hands of new owners. An ING Clarion advised fund joined forces with Kimpton Hotels to acquire the 227-room property from Gadsby Lodging Associates LLC, a private group that owns about eight hotels in the Washington, DC area.

CB Richard Ellis brokered the transaction on behalf of the seller, while ING and Kimpton relied on internal representation. Strong investor interest in the hotel made the process very competitive, ING Clarion vice president Marc C. DeLuca tells GlobeSt.com.

http://www.globest.com/news/466_466/washington/142602-1.html

Office Fetches $261 Per SF

By Barbra Murray
Last updated: February 2, 2006  11:32am

HERNDON, VA-Guardian Realty Investors LLC has spent $261 per sf for the 91,900-sf office building at 950 Herndon Pkwy. Seller UBS Realty Investors LLC walked away with $24 million.

Eric Berkman, Steve Gichner, Brian MacDonald and Juliana Ko of Grubb & Ellis Co. orchestrated the deal on behalf of UBS. The average sales price for a class A office building in Northern Virginia during the last quarter of 2005 was $295 per-sf, according to Advantis Real Estate Services Co.'s Office Market Review for Year-End 2005.

http://www.globest.com/news/466_466/washington/142604-1.html

560,000-SF Office Portfolio Sells for $135M

By Barbra Murray
Last updated: February 1, 2006  11:33am

ALEXANDRIA, VA-Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. spent $135 million on a three-structure portfolio within the mixed-use Park Center office park here. The office buildings--the 114,100-sf 4301 King St., the 218,300-sf 4401 Ford Ave. and the 227,600-sf 4501 Ford Ave.--were sold by Ardmore Kiosk and Equity-Kiosk LLC, Washington Properties LLC and Equity Ford LLC, respectively.

The sellers relied on Transwestern Commercial Services for representation, while Cambridge Property Group repped the buyer. Located in the I-395 corridor near the Pentagon and Washington Reagan National Airport, the buildings were developed between 1985 and1988.

http://www.globest.com/news/465_465/washington/142558-1.html

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