Fenty Pledges Not to Increase Any City Taxes

By Lori Montgomery
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, April 25, 2006; Page B04

DC Council member Adrian M. Fenty vowed yesterday not to raise taxes if elected mayor, saying he would fund new programs by reining in an inefficient bureaucracy and collaborating with business leaders to identify savings within the city's $7 billion budget.

At a candidates forum sponsored by some of the District's premier business organizations, Fenty was the only one of five major candidates to answer yes when asked whether he would commit to levying no additional taxes on business.

Afterward, Fenty (D-Ward 4) expanded his answer to include the entire range of District taxes, including personal income, property and sales taxes.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/24/AR2006042401569.html

 

City Officials Leery of Nats Bidder's Silence

By David Nakamura
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, April 24, 2006; Page B01

During a luncheon address before more than 200 business leaders last week, D.C. Mayor Anthony A. Williams noted that he had never met the Theodore N. Lerner family of Bethesda, which is seeking to buy the Washington Nationals.

The mayor then recited his office phone number, in case the Lerners want to give him a call. "Operators are standing by," Williams said, according to people in attendance.

The joke was one Williams (D) has used before. Having cast his support behind a rival group in Major League Baseball's sweepstakes for the Nationals, Williams contends that the Lerner family should have made a stronger effort to get to know city leaders.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/23/AR2006042301250.html

 

What to Do With What Lies Beneath?
Catacombs From Old DC Filtration System Pose Unique Development Challenges

By Lyndsey Layton
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, April 22, 2006; Page B01

High on a hill in a crowded city, 25 acres sit empty -- green grass rustling in the spring breeze. The McMillan Reservoir in the north central section of the District is one of the largest undeveloped tracts in a capital invaded by convoys of construction cranes.

The reason lies beneath the grass.

Below ground are 22 massive catacombs built from concrete that formed the city's main water filtration system at the turn of the last century. Potomac River water, fresh from Great Falls, arrived at the plant and was filtered through underground cells lined with sand dumped by mule-drawn wagons. Clean water emerged and was piped into homes across the city, including the White House.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/21/AR2006042101819.html

 

99,700-SF Office Building Brings in $22M

By Barbra Murray
Last updated: April 26, 2006  10:31am

WASHINGTON, DC-Infrastructure Capital Group has become the new owner of 2121 Wisconsin Ave. NW in a $22 million deal. The four-story structure sited on a half-acre parcel just north of Georgetown was developed in 1960.

Relying on the assistance of Advantis Real Estate Services Co., Penzance Properties sold the 99,700-sf office. Dek Potts and Jim Meisel were the sole brokers.

The building is 90% occupied with a tenant roster that includes hotel interior design firm Forrest Perkins, Georgetown University and WBDC Broadcasting. The property last traded in 2003 for $17.3 million. "This investment historically has been a steady performer, and the fact that the new owner also owns the adjacent property will further enhance the future possibilities and synergies," Potts says.

http://www.globest.com/news/525_525/washington/145167-1.html

 

Akridge Takes Boutique Office for $13M

By Barbra Murray
Last updated: April 26, 2006  11:30am

WASHINGTON, DC-Akridge just closed on the acquisition of the 38,300-sf boutique office building at 1016 16th St. NW for $12.5 million. The building was sold by a partnership involving a group of local investors and the National Federation of Federal Employees.

The building and the one-fifth-acre parcel it occupies have a current assessed value of nearly $7.2 million, according to District real estate records. The 1920s-era structure sits three blocks north of the White House.

Akridge just took over property management and leasing responsibilities at the building yesterday. It plans to renovate and reposition the building, and market the space as for-sale office condominium units. Akridge will also consider selling entire floors or the entire building.

http://www.globest.com/news/525_525/washington/145176-1.html

 

[ Back to Top ]

 

MONTGOMERY COUNTY NEWS

Duncan to Announce Simms as Running Mate

By John Wagner and Tim Craig
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, April 27, 2006; 3:27 PM

Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan has tapped Baltimore lawyer Stuart O. Simms as his running mate in the Maryland governor's race and will announce his selection next week, according to leading Duncan allies and others familiar with the process.

"I am happy and pleased to confirm the choice," said Patricia C. Jessamy, Baltimore's top prosecutor, who has endorsed Duncan and advised him on his lieutenant governor pick.

Simms is a former state's attorney in Baltimore who held two cabinet posts under Gov. Parris N. Glendening (D): secretary of juvenile justice and secretary of public safety and correctional services.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/27/AR2006042701337.html

 

Home Prices in Md. Push Upward and Outward
For Affordability, Think Older, Not Near Transit

By Barbara Ruben
Special to The Washington Post
Thursday, April 27, 2006; Page T31

With its Potomac McMansions, sprawling old-money Tudors in Chevy Chase and new inside-the-Beltway homes all fetching well over $1 million, you might think Montgomery County would have the fastest-climbing real estate prices around.

In fact, it had the second-lowest rate of appreciation in the region for houses and townhouses compared with the previous year. Only in Alexandria did house prices grow more slowly in 2005 (17.2 percent) than in Montgomery, where houses appreciated by 19.8 percent. But at $435,000, Montgomery did have the highest median sales price for suburban Maryland, according to a Washington Post analysis of government records across the region.

House and townhouse prices in suburban Maryland -- Montgomery, Prince George's, Howard, Anne Arundel, Frederick, Charles and Calvert counties -- appreciated at an overall rate of 24.9 percent in 2005; the median sales price was $337,350, lower than in the District or Northern Virginia. (St. Mary's County is not included in the calculations. The median price of houses there in 2005 was $269,900, up 26 percent from 2004.)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/25/AR2006042501787.html

 

Melting Pot Bubbles in All Corners of County
Newest Wave Of Immigrants Moves Upcounty

By Katherine Shaver
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, April 27, 2006; Page GZ03

Children in Montgomery County public schools speak 134 different languages. Cricket players from Jamaica and soccer players from Latin America fill county parks and athletic facilities. Almost half of Maryland's Latino and Asian populations call Montgomery home.

Once a mostly white, wealthy bedroom community to Washington, Montgomery now boasts one of the most culturally, ethnically and economically diverse areas in the region -- a trait that many residents say drew them here and keeps them here.

The international feel is no longer limited to communities such as Silver Spring and Wheaton, home to many of the county's early immigrants. In the past few years, affluent, highly educated immigrants have increasingly filled mini-mansions in North Potomac and Rockville, while many of those struggling with the county's high housing costs have moved upcounty, sparking a boom in ethnic food stores and specialty restaurants in Gaithersburg and Germantown.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/26/AR2006042601269.html

 

Big Projects Advance in Montgomery
Plans Include Spa, Thousands of Homes

By Nancy Trejos and Michael S. Rosenwald
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, April 26, 2006; Page A01

Two major Montgomery County developments moved closer to reality yesterday: One would bring luxury living and a high-end spa to North Bethesda and the other, thousands of new homes and businesses to Gaithersburg.

In North Bethesda, a Virginia developer finalized a once-tenuous deal to build the country's second Canyon Ranch Living community. Residents of 434 condominiums there will pay between $900,000 and $5 million to live at a spa with on-site nutritionists and access to top doctors.

Separately, the Montgomery County Council cleared the way for a more traditional mixed-use development that could bring as many as 2,250 homes and 320,000 square feet of offices and shops to Gaithersburg. After hours of heated debate, the council voted 7 to 2 yesterday to give the city permission to annex one of central Montgomery's last few pieces of undeveloped land --the 182-acre Crown Farm -- so a local businessman can build a pedestrian-friendly residential and commercial complex.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/25/AR2006042502012.html

 

Montgomery Drafts Green Building Plan
Environmental Traits Would Earn Points

By Elizabeth Williamson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, April 22, 2006; Page B01

Every large office building or apartment complex built in Montgomery County would have to incorporate environmentally sensitive features -- be it a fume-free paint, recycling centers, plant-covered roofs or compost toilets -- under a proposal announced yesterday.

The bill, to be introduced at Tuesday's County Council meeting, would require buildings of 10,000 square feet or more to score at least 20 points on a rating system set by the U.S. Green Building Council. Owners of buildings that earn at least 24 points could receive an energy tax rebate. If approved, the measure would take effect next year.

County officials say the requirements would cut energy costs and pollution and would simply codify what many builders already do. "We wanted to make sure Montgomery County is a leader in the green building movement," County Executive Douglas M. Duncan (D) said. "The industry's moving that way and we're trying to get them to move more quickly."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/21/AR2006042101922.html

 

With fate of lending law on hold, Montgomery pols aim to modify

Friday, April 28, 2006

A decision on repealing a controversial Montgomery County law aimed at preventing lenders from discriminating against some homebuyers is unlikely to come before July.

In the meantime, the County Council is moving forward on modifying the law, which led to more than 30 lenders pulling out of the county.

Council President George L. Leventhal said a vote on the repeal would come after July 6, when a judge is expected to lift a preliminary injunction of the law, abolish it or take other action.

http://www.gazette.net/stories/042806/polia%20s194418_31941.shtml

 

[ Back to Top ]