The DC Council approved a plan yesterday to sell a portion of city land for a new baseball stadium to a private developer who has promised to build a mix of parking garages, shops, condos and a hotel.

At its final meeting before summer recess, the council approved the resolution without debate, giving a rare easy stadium victory to Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D). The mayor has said that the mixed-use development will help create a vibrant entertainment district near the ballpark, reaping significant tax revenue that the city can put toward other needs.

"We're really pleased that we got such a strong endorsement," said Vince Morris, spokesman for Williams. "We're moving ahead with it. It's good for the city and the team."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/11/AR2006071101310.html

 

Officials Narrowly Keep Schools Measure Off Ballot
Amendment Would've Ordered 'High-Quality Education'

By Nikita Stewart
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 12, 2006; Page B04

The DC Council rejected a controversial bill yesterday that would have allowed voters to amend the DC Home Rule Act to require "free, high-quality" education for public school students.

The council's 7 to 6 vote to table the DC Education Rights Charter Amendment Act means that the measure will not appear on the November ballot and that it might not be reintroduced. The vote took supporters by surprise, especially because the council preliminarily approved the measure 12 to 1 last month.

The state of the District's public schools has become the biggest issue for residents in this year's council election. This year, the council approved giving $1 billion in sales tax revenue to renovate and repair the city's crumbling schools. There is a focus on raising academic standards and improving test scores as students flock to charter schools.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/11/AR2006071101279.html

 

Maybe It Was the Free Chicken

By Nikita Stewart and Lori Montgomery
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, July 13, 2006; Page DZ02

Was City Administrator Robert C. Bobb endorsing lawyer A. Scott Bolden for an at-large council seat when he dropped by the opening of Bolden's campaign headquarters near Eastern Market on Saturday?

"I'm not supporting him," Bobb said. "I'm supporting everybody. . . . I thought I'd come check it out. I've never been by anybody's campaign headquarters. Maybe I'll visit all of them."

Bolden's headquarters looked more like an art gallery, a chic space with high ceilings and hardwood floors. He treated guests to background music by a solo guitarist, a spread of barbecued chicken, baked beans and corn bread, several choices of beer and wine, and door prizes.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/12/AR2006071200800.html

 

Residents Prod City to Fix Sewage Problems

By D'Vera Cohn
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 13, 2006; Page B04

They stand at the top of their basement stairs and wonder: Will it happen again? Will filth bubble up from the toilet, rise to the top of the bathtub, cover the carpet where their children play? Will they have to deal once more with ruined furniture, brown-soaked walls, that unmistakable stench?

Last month's gigantic rainstorm, a fading memory for many, is a lingering source of unease and anger for a group of Northwest Washington homeowners whose basements flooded with raw sewage. More than two weeks later, they are anxious every time the forecast calls for wet weather.

It is leaky-basement anxiety, magnified a thousand times. And the worst of it, they say, is that the same thing happened two years ago. They want the DC Water and Sewer Authority, which has commissioned a consultant to investigate and report on the cause of the backup in at least eight homes on Military Road NW, to take responsibility for the mess and guarantee that it will not happen again.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/12/AR2006071201848.html

 

Robberies On Mall A Trend, Chief Says
Holdups Occurring In DC Areas Once Considered Safe

By Allison Klein and Petula Dvorak

Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, July 13, 2006; Page A01

DC Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey warned yesterday that criminals increasingly are following money to places in the city once considered safe, such as the Mall, where two robbers lay in wait near the Washington Monument before surprising tourists Tuesday night.

The city also recorded its 14th homicide of the month -- a burst of violence that led Ramsey to declare a "crime emergency" Tuesday. A spike in robberies is generating concern in neighborhoods in all quadrants of the District.

"This is a big difference from what we've seen in years past," Ramsey said, noting that criminals tended to stick within a mile of their homes when setting out for a night of robbery or burglary. "And it's a pattern that we've been tracking."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/12/AR2006071201228.html

 

$6B CarrAmerica, Blackstone Merger Closes

WASHINGTON, DC-The the $5.6-billion merger between CarrAmerica Realty Corp. and the New York City-based Blackstone Group closed today. CarrAmerica's stockholders gave the green light to the deal, which was brought to the table in March, on Tuesday.

Now that the deal is done, the locally based REIT will merge with and into Nantucket Acquisition, Inc., an affiliate of Blackstone. Approximately 99.6% of the shares of CarrAmerica common stock present and voting at the special meeting earlier this week approved the deal. That figure represents approximately 71.9% of the total number of shares of CarrAmerica common stock entitled to vote at the meeting, according to the company. Under the terms of the merger, holders of CarrAmerica's common stock will receive $44.75 in cash, without interest, for each share of common stock issued and outstanding immediately prior to the effective time of the merger.

At the time news of a possible merger was revealed in March, Thomas S. Carr, chairman and CEO, said the deal would allow the company to fulfill its mission to its stockholders and create growth opportunities, as GlobeSt.com previously reported. "With our most aggressive performance assumptions, we don't believe we could match the value being offered to our shareholders today by this offer," he said at the time.

http://www.globest.com/news/629_629/washington/147314-1.html

 

Roadside Development Preps for O Street Market Approval

WASHINGTON, DC-Roadside Development, the same developer that delivered 4500 Wisconsin Ave.--a high-end, urban mixed-use project in the heart of Tenley Town--has hopes that it will receive approval for a similar project on O Street NW from the Historic Preservation Review Board by the end of the year. The plan is valued at roughly $180 million.

The Wisconsin mix-use project, which encompassed 88,000 sf of retail and 216,000 sf of condo developments, also included a historic retail building that Roadside Development incorporated into the retail landspace.

Armond Spikell, a partner with the firm, tells GlobeSt.com he hopes to accomplish a similar design with the O Street Market project, a 500,000-sf development whose plans call for replacing an existing grocery store (64,000 sf) with the development of a historic building as part of the retail mix, as well as housing. It will be Roadside Development?s largest project thus far.

http://www.globest.com/news/624_624/washington/147202-1.html

 

CWCapital Eyes Washington Market

WASHINGTON, DC-CWCapital's newly launched construction lending platform has come out of the gate with two transactions totaling $252 million in financing -- one of which is in the DC area. According to Kent Daiber, senior managing director of the structured finance division, the firm provided financing to a joint venture between IBG Partners in Washington, DC and an outside developer to construct the Yale Steam Laundry condominiums, to be located on 437 New York Ave., NW.

Daiber tells GlobeSt.com he has another large deal in the pipeline of $100 million as well as a $40-million industrial transaction in New York in the works. In the DC area, he says, "we are looking at a quasi construction project for a couple of hotels."

Daiber says he expects to do more lending in the DC market as the unit's operations get under way. "DC is a market everyone wants to be in irrespective of the property type." The downside to the market, he adds, is that it is competitive and, hence, difficult to find yield. "We will probably want to digest the condo exposure we have taken on before we do another condo project there."

http://www.globest.com/news/617_620/washington/147144-1.html

 

Monument Details Plans for Half Street

WASHINGTON, DC-Monument Realty is finalizing its plans for Phase I of the development of properties are located along two blocks between N and M streets and South Capitol and 1st, directly across the street from the stadium. Construction for this parcel, 850,000 sf, is set to begin in mid-2007. "We have basically identified the uses for these properties, now we are in the process of hiring a retail architect for the street," Russell Hines, executive vice president, tells GlobeSt.com.

The tone of the street--which essentially leads directly from the Half Street Metro Station to the stadium--is supposed to celebratory, urban streetscape, he says, with restaurants on both sides, although just one side is currently being developed. This phase of the development also includes a 250,000 sf office building at the corner of M and Half Street, on top of the metro entrance. There is also a 450,000 sf residential building. "Both will have a significant retail component," Hines says.

http://www.globest.com/news/617_619/washington/147118-1.html

REGIONAL NEWS

Deal With Developer Yields a Preserve
233 Acres Part of Offer Approved by Board

By Stephanie McCrummen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 13, 2006; Page PW01

Prince William County will get a sprawling nature preserve with hiking trails, picnic areas and a pristine spring-fed lake with views of the Bull Run Mountains under the terms of a rezoning request approved by the Board of County Supervisors on Tuesday night.

The board voted unanimously to approve the request by Toll Brothers Inc., one of the country's largest builders, to rezone a parcel from agricultural to planned residential, which would allow 420 single-family houses to be built in the Dominion Valley Country Club development in Haymarket. The county's planning department has recommended approval.

As part of the rezoning request, Toll Brothers made a number of offers to the county, including donating 233 acres of green and rolling land adjacent to Dominion Valley. The county could turn the land over to a nonprofit group -- possibly the Bull Run Mountains Conservancy or the Nokesville Horse Society -- that would manage it.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/12/AR2006071200040.html

 

N.Va. Home Assessments Expected to Hold Steady
End of Large Jumps A Blow to Budgeters

By Bill Turque
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, July 11, 2006; Page A01

The era of double-digit property assessment increases for Northern Virginia homeowners appears to be over. Government officials say a rapidly cooling housing market means residents can expect minimal growth in the value of their property this year, perhaps as little as 1 percent.

The flattening of the housing economy might be good news for some taxpayers but poses challenges for local governments. A six-year windfall in property tax revenue, generated by soaring assessments, has enabled many localities to both increase spending and cut tax rates -- although the reductions have seldom been enough to offset tax bill increases. Officials starting to work on proposed budgets for the fiscal year that begins next July say the new economic climate, widely forecast, could sharply limit spending.

"This will be a difficult revenue year," said Barbara Donnellan, Arlington County's deputy manager.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/10/AR2006071001123.html

 

A Tale of Two Millers: Democrat Finds Challenger

By Philip Rucker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 13, 2006; Page SM01

Until the end, it appeared as if Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D), the longest-serving president of the Maryland Senate, would enter his campaign for an eighth term unopposed.

But a few days before the filing deadline, Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich (R), who has crossed swords with Miller time and again in Annapolis, persuaded a Republican who served in the Bush administration, is a veteran of the Air Force and, it so happens, shares Miller's surname to drop his bid for Congress and challenge Miller in his Calvert and Prince George's district.

State Republicans are giddy about the prospect of ousting Mike Miller and have pledged to funnel resources to the campaign of Ron Miller, who for months had been running against U.S. Rep. Steny H. Hoyer, the House minority whip who represents parts of Prince George's and Anne Arundel and all of Calvert, Charles and St. Mary's counties. Ron Miller dropped out of that race and announced his bid for state Senate last week.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/12/AR2006071200148.html

 

O'Malley Turns to Health Care
Mayor Says State Must Do More to Cut Costs of Coverage

By John Wagner
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 13, 2006; Page B05

Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley promised yesterday that, if elected governor, he would aggressively pursue ways to make health insurance and prescription drugs more affordable, the latest in a series of campaign pledges targeting middle-class angst.

Appearing in Ellicott City, the Democratic hopeful embraced ideas such as helping Marylanders buy drug refills from Canada, sponsoring an insurance purchasing pool for small businesses and providing tax credits to entice companies to participate.

Although he offered no "silver bullet," O'Malley said Maryland must join other states in doing more to make health care affordable, given a lack of comprehensive federal reform and what he described as scant attention from the incumbent, Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R).

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/12/AR2006071201965.html

 

Johnson Seeking 2nd Term As Executive

By Ovetta Wiggins and Rosalind S. Helderman
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, July 13, 2006; Page B05

Prince George's County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D) officially launched his campaign for a second term at a lively event last night, surrounded by his family and hundreds of cheering supporters.

At the event, in the ornate banquet hall of Camelot of Upper Marlboro, he entered his fourth countywide race in 12 years. Johnson, 57, served eight years as the county state's attorney before winning the county executive's seat four years ago.

The energetic crowd cheered, "Four more years," and before Johnson took the stage shortly after 8 pm, the campaign played a video testimonial in which county residents and business leaders praised him.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/12/AR2006071201966.html

 

He has his second wind; now Mfume is charging
Kweisi Mfume is shunning the 'front-runner' label, but with a recent poll showing him leading Maryland's Senate race, his campaign is hoping to press his advantage

Friday, July 14, 2006

WASHINGTON - Washington insider Vernon Jordan remembers the deafening silence from the Maryland Democratic Party when Kweisi Mfume announced his bid for the U.S. Senate more than a year ago.

Jordan, a civil rights pioneer and Democratic Party power broker, watched as Mfume's campaign was cold-shouldered by party leaders, decried in a series of negative headlines and disdained by a skepticism that the former Baltimore congressman and NAACP president could win.

Sixteen months later and less than two months before the Sept. 12 Democratic primary, Mfume's campaign has evolved from stillborn to insurgent. Mfume's campaign, still lagging in fund-raising and infrastructure compared to his main Democratic opponent, U.S. Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin, has been jolted anew by a recent Washington Post poll that has him leading Cardin by six points.

http://www.gazette.net/stories/071406/polia%20s194509_31939.shtml

Agreement To Save Affordable Apartments
Arlington Reaches Preliminary Deal

By Maria Glod
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 13, 2006; Page B01

Arlington County officials have reached a preliminary agreement with a developer to preserve and revamp a portion of Buckingham Village, a decades-old apartment complex that is home to many low-income and immigrant tenants.

The low-slung brick apartments in North Arlington had been headed for demolition under a proposal by Paradigm Development Co., co-owner of the complex, to replace the aging buildings with upscale townhouses and apartments. But housing activists and historic preservationists fought the plan, saying it would displace hundreds of low-income families and would mean the destruction of historic buildings.

After a series of meetings and a rally that attracted more than 100 tenants and housing advocates, county officials late Tuesday approved a compromise, which they hope will produce a neighborhood with some of the existing buildings -- spruced up and rented as affordable apartments -- and a mix of new apartments and luxury townhouses.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/12/AR2006071201910.html

 

Fairfax To Revisit Renovation Restrictions

By Lisa Rein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, July 2, 2006; Page C01

Annandale, like many older neighborhoods in Fairfax County, has some crooked and narrow lots. Tracey and Dan Stegner have been yearning to tear down their 1944 Cape Cod on Virginia Avenue and build a 3,000-square-foot home with a garage up front.

Their half-acre lot is 80 feet wide. County rules allow the Stegners' home to be 40 feet wide, but they want an extra 10 feet. To do that, they need permission from the county government in the form of a variance. But they can't get one.

For more than two years, thousands of homeowners such as the Stegners, who have saved money to build bigger kitchens, bathrooms, second floors over carports or new houses, have had their plans frozen by Fairfax officials. The county virtually stopped granting what are called variances in 2004 after the Virginia Supreme Court ruled that zoning officials were handing them out too leniently.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/01/AR2006070100965.html

 

GOP Plan Would Raise N.Va. Taxes for Area Roads

By Michael D. Shear and Rosalind S. Helderman
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, June 27, 2006; Page B01

RICHMOND, June 26 -- People who live or work in Northern Virginia would pay steep new fees and higher taxes under a $578 million transportation plan being circulated by six Republican delegates from the region.

Having voted for months to block statewide tax increases that were pushed by Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) and the Republican-controlled Senate, the House members said their constituents will gladly pay more as long as the money raised is used only for road and rail projects in their area.

"All but my ardent anti-tax people are like, 'If everyone's paying and 100 percent stays here, I'm in,' " said the plan's sponsor, Del. David B. Albo (R-Fairfax).

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/26/AR2006062601239.html

 

New Boston Fund Plans to Invest $150M

TYSONS CORNER, VA-The New Boston Fund, which first entered the Washington, DC market in 1999, is getting set to expand its portfolio here as well as in other markets in the Mid-Atlantic region. The firm plans on investing some $150 million for the remainder of the year.

Leading this initiative will be Patrick Connell, the firm's newly named vice president of asset management for the Mid-Atlantic region, based in the Tysons Corner office. "We are now actively pursuing a diversified investment strategy, focusing on both acquisitions, JV and development across all asset classes," he tells GlobeSt.com. The New Boston Fund hopes to fill a senior development position as well. "That will solidify our commitment to the Mid-Atlantic and DC markets."

"We are looking for someone on the ground who knows these markets thoroughly." As for potential acquisitions, he says, the company is looking for value-add opportunities such as buying vacancies for repositioning, for instance.

http://www.globest.com/news/617_618/washington/147106-1.html

 

JER, Formation Capital Acquire Tandem for $620M

MCLEAN, VA-JER Partners, the private equity investment arm of J.E. Robert Cos., has strengthened its hand in the healthcare real estate asset class with the $620-million acquisition of Tandem Health Care, Inc., a provider of long-term healthcare services in Maitland, FL.

JER Partners acquired the 77-facility portfolio from Behrman Capital, a private equity investment firm in New York and San Francisco, under a consortium relationship with Formation Capital LLC, an operator and investor in senior housing based in Alpharetta, GA, and Jenkintown, PA.

JER and Formation plan to restructure Tandem into an owner of skilled nursing and other senior housing facilities. Tandem's senior management will maintain operational control of the facilities through a joint venture formed between Joe Conte, Tandem's president and COO, and CFO Gene Curcio, called Consulate Healthcare.

http://www.globest.com/news/628_628/washington/147285-1.html