WASHINGTON, DC NEWS

Institute Disputes Need for Next Cut In Real Estate Tax

By Nikita Stewart
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 21, 2006; Page B01

District homeowners will receive a tax break in less than two weeks based on a law approved by the DC Council last year.

The real estate tax rate will fall Oct. 1 to 88 cents, from 92 cents, per $100 assessed value, said Natwar M. Gandhi, the DC chief financial officer. The decrease is the result of a law that automatically lowers the property tax rate if tax revenue surpasses projections.

For a property owner with a house worth $400,000, the savings will be $160 for the year, said Martin Skolnik, director of real property tax administration.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/20/AR2006092002256.html

City Plan To Build By Nats Field Fails
Commission Unsure About 1,225 Parking Spots for Stadium

By David Nakamura and Thomas Heath
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, September 21, 2006; Page B01

The DC Sports and Entertainment Commission yesterday abandoned a plan to build condominiums, shops and parking garages next to the new Nationals baseball stadium in Southeast Washington, dealing a major setback to Mayor Anthony A. Williams's hope that the project would spark renewal of the Anacostia River waterfront.

The deal collapsed when the commission and Western Development, headed by Herbert S. Miller, failed to reach an agreement on the financing terms of his mixed-use development proposal by yesterday's deadline.

With Miller's plan off the table, commission officials are uncertain about how they will provide the required 1,225 parking spots for the Washington Nationals in time for the stadium's scheduled opening in April 2008.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/20/AR2006092001878.html

Adams Morgan Follows High-Tech Parking Trend
Multi-Space Meters Can Take Credit Cards, Coins

By Jillian S. Jarrett
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 21, 2006; Page DZ03

Adams Morgan is the latest neighborhood in the District to receive high-tech parking meters that officials say will help ease congestion and make parking in one of the city's busiest communities more convenient.

The DC Department of Transportation installed 21 of the solar-powered, multi-space meters along 18th Street and Columbia Road NW in the first week of September. The meters replaced 168 single-space ones and allow patrons to purchase time with either a credit or debit card or U.S. coins (but no bills).

The new system also allows a few more cars to park on the street. One multi-space machine handles about 10 spaces, which amounts to a gain of one or two spaces per group, according to DDOT statistics.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/20/AR2006092000678.html

Hopefuls Begin Staking Out Fenty's and Gray's Seats

By Yolanda Woodlee and Elissa Silverman
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, September 20, 2006; Page B02

Michael A. Brown, who dropped out of the race for DC mayor less than two weeks ago, said yesterday that he is preparing to campaign for a seat on the DC Council from Ward 4.

That assumes, as most people do, that Democratic nominee Adrian M. Fenty will be elected mayor in the Nov. 7 general election.

Brown is among several potential candidates jockeying to replace Fenty or Vincent C. Gray (D-Ward 7), who was chosen last week as the Democratic nominee for council chairman. Fenty and Gray are expected to win in the November election because a majority of registered voters in the District are Democrats.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/19/AR2006091901941.html

Mount Vernon's $30M Phase I Gets Under Way

WASHINGTON, DC--The National Capital Revitalization Corp. has begun construction on the Mount Vernon Place Church Square development, a 300,000-sf, mixed-use project located at 3rd and H streets NW in Mount Vernon Triangle.

The hard development costs for the first phase--a 90,000-sf office component--is $30 million, Marisa Gaither, the NCRC's director of real estate transactions, tells GlobeSt.com. The second phase planning is still under way, but it's tentatively being mapped out for underground parking, about 300 residential units and a 10,000-sf kindergarten-grade school. There will be 200,000 sf of residential housing, of which 20% of the units will be affordable housing. NCRC expects to close on the second phase in March 2007.

The office portion of the project is a build to suit for a single user--a large association that has signed a prelease, according to Gaither. The project is being developed by MQW LLC, a joint-venture of Mount Carmel Baptist Church, Quadrangle Development and the Wilkes Co., all based in Washington, DC.

http://www.globest.com/news/727_727/washington/149213-1.html

JV Readies 322,000-SF Capitol Hill Spec Plan

WASHINGTON, DC-Two New York City-based firms, Brookfield Properties and ING Clarion, are getting set to begin construction on a Capitol Hill office project that will add 322,000 sf of spec office space to the submarket. The 77 K St. NE building will deliver in 18 to 24 months.

Sources say the two firms purchased the land earlier this year for roughly $30 million--a price that included not only the raw land, but also demolition, building plans and related infrastructure.

Development costs for the 11-story, class A building is roughly $400 per sf, Doug Bowen, portfolio manager for ING Clarion Development Ventures, tells GlobeSt.com. "This is an excellent location. We love its proximity to Union Station and we have a terrific partner," he says. Union Station is Washington, DC's largest indoor mall and its Amtrak hub as well as its busiest Metro station.

http://www.globest.com/news/726_726/washington/149203-1.html

JPI Readies $220M Project for DC Market

WASHINGTON, DC-JPI, a national developer based in Irving, TX, has a robust pipeline of multifamily and, increasingly, mixed-use projects under way in the Washington, DC-area.

The company broke ground this month on 70 Eye St., a 448-unit, two-building project being situated on a two-acre parcel. The second building with 246 units, 100 Eye St., is scheduled to break ground in October. Projected development costs for 70 Eye St. is $140 million and $80 million for 100 Eye St., Greg Lamb, senior vice president and regional managing partner of JPI in McLean, Va., tells GlobeSt.com.

Both buildings are scheduled for a summer 2008 delivery. GE Capital is JPI's partner in this project, as well as many others in the DC area and nationwide, Lamb says. Amenities at 70 Eye St. will include three levels of below-grade parking, a fitness center, community movie theater, business center, conference room, billiards and pub room, rooftop pool and patio.

http://www.globest.com/news/717_717/washington/149033-1.html

REIT Invests $27M Into Off-Market Buy

WASHINGTON, DC-Columbia Equity Trust has acquired 101 Orchard Ridge Dr., a three-story, 102,400-sf, multi-tenant office building in the Gaithersburg, MD, for $26.7 million. It's the Washington, DC-based REIT's second purchase in a year in the 3.2-million-sf submarket.

Signs point to additional expansion into the Gaithersburg area by Columbia, which also owns Park Plaza II along Gaither Road in North Rockville. Columbia CEO and chairman Oliver Carr tells GlobeSt.com that the REIT "would like to grow our presence in the north Rockville-Gaithersburg market. We like the supply-demand fundamentals in that market. There has been healthy job growth in Montgomery County with limited new supply."

Columbia did not disclose the seller, but its SEC filing in April shows it entered into a material definitive agreement with Foulger Land LP and Argo Orchard Ridge Manager Inc. to acquire 100% of the ownership interests in 101 Orchard Ridge Dr. for $11.94 million before transaction costs. Carr would not comment on the filing.

http://www.globest.com/news/716_716/washington/149023-1.html

REGIONAL NEWS

Valuation Gets Tough When Sales Slide

By Kenneth R. Harney
Saturday, September 16, 2006; Page F01

In cooling real estate markets, it's one of the hottest questions: How do you value a specific piece of property when local home sales are down 20 percent to 40 percent from last year, inventories of unsold homes have ballooned by 200 percent or more, and all the trend lines are pointing negative?

It can be tough. Traditionally, real estate appraisers focused heavily on sales of similar properties -- "comparables" that sold in recent months -- to make their valuations. But that doesn't work well in markets that had been superheated -- prices rising at 1 percent to 2 percent a month -- but are now stalled out or falling.

It also doesn't work well in markets where recent closed sales prices often were inflated by incentives provided by sellers to buyers -- contributions to closing costs, for example, "buydowns" of mortgage interest rates and other sweeteners not always on the public record.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/15/AR2006091500653.html

Ehrlich Wants Paper Ballots For Nov. Vote
State Election Chief Says Staff Toiling to Fix Electronic Glitches

By Christian Davenport and Ann E. Marimow
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, September 21, 2006; Page A01

A week after the primary election was plagued by human error and technical glitches, Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R) called yesterday for the state to scrap its $106 million electronic voting apparatus and revert to a paper ballot system for the November election.

"When in doubt, go paper, go low-tech," he said.

Linda H. Lamone, the administrator of the Maryland State Board of Elections, quickly denounced the plan to swap voting systems just seven weeks before the general election as "crazy." And Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) said it "cannot happen. It will not happen."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/20/AR2006092001356.html

Black GOP Groups Woo Mfume, Blast Democrats to Back Steele

By Matthew Mosk
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 21, 2006; 12:12 PM

Black Republican groups emerged from the political margins yesterday, launching a campaign to persuade African American voters to support Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele's bid for the U.S. Senate.

Their efforts surfaced in a letter urging former NAACP president Kweisi Mfume, who finished second in the Democratic primary, to cross party lines and back Steele against Democrat Benjamin L. Cardin, the 10-term congressman from Baltimore.

The push was evident in a Baltimore radio advertisement targeting African American listeners that was sponsored by the Washington-based National Black Republican Association. The ad identifies Martin Luther King Jr. as a Republican and pins the founding of the Ku Klux Klan on Democrats.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/21/AR2006092100735.html

Ehrlich targets Franchot
Vows to keep him out of comptroller's office, predicts slots will pass next year

Friday, Sept. 22, 2006

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. pledged Thursday "to do everything I can" to prevent Del. Peter V.R. Franchot from becoming Maryland's next comptroller.

Ehrlich (R), in an hour-long meeting with The Gazette editorial board, predicted that slots would be legalized next year, reiterated his opposition to building the so-called Purple Line through Columbia Country Club and identified managing growth as his biggest second-term challenge.

Ehrlich was intense in describing his opposition to Franchot, a veteran delegate from Takoma Park who defeated Anne Arundel County Executive Janet S. Owens and Comptroller William Donald Schaefer in last week's Democratic primary.

http://www.gazette.net/stories/092206/polia%20s192844_31989.shtml

With Wynn in limbo, Cardin could suffer
Unexpected weakness of seven-term congressman reverberates throughout Prince George's Democratic power structure

Friday, Sept. 22, 2006

The near-death experience of Rep. Albert Wynn (D-Md.) in last week's Democratic primary could have profound implications -- not just for Wynn's long-term political future but also for the statewide Democratic ticket this fall, including the Senate nominee, Rep. Benjamin Cardin.

With provisional and absentee ballots still being counted -- and his challenger, attorney Donna Edwards, threatening to file a lawsuit -- Wynn was clinging to a lead of 50 percent to 46 percent on Tuesday.

Both camps haven't had much to say since elections officials in Prince George's and Montgomery counties began counting the outstanding ballots on Monday.

http://www.gazette.net/stories/092206/polia%20s192838_31987.shtml

Parties prep for legal battles at the polls
Teams of lawyers to scrutinize November voting process after problem primary

Friday, Sept. 22, 2006

ANNAPOLIS -- As the fallout from last week's primary election continues to unfold, both political parties are girding for legal challenges that could arise in November.

"We have lawyers in every jurisdiction that are in place because we believe every voter needs to have access to election ballots," said Derek Walker, executive director of the Maryland Democratic Party.

Republicans are also lining up a team of attorneys ready to file suit if the state's controversial touch-screen voting machines malfunction.

http://www.gazette.net/stories/092206/polia%20s192833_31985.shtml

Stoltzfus to step down as GOP leader
Both Democratic and Republican Senate caucuses brace for change

Friday, Sept. 22, 2006

ANNAPOLIS -- Senate Minority Leader J. Lowell Stoltzfus will not run for re-election as Republican leader when the General Assembly reconvenes in January, proving that the GOP and Democratic caucuses will experience significant post-election upheaval.

"I'm not as interested in the leadership role as I used to be," said Stoltzfus (R-Dist. 38) of Westover, who has been minority leader since 2001. "I'm not going to be leader next year. I'm not going to run."

Stoltzfus' decision to step down as leader of the 14-member GOP caucus adds an additional layer to the Senate's turnover that has seen 10 of 47 senators defeated or retired as of last week. Republicans and Democrats are pushing hard to pick up seats in November, raising the possibility of more turnover.

http://www.gazette.net/stories/092206/polia%20s192844_31988.shtml

Lawlah appearing more likely to re-enter school board election

Thursday, Sept. 21, 2006

Sen. Gloria Lawlah seems poised to get back into the race for one of four at-large school board seats.

But if she does, she may not get the support of the Prince George's teachers union. When Lawlah dropped out of the school board race in August, she cited lack of an endorsement by the union as one of her principal reasons.

Lawlah says she will look at the how the field of candidates shapes up once the votes are finalized by the Prince George's Board of Elections.

http://www.gazette.net/stories/092106/princou171207_31941.shtml

Democrats Give Johnson Four More Years
County Executive Defeats Strong Challenge by Baker

By Ovetta Wiggins
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 21, 2006; Page T01

Prince George's County Executive Jack B. Johnson fended off a difficult challenge from former state delegate Rushern L. Baker III by capturing 52 percent of the vote to Baker's 48 percent in last week's Democratic primary election, one of the slimmest margins for a county executive seeking office again.

Johnson's win was not clear until nearly 18 hours after the polls closed because of problems technicians had electronically transmitting results to the county's central election office.

Several candidates and campaign workers filled the Board of Elections office last Wednesday as data trickled in. Campaign workers for Johnson monitored the returns.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/20/AR2006092000995.html

Riverfront Land Deal Collapses
County Remains Optimistic, but Owner Stops Negotiations

By Annie Gowen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 21, 2006; Page B05

The expanse of land just south of the 14th Street Bridge in Arlington -- with its sweeping view of the Potomac River and monuments -- is one of the most coveted pieces of undeveloped land left in the region.

Officials in Arlington County have long been convinced it should be a park, their park, perhaps the last chance to snatch a rare swatch of Washington's dazzling riverfront for the county.

Last year they appeared close to realizing that dream, inking a deal with a local developer to acquire the seven-acre swath of land just east of Interstate 395 in an unusual swap.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/20/AR2006092001773.html

This Time, Focus Is Domestic Issues
Senate Candidates Allen, Webb Debate Again in Only Faceoff Planned in N.Va.

By Tim Craig and Michael D. Shear
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, September 19, 2006; Page B01

Virginia Sen. George Allen (R) and Democratic challenger James Webb turned to domestic issues yesterday as they sparred during a debate in Northern Virginia over health care, the economy, transportation and stem cell research.

At their second meeting in two days, Allen urged voters to return him to the Senate because he's a familiar face ("you know me") with a record of service. Webb, a former Marine and secretary of the Navy who has never run for office, countered that the country is "breaking apart" and needs fresh blood in Washington.

More than 600 people jammed a hotel ballroom in Tysons Corner for the hour-long debate, the only time Allen and Webb are scheduled to square off in Northern Virginia before the Nov. 7 election. The event, sponsored by the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce, was moderated by George Stephanopoulos of ABC News and televised by NewsChannel 8 and C-SPAN.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/18/AR2006091801191.html

N.Va. Leaders Lack Consensus on Tax

By Amy Gardner
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, September 16, 2006; Page B03

Local government officials yesterday joined the chorus of Northern Virginians urging the General Assembly to find money to fix the region's traffic problems, but they were far from unanimous on whether tax increases should be part of the answer.

The split on taxes mirrors the debate among state lawmakers, who will return to Richmond on Sept. 27 to address the state's transportation network. A top priority for Northern Virginia lawmakers is a proposal to raise $417 million a year in local taxes for regional transportation improvements.

Gerald E. Connolly (D), chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, said the state, which builds and maintains nearly all of Virginia's roads, should take the responsibility to find more money for Northern Virginia.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/15/AR2006091501048.html

Crescent JV Puts $1B Buying Pool Into Play

FAIRFAX, VA-Together with new partners Allied Capital and LCP Group, Crescent Hospitality has formed a fund to acquire up to $1 billion in hotel assets in the coming 12 to 18 months. The fund begins with the purchase of the Detroit Marriott Livonia.

The Fairfax, VA-based Crescent's new property is 17100 Laurel Park Drive North adjacent to the Laurel Park Place mall. Molinaro Koger, a hotel real estate advisory firm headquartered in Washington, DC, brokered the sale. The seller's identity and closing price couldn't be obtained by publication time.

In this morning's press release, Crescent Hospitality says it will fine-tune its investment strategy to include acquisitions and sliver investments to build a portfolio as Crescent Hotels & Resorts. The fund is structured for direct investment or joint-venture arrangements with affiliated and unaffiliated partners.

http://www.globest.com/news/721_721/washington/149106-1.html