Since former streetcar czar Scott Kubly left for greener pastures (and his old boss) in Chicago, the District's snazzy red transit innovations—Bikeshare, the Circulator, the streetcar—have been under interim management. The head of the appropriately-named Progressive Transportation Services Administration is an important pick, since these transit systems are relatively new and rapidly evolving, and the District [...]
The Archstone NoMa, finishing up.
If you ask a longtime D.C. resident where NoMa is, they might not know what you're talking about. They should be forgiven: The formerly industrial district that hugs the railroad tracks behind Union Station has only really become someplace over the last ten years, with a cluster of office buildings [...]
The Occupiers at McPherson Square and Freedom Plaza have gone a whole day without being kicked out, as the Park Service had warned might happen as soon as yesterday at noon. It's a horrible feeling of uncertainty, not knowing when—if at all—a police officer might come along and seize your tent as evidence.
As the uneasy [...]
Nuts and bolts of D.C.'s annual revenue thing. [DistrictDime]
New rich people float D.C.'s boat. [LL]
But value of commercial property fell. [WBJ]
Eisenhower memorial designer on defense. [Washingtonian]
P.G. County developers still building sprawl. [Examiner]
Another Reatig project for Shaw. [CCCA]
PEPCO buys University of Maryland's Decathlon-winning solar house. [Urbanturf]
Today on the market: Baby blue house.
It's taken since the 1970s, with many promises of construction being totally just around the corner now, but the day is finally here: The Shops at Dakota Crossing, a none-too-pretty suburban-style retail development that will nonetheless bring Costco and other retail to an underserved corner of the city, breaks ground on Thursday.
The developers officially bought [...]
One of D.C.'s more godforsaken public spaces.
The construction of Federal Triangle—that monolithic block of offices between Pennsylvania and Constitution on either side of 12th Street NW—didn't do much for downtown public space. This was an era when America was still trying to assert its dominance in the world, after all, through mimicking the imperial aesthetic [...]
The weird, looming entrance of the Bellevue library.
D.C. Chief Librarian Ginnie Cooper is nearing the end of her library building streak, with striking new facilities now open in Anacostia, Shaw, Minnesota-Benning, and Tenleytown. Her last two, in Bellevue and Hillcrest and both designed by London-based architect David Adjaye, might be the most bizarre and [...]
Itty bitty little offices!
It's a well-known fact in commercial real estate circles: Tenants are doing more with less. Gone are the days of law firm associates doing cartwheels in their offices, and getting a secretary as soon as they made partner. The floorplates of the future squish dozens of offices into spaces that before held [...]
I've been asking the Department of Housing and Community Development about the shady guy who purchased the Peaceoholics' three properties once the nonprofit's fortunes turned, but it looks like the Post was on it: Debbie Cenziper and Nikita Stewart nailed the story today, showing a nest of connections between the buyer, Richard Hagler, and DHCD [...]
The week in vaguely real estate-related events. Got one to share? Drop me a line: ldepillis@washingtoncitypaper.com
Monday
3:00 p.m. – Tour of Jesuit iconography in Georgetown University architecture. Meet at White-Gravenor Hall.
Tuesday
Wednesday
10:30 a.m. – Council oversight roundtable on streetcar land use study. Wilson Building, room 500.
6:30 p.m. – ANC 2C meeting. Vacant property taxes, Parcel 42 on [...]
