According to DCmud, construction crews will be breaking ground on the Howard Town Center, a huge mixed-use project located on Georgia Ave. across the street from Howard University's Hospital, during the fall of 2010.

Back in September, developer Tim Kissler of Castlerock Partners unveiled his initial project rendering and divulged plans for 400-450 residential units, a grocery store, and some 100,000 square feet of retail total. At that time, Kissler and his team were negotiating a 99-year ground lease and a development agreement with Howard University for the land.

According to the DCmud post, Kissler hasn't settled on a grocery store yet, although that's his "first priority."  "'Once that is set, we move on to other spaces and prospects,' said Kissler. The grocery store was a prerequisite of the RFP and upwards of 45,000 s.f. has been tossed around as the size. Kissler added 'leasing interest is strong, despite the slow economy.'"

Turns out Central Union Mission will not be developing the land it owns by Georgia Ave. and Newton Place in Park View/Columbia Heights/Petworth. (Note: I've had enough of you neighborhood name police! It's a blurry area! Get over it.)

DCmud reported yesterday that the newly-selected developers for Park Morton will be "absorbing" Central Union Mission's land into their gigantic $130 million "New Communities" project.

More than a year after issuing its original request for proposals, the city finally announced yesterday that it had selected Landex Corp. to transform the Park Morton public housing area into a neighborhood-defining, transformational mixed-use development.

According to DCmud, officials from Central Union Mission were quietly negotiating with Landex while the charitable organization was jumping around to various community meetings and going before the Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) to share its plans for an affordable housing building.

The blog reports: "According to Catherine Fennell, a consultant working as the Project Manager with the Warrenton Group, the Mission continued moving forward while the award for Landex was pending. But Fennell indicated the two groups have been working on their agreement and will make the purchase official now that the award for Park Morton was announced."

Image by Intangible Arts, Flickr Creative Commons

Just when you thought 'Well it looks like we're over the final hurdle!" it appears the D.C. Convention Center hotel may be facing more delays.

This summer, the D.C. Council zoomed forward on a financing deal to jump-start a long awaited 1,167-room Marriott Marquis hotel, which is supposed to stimulate the city's convention business, and minimize the "Mickey Mouse effect." Once the members passed the proposal, construction was on track to begin this fall. But earlier this month, developer the JBG Companies threw a wrench in matters by suing the city over "the contracting process, which it calls an 'invalid sole source procurement,'” according to the Washington Business Journal.

Here's more from the Business Journal:

When D.C. first solicited bids, through the finance office and the deputy mayor’s office for economic development, the city said the winning bidder would have to build on private land and should be able to finance the project with private money.

That requirement significantly narrowed the pool of companies able to bid on the project, JBG charges...

Since that time, the city negotiated a land swap with Marriott, rather than forcing the developer to buy a completely different parcel. And of course, it has provided loads of public financing.   JBG Companies=Not thrilled. It argues that the city "had an obligation under D.C. procurement law to put the new offer out for rebidding," according to the WBJ story.

If the company's name sounds familiar, it's because they're already building hotel—possibly in your backyard! JBG has plans to open a super swanky "four-star operation with a spa, fitness center and upscale restaurant" at 13th and U Streets NW. It also acquired the nearby Whitman-Walker clinic, located on 14th Street, which it is transforming into housing and retail, according to DCmud.

Image by Kjarrett, Flickr Creative Commons

I thought I recognized the old building, located in Washington Highlands, but it turns out I had a completely different property in mind.

A co-worker had previously alerted me to a another empty highrise east of the river with the same eery, bombed-out look. This one is up in Ward 7, located by the intersection of Southern Ave. and East Capitol Street.

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Are there any others people know about of this scale?

It's not the first development—that would be Northwest One around North Capitol Street and New York Avenue, followed by Park Morton on Georgia Ave.—but ultimately the neighborhood should receive "654 replacement units together with new affordable and market rate units for a total of 1,110 units."

Now, add to that Matthews Memorial Terrace, "a 100% affordable housing development consisting of a four-story apartment building with 100 residential units, roughly of a third of which would be reserved for seniors," according to DCmud.

DCmud reported the news yesterday. There's no mention of the New Communities initiative, so I assume this housing will be in addition to what's already planned in the area. Personally, I haven't seen much (any) movement on the Barry Farm New Community plan. Northwest One is barely off the ground. The last I heard the city was just demolishing buildings at this point, with major construction planned for early 2010. So maybe this new Barry Farm housing will arrive long before the rest.

Here's a bit more info about Matthew Memorial Terrace:

"Next door, a three-story community center would include a health clinic (possibly an extension of the United Medical Center – itself slated for a large-scale expansion), a community room, a bookstore/café and “a dinner room/restaurant” that, according to Bishop C. Matthew Hudson, Jr., would be “Ward 8’s second full-service sit-down restaurant.” The project is being designed by PGN Architects."