Category Archives: Cafritz Art Place at Fort Totten

Neighborhood development roundup: We still have questions

Posted by nextstoprp in Cafritz Art Place at Fort Totten, Fort Totten Metro Development, Fort Totten Square, Neighborhood Development, North Michigan PArk, The Hampshires

With the announcement of WMATA’s selection of a joint developer for the park-and-ride lot at Fort Totten metro station, now is a good time to look at the state of development in the neighborhood. Even as the first major development nears completion, questions remain about how retail will ultimately shape up for the neighborhood.

1. Fort Totten Square

Fort Totten Square Phase I with potential Phase II rendering

Fort Totten Square Phase I with potential Phase II rendering

Developer: JBG & Lowe Enterprises

Location: Riggs Road between 3rd Street and Chillum Place NE

Expected delivery: Mid- to late-2015

  • Mixed use development anchored by 117,000 square foot Walmart
  • 10,000 square feet of ancillary ground floor retail
  • 345 rental apartments

Fort Totten Square emerged the winner to be the first major development in the neighborhood. The Walmart anchor will be joined by Subway and Five Guys. There are two other retail spaces that have not been leased. Residential leasing personnel are being hired for the luxury apartments, so this development will be ready to accept residents without all of the pieces to the retail puzzle in place. Early in the development process, the developers indicated they were hoping to sign a coffee shop or a sit-down restaurant to the development. We cannot give the odds on either of those happening at this point.

In addition, talks are said to have begun again between District officials and the developers for sale of District owned land across the street from Fort Totten Square in order to build a second phase to the development. The developers provided an initial concept plan for the mixed use development for the second phase with less housing and more retail. We cannot say with any certainty though what will happen with the negotiations or the concept plan.

First to deliver, Fort Totten Square still leaves questions about what type of retail and amenities we can expect for the neighborhood in the near future.

2. Art Place at Fort Totten (Building A)

Art Place at Fort Totten Building A

Art Place at Fort Totten Building A

Developer: Cafritz Enterprises

Location: South Dakota Avenue between Galloway Street and Kennedy Street NE

Expected delivery: 2017 (though construction is undoubtedly behind schedule)

  • Mixed use development
  • Over 100,000 square feet of retail
  • 520 rental apartments

Art Place at Fort Totten is a multi-phase planned unit development (PUD).  The only tenant we know about for the first phase (Building A) is X-Sport Fitness. We are pumped about potentially having a gym in the neighborhood, but we are really interested in knowing what other anchor retailers are being targeted for Building A. The development team indicated early on that Building A would be constructed with the potential to locate three restaurants there. We also know the building will also have space for an ANC office and a daycare center.

At the ANC 5A08 SMD meeting on March 18, we learned that negotiations are taking place to have the children’s museum occupy the warehouses located at 5458-5462 3rd Street NE, rather than in Building B of Art Place as originally envisioned by the development team.

We will have to wait and see what happens with this development. The development team has long said they will be looking at the effect of Walmart’s opening on the retail landscape for the neighborhood, so they cannot provide any updates on future phases of the development. We still have questions about Building A though that also cannot be answered at this time.

3. WMATA/Donatelli Fort Totten Joint Development

Developer: Donatelli Development

Location: Existing park-and-ride lot on 1st Place NE

Expected construction start date: 2017

  • Mixed use development
  • 10,000 square feet of ground floor retail
  • 345 rental apartments
Donatelli bid

Donatelli bid

WMATA is up to its usual MO with the joint development of the park-and-ride lot at Fort Totten metro station. There were two proposals for the joint development. WMATA initially indicated they would make both proposals public. They presented the two concepts to ANC 5A’s commissioners (Fort Totten – Presentation to ANC 5A (Feb 11-2015)), but did not present at an ANC meeting. WMATA ultimately selected Donatelli.

We know the other bid was submitted by Jair Lynch.  That proposal was more arts-focused to piggyback on the concept of the Arts Place development. However, that bid proposed fewer apartments than the Donatelli bid (302 versus 345).

Jair Lynch bid

Jair Lynch bid

We have long had the sense that WMATA is not too concerned about placemaking in its development projects, despite the inclusion of a placemaking element in the RFP.

Given that there has always had long been vacant ground floor retail space at Aventine Fort Totten (another WMATA joint development project at Fort Totten), we definitely have questions about the type of retail Donatelli anticipates bringing to this project.

Residential Development

The uneven retail landscape is interesting give the huge interest from homebuyers in the neighborhood. Median home sale prices have increased and homes have sold more quickly. The Hampshires, a subdivision of detached single family homes and townhomes by Comstock Homes, has attracted a lot of interest. A PUD application was recently submitted for the Totten Mews, another project of Comstock Homes, in nearby North Michigan Park. Several newly constructed homes by independent developers have also popped up in the neighborhood.

It is clear that many people love what the neighborhood has to offer: large open park space, relatively affordable homes with outdoor space, close proximity to a major metro line and downtown, low crime, civic-minded neighbors. Newer homebuyers are certainly attracted to the potential development coming to this established neighborhood. The small area plan identifies even more potential development sites. As we can see from development in the pipeline though, the state of retail for the neighborhood remains a big question mark.

Something needs to be done about sidewalks on Galloway Street near Fort Totten metro station

Posted by nextstoprp in Cafritz Art Place at Fort Totten and tagged with , ,
Feb 23 Galloway path 5

This is the ice covered path on Galloway Street pedestrians are supposed to use

Once again, we are writing about the sidewalk path on Galloway Street by the Art Place at Fort Totten construction site. The north sidewalk on Galloway Street between South Dakota Avenue and 4th Street NE was closed for construction and jersey barriers were placed in the road to create a sidewalk path for pedestrians because there is not another sidewalk on the opposite side (south side) of the street.

The problem is that after winter storms, this path is not cleared in a timely manner. Because there is not another sidewalk, pedestrians either have to traverse an icy path or walk in the street. Doing either is dangerous. We had this same problem after January’s wintry weather and wrote about it then. We took pictures of the ice covered path around 6:05 pm Monday evening.  Also notice in the pictures that several jersey barriers have been knocked down.

We submitted a 311 request yesterday to have the path cleared of ice, just as we did last month.

It strikes us that there might be a bigger problem requiring a better solution.

(1) On a broader level, perhaps the transportation management plan that developers are required to submit should also include plans for inclement weather if they are not already required to do so. DDOT has rules about closures of sidewalks for construction, which is why these jersey barriers were erected in the first place. Even in cases in which the sidewalk remains open during construction, there should still be something in the transportation management plan to ensure that developers clear the sidewalk in front of their projects.

With respect to this specific project, maybe a complete sidewalk structure needs to be constructed on the north side of Galloway rather than just having the jersey barriers in place since it appears they can be knocked down easily and the construction team has made no effort to upright them to form a complete path, nor has the construction team made efforts to diligently clear the path after winter storms. We emailed the construction team and developers both last month and yesterday evening regarding the condition of the path after submitting 311 requests.

If this is something that needs to be worked out between the developers and the District in terms of who is responsible for clearing the path and making sure the jersey barriers actually form a complete barrier, we hope that there is a mechanism to do so. We do not know the best solution; we are just thinking out loud about what might help.

(2) DDOT, WMATA, and the National Park Service should work together to implement the recommendations in the Fort Totten metro accessibility study (pdf) completed in 2011. One of the recommendations was constructing a sidewalk on the south side of Galloway Street between South Dakota Avenue and 4th Street. We know there have been conversations between DDOT and the Park Service to figure out how much land belongs to the District in order to construct a sidewalk. We do not know the status of that project or this study as a whole, as we understand funding is always an issue, but this should certainly be a priority for the District as Galloway is a primary access route to a metro station with three lines and several buses.

Construction is anticipated to last another three years. We really should not have to deal with this issue every winter.  We hope that the mayor’s office, DDOT, and the developers together can find a workable solution to this problem.

 

WaPo article on children’s museum

Posted by nextstoprp in Cafritz Art Place at Fort Totten and tagged with ,

When news broke a few months ago that the National Children’s Museum was seeking to return to DC from the National Harbor as early as 2015, we were immediately curious about what its potential return would mean for the anticipated children’s museum at Art Place at Fort Totten. Reporting on the National Children’s Museum challenge in returning to DC, the Washington Post provides this nugget:

One potential problem for the museum may be competition for money and philanthropic or business partners. This spring, lawyer and former board member Jane Cafritz plans to launch a mobile educational lab to serve schools, libraries and community centers in the District. She also wants to open the Washington D.C. Children’s Museum near the Fort Totten Metro in Northeast, on property owned by the family foundation of her developer husband Calvin Cafritz. This D.C. museum, she said, “will inspire children to discover and learn through hands-on activities so they may develop and acquire the 21st-century learning skills needed to succeed as citizens, workers and leaders.” And might she collaborate with the National Children’s Museum? “I would never say no.”

The timeline the Art Place team provided in its July 2014 update to the Zoning Commission indicated the children’s museum would be part of Building B, which would be constructed in 2019 at the earliest. As the Art Place team continues to revise and refine its PUD, it seems that the team is still very much committed to keeping the children’s museum in play no matter where the National Children’s Museum eventually decides to locate.

 

 

Icy sidewalks around Art Place construction site

Posted by nextstoprp in Cafritz Art Place at Fort Totten

We were surprised to find the sidewalks around the Art Place at Fort Totten construction site still covered in snow and ice last night. This is the first significant winter weather event since construction began in earnest summer 2014. We hope this is not what we can look forward to during the winter for the next few years of construction. If the sidewalks are still icy, consider submitting a 311 request for snow/ice removal.

Note January 8:  We received a 311 update at 2:30 pm stating that the area has been plowed and salted.

Art Place at Fort Totten gets financing

Posted by nextstoprp in Cafritz Art Place at Fort Totten and tagged with ,

Good news for the Cafritz team. The developers of Art Place at Fort Totten secured a $115.8 million construction loan from Prudential Mortgage Capital Company for the project. The first phase will bring 520 rental units (of which 121 will be below market rate) along with a fitness center, restaurants, and retail to the neighborhood. From Prudential News:

“The scale and design of this property coupled with the longstanding commitment of the borrower to serving Washington, D.C., will make this a dynamic development for the Fort Totten community,” said Alex Viorst, a principal with Prudential Mortgage Capital Company’s affordable housing business. “When this property is completed, it will bring high quality market rate and affordable housing to the community, along with new commercial and retail opportunities for neighborhood residents.”

Added Lata Reddy, vice president of Corporate Social Responsibility at Prudential and president of The Prudential Foundation, “We are pleased to partner with Prudential Mortgage Capital Company on this important investment. For many households, transportation and housing are the two largest expenditures, and this project will lessen both burdens on its residents. Prudential is focused on helping working families provide for their basic needs, so projects like Art Place are a perfect fit.”

“The Foundation is committed to building a strong community for Washington area residents,” said Calvin Cafritz, Chairman of the Board of The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation. “Art Place will be an important catalyst to the Ft. Totten neighborhood creating a new vibrancy with the addition of residential apartments, shopping, restaurants and a new fitness center while providing 121 apartments as affordable with long-term income and rent restrictions.”

Detours: Northbound South Dakota Avenue closed between Hamilton & Ingraham next 5 weeks

Posted by nextstoprp in Cafritz Art Place at Fort Totten and tagged with , ,

For the next 5 weeks, South Dakota Avenue northbound lanes will be closed between Hamilton Street and Ingraham Street. On weekdays, the northbound lanes will be closed from 7:00 am to 5:00 pm and on the weekend from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm. The righthand southbound lane will remain open.

Drivers traveling northbound South Dakota will detour east onto Hamilton one block to come down Ingraham and back north onto South Dakota. Drivers traveling west on Hamilton cannot turn north onto South Dakota. Drivers traveling west on Ingraham cannot turn south onto South Dakota. And drivers traveling south on South Dakota cannot turn east onto Ingraham.

Construction workers for Art Place at Fort Totten are installing a junction box on Ingraham so that the street can be extended west of South Dakota. Utility lines under Hamilton will be moved to Ingraham.

Unfortunately, this means people living in the 500 and 600 blocks of Hamilton and Ingraham will see a lot more vehicle traffic. Pedestrians should also be aware that drivers are also using the alleys to get around the detour, so exercise caution. Construction trucks are also currently detouring onto Hamilton and using neighborhood streets.

Timeline for additional phases at Art Place at Fort Totten

Posted by nextstoprp in Cafritz Art Place at Fort Totten and tagged with

 

At the request of the Zoning Commission, the Cafritz team provided a timeline for the remainder of the Art Place at Fort Totten development.  Recall the development will be constructed in multiple phases.  Construction recently started on Building A (1st phase), a mixed use building slated to have 510-550 residential units and over 100,000 square feet of retail.  Building A is expected to be complete in late 2016/early 2017.

Anticipated construction start dates and uses for remaining buildings

Early 2019:  Building B – Children’s museum, additional retail, community recreational uses

Late 2023:  Building C – Residential building with approximately 400 units

Mid-2024:  Building D – Arts and community uses

These anticipated construction dates and uses are subject to change as the Cafritz team assesses the viability of potential uses.

View the full letter, which provides some background information about getting Building A off the ground: Art Place Status – Phasing Plan

 

 

Street closures around Art Place coming soon – Plan accordingly

Posted by nextstoprp in Cafritz Art Place at Fort Totten and tagged with ,

Street detour signs for Galloway, Hamilton, and 4th Street NE surrounding Art Place at Fort Totten are now up.  Road and alley closure signs and barriers are visible behind the chain link fence.  Plan accordingly.

  • Hamilton Street will be closed between South Dakota Avenue and 4th Street.  Pedestrians who are used to taking Hamilton to the metro station should plan to take Galloway Street.  Drivers will not be able to turn west onto Hamilton from South Dakota.  Galloway is the detour route.  Residents in the 500 & 600 blocks of Hamilton initially might see more traffic as drivers also detour east onto Hamilton.
  • 4th Street between Galloway & Hamilton will be closed to traffic.  Drivers can instead detour through the alley behind Aventine Fort Totten.
  • Drivers who are used to parking along Galloway, Hamilton, and 4th Street should make alternate plans.
  • Drivers who are accustomed to using Galloway and Hamilton as shortcuts to travel west of South Dakota probably will be better off avoiding the area altogether and taking Riggs Road instead.

The impending street closures are a good sign that construction is in fact finally starting.  According to Elevation DC, at last month’s Bisnow development event Jane Cafritz indicated construction would start this month.  She has been marketing the project heavily in recent weeks.  Construction is expected to take 30 months.