Tag Archives: Fort Totten metro development

Donatelli selected for Fort Totten joint development

Posted by nextstoprp in Fort Totten Metro Development and tagged with ,

Update 3/13/2015: Post updated with photos

Update 3/11/2015: The Washington Business Journal published an article with renderings.

Original post

WMATA (Metro) announced yesterday afternoon that Donatelli Development has been selected to develop the park-and-ride lot at Fort Totten metro station. The proposed development will have 345 residential units and 10,000 square feet of ground floor retail and will be designed to achieve at least LEED Silver certification. The existing 422 parking spaces will be replaced in the new development. If the project receives final approval from Metro’s Board of Directors, construction is anticipated to begin in 2017.

We have not seen any renderings of the proposed development (see update at top of post). At ANC 5A’s February meeting, commissioners reported that they received an update from Metro that a selection was pending and that Metro would encourage the selected developer to present its plan to residents and solicit feedback. One commissioner stated her top concern is retail. We too are interested in potential retail, but we are really interested in the design as well. As we can see from the still vacant ground floor retail space at Aventine at Fort Totten (also a Metro joint development), design and retail success go hand in hand.

This proposed development follows large-scale neighborhood developments in progress, Fort Totten Square (scheduled for completion this year) and the first phase of Art Place at Fort Totten (anticipated 2017 completion).

No bidders for Fort Totten metro development

Posted by nextstoprp in Fort Totten Metro Development, Transportation and tagged with

The Washington Business Journal brings us news that there were no submissions to WMATA’s solicitation for joint development at Fort Totten metro station.  The solicitation to develop the large park-and-ride lot went out in November 2013.  Submissions were due March 7, 2014.  Stan Wall, WMATA’s director of real estate and station planning, presented on the project at an ANC meeting in January 2014.  From the WBJ article:

There were no submissions for Fort Totten. At that site, Metro offered a relatively small parcel and required the replacement of roughly 400 commuter parking spaces. The cost of the project would be more than the value of any new development, Wall said, but he expects interest to grow over time.
“It’s not quite ready but I think it’ll be back in a year or two,” he said of Fort Totten.

Essentially, the cost of replacing the 400 or so parking spaces alone is a pretty high financial barrier to development of the property right now.  In addition, potential developers were wary about the two developments already in the pipeline, Fort Totten Square (which will bring 345 apartments to the area) and Art Place at Fort Totten (which is estimated to bring close to 900 apartments).  Once Fort Totten Square is completed in spring 2015 and Art Place is further along, developers will be able to see more clearly the level of investment in the area.

It is not clear if any of this will impact DDOT’s accessibility project around the metro station.  While DDOT is coordinating with WMATA because some of the potential changes will affect WMATA’s property, DDOT’s project is completely separate from WMATA’s solicitation for joint development of the large parking lot.

 

 

Recap of ANC 5A meeting: Zoning, Library, Fort Totten metro station

Posted by nextstoprp in Fort Totten Metro Development, Lamond Riggs Library, Neighborhood Development, Transportation and tagged with , , ,

Highlights from the January 29th ANC 5A public meeting:

Miscellaneous items

  • The commission elected the same slate of officers.
  • The commission is looking for an office assistant available to work around 20 hours per week.  Direct inquiries and leads to your commissioner.
  • Ward 5 Councilmember McDuffie said that the Ward 5 Industrial Land Transformation report is still under review, but he hopes that the task force can have that out to the public in the next couple of months.
  • Art Place at Fort Totten:  The Cafritz team will likely have to file for a PUD extension.
  • Path between Gallatin & Galloway Street NE:  Expect notice of a meeting for SMD 5A08 regarding the National Park Service environment study.
  • Hotel:  Developers presented on a new Marriott brand hotel proposed for a site at Michigan Avenue NE and Irving Street NE.  A parking lot currently sits at this site.  The area was part of ANC 5C prior to revision of the ANC boundaries.  Now it is in ANC 5A.  The developers believe the area, with several hospitals and universities, will be well-served by a hotel and they plan to provide discounted community rates on rooms and hotel facilities.  They also emphasized the importance of hiring from the community.
  • McMillan Sand Filtration Site:  The commission plans to draft a resolution in support of ANC 5E’s resolution on the first phase of the McMillan project.

Zoning

The ANC plans to draft a resolution requesting more time to review the zoning update.  The Ward 5 hearing on the zoning update is 9:00 am on Saturday, February 8, 2014, at Dunbar High School.  The Ward 4 hearing is at 6:00 pm on Tuesday, February 11, 2014, at Wilson High School.  The Office of Zoning will accept written testimony after today’s deadline for written submission, but might not have time to review it before scheduled hearings.  Individuals can also testify in person.  Early sign up is encouraged since testimony will take place on a first come, first serve basis.  Instructions and more information are available on Zoning’s site.

Lamond Riggs Library

The ANC plans to draft a resolution requesting the full modernization and renovation of Lamond Riggs Library at its current location.  Recall that the Cafritz project potentially includes a new, state-of-the art neighborhood library in a later phase of the development.  However, since there is no indication of when the project will actually break ground on the first phase, the ANC believes it does not make sense to make the update of the library contingent on the Cafritz project.  Recall from this post that the FY 2014 budget included zero funding for renovating the library, but there is proposed funding for FY 2015 & 2016.  The budget summary noted that DC’s chief librarian was in communication with the Cafritz team about the libary.  We look forward to seeing the resolution the commission draws up at a future meeting.    

WMATA Joint Development for Fort Totten Metro Station

Stan Wall, WMATA’s real estate development director, presented on WMATA’s joint soliciation for proposed development of the park-and-ride lot (west parcel) at Fort Totten metro station.  As mentioned in previous posts, WMATA anticipates that this project will be all or primarily residential, with possibly a very small retail component.  Below is a 4 pager that was distributed at the meeting showing conceptual designs of circulation pattern, massing, potential development concepts, and a timeline for the project.  A developer can propose a concept not shown as long as it meets the requirements in the solicitation. 

Mr. Wall said that WMATA’s chief concerns with this project are that it enhance the community and have good placemaking and design elements.  He noted that Aventine Fort Totten (and even Rhode Island Row), while transit-oriented in the sense that they abut a metro station, are not so great in terms of looking like they fit, enhancing the community, or having good placemaking elements.  In addition, with this project, they hope to add more eyes to the street around First Place NE, thereby making it safer for those accessing the station from west of the tracks. 

WMATA plans to hold community meetings after proposals have been submitted.  They plan to have boards for each proposal so that residents can say which elements of each they like.  That way, WMATA can work with the developer they ultimately select to incorporate certain things the community found favorable even if those elements were not originally in the proposal.  

Submissions are due March 7, 2014.  The total time for selection of a developer and negotiating an agreement is expected to be one year.  If the project needs to go through the planned unit development (PUD) process (for example if the developer wants to do something not currently permitted under zoning laws), then expect additional time.  All told, the project is expected to be completed in the 2017-2018 timeframe. 

For those interested in learning more about the project before the community forums begin, it’s worth taking a look at the 13 pages from the solicitation pertaining just to Fort Totten station: Full WMATA Fort Totten Development Section (source:  WMATA Joint Development Solicition November 2013 (pdf)).