Canyon-Johnson Urban Fund and Donatelli Development announced plans last week for a new residential development in the Columbia Heights/Petworth neighborhood.
The team is one of several developers trying to grab some of the last sites available in the neighborhood at a reasonable cost.
Many sites in the downtown area have been lost to redevelopment in recent years, until the housing market collapse dried up developers’ interest in building neighborhood projects.
Columbia Heights/Petworth is one of the exceptions.
While developers refuse to even consider new residential projects in most of the region, Columbia Heights/Petworth is home to the Privado condominiums, the Allegro apartments, Kenyon Square condominiums and now the future Park Place mixed-use project. All of them are either recently completed, being built or just announced.
“It’s a fast moving neighborhood,” said Bob Moore, president of the Development Corporation of Columbia Heights, a nonprofit business development organization. “It’s one of the few neighborhoods where there’s still a lot of housing investment going on.”
Among its attractions for developers are two Metro stops, the 546,000-square-foot DC USA shopping and entertainment complex at 14th Street and Park Road Northwest that opened in March, a downtown location and a sprinkling of vacant lots or parking lots that are ripe for new buildings.
“They haven’t had to tear down much of anything to build on it,” Mr. Moore said.
For the Park Place, Canyon-Johnson Urban Fund and Donatelli Development obtained a $53 million construction loan. The complex would include 161 condominiums and apartments and 16,000 square feet of retail.
The seven-story building is expected to be finished by July 2009 over the Georgia Avenue/Petworth Metro station, only one block from DC USA.
“We are true believers in Washington, D.C., and this vibrant Columbia Heights/Petworth neighborhood,” basketball player turned business magnate Magic Johnson said in a statement.
The Privado, a separate project due for completion at the end of this year at 1443 Chapin St. NW, consists of 16 condominiums a half-block from Meridian Hill Park. It is being built by Drummond Development, which has specialized in revitalizing Washington neighborhoods.
The Allegro apartments and retail space are going up at 3460 14th St. NW with a completion date scheduled for 2009.
Kenyon Square condominiums at 14th and Kenyon streets Northwest opened in 2007.
In other news …
c Federal Realty Investment Trust yesterday said it is opening the ninth phase of Bethesda Row, a seven-block redevelopment of downtown Bethesda with retail, residences and office space.
The most recent segment includes 43,000 square feet of boutique stores and restaurants, 180 apartments and 244 parking spaces. They were built on the 1.7-acre site of a former Giant Food store.
The latest development adds to the existing 477,000 square feet of redeveloped space in Bethesda Row that includes retailers such as a Barnes & Noble outlet, an Apple Store and Discovery Galleries.
• Property Lines runs on Thursdays. Call Tom Ramstack at 202/636-3180 or e-mail tramstack@washington times.com.
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