Developer Plans $35M Mixed-Use Project for Mount Vernon
Thursday, February 23, 2006
By Barbra Murray

(To read more on the multifamily market, click here.)

BALTIMORE-A team of developers plans a mixed-use project in historic Mount Vernon. It will center on local transportation hubs, including Penn Station and other venues available in the city's central business district.

Canyon Johnson Urban Funds' Canyon Johnson Urban Fund II, a joint venture between Beverly Hills, CA-based Canyon Capital Realty Advisors and Johnson Development Corp., has joined forces with locally based Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse to develop the project, which will cost an estimated $34.6 million to realize. Funding for the project--construction financing, as well as a permanent loan--is being supplied by Citibank Community Development.

Mills Execs Explore Company Sale
Friday, February 24, 2006
By Ian Ritter

<(Ian Ritter is national online editor for GlobeSt.com/RETAIL.)

ARLINGTON, VA-Mills Corp.’s directors are considering the sale of all or part of the company, keeping in line with the predictions of some industry observers that have followed the firm’s woes. Meanwhile, the locally based REIT will also lay off 77 employees in a move forecast to save it $1.2 million in this year’s first quarter.

Mill’s troubles were made public, for the most part, last year when third-quarter NOI fell 5.2%, to $104.7 million, from the same year-ago period, while FFO dropped 53.6%, to $0.45 per share. Those plunges were due, in part, to a variety of charges taken on in regard to projects in the company’s pipeline and failure to collect some rents.

AICPA Stays Put at the Willard
Friday, February 24, 2006
By Barbra Murray

WASHINGTON, DC-Having shopped the office market in the District and environs for other options, the American Institutive of Certified Public Accountants has renewed its commitment to the Willard Office Building, its current headquarters at 1455 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. AICPA will relocate to a different floor of the 243,000-sf property, taking on a 17,600-sf space that is of similar size to its current space, but reconfigured to better accommodate the organization's needs.

AICPA relied on the representation of Cresa Partners' Gene Sachs and Aaron Pomerantz in its search for space as well as in negotiations with building owner CarrAmerica, which was represented internally by Amy Kaufman. "After evaluating both downtown DC and suburban Virginia opportunities, it was determined by the AICPA that remaining at the Willard presented the best solution which provided a reduction in their facility costs despite staying in the Willard Office Building," says Sachs.

$51M Camp Simms Project Breaks Ground Next Week
Thursday, February 23, 2006
By Barbra Murray

(For more retail coverage, click GlobeSt.com/RETAIL.)

WASHINGTON, DC-The long-vacated 25-acre Camp Simms property, formerly home to the National Guard, will finally begin to take on a new life next week. That's when ground will be broken for the Shops at Park Village.

Developer William C. Smith & Co., which acquired the parcel from the District five years ago, will construct the 112,000-sf shopping center, as well as 75 single-family residences on the site. The entire project will carry a price tag of $51 million. William C. Smith, lead developer, is facilitating the retail portion of the project as part of a joint venture, CHR LLC, that includes East of the River Community Development Corp.

Leasing Team at Bat for Mount Vernon Place
By Barbra Murray
Last updated: February 23, 2006 12:26pm

WASHINGTON, DC-Commercial leasing activity is ready to move forward at Mount Vernon Place, and Meany & Oliver Cos. has been selected to shoulder the job. Mount Vernon Place is the 2.2-million-sf mixed-use project currently being developed by Quadrangle Development Corp. and the Wilkes Co.

The JV will rely on the Arlington, VA-based real estate services firm to oversee the lease-up of the site's 1.2 million-sf class A office and retail segment. Meany has the exclusive on the job.

Leasing, Redevelopment Produce Strong Year for Federal Realty
By Barbra Murray
Last updated: February 23, 2006 10:35am

ROCKVILLE, MD-Federal Realty Investment Trust offered up details on its strong performance, claiming a continuation of a 38-year streak of increasing annual dividend rates to its shareholders. During an earnings call yesterday, company officials pointed to leasing and redevelopment endeavors as the backbone of its successes in 2005.

Across the board, the numbers tell the same story, the executives pointed out. During the final quarter of '05, FFO was $.78 per-diluted share, compared to $.70 in the fourth quarter of '04. For 2005, FFO was $3.06, and earnings were $1.94, overshadowing 2004's $2.85 and $1.41.

New Market Indicator Forecasts Commercial Brokerage Growth
By Barbra Murray
Last updated: February 22, 2006 11:28am

WASHIINGTON, DC-Commercial brokerage activity over the next six to nine months will be on the upswing, according to the National Association of Realtors Commercial Leading Indicator for Brokerage Activity. "The index increased in nine of the last 10 quarters--this trend implies that commercial activity of net absorption and the completion of new buildings will remain solid through the third quarter of this year," says NAR chief economist David Lereah.

The CLI, which NAR introduced today, is based on 13 market variables--including industrial production, REIT price index, jobs in retail trade, initial claims for unemployment insurance and wholesale merchant sales, to name a few--that impact future commercial real estate. The CLI takes into account the history of these variables for every quarter going back to 1990.

Industry Leaders Will Assess Market's Potential for More Heat
By Barbra Murray
Last updated: February 22, 2006 08:36am

WASHINGTON, DC-The opportunities for big deals will be among the topics of discussion at the RealShare Washington, DC conference on March 1. Exceeding last year's number of registrants, this year's event at the JW Marriott on Pennsylvania Avenue will bring together more than 500 industry heavy hitters from the brokerage, investment and development industries for exchanging information and networking.

"It's amazing how well received the RealShare conference has become here," Jonathan A. Schein president and CEO of Real Estate Media, tells GlobeSt.com. New York City-based Real Estate Media, publisher of Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com, is the producer of the national RealShare Conference Series. "It's part of the Washington, DC real estate scene.”

Construction Begins on $305M Convention Hotel
By Barbra Murray
Last updated: February 21, 2006 10:14am

BALTIMORE-Construction is under way on the Hilton Baltimore, the city's highly anticipated convention center headquarters hotel. The 756-room lodging facility will be owned by the City of Baltimore--which raised $301.7 million to finance the development through the sale of revenue bonds last month--and will cost $305 million to bring to fruition.

Hensel Phelps Construction Co. is on board as the project design-builder, and the Baltimore Hotel Corp. is acting as developer of the upscale hotel on behalf of the city. The project is scheduled to reach completion in the summer of 2008.

Supervisors approve 600 houses on Route 50
By Anne Keisman
02/21/2006

The Board of Supervisors gave unanimous approval Tuesday to a high-density development touted as the first in a series of projects designed to make the Route 50 corridor an attractive gateway to Loudoun.

“It was complete visceral buy-in by the people,” said Steve Snow (R-Dulles). “The citizens got to be in on the development – how it would look and how it would impact on them.”

Snow formed the Route 50 Task Force in 2004 to get public input on the future of the corridor -- including road widening and beautification.

Falls Church, Virginia Realtors Report Continuing Hot Market

Falls Church, Virginia, has charm as well as easy access to Washington, D.C., which is making it a popular relocation destination, despite its small size, say Realtors.

"Falls Church has a small town feeling with only one middle school and one high school," explains Realtor Casey O'Neal. "It's close to the Orange Line Metro and Washington, D.C., so Falls Church City, while being a very small geographic area has been, and continues to be, one of the hottest markets in the DC Metro area. It borders Arlington County and enjoys Metro proximity."