The Story:
--- The DC Department of Transportation is considering regulations to create valet parking staging zones where restaurant, nightclub etc. customers could pick up or drop off their vehicles. Spaces will be leased for about $2,400 per year or $200 bucks per month.
View from the Bubble:
--- Stepping up DC parking services certainly could help DC restaurants attract suburban diners.
--- But 200 bucks a month for prime parking seems pretty cheap to us.
The Story:
--- PNC, wich own Riggs Bank, plans to build a new HQ building at 17th and H Sts., NW. The planned 350K sf building will replace existing structures. The expectation is that the building, which will house PNC and other tenants, will be ready to go in 2010.
Bubble View:
--- PNC easily could have used this opportunity to relocate to Bethesda or Arlington. So Kudos to them for staying in the city. But that hardly would be fitting of the most important bank in the most important city in the world, as their slogan used to go.
--- Replacing the old Riggs buildings on 17th St. will surely help bring the area Farragut Square area, blocks from the White House, as DC's most prestigous and impressive.
Link: WashBiz
The Story:
--- Mayor Adrian I ousted zoning administer Bill Crews.
--- Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) delivered a letter Fenty asking why Crews, whom he described as "a respected individual," was removed from "this hard to fill position." "Why would your administration create a vacancy when the Office of the Zoning Administrator continues to struggle with a backlog?"
Bubble View:
--- If Mendleson is correct, this move will complicate many large-scale projects in the pipeline.
Links: WashExam, WaPo
The Story:
--- Under an emerging plan, Apollo Management will help finance and plan the redevelopment of the Capital City Market into a mixed-use project to be called “New Town.”
--- The DC Council last December approved legislation that allows for redevelopment of the market, which sits at the corner of Florida and New York avenues in Northeast, so long as more than half of the merchants agree.
View from the Bubble:
--- Because DC is such a small city and is contrained by the height limit, it must develop every square inch to maximize tax revenue to make it a viable city. So this development is good.
--- Yet it is unfortunate that interesting elements such as the market must be largely blotted out as a result.
Link: WashExam
The Story:
--- Mid-City Urban is marketing a $96 million project near the Rhode Island Metro station to national and local retailers. The town center, modeled after the Shirlington and Bethesda Row projects, will have 70k SF of shops and restaurants in this forgotten DC neighborhood.
--- There has been much interest in DC retail of late.
View from the Bubble:
--- This seems a bit of a long shot in light of the fact that the retail near Home Depot and Giant took so long to fill.
Link: WashBiz
The Story:
--- It will cost $3 billion to properly restore the St. Elizabeth's site. Some say the Dept. of Homeland Security, which is looking at moving its headquarters to the site, will not create enough spin-off development because DHS will be so isolated due to security at the campus.
--- "The area is sorely in need of economic development," said Rebecca A. Miller, executive director of the D.C. Preservation League. "A walled-off citadel on the site is not going to help."
Bubble View:
--- Wishing for better development won't make it so. Only the federal government has the money to restore the property -- either it does the work for its own tenant or someone convinces the feds to pony up the dough.
--- The impact of DHS is being undersold. The Pentagon sure transformed Arlington and it has tight security too. DHS workers will have to live somewhere.
---for new townhouses in Southeast near the Baseball Stadium. Folks are camping out for when the units become available in July.
Bubble View:
---People say the market is soft and say they are crazy. Maybe they are.
Link: WaPo
The Story:
--- Erik Kolar, president of Patriot Equities, which purchased the property said he is exploring the right combination of uses for the building and "the focus has been on industrial, office and retail."
Links: WaPo, Bubbleview
The Story:
--- Metro will open a three-month window for considering offers to relocate its headquarters. Relocation offers can come from all local jurisdictions after Metro adopts criteria for evaluating the proposals.
--- Mayor Adrian Fenty I submitted an unsolicited offer in April for Metro to move to a new building near its Anacostia station as part of the city's efforts to revitalize that area.
Bubble View:
--- Freeing up downtown development space would be great for the city, but its hard to believe Metro employees would relish a move to Anacostia.
Link: WashExam
The Story
--- Developers of the Grant condo in Logan Circle threw a glitzy party to boost sales. The party with a National player drew attention in the WaPo.
--- Why hold these sales parties? "We're in Washington. People love their events and their black tie and their kind of sassy parties," said Tracy Danneberg, special events coordinator for Metropolis Development. "You have to keep up with it and be different."
Bubble View:
--- Do these parties really sell units? Recently I saw a party for the Beauregard and thought to myself looking at all the cliched buff men dressed in black, this would be a turnoff if I were a buyer. (I think the park expensive cars out front and import beautiful people to enhance the look too.) I thought the first rule of effective sales is: make the client feel comfortable, not feel intimidated.
--- I wonder if the sales staff likes this marketing tool because they want to want to throw a party, not because it improves sales. I want to see the balance sheet not be feed sorbet cocktails. Then again, the second rule of marketing is: sell the sizzle, not the steak, especially when the steak is not the best cut.
--- Third rule: The flashier the party, the lousier the deal.
Link: WaPo
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