DC Selects $2.5-Billion Anacostia Waterfront Plan

Clark Realty Capital gets the nod to redevelop the eastern banks of the Anacostia River in southeast Washington, D.C., adding up to 6.3-million-sq-ft of mixed-use space, a 70-acre park and a new major league soccer stadium.

Clark Realty to Develop Poplar Point

WASHINGTON—District of Columbia residents could see another major mixed-use waterfront development—and possibly another new stadium—sprouting up in the coming years, following the selection of Clark Realty Capital to develop the Poplar Point project. The $2.5-billion project, which D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty’s office touts as the second largest economic development project in the city’s history, would include a mix of residential, commercial and a new stadium for the D.C. United professional soccer team along the east side of the Anacostia River.

“We look forward to working with the mayor and his team to create a neighborhood that will recognize the opportunities our great city will provide to the residents of Anacostia and to the nation," said Bereket Selassie, development executive with Clark Realty Capital.

Clark does not expect construction to start before 2011 with the work projected to last 10 to 15 years. The property is owned by the federal government and will need to be transferred to the city before work can begin.

The Arlington, Va.-based company beat out proposals from Forest City and Archstone-Smith/Madison Marquette.

Clark Realty plans to divide the land into five distinct neighborhoods. The Point district will be a mixed-use waterfront plaza. A Center for the Environment calls for a 250,000-sq-ft National Museum of the Environment and an International Environment Center designed to be a hub of green industry. The Village at Poplar Point would include a mix of townhouses, stacked homes, retail and a charter school. Another mixed-use district would be built around the proposed MLS soccer stadium with access to Metro. The entire development would wrap around a 70-acre park with 10 acres of waterfront.

The 6.3 million-sq-ft combined project could include 1.5-million sq ft of office, 2,500 residential units, 400,000 sq ft of retail, 225,000 sq ft of hotels and a 140,000-sq-ft charter school. The plan also features "The Deck" – a three-block lid running over Interstate 295 that will allow Anacostia residents to walk to Poplar Point.

Developers Give Life to Philly Live!

PHILADELPHIA—Philadelphia-based Comcast-Spectacor and The Cordish Company of Baltimore have teamed up to propose a new mixed-use district surrounding the city’s stadiums in south Philly.

The development, dubbed “Philly Live!,” would include a mix of retail, dining and entertainment in the area adjacent to the Wachovia Center. A 300-room hotel is also being considered. Plans call for the main district to have a “Main Street setting” with a canopy covering the center plaza area.

“Our vision when we built the Wachovia Center was to create the ultimate sports destination. Philly Live! is the dining and retail entertainment component of that vision,” said Comcast-Spectacor Chairman Ed Snider.

Fru-Con Awarded $73 Million Water Treatment Project

FREDERICK, MD—Fru-Con Construction has landed another major water treatment plant project in the region. The Woodbridge, Va.-firm was awarded a $72.9-million contract to expand the New Design Road Water Treatment Plant in Frederick County, Md.

Fru-Con will construct new facilities that will nearly triple the existing treatment plant capacity from 8.8 to 25 million gallons per day. The expansion includes a pre-sedimentation basin, rapid mixers, three flocculation basins, three sedimentation basins, six filters, four filter effluent pumps, a UV disinfection system and a high service pump station. The project also entails modifications and upgrades to the existing sedimentation basins, rapid mix area and filters. A new backup power generation system will also be provided, according to Fru-Con Controller Ralf Fuchs and Senior Project Manager Joe Duffy.

Rummel, Klepper Kahl of Baltimore, Md. designed the project in association with New York City-based Hazen and Sawyer.

NoVa Eyes $187 Million for Transportation

FALLS CHURCH, VA—Northern Virginia’s transportation woes could get a bit of relief thanks to a controversial new six-year funding plan approved by the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority in January. The authority, which will use funds from a new commercial tax, approved $186.6 million for fiscal years 2009 and 2010.

Several the highway, bridge and mass transit projects are slated to receive funds through the authority, including $11.3 million for the widening of Prince William County Parkway from Old Bridge Road to Minnieville Road. The proposed 4.7-mile street car project on Columbia Pike in Arlington would receive $37 million in funding. Other projects including the widening of Route 15 near Leesburg; the widening of Route 7 near Reston; and work on Mulligan Road near Ft. Belvoir, which is the site of several new projects under the Base Realignment and Closure initiative.

The power of the authority, whose members are appointed, to impose taxes has been the subject of legal challenges by opposition groups, who say only elected officials can tax. A lawsuit is being considered by the Virginia State Supreme Court.

Barton Malow Begins $57 Million Hospital Project

BALTIMORE—Barton Malow of Linthicum, Md., broke ground on a new $57 million addition at Maryland General Hospital in Baltimore in February. The 96,534-sq-ft project will connect to the existing hospital structure and calls for eight new operating suites, including four specialty rooms; an 18-bed intensive care unit; a Cystoscopy room; a post-anesthesia care unit and pre-operative suite; two GI suites; a pharmacy, laboratory and future expansion space.

Expected completion is spring 2010. Hord Coplan Macht of Baltimore is the architect.

The operating suites will include LED lights to increase brightness in the space and all new equipment such as monitors and cameras that will serve as an educational tool and allow procedures to be viewed from outside the suites.

The project marks the first newly-constructed building on the campus in nearly 20 years.

American Infrastructure Digs into Richmond Market

RICHMOND, VA—Following some recent contract wins, American Infrastructure is making a big push into the Richmond market. The company recently opened a new office there to help support existing work and seek new opportunities.

The company is currently working on a $47 million job at the Westchester Commons at Watkins Centre project in Richmond, which it started in September. The project includes 2.8 million cubic yards of cut-to-fill excavation, 15 miles of utility work, 75,000 linear ft of curb and 230,000 sq yards of asphalt, as a well as a $17-million off-site VDOT interchange and road widening project.

Seth Myers, marketing manager at American Infrastructure, said the company is looking at a range of opportunities in the area, including private, state and municipal clients as well as BRAC-related military work.

“We’re digging our heels in and will grow that market there,” he said.

The new office coincides with the company’s recent decision to change the name of its Chantilly, Va.-based R.G. Griffith affiliate to American Infrastructure-Virginia.

“We can cover the whole eastern side of the state now,” Myers said.

Forrester Set to Start $50 Million in K-12 Work

ROCKVILLE, MD—Forrester Construction’s Education Group has landed more than $50 million in new jobs in recent months, including the $32 Million Walker Jones School in Washington, D.C. The project will include a 100,000-sq-ft Pre-K-8 school, a 5,000-sq-ft public library and a 20,000-sq-ft public recreation center. All three components will be housed in one new building and will be served by adjacent fields and parking. Construction is scheduled to begin in May with the School portion to be occupied in August 2009. Hord Coplan Macht of Baltimore is the architect.

Forrester will begin construction in June on a $10 million 57,000-sq-ft renovation at Clemens Crossing Elementary School in Columbia, Md. The project will complete in August 2009. SMG Architects of Baltimore is the architect.

The company is currently providing preconstruction services on the $8 Million KIPP: DC Phase II in Washington. The project will involve the construction of a new 35,000-sq-ft middle school, which breaks ground March and is schedule to complete in March 2009. Studio 27 Architecture of Washington is the architect.

Cianbro Breaks Ground on Humpback Bridge

WASHINGTON—Cianbro of Baltimore had broken ground on the $28 million replacement of the Humpback Bridge awarded by the Federal Highway Administration and Eastern Federal Lands Highway Division. The project has a 28-month duration with a scheduled completion of February 2010.

The bridge is located between the banks of the Potomac River and Boundary Channel in the District of Columbia and Arlington County, Va. The replacement is driven by a need to widen the bridge to accommodate proper acceleration along the George Washington Memorial Parkway and help reduce back-ups on the 14th Street Bridge.

Major work items consist of the removal of the existing bridge, cofferdams, 72-in and 36-in drilled shafts, pre-cast and post-tensioned concrete arch beams, stone veneer, concrete sub-structure and super-structure, shoring, bracing and low-density cementitious fills.

HITT Lands Mayer Brown Contract

WASHINGTON—HITT Contracting of Fairfax, Va., has landed a contract to build-out one of the largest privately-leased spaces in Washington. HITT will provide high-end interior construction services for the lower lobby and floors 1-12 on the Mayer Brown LLP office space at 1999 K Street, NW. The law firm will occupy the entire 243,000-sq-ft building and plans to consolidate its current space at 1909 K Street and Lafayette Center into one central location. The firm expects to have 250 lawyers move into the space by the third quarter of 2009.

Gensler of Washington is the architect. The building is aimed to achieve LEED Silver Certification. Construction is scheduled to start in February 2009 and conclude in August 2009.

SIGAL Starts Four Seasons Renovation

WASHINGTON—SIGAL Construction of Arlington, Va., has begun renovations on the Four Seasons Hotel in Washington, D.C. The renovation, expected to finish in December of 2008, has three phases. The first phase is an addition of ten deluxe suites, featuring marble baths, custom millwork and specialty lighting.

The section phase includes renovations to 62 rooms in the East and West suite corridors and elevator lobbies.

The third section to be renovated is the 6,270-sq-ft Seasons Bar and Restaurant, scheduled to begin in July of 2008 and completed in December 2008.

TCR Breaks Ground on Alexan Carlyle

ALEXANDRIA, VA— Trammell Crow Residential of Rockville, Md., has broken ground on the $94 million Alexan Carlyle, a 280-unit rental apartment community two blocks from the new U.S. Patent and Trademark Office headquarters complex in Alexandria, Va.

Vienna, Va.-based Cubellis DCA designed the building, which is scheduled to deliver in the third quarter of 2009. The five-story building, built on a 2.8-acre parcel, will feature a pool, clubhouse, exercise room, billiards room and business center. One portion of the building reflects the classic federal architecture of nearby Old Town Alexandria; another has art-deco flair; and the third features airy loft dwellings created from urban warehouses.

DCS to Design Venable Office

BALTIMORE, MD—Davis Carter Scott of McLean, Va., has been selected to design Venable's new 180,000-sq-ft Baltimore office. The 450-person law firm will be relocating to a waterfront building on the Inner Harbor. The firm will occupy nearly half of the 18-story tower.

“Dramatic architecture will be central to portraying Venable's identity," said Lena Scott, principal-in-charge of Davis Carter Scott's interiors division. "This will be apparent in both large-scale design such as a two-story grand lobby, cantilever free-standing double staircase and mezzanine walkway to more subtle design details including the use of natural light, opposing and repetitive shapes, contrasting colors, and other design details which identify the space within its environmental context."

Specialty areas within the new office will include a large conference center, cafe-style dining facility, visiting attorney offices, an attorney lounge, and an outdoor terrace.

Reynolds Earns CM Duties in Selingrove

SELINSGROVE, PA—Reynolds Construction Management of Harrisburg, Pa., was recently hired by the Selinsgrove Area School District to oversee two concurrent projects. An $18 million additions and renovation project at the Selinsgrove Area Elementary School will more than double the school’s size to 86,400 sq ft. A second project, contracted at $10 million, includes renovations and upgrades at the Selinsgrove Area High School. EI Associates of Harrisburg is serving as the project architect. Construction is slated to begin in May 2008 and be completed in October 2009.