Here are the latest reports from The Washington Posts ‘Digger’.
Advocates go to court in fight to protect protest space outside Trump hotel
Free speech advocates are suing the District government and federal agencies over what they say is a “stonewalling” of efforts to determine what access the public will have to the sidewalk, plaza and street outside the Old Post Office Pavilion on Pennsylvania Avenue once Donald Trump opens a $200 million luxury hotel there next month. Mara […]
Why Washington’s biggest real estate deal just collapsed
Executives at the JBG Cos., owners of more Washington-area real estate than any other firm, have been looking for years to expand elsewhere in the country and thought they had their ticket to grow with a proposed $8.4 billion acquisition of New York REIT. The deal would have given the Chevy Chase-based firm 3.3 million square feet of […]
When the titan wants to build the town: Under Armour founder Kevin Plank’s $5.5 billion plan for Baltimore
BALTIMORE — In this city, Under Armour’s logo — like those of Old Bay Seasoning and National Bohemian Beer — is everywhere, in what feels like a citywide campaign against Nike. Founder Kevin Plank built a $27 billion empire here of sweat-resistant T-shirts and super-light sneakers. And its success inspires triumph in a city where social and economic […]
Cost of Wizards practice facility rises $10 million before construction can even begin
The District”s sports and convention arm, Events DC, is proposing a series of upgrades to a planned Washington Wizards practice facility and entertainment center in Southeast that would likely reduce the total number of seats but add $10 million to the original $55 million price tag. Last fall, D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser announced plans to […]
Trump’s friend Tom Barrack praised him at the RNC convention, but pulled out of his Washington hotel project
Donald Trump’s longtime friend Thomas J. Barrack Jr. spoke glowingly about the Republican presidential nominee last week in Cleveland. A California private-equity executive and founder of Colony Capital who has known the candidate for 35 years, Barrack praised Trump’s leadership and perseverance and told stories about real estate development deals they two have done together. One deal that didn’t come up […]
Former D.C. mayor Anthony Williams says he is recovering from thyroid cancer
Former D.C. mayor Anthony Williams said he was diagnosed last month with thyroid cancer after doctors discovered a small tumor in his neck, but reported that he quickly had the tumor removed and is expecting a full recovery. “It’s a really high cure rate, full recovery — every doctor would tell you that. In other words if […]
Washington developer bets $250 million that you’ll want to live and work in America’s empty office buildings
With his latest venture, Washington developer Conrad Cafritz is simply offering units for rent. He doesn’t care what you do in them. Looking for an apartment? Great, turn the large open area into your living and dining space and the smaller room into your bedroom. Need a small office but want to rent just for a […]
Washington got rich during George W. Bush’s presidency. Not so much under Obama.
Every four years while voters nationwide consider the presidential candidates, executives and business leaders in Washington ponder a different question: How will the election affect the local economy? Theories have made the rounds for years. One says it’s good when the White House changes parties because it boosts home sales. Another says that in this era of government gridlock it’s […]
In pay dispute at Trump hotel, workers’ advocates see same old story
The Department of Labor is investigating whether a subcontractor working on Donald Trump’s Old Post Office hotel has underpaid employees there, highlighting a concern workers’ advocates and union backers say is widespread in District construction projects. A Labor Department spokesman confirmed only that that the agency is looking into whether subcontractor The Craftsmen Group, a Brentwood, Md., glass […]
Maryland, Virginia offer hundreds of millions for chance at $2.5 billion FBI HQ
In the run-up to a final decision on where to build a new FBI headquarters, governors Larry Hogan and Terry McAuliffe have engaged in a high-stakes bidding war aimed at persuading federal officials to relocate the FBI’s 11,000 jobs to their states, raising the costs on a prize that both men view as a cornerstone of their economic agendas. Hogan (R) […]
Growing cost of planned Fannie Mae headquarters comes under fire
Costs to complete Fannie Mae’s new downtown headquarters ballooned 53 percent after the agency inked a lease for the space early last year, according to a watchdog report released Thursday, creating “significant financial and reputational risks” to the housing giant’s oversight agency. The report cites pricey improvements at the new headquarters, currently under construction, including three enclosed glass […]
International Spy Museum moving to L’Enfant Plaza in 2018
The world’s largest purported collection of international espionage-related artifacts plans to move about eight blocks south when the International Spy Museum relocates to L’Enfant Plaza in 2018. Developer JBG Cos., owner of L’Enfant Plaza, announced a deal with the museum Wednesday after more than 18 months of negotiations. JBG said construction was already underway on the […]
Virginia’s economy shows signs of recovery despite cuts in federal employment, workspace
Not all is well in Virginia. Vacated office parks are dragging down local tax coffers. Home values in the exurbs of Fairfax and Loudoun counties are lagging the rest of the region. The federal government continues to slim its workforce and its work space, which historically does not bode well for other sectors. But there is little […]
A climb from Anacostia to the White House – and an even harder return
Donning a hard hat and fluorescent safety vest, Denise Turner Roth led members of Congress through one of the biggest government construction sites in the country, the half-built Department of Homeland Security complex in Southeast D.C. It was budget season in Washington, and Roth was three months into overseeing the nearly 9,000 buildings the government […]
Pressure builds on feds over FBI headquarters parking
Planning officials have stepped up their criticism of the parking requirements for a new FBI headquarters, strongly urging the General Services Administration to reconsider its decision to require thousands more spaces for the project than originally envisioned. In January, the GSA launched a final search for a developer willing to build the new headquarters on one of three sites, at […]
Are outdoor offices the next revolution?
Office space design is undergoing a period of experimentation. Some of the ideas have been transformative, such as the adaption of open office design, co-working spaces and environmentally friendly materials. Others — such as virtual receptionists — have emerged in design competitions but haven’t caught on en masse among architects or landlords. Today begins a local experiment of […]
The developer that made a fortune on U Street is trying the same thing in New York
As D.C. emerged from the recession, developer JBG gobbled up land and buildings on and around U Street NW, turning a former health clinic, parking lots and a brick warehouse into luxury apartments that were smaller and fetched higher rents than almost anything the D.C. market had ever seen. The company guessed correctly that apartment renters would pay a […]
Trump inks deal for Italian suitmaker Brioni to open in his Washington hotel
There’s one thing Barack Obama and Donald Trump have in common: An affinity for hand-sewn suits from Italian menswear specialist Brioni. Come September, both men will be able to shell out $6,000 or more for the suits in a shop on Pennsylvania Avenue, where Trump plans to open Brioni’s first Washington location in his $200 million […]
You will not recognize the memorials Washington builds in the future
Eighty-nine teams from eight countries submitted ideas to federal planning and parks officials for Memorials for the Future, a competition aimed at developing new ways for commemorating American people, events and ideas in and around Washington. There was a loose set of rules but one thing was made patently clear: Don’t bring designs using the same old […]
Mayor Bowser won’t get a chance to confront Walmart at retail conference
On Sunday, D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser boarded a flight to Las Vegas for the country’s largest shopping center convention, but she won’t have a chance to confront Walmart executives there regarding two District leases the chain cancelled. The mayor’s economic development staff circled the conference date in January, after Walmart backed out of leases for stores in two […]
Trump to be deposed in Old Post Office case June 16
A D.C. Superior Court judge has ordered Donald Trump to be in Washington June 16 — barely a month before the Republican National Convention — to be deposed in his legal dispute with a top chef over a planned restaurant in his Old Post Office hotel. Trump is to be deposed in the downtown law offices of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, […]
In some towns, the strip malls can’t die fast enough
In the mid-1990s the owners of the Fairfax Circle Plaza shopping center in Northern Virginia decided to redevelop the property. Mixed-use design was coming into vogue, the local economy was booming and executives at the company, Combined Properties, figured they could do more with 9.8 acres on Route 50. The move proved prescient as city planners began calling […]
Macy’s woes could doom a third of America’s malls, analyst says
Sales are dropping at Macy’s stores nationwide, which likely means rough times ahead for other retailers. But the department store’s slide could be truly devastating for mall owners. Experts have already been predicting in recent years that of the nation’s 1,100 malls, as many as a third or even half may end up closing. Dominant locations such as Tysons […]
Would anyone like to own half of Crystal City?
Sure, it’s not Brooklyn. It’s not Georgetown, or even Clarendon. But think of the riverfront, the airport access, the Metro station! Crystal City is in play, at least half of it. Twenty-six buildings there — totaling more than half of all the square footage in the neighborhood — are owned by the same company, Vornado Realty Trust. The New York company’s […]
Fundrise began as a way for locals to invest in their neighborhood. Now it’s something different.
The pitch was simple: Locals know their neighborhood better than national real estate companies do, so they should be allowed to invest in it. With their startup called Fundrise, brothers Ben and Daniel Miller offered just that, a chance for individuals to go online and invest as little as $100 in the storefront or development down the […]
Non-profit commits $50 million to prevent gentrification east of the Anacostia River
The 11th Street Bridge Park, a planned $45 million attraction traversing the Anacostia River, is still years from being built but a non-profit organization is already making a $50 million commitment to ensure the project does not spur widespread displacement of residents. Sometimes likened to New York City’s High Line Park, the vision for the 11th […]
Washington office buildings, not just downtown any more
For executives deciding where to lease office space in Washington, the decision used to be straightforward if not inexpensive: Downtown or Georgetown? Not so anymore. The District’s building boom since the recession has spawned the construction of new office buildings outside the capital’s traditional hubs. That’s brought jobs to increasingly distant corners of the city but […]
Donald Trump, José Andrés and the death of a grand Washington restaurant
He called it Topo Atrio, his vision for a sumptuous hotel restaurant befitting a $200 million makeover of the Old Post Office Pavilion on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington. José Andrés designed a 212-seat, 9,000-square-foot dining room clad in travertine limestone and trimmed in gold. Costing nearly $7 million to build, it would feature hand-carved cured […]
Beyond granite: Architects envision Washington’s memorials of the future
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