Greener Pastures

[from Arlus Stephens via the afrhdevelopment listserv]

Washington Business Journal
March 30 - April 5, 2007

Greener Pastures

Crescent Resources has a new retirement plan.

The company beat out two other firms to build a 4.5 million square-foot mixed-use project on 77 acres owned by the Armed Forces Retirement Home in Northwest DC.

The plan includes 3,300 apartments and condominiums, 950,000 square feet of office space, retail space and 77 units of transitional housing for military veterans. As part of the plan, nine historic buildings will have to remodeled, and 20 acres of green space will be opened up as a public park.

Clark Realty Capital and The JBG Cos. also bid on the $1 billion project.

Crescent and the retirement home still need to negotiate final agreements before the deal closes. The Armed Forces Retirement Home also will submit a final version of its master plan for the entire campus to the National Capital Planning Commission in the next few months.

The project represents the first time the federal agency has brought in a private developer. The agency made the decision because of depleting financial resources and a need to find income from new sources such as underused real estate assets.

The agency chose the 77 acres from its 272-acre Washington campus on North Capitol for private development. The arrangement allows the federal agency to own the land and collect rent from a long-term lease.

How much Crescent will pay and the terms of the lease rate are still to be negotiated.