Well, here it is. All news pertaining to economic development within the Washington, DC CSA should be posted under this thread.
Tall order. I know. After all, the capital of the Free World has yet to see its own development thread while cities containing half its importance are up to their second and third thread. I don't want to sit here and be philosophical, but I think this might have something to do with the fact that very few residents of DC and its surrounding area are passionate about this city. Those that are, it seems, are not the kind of people to post messages on a development forum.
But Washington and its burgeoning have much to offer. Truth be told, Washington should probably be combined with Baltimore and given its own section alongside Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, Florida and Miami.
Here is a guide to the Washington Region
The city proper is the seat of the most powerful government the world has ever known. Beyond the Mall, though, lies more than federal buildings and world-class museums. Downtown DC is the third largest in the country, trailing only Midtown New York and the Loop in Chicago. In the market to buy space in one of these low-rise buildings? Be prepared to pay prices rivaling and in most cases (Midtown, New York, being the foremost exception) surpassing those of the top markets in the country.
For a long time that was all there was to Washington. Sure, there was always bucolic, west-of-Rock Creek Park Northwest Washington, with its Mansions and McMansions and eclectic neighborhoods. But the area lying immediately east of the park and on to the eastern boundaries of the city plunked down into a seemingly interminable funk. Some bright spots, like chic and diverse Adams Morgan, managed to beat the depression, but overall the area experienced vicious and long-lived decline. There are conflicting sources of blame for this meltdown. Most, however, track it back to the '68 riots, which rampaged formerly picturesque and thriving neighborhoods with violence. Left in utter chaos, little was done to replace what was destroyed by this epic urban disaster. Most whites living in these tracts of newly formed urban blight shut down their businesses and left the city altogether. What was left was brown, black, and broke. Drugs predominated, especially in the crack-cocaine laden '80s. And Mayor Marion Barry was often focused on his own misdeeds, leaving the city without a true leader to shepherd it through the thicket of mismanagement, decay and decline.
The turnaround, like so many other turnarounds, came with the booming economy of the '90s and, perhaps most importantly, a new mayor. The economy picked up pace around '94 and took off in '95, and Anthony Williams, CFO officer at the time, became mayor in 1999. Drafted by upper-middle class Hillcrest residents (a southeast Washington community now intent on transforming a typically urban-ghetto shopping center into a shopping destination with national retailers, such as Target) and other reformers, Williams took the reins of the city out of the hands of Congress and into his own.
Since then, communities all around Washington have boomed. In particular, those areas just east of Rock Creek Park, and situated slightly north of Downtown have reinvented and redeveloped rapidly. The 14th street corridor, once the token urban wasteland, has transformed into a condominium strip, with new, gleaming-glass condos going up quicker than paint can dry on ones just finished. U St, has also seen an explosion of residential development, as well as chic small businesses, a definite relief from all-too-common national chains. Further down the development list are the communities of Columbia Heights, Mount Pleasant, LeDetroit Park, Shaw, and Petworth- located all in the city's Northwest quadrant.
Downtown is expanding. As rental rates and space squeeze out tenants in the traditional and established Downtown DC, newer sections are added on. NoMA, or North of Massachusetts Avenue, behind Union Station and in most estimations bordered to the north by New York Avenue, is seeing plan after plan for residential and commercial properties come into fruition. Located here will be the new ATF and SEC headquarters. Mount Vernon Square, the area currently only comprising of the massive Convention Center and some residential units, is being rediscovered. Plans for several commercial properties have been submitted and the area just a few blocks west has at least 5 condos under construction. The building boom has even stretched across the national Mall into formerly staid Southwest and Southeast (WEST of the Anacostia River) Washington. The planned stadium for the Nationals (Washington's baseball team) will be located in that vicinity. Generally, areas to the west (Georgetown, West End, Foggy Bottom) and the Northwest (Adams Morgan, Kalorama, Dupont Circle) are already built-out and therefore generally unavailable to developers (though there are still many condo projects under construction in these neighborhoods).
The Northeast, Southeast, and Southwest quadrants of Washington lag behind pricey Northwest, but are still seeing a massive wave of frenetic economic development.
Included in this thread is the region surrounding Washington. The inner counties of Arlington and Alexandria in Virginia used to be counties Washington proper, but both were given autonomy in the 19th century. Currently home to well-established neighborhoods and commercial corridors, each has appreciated so much in value that, to live here, one should expect to pay well in excess of 400,000 for housing. A new single family home would fetch, in most cases, at least a million dollars.
There are two mega-counties that stretch from close-to-DC to nearly exurban, by virtue of size. Fairfax county, in Northern Virginia, has over 1 million residents and houses the bursting-at-the-seams Tysons Corner and Reston. While the county depends on the federal government a great deal (and its principle Congressman, Rep. Tom Davis, is highly influential) for its prosperity, an even larger contributor is the private sector, including high-tech companies Oracle, AOL-Time Warner, and Sprint-Nextel. Housing here is ideal- with excellent schools, an extensive roadway system (traffic is still extremely poor), fantastic retail anchored by Tysons Corner, and a growing public transportation system. The cost fits the amenities, with an average house selling in the mid-400s. A new or newer single family home is usually in excess of 800,000. Sitting to its north is Montgomery County, Maryland. Comprised of about 950,000 residents (predicted to top 1,000,000 in a scant 5 years or less) Montgomery County is one of the premier biotech centers in the nation. The National Institutes of Health drives this statistic, as many of its employees leave to form for-profit companies nearby. Third only to Washington, DC, and Tysons Corner, VA in regional importance is Bethesda, MD. Home to the hotelier Marriott and Lockheed Martin, among others, Bethesda is perhaps the crown jewel of the Washington area for fine dining and shopping. Its main corridor, located along Wisconsin Avenue (which stretches from Georgetown in lower-Washington to Rockville, MD) has attracted Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Neiman Marcus, Ralph Lauren, Brooks Brothers, Saks Fifth Avenue, Burberry, Cheesecake Factory, Maggiano's, and many more. A new project has signed on more pricey names and is scheduled for completion within the next two years. As a whole, Montgomery County real estate booms along, erecting tall condominium projects, townhouses-with-elevators, and single family homes indistinguishable from each other and large enough for two or three families. Mansions rise in Bethesda, Potomac, and Darnestown. McMansions rise in Olney, Burtonsville, Rockville, Gaithersburg, Germantown, and many other communites. The council in Montgomery County has done a good job of planning growth. Large, well-planned communities are popular here. There's Kentlands, Lakelands, Arora Hills and Clarksburg. Housing prices vary a bit in the county, but expect to spend, on average, 400,000 for a new home. New and newer homes fetch far more, on average 650,000. In a predicted 5 years, average pricing on new single family units is expected to hit the million-dollar benchmark.
Prince Georges County, Maryland, east of Washington, suffered the same problems as east-of-the-river Washington. A majority-black county with the highest average household income in any majority-black county in the country, it nevertheless had image problems that tended to keep national developers out. Recently, however, development has picked up. Housing units are going up fast, especially in Laurel, Bowie, Upper Marlboro, and other eastern county communites. Toll Brothers began its McMansion expansion into the county with Cheltenham Estates in Upper Marlboro, and has more communities in planning. Large, planned communities are popping up. Oak Creek and Beech Tree in Upper Marlboro, are only two examples. To anchor all this residential growth, there is the new National Harbor development on the banks of the Potomac River in south county, a 2 billion dollar project. And, in north county, Konterra- a planned oasis of residential neighborhoods, a town center resembling Reston Town Center in Fairfax, and an upscale mall.
Houses here are among the most affordable in the region, though inner-beltway communities depress the average score- about 250,000. Outside the beltway, houses usually run about 300,000 for an older home, 400,000+ for a new or newer home.
Further to the north, between Washington and Baltimore, is Howard County. With the highest household income in the country (though this changes from survey to survey- another stated Prince William County as having the highest household income) Howard is centered primarily around the planned city of Columbia, MD. Howard County is principally a residential region interspersed with national security firms. Houses range from affordable to exorbitant, with an average at 375,000. The western end of the county includes exurban communities of Washington.
Prince William and Loudoun Counties in NoVA benefit from both Washington and the job centers in other parts of northern Virginia. Both are exurban communities. A key aspect of exurban communities is affordability. And neither meets this goal. With houses ranging from 400,000 for a townhouse to 1,000,000+ for single family homes, prices here are among the steepest in the region, esp. in Loudon. Picture-perfect planned communities are most popular. Strip malls stretch for miles with virtually every national retailer (especially big-boxes) well represented. Both are criticized for unending McMansionvilles but that doesn't stop people from moving in. Loudon County topped the list of high-growth counties in the latest census, and Prince William was close behind.
Other counties included but not covered are Anne Arundel, Charles and Frederick in Maryland. Stafford, King George, and Fauqier in Virginia. Clarke in West Virginia.
AND.......WE'RE OFF!!!!!!!!!!!11 :runaway:
Tall order. I know. After all, the capital of the Free World has yet to see its own development thread while cities containing half its importance are up to their second and third thread. I don't want to sit here and be philosophical, but I think this might have something to do with the fact that very few residents of DC and its surrounding area are passionate about this city. Those that are, it seems, are not the kind of people to post messages on a development forum.
But Washington and its burgeoning have much to offer. Truth be told, Washington should probably be combined with Baltimore and given its own section alongside Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, Florida and Miami.
Here is a guide to the Washington Region
The city proper is the seat of the most powerful government the world has ever known. Beyond the Mall, though, lies more than federal buildings and world-class museums. Downtown DC is the third largest in the country, trailing only Midtown New York and the Loop in Chicago. In the market to buy space in one of these low-rise buildings? Be prepared to pay prices rivaling and in most cases (Midtown, New York, being the foremost exception) surpassing those of the top markets in the country.
For a long time that was all there was to Washington. Sure, there was always bucolic, west-of-Rock Creek Park Northwest Washington, with its Mansions and McMansions and eclectic neighborhoods. But the area lying immediately east of the park and on to the eastern boundaries of the city plunked down into a seemingly interminable funk. Some bright spots, like chic and diverse Adams Morgan, managed to beat the depression, but overall the area experienced vicious and long-lived decline. There are conflicting sources of blame for this meltdown. Most, however, track it back to the '68 riots, which rampaged formerly picturesque and thriving neighborhoods with violence. Left in utter chaos, little was done to replace what was destroyed by this epic urban disaster. Most whites living in these tracts of newly formed urban blight shut down their businesses and left the city altogether. What was left was brown, black, and broke. Drugs predominated, especially in the crack-cocaine laden '80s. And Mayor Marion Barry was often focused on his own misdeeds, leaving the city without a true leader to shepherd it through the thicket of mismanagement, decay and decline.
The turnaround, like so many other turnarounds, came with the booming economy of the '90s and, perhaps most importantly, a new mayor. The economy picked up pace around '94 and took off in '95, and Anthony Williams, CFO officer at the time, became mayor in 1999. Drafted by upper-middle class Hillcrest residents (a southeast Washington community now intent on transforming a typically urban-ghetto shopping center into a shopping destination with national retailers, such as Target) and other reformers, Williams took the reins of the city out of the hands of Congress and into his own.
Since then, communities all around Washington have boomed. In particular, those areas just east of Rock Creek Park, and situated slightly north of Downtown have reinvented and redeveloped rapidly. The 14th street corridor, once the token urban wasteland, has transformed into a condominium strip, with new, gleaming-glass condos going up quicker than paint can dry on ones just finished. U St, has also seen an explosion of residential development, as well as chic small businesses, a definite relief from all-too-common national chains. Further down the development list are the communities of Columbia Heights, Mount Pleasant, LeDetroit Park, Shaw, and Petworth- located all in the city's Northwest quadrant.
Downtown is expanding. As rental rates and space squeeze out tenants in the traditional and established Downtown DC, newer sections are added on. NoMA, or North of Massachusetts Avenue, behind Union Station and in most estimations bordered to the north by New York Avenue, is seeing plan after plan for residential and commercial properties come into fruition. Located here will be the new ATF and SEC headquarters. Mount Vernon Square, the area currently only comprising of the massive Convention Center and some residential units, is being rediscovered. Plans for several commercial properties have been submitted and the area just a few blocks west has at least 5 condos under construction. The building boom has even stretched across the national Mall into formerly staid Southwest and Southeast (WEST of the Anacostia River) Washington. The planned stadium for the Nationals (Washington's baseball team) will be located in that vicinity. Generally, areas to the west (Georgetown, West End, Foggy Bottom) and the Northwest (Adams Morgan, Kalorama, Dupont Circle) are already built-out and therefore generally unavailable to developers (though there are still many condo projects under construction in these neighborhoods).
The Northeast, Southeast, and Southwest quadrants of Washington lag behind pricey Northwest, but are still seeing a massive wave of frenetic economic development.
Included in this thread is the region surrounding Washington. The inner counties of Arlington and Alexandria in Virginia used to be counties Washington proper, but both were given autonomy in the 19th century. Currently home to well-established neighborhoods and commercial corridors, each has appreciated so much in value that, to live here, one should expect to pay well in excess of 400,000 for housing. A new single family home would fetch, in most cases, at least a million dollars.
There are two mega-counties that stretch from close-to-DC to nearly exurban, by virtue of size. Fairfax county, in Northern Virginia, has over 1 million residents and houses the bursting-at-the-seams Tysons Corner and Reston. While the county depends on the federal government a great deal (and its principle Congressman, Rep. Tom Davis, is highly influential) for its prosperity, an even larger contributor is the private sector, including high-tech companies Oracle, AOL-Time Warner, and Sprint-Nextel. Housing here is ideal- with excellent schools, an extensive roadway system (traffic is still extremely poor), fantastic retail anchored by Tysons Corner, and a growing public transportation system. The cost fits the amenities, with an average house selling in the mid-400s. A new or newer single family home is usually in excess of 800,000. Sitting to its north is Montgomery County, Maryland. Comprised of about 950,000 residents (predicted to top 1,000,000 in a scant 5 years or less) Montgomery County is one of the premier biotech centers in the nation. The National Institutes of Health drives this statistic, as many of its employees leave to form for-profit companies nearby. Third only to Washington, DC, and Tysons Corner, VA in regional importance is Bethesda, MD. Home to the hotelier Marriott and Lockheed Martin, among others, Bethesda is perhaps the crown jewel of the Washington area for fine dining and shopping. Its main corridor, located along Wisconsin Avenue (which stretches from Georgetown in lower-Washington to Rockville, MD) has attracted Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Neiman Marcus, Ralph Lauren, Brooks Brothers, Saks Fifth Avenue, Burberry, Cheesecake Factory, Maggiano's, and many more. A new project has signed on more pricey names and is scheduled for completion within the next two years. As a whole, Montgomery County real estate booms along, erecting tall condominium projects, townhouses-with-elevators, and single family homes indistinguishable from each other and large enough for two or three families. Mansions rise in Bethesda, Potomac, and Darnestown. McMansions rise in Olney, Burtonsville, Rockville, Gaithersburg, Germantown, and many other communites. The council in Montgomery County has done a good job of planning growth. Large, well-planned communities are popular here. There's Kentlands, Lakelands, Arora Hills and Clarksburg. Housing prices vary a bit in the county, but expect to spend, on average, 400,000 for a new home. New and newer homes fetch far more, on average 650,000. In a predicted 5 years, average pricing on new single family units is expected to hit the million-dollar benchmark.
Prince Georges County, Maryland, east of Washington, suffered the same problems as east-of-the-river Washington. A majority-black county with the highest average household income in any majority-black county in the country, it nevertheless had image problems that tended to keep national developers out. Recently, however, development has picked up. Housing units are going up fast, especially in Laurel, Bowie, Upper Marlboro, and other eastern county communites. Toll Brothers began its McMansion expansion into the county with Cheltenham Estates in Upper Marlboro, and has more communities in planning. Large, planned communities are popping up. Oak Creek and Beech Tree in Upper Marlboro, are only two examples. To anchor all this residential growth, there is the new National Harbor development on the banks of the Potomac River in south county, a 2 billion dollar project. And, in north county, Konterra- a planned oasis of residential neighborhoods, a town center resembling Reston Town Center in Fairfax, and an upscale mall.
Houses here are among the most affordable in the region, though inner-beltway communities depress the average score- about 250,000. Outside the beltway, houses usually run about 300,000 for an older home, 400,000+ for a new or newer home.
Further to the north, between Washington and Baltimore, is Howard County. With the highest household income in the country (though this changes from survey to survey- another stated Prince William County as having the highest household income) Howard is centered primarily around the planned city of Columbia, MD. Howard County is principally a residential region interspersed with national security firms. Houses range from affordable to exorbitant, with an average at 375,000. The western end of the county includes exurban communities of Washington.
Prince William and Loudoun Counties in NoVA benefit from both Washington and the job centers in other parts of northern Virginia. Both are exurban communities. A key aspect of exurban communities is affordability. And neither meets this goal. With houses ranging from 400,000 for a townhouse to 1,000,000+ for single family homes, prices here are among the steepest in the region, esp. in Loudon. Picture-perfect planned communities are most popular. Strip malls stretch for miles with virtually every national retailer (especially big-boxes) well represented. Both are criticized for unending McMansionvilles but that doesn't stop people from moving in. Loudon County topped the list of high-growth counties in the latest census, and Prince William was close behind.
Other counties included but not covered are Anne Arundel, Charles and Frederick in Maryland. Stafford, King George, and Fauqier in Virginia. Clarke in West Virginia.
AND.......WE'RE OFF!!!!!!!!!!!11 :runaway: