feature project c apitol gat e way estates gateway.pdf · owners: a&r development corporation /...

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14 Harkins Header April 2008 Harkins Header April 2008 15 Continued page 16. Feature Project Owners: A&R Development Corporation / The Henson Development Corporation Architect: Grimm + Parker Architects C A P I TO L G AT E WAY E S TAT E S Many urban areas of the United States have been in need of revitalization for some time, and the nation’s capital is no exception. Since late in the 1960s, Washington, DC has seen its boarded-up and shuttered edifices transformed into homes, thriving businesses, and public recreational areas. The joint venture of long term-client A&R Development with The Henson Companies has been an integral part of the revitalization efforts of the District of Columbia, and Capitol Gateway Estates has been an important contribu- tion to that effort. Replacing a large dilapidated public housing project along East Capitol Street near the Maryland line, Capitol Gateway’s influence on the neighborhood and two wards that lie within its boundaries has been significant. Text by Jim Counihan, Project Executive Photos by John Dawson 14 Harkins Header April 2008 Feature Project Harkins Header April 2008 15

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Page 1: Feature Project C APITOL GAT E WAY ESTATES Gateway.pdf · Owners: A&R Development Corporation / The Henson Development Corporation Architect: Grimm + Parker Architects C APITOL GAT

14 Harkins Header April 2008 Harkins Header April 2008 15

Continued page 16.

Feature Project

Owners: A&R Development Corporation / The Henson Development Corporation Architect: Grimm + Parker Architects

C A P I T O L G A T E W A Y E S T A T E S

Many urban areas of the United States have been in need of revitalization for some time, and the nation’s capital is no exception. Since late in the 1960s, Washington, DC has seen its boarded-up and shuttered edifices transformed into homes, thriving businesses, and public recreational areas. The joint venture of long term-client A&R Development with The Henson Companies has been an integral part of the revitalization efforts of the District of Columbia, and Capitol Gateway Estates has been an important contribu-tion to that effort. Replacing a large dilapidated public housing project along East Capitol Street near the Maryland line, Capitol Gateway’s influence on the neighborhood and two wards that lie within its boundaries has been significant.

Text by Jim Counihan, Project Executive

Photos by John Dawson

14 Harkins Header April 2008

Feature Project

Harkins Header April 2008 15

Page 2: Feature Project C APITOL GAT E WAY ESTATES Gateway.pdf · Owners: A&R Development Corporation / The Henson Development Corporation Architect: Grimm + Parker Architects C APITOL GAT

16 Harkins Header April 2008 Harkins Header April 2008 17

Continued from previous page.

The first phase of Capitol Gateway saw Harkins construct-ing a senior living building, completed in 2005 and now fully occupied. The second, current phase, which began in the summer of 2005, includes 128 for-sale townhomes, 14 single family dwellings, 58 rental townhomes, and 28 large apartment units housed in seven grand homes. Later phases of CGE are planned to include a commercial component and highrise condominiums and apartments. The homes, designed by Grimm + Parker Architects, blend beauti-fully into the urban residential neighborhood. Three-story townhomes with three bedrooms and walkouts comprise the majority of the construction. The townhomes are spacious and well-appointed with upgraded finishes and amenities for the home buyer. The single family homes with attached garages on generous-sized lots blend with the townhomes to give a strong feeling of community. The rental townhomes do not differ in their elevations and curb appeal from the for-sale homes. The seven grand homes, which contain the 28 apartment units, have the exterior appearance of a large mansion-styled structure and do not betray their use as apartments.

The earthwork operation involved the movement of over 120,000 cubic yards of dirt. The earth moving portion of the site work, which took place on both sides of busy East Capitol Street simultaneously, was expedited to permit the construction of the massive utility system lying under more than a mile of new public roadways and alleys constructed by Harkins. Traffic control for what was frequently over 400 daily truckloads of earth across East Capitol Street was closely monitored by the District of Columbia regulatory agencies, as traffic was not permitted to be impeded during morning or afternoon rush hours. Additionally, as reflected in the name of the project, the gateway to Washington that East Capitol Street represents needed to be kept clean at all times. Continuous sweeping and flushing operations helped to meet this goal.

The mass grading portion of the earthwork operation was substantially complete within four months of the start date. The scale of the utility operation was huge, as it had to support the sanitary, water, and storm drain needs of the new 228-unit community. Once the utility mains were complete, over 400 sanitary and water laterals had to be

put into place. The lateral utility and vertical construc-tion operations had to be sequenced to permit maximum productivity from the crews. Frequently, a Harkins vertical construction operation would be underway at one end of a street with the lateral utility operation underway at the other end. As the two crews neared one another, one would “leap frog” over the other so as to not lose momentum.

One of the hidden construction elements of the project is the huge underground stormwater detention system. The largest of these facilities comprises over 800 feet of eight-foot-diameter corrugated plastic pipe. The runoff from rain or snow melt enters the system through the inlets on the alleys and roadways. It is then detained in the huge volume capacity of the pipes as it is filtered by large replaceable filter cores. Once filtered and cleaned of sedi-ment or debris, the water is released into the city’s existing stormwater system.

Working in an existing residential neighborhood had its own challenges. In an effort to work closely with the com-munity of homeowners, regularly scheduled meetings helped to open the lines of communication so that both the con-struction team and residents knew what was transpiring and what to expect next. The sounds of construction across the street from their homes six days a week occasionally led to some lively give and take in many of the meetings, as the homeowners, Harkins and the developer tried to minimize the impact to the surrounding residents while still maintain-ing production.

Located within a two-block walk of the Capitol Heights Metrorail station, the location of the new community is especially appealing. The final housing construction will be completed in May of this year.

Harkins team: Dave Miller, Jim Counihan, Danny Barnhill, John Kim, Walt Whitlow, Wayne White, James Anthony, Russell Lahti, Phil Lovell, Lloyd Miller, Brent Tracey, Sam Pack, Chris Tyler, Charles White, Barbara Hayden, Jackie Blondin-Smith, Kiasha Hough, Desi Snyder. Bob Aaron was project manager for the senior building.

Feature Project Capitol Gateway Estates

The single family homes blend with the townhomes to give a strong feeling of community.

Each of the seven grand homes has four apartments.

Page 3: Feature Project C APITOL GAT E WAY ESTATES Gateway.pdf · Owners: A&R Development Corporation / The Henson Development Corporation Architect: Grimm + Parker Architects C APITOL GAT

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GLENNCREST(EASTGATE FAMILY HOUSING)

Owners: A&R Development CorporationThe Henson Development CorporationArchitect: Grimm + Parker Architects

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Just blocks away from Capitol Gateway Estates (see our Feature Project), Glenncrest is another large townhome community being developed by the partnership of A&R / Henson. As with Capitol Gateway, the site was previously occupied by run-down public housing, which was demol-ished by the District several years ago.

The construction of this $45 million family housing project includes 105 for-sale townhomes, 20 single family homes, 53 rental townhomes, and two four-unit rental grand homes. The site development work of the 17-acre tract includes amenities such as tot lots and large green spaces, as well as the construction of three public streets, five public alleys, and a 745-foot long, 26-foot high segmental retaining wall, which is now complete and is one of the impressive features of the project.

The onsite site development work for the 186 units has achieved substantial completion, with the offsite work scheduled for later this spring. The majority of the founda-tions have been placed. One hundred-twenty-four units have been framed, with rough-ins and finishes following close behind. The project is fully contracted and MBE/WBE/LSDBE participation is an impressive 89.5 percent for the sitework and 56.7 percent for the vertical component.

Harkins team: Dave Miller, Jim Counihan, Jason Evans, Danny Barnhill, John Kim, Joe Andrews, Wayne White, Walt Whitlow, Dick Dohler, Clement Wynn, Nick Berry, Russell Lahti, Phil Lovell, Rod Bell, Barbara Hayden, Kiasha Hough, Janice Wolfe. Estimated completion: 3/09

Rebuilding Communities

John

Daw

son