143 Rear W Street NW BZA Neighbor's Letter 2014 08 26

8/11/2019 143 Rear W Street NW BZA Neighbor's Letter 2014 08 26

1/20

August

26, 2014

VI

H ND DELIVERY

Board of Zomng Adjustment

of the Dtstnct of Columbia

441 4th

Street

NW

Washmgton, DC 20001

Pta Brown

Jon Carron

Vtctona Leonard

Ahcta Hunt Joe Gersen

Re:

Apphcatwn No 18787 Rear Lot of

143

W Street

Dear Members of the Board.

t;;

-

e

,...

c::

::,. J

N


2/20

Limit the proposed homes to two stones rather than three This would be

consistent wtth histone uses of alley spaces

Construct four homes rather than five to allow for some openness, giVen the

very narrow alleys

To

be proportionate to the surroundmg narrow alleys, hmit the size of

the

homes to 1,500 square feet, plus a basement

RGUMENT

1 Miller Development has not conducted a bona fide quantitative parking

supply and demand analysis and must do s before a variance is granted.

Currently, Miller Development S basmg Its assumptions

that

msuffic1ent demand

exists for use of 143 Rear W St as off-street parkmg on a prev10us, ad hoc attempt

several years ago to offer parkmg spaces to solely to

McGill

Row condo tenants.

Accordmg to mdustry norms, a parking supply and demand analysis should mclude

demographic, land use, economic, and transportation factors that affect parkmg

demand.

A review of such factors md1cates that a bona fide, quantitative parkmg

supply and demand analysis would demonstrate that a demand for off-street

parking m the Bloommgdale neighborhood does exist now, and will certamly exist

m 2016 when Miller Development s lease with

DC

Water expires and any

construction would commence For example

he neighborhood s population is increasing. The population of Census

Tract 33.01-which S compnsed

ofthe

Bloommgdale neighborhood north of

Rhode Island Avenue-mcreased 18 percent between 2000 and 2010 For

Census Tract 33.02, which

S

compnsed of the Bloommgdale neighborhood

south of Rhode Island Avenue, the mcrease m population between 2000 and

2010 was 17 percent. The total population m Bloommgdale mcreased by 786

people durmg this 10-year penod to reach 5,332 m 2010

The number o households is increasing. The number of households m

Census Tract 33.01 mcreased 30 percent between 2000 and 2010, and the

number of households m Census Tract 33 02 mcreased 25 percent between

2000 and 2010 The total number of households m Bloommgdale mcreased by

559 households durmg this 10-year period to reach 2,698 m 2010

3

Neighborhood density will continue to increase.

n

mcrease m

neighborhood density Is drivmg the mcrease m the number of households.

Development trends point to this contmumg, and perhaps even acceleratmg,

due to low mterest rates and the surge m alternative financmg [rom all-cash

1

V1ctona Transport Pohcy Institute (http

www vtpi orgjtdm/tdm73 htm

_Toc18599176)

Amencan Fact Fmder,

US

Census Bureau, calculations of2000 and 2010 Census

3

Amencan Fact Fmder,

US

Census Bureau, calculations of2000 and 2010 Census

2


3/20

mvestors. Specifically, residential developers

are

purchasmg smgle-family

homes m Bloommgdale, poppmg their roofs, and addmg a story to convert

smgle-famdy homes mto two and

three

condo umts In

other

cases, residential

developers

are

bumpmg out the

rear

to enable conversions

of

smgle-family

homes mto two and

three

condo umts. Examples of recent pop-ups/bump

outs withm 3 blocks

of

143 Rear W to enable conversiOns of smgle-family

homes mto two and

three

condo umts mclude

145 Adams

St, NW

(both umts sold)

158 Bryant St.,

NW

(both umts sold)

34 Chanmng

St., NW

(all umts sold)

2119 Flagler PI, NW (both umts sold)

160 Adams St.,

NW

(construction underway)

36 Chanmng

St,

NW (construction underway)

2414 North Capitol

St, NW


2412 North Capitol St., NW (construction underway)

77 U

St., NW


9 USt.,

NW


2023 Flagler PI,

NW


Veranda on

V,

151-155 V

St, NW


This

S

a

trend

occurrmg across

the

city's urban neighborhoods, as recently

reported by The Washmgton Post

More nd more restaurants with no off street parking

re

opening A

number

of

restaurants have opened m Bloommgdale m

the

past few years,

and several more

are

expected to open in

the near

future. These restaurants

create competition for on-street parkmg because none have off-street parkmg

The followmg

are

currently open Red Hen{occupancy load is 99), Boundary

Stone (occupancy Is 125), Bac10 P1zzena (occupancy is 35), Wmdows

Cafe

(seatmg for 16 mside, sidewalk cafe with seatmg for 12), Big Bear Cafe

(occupancy Is 50), Rustik Tavern (seatmg mside S 45, sidewalk cafe with

seating for 34), and Arm Fme Thai and Japanese Cuisme (seatmg for 30

ms1de; sidewalk cafe with seating for 13) sEC 12 (seatmg capacity

S

322) and

Pub for the People (occupancy load S 99, sidewalk cafe with seating for 125

patrons), and Costa Brava (seatmg capacity of 50; sidewalk cafe with seatmg

for 14; summer garden With 20 seats), Seven Faces

occupancy

load IS 85,

plus a sidewalk

cafe) are expected to open soon

6

None

of

these restaurants

have off-street parkmg, and valet parkmg

S

a service

that

could

be

provided.

http www washmgtonpost..comjlocal/2014/06/22/96a2222e-f307-11e3-9ebc-2ee6f81ed217_story html

5

http I

www

yelp comjsearch?cflt=restaurants&find_Ioc=Bloommgdale%2C+Washmgton%2C+DC

6

http/ www

popville com/2013/05/new-doors-at-the-future-washington-firehouse-restaurant-m

bloommgdale/, and http I www popvdle com/2014/03/movement-at-pub-and-the-people-commg-to

bloommgdale/, and

http

I

jrssfood comjtagjbloommgdalejpage/2/http

I

/bloommgdaleneighborhood blogspot.com/2012/08/p

op-costa-brava-commg-to-1837-1st-st html

3


4/20

Howard University is increasing on-campus housing: In August 2014,

HU

opened two new dormitones, creating an additional on-campus 699 umts

with 1,3 60 beds One of the dorms S a block away from 143 Rear W Street,

the other S about three blocks away Umversity statistics indicate that 15

percent of Its students have cars

Other developers are selling off-street parking in Bloomingdale

demonstrating th t a demand exists: The Von Veranda, a new, 8-umt

high-end development at 151-155 V Street, NW-which

S

one block from 143

Rear W Street-Will be selling Its 8 parkmg spaces separately from the sale of

the 8 dwelling umts a

2. Miller

Development s

financial analysis of the various

uses of the site are

blatantly flawed. t S obvious that development costs are exaggerated and revenues

are low-balled so as to provide Miller Development

With

a scenano m which the option

the firm wants (to build

five,

2489 square foot townhomes)

S

the only one

that

shows a

profit. It S hard to believe that a rational mvestor would mcur $3.1 million m

development costs to yield a profit $1,634 f his were mdeed the case, from a financial

perspective, It would be more cost effective to donate the land to the commumty for use

as a park or garden, and take a tax wnte-off (as did AT T when It donated Cnspus

Attucks)

Focusmg on the townhome (presented m Table 1) and surface parkmg options

(presented m Table 2), the followmg are areas m which costs are over-estimated

In Table 1 hne 12, Miller Development estimates the hard constructiOn costs per

square foot to build Its brick-veneer townhomes

at

$165 Industry norms place

the cost per square foot to build a townhouse between $85 and $125, usmg mid

range materials

9

Industry norms place the cost per square foot to build a luxury,

bnck-veneer 2,489 square foot home (the size and extenor type proposed by

Miller Development) m Washmgton, DC

at

$140.06

per

square foot (Tab

A)

Miller Development has also failed to provide the standard estimatmg cost

spreadsheet to

support

Its cost estimates to

In Table 2 line 12, Miller Development estimates the cost per square foot to build

a 9,118 gross square foot, 24-space surface parkmg lot with a retammg wall at

$20 per square foot Industry norms place to the cost m Washmgton, DC for

9,198 square feet of asphalt with a 6-ft excavation and stone base at $2.21 per

square foot (Tab

B),

and the cost for a concrete block wall m the 20001 zip code

area from a low of $8.01 to $8 96 per square foot (Tab C) Together, these norms

7

http

f

/colleges usnews rankmgsandreviews comfbest-collegesfhoward-umversity-1448

ahttp f fbloommgdaleneighborhood blogspot com/2014/06/the-veranda-on-v-condommmms-sign html

9

http

f www fixr comjcosts/budd-townhouse

10

The followmg

IS

a hnk to the type of spreadsheet

that

constructiOn cost estimators use to determme hard

construction costs for a buddmg proJect http /simpsonestimatmg comfpage10 html

4


5/20

create

an

estimate

of

10 22 to $1117 per square foot for the cost to mstall

surface parking with a retaining wall

In Table 2 lme 29, Miller Development estimates

the

cost to operate each

parkmg space

IS

80

per

month,

or

960 annually

per

space. Accordmg to

the

Metropolitan Area Planmng Councll,ll

the

annual cost to operate surface parkmg

ranges from 100 to 500

per

space,

or

a low

of

8 33 to a high of

$4166 per

space

per

month.12

In Table 2 line 23, Miller Development estimates

the

total cost per space to be

15, 680 Industry norms place

the

cost

per

space of surface parkmg

considerably lower For example,

the

Metropolitan Area Plannmg Council

estimates

the

cost

per

space to be 1,000 to 2,000

3

In all tables, Miller Development mcludes

the

entire cost

of the

land m Its

estimates. Miller Development purchased

the

two lots

that compnse the

Site m

2005 and 2006 Accordmg to

the

DC

Recorder

of

Deeds, no outstandmg

mortgages exist on

the

lots

that compnse

143 Rear W Street Therefore, no fixed

land costs

are

associated with

the

site, none should

be

mcluded m any of the

alternatives because

the

cost

of the

land

IS not

bemg financed

The folloWing

are

areas m which revenues

are

underestimated

In Table 1 line 25, Miller Development estimates

the

revenue

of the

townhomes

at 300 per square foot In Bloommgdale, recent sales place

the

cost

of

brand

new, renovated condojtownhomes and townhomes at 500

per

square foot

or

more For example, 158 Bryant

St, W

1 sold on

Apnl11,

2014 at a price that

equates to 500

per

square foot,

4

and 145 Adams

St W 1

sold on

Apnl4,

2014

at

a

pnce that

equates to 543

per

square foot 1

5

Similarly, 2119 Flagler

Place,

W 2

sold on May

2

2014 for a pnce

that

equates to 563

per

square

foot

1

6

Each

of

these properties

IS

Withm block from 143 Rear W Street

Even the McGill Row

apartment

condos abuttmg 143 Rear

W

Street-which

were

developed

by

Miller Development and renovated in 2007-are selling for

more

than

300 per square foot

On Apnl18,

2014, 149

W

St

W 36

sold for

487 per square

foot.17

11

The Metropohtan Area Plannmg Council

Is

the regional planmng agency for the Boston metro area, an

urban area similar to the Wasnmgton metro area

MAPC

has undertaken considerable transportatiOn and

land use research

12

http www mapc orglresourceslparkmg-toolkitlparkmg-Issues-questiOnslfinancmg-pubhc-parkmg

3 http www mapc orglresourceslparking-toolkitlparking-Issues-questionslfinancmg-pubhc-parking

14 http www redfin comiDCIWashmgtoni158-Bryant-St-NW-20001Iumt-11homel52298577

1s http

www

redfin comiDCIWashmgtoni145-Adams-St-NW-20001Ihomel10050321

16 http www redfin comiDCIWashmgtoni2119-Flagler-Pl-NW-20001Iumt-21homel52757640

11 http

www

redfin comiDCIWashmgtoni149-W-St-NW-200011homel12530885

5


6/20


7/20

Assummg hard construction costs of $10 22 per square foot for 24 spaces, a 15% vacancy

rate, and $8 33 per month per space operatmg expenses, and no fixed land costs (all other

Miller Development assumptions unchanged), Miller Development obtams an annual profit

of$15,474 (Tab H

Over time, as demand for off-street parkmg mcreases as neighborhood density increases,

the pnce charged

per

space can be mcreased from the current assumption of $150

per

month, generatmg greater annual profits for Miller Development.

ON LUSION

Miller Development has not adequately demonstrated that msufficient demand

exists for off-street parkmg at 143 Rear W Street Miller Development also has been

dismgenuous m Its presentatiOn of the cost estimates for 143 Rear W Street, as evidenced

m

the argument above Miller Development has sought to stack the deck to obtam a

vanance to construct five, 2,489 square foot townhomes by inflating cost estimates and

low-ballmg revenue estimates. Consequently,

the

Board should reject Miller Developments

supplemental submission and deny the vanance requested.

cc via email

Chns Collins

Austin Pearl, ANC5E08

7

Smcerely,

sf

Pia Brown

Jon

Carron

VIctona Leonard

Alicia Hunt Joe Gersen


8/20

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143 Rear W Street NW BZA Neighbor's Letter 2014 08 26