New Monument approved for DC

Gehry's Eisenhower Memorial Project Moves Forward

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The commission charged with creating the Washington, D.C., memorial for President Dwight D. Eisenhowerannounced yesterday that it had selected one of architect Frank Gehry’s designs. Last year, Gehry was named the winner of a design competition that had solicited proposals from 44 American design firms.

The monument, which will sit on four acres that have been designated for the project along Independence Avenue in the center of Washington D.C., is projected to cost between $90 - $120 million and is scheduled to open on Memorial Day 2015. It will be the seventh national presidential memorial built in the capital, and the most recent since the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial opened in 1997.

The design for the building itself, consisting of a boxy structure more in line with the classical architecture prevalent in D.C., marks a departure from Gehry’s typically freewheeling projects. But the interior will be a dramatic site of architectural bravado: the president and events from his two terms in office will all be depicted in woven steel mesh. In a statement, Gehry said that tapestries from the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where he is currently building an expansion, helped to inspire the project.

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Photo of the Week Presented by Infinity Pix

Please enjoy these beautiful scenic photos provided to us by Leslie at Infinity Photography. For more information, or to include something like this on one of your upcoming projects visitwww.infinitypix.com.

CREW VA Host's Networking Breakfast

OTJ Host's friends for the NCAA Tournament last Friday

1. OTJ’s March MADHOUSE. Real Estate Gurus and OTJ’s Architects and Designers joined together at OTJ’s office for 7 TV screens of basketball not to mention, pizza, wings, and beer to celebrate NCAA’s March Madness. Check out some of the people who attended...

From left to Right: Joe Coleman of CBRE, Laura Kennington of OTJ, Chris Soucie of Cassidy Turley, and Peter Carroccio.

From Left to Right: Eugene Smith of Lincoln Property Group, Chris Flynn of Jones Lang LaSalle, Steve Mutty of OTJ Architects, Greg Meyer of Brookfield Properties, and Glenn Meltzer of Ezra Company.

John O’Dowd, a partner of OTJ, talking with Pete Larson of Transwestern.

Architecture, Inc. host's a Chili Cook Off

Last week, Architecture, Inc. hosted a chili cook off.... here is a word from Katherine Cicco, the Director of Marketing:

I just wanted to thank all of you that were able to come to last night’s event; we had a great weather, great chili, and most important great company!

A few of you that left early had asked us to forward along to you the winners of last nights Chili. I wanted to send this along with some pictures of the evening.

Thank you all again for making this such a special event and enjoy your weekend!

3^rd Runner Up, Eric Leavitt with Twin Contracting Corporation for his chili “Eric’s Chili.”

2^nd Runner Up, Casey Parker with Architecture, Incorporated for his “100 Miles of Gas” chili

1^st Prize Winner! John Granholm with Architecture, Incorporated for his “Slap my @ss and call my Alice” chili

From DCmud

District to Give Money to Start Rhode Island Mixed-Use

Today the District government announced it will provide financing for development team Urban Atlantic and A&R Development Corp, meaning plans can now move forward to transform the 8.5 acre surface parking lot at the Rhode Island Avenue Metro station, one of DC's most stalled projects, into a sizable mixed-use neighborhood,Rhode Island Station. The District will provide $7.2 million in financing through a PILOT note toward the $108 million project, which will bring 274 residential rental units above 70,000 s.f. of retail in two buildings. Additional financing will come from the federal government in the form of Federal New Market Tax Credits and a traditional HUD-backed loan. Today's announcement marks a significant step toward the execution of the District's Great Streets Plan for Rhode Island Avenue.

The developers today also closed on their ground lease agreement with WMATA, which has been working with the development teams for almost a decade since Metro's initial Request for Proposal in 2001. As part of the exchange with metro, the development will provide a 215-car WMATA garage alongside the busy Rhode Island Avenue/Brentwood Metro station.

According to a release from the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development's office, the residential project will include 54 (or 20%) affordable housing units at 60% area median income. Rhode Island Station - formerly Brentwood Town Center - will also include a community center and two private parking garages for residents. Designed by Lessard Group Architects, the project will feature ground floor retail with sidewalk cafes and "heavy landscaping" along the streets.

The development team originally won final zoning approval in April 2007 and were initially scheduled to begin construction July 2008. Clearly that time line did not work out. A ground breaking is not tentatively scheduled for May of this year and construction could complete in summer of 2013, if everything goes according to plan this time around.

The surrounding area has had many plans in the works over the years, see Brookland Square for example, which have not been able to get past the planning stage.

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Exciting News from Hospitality Design Magazine

Carlson Unveils Comprehensive Strategy for its Radisson Brand

As part of its Ambition 2015 plan, Carlson recently unveiled a comprehensive strategy for its Radisson brand. The positioning is being supported by a series of innovations including new restaurant and room concepts, and an investment of up to $1.5 billion. "[There are] 422 hotels in operation and 90 in the contracted pipeline," says Hubert Joly, president and CEO of Carlson. "We have crystallized the success formula for the brand, improved it, and are using it as the foundation for its future development."

The main focus: five new room concepts: And Relax, Naturally Cool (shown), New York Mansion, Ocean, and Urban. All of them feature a vibrant and contemporary design with bold colors and lighting. In terms of restaurants, the hotels will feature Fillini, an upscale Italian eatery, and rbg, a bar and grill concept.

New service concepts are also key. For instance, Business Class will offer guests the best available room, breakfast, turn-down service, upgraded bathroom amenities, and others depending on the market.

As part of this strategy, the Radisson brand will be tiered across the upper upscale and upscale segments. Radisson Blu will be applied to the upper upscale segment and Radisson "Green" will be applied to the upscale segment.

"We have seen the power of the brand internationally and the very attractive return from renovating to the new standards," Joly says. "The brand is poised for significant growth around the world and we expect to grow the portfolio to at least 600 hotels by 2015."

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Article from Washington Business Journal: DC to get a Capella Hotel

Georgetown will get a Capella Hotel

Capella Hotels and Resorts, an ultra-upscale hotel development company founded by a former Ritz-Carlton executive, will open its latest property in Georgetown.

Capella, IGC Properties and Castleton Holdings will redevelop an existing five-story building at 1050 31^st Street NW into the Capella Georgetown. Construction is expected to begin in January 2011, with an opening scheduled for January 2012.

The Capella Georgetown will include 48 rooms and suites and a premium restaurant and lounge, as well as a rooftop pool, bar and spa.

The 47-year-old building housed the American Trial Lawyers Association until 2008. Castleton bought the property from the association for $18.3 million. ICG became an equal partner earlier this year.

“Washington, D.C., is among the most desirable and resilient markets in the hospitality industry, yet is currently underserved at its uppermost reaches,” said Castleton Holdings President Bruce Bradley in a statement. “We are confident that Capella Hotels and Resorts is the only brand with the right credentials to fill this niche.”

Capella founder, chairman and CEO Horst Shulze spent 19 years with Ritz-Carlton, including serving as its chief operating officer. Shulze said he started Capella on his conviction that as existing five-star brands have sought to broaden their audiences, they have left open an unfilled niche at the upper reaches of luxury travel.

Privately held Capella Hotels and Resorts has already opened six properties, starting with its Schloss Velden, a 17^th century castle in Velden, Austria, in 2007. It also has existing resorts in Dusseldorf, Germany; Ixtapa, Mexico; Telluride, Colo.; Sentosa Island, Singapore and its most recent property in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, which opened in July 2009.

It has five others under development, including the Georgetown property and new resorts in Mexico, Ireland and Japan.

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New's about the Tower Companies

1828 L Installs Most Efficient Chiller in DC

The Tower Companies are the first commercial real estate owner in Washington, DC to install the first of the next generation production version of the Daikin McQuay® Magnitude™ frictionless centrifugal chiller air-cooled chiller, at 1828 L Street, the USGBC LEED EB certified office building in Washington, DC. The Daikin McQuay® Magnitude™ frictionless centrifugal chillerwas first BETA-tested at Tower's commercial property in Richmond, Virginia.

These virtually frictionless chillers are energy efficient and cut maintenance costs by up to 50 percent by working without oil lubrication systems. The absence of an oil lubrication system also means that owners will not experience oil entrainment, which coats tubes and can reduce capacity and efficiency by up to 15% after just a few years.

"The Federal government needs to offer tax incentives so that all buildings in America can quickly change out their antiquated mechanical systems, the way Tower has, which continue to waste energy. That would create US energy independence, prevent diseases, improve our health, and at the same time, spurring an industrial revolution in this country that would create a bigger job explosion than the IT industry," stated Jeffrey S. Abramson, Partner, The Tower Companies.

"The Daikin McQuay® Magnitude™ frictionless centrifugal chiller installed are the most efficient available, bar none-in some cases nearly 20% more efficient than our closest competitors. We design our energy needs for all of our buildings based on how they are being operated," stated Jim Lewis, Tower's 28-year veteran Director of Engineering.

Their energy efficiency and extremely attractive return on investment make them a very prudent investment. At Tower's DC facility, estimates predict reductions of $73,000 per year in utility costs, and reductions in carbon emissions of over 400 tons per year. This would be close to $14,000.00 savings per month reducing electric operating costs. Tower's investment of $750,000, just one aspect of their extensive green initiatives, will realize a payback in around 10 years. "It is a great pleasure to deal with a company that prides itself on providing its tenants with the finest possible environment while being sufficiently knowledgeable and prudent to achieve the greatest possible return for its investors," stated Richard L. Shafer, Vice President of HAVTECH, one of the Mid Atlantic's largest HVAC equipment suppliers.

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Jonathan Nehmer + Associates, Inc. Interviewed in Interesting Arcitcle

From:

Hospitality Conversations. Article By John Hogan Saturday, 13th March 2010

Property Improvement Plans or PIPS, are a reality to today’s hotel owners and management groups.

If a property is part of a franchised system, dealing with PIPS can be an expensive proposition both at the time of sale as well as in continuing operations. The purpose of PIPs is to keep properties in compliance with all existing and new brand standards, as franchisors strive to maintain brand standards to protect their brands as well as the investments of all the other franchisees.

The cost of PIPs could be staggering if they seem to all come crashing down at once, especially if a property is not meeting all of its current standards at a time when there is a potential change in ownership. Almost all franchisors have a Property Improvement Plan system, because their goal is to maintain the quality of each of their franchisees.

"If you want to predict the future, create it" - Dr.Peter Drucker

In this second in a series of “HOW TO" columns titled HOSPITALITY CONVERSATIONS, I chose a topic that is of universal interest to all hotel owners: HOW TO SELECT THE RIGHT DESIGN FIRM TO REFRESH OR RENOVATE YOUR HOTEL .

I again reached out to qualified professionals in a nationally known company. Maryland based Jonathan Nehmer + Associates, Inc. is a multi-disciplined group with completed projects in the United States, Canada ,Mexico, India, China, Panama, Puerto Rico, Aruba , Bahamas, Bermuda and Brazil

I asked the following two questions:

1. What are the factors that hotel owners and management companies must consider to protect their investment and project the ROI of the upgrade or update project?

• As an Architecture, Project Management, and Interior Design firm specializing in the Hospitality Industry, determining the appropriate distribution of capital expenditures is something we are involved in from the beginning of every project. The key to smart spending is to evaluate all of the issues affecting the physical aspects of the hotel to make sure that the available dollars are used in the correct manner, especially in these tough economic times. The first step is to do a comprehensive Due Diligence inspection and review of the hotel, prior to putting pen to paper. We know from experience that the more planning you do, the better the end result will be.
• First impressions only come once. As hotels struggle to keep occupancy, guests will remember their first visit, including things like good service and updated public spaces.
• Investment in technology (if you are behind) is important if you are going to keep up with the competition.
• Explore the benefits of sustainability and green products, in terms of energy savings to reduce operating expenses, increase the cleanliness and freshness of the hotel, cater to the ever-growing population of green-conscious travelers, as all this will ultimately lead to an increase in property value. Keep the place attractive and local businesses will be proud to send their business contacts to you. Construction projects that you embark on may become an extension of creating guest satisfaction and brand loyalty.
• Look for items or areas to renovate that directly translate into ROI. Updating the porte-cochere may increase curb appeal, but the smartest decision may be to defer the project until the economy improves.
• Remember that the cost of each item in guestroom is multiplied by the number of rooms. That is not to say don’t do it, just be responsible in what you buy and what it costs.

2. What are the most critical factors in successfully deciding which design firm to select?

Through our Project Management experience, we have found that the best means of selecting a design team is through Qualification-Based Selection. This process means evaluating and choosing the best candidates by reviewing their experience with similar projects, checking their referrals, and calling their past clients before asking for a fee proposal.

• Find qualified firms to interview by talking with other hotel executives and chains.
• Create a list of interview candidates and narrow the field by issuing an extensive Request for Qualifications. The more information you ask for, the better the responses you will receive.
• Include a visit to the candidates’ offices to learn more about their operations and get to know who will work on your project. Meet the actual people who will be doing the work.
• Once you have a short list, review the scope of work with all candidates. Make the first cut based on qualifications, then, with your best choices, ask for a fee proposal to help you make the final decision.
• Make sure the candidates are licensed in the jurisdiction of your project. You would be surprised how many times we find that they are not!
• Make sure they have the right experience, i.e., hire a firm that does renovations if your project is a renovation. Make sure the firm knows how to keep to a budget. There are a lot of good designers out there, but there aren’t a lot of good designers who are also good businessmen. You want someone who cares for your budget just as much as their fees.

Contributions to this article are from Jonathan C. Nehmer, AIA, ISHC, President, and Scott P. Rosenberg, AIA, LEED AP, Vice President, from Jonathan Nehmer + Associates, Inc., a leading Architecture and Project Management firm in the hospitality industry with offices in Washington, D.C. and San Diego, CA. Mr. Nehmer is also a Principal with HVScompass, a leading hospitality Interior Design firm with offices in Washington, D.C. and Boston, MA. Both firms’ project experience ranges from select service through luxury hotels, resorts, and conference centers.

Jonathan C. Nehmer, AIA, ISHC is a licensed Architect with expertise in all facets of architecture and interior design, design management, project management, and construction administration. His experience includes work as an owner's representative in the direction and management of commercial, institutional, residential, and hospitality projects.

Scott P. Rosenberg, AIA, LEED AP is a licensed Architect with more than twenty years of experience in architecture and real estate development-related fields. His design experience includes hotels, restaurants, retail centers, office buildings, industrial, recreational, institutional projects, and tenant improvements.

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NEWH Tradeshow this FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!

CREW DC

CREW VA

Visit American Leather at the NEWH Trade Show

Photo of the Week Presented by Infinity Pix

Please enjoy these beautiful magnolia photos provided to us by Leslie at Infinity Photography as we get ready for SPRING!!!!!!!!!!!!!! For more information, or to include something like this on one of your upcoming projects visitwww.infinitypix.com.

Palecek at the NEWH Trade Show

Thirty years ago, Palecek started as a basket company in the San Francisco Bay area. The expertly woven product drew steady praise and admirers which became loyal customers. The business has grown steadily throughout the years to include six national showrooms, a powerful international sales force, retail success and a thriving Contract division. Palecek has expanded its expertise to include furniture, lighting, and various accessories.

Come and visit with us at the NEWH Regional Tradeshow on Friday, March 19 at the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel and Conference Center – Booth #308. Stop by to see why Palecek is the first choice for many designers.

IIDA invites you to Save the Date

The Premiere- 15th Annual

Wednesday April 21st, 2010

Please join us at the 15th annual IIDA Mid Atlantic Chapter Design Awards of 2010. This annual celebration of design will be emceed by Jean Cochran, newscaster for NPR and will also feature the lead juror for the Design Awards, who will be presenting the judge's comments on the projects submitted. LOCATION: Roof Terrace Restaurant at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts 2700 F Street, NW, Washington, DC TIME: 6 - 8:30 PM MEMBERS: $50 Special IIDA Member Rate - online between March 15 - April 7 $60 IIDA Member Rate - online between April 7 - April 20 $500 10-Ticket Group Purchase - online group purchase must be made by IIDA

member; guests may be non-members NON-MEMBERS: $90 Special Non-Member Rate - online between March 15 - April 7 $100 Non-Member Rate - online between April 7 - April 20 RSVP ONLINE BEGINNING MARCH 15. Please use link below: http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=200045

QUESTIONS:

Dyane Betteker: dyane_betteker@hermanmiller.com

Jennifer Geiss: jgeiss@americanoffice.com

Photo of the Week Presented by Infinity Pix

Please enjoy these beautiful black and white photos provided to us by Leslie at Infinity Photography as we get ready for SPRING!!!!!!!!!!!!!! For more information, or to include something like this on one of your upcoming projects visitwww.infinitypix.com.