May 2012

GDL’s Jacques DePuy, Lyle Blanchard and Kate Olson will be presenting the second of a two-part educational series on real estate development issues on or adjacent to Capitol Hill on Tuesday, May 8 at 7:00 p.m., at the Atlas Performing Arts Center at 1333 H Street, N.E., which venue has generously been made available by the Atlas.

The event is hosted by CHAMPS, the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce, and features Councilmember Tommy Wells as a speaker.

When will the new Capitol Riverfront neighborhood around Nationals Park become fully built-out? When will the Hine site at 8th and Pennsylvania be developed and what will it look like? When will key sites on H Street and in NOMA be developed and what shape will such development take? When will Hill East move from being a plan to being developed and how?

Come out to the event, learn about these projects and join in the discussion! Session is free of charge and open to the public.

The series is co-sponsored by Capitol Riverfront, NOMA BID, Capitol Hill BID and Barracks Row Main Street and H Street Main Street.

April 2012

GDL’s Jacques DePuy, Lyle Blanchard and Kate Olson will be presenting a two-part educational series on real estate development issues on or adjacent to Capitol Hill on Tuesday, April 17 at 7:00 p.m., at the renovated former Meader Theater at 535 8th Street, S.E., which venue has generously been made available by the National Community Church, and Tuesday, May 8 at 7:00 p.m., at the Atlas Performing Arts Center at 1333 H Street, N.E.

The series is hosted by CHAMPS, the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce, and features Councilmember Tommy Wells as a speaker at both sessions.

When will the new Capitol Riverfront neighborhood around Nationals Park become fully built-out? When will the Hine site at 8th and Pennsylvania be developed and what will it look like? When will key sites on H Street and in NOMA be developed and what shape will such development take? When will Hill East move from being a plan to being developed and how?

Come out to the series, learn about these projects and join in the discussion! Sessions are free of charge and open to the public.

The series is co-sponsored by Capitol Riverfront, NOMA BID, Capitol Hill BID and Barracks Row Main Street and H Street Main Street.

January 2012

Jack Mahoney—President of GDL affiliate, Regional Title Incorporated—holds a seat on the District of Columbia Office of Revenue Analysis (ORA) Real Estate Advisory Group. The Group, which is comprised of individuals from various industry sectors of the DC economy and of individuals who regularly monitor the DC economy, provides essential information to the ORA regarding economic trends in DC. In its January meeting regarding the current state of the DC economy and projections for Fiscal Years 2012 and 2013, the Group provided their crystal ball projections and the Group predicts that DC's revenue stream will continue to increase. Of note, the Group predicts that residential multi-unit transactions will remain strong and the condo conversion cycle will gain momentum in the latter part of 2012.

December 2011

GDL's Roger Simon was reaffirmed as a Member of the Board of Governors of Mortgage Bankers Association of the District of Columbia. The MBA promotes fair and ethical lending practices and fosters professional excellence among real estate finance professionals through a wide range of programs and publications. To learn more about the Mortgage Bankers Association of the District of Columbia, go to http://www.mbamw.org.

November 2011

Congratulations to GDL’s Mark Policy, Richard Luchs and Lyle Blanchard, each of whom received Outstanding Leadership Awards from The Apartment and Office Building Association of Metropolitan Washington (AOBA) on November 15th at AOBA’s annual Leadership & Volunteer Tribute. For a list of all of the honorees, see http://aoba-metro.org/uploads/AOBA_LeadershipTribute_program_v6.pdf.

September 2011

GDL's Joshua Greenberg has been named Chairman of the Standing Committee on Landlord & Tenant Affairs, which operates under the Landlord & Tenant Committee of the Real Estate, Housing and Land Use Section of the DC Bar. In his position as Chairman, Joshua recently organized and moderated a panel discussion on the District of Columbia Superior Court's new Housing Conditions Calendar. Participants on the panel included the Honorable Melvin R. Wright, Associate Judge on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, and the discussions covered practice and procedure before Judge Wright, as well as advice from practitioners who have appeared on behalf of both landlords and tenants in these proceedings.

* * *

By election of the members of the District of Columbia Bar, GDL's Lyle Blanchard became a member of the Steering Committee of the DC Affairs Section of the DC Bar. The DC Affairs Section monitors legislative, judicial and legal developments in the District of Columbia Government. The Section also provides activities and presents programs that provide opportunities for local attorneys to interface with the DC government and business and community leaders. Mr. Blanchard's activity with the DC Affairs Section is considerable as he also currently serves on the Section's Litigation Committee and as the Section's D.C. Practice Manual coordinator.

* * *

GDL's Abe Greenstein and Richard Luchs were each recently selected by their peers in the field of Real Estate Law for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2012; GDL’s Jacques DePuy was also selected by his peers in the field of Land Use & Zoning Law. (Copyright 2011 by Woodward/White, Inc., of Aiken, S.C.). http://www.bestlawyers.com/

August 2011

Lyle Blanchard of GDL's Land Use group earned his LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) professional credential as a LEED Green Associate in July 2011. LEED is an internationally-recognized green/sustainable building rating and certification system. Clients who are applying for LEED Certification for a commercial or residential development or existing project, including a school, healthcare facility, personal home or neighborhood project, can contact Mr. Blanchard about application to LEED.

June 2011

GDL's Abe Greenstein and Richard Luchs are named in the 2011 Washington, D.C. Super Lawyers magazine as among the best real estate attorneys in D.C. The selections for this esteemed list are made by the research team at Super Lawyers, which is a service of the Thomson Reuters, Legal Division. Each year, Super Lawyers undertakes a multi-phase selection process that includes a jurisdiction-wide survey of lawyers, independent evaluation of candidates by the attorney-led research staff, a peer review of candidates by practice area, and a good-standing and disciplinary check.

* * *

On June 28, 2011, Level 2 Development and its partner Centrum Properties closed the sale of View 14 Apartments—a 185-unit residential rental project located 3 blocks from the U Street Metro Station on 14th Street N.W. —to UDR, Inc. GDL's Richard Luchs and Roger Simon represented the seller on the transaction, which set a new DC record sales price of $670 per square foot.

* * *

Recently published in a supplement to Washington Business Journal, Chambers and Partners, a worldwide profiler of leading lawyers and law firms for more than 20 years, has recognized GDL as one of the best Real Estate law practices in the District of Columbia. Chambers and Partners singled out Abe Greenstein as a "go to" lawyer and for doing “sterling work in acquisitions, developments, leasing and financings.” The full 2011 Chambers U.S.A. guide is available at www.chambersandpartners.com/usa.

May 2011

GDL congratulates those real estate developers who have worked to create the projects recognized as Best Real Estate Deals of 2010 by Washington Business Journal.  GDL is honored to have participated in several of the deals recognized this year by WBJ, such as the following:

• Gaslight Square. The Abdo Development residential development in Arlington won the Financing award. GDL's Judy Goldman has been representing Abdo Development in establishing a new condominium development on the site which is located on Clarendon Boulevard between North Quinn and North Queen Streets. The project is a three-phase expandable luxury condominium, which, when fully expanded, will include 117 condominium units—many of which are two-story units—with underground parking and storage areas.
• North Bethesda Market. The JBG Companies mixed-use project won the multi-family award. NoBe Market includes high-rise and mid-rise luxury apartments and more than 200,000 rentable square feet of retail area. GDL’s Abe Greenstein and Don Holmes have negotiated retail lease deals on behalf of JBG at NoBe Market with such national retailers as Whole Foods, Arhaus Furniture, L.A. Fitness, Brio Tuscan Grille and Seasons 52 restaurant.
• Foundry Lofts. This project garnered Runner-up status in the Rehab/Reuse award category for developer Forest City. The Foundry Lofts is a historic building located at The Yards in the District of Columbia; The Yards are adjacent to the Nationals' Ballpark and abut the Anacostia River. GDL has been representing Forest City Washington in a variety of legal matters that pertain to the redevelopment of the building for approximately 7 years. GDL’s Jacques DePuy, Judy Goldman, Lyle Blanchard and Monic Halsey have been providing legal services on matters pertaining to land use and development (including street closings and subdivisions), the establishment of a mixed-use condominium regime and the applicability of alcohol beverage control laws and regulations to ground floor restaurant uses. The project will include 170 loft apartments and ground level retail space.
• Capitol Quarter. This EYA development added the award for Community Impact to the project’s trophy case. GDL’s Judy Goldman has been providing legal services to EYA with respect to the redevelopment of a portion of the former Arthur Capper Carrollsburg housing project located between Capitol Hill and the Anacostia River and within walking distance of the Navy Yard and the baseball stadium. The land was owned by the District of Columbia Housing Authority and DCHA has ground leased portions of the site for the construction of a mixed-income community, including 212 for-sale townhouses being developed by EYA and 111 public housing rental units being constructed by EYA. Of the 212 townhouses being constructed on the site, 121 are being marketed for sale at market rate prices and 91 are being marketed to moderate income purchasers and are referred to as "workforce" units. GDL has represented EYA in the ground lease of the land, as well as the financing from Wells Fargo Bank for the construction of the new for-sale improvements. In addition, GDL has assisted EYA in establishing new community associations for the development which include owners and occupants of the dwelling units as members, and in establishing covenants for the workforce housing units to assure their continued ownership as workforce units for an extended period of time.
  

* * *

GDL is proud to be a sponsor of the 2011 Special Olympics D.C. Summer Games, held May 24-26 at the athletic facilities of Catholic University. For decades, Special Olympics District of Columbia has done fantastic work for the more than 15,000 DC residents with intellectual disabilities. GDL salutes Brookfield Properties, the presenting sponsor of the Summer Games; Brookfield provides very substantial financial backing for the event every year and the Brookfield people volunteer in strong numbers to make the Summer Games a great success. For more information on the Summer Games see www.specialolympicsdc.org.

April 2011

GDL is honored to be a nominee for the 2010 Law Firm of the Year, Best in Industry award by the Greater Washington Commercial Association of REALTORS® 2010 Annual Commercial Awards. GWCAR is a leading regional trade association dedicated to serving commercial real estate interest throughout metropolitan Washington, D.C. For more information regarding GWCAR go to http://www.gwcar.org/.

March 2011

The District of Columbia Retirement Board (DCRB) voted recently to name GDL's Lyle Blanchard as its Treasurer. Mr. Blanchard is a D.C. Council-appointed Trustee (board member). He also serves as Chairman of the DCRB Legislative Committee, which serves as liaison between DCRB and the DC government, as well as between DCRB and Congress on all legislative matters involving DCRB. Mr. Blanchard is a member of the Board's Emerging Enterprises Committee and the Investment Committee. DCRB administers the pension funds for D.C. Police Officers, Firefighters and Teachers. The funds in Fiscal Year 2011 amounted to $4.24 billion and are fully-funded.

* * *

GDL's Jacques DePuy has been recognized by Corporate Counsel® in its 2011 selection of Top Lawyers.

January 2011

The Association for the Preservation of Historic Congressional Cemetery named GDL’s Lyle Blanchard as the recipient of its John Philip Sousa Distinguished Service Award. The honor of the Sousa Award has been bestowed annually to a person who advances the goals of the Association to preserve the historic Congressional Cemetery. Previous award honorees include several Members of Congress. The Association presented the Sousa Award to Mr. Blanchard in recognition and gratitude for his many years of dedicated work shepherding key street closing legislation through the D.C. Government and lobbying D.C. Council in order to obtain its final approval. The legislation allowed for the closing of the adjacent G Street, S.E. right-of-way which will enable the Association’s development of a new columbaria wall and an education and learning center at the Cemetery.  To learn more about The Association for the Preservation of Historic Congressional Cemetery, go to http://www.congressionalcemetery.org/.

 

December 2010

GDL's Roger Simon was reaffirmed as a Member of the Board of Governors of Mortgage Bankers Association of the District of Columbia. The MBA promotes fair and ethical lending practices and fosters professional excellence among real estate finance professionals through a wide range of programs and publications. To learn more about the MBA, go to http://www.mbaa.org/default.htm.

November 2010

GDL Congratulates EYA on Winning Prestigious Jack Kemp Award for Outstanding Housing Development from ULI Terwilliger Center for Workforce Housing

On November 18, 2010, the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Terwilliger Center for Workforce Housing announced the Capitol Quarter: Phase 1 housing project (developed by EYA and Capper Carrolsburg Ventures) as a winner of the prestigious ULI Terwilliger Center’s Jack Kemp Workforce Housing Models of Excellence Award as an outstanding housing development in the areas of innovative financing, unique construction methodologies, strong public/private partnerships, and replicability to achieve workforce housing affordability. Capitol Quarter is designed to blend in with the historic fabric of D.C.’s Capitol Hill Community and is part of the revitalized neighborhood of “The Yards” which includes the Washington National’s baseball stadium. The District of Columbia provided the land and infrastructure and the developers were able to sell market rate housing to offset the cost of providing new public rental apartments and affordable workforce housing units. GDL’s Judy Goldman acted as counsel to EYA on the development of the project.

To read more, visit http://www.uli.org/sitecore/content/ULI2Home/News/PressReleases/2010%20archives/Content/2010JackKempAwardWinners.aspx

* * *

Congratulations to GDL’s Mark Policy and Roger Luchs, who each received Outstanding Leadership Awards from The Apartment and Office Building Association of Metropolitan Washington (AOBA) on November 19th at AOBA’s annual Luncheon at The Capital Hilton.

AOBA is a leading membership organization representing commercial and multi-family residential real estate in the Washington, D.C. area, working tirelessly to protect and enhance the value of its members’ investments through effective leadership and advocacy, information exchange, and professional development. Their Outstanding Leadership Awards “recognize outstanding AOBA members and public sector partners for their contributions to the industry and their tireless support of AOBA’s mission through education, training, management, administration and legislation” (http://www.aoba-metro.org/about/awards/leadership.html, 11/30/10).

September 2010

GDL Congratulates DCPCA And Unity Health Care On Groundbreaking
For Anacostia Community Health Center

In September 2010, the District of Columbia Primary Care Association and its operating partner, Unity Health Care, Inc., with City Council Chair Vincent C. Gray and other Councilmembers, celebrated the groundbreaking for a new state-of-the-art community health care center located east of the Anacostia River. The new three-story, 28,000-square-foot facility is scheduled to open in late 2011 and will provide primary care, family practice, infant care, dental services, laboratory and associated services to the medically underserved Anacostia community. 

Working with an experienced development team, GDL’s Pat Brown, Lyle Blanchard and Kate Olson acted as Zoning and Land Use counsel for this project. GDL was able to obtain the required Public Alley Closing, Board of Zoning Adjustment zoning relief, and approval for substantial public space improvements.

GDL is also part of the development team for DCPCA and Unity’s proposed 42,000-square-foot community health care center in the Parkside neighborhood of Ward 7. This project is currently before the Zoning Commission for modification and final approval of the planned unit development.

^{Development Team Breaks Ground: Pictured left to right: Lyle Blanchard; Laura Koundinya, Capital Link; Kate Olson; Amy Harbaugh, Capital Link; Pat Brown; Steve Chin, Jair Lynch Development Partners; Robin Halsband, Director of Capital Projects, DCPCA; Sharon Baskerville, CEO, DCPCA; Jair Lynch, Jair Lynch Development Partners; Jonathan Weinstein, Unity Health Care; Rugel Chiriboga, Little Diversified Architectural Consulting}

* * *

GDL’s Jacques DePuy was recently selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® 2011 in the field of Land Use & Zoning Law, and GDL's Abe Greenstein and Richard Luchs were each also selected by their peers in the field of Real Estate Law.  (Copyright 2010 by Woodward/White, Inc., of Aiken, S.C.). http://www.bestlawyers.com/

August 2010

GDL’s Richard Luchs is quoted onUrbanTurf in an article by Bryce Baschuk. The piece, titled “Four Takes on Tenant Rights in DC,” discusses the District’s tenant's rights laws. Richard is one of the four people Mr. Baschuk polls who “have an intimate knowledge of the District’s residential apartment market.” To read the article, visit http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/four_takes_on_tenant_rights_in_dc/2421.

* * *

On August 12, 2010, The JBG Companies announced the groundbreaking of construction on a residential and retail development project on 14th and S Streets, N.W., Washington, D.C.   Washington Business Journal calls the project "significant because it will mark the return of major, privately funded multifamily development to the city."  GDL's Abe Greenstein acted as counsel to JBG with respect to its acquisition of multiple parcels of land along 14th Street related to the project, and GDL's Jacques DePuy represented JBG in the drafting and prosecution before D.C. agencies of a recorded Declaration of Covenants that authorized a combined lot development and permitted JBG to transfer unused density from another site on 14th Street to the development site.

July 2010

GDL's Kate Olson is elected Secretary of the Board of Directors of the D.C. Preservation League , which strives to protect and enhance historic buildings in D.C. 
For information on the D.C. Preservation League go to http://www.dcpreservation.org/index.html

* * *

GDL announces that Gwynne L. Booth has become an Associate of the firm.

* * *

GDL's Jacques DePuy is elected to the Board of Directors of the Capitol Hill Association of Merchants & Professionals (CHAMPS), which is an organization of business and community leaders dedicated to building a strong economic environment on Capitol Hill for business development within the larger Washington, D.C. community.

June 2010
Chambers USA Guide to America’s Leading Lawyers for Business rates GDL as one of the best real estate law practices in D.C. in its 2010 edition; and GDL's Abe Greenstein is singled out by the publication as being a leading lawyer in the practice of real estate law in D.C.

* * *

GDL's Roger Simon participates as a panelist on a panel discussion entitled “Recapitalization and Incentive Alignment in Real Estate” presented by The Distressed Assets, Workouts and Restructuring Group, a subcommittee of the District of Columbia Building Industry Association’s Development Issues and Information Committee. The panel discussed current market opportunities for recapitalizing existing real estate deals, the status of equity raising within real estate funds and the assets currently being targeted by real estate funds and trends in sales of existing loans secured by commercial real estate in the D.C. metropolitan market.

May 2010
GDL's Lyle Blanchard joins the DDOT/DCBIA Leadership Committee, which advises the District Department of Transportation on industry issues related to the use of public space and infrastructure.

April 2010
GDL's Kate Olson is named to the Board of the D.C. Preservation League, which strives to protect and enhance historic buildings in D.C.

* * *

The Washington Business Journal selects 300 New Jersey Avenue, N.W., which was developed by The JBG Companies, as the Best New Office Development in D.C. GDL represented JBG in the development, lease-up and sale of the building.

* * *

GDL's Jacques DePuy, Lyle Blanchard and Kate Olson held a seminar for the members of the Capitol Hill Association of Merchants & Professionals (CHAMPS), which focused on recent revisions to regulations, policies and procedures at the D.C. Department of Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) and provided an update on recent D.C. Zoning Initiatives. This seminar also provided information on proposed revisions to D.C. Zoning Regulations and how these changes might affect Capitol Hill businesses and property owners. To learn more about CHAMPS go to www.champsdc.org.

March/April 2010
GDL's Mark Policy is interviewed by Urban Igloo, a leading Washington, D.C. apartment finding service, concerning D.C.’s rent control system.

• Part I: http://urbanigloo.blogspot.com/2010/03/examining-dc-rent-control-part-i.html
• Part II: http://urbanigloo.blogspot.com/2010/04/examining-dc-rent-control-part-ii.html

March 2010
GDL's Roger Simon authors the article entitled “The Devil is in the Details,” regarding conduit loan assumptions and the potential pitfalls associated with them, for The Firoozabadi Market Report, a monthly news letter published by the Firoozabadi Group of Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services.

February 2010
GDL's Lyle Blanchard joins the Administrative, Enforcement, Policies, Issues and Legislation Technical Advisory Group (TAG) of the D.C. Construction Codes Coordinating Board (CCCB), which advises the CCCB on amendments to the International Building Code.

January 2010
GDL's Lyle Blanchard is re-appointed as the Chair of the District of Columbia Retirement Board’s Legislative Committee, which monitors investment and benefits related legislation which comes before the Council of the District of Columbia.

* * *

GDL's Abe Greenstein and Richard Luchs are named in the 2010 Washington, D.C. Super Lawyers magazine as among the best real estate attorneys in D.C. (it being Mr. Greenstein’s third consecutive listing). The selections for this esteemed list are made by the research team at Super Lawyers, which is a service of the Thomson Reuters, Legal Division. Each year, Super Lawyers undertakes a multi-phase selection process that includes a jurisdiction -wide survey of lawyers, independent evaluation of candidates by the attorney-led research staff, a peer review of candidates by practice area, and a good-standing and disciplinary check. http://www.superlawyers.com/washington-dc/browse

* * *

GDL announces that Lyle M. Blanchard has become a Shareholder of the firm.

December 2009
GDL's Abe Greenstein is listed in the December, 2009 Washingtonian Magazine Top Lawyers, in the Real Estate category for metropolitan Washington, D.C. http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/people/14516.html

November 2009
GDL's Lyle Blanchard is re-appointed as a Trustee of the District of Columbia Retirement Board, which is the pension fund for D.C. teachers, police officers and firefighters.