RSS FeedJPI Sells Balducci’s Space and Others to Douglas Development
Word from the Clara Barton condo board president is that JPI, the owner of the would-be Balducci’s space and other retail components in that development, has sold its interest in those properties to Doug Jemal’s company. Let’s see what happens with those spaces now that Douglas Development will be at the helm!
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Here’s my guess, the empty stores will stay empty and many of the retail tenants will have to leave after their leases are up due to the ridiculous rents Jemal will demand. Don’t know what the zoning restrictions are, but I know Jemal would want all law firms, lobbying shops and other offices in those spaces so he could charge the higher square footage price for office space.
my sense is that neither retail nor DC are JPI’s “thing.” JPI is a Dallas company so there won’t be the same sense of hometown pride that Jemal might have (call me hopeful) and they run a lot of rental properties all over the country.
of irony, the first image a user sees when going to the JPI web site is the Clara Barton/Lafayette building which was originally designed and developed as a single complex rental building. it is now all condos.
Happy 4th to all !
don’t be so sure.
nordstrom’s may be providing a store in georgetown at the park mall.
they bring in revenue like no one else.
outlying retailers are starting to look at the city for their shops, now that baby boomers are moving downtown…
jemal ain’t stupid.
my advice? don’t be so pessimistic, and go to your local meetings.
you may just be surprised.
tip: think cheesecake factory, apple store (urban, meto riders paradise), or specialised deli.
jemal is branching out, particulary with hiring local consultants…
I’m with PQ Resident and poo poo. As much as I can’t stand Jemal’s business practices (empty storefronts, letting buildings fall apart, sitting on and stalling development on H Street NE), he is a successful local businessman with a lot of projects going before the city council. Perhaps Tommy Wells and Jack Evans can apply a little friendly pressure and get us that grocery store.
The Lafayette was never intended to be an apartment building, it was only the Clara Barton, which was converted to condos based on how fast the Lafayette sold out. Those buidlings have one of the best locations in Penn Quarter due to their proximity to the Mall and Verizon Center and distance from the fringe areas near Mass Ave.
Why would anyone in their right mind want to “think: cheesecake factory?”
Jemal will push it to be zoned for office space with no groundfloor retail. Period. And he will sit on the property until the last possible moment to avoid paying his contractors.
Actually, the entire development (including the Lafayette) was originally slated to be rental apartments. That’s why the original plans called for only one fitness center, on the E Street side. The fitness center and management office space on the D Street side are carved out of the retail space and leased from JPI (now Douglas?).
The only part of the development that JPI owns/owned is the ground floor retail/theater space–it seems unlikely that the ground floor retail space could be converted to office space.
for those who want the one page history of the Jefferson project (Clara Barton / Lafayette / Woolly Mammoth Theatre / Interpark Parking Garage), the Urban Land Institute web site has an informative page on the matter here. the real estate market was so hot that JPI flipped it from all rentals to all sales, albeit in two pieces (Clara Barton & Lafayette).
haven’t seen much recently on GSA’s Clara Barton 7th Street museum though. would like to see that up and running.
I take issue with Douglas Development being “key” to the development of downtown. If you like chain restaurants, vacant buildings, a convicted felon (associated with known bribe scandals), and unpaid real estate taxes then you should love Douglas Development. Downtown did not become a “destination” until Gallery Place (especially the movie theater) was finished. Before, if there was nothing going on at the MCI center, the place was a ghost town.
Check out the lastest tax sale listings and you will see many of Jemal’s properties (at least 9 properties owing about 350k). http://lifein.mountvernonsquare.org/index.cfm/2007/6/21/Tax-Sale-List-Posted
rock on ed, mr clean is the king of empty space & paying the bills late. He lets historic buildings rot into dilapidated homeless encampments. He never sells, he never fixes anything until he has a tenant. He will wait many years on many empty spaces landbanking till the cows come home.
earlier this week DCRA confirmed to me that vacant buildings have to brought to habitable condition under the new laws, not just secure. hopefully we shall see some changes in the next few months.
in the meantime, maybe jemal wont set an insane price for the space. get him to a dna meeting!
almost everybody makes mistakes. I looked into Doug’s eyes. You can trust this man with our neighborhood because in fact this is the neighborhood of his first store. It was on the 800 block of G Street back when it was a doomed walkway.
I’m sorry, Jemal has been keeping my neighborhood looking like a slum for years and I’m supposed to trust in his sentimentality?? We can’t even get them to clean their broken glass off the sidewalk never mind fix a broken window, or 20. Which reminds me, ive got to call them. again.
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Not only has Douglas Development been key to the development of downtown, they have both offices and residences in the neighborhood. Hopefully, they appreciate the lack of local sevices and can help solve or service problems (Grocery) since who knows better the problem than those who live here?