Resilient Building Conversions

Successful Building Conversions in Alexandria, VirginiaVirginia APA, 2019

Alexandria: In Context

Alexandria

Richmond

HamptonVirginia

ArlingtonCounty

FairfaxCounty

D.C.

Potomac River

Alexandria: Recent Conversions

Chop Shop Taco: Auto Shop to Restaurant

Before After

Park Center: Office to Residential

Before After

The Mill: Office to Residential

Before After

The Oronoco: Office to Residential

Before After

The Health Department: Office to Residential

Before After

Founders Hall: Retail to Mixed-Use

Before After

Prince Street Hotel: Office to Hotel

Before After

Office Trends

Changes in Office Usage

Economic Forces Great RecessionBase Realignment And Closure (BRAC)Changes in Technology

Office PreferencesWalkable, Amenitized LocationsTransit-AccessibleOpen Office Plans and Shrinking Space per Worker

Policies & Studies Supporting Conversions

City Documents

Plans and PoliciesGreen Building Policy Environmental Action PlanGrowth Crescent & Mobility

Studies Fiscal Impact AnalysisOffice Competitiveness/Conversion StudyEisenhower East Small Area Plan ULI Technical Assistance Panel (TAP) Studies

Regulatory FrameworkUnderlying ZoningPrevious Approvals

ArlingtonCounty

FairfaxCounty

D.C.

Potomac River

200 StovallOffice to Residential

Ferdinand T DayOffice to School

Alexandria

Project Overviews

200 Stovall

Office to Residential Conversion

Project Description

200 Stovall Street Historic Use: 13-story, 630,000 square foot office building

Adaptive reuse of a 1969 office building into 520 residential units and ground-floor retail Addition of 3 residential floors on top of the existing building; rooftop amenity space; 2.5 levels of

parking

Maintain building footprint and improvements to the public streetscape around the site

Zoning Approvals: Rezoning via CDD Concept Plan Amendment

Zoning modifications for drive-aisle width and crown coverage

Encroachment into public right-of-way for residential balconies

Site Context & Market Conditions

Over 2 million square feet of additional development planned within 5 adjacent blocks.

0.3 miles from existing metro stop.

600 feet to on ramp of the Capital Beltway

200 Stovall

Existing Conditions Proposed

Vertical Stacking Plan

RetailGarage

Residential

New Floors

Floor PlansGround Floor

Floor PlansParking Level

Floor PlansRoom Layouts

Floor PlansTypical Floor

Floor PlansRoof Plan

Lessons Learned

What would you have done differently Set expectations – adaptive reuse is a great idea, but not necessarily a cheaper or faster choice

Coordinate with reviewers like Code that we don’t normally work with in the entitlement process

Be creative

Ferdinand T. Day School

Office to School Conversion

Project Description

1701 & 1705 N. Beauregard Street Historic Use: 6-story office building (1701) and 500-space parking structure (1705)

Adaptive reuse of an office building into four-floors of school uses and two-floors of office. School includes a multi-purpose space for physical education, cafeteria, library, classrooms, and pick-up and drop-off to educate up to 650 kindergarten through fifth grade students per year

Conversion of upper floor of parking garage into a playground and installation of a bridge to connect the two spaces

Streetscape improvements in the neighborhood to ensure safe walking routes for students Zoning Approvals:

Text amendment approved to permit public schools within the zone with a special use permit (1.5 years before development approval)

Development Special Use Permit (DSUP) for the School Use

Site Context Surrounding neighborhood

contains office, residential, public school and retail uses.

North Beauregard Street is a primary vehicular corridor within the City of Alexandria.

Along a forthcoming BRT line.

50’s to 60’s style garden apartments and mid-rise office buildings are seeing reinvestment.

Winkler Preserve

1701

1703 / ASCD1705

Shops at Mark Center

Town Square at Mark Center Apartments

John Adams Elementary School

Ferdinand T. Day School

Floor Plans

Lobby &Admin

Gym

Cafeteria

Ground Floor

Upper FloorsPlayground

Classrooms

Exterior Views

Exterior Spaces

Interior Places

Lessons Learned

What would you have done differently Been clear to families about the dependency of other projects on this project; any potential risks

or delays that can occur may have a domino effect

Understood that this was a major change for stakeholders and allowed for the appropriate time and engagement

Had more standards for interiors such as furniture

Best Practices

What are recommended practices for others going forward. Increase collaboration among all stakeholders and approving agencies at the beginning.

Coordinate early and often and make sure everyone is on the same page.

Always consider the end user – how can the building be adapted for those users?

Enhance the elements of the building for the former use that may have benefits in its new use –example: office buildings offer so much natural light! And stairs are great for student health and wellness!

Get a good understanding of the existing building condition and its prior uses.

Consider construction delivery methods – design build may be more applicable for adaptive re-use and can offer time-savings

Find the key supporters you will have in the community of the conversion to support this change and empower them.

Consider flexibility in approval process for projects that are located in emerging neighborhoods.

Guided Discussion

Guided Questions:

In your experience, what was the biggest challenge of conversion?

What has been the benefit of conversion?

What could have made the conversion process easier?

What is your advice for those interested in pursuing a conversion project?

Q & A