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THINK SOLUTION
Tower Companies has been going green
for more than a decade. A builder of
commercial, residential, and office
spaces, the developer has announced
that it is now carbon neutral. “We reinvented
the way we build and approach
building,” says Jeffrey S. Abramson, partner
at the organization. “We stretched
everyone’s ideals and concepts and
created enormous unity.”
As one of the nation’s largest purchasers
of renewable energy, Tower set a
goal to reduce energy consumption by 50
percent in the real estate industry. “We
started small,” Abramson says, “by adding
an extra 80,000 square feet to a building
on K Street, while using the same amount
of energy. Design was bad in the sixties
and seventies; there was no sense of
impact on the environment, only cost.
There was no sense of increasing global
demand and limited supply.”
Abramson aims to continue changing
all that. Tower’s newest endeavor, 2000
Tower Oaks Boulevard in Rockville,
Maryland, opening in June, reduces
energy and water consumption by up to
50 percent and improves air quality with
a three-stage air-filtration system that
exchanges air every 55 minutes.
RETHINK COMMUTING
Jim Abdo, president and CEO of Abdo
Development, adopted a philosophy
more than a decade ago that has defined
his success: Look for ways to enhance the
quality of life. “Eliminate traffic, cost,
and stress,” he urges.
Among his projects are the Wooster
and Mercer Lofts in Arlington, Virginia,
which form an “urban village” near Metro
stops and Georgetown. Landmark Lofts
at Senate Square are perfect examples of
adaptive reuse of historic buildings, also
a core component of Abdo’s work.
Recently, Abdo Development has
taken on one of the largest such projects
in the city’s history—16 acres at New
York Avenue and Bladensburg Road.
“The project is across from 850 acres of
public green space,” Abdo says. As the
eastern gateway to the city, this area has
the second-highest traffic count in the
city, he notes. His motto is simple: “If
you lived here, you’d be home right
now.”
STAYING POWER
Buyers, sellers, and real estate investors
should pay close attention to what’s happening
in their local markets, says Kara
Sheehan of Washington Fine Properties
LLC, an expert in the Maryland and
Washington, DC, areas. “Locals shouldn’t
make decisions based on the media’s
depiction of the national landscape.”
While homes inside the Beltway have
been somewhat impervious to national
housing-market ailments, Sheehan is seeing
a shift in the mind-set of buyers
regarding the use of space. “A few years
ago it was all about the house and lot size
and not about proximity. But due to gas
prices, traffic, and the fact that consumption
is becoming a dirty word, the future of
real estate points to buyers moving ‘in.’”
VIRGINIA BUYS
Selling real estate in Northern Virginia for
more than 30 years, Penny Yerks with
Weichert Realtors knows how quickly the
market turns. “Buyers should be out there
looking now,” Yerks advises. Even with the
huge inventory of properties, if the house
is priced correctly and shows well, it will
sell, she says. Yerks, along with daughter
Piper Gioia, says sales are still steady but
prices have adjusted. And the Internet
only helps: “We get a great response from
the out-of-town buyer,” Gioia adds. “The
Internet gives us nationwide exposure.”
With buyers and sellers not as demanding
and expectations managed, the Penny
Yerks Team says now is the time to buy.
STABLE WASHINGTON
Michael Rankin, principal and managing
partner at Tutt, Taylor & Rankin
Sotheby’s International Realty, knows
both global and Washington, DC, real
estate markets. “Prices in our New York
City, London, and Paris offices are still rising,
but are generally flat in the DC area,
with slight increases in neighborhoods
like Georgetown and Wesley Heights,”
he says. When working with clients,
Rankin makes sure that home prices are
in line and that he markets his properties
in Sotheby’s offices worldwide. As the
supply is absorbed, he sees real estate
outside the city stabilizing, too. Rankin’s
advice: “There is a lot of opportunity
right now. That wasn’t the case in 2005,
and it won’t be that way in the future.” ★
| The complete article appears on page 137 in the Summer 2008 issue of Capitol File. SUBSCRIBE NOW and get Capitol File delivered direct. |
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