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FIRST MULTIFAMILY PROJECT BELL DEL RAY UNDERWAY IN POTOMIC YARDS

Woodfield Investments — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 15:59:41 +0000

Apartment Community will be Woodfield Investments Twelfth Development

Alexandria, Virginia, December 7, 2012 –Bell Del Ray, a planned 276 unit luxury apartment community, will be the first of four multifamily communities to be constructed in the 167 acre Potomic Yard section of Alexandria, a master planed development close to the corner of Main Line Boulevard and Monroe Avenue. Developer Woodfield Investments closed on the land on November 13 along with joint venture partners Arsensal Real Estate Partners, The Davis Companies, and Bell Partners who will also manage the community after completion. Woodfield Investments engaged Holiday Fenoglio Fowler to secure equity and debt capitalization for development of the project with debt for the project being secured through Sovereign Bank while equity was provided by Bell Partners Fund IV.

Bell Del Ray is a 276 luxury apartment community with 3,500 square feet of available retail space, 368 above-grade structured parking spaces, a courtyard swimming pool, outdoor fireplaces, a fitness room, a club room, a gaming room and a theater room. Located within the already successful Potomac Yard project, Bell Del Ray will take up part of the southern end of the master development. Resident will enjoy unique living advantages including its location within easy walking distance of both the Braddock Road Metrorail station, as well as the very desirable Del Ray neighborhood, which provides access to an appealing assortment of independently-owned specialty food shops, art galleries, cutting edge restaurants and coffee houses.

“We are extremely excited to be involved in the first multifamily development at Potomac Yards,” said Todd Jacobus, development partner at Woodfield Investments. “The community will be located in an up-and-coming part of Alexandria that features multiple employment and transportation opportunities, and is easily accessible to downtown Washington, DC. We are totally convinced that Bell Del Ray will thrive in Potomic Yards.”

"These are not just hot dogs. They are something more."

2eat2drink — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 22:14:25 +0000

As we sat outside at Dogtown, on Monroe Avenue, that’s what Heather said after a few bites. ”These are not just hot dogs. They are something more.”

The Rhodesian Ridgeback. Note the cole slaw hiding under the dog!

A few minutes later, in between bites I heard, “I’m sorry I’m not talking to you.”

The Caribbean Wild Dog, with a side of sweet potato fries!

And then a few minutes later, “That was amazing. We are so coming back here.”

Unintentionally, I cropped the picture as such…. hmmmm. So, we decided to caption this “the gratuitous cleavage picture.” I do have a marvelous view when I’m dining with Heather. Note the Saranac Root Beer!

To all of Heather’s comments I just nodded my head in agreement. With a hot-dog-filled smile.

This way to Dogtown from Monroe Avenue.

Dogtown is open! And busy. And good.

4-Alarm House Fire In Elizabeth, N.J. Brought Under Control

pvictorwins — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 03:53:25 +0000

ELIZABETH, N.J. (CBSNewYork) — Towering flames forced evacuations Tuesday night as a 4-alarm blaze violently ripped through homes in Elizabeth.

As the neighborhood watched in horror, the flames showed no mercy on the homes of three families on Monroe Avenue. The blaze started around 8:30 p.m. and spread from house to house.

One firefighter suffered a shoulder injury and is at Trinitas Hospital in stable condition. Four civilians were treated for smoke inhalation, officials said.

People who lived in the buildings looked on tearfully as the flames tore through the places they called home. The fire left at least a dozen families homeless, CBS 2′s Sean Hennessey reported.

“We just saw the fire started and we came outside and I just got my children. Whatever we have on, that’s all we have. We have nothing else left and we lost everything,” cried Suzie Raposo, a single mother of three.

Suzie Raposo tells CBS 2 she lost everything in the fire. (credit: CBS 2)

She wasn’t alone. Paula Charria said she was playing with her daughter when she heard someone banging on her door telling her to get out.

“I just saw all the flames coming from next door, burning the back porch,” she said. “Everything is in there. I got out with my kids, which is the most important thing. My daughter lost a cat in there but…all I have left is the clothes that I’m wearing. The clothes that my kids are wearing.”

Fire officials are still investigating the cause of the blaze. Neighbors told Hennessey that the fire may have started when a dog knocked over a lit candle.

Share your thoughts in the comments section below…

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3 Injured In Gloucester County House Fire

Jessica McWilliams — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:00:26 +0000

By Robin Rieger

MANTUA, N.J. (CBS) – Three people, including two firefighters, were injured in a house fire in Gloucester County Tuesday morning.

A fast moving fire in a trailer home at 68 Monroe Avenue in Mantua sent the occupant of the home, 40-year-old Michelle Ledrich and the two firefighters who rescued her to Crozier Chester Medical Center.

Authorities say the fire started at about 10 a.m.

Fire chief Brian Hauss, who is also a Mantua police officer, and firefighter Michael Craft went into the burning home to rescue ledrich, who called 911, according to Gloucester County Prosecutor Sean Dalton.

He says the fire investigation continues, but so far it appears to be accidental. Police Chief Rodney Sawyer also assisted at the scene and was treated for smoke inhalation. Ledrich is in critical, but stable condition.

“I’m so upset, she was nice to everyone”, said Ginger Gross who identified herself as a friend of Ledrich.

Dalton says Hauss has burns on his hands, back and part if his head.

Dalton also said investigators from his office were called to the scene by Mantua police. The investigation into the cause continues.

He says the first responders are heroes for risking their lives to save Ledrich.

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New Development Coming to Fire-damaged Neighborhood

Eileen Kennedy — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 23:07:15 +0000

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A fire nearly three years ago in Scranton was so big every single firefighter on duty was called to get it under control.

Nearly three years later there are signs the neighborhood is coming back to life.

That fire, which was so devastating and displaced 30 people is still fresh in the minds of people on Monroe Avenue. Now, one of the property owners is rebuilding. Two new homes will be there in about a month, but the redevelopment doesn’t come without controversy.

It was a day that people in Scranton’s hill section won’t soon forget, April 28, 2009.

Firefighters said a cigarette lighter sparked the fire that filled five homes on Monroe Avenue.

“I never saw flames like that in my life. It was, and it just jumped from one house to the other,” said Monroe Avenue resident Phyllis Bohenek.

Two duplexes and another house were destroyed that day, leaving a hole in the neighborhood for almost three years. Now two of the long-vacant lots are showing signs of life.

The foundations are in for two new duplex houses, scheduled to be finished in February.

“Actually, people were throwing garbage there. Now it’s a lot cleaner. It’s starting to look like a neighborhood. It’s a lot better,” said neighbor Andres Perea.

Not all of the neighbors think the new buildings will be better. The developer said protests from some homeowners is one of the reasons why it has taken so long for the project to get off the ground.

Those concerned neighbors said since the fire life on Monroe Avenue has been more peaceful and they don’t want another rental unit on their block.

“Even if we could’ve all gotten together and bought it, and seeded it and just made it grass we would have, but he wants to rebuild,” Bohenek added.

Thirty people were displaced by the fire in 2009, including some of Rangesh Shah’s tenants. He owns the new buildings and said he agreed to make some changes to to his plans to keep his neighbors happy, but he said, his property laid dormant for too long.

“And this is the time now that we’ve finally come up to the conclusion, and we’ve put something together totally new, and I’m hoping this will last for a long time,” Shah said.

One of the developer’s concessions was to construct parking behind the new buildings for the future tenants so they don’t clog the street.

The homes will be ready for renting later this year.

Firefighter, Resident Hurt In Destructive South Milwaukee House Fire

Erik Brooks — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 19:48:15 +0000

Thank a firefighter today, please.

Thank them for putting their lives on the line to fight fires like the one at 901 Monroe Ave. on Saturday night. Check out a photo below, one I shot while I happened to be nearby putting up farmers’ market signs when firefighters responded to the blaze …

Click here to read details on the fire from an email from Fire. Capt. John Cjazkowski early this morning. And here is a Patch story.

One other note from the photo: Those are indeed firefighters standing on that roof as the fire rages within a few feet of them.

Thankless, and heroic work.

As I said, thank a firefighter today … and keep the families displaced by this fire in your thoughts and prayers .

Sharp Building 2009

vmichael — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 17:10:40 +0000

Most people think of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago as the institution that resided above and below the museum it gave birth to over a century ago. Yet for over 30 years the school has had its own building and in the last 20 years the School has grown even more, filling five different buildings in the Loop and occupying space in even more.

In 1976 the School occupied the Walter Netsch modernist building on Columbus Drive behind the museum, and 12 years later it purchased the Champlain Building, now the Sharp Building. A couple of years later it bought the old Illinois Athletic Club building (1908, Barnett, Haynes and Barnett) as a dorm, later converting it into classrooms and renaming it the Maclean Building.

A few more years and SAIC turned the Chicago Building (1904, Holabird & Roche) into a dormitory, which was particularly gratifying to me because I had helped save it from demolition in 1989 when I worked at Landmarks Illinois.

The School also saved a 1917 Christian Eckstorm Building on State Street and incorporated it into a new dormitory by Larry Booth, a building I had the pleasure of teaching in last year.

But I want to talk about the place I have taught for the last 15 years, the Sharp Building at 37 S. Wabash.

The Sharp Building was originally built in 1902 for the Powers school, which taught clerical skills like German, stenography and bookkeeping. My Research Studio students – first year BFA candidates – are working on an exhibit interpreting the history of the building, which is appropriate since it has just been restored.

This is also the building where we have our Master of Science in Historic Preservation studios, lab, resource center and faculty offices. We used to be on the 13th floor but now we are on the 10th, where we have two large studios overlooking the corner of Monroe and Wabash Streets.

The building’s entrance and ground floor has just been restored to the original Holabird & Roche design, which involved recreation of the elaborate terra cotta entrance, largely destroyed in the 1933 remodeling as the Champlain Building.

The restoration also involved bringing back the brick piers which originally defined the ground floor, lost in the 1947 Skidmore, Owings and Merrill transformation into a TWA ticket office.

That’s 1947.

That’s today.

There is a lot of fascinating history here: When TWA was selling airplane tickets here in 1947, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was on the 9th floor designing the Farnsworth House.

Thirty years later, my father had a travel business in the building. The TWA ticket office turned into a restaurant and then later into a bank and again into a restaurant before closing a half dozen years ago. Our program began in the building in 1993, the same year it was DENIED landmark status. Later in the 1990s it was landmarked as part of the Jeweler’s Row district. A controversial project saved the facades of three Jeweler’s Row buildings for the new 80-story Legacy highrise. That project is responsible for the restoration of the Sharp Building’s ground floor, which has just debuted this month.

It is exciting for our historic preservation graduate students to work in a building that is seeing such a sensitive restoration, expecially after the disappointing replacement of most of the original windows a decade ago.

That’s the BEFORE – note the profile and depth.

That’s the AFTER – butchered and blinded. And they’re aluminum which means they are REALLY COLD right now. This was one of the events which kicked off my window rants back in ’01. Our class even produced alternatives to replacement, to no avail.

The lobby has bits of each period – we apparently still have – in storage – the elevator doors decorated with relief French and Indian figures during the 1933 remodeling by onetime SAIC dean Hubert Ropp, who also designed lunette murals, long lost to a dropped ceiling.

My BFA students are exploring all of these themes as well as the history of the corner of Monroe and Wabash, which includes the legendary Palmer House hotel, and the Sullivan facades recently revealed on Wabash Avenue across the street, on buildings incorporated into the Louis Sullivan designed Carson Pirie Scott store at the turn of the last century.

It is a great place to work, and an especially great place to teach the many arts and sciences of heritage conservation.

APRIL UPDATE:

Here is the show we had up this April from students in the BFA program first year:

Hero Highlight - William H. Cook, Battery H, 4th NY Heavy Artillery

Vicki Profitt — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 21:31:43 +0000

William H. Cook, Battery H, 4th NY Heavy Artillery

I stopped by his grave on this crisp, sunny October day. Tears fell as I remembered him on the anniversary of his death, for it was on this day, 147 years ago, that William Cook died.

William Henry Cook, Jr., was the second child of William Henry and Phebe Rose Terbell Cook. They must have been so proud the day he was born. Already parents to a beautiful little girl, Phebe Elizabeth, William was another wonderful addition to their family. Little did they know that nearly 24 years later William would be taken from them forever, a victim of typhoid fever contracted just a few months after his enlistment in the 4th New York Heavy Artillery.

After the birth of William in October 1838, another 7 children would be born to the Cook family within a 21 year span. William was followed by brother Edward, then Nathan, Mary Augusta, Mary Star, Charles, Hannah and Ella. Sadly, four of these children died in infancy. Maps of the time show the Cook land south of today’s Monroe Avenue near the intersection of current-day Sutherland Street. Father William worked as a nurseryman and by 1860, William and brother Nathan were working as farm laborers.

The Civil War must have seemed exciting to two young men who had probably not traveled very far from Pittsford. Did William discuss his decision to join the Union Army with anyone? How long did it take him to enlist once his mind was set to go? We will probably never know the answer to these questions. What we do know is that William enlisted in Battery C of the 4th New York Heavy Artillery on August 14, 1862. Brother Nathan, four years younger than William, was selected to join the 1st Battalion of Sharpshooters after his enlistment on August 21. And with kisses and tears from their family, the boys set off on their journeys.

William is mentioned in George Wiltsie’s wartime diary. William and George were both in Battery C, but were asked to transfer to Battery H just one month after enlistment. This they did, but the transition was barely completed before both young men fell ill with typhoid fever soon after arriving at Fort Pennsylvania. George B. Wiltsie recovered, but William Cook died of the disease at Fort Ethan Allen on October 3, 1862. If he had lived just one more week, William would have celebrated his 24th birthday.

I stopped by his grave on this crisp, sunny October day. A beautiful day to remember a soldier who is forever young.

What to do in Rochester, NY- For Free/Under $5

createh — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 14:57:51 +0000

If you live in Rochester, NY or are traveling here and need something to do, check out my list of fun ideas. I’ve lived here for 22 years, and as a decorator i’ve tailored some of the items so that they are perfect for inspiration for the artist, or even for kids. These are just things I do on my days off.

*Boulder Coffee, Monroe Ave: This is a unique and artsy coffee shop, with fabulous antiques and mid century modern furniture, exposed brick and great coffee. They host a Sunday night comedy night and even have lunch menu items!*

*The Little Theatre, East Ave: This independent theatre just recently hosted films like Inglorious Basterds & 500 days of Summer, and is only $5 for students. The inside is full of exposed brick and great seats, as well as a cute outdoor cafe and ample parking for a downtown theatre!*

*Rochester Public Market: This recently opened in the last few years, and it’s grown to have 2 indoor aisles and a few outdoors, they sell everything from vegetables and fruit to ed hardy hats and fake prada. Sundays are the community garage sales. The best days to go are early saturday mornings and Thursdays, but the true steals are flowers, it’s the best place to get fresh and beautiful bouquets for cheap!*

*Memorial Art Gallery & Library: Not only do I love the history of this gallery, because its top floor of the gallery looks like it is in an old cathedral, but because the attached University library is free to students, and they have piles and piles of design and furniture books, architecture books and amazing art history books. I like to hide up here on rainy days!*

*The Erie Canal: This man-made canal runs all throughout New York State, but there are many beautiful parts of it that myself and my friends like to run and walk together on. There are boat rides, like the Sam Patch that leaves from Fairport, NY, but if you want free, leave from anywhere and check out the fabulous changing of the leaves this fall, for no out of pocket expense!*

*Lux Bar, Southwedge: I love this bar, the only way to describe it is like ‘hell’. It literally is designed to look like the devil’s playground, but leaving the cramped first room when you walk in, leads you to a fabulous backyard, unexpected in the Southwedge’s city neighborhood. It’s filled with a dozen picnik tables and even a firepit, so you can cozy up with your friends and your pabst, and enjoy yourself. My favorite is Monday night art 8nights, when you can come and do arts and crafts for just $2!*

*Other than that, I love to go Pumpkin picking at all of the great pumpkin patches here, do yoga (lots of places let you try the first class for free), Get great Thai food at The King & I in Henrietta, go to the many art exhibits on University avenue on friday nights, and check out all of the great antique and flea markets here.