U r b a n T r e k k e r

A DC Homeowner Story on Weatherization

There's a non profit organization in DC, DC Project doing Weatherize DC, making its stride into homes energy efficiencies through weatherization. Weatherize DC is working towards its goal to weatherize 200 homes by March 2010.

This is the story of one of the homeowners, Judy Herbert, who participated in the program.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Insulated home, insulated wallet; Good insulation can save you from high energy bills (bendbulletin.com)
• Obama's 'Cash for Caulkers' boosts energy efficiency (metrodcliving.com)
• Barack Obama's $5bn green home plan to boost economy gets off to a slow start (guardian.co.uk)

Getting to Walkability

The DC government gets down to its urban metric.

Getting To Walkability

View more presentations from mrlerner.

Northern Virginia 2020 Transportation Plan

IF you're buying sometime in the FY 2010 to 2020, learning the details on transportation planning slated for Northern Virginia, probably won't hurt. Just to make sure that the property you're buying is not going to ended up in some sort of eminent domain.

According to the 2020 transportation plan map, here are the eight major corridors:

1. Dulles/VA-7 corridor
2. Tri-County/ Loudoun County Parkway & VA 234/VA 659 corridor
3. VA 28 corridor
4. Prince William County Parkway (VA-3000) corridor
5. Fairfax County Parkway (VA 7100) corridor
6. I-66/US-29/US-50 corridor
7. I-495 beltway corridor
8. I-95/-395/ US 1 corridor

In addition to these corridors there are selected improvements and other improvements that include outside the corridors above. Mostly the plan involved some sorts of roads/ highways infrastructure - bypass, interchanges- whether new or widening existing roads. I'm not a big fan of more roads, I think other transportation mechanism is preferable, like light rail, small feeder buses that can connect some neighborhoods to the nearest metro stations, bike trails, pedestrian trails - anything that will help reduce road congestion. And get more people to use the mass transit.

NOVA 2020 Trans Plan Map

Highlights:

• For VA 28 corridor (Fairfax, Manassas), there's a transit plan slated for light rail from Manassas to Dulles Airport with a capital cost of $790 million. More likely for 2020 FY.

• FY 2010 selected improvements metrorail extension from Dulles corridor to VA 772 in Loudoun and metrorail extension from Vienna to Centreville. (the Centreville plan I haven't heard about it).

• 2020 improvements include metrorail from Dunn Loring to Tysons Corner to Maryland.

• Light rail in US 1 corridor from Alexandria to the Pentagon.

• 2010 FY and 2020 bicycle and pedestrian improvements.

2010 major improvements include Columbia Pike to Pentagon Trail, Springfield to Tysons Corner Bikeway

2020 major improvements include Light rail VA 7 -Tysons Corner to Baileys Crossroads; Columbia Pike corridor -Baileys Crossroads to Pentagon, VA-7 (4 to 6 lanes) Seven Corners to Baileys Crossroads.

Read the 2020 NOVA transportation report here.

--

Correction: Headline should read not "Virginia" but Northern Virginia.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Tysons-Dulles Corridor Real Hot Topics (metrodcliving.com)

Fairfax supervisors clash over bike plans

"I don't believe a bicycle is a transportation device," Supervisor John Cook, R-Braddock District, said during a transportation committee meeting. "I think it's a recreation device. The big problem is people don't want to ride their bike in the rain or get sweaty before work."

Transportation officials have identified $12.7 million in pedestrian and bicycle projects for the Reston area -- intended to improve accessibility to the planned Wiehle Avenue and Reston Parkway Metro stations, part of the transit extension to Washington Dulles International Airport.

via washingtonexaminer.com

Guess, Supervisor Cook doesn't know that some people do take bike-to-work.

Posted via web from urbantrekker's streaming

Related articles by Zemanta

• "A Bicycle Is Not a Transportation Device" (streetsblog.org)

Major Cities Transit Pattern in Art (DC included)

How do Americans get to work?  Among the 7 (correction: 8) major cities in this pattern (below) - Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, Atlanta, San Fransisco, Houston, Washington DC and Seattle - New Yorkers by far use mass transit to and from work than any other cities. While Houston holds the trophy for the highest percentage of commuters who 'drive themselves.' At least, DC has proportional method of transit pattern, by public transport and drive.

Commuting patterns in major cities via Infrastructurist.

Artist Martha Kang McGill illustrates the commuting habits of eight major U.S. cities, illustrating just who is driving, walking, biking, or taking mass transit. All stats are based on the 2008 U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey.

 

Pretty neat, huh?

$300 Million Cash for Appliances, $12+ Mill. for DC, MD, VA

If you are in the market for new'energy efficient' appliances, check this out. The Department of Energy recently allocated $300 million for cash for its Energy Star rated appliances. The funding is part of the Recovery package.

The states that already have the program in place, via Christian Science Monitor.

The program will start in several states over the next few months, with New York State’s program kicking off Friday. Eight states – Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Kansas, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont, and Wisconsin – have already launched their programs. Other states will launch in coming months, many around Earth Day in April.

What's in the bag for the Greater Washington DC.

• District of Columbia receives $568,000. Program expected to start in April 2010.
• Maryland receives $5,405,000. Rebates expected to start in March 2010.
• Virginia receives $7,445,000. Program expected to start in April 2010.

 
 

Links to the states rebate program websites: DC rebate, Maryland rebate program, VIrginia rebate program.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Get Money Back for New Appliance Purchases (abcnews.go.com)
• 'Cash for Appliances' coming to a state near you (money.cnn.com)

The Best Home Designs in Arlington

The winner of Design Arlington 2009 Awards Program. These designs below are just beautiful. You'll be more impressed when you digging into more details (more like before and after) about their places, here. 

Awards of Excellence

 Fort Scott Residence,
(2765 Fort Scott Drive)

Owners: Michael Reamy and Andres Tremols
Architect: David Jameson Architect, Inc.
Other: Carl Petty Associates, Ltd.Spout Run Residence,
(2758 North Nelson Street)

Owners: David Harris and Elena Sterlin
Architect: David Jameson Architect, Inc.
Others: Added Dimensions, Inc.McGlone Residence,
(4521 32nd Road North)

Owners: William McGlone and Lisa Ruskowski
Architect: Wiedemann Architects, LLC
Others: McNamara Brothers, Inc.; Frank Chow, P.E.ECO-Art,
(Crystal City Water Park)

Sponsor: Crystal City Business Improvement District
Artist: Sergio Martinez
Others: Vornado/Charles E. Smith; Archstone-Smith

Awards of Merit

Flynn/Harless Residence,
(521 North George Mason Drive)

Owners: Eileen Flynn and J. Paul Harless
Architect: Susan Woodward Notkins Architects, PC
Others: Smeda, Inc.; Tony Beale, P.E.; Clark’s Lumber & MillworkHibbitt Residence,
(1028 North Daniel Street)

Owner: Karen Hibbitt
Architect: Moore Architects, PC
Others: GN Contracting; Structural Design Services, PLLC

220 Twentieth,
(220 20th Street South)

Owner: Vornado / Charles E. Smith
Architect: Dorsky Hodgson Parrish Yue
Others: Balfour Beatty; HOK; Hartman Design Group

The Shelton,
(3215 24th Street South)

Owner: AHC, Inc.
Architect: Bonstra Haresign ARCHITECTS
Others: Harkin Builders; Landscape Architect Bureau

The Wooster and The Mercer Lofts,
(1600 Clarendon Boulevard and 1615 North Queen Street)

Owner: Abdo Development, LLC
Architect: Cunningham|Quill Architects
Others: Abdo Construction, LLC; Davis Construction;
Ehlert/Bryan, Inc.; GHT, Ltd.

Kettler Capitals Iceplex,
(609 North Glebe Road)

Owner: Arlington County Board
Architect: Architecture, Inc.
Others: VIKA, Inc.; RTA Group;
Rathegeber Goss Associates

Arlington Arts Center,
(3550 Wilson Boulevard)

Owner: Arlington County Board
Architect: cox graae + spack architects
Others: McMullan & Associates;
Century Engineering, Inc.;
R.C. Fields, Jr. & Associates

[via Arlington County]

Washington DC Region Migration Pattern

Over at New Geography, there's a post asking the question on whether there's a return to the city or a new divide in the region? The data use to parse the migration pattern suggests that though there's a pattern that people moved back to the city, and yet at the same time data pointed that the burbs still going strong. However, data also points to the direction that not all burbs are created equal. 

According to Census Bureau population estimates, between 1987 and 2007 the population of the Washington DC metropolitan area grew from 3.92 million to 5.31 million people, an increase of about 35.5 percent. The population growth rates over this period varied considerably within the metropolitan area. The Center City experienced a 7.6 percent population decline between 1987 and 2007 while all of the other subregions in the metropolitan area grew. The fastest growing subregion was the Outer Suburbs, where the population grew by 109.6 percent over the 20-year period, followed by the Far Flung Suburbs (80.0%), Inner Suburbs (27.4%) and Inner Core (23.7%).

 

[via New Geography]

Yes, not all burbs are created equal. I think people migrate for a couple of reasons, for example lower housing prices. The far flung burbs or exurbs may have gained more people because the housing prices were much, much lower then than say, outer burbs like Prince William county. The data, the writer use was as current as 2007, before foreclosure buying frenzy. So, I'd be interested to see how the tide have changed since then.

Full story here..

What's Happening in Your Neighborhood (Roundup)

Image via Wikipedia

Holiday Tours and Open Houses in the Washington area

Many events require reservation or advance ticket purchases - call before you go!

New "Walter Reed" effort on track

Realignment of military medical facilities in the National Capital Region ordered by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission is on track to meet the commission’s deadline, senior Defense Department officials said here Dec. 2. Walter Reed Army Medical Center here is consolidating with the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., and a new hospital is under construction at Fort Belvoir. “Recommendations proposed a transition from a legacy service-specific medical infrastructure into a premier, modernized joint operational medicine platform,“ said Allen W. Middleton, acting principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for health affairs. “We are making great progress, and I am pleased to report that we are on track to implement the BRAC recommendations by the statutory deadline of Sept. 15, 2011.“

The Rebirth of Real Cooperation

When the Arlandria Chirilagua Housing Cooperative took definitive shape in the early 90s after a 10-year organizational effort, its residents hoped to stomp out the evictions, rent increases and utility hikes plaguing the low-income development on the Northeast fringe of the city. As owners of the 282-unit co-op, the tenants — mostly immigrants — and their elected board of directors would control their own rents and voice effectively their opinions related to their home.

The Long, Somber March to Next F.C. Budget Begins

The Falls Church City Council and School Board began a long, somber march toward the April adoption of the Fiscal Year 2011 Falls Church city budget with a joint work session at the Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School's cafetorium Monday night. The meeting marked the earliest starting point for an annual budget deliberation in Falls Church in the 50-plus year history of the City, and for good reason. The $7.5 million deficit, amounting to 11 percent of the $66.9 million size of current anticipated costs, even with hiring and wage freezes for both City and school employees, means that some combination of hefty tax rate increases and service, including employee, cuts is inevitable.

D.C. area loses 15,200 construction jobs

Construction employment decreased in the last year in 328 of the nation’s 337 biggest metro areas, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America. The Arlington-based builders association, citing figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, said Phoenix lost the most jobs from October 2008 to October 2009, with construction employment falling by 33,000 jobs. Reno, Nev. had the biggest percentage drop in construction employment, down 32 percent.

Metro's Budget Disaster, Fare Hikes Possible

$175 million. That is the current projected budget gap for Metro for the fiscal year. That is a gap some $30m larger than what was predicted just three months ago and you may be paying the difference. WaPo wrote today that Metro’s managers recommended this morning that up to $92 million of that gap be made up through fare hikes. That would require a full 25 cent increase on each fare, bus and rail, to cover 50% of the total shortfall. But why is Metro even worse off than expected?

Some officials want more students walking or biking

Fairfax County Supervisor Jeff McKay (D-Lee) believes that getting more students to walk or bike to school would be a win for everyone -- more exercise for the students, fewer vehicles on the road and lower transportation costs for the county's school system. He plans to take the lead on getting the "walking school bus" concept started at schools in his district. This is a concept in which bus routes that are within a reasonable walking distance of schools are replaced with a walking route, allowing parent volunteers to chaperone groups of students.

Airports authority submits new testing plan

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority says it will have its contractor test all of the 30-year-old bridge pier foundations that will be used in the Dulles Metrorail extension. The agency, which is managing construction of the 23-mile extension from Falls Church to Washington Dulles International Airport and Loudoun County, has come under scrutiny after reports suggested that it was reluctant to do additional safety tests.

D.C. transit safety zones get fast-tracked

High volumes of holiday foot traffic, fewer hours of daylight and "a lot of desperate people" are spurring a D.C. Council member to move an emergency bill Tuesday that would establish enhanced-penalty safety zones around all District transit stops. Ward 5 Councilman Harry Thomas Jr. said Monday that his legislation deserved emergency consideration -- with no public hearing -- because "people are being preyed upon." D.C. residents, he said, "need to feel a little safer" and deserved "safe passage in our neighborhoods."

Letter from Baltimore: Design for Aging

I remember when my grandparents had to leave their home. They were in their seventies. My grandmother could no longer navigate the stairs to the basement and my grandfather couldn’t maintain their large yard. They moved to a continued-care retirement community, or CCRC, outside of Baltimore. It was your classic CCRC design: a large campus in an isolated spot off of a suburban artery road, accessible only by car, with different levels of care stationed in a smattering of lifeless, mid-rise buildings. You checked into independent-living apartments and as your capacities decreased, you worked your way into assisted and full-time nursing care.

Fairfax, Regional Unemployment Down in October

Unemployment across Fairfax County in October dipped from a month before, part of a general - and not unexpected - trend toward lower joblessness statewide. The county’s October unemployment rate of 4.5 percent was down from 4.7 percent in September. It represented 568,620 county residents in the civilian workforce, and 26,516 looking for work. The county’s unemployment rate was third-best among Virginia’s 134 cities and counties. There were about 1,300 fewer unemployed Fairfax residents reported in October than in September.

Manager: 'Nothing Off Table' in Budget- Cutting Effort

All options are being considered as the county government works to prepare a fiscal 2011 budget that could require $25 million or more in cuts, acting County Manager Barbara Donnellan told delegates to the Arlington County Civic Federation on Dec. 1. “Nothing’s off the table,” she said in a budget presention. “There’s very few sacred cows - I’m looking at everything.” Still-declining real estate values, particularly on the commercial side, will make next year’s budget choices more difficult than in any other recent time, government officials have warned for months. The full extent of the situation won’t be known until 2011 property assessments are finalized, which should occur in coming weeks.

County Unveils Reston Master Plan Special Study

Fairfax County officials presented plans for the Reston Master Plan Special Study to more than 100 area residents at South Lakes High School on Tuesday evening. Heidi Merkel, a senior planner with the county's department of planning and zoning, said Reston is a unique area of Fairfax County because many of its residents also work in close proximity to their homes. She said in 2001 the county took a look at the master plan for Reston and made some changes but now that transportation plans have changed the 2001 changes need to be revisited.

For all other real estate news roundup, go here..

Related articles by Zemanta

• Great Places to Work in Fairfax (metrodcliving.com)
• Salahis: 'We were invited, not crashers' (msnbc.msn.com)
• When will the Washington DC area public schools next close for a snow day? (hubdub.com)

Where Do You Want to See Yourself Fit in the Green Revolution?

Note: This is the story I posted for  on Active Rain, a social networking site for real estate professionals. Since it's members only, I can't even link the post. So, here is the post in its entirety.

--

About a month ago, I attended a forum hosted by the Switzerland Embassy on "Green Building Policy and Design: Best Practices from Switzerland," in DC. This forum was geared towards promoting Made in Switzerland green building certification, which takes a different approach than the widely recognized LEED certification over here. Their approach is a bit simpler than LEED. LEED has a more complicated scoring tools before coming up to the platinum, gold, and standard certification systems.

The point that I want to make is this: why is it residential Realtors, being in the forefront of green revolution, not jumping the bandwagon in droves? I don't get it. Whatever you call it, be it green, sustainable, eco-friendly, trends - is real. It's here for us to seize the opportunities. Yeah, foreclosure and short-sale, may be the 'subject of interest' for the moment. The trend won't last forever. Foreclosures and short-sale supplies will disappear before you know it. On the other hand, green home, is here to stay.

There are many shades of green. This is a topic, which deserves a post on its own. For now, let's just talk about the trend in the new homes market from NAHB (National Association of Home Builders). Okay, NAHB may be in new homes, they're different, you say. However, we should see their efforts on pushing green as the 'best indicator' of what's coming in the pipeline for residential market.

Here's the latest survey from NAHB and MetLife Mature Market Institute done in September of 2009:

• 37% of consumers want an 'environment-friendly' home
• 94% of builders says that their buyers want more energy-efficient new homes
• 55% said buyers specifically want Energy Star-rated homes
• 25% of builders said buyers want homes with more recycled materials and less materials overall.

What's more, Kevin Morrow, NAHB Sr. Program Manager for Green Building Standard, said the bright spot of this recession is "builders building green homes are doing okay.." Hmm, wonder why not too many builders jumped the bandwagon sooner?

For us, Realtor magazine has an online exclusive talking about consumers interest on being green and the eco-friendly speak, published sometime in 2007. So, where are we today? Sadly, we're not there yet. We're kinda late in the game. Seriously.

The thing is, resale homes, is a huge and "untapped" market! For all purposes, i.e. remodeling, retrofitting, and more, which sometime in the future the same homes after 'green remodeling' will be bought and sold with green home label. Consider this:Energy Star plans to enter the resale market. Now, if we look at the alternative energy companies (selling solar, solar water heater, geothermal systems, etc.), they have targeted the residential market - long before any other clean, green industries enter the market! - because they see the 'upside' potential.

So, where do you see want to see yourself fit in this green revolution?

--

For the purpose of Full Disclosure: I am currently in transition from being an agent to be a Realtor Outreach for GreenandSave.com, because I want to make a difference. GreenandSave, has a 20 year legacy in the 'Green' Energy saving market. NAR uses G&S data for their education curriculum. GreenandSave provides information on green home trends, tools, and marketing program for Realtors. Visit GreenandSave for more details. Enter promo code "REALTOR2, " and we will donate $10 to your local real estate association.