TOP STORIES ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT THE INSIDE SCOOP Engineering minds ON WASHINGTON BUSINESS See who topped the list of New mission Guilt-free largest engineering firms A developer gets ap- in the region. Page 25 proval to build offices development at the Central Union Mission homeless Apparently Brook- shelter site. Page 8 land hot spots Colonel Brooks’ Tavern and Island Jim’s Crab Shack & Tiki Bar May 16-22, 2008 washington.bizjournals.com $2.95 aren’t enough. The Catholic University of America plans to name D.C.- based Abdo Develop- ment to lead its 8-acre ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT South Campus project, $45M in breaks sought which will bring new Snail mail housing and amenities Frustrated by the to Brookland and en- project’s slow pace, D.C. courage Catholic stu- Del. Eleanor Holmes dents to stick around Norton wants to get campus to shop, eat for D.C. neighborhoods redevelopment of the and drink. Old Post Office Pavilion University spokes- moving. Page 10 man Victor Nakas and Seven District projects want a piece of new financing fund Abdo chief Jim Abdo declined to confirm the Seven retail projects have applied for at least $45 mil- expect to make a decision by June 20. The funds would TECHNOLOGY selection, but sources lion in public money to help realize their visions for come from the city’s new $95 million tax increment fi- familiar with the deal stores and services in underdeveloped areas. Officials nancing program for neighborhoods. Page 7 A new calling say Abdo, already Telco software firm invested in Northeast Openet expands its with Landmark Lofts offerings to cable at Senate Square and companies. Page 12 Arbor Place, is the guy. EYA, Monument Realty and Trammell ENVIRONMENT Crow Co. also bid. An announcement Aisle be green is expected early this Regional grocery stores summer. are meeting custom- The South Campus, ers’ demands that they now home to three become more energy- residence halls that efficient. Page 14 would be relocated to the main campus, sits south of Michigan Avenue NE near the Brookland Metrorail station. [JONATHAN O’CONNELL] … Herndon-based FedResults and Vi- enna-based Topside Consulting Group ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT LLC are forging a partnership that could O wants TIF lead to a merger of the Developers of the old consulting firms. O Street Market say The union would their project needs create the largest significant funding government-centric At ICSC, region must pitch a sector that’s help. Page 15 business development operation in the area, sluggish, but better than most due to area demographics FedResults execs say. Volume 27, Number 3 Combined, the two While national retailers flail in the economic down- city officials are practicing their pitches for the up- 4 5 > companies will repre- turn, shuttering hundreds of shops — including many coming International Council of Shopping Centers in the Washington region — local retail brokers and conference in Las Vegas. Page 4 See INNER LOOP, Page 2 0 74470 84583 6 PERIODICALS — NEWSPAPER HANDLING — TIME DATED MATERIAL BUSINESS SMARTS PEOPLE & COMMUNITY Meet u there My bodyguard Online and video Frank Frysiek may meetings are take his security and finally meeting emergency training the expectations experience to the private of 10 years ago. sector. Page 30 Page 34 2 BREAKING NEWS WASHINGTON BUSINESS JOURNAL MAY 16-22, 2008 did not oppose the vote. “The community wanted to have They hope to have more than $1 million in renovations it torn down. I didn’t provide any resistance, and we’re just designed by D.C.’s Group Goetz Architects done by Aug. going to move ahead,” Peete says. [MELISSA CASTRO] 21, when Ben’s celebrates its 50th anniversary gala at Lin- coln Theatre with Bill Cosby on hand. [GILLIAN GAYNAIR] Continued from Page 1 … It’s a time of widespread panic on America’s roads. sent more than 50 business customers and employ about Gas prices are reaching unprecedented levels, and one of the 40 consultants. The companies will continue to operate busiest travel weekends of the year is just around the corner. individually for now but will share revenue going forward. Sound familiar? It was May 2005, and the average price The way the government makes purchases has always for a gallon of gas had just topped $2 for the first time. Bar- been a challenge for contractors, but recent changes have gain hunters flocked toAAA Mid-Atlantic’s Web site for increased competition, giving a lift to the federal consult- a “fuel price finder” showing the area’s cheapest gas, even ing business. FedResults’ specialty is executing proposals crashing the system at one point, recalls John Townsend, a and pitching to the government, while Topside, featuring AAA Mid-Atlantic spokesman. 20 former federal chief information officers and executives Only two years later, prices have nearly doubled, and familiar with agencies’ inner workings, has helped contrac- drivers are staring at the big $4. In the Washington area, tors go after more government dollars. the average price for a gallon was $3.75 on May 13, up 75 Bob Dinkel, president and chief operating officer for FILE / JOANNE S. LAWTON cents from a year ago and showing no signs of abating. FedResults, is expecting combined revenue to exceed BIGGER BOWL: Ben’s Chili Bowl on U Street NW will expand to a “If we were panicked then, we must be freaked out now,” new 3,000-square-foot site — and add martinis to the menu. $10 million. [DARLENE DARCY] Townsend says. [JOE COOMBS] … One of the area’s most visible symbols of the sagging … Brothers Kamal and Nizam Ali, owners of the condominium market may soon disappear. historic Ben’s Chili Bowl on U Street NW, have figured Correction The Bromptons at Cherrydale, a would-be high-end out what they want to do with an adjacent building they n Fidelity & Trust Bank was inadvertently left off the list of Arlington condo project, ground to a halt in 2005 when bought last year for $1.4 million. Commercial Lenders in the May 9-15 issue. The bank, with the county issued a stop-work order after beams and walls Well, sort of. $272.5 million in metro-area loan volume, is ranked No. 13. started showing signs of stress and bending. Mired in liti- The champs of chili dogs plan to expand to the 3,000- gation and liens, the skeletal building has sat vacant while square-foot building, 1211 U St. NW, to give more seating the cash-strapped developer, The Ed Peete Co., decided to daytime crowds. Come 5 p.m., they’ll transform it into Washington Business Journal (ISSN 0737-3147) is published weekly every Friday, with two issues published the last Friday in December by American City Business Journals Inc., 1555 whether to sell or demolish the building. a beer and martini bar with lots of TVs and good tunes. Wilson Blvd., Suite 400, Arlington, Va. 22209. Phone: 703-258-0800, Fax: 703-258-0802. The community and the county have made Peete’s deci- A liquor license for the place, formerly home to Songhai Periodicals Postage Paid at Arlington, Va. and additional mailing offices. Copyright American City sion for him. The Planning Commission voted unani- African restaurant, has already been approved, Nizam Ali Business Publications, Inc. 2008. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use without permission of editorial or graphic content in any manner is prohibited. The Washington Business Journal is mously to recommend that the County Board declare the says. a publication of Business Journal Publications, Inc., headquartered at 120 W. Morehead Street, building a “blight” and move forward with its demolition The owners are tossing around names, such as Ben’s Charlotte, NC 28202. Subscription rate is $101 for 53 issues (1 year), $158 for 106 issues (2 — most likely at the county’s expense, says Brian Bonnet, Chili Bar or Ben’s Next Door, “so it’s the same family, not a years), $202 for 159 issues (3 years). POSTMASTER-Send address changes to Washington Busi- ness Journal, 1555 Wilson Blvd., Suite 400, Arlington, VA. 22209. president of the Cherrydale Citizens Association. separate identity,” Nizam Ali says. “The bottom line is nobody’s happy,” Bonnet says. They would also like to sell a signature brew at the new EQUAL OPPORTUNITY: It is the policy of this newspaper to employ people on the basis of their “We’re looking at a property that’s unfinished, that’s falling space. Ali says they have been calling some local pubs, such qualification and with assurance of equal opportunity and treatment regardless of race, color, apart and that’s making everybody unhappy.” as Capital City Brewing and Dogfish Head Brewery, but creed, sex, age, sexual orientation, religion, national origin or handicap, and to not knowingly accept any advertisement which implies any preference, limitation or discrimination based on Peete attended the Planning Commission hearing and have not partnered with anybody yet. race, color, creed, sex, age, sexual orientation, religion, national origin or handicap. 8IFOFWFSZEFDJTJPONBUUFST &YQFSJFODFNBUUFSTNPTU8IFUIFSXF±SFEPJOH B LFZ UFDIOPMPHZ USBOTBDUJPO UBLJOH B DPNQBOZ QVCMJD PS BEWJTJOH PO B NFSHFS PS BDRVJTJUJPO XF IBWF VONBUDIFE FYQFSJFODFJOMBXBOECVTJOFTT8FLOPXIPXUPHFUUIFSJHIU SFTVMUXJUINBYJNVNFG¹DJFODZ1MVT XFIBWFUIFWFSTBUJMJUZ BOETUSBUFHJDBDVNFOUPIFMQXJOUIFHBNF0OFUIPVTBOE MBXZFST JO UIF XPSME±T ¹OBODF BOE UFDIOPMPHZ DFOUFST 0OFDPNQFMMJOHNJTTJPOUPEFMJWFSTVDDFTTGPSPVSDMJFOUT .033*40/'0&345&3--1XXXNPGPDPN MAY 16-22, 2008 WASHINGTON BUSINESS JOURNAL 3 Opinion Week in Review On the Web Inside Coming home On the endangered list Our publisher, Alex Orfinger, notes that many of The D.C. Preservation League releases a list of what VIDEO | The Daily Three this week the region’s nearly 37,000 soldiers who have been it calls the city’s 10 most endangered properties.