Here’s a quick overview of some recent area news of interest to people interested in sustainable/green real estate and communities.

On the more directly real-estate-related front, the “700 SIX” office building just opened in downtown DC as a LEED Platinum building, indicating that they are at the cutting edge of sustainable design and construction. DCmud has some more details on the new development in DC’s still-gentrifying Chinatown. (Another recent LEED Platinum building to open in DC is the headquarters of the USGBC; since USGBC is one of the driving forces behind LEED, though, that’s not nearly as good of an example of how the local market is embracing green construction in general and the LEED system in particular.

Much of the rest of the sustainability news recently has been focused on transit issues. Greater Greater Washington gives a good roundup of recent bicycle transit-related news from DC’s Department of Transportation (DDOT), including the addition of new bike lanes, and proposed legislation to require office buildings to allow people to bring bicycles in with them if they bike to work. Meanwhile, DCmud notes that as part of the deal to have DC subsidize the construction of the long-delayed Marriott Marquis adjacent to the DC Convention Center, DDOT is asking Marriott to install new SmartBike stations.

On the rail transit front, Arlington County announced that they are going to attempt to have the Columbia Pike corridor removed from Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) control in order to give them more freedom to move forward with light rail plans for that corridor. In less encouraging area light rail news, though, one analyst predicts a five year wait before DC finally opens light rail lines along the H Street corridor, despite the fact that DC has already purchased the cars for those lines.

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Tags: arlington, dc, green, leed, transit