Capitol Hill's Medlink Site Receives Downsized Zoning Approval

Resolving a long-simmering battle in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, on Monday, the DC Zoning Commission officially voted to downsize the zoning for the Medlink campus site, located at the corner of 7th Street and Massachusetts Avenue, NE, completing actions they first approved this past May. The owner of the former hospital site, Peter Shin, has harbored plans to develop the south side of the plot into high-end condominiums (while keeping the health facility at the northern end), and have the residential buildings built up to the limits allowed by the hospital’s zoning classification – a classification allowing higher, larger buildings than the normal residential designation. This plan has been fought against by the Near Northeast Advisory Neighborhood Commission, which argued the "upzoned" hospital designation should not apply to these new buildings. In May, the DC Zoning Commission voted in favor of the community, and lowered the building height for any new construction. Shin is now contemplating two options: Either leasing the south side also to health providers, or transforming the existing facilities on the site into residential units.