H Street's gritty, scrappy texture is giving way. In its place, the northeast corridor's devotees will soon find supermarkets, condos, smart retail, upscale apartment buildings, and trolleys clanging by pricey latte vendors. Long predicted, the year 2011 looks ready to bear out prognostications of a gentrification and resurgence that had seemed, until now, like a mirage, always ahead, always retreating. With last week's announcement 
that Giant officials had signed an agreement to anchor the northeast corner of 3rd and H, kickstarting Steuart Investment Co's long dormant development and blessing H Street with its first full-sized supermarket, the strip has become one of the hottest sites for development plans.The Steuart project will add 215 apartments above the Giant, along with additional retail space. Around it, development booms. The District just announced a 16-unit residential project by Wall Development at 12th and H that should kick off next year, and at the eastern end Clark broke ground on a 257-unit apartment complex in October, as did an Aldi supermarket destined for the starburst intersection next year. And the biggest project by far will be Rappaport's 400-unit residence that will fill H Street from 8th to 10th Streets, while Dreyfus' plans for Capitol Place, a 300-unit residence opposite the future Giant, are loaded and ready for the right moment. And the trolleys, of course, are on the way.
Things could have been so different. Just two years ago a New York team
went bankrupt betting on H Street and lost their 432-unit building at auction. The Giant will sit on the former BP site, a plot that was intended to house an interstate truck-servicing megaplex. Akridge's dreams to connect H Street with downtown by burying the rail yard at Union Station haven't progressed, and the most consequential projects have not yet broken ground, so the volte-face is not guaranteed, but its looking like its going to be a big year for H Street.Washington DC real estate development news
18 comments:
Its been a looooong time coming. But, I couldnt be happier. Glad to see this corridor finally taking off. Dont forget to mention the 10 or so restaurants that are slated to open over the next 6-12 months. Along with the coming condos and apartment developments, much of the boarded up blight will soon become vibrant, tax-generating businesses.
I find it somewhat ironic that the H st area is now finally going through massive redevelopment while we're in the middle of the biggest recession since the depression.
Not that I'm complaining, but I think it says a lot about that particular area when investors are still willing to invest so much money during these times.
I've known for a long time that H st would be the next big thing in DC, I'm glad other people are now finally able to see it too. I can't wait to see what H st will look like at the end of the year.
@Anonymous 12:13 -- The recession is over and has been for some time. The U.S. economy is growing, albeit slowly, but growing nevertheless.
The economy may be growing but as you said it's growing too slow. There are still a lot of things such as housing, jobs, etc that can tip the country back into another recession. We're not out of the woods yet.
And now we have the deficit reduction commission suggesting ideas that could also tip the country back into another recession if they're not careful.
youre a clueless knucklehead if you think that the recession is over.
I am so glad to see H St growing by the day. Does anyone know if there is any plan with the old Hechinger mall and the big open lot across from the Safeway and CVS.
DC is never really hit by recession like the rest of the US is. So from a local view point I can understand the earlier comment.
H St. is way cooler than the commercial Yuppieville it's headed for. Hopefully business development will not jack this up. My fear is the freaks/pioneers will leave. Very few affordable places left in DC.
Anon 4:47,
The empty lot across from Safeway and CVS is under construction. Clark Realty broke ground a month ago on The Flats at Atlas District:
http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/huge_h_street_corridor_apartment_complex_breaks_ground/2619
I agree it's going to be a big year for H. The liftoff has already started, but it will really take off when the street work is completed.
When the new surface is down and everybody sees how beautiful the streetscaping is, look out.
Just returned from Honolulu. Their tourism is up 22% from this time last year. They think that they are recovering. They expect to meet their 2007 all time high next year.
The recession is over based on the definition of a recession. The economy is expanding, corporate America is BOOMING with profits and unemployment will begin to ease. Looking forward to seeing the "new" H Street. Shaw is next.
H St feels like U St felt 5-8 years ago. Once the momenntum began on U St it just kept going and I can see the same thing with H St. It has Abdo on the west border and Sticky Rice and all the great restaurants on the East side. With Giant coming in the area is just going to keep filling up with more people and businesses. Over the next 5 years H St will really see itself come up to everyone's expectation.
to Anon 10:57, Sticky Rice isn't a great restaurant.
To Anon 10:36 - I wouldn't say Shaw is next, I would say it is first. H Street is finally starting to take off, but considering the U Street Corridor bars and restaurants now stretch all the way down to 9th St and development is picking up by the convention center, I would bet that the Shaw area between those two points develops more rapidly over the next two years than H Street.
Can we rename Washington, D.C. to Yuppington, D.C.?
I bought a house 2 blocks south of H street 5 1/2 years ago. At that time everybody was saying the same thing about H street being the up and coming this and that, 5-6 years until it's another U street, etc etc. And while it's definitely better than it used to be, it's still got a looooooong way to go to be anything close to U street. So you'll forgive me if I temper my excitement. The street has literally been under construction for 6+ years and has woefully little to show for those years of inconvenience, cost and digging up of the same spot of road umpteen times. Frankly, many other areas of DC have developed much faster than H street in the past 5 years, including around Chinatown and north of Chinatown, and Mass Ave between Chinatown and Union Station. During the weekdays driving on H street still feels like you're on a developing country thoroughfare. H street has been the "next big thing" in DC for years, meanwhile a bunch of big things have happened and they haven't been H street. Believe me, for my own property value, I hope I'm proven wrong.
12:56,
h street is now very akin to what u street was 7 years ago.
As someone who travels across H Street NE to near U Street NW every weekday, I'd say it's like U Street just before the Green Line opened 11 years ago. It'll probably pretty much stay in that state until the streetscape project is actually finished, maybe until the streetcars start running. Not too long now, anyway.
By the way, the picture on the OP is of the NE corner of 5th and H, not of any of the places specifically mentioned in the post.
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