14th Street Condos Moving Ahead?

Construction of one of 14th Street's condo projects is inching closer to reality now that initial site work is taking place at the corner of 14th and R Streets, NW. Developer Habte Sequar purchased the land for $3.8m in November of 2009, with a goal of a beginning construction this time last year. But with financing more difficult than expected, the site in the middle of the 14th Street corridor has remained vacant since, pending adequate financial backing.

Sequar says the current construction is merely "testing dirt," rather than an official start to construction, but that "the project is getting closer" to breaking ground, and promises more information within a few weeks.

Architect Bill Bonstra of Bonstra | Haresign confirms that the project is all but ready for construction. Bonstra initially designed the project for a prior owner, and Sequar has made only minor changes to the project since his purchase, says project architect David Baker. The 6,000 s.f. lot will sport 30 condos and an 18 space garage beneath the building. Ellisdale is managing construction of the project. The 30,000 s.f. building will feature glass and buff limestone prominently on three sides, with red brick fronting R Street, and is designed to give a nod to 14th Street's automobile row legacy. Baker wagered a rough estimate of 14 to 16 months build out.

The long gestation time might sync the project with a greater appetite for condos than it now has, but the timing also puts completion at the same time as the District Condos, which is under construction and will deliver 125 units around the same time. PN Hoffman also has a planned condominium project across the street, and though timing of that is uncertain, construction may be underway as Sequar's property is completing, making for 3 condo projects within a block. Sequar also built the Rhode Island condos at 440 Rhode Island Ave., NW, completed in 2009 and still selling, and the Renaissance Condos at 1618 11th St., NW, a 16 unit building that completed in 2007 and sold out last month. Sequar has plans for another project just north of U Street that has not started construction yet.

Washington D.C. Real Estate development news