The parcel in question, north of the Marquis construction site, running along 9th Street between L and M Streets, NW, bears six boarded-up storefronts. Around the corner on L Street a large co-op and two good-sized row houses have sat shuttered.
The 1,175-room Marquis aims to fill a void in convenient hotel options for conventioneers upon completion, and although the new hotel will be the second largest in the District, original plans for the Marquis, by joint-development team Capstone and Quadrangle, were even bigger, calling for a 1,400 to 1,500-room hotel spanning L Street, and spilling into the blighted area to the north.
The idea for one hotel, connected by a pedestrian bridge, was scrapped years ago, before the Marquis broke ground in November of 2010. But now, current plans by the same developers for the Marriott-owned land between L and M Streets call for the revival of increased hotel space in the form of two new Marriotts: a Residence Inn and a Courtyard Marriott. 
A source from Capstone says that building two additional hotels will “meet the city’s original goal for the convention center of 1,600 total rooms.” Marriott has not given a reason for building three hotels instead of one, but varying price points is likely a factor, as all three Marriott brands are targeted to different customers. The zoning process for the two additional hotels has not begun, says Norman Jenkins, president and founder of Capstone, and subsequently, “a start date has not been solidified.” However, the future plan is to “retain all of the boarded buildings that front 9th Street and incorporate them into the hotel," giving the redevelopment a “really neat old/new look.” As for the boarded-up real estate on L Street – the co-op at 919 L Street and the two row houses – the goal is to demolish them, if granted approval.
The recent demotion of a few “non-contributing structures” (i.e. non-historic buildings) at the northern parcel of land created a small amount of space to be utilized as parking for an influx of construction workers for the next three years at the Marquis site. Capstone was mum on where the development team is in the entitlement process, however, no permits have been applied for with the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA), so it seems Marriott's 2nd and 3rd hotels on the site will arrive well after the Marquis is finished.
Washington D.C. real estate development news
17 comments:
you could use a little editing here.
first of all, the site is west of the convention center, not east of it.
secondly, your first reference to the large hotel is "Marquis Marriott Marquis" - one too many "Marquis" in there, no?
third, "evening bigger"? did you mean "even"?
Also, I believe their branding is "Marriott Marquis" not "Marquis Marriott"
I second IMGoph's comments.
Also, the biggest hotel in the District is the Wardman Park Marriott with 1,316 rooms, easily retaining its stature in the face of the Marquis' 1,175 rooms. The Marquis will be the 2nd-largest.
I'm confused. Why wouldn't the city push for a large hotel on one parcel, and more mixed-creative use of the other parcels. It seems like such a wasted opportunity to provide a more cohesive, lively remake of these few blocks. This city is just terrible about utilizing space. No big thinking to make this city a great place to be as always.
Dear DCMud ignore the hall monitors this city is littered with them.
It would be nice if Marriott would build a more interesting Hotel brand like Edition down there.
are the editors awake here? anyone around?
IMGoph, I appreciate your diligence, and have amended the article.
Yes, west of the convention center.
Yes, Marriott Marquis.
Critically Urban, you are correct, it will be the second largest hotel behind the Wardman Park Marriott. I was misinformed.
Thank you IMGoph, Anon and Critically Urban.
Thanks. I still have mixed feelings about the uses of those two other parcels. I can't decide if the city would be better served by more residential and retail, or by the plans for more hotels and retail. Either way, more feet on the sidewalks is good for the neighborhood, but do we want more people invested in it, or people just passing through? Given its low density and semi-ghetto status, this neighborhood could go both ways, I think.
BTW @ the second Anonymous response: "hall monitors", as you call them, work with bloggers and editors to make sure the correct information is being spread for the sake of the city and the area. Without a huge editing department such as that at the Washington Post, it's difficult to be correct all the time at the time of posting. It's incredibly important that we all collaborate together to get things right. One wrong stat here or there could cause a neighborhood war.
I'm kinda bummed to hear that they desire to tear down the Lurgan at 919 L.
Renovation/incoporation of all of the 9th Street buildings will be fantastic -- I hope they're going to provide ground floor retail/restaurants.
I think a hotel will be fantastic, as it actually has the possibility of getting built within the next 5-7 years. Opening of a hotel here would help be a substantial push towards revitalizing the 1100-1300 blocks of 9th st, filling the convention center retail, etc.
A revitalized 9th St, then, could have the effect of urging more mixed use development up 9th, connecting with development spinning off O St. Market.
One can dream, no?
I am not in favor of demolishing the historic buildings, especially ones that have been slumbanked for so long. I cannot tell you how may times I have called the city for the most disgusting things relating to the 900 block of L. That said, it ultimately depends on the logistics and what they want to put there. Shaw Rez, i agree it has to have ground floor retail. We dont need another Hampton Inn that has no relationship with the community or the streetscape.
Imgoph,
Thanks. Yes, we were awake, but edits weren't sticking, we corrected the information several times but it wasn't reflected in the post. I'd like to get my hands on someone at Blogger HQ.
Ken: You wouldn't be the only one, believe me.
I think they need to move quicker on starting development of these two additional hotels. The hotel guests at the new Marquis are going to want to walk off property in search of some food or beverage locations. Nobody unfamiliar with the neighborhood is going to walk very far north on 9th Street as long as those properties are boarded up and vacant. The sooner 9th and 7th Streets are more vibrant we can't expect to see businesses open and propser.
I,for one, welcome our new Marriot hotel overlords.
In all seriousness, I actually really like the idea of hotels filling out these parcels--provided they're done well (i.e., not the aformentioned Hampton Inn). If there are ground level restaurants/retail and the hotel is well-incorporated into the streetscape (as it sounds like they are planning, at least on the 9th street side), hotels can bring a lot of vibrancy to the area. My only complaint about the plans (aside from the timing, which seems to be a ways off) is the anticipated demolition of the structures on L Street. If they can incorporate the existing structures along 9th into the facade of the hotels, I fail to see why the same could not be done along L. But perhaps there is more here than I am aware of.
As a neighbor, I very much appreciate Marriott's choice to build the new Marquis and to develop the other parcels. And, to match what others have said, it is critical that plans for the site north of L include as much storefront retail as possible - both in existing shells as well as the infill lots. Given the context of this block and neighborhood, the city should resist attempts to have streetfront space taken up by taxi loading and garage entrances.
I do have to call out Marriott (and their developer) for leaving the existing properties as boarded up shells during the holding, planning, and permitting stage. A small investment to clean up the facades with new functioning windows and doors could be done in a month and would transform this block from a ghetto wasteland and begin the transition to an inviting and walkable block. A little drywall and paint could transform boarded up storefronts into usable construction offices or temporary art studio/gallery/display spaces. While perhaps not structurally possible in all of the buildings, at least the former Central Lock building should be habitaable. A small investment here by Marriott would go a long way toward both building community goodwill and setting the stage for their new hotels as a place that people want to walk to and enjoy.
Finally, this plan for major construction on approximately half of the block is a critical opportunity for DDOT to undo one of the big mistakes of the 60s and restore the sidewalk width on the west side of 9th street. If this is to be a welcoming block, with storefronts, possibly cafes, etc, this space must be reclaimed for community life.
the smaller hotels will take less time to build and the plan is to have all three of them open at about the same time.
Post a Comment
Commercial ads will be deleted, so don't even think about it.