Nearly as promised, Steuart Investment will officially break ground, tomorrow, July 19th, on its Giant-anchored mixed-use development at 3rd and H Streets in Northeast, after having secured the necessary permits one day before Steuart hoped to break ground - July 1st - on the Torti Gallas and Partners designed 286,500 s.f. of retail and residential.
In less than two years, the corner will offer 215 rental apartments, and an alternative big-box, grocery-shopping experience to Murry's down the street at 6th, which has some telling reviews on Yelp.The new 42,000 s.f. Giant will take up the majority of the first floor in the six story building, with the remaining bulk, floors two through six, being residential. The ground floor will also offer a small, corner retail bay with 22' ceilings, as well as a lobby.
Giant and Steuart Investment shook hands on the deal in November of last year, when other suitors for the lease - Yes! Organic Market, Trader Joe's, and Harris Teeter - were passed over. Clark Builders Group will take six months to dig down (and construct the foundation to grade) before building up, as two floors of underground parking with 270 spaces - 125 for shoppers and 145 for residents - is planned for the site.
When Guy Steuart, director of Steuart Investment, originally submitted plans for a PUD to the District, around 2005, he hoped to build an 8-story structure with three floors of parking, but the plan was deemed too dense, and height and parking were both trimmed. Of construction on the site, Steuart explained, "The mess will be gone by and large in 18 months... the Giant plans to open in the spring of 2013."
Of the design, shown at left (before height was shaved two stories), Sarah Alexander of Torti Gallas explained, "[The goal was] to integrate [it] into the historic fabric of H Street through breaking the building down into three different facades, the main red brick facade takes on more of a contemporary loft aesthetic, the eastern blond brick portion has large glassy bays which help create a rhythm in keeping with the scale of H Street, with setbacks at the upper level, and finally the small townhouse facade on 3rd Street steps down to the adjacent townhouses to the north."Councilmember Tommy Wells (Ward 6), who is expected to attend the ground breaking, has previously expressed his approval that the development is a four-block walk to-and-from Union Station Metro, and will be located near a Streetcar stop, when the transit project is completed, hopefully in late 2012.
Joining Wells, tomorrow, should be Mayor Vincent Gray, Giant's vice president of sales Shane Sampson, and Steuart.
Washington D.C. real estate development news
18 comments:
Is the rendering in this blogpost current?
The rendering shown is of a 8-story building (left side of rendering).
And Shaw continues to wait for A new Giant at Citymarket at O..."groundbreaking" took place September 2010 with no sign of construction anytime soon...
@Anonymous 10:37 PM
And after a decade, Wisconsin Avenue also continues to wait for a new Giant as well.
This is great to see for H Street but lets get the streetcar completed.
Actually, the original 8 story structure was not "deemed too dense." It was approved, and the developer later came back to the ANC and ZC to lower the height. For one reason, the lower height allowed the residential stories to be stick-built instead of concrete.
No, the previous rendering was not current. Though it was supplied yesterday, I missed a noticeable clue that it was incorrect - the height.
The article has been amended with a current, six-story rendering.
Thanks!
Wish it was going to be eight stories.
nice looking!
This is not a correct statement. The project is concrete construction, not stick built
Funny. When asked at the zoning hearing why Giant insisted on building a minimum 56,000 s.f. store on Wisconsin Avenue (4 times the size of the present one), Giant's representative said their corporate business plan dictated that was the smallest store they would consider building in DC. Yet here Giant is building an urban store that is a more modest 42,000 s.f. Just "Heapes" of hooey, I suppose.
What will the exterior materials be? Hard to tell from the B&W rendering!
And, it looks like this "groundbreaking" is indeed the real deal. They were setting up a crane and a bunch of digging equipment on the site today.
@Anonymous 4:17 PM
The difference couldn't possibly be explained that within a mile to a mile and a half of the Wisconsin/Newark Giant there are two Whole Foods and two Safeways (including one completely rebulit one). The supermarket business is a lot more competitive in upper Northwest than the H Street corridor, necessitating a larger store.
Here's a link to a good rendering of this project.
http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/h_street_apartment_project_to_break_ground_in_july/3341
I love the design.
I think the parking garage and 1st floor will be concrete but the residential will be stick built on top of the one story pad. At least that's what it sounded like at the groundbreaking.
The phrase is "by AND large", not "by IN large". Now, if that was actually Steuart's quote, that's his botch, not the "editors".
'twill be interesting to see what the Giant ushers in across the street...that lot has been vacant for some time and has plenty of "intended development" but no actual movement.
Keith Anderson of Clark Builders Group confirmed, today, that the building will be constructed using a "Hambro System: Concrete garage with a combination of steel and concrete for the upper floors."
My main gripe has to do with parking. While I recognize the spots provided (145) are within code for the number of residences offered (215), what happens when the building charges tenants $150/month for parking? More cars on the street. Don't believe me? Check out how many residents park at Senate Square.
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