107-Year-Old Cleveland Park Home Dodges Bullet

A 107-year-old home in Cleveland Park has received a last minute pardon from razing, after the property was sold to a new owner and plans to develop the site for the moment shelved.

"The raze application and the concept proposal have been withdrawn," confirms Steve Callcott, Deputy Preservation Officer at Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB). "We received notification from their attorney that the property has been sold to a different owner."

The saga of the marginalized home at 3211 Wisconsin Avenue was set to come to an abrupt end, as the last owners had sought permission to raze the house to make way for a six-story apartment building.

Previous developers at Hastings Development had proposed a wholesale relocation of the house, from its Wisconsin Avenue location in Cleveland Park to a vacant lot at 3118 Quebec Place NW.  A 2008 report from Hastings Development described the sad case of a home that had "lost its setting" and was "pressed between multifamily apartment buildings."  Pictures illustrating this point depicted a forlorn two story house dwarfed on each side by looming monoliths and fronted by a hectic thoroughfare.  Encroachment was gradual; to the south, an eight-story apartment building was constructed in 1958, and to the north, a (most unsightly) seven-story building went up in the Eighties.  In contrast, 3211 was a modest, two-story frame house, set back from the street with a small front yard.  

But the HPRB rejected this proposal, later saying that the "new location and context was inappropriate for the building," despite the fact that its initial report found the Quebec Place lot "would provide a more visually compatible context of similarly sized and scaled single family houses."  An HPRB report noted that the house was "deteriorating and vacant" and was "in need of substantial repair" as well as missing the original porches. Additionally, there was speculation that the original builder and architect of record, a Treasury Department bookkeeper named Donald Macleod (he built the house for his sister Euphemia), had simply copied the plans for the house out of a builder's manual or pattern book, theoretically reducing the house's value as a historical artifact.

Following the denial of the relocation request, developers changed gears and planned to raze the house and build a six-story apartment building much like the surrounding ones - that is, until the property changed hands at the last minute.  So what's next for the once-endangered house?

"We have no applications pending [regarding 3211 Wisconsin]," says Callcott.  "We're not exactly sure what's going to happen to it."

Washington D.C. real estate development news

HPRB Votes Down 16th Street Mixed-Use Church and Office Building Design

In the course of a concept review hearing yesterday, the Historic Preservation Review Board voted 5 to 2 against granting The Third Church of Christ, Scientist and ICG 16th Street Associates, LLC an exception that would allow them to build a mixed-use church and office building more than 90 feet high at 910 16th Street (between K and I), where the church currently stands. This would have broken a restriction placed on the historic district of 16^th street, which leads to the White House.  The review did not include discussion of the highly contested demolition and rebuilding of the church.

Historic Preservation Office staff members David Maloney and Steve Callcott presented a 16-page report urging the Board to deny an exception for a number of reasons, including incompatibility “with the character of the street as a whole” and a fear of creating a precedent of breaking the height rule on 16th Street.

According to the report, "The proposed structure would exceed the 90-foot height limit in several respects. The street facades would extend above the limit to 93.7 feet, calculated from the allowable measuring point on I Street. An extra ninth floor would rise to 107.7 feet, with a 30-foot setback from 16th Street and a 15-foot setback from I Street. The top of the mechanical penthouse would be at 123.7 feet.”

Originally, the project was proposed as an 11-story building with a copper façade. Following comments from the HPO, ICG and architect Robert A.M. Stern Architects partner Graham Wyatt scaled it down to a 9-story building with a stone façade for it to blend better with neighboring buildings.

Since the height restriction has been controversial for years and because this is a historic district, Maloney said it would create a slippery slope with a precedent that other developers could use to break this rule and begin to break down the historic district's uniformity.

“The physical nature of the historical district … is established by the requirement that has been in place since 1894 not to exceed 90 feet,” Maloney said.

ICG principal David Stern, Third Church member Darrow Kirkpatrick and Wyatt represented the project.

Stern said he hoped the project wouldn’t be judged on what might happen, while Kirkpatrick called the report a “substantial burden on our religious beliefs” (though it should be noted the only thing in question was the height of the office building, specifically the addition of a ninth floor, which would not include any part of the church, according to the renderings presented by Wyatt).

The hearing lasted approximately three hours, though it wasn’t until the final twenty minutes that board member Rauzia Ally asked Wyatt what seemed like the most important question: Why does it need a ninth floor?

His answer was that the church is set back into the building and takes up valuable office space, which would be reclaimed by adding a ninth floor. The board was not impressed.

The room filled almost completely for the hearing, and various arguments took place throughout the day including attacks on Wyatt’s architecture, complaints about the lack of religions iconography on the building and arguments about from where in the city can one actually see the extra floor (which is set back 30 feet in the plans).

Several members of the area’s ANC spoke, including 2B chairman Will Stevens, who complained that the staff report never mentions the ANC and said, “Not only will [the ninth floor] not detract, it will add historical flair.”

Former Washington Post columnist and University of Maryland professor emeritus Robert Lewis argued in favor of the extra floor by questioning if it would actually set a precedent.  David Alpert founder of Greater, Greater Washington said, “Historic preservation is … becoming the anti-height movement.”

Gretchen Pfaehler, Nancy Metzger and Robert Sonderman also voted to adopt the staff report’s recommendations.  Pfaehler explained her decision concisely: “That’s the law.”

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Jair Lynch's 15th and V Street Apartment Approved by HPRB

Jair Lynch Development Partners' 9-story apartment at 15th and V Street, NW, in the U Street District, was given the go-ahead by the Historic Preservation Review Board this morning, after lead designer Sungjin Cho with WDG Architecture presented a new design (above) reflecting the changes that the Board had requested in September.

The apartment's original design (below) has been tweaked to become more sympathetic in scale to the surrounding historic district. In order to do so, WDG increased the percentage of masonry (to glass) on the facade, reduced the height of the corner tower (by one foot on V Street and 4 feet on 15th), decreased the size of all windows, created slimmer bay projections (by a foot-and-a-half), and added more masonry between the ground-floor glass and the tower. Two kinds of glass will now be used in the bays, clear and "fritted" (i.e. enameled).

Included in the development will be two levels of underground parking, 95 apartments - 87 market rate units and 8 subsidized (at 50 to 80% of AMI) - a fitness room, club room, shared interior courtyard, and roof deck.

The property, located at 2005 15th Street, will overtake an existing parking lot that serves the adjacent Paul Laurence Dunbar Apartment (formerly Campbell Heights) at 2001 15th Street, a 10-story, 171-unit apartment designated as affordable senior housing, which is property owned in large part by Jair Lynch. Lynch acquired majority ownership of the Dunbar apartment last year - as the website states - after having "structured a complex package of debt and equity totaling $43.3 million to facilitate the rehabilitation of the property." According to the U Street Neighborhood Association, "The [15th and V Street] project subsidizes a portion of the renovation work being performed on the ... Paul Laurence Dunbar Apartments."

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Full Raze Petition Rebuked by HPO for New Jersey Ave Houses

The Third Street Church of God will now plump for a full demolition of three historic rowhouses on New Jersey Avenue, a turnaround from their original plans to only partially raze the structures. The Church got a preliminary okay from DC's Historic Preservation Office (HPO), then got support from the Historic Preservation Review Board in June, both for a partial (not full) demolition of its property at 1232-1236 New Jersey Avenue, NW. After HPRB approved the partial raze request, the Church immediately asserted it would fight for a full raze, as the Church seemed to have felt pressured into partial preservation.

Making good on that promise, the Church is seeking to fully demolish the property by petitioning the Mayor's Agent with the plea of economic burden, a move that the HPO has just opposed.

The three rowhouses next to the Church on New Jersey Avenue date back to 1866, but have become severely decrepit in the last few decades of life. Still, HPRB determined that the front façades and brick party walls of the rowhouses maintained their integrity and could be braced and retained, resulting in the call for partial preservation this summer.

The most recent HPO report opposing the Church's full raze petition says "The conditions at 1234 and 1236 can largely be blamed on 20 years of deferred maintenance...the Board has always stood against approving razes of buildings brought to a state of dilapidation by lack of maintenance, as approval would not only result in the loss of historic fabric and character in the particular, but would reward and encourage such neglect in general."

If the Mayor's Agent does approve the Church's petition for a full raze, then the cleared site would be incorporated into the Church parking lot, in order to offset the 15 spaces (in the 32 space lot) that will be lost due to the addition on its property at 1208 3rd St.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Artist Loft Project Near U Street Under the Knife Again

Last week, the Historic Preservation Review Board denied approval for a proposed residential and retail project featuring live-work artist lofts at 1932 9th Street NW and requested a significant "modification to the massing" of the 4-story building; a reduction-in-density request that threatens the project's viability.

Regardless, owner/developer Paul So remains committed to the project, and will continue to work with HPRB through project architect Greg Kearley of Inscape Studio to come up with a suitable design that will be deemed compatible with its surroundings in the Historic U Street District locale.

As one Board member pointed out, however, the inability of the project to blend in comes from both its size, given its location on a double-wide (36') lot in the midst of singles, and its style, which is distinctly modern.
The project was first denied by the HPRB in 2009, and subsequently shelved for economic reasons. The current, revised design, in addition to being one story shorter and with compressed floor heights, includes several other changes in appearance from two years ago: recessed balconies, the addition of a cornice, a modified storefront, a change in color of cladding tiles, a pulled back roof deck on 9-1/2 Street (the back, alley side of the lot) the relocation of a stairway, and submerged mechanical functions.

Though Kearley said "the changes [made] were very specific to the concerns raised by the Board in December of 2009," the Board still felt that the height, two stories higher than immediate neighbors, was not appropriate, and that the design was not quite right.

One option available to the developer in order to save his investment, which is currently being considered, is to "get a zoning variance on the occupancy ratio as to extend the back end of the building on top of the originally proposed parking spaces [to] potentially gain back more marketable square footage lost from the height restriction."

So purchased the property in July of 2008 for $1.4 million, and in 2009 a few doubts were raised over the project's economic feasibility, considering a large component of the building would be artist lofts asking low rents. While there will be artist live-work lofts clustered toward 9-1/2 Street, there will also be market-rate apartments included in the project, and ground-floor retail.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

HPRB: Site of DC's First Walmart Not Historic

As was expected, the Historic Preservation Review Board voted yesterday in line with the Historic Preservation Office recommendation not to designate the Car Barn on Georgia Avenue as a historic landmark. The site is the proposed location of the District's first Wal-Mart, and a historic designation would have complicated and slowed the path to development. Property owner Foulger Pratt will be able to continue demolition (abruptly halted) of the structure.

Several individuals and parties, both for and against slapping the Barn with historic landmark status, gave impassioned testimony as to whether preservation was important based on the structure's integrity, and ability to convey the meaning for which it was deemed significant.

One testimony in opposition to preservation declared, "It's a blighted area and it has been for many years... preserving [the Car Barn] would defeat the effort of the community to revitalize the area."

However, a historian in favor noted the existence of old windows, materials, original brick walls, trusses, original roof skylights, old doors, and original layout (service and storage bay). A community member added, "It's a garage that represents the entire Brightwood community."

HPRB said preservation was an issue only of "significant integrity," most of which was lost when alterations began to convert the structure to a Chevy dealership in 1995, and in the end, the Board felt there was not enough.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Meridian Hill Baptist Church Condominium Gets Design Adjustment

A church-turned-condominium project by developer Bozzuto and architect Martinez + Johnson will likely head back to the Historic Preservation Review Board next month, says Bozzuto VP and director of development Clark Wagner, but without additional façade windows sought by the team.

Developers had sought to add glass to the stone facade, but city officials scotched the idea of changing the historic façade, originally built in 1927. Instead, the plan is to simply replace the windows, as well as other changes requested by HPRB, including a different "skin" for the new construction portion of the project.

HPRB did approve "the demolition of the rear of the building and the general design approach to the additions in concept, [including] the terrace alterations to the church roof, if they can be concealed from public view."

After HPRB approves the entire revised design, Bozzuto will then file its application with the Board of Zoning Adjustment, said Wagner. In July, ANC secretary Jack McKay said that the ANC, which has not yet opined on the matter, is most interested in the rear setback and rear access of the property.

The community has a heightened sensitivity to fire safety measures after the Deauville apartment fire in 2008; the fire responsible for the demise of the Meridian Hill Baptist Church and the rise of the current plan to turn the property in condominiums. Spacing to adjacent properties has already proved to be an issue in the redevelopment of a neighboring property, the Mt. Pleasant Library at 3160 16th Street, NW.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

New Plan for Oldest Apartment in DC

In the past five years, the 123-year-old Harrison Flats at 704 3rd St, NW - the eldest conventional apartment building in the District - has changed ownership three times; a change that has brought three different plans for restoration and reuse of the historic landmark to the Historic Preservation Review Board.

The latest plan, by current owner the Zuckerman Brothers Inc., is for a 12-story hotel with ground-floor restaurant and/or bar (rendering from ANC 6C meeting posted in June) designed by R2L:Architects.

In June of 2010, the Zuckerman Brothers purchased the property for $8.5 million. The plan will be reviewed by the HPRB this Thursday, the 22nd. ANC 6C approved the project in June, when presented by Goulston and Storrs' Andi Adams, R2L's Sacha Rosen, and owner Stuart Zuckerberg.

Two previous plans, both approved by the HPRB, were submitted in 2006 and 2008 (11-story office addition). Tim Dennee of the HPO, said that the three proposals in the last five years have been for "additions of roughly the same size, but the amount of demolition proposed has increased each time." In large part, this is due to significant deterioration of the building within the last seven years; resulting in much of the property having been deemed structurally unsound by an engineer. Dennee wrote in his report, "The condition of the building has declined dramatically in the years since the staff first toured it (about 2004)."

Tim Dennee's staff report states that although the Harrison was designed as apartments, the federal government leased the building in 1889 to use as an executive office for the Census Bureau, a move which resulted in the north addition "structured for office loading and to be 'fire proof,' with a system of steel columns and beams supporting brick and concrete floor arches, [whereas] the original, south section had been conventionally framed with wood."

Designed by John C. Johnson and Charles E. Gibbs, in 1888, the 5-story building (with basement level that served as a cafe around the turn of the 20th century) is an example of Romanesque Revival architecture. As use of the Harrison Flats has evolved over the past century, some may know the building as the "Astoria" (as it was renamed in 1899) or the "Canterbury" (in 1941).

Now boarded-up, and vacant for the past eight years, the property is currently being used by a small contingent of the District's homeless population.

Update: Renderings from the ANC meeting in June show the design before slight changes, requested by the ANC, were made to the project by the development-and-design team and re-presented to the ANC in September.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Plan Revived for Live-Work Artist Lofts Near U Street

A plan to build funky artist loft space on a vacant lot at 1932 9th Street, NW in the U Street neighborhood, was shelved two years ago (rendering at left is from 2009). Now, a slightly slimmed down version of the plan has been revived, and will be taken to the Historic Preservation Review Board next week.

The property owner and developer, Paul So, purchased the property in July of 2008 for $1.4 million, and commissioned Greg Kearley of Inscape Studio to design an eco-friendly building with several aspects - passive solar design, green roof, and rainwater capturing system - ensuring that the project would achieve or exceed LEED Platinum standards. So is co-director for the Center for Neural Dynamics at George Mason University, and founder of the Hamiltonian Gallery.

Kearley didn't want to say much in advance of the HPRB meeting, but said that although the retail and residential project was put on hold, it was never deserted.

Before the plan was tucked away in 2009, a few doubts were raised over the project's economic feasibility, considering a large component of the 5- and 3-story building would be artist lofts asking characteristically low rents. Also, the concept in 2009 was already a slightly scaled back version of the initial 6-story design (5-story with a penthouse).

The new plan being brought before the HPRB next week is for a 4-story building with ground-floor retail; details are few as the staff report by senior preservation planner Steve Callcott will be completed this Friday, the 16th.

The HPO report in October of 2009 was also done by Callcott who then recommended, "that the Review Board approve the design direction of the building on 9-1/2 Street, and direct the applicant to restudy the direction of the building on 9th Street to improve its compatibility with the surrounding context."

At that time, in a 9-0 vote, the HPRB "approved the scale and mass of the building on 9-1/2 Street, and directed the applicant to restudy the fenestration, ensure that the occupied portion of the roof deck is pulled back from the street, and further work on the design to improve its visual interest... [and] directed the applicant to restudy the design direction of the building on 9th Street to improve its compatibility with the surrounding context, particularly with regard to its height and scale."

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Redevelopment of Former Italian Embassy Past the HPRB

Potomac Construction is one step closer (but only one) to breaking ground on the redevelopment of the former Italian Embassy, due to project architect Trout Design Studio and Valor Development moving past the Historic Preservation Review Board for good.

At the end of July, the HPRB unanimously (5-0) approved the revised plans for the redevelopment. According to the Historic Preservation Office, "The Board found the design refinements and materials submitted to be consistent with the concept design and compatible with the character of the landmark."

Yet "the Board directed the applicants to restudy the entrances on Fuller Street and Mozart Place to see if changes to the design, size, and/or scale might improve their compatibility."

Next up is a visit to the Zoning Commission for consolidated PUD and map amendment approval, on September 8th.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Colbert Redesigns for Wallach Place and 14th Street

One month ago, Eric Colbert's design for a residential building at 1905-1917 14th Street NW was soundly rejected by the HPRB. Since then, Colbert seems to have taken comments from the Board, such as "it's more appropriate to K Street" and "looks too commercial," to heart. Colbert has reworked the building's design - for client Level 2 Development - and, as reported by U Street Dirt, presented a vastly different rendering to Wallach Place residents (compare below). 

The new design is still 7 stories tall, however the massing has been shifted to the southern end, where the entrance was repositioned, and the overall density has been decreased, allowing for a more significant stepdown at the back of the building (to an adjacent commercial rowhouse and Wallach Place residents across an alley). Level 2's plan for 154 units has been shaved down to 144, with a loss of approximately 4,000 s.f. overall - a net loss of ten, cozy 400-s.f. studio units - the same floor plan that makes up the majority (approximately 85-percent) of the building. A decorative cornice has been added around the 4-story (northern) section of the building and the two 4-story projecting bays on 14th Street. The new design has an exterior that is less glassy (i.e. windows have been broken down into smaller sizes), possibly in an attempt to make the building look "less commercial." The building's footprint remains unchanged, at nearly 16,000 s.f., and includes ground floor retail. Colbert and Level 2 principals David Franco and John Kardon met with Wallach Place residents last week in advance of meeting with the U Street Neighborhood Association (Aug. 11th), and ANC1B Design Review Committee (Aug. 15th). The development team will seek full approval with ANC1B on Sept. 1st and then revisit the HPRB, ideally, later that month. 

 Washington D.C. real estate development news

Eastern Market Concepts OK'd by Historic Review Board

The biggest development on Capitol Hill in recent memory - development of the aged Hine Junior High School - was reviewed before the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) yesterday, with the board approving designs for the C Street public plaza, overall landscape plan, and both the north and south residential buildings. In keeping with Capitol Hill's style, the design includes: newly added cornices, brick sidewalks, granite curbs, 36-inch iron "hair pin" fences, and a continuous perimeter of trees in 6' x 6' tree boxes.  New design elements (since April) include: a 2-foot reduction in height of the North residential building, whose façade has been split into five distinct sections - what was one long continuous gallery has been broken down "into a series of repeating storefront windows." 

With recommendation from HPRB for architectural diversity appropriate to Capitol Hill real estate, the South residential building (on 7th) now takes inspiration from Late Victorian architecture (not High Victorian) and boasts a "tripartite" facade (lighter gradations in masonry color). It has also been separated into vertical sections, like the North residential building (shown above), with an addition of 3-story protruding retail bays. Located at Eastern Market on Capitol Hill, between 7th and 8th Streets along Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, and across from the Metro station, the 3.2 acre Hine Development is most notably where the flea market portion of the Market has been held every Sunday, year round, since the 1970s. The development team led by Stanton and Eastbanc has been seeking ongoing conceptual review with HPRB since April, when the mixed-use project was first reviewed in its entirety. A small chunk of the project was unanimously approved by the Board last month, with the remainder also unanimously approved by the Board today. The development team was selected in July of 2009, and in turn selected landscape architect Oehme, Van Sweden & Associates, and lead architect Escoff & Associates. The open meeting was a showcase for some heartfelt lamentation of the overall size, but most passionate were those who spoke out against a decrease in public space, and in the flea market operations (down to 68 tents). It was agreed that approximately 120 vendors are currently on site (in the Hine School yard/parking lot) at any one time on Sundays. It was also generally agreed that this does not fall into the jurisdiction of the HPRB, and so all parties (interested in the number of tents on site) will reconvene at the Deputy Mayor's office, where the future of the flea market vendors will be determined. 

Last month, HPRB approved revised designs for the 8th Street residential building and the Pennsylvania Avenue and 7th Street office and retail buildings. HPO staff reviewer Steve Callcott stressed the desire for the development's new retail components - along 7th Street - to serve as a connector between Eastern Market and Barracks Row. The next step for the development team, after a visit to the Deputy Mayor's office, is a trip to the Zoning Commission for PUD approval, which could be in September, if the project is to keep the timeline set by the District. 

Washington D.C. retail and real estate development news

Reviving the Meridian Hill Baptist Church, as Condominiums

The Meridian Hill Baptist Church at 3146 16th Street, NW was one of several victims of a five-alarm fire in March of 2008. The inferno, its likeness unseen in the District for three decades prior, originated within the Deauville Apartments located next door to the Church at 3145 16th Street. The fire easily reached the Church, shattering stained-glass windows, and bringing down its roof, as opposed to raising it, as congregations had previously done, since 1916.

Pastor Calvin Cage said the Church did not receive substantial insurance monies in order to cover multimillion dollar damages, and lacking assistance from the District, was forced to pursue a private partnership to redevelop its property on 16th Street.

A partnership with Bozzuto Homes was originally sought to turn the Church into "senior housing or affordable housing," said Cage, adding that these uses were the first priority of the Church. But, it seems need has prevailed, as Bozzuto has hired Martinez + Johnson Architecture, a D.C.-based firm, to design a redevelopment of the Church into condominiums.

Redevelopment of the 14,700-s.f. property, will include preservation of the Church's classical limestone edifice, constructed in 1927 by noted firm Porter & Lockie, around an older brick structure, built in 1916, which succumbed to the blaze.

As relayed by Clark Wagner, Bozzuto's vice president and director of development, the restoration and new-build project is an effort to construct 55 to 60 condos, all one- and two-bedroom units priced in the upper-$200,000 to low-$400,000 range, and will be up for sale, Wagner hopes, next summer.

Of the design, Wagner said "the project is still in the conceptual stage," but the current plan being presented to the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) on Thursday, the 28th, is for a 7-story addition, to the side and back of the Church, with a contemporary look that will "not loom above the Church." The 23,850 s.f. church, Wagner said, has a height that is "equivalent to about five stories."

At least one follow-up trip to the HPRB is likely, as the staff report for the case suggests "the Board approve the demolition of the rear of the building and the general design approach to the additions in concept... and that the design continue to be revised and refined."

The report also explains that the new-construction addition will be "expressed as two additions, a side and a rear, by the use of different treatments of the elevations and by the creation of a 'notch' at their juncture."

Michael Cooke of M+J has presented his designs to the neighborhood ANC (1D) twice, most recently on July 19th, and those designs will not be contested, or approved, by the ANC said Jack McKay, ANC 1D secretary. McKay explained that the ANC will not take a stance at this early stage of the project, as the issue at hand is historic preservation, not zoning variances, which is something the ANC will take a stance on, when the issue arises. McKay said the ANC is most interested in the rear set back and rear access of the property, as well as the spacing to adjacent properties.

Adequate spacing is important to residents in the area, as a four-story residence located at the back of the Church narrowly escaped the inferno, and spacing has proved to be an issue in the renovation of the Mount Pleasant Public Library at 3160 16th Street, also closed for a few days following the fire due to a substantial intake of smoke.

The four-story Deauville Apartment building - saddled with housing complaints and code violations for many years prior to 2007 - was destroyed by the fire that struck before midnight and burned throughout the night. More than 200 residents were displaced, and the skeleton of the Deauville property is currently seeking rebirth as the tenant-owned Monsignor Oscar Romero Apartments.

Though now a lifeless limestone hulk, the Church once housed a 400-member congregation, an Ethiopian community center (upstairs) and a Catholic Charities homeless shelter (basement), before the end came in the form of fire, without brimstone. Cage added that although the Church's congregation is now melded into a sister church in Prince George's County, the goal is to re-establish its D.C. presence in the near future, possibly in Southeast.

article amended 7/27: "rebuild" [of Mount Pleasant Library] changed to "renovation." Although the Library was closed for a few days due to heavy smoke intake, renovation of the library was planned before the fire. And, "John McKay" has been changed to "Jack McKay."


Washington D.C. real estate development news

Ciao Bella?

Valor Development is moving forward with its current vision to turn the former Italian Embassy at 2700 16th St., NW into a residential complex - known as "Il Palazzo" - and will visit the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) next week for design approval. Valor has submitted design schematics for the preservation of the existing 3-story limestone building and the addition of two towers (5 and 8-stories tall), time will tell if the concepts by Trout Design Studio will sink or swim with the HPRB. Representing Trout Design will be principal Michael Beidler, along with architect Patrick Cook, and a few others from the small, local firm, which declined to divulge details in advance of the upcoming meeting. Following the HPRB trip will be a visit to the Zoning Commission for consolidated PUD and map amendment approval, on September 8th. The property is split-zoned, and Valor seeks to establish a uniform zone for the site (R-5-D), allowing a "shift of density that would otherwise be permitted on the eastern portion... to the western portion" as stated in the pre-hearing submission, lodged with the Zoning Commission in May. The goal of the rezone request is to "focus all additional density and height at the rear of the property." The Office of Planning concluded in April that the proposal for the redevelopment was "not inconsistent with the Comprehensive Plan" and waved Valor forward, with stated approval of the project's "special value" including "preservation of a historic resource" and five 2-bedroom affordable units (80% AMI). First conceptualized as a condo redevelopment in 2004 by previous owner Spaulding & Slye, Colliers and Castleton Holdings, HPRB deemed the site a landmark in 2006, just as construction was about to begin, a move which halted the developer's plans. Lender O’Connor North American Property Partners LP foreclosed on the property the following year. Valor Development purchased the site in 2008 for $6.5 million, and had hoped to have construction underway - partnering with Potomac Construction Group - this summer, however, Valor has also hit a few snags along the way. Valor and Trout Design visited the HPRB in November of 2010, then again in January of this year, with a plan to redevelop the property as a "luxury condominium," which has been revised over the past 6 months into 110 to 135 residential units with the majority (56) to be one-bedroom units, and 30 to be 2-bedroom/2-bath. The breakdown of the remaining units is undetermined, but the largest will be a 3 bed/2.5 bath configuration. The residential addition on the western side of the 42,500 s.f. property will now top out at 8 stories (previously 9) and will not rise over 90'; the floor area ratio (FAR) will be 2.8 with 122,428 s.f., with a lot occupancy of 58% allowing for a "considerable amount of landscaping" and a rear yard (80' in depth). The amount of below grade parking is yet to be determined, but will be between 60 and 90 spaces.Phase I will entail the "renovation and conversion of the existing Italian Embassy," including restoration of the landmark's façade, as well as preservation of notable, existing shared spaces within the once dapper host to embassy functions, including the ballroom, library and dining room. The embassy, built in 1925, was designed by New York architecture firm Warren and Wetmore, on land owned by Mary Foote Henderson, who spent part of the family fortune, made from "worthless bonds," on her impassioned goal to transform 16th Street, which included the creation of Meridian Hill Park. Valor could not be reached for comment, however stated in the PUD application an intent to break ground next spring, with construction expected to take 18 months. 

Washington D.C. real estate development news

U-Turn for Residential Building on 14th Street

Three residential projects will rise up 7 stories along the 14th Street Corridor between R and U Streets NW in the next two years, but Level 2 Development's project sited for Wallach Place and 14th (1905-1917 14th Street) won't be one of them - at least not yet. The project's architect, Eric Colbert & Associates, went up against the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) - and up against two handfuls of Wallach Place residents - last week at the HPRB's monthly meeting, only to be unanimously denied design approval.

As first reported by U Street Dirt, the HPRB was openly critical of the design and urged Colbert to rethink the building's rhythm, scale and greater context in the U Street Historic District.

The Colbert design presented was a 7-story apartment building, with an approximately 16,000 s.f. site footprint (150' wide x 106' deep). Although materials alternated between brick and metal "to break the building down into smaller pieces" with for 5-story projecting bays along 14th Street, the Board verbalized dissatisfaction with the look and feel, saying it wasn't 14th Street appropriate and ultimately didn't have "that Colbert magic" (apparently preferring the Floridian.)

It seems inevitable that the one-story "bunker" - officially "The Edna Frazier Cromwell Shopping Center" - currently lying low at the site, will not escape demolition. Built in 1986, the center was the first privately financed real estate development on 14th Street after the destruction of the 1968 riots. However, the structure has widely been regarded by the immediate community as an "eyesore." Previously on site was a 5-story brick building (demolished in 1970).

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Partial Preservation Prevails Over Parking

The request submitted to the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) for partial preservation of three historic rowhouses at 1232-1236 New Jersey Avenue NW, was unanimously approved by the HPRB Board on June 30th. The applicant, The Third Street Church of God, had petitioned for a full raze of the properties to make way for 5-7 parking spaces.

The partial raze compromise was reached in the "11th hour," as HPO Staff Reviewer Brendan Meyer stated during his testimony; HPRB Chair Catherine Buell explained that the role of the HPRB is to preserve "contributing structures in a historic district." With that said, Buell then acknowledged that the Church could revisit the Board with a new (full raze) request, or petition the "Mayor's agent" using the plea of economic burden.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Douglas Close to Construction on 14th Street

Redevelopment abounds along the 14th Street corridor within the mile-long strip that runs from Meridian Park through U Street and into Logan Circle, with several condo projects and new retail on track to arrive within the next one-to-two years. At the top of the corridor, at 2221 14th Street (14th & Florida Ave), Douglas Development will soon add another: a 6-story, 30-unit, mixed-use residential-and-retail project. Sasha Rosen, principal at R2L:ARCHITECTS – responsible for the design – relays that the permitting process is underway and involved parties foresee construction will start in three months or less. Per Rosen, the design for the complex has not changed since reported in November of last year, when Rosen stated that "the massing, form, and rhythm are in the Washington historic tradition, but the details are contemporary." 

Located within the Greater U Street Historic District, the project first sought approval from the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB), which gave Douglas the go-ahead, and the OK to demolish the crumbling Latino Auto Sales shop on site, at the end of last year. In January, the Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) also approved the project's plan, and granted the developer zoning relief, with a few conditions, including one-time mass-transportation and/or car-sharing funds for future residents, as well as requiring "that a temporary mural [be painted] on the south façade of the building,which shall remain on the building until such time as construction on the adjacent property to the south would obstruct the mural." Douglas Development could not be reached for comment this morning. 

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Historic Rowhouse Façades Likely to Remain

A plan by the Third Street Church of God to raze three historic rowhouses at 1232-1236 New Jersey Avenue NW in the Mount Vernon Square Historic District (MVSHD) has been changed. The new plan, after recent consultation with the Historic Preservation Office (HPO), is for the church to retain the sound façades and demolish the decrepit rear, and is detailed in the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB)'s staff report, published Friday, in advance of the upcoming Board meeting this Thursday, June 30th. If the Board grants approval, the HPO will then wave forward the Third Street Church of God's new plan for partial demolition.

The three rowhouses were originally four, however the southernmost one was demolished before the designation of the MVSHD in 1999. All three are flat-front, brick rowhouses built in 1866-1867, and according to the HPRB staff report, are "representative of the speculative housing built on the outskirts of the city in the boom years immediately following the Civil War."

The HPRB staff report, prepared by staff reviewer Brendan Meyer, outlines that "large portions of the three rowhouses are in extremely dilapidated condition... specifically the rear masonry walls and one-story ells are compromised structurally by numerous trees that have taken root in the walls." The staff report, released Friday, states that "[a]fter recent consultation with the HPO, the church has agreed to revise the raze application and now wish [sic] to pursuse a concept approval that would allow them to demolish only portions of the buildings not visible from New Jersey Avenue."

Although the rowhouses have suffered from longstanding exposure to the elements at the rear, resulting in extensive mold, a flourishing termite colony, and "nearly total loss of interior finishes... [and] structural integrity [of the back portions]." The front of the buildings are in "relatively good condition" and show "only typical wear for 150-year-old masonry," explains the staff report.

Because the façades of the rowhouses are salvageable, while the rear is impassable, the HPO is recommending that the Board approves this new, compromised solution to save some of all three historic structures - which front New Jersey Avenue. This new plan would restore the historic face of the property, and retain the "possibility that the current or a future owner may be able to incorporate the historic structures into a future development," as is stated in the staff report.

In the meantime, if the plan is approved and the church follows through with demolition of the back portion of all three rowhouses, the newly created space will be used for 3 to 5 churchgoers to park.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Barracks and Castles and Gardens

On Thursday night's calendar of the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) is a plan regarding the ongoing construction of an 8th Street Bavarian beer garden at 720 L Street S.E., on the heels of last month's raze application from the National Community Church for the Miles Glass site at 8th and Virginia, where it plans to build what will amount to its headquarters.

While these may represent ordinary changes in Barracks Row, it's the beginning of a series that will include the transition of behemoth The Blue Castle - formally known as the Navy Yard Car Barn - a 99,000 s.f. space that its developers intend to eventually turn over to retail.

This significance of the change on the street is not taken lightly. Even The New York Times had taken notice last month.

The building, purchased for $25 million by Madison Marquette in 2007, now 100% leased, currently houses social service providers and charter schools. "We don't want word to get out there that we're changing something soon because we don't want to scare the tenants," said Retail Director Christina Davies of the Madison Marquette retail group. "They're great tenants."

And yet retail for the neighborhood has always been in the plans. The Blue Castle allows for a massive influx of retail to the area without having to build new construction. In its former life, the building was built in 1891 as the repair center for trolleys and street cars.

What is Madison Marquette waiting for? "The right tenant," said Davies. In the meantime, superstores and smaller businesses are actively courting the developers, they say. "We have the option for both," said Davies. "We can lease to a series of restaurants and banks, for example, or a big box client. We just haven't decided yet."

Davies cites high ceilings as a draw for superstore retailers or, say, a gym. But folks from the Barracks Row Main Street would prefer "vibrant ground level tenants," said Martin Smith, Executive Director for the organization. "We would like to see retail that engages with passers-by," he said. "That traditionally does not include big box stores. There are two levels to the building, however, which may be a terrific place for a big box tenant." Columbia Heights' DCUSA serves as an example, with smaller retail at street level, with Best Buy and Target on upper levels.

Earlier this year, Madison Marquette, ICP Partners LLC, Barracks Row Main Street and Capitol Riverfront District discussed possibilities in zoning changes for various projects. While all storefronts facing historic 8th Street SE will remain at 45 feet in accordance with the zoning overlay, Smith noted the possibility of back-end building expansions of 65 to 85 feet in height on a per project basis, amendments that would allow for bigger clients.

Also in discussion is a second restriction in the overlay of Barracks Row which requires that no more than 50% of available street frontage is allowed to have a liquor license. "This may not be a problem now, but it could be as we move forward," said Smith.

Washington, D.C. Real Estate development news

Back to Drawing Boards for Italian Embassy Owners

Earlier this year Valor Development LLC purchased the former Italian Embassy at 2700 16th St. NW for $7.5 million in what will be a second attempt at condo development on the site. Partnering with Potomac Construction Group, Valor intends to renovate the embassy into condominiums, add a three-story wing on the north side of the building (also to house condo units), and construct a nine-story apartment building at the rear of the site. Earlier this month developers' plans and the architectural diagrams provided by Trout Design Studio went before the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB). While the HPRB found the conceptual site plan and rehabilitation of the landmark satisfactory, members of the Board directed the applicants to "restudy the architectural treatment of the north wing, and restudy the height, massing and architectural treatment of the new apartment tower, and return for further review when appropriate."

The first phase of the "Flats at IL Palazzo" will be the restoration of the landmark's facade and the conversion of the interior into condominium units "blending the character and charm of the historic building with the sophistication, class, and modern finishes that one expects in this premium location," according Valor's online description. The interior restructuring and transformation will preclude several significant interior spaces: the ballroom, library, dining room, and other smaller spaces will be preserved with some opportunity for public use and visitation. The second phase will include the north wing addition and the construction of the apartment tower, but those elements remain unapproved by HPRB.

Plan rejected in 2006.

Another development team in 2006 was close to moving forward with similar development plans for the ex-embassy, when HPRB designated the property an historic landmark just before construction was to begin, in part because the new tower would have eaten into part of the historic structure. HPRB asked the city to revoke the building permits for the 79-unit Il Palazzo condominium, a decision the developer litigated and lost. This go-round developers have moved the proposed apartment tower from near the front to the northwest corner of the site, far-removed from the 16th Street frontage and centered around a second courtyard. While the overall efforts seem to respect the historic nature of the property, and rearrange the site plan in accordance with HPRB's public wishes, the Board still found the three-story addition "capricious and discordant with the rest of the proposal" and the apartment tower's design to be "busy and composed of too many elements." Developers and designers have been advised to rethink their designs and try again soon. Although this is sure to delay Phase II, developers are still planning to deliver Phase I to the marketplace in summer of 2011.

The last project was spun by Spaulding & Slye, Colliers & Castleton Holdings, lender O’Connor North American Property Partners LP was forced to foreclose on the property, and enabling Valor to swoop in and purchase the site.

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