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

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

Cardozo Students Building a Home

Students from the Academy of Construction and Design at Cardozo Senior High School are set to break ground on a single family home next Tuesday. Nearly 300 students will gain valuable pre-apprenticeship experience in carpentry, electrical, HVAC and other technical specialties while building the 2,000 s.f. house. Sustainability is a key focus, as the District's first student-built house is set to employ energy efficient design, materials and construction. The vacant lot, donated by the District Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), will be reborn thanks to the program being dubbed "Build a House - Build a Future." The entire operation is sponsored by the nonprofit D.C. Students Construction Trades Foundation in partnership with District of Columbia Public Schools Career and Technical Education.

Architectural designs and site plans for the two-story home are courtesy of nearby Inscape Studio. And while teens normally can't even clean their rooms, students were even somewhat involved in the preliminary design process, says the Academy's head Shelly Karriem. "Students weren't included in the drawing process, but the design elements that they thought were important were relayed to the architects." Miller & Long will serve as general contractors and assist Academy instructors in overseeing the construction process. Although not physically involved, corporate sponsors like Clark Construction and Balfour Beatty have helped to make the program possible. Bridging the connection between a quality education today and an healthy, employed future, the Academy has been helping students recognize their potential, focus on their studies, and begin to plot their future careers. Since its inception in 2005, the Academy has seen a 90% graduation rate from its enrolled student body.

Washington D.C. Real Estate Development News

Working Through Artistic Differences on U Street

Greg Kearley of Inscape Studio will go before the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) on Thursday for review of the proposed adjoining 3- and 5-story mixed-use buildings that, pending approval, will replace the currently vacant lot at 1932 9th street NW with work and residential space for artists. Developer and property owner Paul So also developed another property nearby, "510nm" at 1353 U Street NW. Both So properties are geared towards the arts community, though the Historic Preservation Office (HPO) staff report may lead to the HPRB "censoring" some of So's artistic endeavors. So wants his new buildings - a mixture of housing, office and studio spaces - to serve the burgeoning artist community in the U Street neighborhood. The building that will face 9th St NW is designed for four stories near the street, with a fifth-floor penthouse set back 18 feet, bringing the entire height to 58 ft, and will incorporate a mix of ground floor retail and second floor office space, the rest to serve as residential and studio space. The other building, connected via a breezeway, fronts 9 1/2 St and will be three stories to include live/work space for artists in the Hamiltonian Artists fellowship program. The first floor would have an open space for working and for the fellows to brainstorm; the other two floors are designed for discounted living space for fellows. So intends to build his second development to "LEED Platinum at least" - meaning exceeding the highest green rating standards. His current building on U Street boasts a long list of green design features including recycled paper countertops (Paperstone), daylit interiors, passive solar design strategies including southern exposure for passive solar heating in winter and overhangs at southern glazing for shade in summer, green roofs and rain barrels to conserve water usage. According to So, when he and his architect (occupying the office space on the second floor of his U Street building) were planning 9th Street, they consulted with the artists about their needs and came up with the common space for the first floor so they can converse, and special features like venthilation for work rooms. So what's the problem? The HPO staff report concluded that the three-story building on 9 1/2 St. could move forward, but the building planned for 9th St. was too large in scale compared to surrounding buildings. According to architect Greg Kearley, when the project went through staff review over a year ago, the plan was for a 5-story building on 9th street with a 6th floor penthouse, and the more diminutive adjustment seemed to be something everyone was "comfortable with." Owner So said his "game plan" is to go before the board to find out what "they would like us to do" so that he and his architect can accommodate their findings into a new plan. Though Kearley did express concern that a smaller building might not be economically feasible, considering much of the space is already slotted for use that will not generate much income. It would stand to reason that the extra floor and those penthouse condos are key to the developer's bottom line. Any fellow can see that.

Washington DC commercial real estate news

Art and Development in Southeast

ARCH Development, together with InscapeStudio, is putting together its own revitalization package for southeast DC, offering subsidized artists' housing to stimulate both the arts and economic development in one of DC's needy neighborhoods. In the next few months, two of ARCH's projects will materialize side by side, at the 1600 block of V Street and the neighboring 2025 Fendall Street, SE. Both projects will be for sale and include elements of affordable housing.

ARCH, both a nonprofit development firm and nonprofit artist-training center, has already delivered on a residential project: a 4-unit, artist-residence at 1706 16th Street SE, half of which is used for complementary housing for artists doing community work in the area, and the other half as gratis housing for artists who are visiting the District. How can they offer free housing you ask? During Christmas of 2005, a fire tore through much of the building when it was briefly vacant, and thanks to a grant from the Commission of Arts and Humanities, the building was renovated in 2006 and continues to operate with a negligable overhead. Among the residents that Arch attracts to the building will be Delphine Perlstein a Parisian artist who will be exhibiting at ARCH's Honfleur Gallery and the French Embassy in April, and the crew from HGTV, who will come to Washington DC to revitalize three historic Anacostia developments (1, 2 and 3).

Duane Gautier, President of ARCH, gave input as to how his firm has a special advantage in neighborhood revitalization. "We believe that arts and culture can be one of the strategies that can revitalize the Anacostia neighborhood. What we're trying to do is develop a critical mass of arts and culture activities both commercial and residential, which should help to generate further development in the neighborhood. And that's what we want to see: more private sector involvement."

Now the firm is finishing up their plan for V Street, which requires the demolition of the existing building, and will replace it with a three story, 8-unit, artist-housing condo. Its one and two bedroom units will range from 550 -1200 s.f., and the first five lucky buyers will get free access to each of the five work spaces located on the first floor for two years, as an added incentive implemented by ARCH in the hopes of selling the building as quickly as possible. Prices range from approximately $165,000 to $210,000 - four of the units will be affordable for households earning approximately 60% AMI, while the other four units will be sold at market rate. ARCH is currently finishing up permit drawings for the condo and plan on breaking ground in October 2008, setting up for a grand opening in the fourth quarter of 2009.

The Fendall Street condo building, at the corner of Fendall and V, sits just in front of the V Street condos. Arch is currently performing internal demolitions on the apartment building that sits on the site, with the plans of stripping it bare, and remodeling the entire three story building to house 29 condominiums ranging from 600 - 11,000 s.f. Like V Street, 10 units of the building will be reserved for artists, and it will house a number of artist studios in the basement; about 80% of the total units will be affordable and only 20% will be sold at market rate. Gautier expects the Fendall Street project do be finished by February, 2009.