Demolition and Preservation at Former Chinese Embassy

Drive by the former embassy of the People’s Republic of China on Connecticut Avenue and you’ll see an interesting sight: a building façade propped up by an elaborate set of braces, next to another building undergoing wholesale demolition.

Much demolition has already occurred. But the facade is being preserved as part of the Sheridan-Kalorama Historic District, and will be incorporated into a new building on the site that’s been designed by Esocoff and Associates.

While the embassy proper decamped for Van Ness Street in 2009, the new Connecticut Avenue building will serve as the embassy’s residential and consular building, containing 136 mostly two-bedroom apartments for diplomatic staff, and some office space.

The original embassy was actually composed of two distinct but connected buildings. The more historic structure at 2310 Connecticut Avenue was built in the 1920s, and its façade is the one that’s being salvaged. The other structure, at 2300 Connecticut, was the hulking, largely unadorned building that most observers remember as the Chinese Embassy. It started out in the late 1940's as a hotel, but was turned into an embassy after Nixon’s visit to China in 1972.

Now, most of the latter building is being reduced to rubble. “I think one of the reasons we had unanimous community support was that removing a building that unappealing was a mitzvah—a good deed,” explained Philip Esocoff, adding that demolition of the newer building should be complete by the end of 2012.

But the older building has a different, more delicate story.  Braces have been utilized to preserve the two outside walls and strengthen them against wind while the building’s interior is removed. “We will cut away at the wall behind it, but we’ll have to do it carefully, by hand,” said Esocoff. “That’s a particular kind of process, saving a front wall: you don’t want to rip the building down inside because it might pull something off.”

Esocoff rendering of the new building's facade

Esocoff said the workers—part of Clark Construction team, unlike the previous Chinese construction crew in Cleveland Park —are salvaging some of the old bricks and ornamental metal balcony railings, which will be incorporated into the new structure. Though it will include an interior courtyard, the new building will fill in some of the empty space that lay above the old edifice's lobby and will therefore be largely the same size as the original set of buildings.

“I think it’ll be a very well-constructed building, a little higher quality than we might do on a standard apartment house because they plan on being there forever. It’ll be institutional grade,” said Escoff. “And this will really improve the vista as you come down from the bridge.”

Groundbreaking will occur after the first of the year, with the first step being an excavation of the property’s lower levels to include a parking garage.

Washington, D.C. real estate development news

Unbuilt DC: Public Murals Dot DC's Underdeveloped Landscape

Map of BicycleSpace & MuralsDC bike tour

While DC is rife with cranes and construction projects, for some sites the time has not yet come - at least not for condos. In a whirlwind, art-chasing bike journey that led through the northwest DC neighborhoods of Shaw, Columbia Heights, Kalorama, and the U Street Corridor, MuralsDC hosted a mural bike tour this weekend chasing down 18 of the city's (officially sanctioned) murals.  

MuralsDC and bike purveyor BicycleSpace, located on 7th Street NW between the Shaw and Mount Vernon Triangle neighborhoods, organized the mural tour.  The (official) murals are publicly-funded through the MuralsDC program, an organization established in 2007 with the goal of deterring graffiti on historically "frequently-tagged" walls.

Eric B. Ricks (right) in front of his mural at 8th and S Streets NW

Through the program, building owners can apply for their building to be considered for a mural.  The city - through the DC Department of Public Works (DPW) and the D.C. Commission on the Arts and the Humanities (DCCAH) - works in collaboration with the group Words Beats & Life Inc to settle on the artists and designs.  In DC, at least 35 murals have been painted through the MuralsDC program and seven more are being created this summer.  Four of those, according to MuralsDC tour guides, were due to be completed yesterday.

Albus Cavus's "Blended", 2030 8th St NW

During a stop at one of the newest MuralsDC works - due for completion this summer - mural artist Eric B. Ricks, whose art appears at S and 8th Streets NW,  said his hummingbird piece reflects the ideas of work and productivity, and is also a symbol that could be a harbinger of joy for the neighborhood.  "The humming bird is one of the hardest-working animals," Eric B. told us.  "As a totem animal, it always carries joy and brings joy wherever he goes."

From Albus Cavus's "Blended"

Other graffiti art groups create non-publicly funded murals, such as the D.C. collaborative public art and art education group Albus Cavus.  One of the group's murals - "Blended" - appears at 2030 8th St. NW, a building due for demolition in October.  Albus Cavus artists painted the building's walls during an art performance party and fundraising event - organized by Albus Cavus and AIGA Washington - at the site in June.  The event raised money to support Albus Cavus's programming. JBG Companies donated the site for the event.  The building is also currently home to the pop-up gallery The Randall Scott Projects.

MuralsDC mural at Walter Pierce Park

The MuralsDC program also aims to engage youth in the neighborhoods where the murals are painted; one mural was painted by an artist who worked with neighborhood children, giving paint to passersby for contribution.

A public art mapping platform by the ArtAround project has created an open-source inventory of DC public art, including murals.  Users can search by type of art, funding source, and location.

"Every Day I See Something New," by Cita Sadeli, Champlain Street NW

"Let's Meet at the Corner", artist Alicia Cosnahan, 13th St. and Park Rd. NW

"My DC" - Corner of 14th and Randolph Streets NW

Kalorama Apartment Building Impresses HPRB, On Track for 2012 Groundbreaking

A five-story, nine-unit apartment building planned for a vacant parcel at 2225 California Street, NW in the Sheridan-Kalorama historical district has passed an important hurdle and could break ground before the end of the year.

"HPRB basically approved the concept," confirms Don Malnati, a partner on the project at MMG.  "We're onto geotech testing, stuff like that.  The next step is permit plans; we'd like to have foundation/grade permitting first, so we can maybe start digging before the complete building permit comes through.  It's hard to say, all these processes take anywhere from two to six months.  At any rate, it's a by-right building, and we're within the zoning codes, so at this point it's mostly just technical."

Plans for the project, from MMG and designed by Ralph Cunningham of Cunningham Quill, met with moderate resistance from community members at an HPRB hearing earlier this year, on issues ranging from the design itself to the placement of the proposed building to the impact on a garden on the site. The proposed building "is inspired by the classical vertical proportions and tripartite façade organization prevalent in the neighborhood’s buildings while being contemporary in detailing," with three horizontal bands of different-colored brickwork denoting each story. Plans call for one unit on the ground level, with two units on each of the upper levels, and two penthouse units with access to a rooftop terrace.

The building will sit off-center on the lot, directly on the party wall of the smaller rowhouse, with a 12.5 foot side yard separating the building from the larger apartment building at 2219 California.

Predictably, this caused some consternation from the owners of the rowhouse. Of particular note is a light well on the facing side of the rowhouse which will be completely blocked off by the new building; upon questioning, MMG reps said preserving the well, possibly through the use of glass wall, was "not feasible." Don Hawkins, an architect representing the owners of the rowhouse, made a forceful plea for "any relief at all" from the board, claiming his clients' house lost 40% of its value when the MMG project was announced. He also noted wryly that "they [MMG] have been responsive to every request we've made, except the one for them to go away."

In response, MMG reps noted that zoning required them to pick a side ("You can't just build in the middle") and that, as they saw it, the many windows on the facing side of the apartment building at 2219 took precedence over the more limited exposure of the rowhouse. They also pointed to their extensive cooperation with the neighborhood on the particulars of the project - meetings with the ANC, with the Sheridan-Kalorama Historical Association, an on-site meeting with locals - and even went so far to promise consideration of community suggestions on facade materials.

This was a reccuring theme from even the sharpest critics of the project - the developers, it had to be said, had engaged the community, and this engagement seemed to take the edge off of what could have been a very contentious meeting.

The vacant parcel is home now to a garden, and Jim Pepper, a retired National Park Service employee who lives nearby, made an impassioned pleas on its behalf, calling it "historic" and a necessary element of the neighborhood's aesthetic. But despite his efforts, the board ruled that the project is “not incompatible with the character of its location,” and recommended final approval.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Chinese Ready to Take Out 2300 Conn. Ave

The embassy of the People's Republic of China received an OK last week from the District's Historic Preservation Review Board to finally demolish its aging residential and office building for embassy staff at 2300 Connecticut Avenue.

As part of its weekly reviews of raze permits, the HPRB said Jan. 20 that the 200,000 square foot, 8-story brick building was clear for demolition.

The building, formerly the 1940's-era Windsor Park Hotel, was purchased in the early 1970's just as diplomatic relations between the U.S. and the PRC began warming after President Richard Nixon's historic visit in February 1972.

Esocoff & Associates, which has also designed 400 Mass. Ave and the Dumont, is the architect for the new embassy staff residential building, (pictured, above) which is expected to be completed in 2014.

The new Chinese embassy (pictured, left), designed by famed architect I.M. Pei, moved to its new location at Van Ness Street and International Drive in April 2009.

Clark Construction Group LLC of Bethesda is listed as the contractor for the demolition, according to the permit. The construction of the Chinese embassy using imported labor in 2008 led to some grumbling among the building trades about not using American hard-hats, though embassy construction is usually performed by the resident country's workers for security and diplomatic reasons.

Washington D.C. real estate redevelopment news.

Your Next Place

A lot of times, I sort of hurry through my open houses so I can get back home and go back to bed (what, Sunday is the day of rest), but this place was so stunning I actually called my friends and urged them to hurry over and check it out. "There's an elevator! With recessed lighting!" I said excitedly. "The only way we'll ever set foot in this house again would be as burglars!"

No one came. That's fine though, I did enough coveting for everyone. I mean, look at this place! An already ridiculously beautiful Beaux Arts home in Kalorama, it was exhaustively redone in 2009 with only the finest materials and finishes. This house is like a gold-plated Lamborghini. Right off the bat you're dazzled by the high-ceilinged black and white marble foyer with views of Rock Creek Park. (That's right - the foyer has park views.) Then there's the formal dining room, which brilliantly achieves a sort of classic sophistication while also seeming totally of the moment. Not as easy as it sounds, as you know if you've ever been laughed at in public for wearing a sweater vest. The living room is airy and bright, with an original wood-burning fireplace, and there's a fantastic library with another fireplace and a ton of fine wooden built-ins.


Upstairs, the master bedroom is truly masterful, with Italian custom cabinetry and a patio overlooking the back, and the master bathroom, one of nine (!) is incredible, with marble floors, mahogany vanities, and a huge glass cube of a shower, outfitted with one of those rain-style trickle-down showerheads that seemed so easy to install in my apartment but then fell off during its inaugural shower and bonked me on the head like an anvil hitting Wile E. Coyote in the cartoons.

There's the aforementioned elevator, and the family/media room is wired for a home theater sound system, and also a wet bar. (A winning combination.) Downstairs is a four car garage and a double laundry room. In the back is a tiered garden and a very large stone patio that seems sort of like something you'd see in a period piece about the French Revolution. Seriously though, I never thought I'd look at an six million dollar price tag for something and immediately think, "Really? That seems low."

34 Kalorama Circle, NW
8 Bedrooms, 8 Baths
$6,425,000







Washington D.C. real estate news

The Policy, Kalorama

Sponsored Announcement

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