New Residences for 11th Street

A nearly vacant lot at the corner of 11th and V may soon be ready for a makeover now that developer Habte Sequar of Loford LLC has purchased the land with plans for a new residential building. The as yet unnamed development is to provide 40 1-and 2-bedroom units, but as far as whether they'll be condos or apartments, Sequar said it's too early to say.

Sequar told DCMud he bought the property several months ago from Quality Investments, and that Loford is working on design in-house, with the intention of naming an architect further along in this process. Though Sequar says he hopes to wrap things up within 18 to 24 months, he's being optimistic. It's taken nearly ten months to submit the raze permit: The date written on it says April 2010, yet the Historic Preservation Office claims to have received it earlier this month.

Loford's past work includes The Josephine Condominium at 440 Rhode Island Ave., 20 newly built condos on the market since 2009 that are still selling. Loford also purchased 1638 14th Street, which DCMud reported is to become a seven-story, 30,000 s.f. condominium to be built atop a 6,000 s.f. parking lot at the corner of R and 14th. No word on progress for that development, which has been on hold since at least 2009. Public records show that 2101 11th Street traded in August of last year, when Pierce Investments sold it for $2.7m.

Washington DC real estate development news

New Condo Opens in Columbia Heights

A new condominium will open its doors this weekend when the Cityscape on Belmont condominium in Columbia Heights opens to the public today. Bethesda-based Bogdan Builders started construction on the 28-unit building in September of last year, and expects settlements before the end of the year. Located at 1330 Belmont Street, NW, the building will feature ceiling heights from 10'8 to 15'4, traditional interiors, and limited outdoor parking, with prices to start at $384,900. The wood frame construction features an exterior skin of brick on the facade, and while it's not "another architectural masterpiece!" - the predictably hyperbolic realtor-speak of the sales team - it does sit on the hill in Columbia Heights, giving it views of the city from the rear. Half the new condos will be on one level, the other half on two, a few with private roof decks, and each with exposure on the north and south facades. Cityscape on Belmont, known until now as Belmont Vista, was designed by Zahn Design. Bogdan purchased the land four years ago in a deal struck nearby at the MacDonald's at 14th & U (ew.) Bogdan's newest project joins a chorus of adjacent developments in what adds up to a busy construction site, all now under construction, including Level2's View14 (170 residential units), the Solea (59 units), and the Nehemiah Center, which has just begun demolition, to be eventually replaced by a large apartment building, all within feet of the entrance of Cityscape. Bogdan's self-proclaimed style is "suburban style" in the city, having previously built sprawling houses in Potomac; recent examples of their urban handiwork are available at Logan Station, the Villaggio, and the Ivy at Harvard.

Washington DC retail and construction news

New Yorker Back on Track

Back in 2005, plans for the New Yorker condos had raised hopes for more revitalization in a struggling section of Northeast DC when developer KL Associates announced its intention to build a 44-unit condominium at 300 L Street, but shovels never quite hit dirt. Now the developer says it plans to pick up on the long-stalled project, rescaling the project from 44 to 32 units (the image below is the old version) in a ‘condo townhouse’ style, with Zahn Design taking over from Hickok Cole as project architect in a complete redesign of the size and scope of the project. The project will still take up the entire street front between Abbey and 3rd St., on the north side of L Street.

KL hopes to break ground by early 2008; the city has already given approval to remove the existing warehouse on site but the developer does not have immediate plans to begin demolition. Larry McAdoo of KL Associates scrapped the original design because construction costs, including the steel and concrete to be used in the first design, had been too high to support the project. The new design will utilize a wood frame with brick exteriors, according to McAdoo. A larger unit size, averaging from 1000 to 1500 s.f., will also replace small units envisioned in the first go-round, though a greater number of units would be permitted, thus allowing the townhouse style, which McAdoo says is more in keeping with the "Capitol Hill style" architecture. An additional bonus will of course be the massive office space of NoMa being built just a few blocks to the west, an area that - back in 2005 - was just a vast wasteland, with a forgotten bus depot and a few vague promises about redevelopment.

Washington DC real estate and retail news