Developer Adams Investments asked STUDIOS Architects to design a new residential structure that would reflect the unique community energy and spirit of Washington DC’s Adams Morgan district, but we don’t think they exactly got it right with this one. This 32 unit residential building with a street-facing courtyard doesn’t really look like it would fit into the neighborhood… what do you guys think?
As you may have heard from us in the past, we are obsessed with the old O Street Market in Shaw. Unfortunately progress has been slow to get the development underway which includes preserving the gorgeous facade while building new housing and retail space for the community. Well finally the District is getting behind the project fully and Mayor Fenty announced a $35 million tax increment financing package for the project.
Hopefully this will get things moving, as the property has sat vacant for years. According to Fenty’s office, ground could be broken as early as fall 2009 if the District Council gets around to approving the plans. Following this time line, the project could be completed by 2011. [Flickr Photo: DaveinShaw]
New Communities Initiate - Three years since it’s inception, the initiative is largely intact and wider in scope, despite a flat-lining housing market. It remains the centerpiece of Mayor Adrian Fenty’s strategy to aid and upgrade the city’s poorest neighborhoods, however market conditions are skewing the mix of future residents which may push out the very people it intends to help. [WBJ]
Question? Do people actually lease from buildings that are months or years away from being built? The Capitol Yards project in SE is encouraging people to ”Lease Now” and we have seen similar signs on other unfinished projects around the city as well! We’re also curious as to what type of promises they are making about the time-frame for delivery to people who reserve apartments.
[Credit: Justin Thorp]
They sure are working hard over there on 23rd and Constitution NW. The three cranes pictured have made quick work leveling the terrain for the foundation of the new US Institute for Peace over the last few weeks. Once finished, the building will serve as a nice gateway to the city for those coming across the Potomac from Virginia.
[Credit: Kidsturk]
As you may have heard, the old Walter Reed hospital in D.C. has been slated to move to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. As you can see from the rendering, the plan is to expand the grounds of the Naval Hospital around the older historic buildings. We especially like how two of the new buildings symmetrically frame the tall historic old Naval building in the center.
The relocation of facilities will include over half a million square feet of new medical office, emergency room, and patient care construction in addition to renovations of existing facilities. In addition to being the main facility for treating members of our military, the center will also become home to research and postgraduate education. The $100 million dollar project is expected to be completed by 2011. [Rendering: HKS Architects]
Mayor Fenty has been touting his school restructuring plan for a while, and now we finally got word on what the District’s going to do with some of the 23 schools that are being closed under the plan. The idea is to turn the buildings, which are no longer being used as schools, into offices for the various District agencies as well as nonprofits.
This is great news because the plan will not only find new uses for buildings the district already owns (thus reducing rents paid), but also makes the services more accessible and part of the community.
The D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation will move its headquarters into Young Elementary School in NE and Meyer Elementary School will get the parking enforcement division of the Department of Public Works and Keeley’s boxing program, a nonprofit youth development organization. Also included will be new homes for the DMV, Department of Corrections, the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services, and two charter schools among others.
We’re not sure how they grouped the Parking Enforcement with the Boxing program, but maybe they are training future parking police? Regardless, this is definitely a sign of improvement for the DC government and we are all for it!
Pictured is the old John Mercer Langston School which is not part of the plan but is being reused as you can see for the DC Service Corps. [Photo: M.V. Jantzen]
Most of the arguments you hear about Poplar Point in Anacostia revolve around whether to build a new MLS stadium on the site, but the Our Park Coalition is calling for no development at all. The Coalition wants to stop the $2.5 billion, 40-acre mixed-use project by Clark Realty and transform the 110 government owned acres along the Anacostia River into an urban public park.
The WBJ is reporting how difficult a task the environmentalists face in part because Congress established the land transfer with the expressed purpose of increasing the District’s tax base and shoring up its finances. Despite Clark being required to have 70 of the 110 acres developed as public park land, the Our Park Coalition still plans to kick off their efforts to save the entire property as one continuous public park. [Photo: WBJ]
Pictured below is the incredible futuristic new bike transit center designed by KGP Studios for the District DOT. Despite all the issues involved in making Union Station a true center of transportation, this is definitely a step in the right direction. The design includes both storage and rental facilities… precisely the type of infrastructure the city needs to make alternate forms of transportation attractive.
The project is being built on the west side of Union Station near the metro exit and should be finished by the end of this year. Also it goes without saying that the design looks really awesome… we got one more rendering for you after the jump…
When we first saw the giant yellow framework (pictured) going up on the new 300 New Jersey Ave project by Architect Richard Rogers we thought it was scaffolding. However on closer examination we noticed it wasn’t really attached to anything so it couldn’t be scaffolding or even structural support. Luckily we were able to get our hands on the Architectural renderings and solved the mystery…
The yellow “tree” as described by the architect is the support for a huge glass atrium which will connect the older Acacia building on the left with the new glass office space on the right. The atrium will be topped by a triangle flying glass roof which will rise above the current 10 story buildings in the area and change the skyline.
Those stairs you can see are not temporary and will serve as a central exposed staircase connecting every floor of the old building with the new. It’s definitely an imaginative atrium design though ten flights of stairs is not very practical and most people will probably take the elevator. [Photo: DCMetrocentric]
Follow the jump to see what the super cool atrium will look like…
We just got word that the Arlington County Board has approved the redevelopment of 2.78 acres along Clarendon Blvd right by the Rosslyn Metro. The development is being called Rosslyn Commons and will replace the sites currect garden apartments with two new apartment towers and townhouses built around a large interior courtyard.
This project is going to bring a lot more density into the area (454 apartments replacing 84 on the current site) and will also have considerable street facing retail space and will require affordable below market rate units to be mixed in with the majority of market rate ones. It’s interesting how Arlington has managed to continue this type of mixed income development successfully while avoiding the large low income projects that are common in DC and other urban areas.
The buildings design by Architects Collaborative are fairly run of the mill for the area and they are using the townhouse trick along to back of the project to ease the transition to the lower density homes on surrounding streets, which we think has worked well on other projects. The Brick townhomes will be built in two rows, with one row fronting on the interior courtyard. The other row will front on 16th Road North. All the townhouses will incorporate stoops and include balconies and terraces.
Rosslyn Commons features sustainable design and of course they will go for LEED certification. The project is being built by super developer JBG and they said they will break ground some time next year.
We can file this project in the not going to be built any time soon file. The building was designed by Zahn Architects as a 28-unit new construction proposal along U Street but the developers have the project on hold. However if it does ever get built, it’s going to have one amazing penthouse rooftop. We’re not sure on the facade color though.
[Rendering: Zahn Architect]
The Northwest One project in Ward 6 is comprised of five low-income housing complexes that have historically been an epicenter of crime in the city. This project represents a rare opportunity to undo decades of poor urban planning in an area bound by North Capitol Street on the east, New York Avenue on the north, and New Jersey Avenue on the west.
When it’s complete, Northwest One will include 1600 units of mixed-income housing, 40,000 SF of retail, and 220,000 SF of commercial office space. The coolest part of the project is that One Vision Development Partners has promised to replace each subsidized housing unit with a new unit and provide roughly two times as many new market rate and workforce units.
The District is also investing about $45 million to rebuild the nearby Walker-Jones Elementary School, incorporating a new recreation center and public library. These are the type of projects that can truly change a neighborhood for the better, all while avoiding the trend of pushing out the current residents like some of the other hot developments in the District have done.
Poplar Point Stadium Benefits Questioned - A bunch of economists (none of whom are from this area) are questioning the public benefit of a new stadium at Poplar Point in Southeast. [WBJ]
With all the hurdles cleared back in January, we’re wondering what’s the hold up on the ground breaking for the highly anticipated Broadcast Center One in Shaw. The D.C. Council approved the $23 million subsidy for the mixed-use headquarters of Radio One already and as far as we can tell the site looks ready to go!
If Ellis Development and West Group want to wrap this project up by 2010 as planned, dirt has got to start moving! Anyone have any idea about when things are going to get underway? We got a “no comment” back from the developers.
As always, we love to hear from you so drop us a line about this or anything else on your mind… DCMetrocentric@gmail.com
