From Douglas Development:

Located at the bustling intersection of Wisconsin Avenue and Brandywine Street, the new building will include a modern, mid-rise atop the former Babe’s Billiards building. The property will feature over 19,000 square feet of retail on the lower two levels and five levels of apartment units. This project was the first new construction residential development in the District of Columbia to receive approval to be built without any parking at all.

68,500 rentable square feet (18,260 sf retail; 50,240 sf residential)
Historic building built 1949; Acquired 2009; Redevelopment 2013-2014
Seven-story building
60 rental apartment units

You can see more info and renderings here.

2201 Georgia Ave, NW

Howard University’s future Interdisciplinary research building coming to Georgia and W St, NW in the Fall of 2014. Like the look?

903 N Street, NW

Table opened up at 903 N St, NW back in January. And now they’ve opened the roof deck. It is of the covered variety but still pretty sweet. You can see their menus here. Anyone try them out yet?

Photos courtesy of Josh Berner

Ed. Note: Here is the comprehensive Map of DC’s Rooftop Bars.

From a press release:

Donovan House and Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants are pleased to announce the opening of DNV, an urban rooftop retreat 14 floors above downtown D.C., after a $300,000 revamp. Opening in late May, this newly-updated poolside oasis was reimagined by local design firm, GrizForm, and features stunning views of the Nation’s Capital, framed by sleek dark wood, glass, and chrome. Intimate tables for two and four and inviting lounge seating, upholstered in a soothing shade of green surrounds the pool, creating the perfect setting to join friends and neighbors to sip and savor the new menu of craft cocktails from Zentan’s bar manager Josh Berner and Asian tapas from Executive Chef Jennifer Nguyen in a communal atmosphere. Officially, the name DNV stems from the abbreviation for the Donovan House Hotel and provides a little mystery with being named after former CIA operative Bill Donovan, but informally it also represents a “Damn Nice View.”

Newly appointed Chef Nguyen, from the ground floor restaurant, Zentan, has created a menu of Asian tapas, inspired by her food and cooking style at Zentan. Guests can expect refreshing, shareable plates like Rock Shrimp Tempura, paired with a Kochojun aioli and candied walnuts; Watermelon Salad featuring Maryland blue crab, shaved hearts of palm and pink peppercorns; and Shuimai Dumplings with a pork filling, served with chili ponzu dipping sauce. Nguyen will also feature a shrimp ceviche, with betel leaf, toasted coconut, cashews and grapefruit. In the opening weeks, the food offerings will be limited, but will eventually expand to include the full menu.

Berner’s cocktail menu centers around inventive seasonal refreshments, including his “Tea Lights” – cocktails incorporating freshly brewed teas. Served in glass jars, the Tea Lights include sophisticated combinations such as Basil Hayden bourbon, house-made lemon bitters, and black tea syrup; Beefeater gin infused with citrus-chamomile tea, mixed with Aperol and Blanco Vermouth; and strawberry-infused Tequila Real, combined with lemon juice and verbena-mint tea. Guests can also indulge in a popular British-inspired refresher, Pimm’s Cup, offered on tap. DNV’s bar menu also features a signature spiced rum punch and a specialty punch updated weekly, which will be inspired by fresh flavors of the season. Sangrias and classic cocktails will round out the menu.

Happy hour will be available daily from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., with special pricing on punches, sangrias, cocktails on tap, frozen beverages and specialty cocktails. Special pricing during happy hour will only apply to single servings of drinks, many of which are also available in shareable options for groups of 4-6 and 8-12 people. For example, happy hour drinks will include Butternuts Pork Slap Ale and Jack’s Cider for $5, select sangria, cocktails on tap and frozen drinks for $6 and spiced rum for $7.

DNV is located at 1155 14th Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20005. Operating hours are Monday to Friday from 5:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. and Saturday to Sunday from 7:00 p.m. to 1 a.m.

Rendering via Ellis Development

Thanks to a reader for sending these incredible renderings for the huge project coming to 965 Florida Ave, NW. ANC Commissioner Tony Norman tells me that ANC 1B will comment on each proposal at the next ANC meeting May 2, 2013. 7:00 pm 14 & U NW and then DMPED could select a developer by the end of June.

You can see the full proposals here:

Ellis Development

and

JBG.

Which one looks/sounds better to you?

Rendering via JBG

The JBG one is the one that has the Harris Teeter going in as well. But either selection, this is gonna be a mind blowing transformation.

Though the small old church was demoed, in Oct. 2012 Here’s how the site basically looks today:

2012

Here’s our final awesome roof deck from Columbia Heights:

“The cost was about $15000 (8 years ago) it took about a week to build. The access is an outdoor spiral staircase (which I bought online!) and is on a second floor balcony.”

Going Roof Deck Green (16th Street Heights!) Nestled between a green roof and ten solar PV panels, the deck is the coolest and most mosquito-free space to be on hot summer nights and is the warmest spot on those occasional warm days over winter when sitting out in the sun would normally still be months away. It was added as part of a larger project that included an attic bump up, roof stair access, rear eave extensions and a new metal roof beyond the green roof. The whole project took about five weeks and was competently designed, engineered and well constructed by Noel Design Build based in DC.

You can see Vol. 4 here.

“Built by OdC Studio – Rancho del Cielo, our culinary garden in Shaw.”

635 Massachusetts Ave, NW

From Chinatown (above) to NoMa (below).

From NPR’s website:

The new NPR headquarters comprises two integrated blocks: the bulk of a historically preserved four-story 1920′s era warehouse and a new, modern seven-story office block that rises behind. Designed by the Washington D.C.-based architectural firm Hickok Cole, and built by Balfour Beatty Construction, the building contains approximately 330,000 square feet of above-grade space and 440,000 total square feet. It will accommodate NPR’s DC-based staff of approximately 767 that is currently spread across three buildings – 635 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, and two nearby leased locations.

The heart of the building is a two-story open newsroom with broadcast and production studios to accommodate NPR’s round-the-clock schedule. NPR’s news, music, programming and digital staff are co-located on these floors. In addition to serving as center for NPR’s operations, the building is also home to the Public Radio Satellite System, an independent distribution system that moves public radio content across the country.

Visitors will enter the building through a landscaped plaza. Upon entering they will find an exhibit and a multimedia mosaic dedicated to NPR’s story, a performance studio that seats up to 250, and the NPR Commons, an events space for small groups and site of the NPR Shop. NPR expects to host many public events in the new headquarters.

The 1111 North Capitol building is expected to earn LEED Gold certification; environmentally sensitive features include a green roof and highly efficient cooling system to support energy conservation, and a system that captures street run-off within the tree-pits adjacent to North Capitol Street.

NPR established its current headquarters at 635 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, in 1994, before Gallery Place became a prime development zone and popular destination. Since then, NPR’s stature as a media organization and its popularity have grown rapidly and its weekly audience doubled.

1111 North Capitol Street, NE

You can see Vol. 3 here.

Our roofdeck in Columbia Heights.  It took approximately a week to build, and uses a stairwell from the main floor up to a small loft area for access.  Instead of using wood, which must be treated and can stress the roof unevenly, it uses VAST composite permeable pavers and Shoreline vinyl railings, which weigh less and are easier to maintain.  Because the roof is nearly flat, we have two in-roof drains installed, which carry water under the decking to downspouts.

You can see Vol. 2 here.

Hard to say just how much this cost or how long it took as this was part of a much larger renovation project over a period of several months. The deck occupies the back of our house (a new master bedroom suite that opens to the deck occupies the front half). Heat & sun are major issues so we had a 6′ overhang built out from the roof, and thank goodness we did. We love the deck and since we have direct access from a main living area we get a lot of use out of it.

My husband and I purchased a Columbia Heights row house in 2009 that came with a detached garage but no green space, so we applied for a green roof rebate from the District Department of the Environment and worked with DC Greenworks to design and install a living roof deck on top of our garage. See the attached photos for a look at the garage before and after the roof deck installation.

The 600 square foot living roof deck includes a flagstone seating area (perfect for coffee and mojitos), 300 square feet of perennial beds, an herb garden, extensive sedum ground cover, and a LOT of happy wildlife. This once unused and ugly garage roof is now actively employed as our back yard, while at the same time reducing storm water runoff by nearly 400 gallons in a typical rain storm.

Apply for a green roof rebate from the District Department of the Environment here.

Learn more about DC Greenworks’ green roof design and installation services here.

We checked out rendering back in December. It’s turning out nice!

A readers sends this one from Petworth:

“Finished this on the 4th of July last year, time to watch the awesome PW fireworks. Took 1 week, with 2 people, when it was in the high 90s every day. At night we see bats flying through the big oaks in the alley, eating mosquitos that seem so far away. During the day peregrine falcons swoop down overhead. It’s like another world.”

18th and California St, NW

Thanks to all who sent emails. Really looking forward to seeing how this turns out. It’ll also be interesting to see what becomes of the retail space.