641 S Street, NW
Wonderbread Factory looking good in Shaw.
Tougher times in 2011:
Buildings
3145 Mt. Pleasant Street, NW June 2013
@DCRA tweeted the good news Friday:
“Yesterday, we issued bldg permits for the reconstruction of 3145 Mt Pleasant St NW.”
On March 13th 2008 a reader alerted us to the sadness:
“We are homeless.
Love,
the former residents of 3145 mt pleasant st. washington, dc
(it burnt down)”
Another resident writes:
“i was living on the first floor, the fire started in the basement. i saw the fire started on some machinery, after i put a extinguisher on it, it kept reigniting, by the time the fire engines showed up, the first basement was out of control.”
On March 17th 2008 a reader updated us:
“I can only imagine what those without renters insurance are going through but the community has come together to help make things a bit easier. Unfortunately no phone calls have been returned/and no statement has been made from the management company/owners of the building (just goes to show you how concerned they are). We hope all the other residents are doing well.”
It’s been a long time.
You can read all back posts on the former Deauville, now the Monseñor Romero Apartments here.
From the TakomaDC Listserv:
We are elected officials representing the area that includes and surrounds the Takoma Metro station. As officials, we reached out to WMATA (Metro) to understand the agency’s intentions regarding development at the station. WMATA executives briefed us last Friday, May 31. We very much appreciate the executives’ willingness to meet, and we feel community members also deserve to know about WMATA’s plans.
PROPOSED NEW BUILDING @ TAKOMA METRO
WMATA is working with development partner EYA toward creating a 255-unit, five-story residential structure at the Takoma Metro site. The five stories include ground-level parking for transit users and a level of parking for residents with three stories of one- and two-bedroom apartments above the parking. There would be a step-back of the upper levels on the Eastern Avenue side to three stories.
The structure would replace the current paved parking area. The current set of bus bays would be preserved in place, with the addition of one bus bay and three bus layover spaces carved from the current park. WMATA would claim the right to place an additional bus loop or other transit functions in the park in the future. WMATA would also construct a bicycle-parking structure, for transit users, on the station grounds.
The revised design is at least a partial victory for community members, who had pointed out that EYA’s previous design, over 80 townhouses with two-car garages and new surface streets to support them, was the antithesis of transit-oriented design.
But 255 residences are more than twice the 65-95 units called for in the District of Columbia’s Small Area Plan for the site. And this would be the largest project by far in the area around the station. The planned 255 units, supported by nearly 200 residential parking spaces, would have a significant Takoma-area impact that must be thoroughly analyzed.
Continues after the jump. (more…)
12th and Pennsylvania Ave, NW
Ed. Note: You can read an awesome history of the Old Post Office Building here.
From a press release:
The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) announced it has completed negotiations with the Trump Organization on a 60 year lease agreement to redevelop and manage the iconic Old Post Office building and annex on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. Under the agreement, $200 million of private sector funds will be invested to restore the 114 year old federal building and convert it into a luxury mixed-use development — Trump International Hotel, The Old Post Office, Washington D.C.– that will serve the local community, preserve the facility, and save taxpayer dollars. The pending agreement now moves to Congress for a review period of 30 in-session days.
Continues after the jump. (more…)
11th and V Street, NW
We last checked on the Lima building back in Feb. 2013. It’s nearly completed bricked up now. Part of me really hopes they’ll somehow figure out a way to keep the old auto repair sign:
And here’s a peek at the pop up halfway down the block on V street:
Click to enlarge
Last week we learned a Sweetgreen would be coming to Navy Yard at 4th and Tingey SE, opening mid-2014. YardsDC posts the rendering above on Facebook. Like the way it’s planned?
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?
A reader writes:
“A pop DOWN! North Capitol and T Stret, NE.
Looks like a ditch was dug around the house, the basement deepened, and a walkout will be created.”
Wild, I wonder how the cost of building a pop down compares with building a pop up?
2360 Champlain Street, NW
Eden condos will have:
“18 units total there are 11 two-bedrooms, 7 one-bedrooms, private parking spots, outdoor spaces and well insulated Windsor Pinnacle Clad windows to deafen city noise.”
You can see their floorplans here.
Rendering courtesy of Eden
Full press release after the jump. (more…)
1242 H Street, NE
Back in Sept. 2011 we first heard a new seafood restaurant, Da Luft, was coming to 1242 H St, NE. What do you think of the new paint job?
Here’s how it looked in Sept. 2011:
620 T Street, NW
Full disclosure – I was on the panel that recommended the winners.
Here’s how the Howard Theatre looked in 1994:
Photo by PoPville flickr user sssdc1
From a press release:
On Monday, May 6th, Mayor Vincent C. Gray and the D.C. Office of Planning’s (OP) Historic Preservation Office presented the winners of the 10th Annual Awards for Excellence in Historic Preservation at the National Academy of Sciences. OP partnered with the D.C. Preservation League on this event.
“We are honoring the return to glory of some of our most cherished neighborhood landmarks and institutions,” said Mayor Gray. “Historic Preservation is a driving force in the development and growth of the District of Columbia as more and more people are drawn to the vibrant historic neighborhoods of our beautiful city.”
Since 2003, the District government has honored over 125 outstanding projects, programs and individuals for exemplary work and commitment to historic preservation in Washington, D.C. This year’s awards recognized 50 individuals, businesses, District agencies and local organizations.
Awardees include the restoration of the historic Howard Theater; the return to production of Rock Creek’s Peirce Mill; the reconstruction of long-neglected Georgetown cobblestone streets; and the transformation of a nationally-recognized science organization’s headquarters facing the National Mall. The award-winning projects represent an investment of $152.5 million in historic districts and landmarks in the District.
Highlighting the event was Mayor Gray’s presentation of the Individual Lifetime Achievement Award to Ann Hughes Hargrove, longtime resident of the Washington Heights Historic District. Hargrove, active in the establishment of two historic districts, is a preservationist and veteran community zoning advocate who was also a driving force in efforts to curb billboards in the District’s commercial historic districts.
“We are excited to honor a number of stellar projects, individuals and education efforts that demonstrate how historic preservation can revive landmark structures and highlight community heritage that enhance the unique character of Washington,” said Harriet Tregoning, Director of the Office of Planning.
Complete List of 2013 Awards for Excellence in Historic Preservation Winners after the jump. (more…)
Streets of Washington, written by John DeFerrari, covers some of DC’s most interesting buildings and history. John is the author of Historic Restaurants of Washington, D.C.: Capital Eats, to be published this September by the History Press, Inc. John is also the author of Lost Washington DC.
One of the stateliest private buildings in Washington is the old Masonic Temple at 13th Street and New York Avenue NW, completed in 1908 and now home to the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Like other Masonic temples, the imposing structure was built with unique cross purposes; it was meant to be both a public forum for lectures and performances as well as a private place for the fraternal order’s meetings and rituals. Since the 1980s, this distinctive Renaissance Revival palace has had a remarkably fitting second life as a museum, and now the NMWA is looking to preserve the building for many more years with much-needed roof repairs. As a participant in the Partners in Preservation program, the museum will be hosting a festive open house this Sunday, May 5, from 12 to 5, offering a great, free opportunity to see this extraordinary building up close and appreciate the art it now displays.
Photo by the author.
The sharp-eyed visitor will notice decorative touches denoting the building’s original use as a Masonic Temple. Freemasonry is a centuries-old tradition descended from medieval stone masons’ guilds, although modern masons are a strictly fraternal order dedicated to benevolent acts. Masons organize themselves into lodges, which are chartered by regional Grand Lodges. DC got its own Grand Lodge in the mid 19th century. In 1870 it built a temple, still standing, at 9th and F Streets NW, but by the 1890s, with 49 Masonic lodges chartered throughout the city, the old hall was no longer adequate. The Masons resolved to build a magnificent new temple at a suitably prestigious location.
The site selection committee received some 20 offers for sites all around the city, and in 1899 they chose the distinctive trapezoidal corner lot formed by New York Avenue, 13th Street, and H Street NW, a prominent location that would allow unobstructed vistas of the new temple on three sides. The lot, once a knoll with a clump of trees known as “Seven Oaks,” cost $115,000.
Continues after the jump. (more…)
77 H Street, NW Looking East
Incredible progress at the new 77 H St, NW building. CityPaper reports that the District’s first Walmart is now hoping to open by Nov. 1st. You can see what the building looked like in Dec. 2012 here. Nevermind the Walmart for a moment – do you like the way the building is turning out?
77 H Street, NW Looking West
Saturday April 6th
On March 24th we saw photos of the huge fire at the old abandoned C&K motel at 3711 14th Street, NW in Columbia Heights. It’s all gone now. Updates when new construction starts.
Monday April 8th
