“The Takoma Theatre will have few equals in the city once our renovation is completed.”

6833 4th Street, NW at Butternut. Rendering courtesy Rock Creek Property Group

From a press release:

“Rock Creek Property Group broke ground today on the restoration of the historic Takoma Theatre. Located at 6833 4th Street, NW, the theater is in the Takoma neighborhood of DC, just two blocks from the Red Line’s Takoma Metro station, a five-minute drive to Silver Spring, a seven-minute drive to the Beltway, and a 20-minute drive to downtown Washington.

Architect John Jacob Zink designed the theater in the 1920s. Zink would go on to design more than 200 theaters around the country, including the Atlas Performing Arts Center on H Street, NE, the Uptown Theater in Cleveland Park, and the Senator Theatre in Baltimore. The Takoma Theatre was one of the first theaters in the area to feature “talkies,” when a sound system was installed in 1929. Throughout its time as an active theater, the Takoma Theatre featured a wide array of performances, including an HBO comedy special by Chris Rock in 1996.

Rendering courtesy Rock Creek Property Group

Due to the significant history surrounding the property, the project went through the Historic Preservation Review Board approval process. “We have worked with many historic structures around the city and have developed a niche creating wonderful, unique spaces where we blend historic charm with new, modern base-building improvements and interiors,” commented Rock Creek Principal Gary Schlager. “Our plans are to reposition the asset as a one-of-a-kind opportunity for office, retail and entertainment uses. More and more tenants today want unique work spaces for their staffs and businesses. The Takoma Theatre will have few equals in the city once our renovation is completed.” The building is set to deliver in the summer of 2017.

To preserve the property’s grandeur on the corner of 4th and Butternut Streets, NW, the Takoma marquee sign will be restored and the exterior masonry will be repointed. The original structural-steel trusses will be restored and exposed to create dramatic loft-style space on the new second floor. To create a modern interior and enhance natural light throughout the property, windows will be added or restored on all four sides of the building, and skylights will be incorporated into the new roof structure. “Our goal was to modernize the property and flood the interior with natural light, while restoring much of the exterior and enhancing the historic features of the property,” says Schlager.

Cunningham | Quill Architects designed the project. Eichberg Construction will serve as the general contractor.

Rock Creek plans to lease the property and is looking for the right tenant or tenants to occupy the new space. Featuring 23,000 square feet over two floors with soaring 15- to 20-foot ceilings, the property is ideal for a wide array of tenants, including office, retail, arts, music, theater or food users looking for unique loft space in a restored and modernized historic building. The property has a dedicated surface parking lot, which is unusual for historic structures in DC at Metro-centric locations, and sits just a short walk away from several hundred, newly developed residential units and neighborhood amenities such as Busboys and Poets, Republic, Starbucks, Dolci Gelati, and numerous fitness studios and parks.

Rock Creek is actively working on a number of projects in and around the District, including ground-up mixed-use developments in the H Street and U Street corridors, as well as repositioning projects in other prime submarkets including Dupont Circle, Shaw, Old Town, 14th Street and Montgomery County.

Recently completed projects include 1100 16th Street, NW, located just a few blocks from the White House, 810 5th Street, NW in the heart of Gallery Place/Chinatown, the 88-unit Takoma Flats just off Georgia Avenue, NW and The Shelby @ Huntington Metro, a 240-unit joint-venture, ground-up development. Rock Creek is currently deploying Fund II, a $60 million discretionary real estate fund, and currently has more than $100 million of ongoing projects in all stages of the development cycle. Rock Creek acquires properties both directly and with joint-venture partners across the Washington metro region.”