Takoma (Takoma Park)

Rendering of 6833 4th Street, NW via DC Takoma Theatre.com

Thanks to a couple of readers for sending. From DC Takoma Theatre Proposal:

Adaptive Reuse Proposal
Takoma Theatre Apartments is a proposed adaptive reuse project that seeks to creatively convert the historic Takoma Theatre into a mixed-use building with apartment units and ground-level flex space. Working with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties, this adaptive reuse proposal will retain the exterior of the historic structure and its vestibule and lobby configuration. In an attempt to retain the building’s historic association as a theatre, the exterior redesign will retain the scale and rhythm of openings and incorporate compatible material. Additionally, theatre signage and marquee will be retained and incorporated into the new design. This proposed new use as an apartment building with flex space will complement the current residential neighborhood and enhance the vitality of the community. In an effort to bring life back to this historic landmark and enhance to the vitality of the community, this project capitalizes on the historic building’s notable design, prominent location, and original mixed-use program.

You can learn more about the project here and more about the history of the Takoma Theatre here.

7730 Eastern Ave. NW

From a press release:

UIP General Contracting, Inc. (UIPGC) has completed a full-scale $4.5 million renovation of Takoma Flats, located on the border of Washington, DC and Silver Spring, Maryland. The six-building garden style community consists of 71 existing units and 17 newly constructed units in previously non-leasable cellar space.

Rock Creek Property Group, LLC and Baybridge Group acquired the project formerly known as Juniper Gardens in November of 2011. They then hired UIPGC to provide plan review and value engineering services as well as perform the renovations. The scope of work, in addition to creating the 17 new units, included: replacing antiquated, inefficient central boiler systems with individual in-unit HVAC systems; installing new upgraded electrical systems; creating in-ground patios for the terrace level units; and full-scale interior renovation of all units including newly upgraded kitchens and bathrooms.

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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…)