City Paper Looks at 1612 U Street; "Restaurant/Bakery" for 14th and Q?

This week's issue of the City Paper takes a look at the (recent) history of the building located at 1612 U Street NW. It's an interesting read about an interesting building (it used to house "E.B. Adams and Co.," a retailer of dining and cutlery items), and highlights how so much of the recent development in the 14th Street/U Street corridor revolves around the efforts of a handful of individuals.

Among them is David Von Storch, who purchased the building in 1995 with an eye towards creating a gay-oriented business center, including a gym. The story goes on to detail the (at times complex) relationship between Von Storch and Results gym owner Doug Jeffries, Universal Gear owner David Franco, and developer Jeff Blum.

Most interesting in the article are the tidbits of information gleamed about current--and forthcoming--developments in the neighborhood. Talks were held, but eventually fizzled, to bring a Results Gym into the ground floor of Blum and Franco's View 14 project at 14th Street and Florida Avenue. Results, it turns out, will likely be vacating their space at 1612 U when their lease expires in March 2011, clearing the way for Von Storch to redevelop the building. Among Von Storch's plans for the building include keeping the existing Bang Salon, making a home for the new flagship location of Penn Quarter-based Vida Fitness, a new restaurant, and a rooftop pool.

Jeffries for his part is currently scouting locations for his new venture "Stroga," which combines yoga with personal strength training. Von Storch is currently making the rounds at the neighborhood association meetings, seeking to obtain approval for the project.

It will be interesting to see what the next chapter brings for a building that has played a prominent role in U Street's renaissance.

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One other interesting nugget that came out of the aforementioned City paper article: David Von Storch has indicated that he has plans to convert the space at 14th and Q (former home of Candida's World of Books Shirt Laundry dry cleaners) into a "restaurant/bakery," and that lease negotiations for the project are underway. If these plans move forward, it would mean that the last available storefront on the east side of the 1500 block of 14th Street will have a tenant seems the space in question isn't Candida's old space, so that will remain vacant.