Development-palooza: It's 2007 All Over Again at 14th and U

The pace of development activity along 14th and U Streets has picked up immensely over the last few months, harkening back to the "boom years" between 2003-2008. And with several new projects coming online soon, the scale of development will only continue to increase.

Last year, we wrote about what looked to be a busy summer of development in the Shaw neighborhood, with many anticipated projects set to come online. Some, such as Progression Place at the Shaw Metro Station and the Howard Theater restoration project, did get off the ground (if a bit late). Others, notably Roadside Development's CityMarket at O project, remain little more than a set of blueprints.

This summer, the development focus shifts back west, as a number of high-profile projects either are or are set to get underway along the U Street and 14th Street corridors. The photos you see below are ones I took yesterday (Saturday) so as to give visual representation of where each project stands--sometimes words don't tell the full story.



Starting in the north, Level 2 Development UDR has started work (above) on the Nehemiah Center project, with site clearing and preparation for construction of the project. When completed, the nine story development will feature over 250 apartments ranging in size from 500 sf to 1,600 sf, along with over 18,000 sf of retail space, which the developer hopes to lease to neighborhood-serving retailers such as a grocery store, dry cleaners or bank. No timetable for a completion date has been shared that I am aware of.



Farther south at 2241 14th Street, local developer tycoon Douglas Jemal is planning a groundbreaking this summer for a 30 unit apartment building with ground-level retail at the corner space formerly occupied by the Latino Auto Sales dealership. There's no development activity yet at the space (above), which only recently completed the planning and approval process. Interestingly, the building will house only 10 parking spaces--a seeming indication of both the city's and developer's transition away from parking-oriented developments. With a Metro station only a few blocks away, several bus lines (including a Circulator line), and many destinations within short walking distance, this makes tremendous sense.





Things are much farther along a block south at Perseus Realty's 14W development (above), where a construction crew has been hard at work on the construction of the mixed-use project. The development, which currently has an (optimistic) delivery projection of mid-2012, will include 231 residential units, a new YMCA, and over 12,000 sf of retail. A small number of the units in the building will be "affordable" units for individuals making 60% or less of the AMI (Area Median Income).



Across the street, a two story restaurant (tenant currently unknown) will fill the currently vacant space at 2208 14th Street. As DC Mud notes, the building has an interesting and varied history, serving previously as the home of the New School of Afro American Thought, as well as a base of operations for Stokeley Carmichael and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) during the 1968 riots.



At the intersection of 14th and U Streets, Georgetown Strategic Capital is on track to begin construction of the long-awaited Utopia Development, set to consume most of the block on 14th between Wallach Place and U Street. When the project kicks off this fall, the buildings currently housing Taco Bell/KFC and ChiDogs will be demolished, while the buildings housing El Paraiso, Ace Check Cashing andf McDonalds will remain intact due to their historic designation. When complete, the 90 foot building (monstrous by DC standards) will feature over 230 rental units and 20,000 sf of retail (large enough for another furniture store, one hopes). Currently, the plans call for a one year construction timeframe, with delivery of the project in fall 2012. And yes, this is where we add our standard disclaimer that such projections appear optimistic.



Also on tap at the corner of 14th and U streets is the imminent opening of Cafe Society, the latest venture from Local 16 owner Ayman Ayoubi. And considering that the signs are now up and talk of soft openings is rampant, we're inclined to believe them this time. The ground floor of the building will house a Dunkin Donuts and a Subway. No word on whether the "Subway smell" might infiltrate the Cafe Society space...



A block east, plans have apparently been ressurected for JBG's on-again off-again hotel project. When we last heard of this project a couple of years ago, nearby residents were flipping out at the prospects of a 10 story building blocking their views of The Ellington, and the financial market crash was putting a serious dent in JBG's plans to construct U Street's first boutique hotel in generations. However, according to DC Mud, JBG has indicated that the project is "actively in the design phase"--which implies that the project may in fact not be dead after all. Having knocked a story off of the structure, JBG now plans to offer a LEED-silver certified four star hotel replete with over 250 rooms, 23,000 sf of retail and 4,000 sf of conference space. Under the most optimistic of timelines, groundbreaking might commence as early as late 2012--but don't hold your breath.



While we're on the subject of 13th Street, the renovation of the building at the northeast corner of 13th and U streets, which seemingly has been undergoing renovation since the dawn of time, recently completed and tenants are starting to move in. First among them is Boundless Yoga, which opened this weekend on the U Street-facing side of the building. Also announced as tenants of the building: a frozen yogurt spot, and dry cleaners Georgetown Valet.



Heading south long 14th Street, work is underway at JBG's District Condos project at 14th and S (note photo above, taken mere seconds before a torrent of hail rained down). We've written about this project quite a bit here, but to quickly rehash the details: 125 residential units, 18,000 sf of retail, summer 2012 delivery date.



A block farther south, according to Borderstan work is finally set to get underway on the mixed-use project at the southwest corner of 14th and R streets. The 31 unit condo building, which was designed by Bonstra and Haresign architects, will also feature ground level retail. The project has been a veeeeery long time coming, as the ANC first reviewed the project back in 2004. Project delivery is anticipated at some point in mid-2012 (aren't they all?).

And finally, down the street a couple of blocks, developer Giorgio Furioso continues to work on the develpment and construction of an office building to fill the vacant space between the Posto restaurant building and the Great Wall Chinese restaurant. No groundbreaking has yet been announced for the 55,000 sf project.

Trouble brewing for 14th Street office project?

Back in October, DC Mud reported that the Historic Preservation Review Board gave a thumbs-up to developer Giorgio Furioso's plans to contruct a six story, 55,000 sf office building along 14th Street, in the vacant lot between Posto and the Great Wall restaurant. According to the poposal the building, which will extend across part of the building which houses Posto and the art galleries Curator's Office and Hemphill Fine Arts.



However, at the February ANC2F meeting, Furioso encountered some pushback from residents of Kingman Place, whose homes run behind the proposed site.

As noted in the Dupont Current, Furioso was at the ANC meeting to seek support for several zoning variances that he is requesting. Among them is a request to have cars who wish to park in a 12 unit garage underneath the building enter through an alley entrance. Kingman Place residents appeared to have two complaints about this proposal:

The first issue is that the volume is spaces is too low, and that office tenants ill instead park on nearby residential streets, taking up valuable parking spaces. Due to the daytime residential parking restrictions in place, this does not appear to be a matter of significant concern. After all, one cannot park for more than two hours without an appropriate residential parking permit.

The second issue is that the volume of spaces, and the cars it would attract, is too great, leading to additional congestion in the alley behind the building. I might be inclined to be more sympathetic to this argument if the projected volume of the parking garage was higher--say, 30 or 40 spaces, rather than 12. After all, it can't be ignored that people who purchased homes on Kingman did so knowing that the rear of their property abutted a commercial corridor.

These complaints may be viewed as being in opposition to each other (too many spaces vs. not enough), but I don't necessarily think that they are. Ultimately, I think the resdient's parking concerns can be summed up as being opposed to anything that would bring additional cars to the alley or to their street.

However, what is apparent is that certain residents of Kingman Place aren't particularly amenable to seeing this project built, particularly if it involves adding more of the dreaded "t" word to the neighborhood. (t = traffic) And thus, we find ourselves basically where every proposed project ends up at some point: opposed by a small group of residents who simply don't want to see the project go up, for varying reasons.

The ANC decided to take no action at the February meeting, meaning that action will be postponed until at least the March meeting. There is no requirement in place that the Board of Zoning Adjustment follow the advice of the ANC, but by District law ANC opinions must be given "great weight"--meaning that a vote by the ANC to not support the proposed parking plan could be a potential setback for Furioso's plans.

There's no anticipated groundbreaking date yet for the project, which requires BZA approval before it can go forward.