Another Delay for 112-Unit Georgia Avenue Development

• September 14th 2017

by Nena Perry-Brown

In 2011, Neighborhood Development Company had a planned-unit development (PUD) application approved for 3321-3335 Georgia Avenue NW (map), proposing a mixed-use development for a site which was a Sunoco gas station in a previous life.

Now, the property is under new ownership and the new owner is looking to extend the PUD approval for another two years and delay construction. The previously-approved plan would deliver The Vue, an 8-story building with 112 apartments atop 7,190 square feet of retail and a below-grade garage with 50 parking spaces. Since the site changed hands, however, no new plans have been furnished, with a previous application to amend the PUD withdrawn in 2016.

Current owners Zuckerman Gravely Development filed an application with the Zoning Commission (ZC) last month to request a PUD extension — a request that would also require waiver of a rule against third extensions, as the development has already been granted two extensions, in 2013 and 2015.

The application cites environmental contamination at the site, for which ongoing remediation and testing with the Department of Energy and the Environment (DOEE) is being conducted.

“Since acquiring the Subject Property, the Applicant has worked diligently to secure the approvals necessary to move forward with development,” the application explains. “However, the Subject Property has a history of gasoline station use and resultant soil contamination due to a release of petroleum to the subsurface soils and groundwater.”

The Office of Planning recommends that ZC approve the request for a waiver and resultant extension, allowing the developers until 2019 to file for building permits with construction beginning in 2020.

While this site may have unique circumstances temporarily preventing development, other residential developments along Georgia Avenue and in the Park View neighborhood have stalled compared to other areas in the city. Some surmise that developers may be waiting until the large-scale plans for Park Morton come to fruition.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/another_delay_for_georgia_avenue_development/13003.