Will This Be DC's First Flexible Housing Development?

• February 20th 2014

by Lark Turner

On Tuesday, councilman and mayoral candidate Tommy Wells hinted that an innovative type of flexible housing, designed by architecture firm Hickok Cole, could be coming to DC.

A yet-to-be-built project bordering Capitol Hill and Hill East designed by Hickok Cole and to-be-developed by Perseus Realty may be the one that Wells was referring to. And even if it’s not the specific project, it’s a good example of how this kind of development might take shape in the District.

The design for the building, located at 16th Street and Constitution Avenue NE (map), won recognition from AIA|DC in 2009. It’s organized around a courtyard with below-ground parking, and would feature 140 factory-built, modular one-bedrooms measuring 550 square feet. However if needed, “two units could be combined to create one two-bedroom unit and one studio unit,” according to Hickok Cole’s description. That could provide the type of flexibility Wells referenced when he talked about flex multi-family housing expanding to accommodate a family’s growth.

The 16th and Constitution Avenue NE development is described on the Hickok Cole website as “completed through Design Development” and “currently on hold.” Hickok Cole, Perseus Realty and Wells didn’t respond to requests for comment on the state of the project.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/is_this_tommy_wells_multifamily_flexible_housing_development/8150.