280 Apartments and a Restaurant: Plans Floated for the Fox 5 Headquarters in Friendship Heights

• May 21st 2018

by Nena Perry-Brown

A large residential project could be coming to a local TV headquarters in Friendship Heights.

Donohoe Development recently gave a presentation regarding their plans for the WTTG Fox 5 television station headquarters along Wisconsin Avenue. Assuming the community is supportive, Donohoe plans to seek a map amendment and a planned-unit development that would enable the company to raze and replace the office building and radio tower at 5151 Wisconsin Avenue NW (map) with 280 apartments and 17,000 square feet of commercial space.

The new mixed-use development would center around a six-story, 65 foot-tall building with penthouse. The developer envisions the street-level space as a full-service restaurant with outdoor seating. There would be 1.5 levels of underground parking based on the grade change, and roughly 28 of the units would be inclusionary zoning.

A triangular corner at the rear of the site is zoned R-2 for single-family homes or duplexes, by-right allowances that Donohoe isn't interested in pursuing. The company is seeking a map amendment to upzone that corner, where the building would step down to two and three stories with a duplex style. Several units on this side will be garden-style with three communal courtyard spaces between protruding bays.

If the community and zoning officials are on-board with the development, work could begin in 2022, putting delivery as early as mid-2023. If redevelopment isn't feasible, Donohoe will try to find another tenant for the existing space (and tower).

Fox 5 plans to relocate to the Apex building further north on Wisconsin Avenue in Bethesda after their lease ends (and their new space is completed) in June 2021. The station has been based at its current location since 1966.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/280-apartments-and-a-restaurant-plans-floated-for-the-fox-headquarters-in-f/13994.