32 Units and a Crate & Barrel For H Street?

• September 6, 2013

by Shilpi Paul

501 H Street NE is on the right. Courtesy of Google Maps.

Is there a name-brand furniture store in the H Street Corridor’s future?

UrbanTurf recently learned that Douglas Development has plans to build a 32-unit residential building and three-story, 30,000 square-foot retail space, possibly with a furniture store like Crate & Barrel as the tenant, at 501 H Street NE (map).

On Wednesday, Douglas Development’s Paul Millstein stopped by the ANC 6C Planning and Zoning Committee meeting to discuss the early vision for what is currently a one-story structure on the hot corridor. Douglas bought 501 H Street NE from the H Street Community Development Corporation after JAIR LYNCH scuttled plans to build a 48-unit project at the site earlier this year.

While still in the very early planning stages, the developers have been communicating with the Office of Planning and have a rough idea of what they foresee at the site. Currently, they are considering building a two-story retail space, plus an additional underground level, with four-stories of residential above, totaling approximately 32 units, each averaging 600 square feet. Each retail floor would be around 10,000 square feet, and Millstein told the committee they are looking for a retailer like Crate & Barrel or Forever 21 to lease the space. Crate and Barrel stores generally measure out at 25,000 to 35,000 square feet.

Douglas will likely go through a Planned Unit Development (PUD) process, so the ANC and community groups will have many opportunities to hear about and weigh in on the plans.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/32-unit_residential_and_a_possible_crate_barrel_for_h_street/7519