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472 Units, 180 Hotel Rooms, and a Secret Passageway: The New Plans for a Prime Howard Site

  • June 22nd 2022

by UrbanTurf Staff

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A rendering of the residential portion of the redevelopment. Click to enlarge.

Three years ago, Howard University picked a team to redevelop the two acres between Georgia Avenue and 8th Street NW between V and W Streets. Now, that development team has unveiled an updated vision for the site.

The existing WRECO building.

The Bond Partnership, consisting of the Menkiti Group, Fivesquares Development, and EDENS, presented plans on Tuesday night to transform the Bond Bread Factory and Washington Railway & Electric Company (WRECO) buildings (map) into a 600,000 square-foot mixed-use destination. The development will include 472 residential units, 180 hotel rooms, 50,000 square feet of largely street-facing retail and a nearly 20,000 square-foot public plaza. 

A rendering of the hotel and hotel bar. Click to enlarge.

The new development, designed by STUDIOS Architecture, plans to incorporate several aspects of the existing buildings into the new project, including the trusses from the WRECO building that will sit thirty feet above the public plaza and the original columns from the Bond Bread building. 

The public plaza. Click to enlarge. 

The team envisions several outdoor uses throughout the project, including dining space and seasonal markets along V Street, as well as film screening and performance space along W Street. The central public space will have a number of access points, including a "secret" passageway off Georgia Avenue (see below), according to the development team. 

The secret passageway off Georgia Avenue. Click to enlarge.

The Bond Bread Factory was constructed in 1929 and is designed by Corry B. Comstock in an art deco style, while the WRECO garage on the V Street corner was constructed the following year and is designed by the renowned Arthur Heaton. 

The development team plans to file plans with the historic preservation review board in the coming weeks. 

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This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/472-units-180-hotel-rooms-and-a-secret-passage-the-new-plans-for/19795.

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