500 Units and 40,000 Square Feet of Retail Proposed for Union Market

• May 8th 2014

by Lark Turner

Edens Realty is planning a massive mixed-use development adjacent to Union Market at 1270 4th St. NE (map). The 11-story, 110-foot development will have about 40,000 square feet of retail and 420 to 520 residential units across 370,000 square feet. The units will range in size from studios to three-bedrooms.

According to a planned unit development (PUD) submitted to DC’s Zoning Commission, the residences, which will face 4th Street, will be built on top of existing warehouse space that will be converted into high-ceilinged retail. The goal is to create “an exciting vibrant mixed use retail and residential project on the site that will provide a key step in the direction of the revitalization of the 45-acre Florida Avenue Market,” according to the documents. The Washington Business Journal was the first to report on this project late Wednesday.

Edens is working with Level 2 Development and architects Shalom Baranes Associates on the project. The design is intended to extend the open, industrial feel of Union Market outward, with a curbless street that’s friendly for bikes and pedestrians, along with 400-550 underground parking spaces.

The developers are planning to preserve some of the existing warehouse facade for the first-floor retail space “at significant cost to the development,” the PUD notes. The project will “adapt many of the features of the existing facade, such as windows and loading bays, in its ground level design.”

Edens notes that the area around Union Market has become a hot residential and office area, but it’s yet to attract “sufficient retail offerings” for those who live and work there. This development will, they hope, “facilitate the long-awaited renaissance of the Market so that it becomes a true destination within the District.” The building will have about 30,000 residential square feet reserved for affordable housing as well as plenty of “interior amenity spaces for residents.” That’ll include a pool, according to plans.

Here’s a bit more about the project from the PUD:

• The design: The residential structure will rise above the retail area in four distinct “volumes” to provide visual variety and to break down the massing along the Property’s 425 feet of frontage on 4th Street. Although they are not designated as structures requiring historic preservation, the applicant is retaining, restoring, and adaptively reusing the original warehouse facade on the property.

• The streetscape: The 4th Street retail “will be filled with shops and restaurants whose activity will spill out onto the sidewalk – characterized by a wide pedestrian zone and vibrant outdoor seating areas. This retail space will celebrate the original warehouse structure and will accentuate its industrial materials and form, providing a unique and rich experience for patrons and visitors.”

• The “curbless” street: Edens says the street “encourages vehicles and pedestrians to pay attention, slow down, and share the street. This will not only create more cross-street connections to benefit retail, but will also comfortably accommodate the phased transformation of the site over time. The current commercial wholesale uses will have the opportunity to co-exist with new retail and residential uses.”

Here a couple more looks at the project:

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• Independent Movie Theater to Open at Union Market in 2015

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/500_units_40000_square_feet_of_retail_proposed_for_union_market/8461.