50 Florida Avenue—Leaning Toward Condos

• February 8, 2011
• 3 Comments

by UrbanTurf Staff

Bird’s-eye view of where B&B’s new project will be located

Last week, Bisnow reported that B&B Realty Investment had purchased a 62,000 square-foot warehouse at 50 Florida Avenue in NoMa with plans to turn it into a large-scale residential project.

Although the development, which will not deliver for two to three years, is still very much in the planning stages, B&B’s Rick Brown told UrbanTurf earlier today that the firm is leaning toward the new development going condo, rather than rental, which is now the trend.

Warehouse at 50 Florida Avenue

“With the current boom in apartment construction and the low inventory for new condos, we are leaning toward condos,” Brown told UrbanTurf. “However, that could change depending how the market looks in 18 to 24 months.”

B&B hopes to break ground on what will likely be a 240-250 unit project in about 18 months, but it first needs to get approval to raise the zoning capacity at the site. The firm is in talks with a number of architecture firms to design the development.

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This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/50_florida_avenue_--_leaning_toward_condos/2968

3 Comments

1. Q. Slip said at 1:45 am on Thursday February 10, 2011:
   A 5-6 story condo or apartment building, fine. But not an 8-9 story building - which is what a zoning change would do. A nice little residential area thrives just north of this site. Over the years, it has become increasingly demarcated, almost an island. Still, it's livable, it's middle class, and it does not need to have big buildings looming over it and isolating it further. This area has plenty of un/underdeveloped properties, as well as lots of boarded up rowhouses, so any environmental excuse for a higher density zoning is BS. No, this is just so an extra handful of condos can be stacked up and a Capitol view sold at premium prices to maybe a dozen people. Why spoil it for hundreds of regular people - especially when the view from the new condos won't exist long anyway? It's like when people in the front row stand so they can see just a teeny bit more, then if everyone else behind them doesn't stand up they can't see ANYTHING. (Not literally, but the same concept.)

1. Overdale said at 6:08 pm on Wednesday February 9, 2011:
   Condominiums would do well. I've seen some grumblings that there are not enough high-end condos in this area. Residential space aside, how about some retail space on the ground level? From what I have seen in the urban market, retail space is crucial to the success of any residential development.

1. JohnDC said at 12:30 am on Wednesday February 9, 2011:
   Bring it on!