80-Unit Mixed-Use Development Planned For Payless Shoe Site in Adams Morgan

• March 2, 2017

by Nena Perry-Brown

An early rendering of the proposed development at 1777 Columbia Road NW

A large new rental building is on the boards for a prime Adams Morgan location.

On Wednesday evening, Foxhall Partners shared plans for a matter of right mixed-use development at 1773-1777 Columbia Road NW that will consist of a six-story, 80-unit apartment building over 9,500 square feet of retail. In 2015, Foxhall entered into an agreement with ANC 1C and the Kalorama Citizens Association to preserve the one-story commercial facades of the firm’s properties from 1767-1777 Columbia Road NW (map). The former retail tenants at these buildings include Old City Cafe, Payless Shoes, RadioShack and T-Mobile.

Streetsense is the architect for the project, which will also include 30 underground parking spaces. The rental apartments will be a mix of studios, one bedrooms and one bedroom lofts and will also include inclusionary zoning units. The bones of the building should be erected by the end of the year, setting delivery out to the third quarter of 2018.

While Wednesday night’s presentation was purely informational, some ANC commissioners and members of the community expressed concern about the design and logistics of the development. Several people pointed out that the combination of color, materiality and modernity made the appended portion of the building look stark in contrast to the rest of the neighborhood. The architect has already expressed interest in proposing a different color palette. Others noted that the alley, from which the building will have loading and parking access, is already very congested and would need to be organized in a way that doesn’t exacerbate the existing problems. The development team is expected to work closely with Commissioner Wilson Reynolds to resolve those issues.

The proposed development will be surrounded by a slew of new projects either on the boards or scheduled to deliver soon, including The Line hotel across the street, the hotly-debated PN Hoffman development at the intersection of 18th Street and Columbia Road NW, and Eastbanc’s 120-unit development planned for 2800 16th Street NW.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/80_apartments_above_retail_for_adams_morgan/12282