Home | Newsletter | Advertise

A New Plan to Restore Republic Gardens as a Restaurant

  • August 29th 2018

by Nena Perry-Brown

✉️ Want to forward this article? Click here.

A New Plan to Restore Republic Gardens as a Restaurant: Figure 1
Rendering of restored properties at 1355-1357 U Street NW. Click to enlarge.

Over a decade since the historic club was evicted from its U Street address, the building bearing the "Republic Gardens" sign has remained fallow. Now, new plans are in the works to remodel the property. 

The Goldstar Group has applied to revive the properties at 1355 and 1357 U Street NW (map) as a restaurant. The historic front of the properties will be restored while the second story of 1355 U Street will be rebuilt and a mezzanine and roof deck added to 1357.

A New Plan to Restore Republic Gardens as a Restaurant: Figure 2
Bird's-eye rendering of the roof decks. Click to enlarge.

The cellar level of 1355 U Street NW, where the "Republic Gardens" sign still adorns the façade, will function as storage space. Jon Hensley Architects is helming the design.

This application comes two years after both the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) and the Board of Zoning Adjustment approved plans which would have delivered an eight-story building with 23 apartments above retail; it is unclear why those plans were abandoned. Republic Gardens had heydays as a jazz lounge and restaurant during the Black Broadway era from the 1920s-1950s, as well as operating as a club through the 1990s and early 2000s.

The HPRB is expected to review the concept at their September meeting.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/a-new-plan-for-republic-gardens-to-go-restaurant/14374.

Pipeline: New Condos & Apartments Coming to the DC Area

DC Real Estate Guides

Short guides to navigating the DC-area real estate market

We've collected all our helpful guides for buying, selling and renting in and around Washington, DC in one place. Start browsing below!

First-Timer Primers

Intro guides for first-time home buyers

Red Flags Revealed During a Home Inspection Top 5 Tax Breaks For Homeowners Tax Relief for DC Homeowners
Condo Fee Tutorial What is a Rent Back? 10 Ways To Tell If a Home Renovation is Well Done
Obtaining a Basic Business License For Your Rental What is an Adjustable Rate Mortgage? The Splitting the Rent Formula
How Much Cash Do You Need to Buy a House? Is This Condo Building Financially Healthy? Interest Rates and Mortgage Points
The Scoop on Mortgage Insurance

Unique Spaces

Awesome and unusual real estate from across the DC Metro

The Most Intriguing Loft in DC The R Street Firehouse DC’s One-Room House
Dupont Circle’s Old Frat House To Become Alley Home Best Transition From a Garage To a Home The Roundhouse
Tilden Gardens Restaurant-Turned-Home Hits Market Next Week Logan Circle’s Most Intriguing Garage Frank Lloyd Wright Goes Green in Kensington
Sears Bungalow Gets a Modern Makeover Old Town General Store Becomes Three-Level Home Making the Most of a Skinny House
A Studio 27 Renovation on Capitol Hill Once a Carriage House, Now a Home The Bank that Became a Home
From Pie to Hooch to Heroin to Home The Live-Aboards of Gangplank Marina A Treehouse with Rock Creek Park As A Backyard
Modern Tranquility in Sperryville Saddle Up For Stable Living Throwing a Curve at 550 Square Feet
A Modern Hilltop Retreat Tilden Street Restaurant Becomes Spacious Home Focus on Design: A Vastu Unit at 22 West
The DC Area’s First Net Zero Home A Yankee Goes Green DC’s First Carbon Neutral Home
Eco-Friendly Alley House Off H Street The Gym, The Stables and The Firehouse