Adams Morgan Hotel Set To Deliver in 2016; Demolition Planned Soon

• May 9, 2014
• 15 Comments

by Lark Turner

Construction on a planned hotel in Adams Morgan, The Line DC, is scheduled to begin by the end of the summer, according to ANC 1C Commissioner Billy Simpson.

The 220-room hotel went through a lengthy planned unit development (PUD) process before receiving approval to move ahead from the city’s Zoning Commission early last year. Demolition of 2390 Champlain Street NW (map), the former City Paper building, is scheduled to begin soon, Simpson told UrbanTurf, and should be completed by the end of the summer. Simpson said that the team behind the hotel has indicated that they will start construction soon after that. Construction is expected to take a couple of years, meaning the hotel could deliver at the end of 2016.

The new hotel will be be built partly into an existing church at 1780 Columbia Road NW (map), which the developers will preserve, and extend into a new building behind the church, where most of the rooms will be housed. The development has faced stiff opposition from neighbors, who set up the aptly-named No Adams Morgan Hotel group to lobby against its construction. The building has undergone substantial design revisions throughout the planning process.

The project is being developed by the Sydell Group Ltd., which has developed Ace Hotels around the country. The hotel will be the second in a new chain called The Line DC, which has been successful in Los Angeles.

Early renderings of the guest rooms below:

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/adams_morgan_hotel_to_deliver_in_2016_demolition/8470

15 Comments

1. tim said at 9:01 pm on Friday May 9, 2014:
   Score another one for the DC Office of Planning's gentrification, traffic, noise, and congestion program.

1. Joe said at 10:12 pm on Friday May 9, 2014:
   Yes, because we are much better off with a huge, vacant and decaying building in the middle of the neighborhood that contributes nothing to its livelihood or economic vitality. --Resident of 1700 block of Euclid St.

1. Colin said at 10:50 pm on Friday May 9, 2014:
   Looking forward to this finally getting built!!

1. Los said at 6:25 pm on Saturday May 10, 2014:
   Best news possible. As a resident of 18th st, I couldn't be happier. I'm glad the developers held steadfast against the NIMBYs and were able to score this HUGE victory for all of DC.

1. Wobble said at 10:58 pm on Saturday May 10, 2014:
   I'm really pleased to see this project finally getting off the ground. It will make the hood and the city so much better. I also am pleased with the re-purposing of the church building, rather than let it decay.

1. Adam L said at 2:47 am on Sunday May 11, 2014:
   Finally. Glad this is moving forward.

1. BJ said at 3:37 am on Monday May 12, 2014:
   Wonderful! To those who complain about traffic: if you drive in Adams Morgan often enough to complain about the traffic, you're probably part of the problem. Most residents here don't have cars.

1. Susie Van Pool said at 2:53 pm on Monday May 12, 2014:
   I just don't get it; there's no hotel in Cleveland Park, or the 14th St. corridor, or 17th St. between S St. & Mass. Ave., and they're all doing a booming business. Why do we need a hotel? We should look at why we lost Artisan Lamps, Wake Up Little Suzie and the card shop next door, the Guatemalan shop, etc. and work on what we're doing wrong. I prefer the diverse small neighborhood we used to have, when to store clerks knew you, if not by name, by face. I don't need an upscale town for 20- and 30-somethings riding bicycles. Sorry.

1. Circle Thomas said at 3:27 pm on Monday May 12, 2014:
   Cleveland Park and the 17th Street corridor are booming? You've got to be kidding. And the 14th Street corridor has no less than FIVE hotels that anchor the bottom of the strip at Thomas Circle.

1. alpinepaq said at 3:49 pm on Monday May 12, 2014:
   Susie - Please contribute rather than complain. What would you propose for a giant vacant lot in the absolute heart of the neighborhood? Please, please, add your constructive thoughts. The hotel will provide daytime foot traffic that will support the little vendors you just mentioned. Most guests will either take cabs or walk to transit, meaning the impact on traffic will be much less than if this were condos - the only viable alternative for a site like this. Don't just complain - it makes you look ornery - add something to the conversation or just sit on your hands.

1. Jay said at 5:05 pm on Monday May 12, 2014:
   Glad they got past the NIMBYs on this one. It will be great when visiting family and friends have better options for where to stay when they come to town. This will be a great amenity for residents and I'm excited to have this in my backyard. Will contribute to the vibrancy of our neighborhood so much more than a vacant dead zone that some people are so inexplicably fighting to preserver!

1. skidrowe said at 9:22 pm on Monday May 12, 2014:
   I'm an architect, and years ago I toured this church and did some feasibility design work. My recommendation to the client: stay far, far away. This is way too complicated, and the existing building (though extremely refined) is almost impossible for an adaptive reuse because it has very few windows. I am incredibly impressed that a different developer and architect team figured this difficult puzzle out. Hotels have need for a certain amount of front-end spaces which can be windowless, so the church building isn't rendered useless. The team also, of course, negotiated the treacherous waters of hardcore NIMBYism. And I like the new guestroom building, too. I say congrats and good luck with the construction!

1. jay said at 2:42 am on Wednesday May 14, 2014:
   Finally! New life in that dreadful part of Adams Morgan. I've lived in the area for 17 years and am so glad to see a major project come in. This is a win-win for all. Saving a lovely church, bringing life and light to a dark corner, and more business to the area which should equate to more jobs. They won't be the highest paying jobs but it'll be more than what's not being generated by an unused space.

1. Susie said at 3:57 pm on Wednesday May 14, 2014:
   To respond to alpinepaq; I know it's too late and a fantasy, but an art workshop center would have been nice; a place like Dance Place that used to be on 18th St. and/or an art studio work space. Add floors like they added a roof over the courtyard in the Portrait Gallery/American Art building. A building inside a building to not destroy the original building. Create something useful for the people who already live here and pat taxes that are among the highest in the country. A place like the torpedo Factory in Alexandria, VA. I know we can't afford it, but it would be nice.

1. AdMo Guy said at 8:56 am on Friday November 21, 2014:
   Sorry Susie but you are living in fantasy land. Those would have to be govt sponsored projects. It would cost millions to renovate that place and then the money to run them. U keep rehashing the yearning for old places and shops that use to be part of the neighborhood. They are gone because there is little to no business in Adams Morgan during the day Monday-Friday and not a lot of business Sunday-Thursday nights to support them. A vast majority of the restaurants in this neighborhood do not open for lunch Monday-Friday.