Best Real Estate Joke of 2015: The 10-Story Pop-Up on U Street

• December 16th 2015

by UrbanTurf Staff

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UrbanTurf usually stays away from publishing rankings or lists…except at the end of the year when we look back at the best that DC’s residential real estate scene had to offer during the previous 12 months. So, this week we are looking at not only the best but the most intriguing and peculiar things that came across our radar over the course of 2015. Enjoy.

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Time to pat ourselves on the back a little bit. April Fools Day is UrbanTurf’s favorite holiday of the year, and we try and up the ante from one year to the next as far as our participation goes. We think we set a new bar this past April. Rather than re-hash it, check out our 2015 entry below.

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Pop-up opponents in DC could soon have a new project that serves as the target of their anger.

A developer has proposed a 10-story addition to a rowhouse in the U Street Corridor, which would come in just below the limits in place courtesy of the Height Act. There will be a total of 40 residential condos, 50 percent of which have sold prior to the project breaking ground.

When UrbanTurf spoke with Argentine developer Hai Donacare, he had a pretty brazen message for detractors of his new development.

“These people think they’ve seen a building constructed like a middle finger in this city,” Donacare said, referring to the city’s most infamous pop-up. “I’ll give them a middle finger.”

Donacare has no experience with a residential project of this scope and height, but he has constructed a number of very tall cell phone towers in his native Buenos Aires.

“Have these people who criticize projects of this height ever even been inside a penthouse apartment?” he said. “I have, and it’s amazing.”

The height of the new project will come in at 89.5 feet, a mere half foot below the limits imposed by the Height Act. The towering height is not lost on buyers like Tom Bellows, who purchased one of the residences on the top floor.

“When the units were marketed to me, I was told I would be able to see all the way to my home state of New Jersey, which seemed like an exaggeration,” Bellows said. “I really do hope I can see to New Jersey, but I will love the place even if I can’t.”

Donacare consulted a number of people for the project, including the developers of the 90-story One57 building in New York and a few airline pilots.

“People who have already purchased in our project love two things,” Donacare said. “Living up high and looking down on people.”

Renderings courtesy of Capital Pixel.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/best_real_estate_joke_of_2015_the_10-story_pop-up_on_u_street/10675.