450 Units, 156 Hotel Rooms and a Public Park: The Plans for a Prime Howard University Site

• April 2nd 2019

by Nena Perry-Brown

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Nearly a year ago, Howard University narrowed down the teams in the running to redevelop the 2.2 acres between Georgia Avenue and 8th Street NW between V and W Streets. Now, a development team has been selected and the vision for the site is coming into focus.

On Monday, Howard University announced that The Bond Partnership would transform the Bond Bread Factory and Washington Railway & Electric Company buildings at 2112-2146 Georgia Avenue NW (map) into a 600,000 square-foot mixed-use destination. Howard University Real Estate Executive Anthony Freeman shared with UrbanTurf that the development is expected to include roughly 450 residential units, 156 hotel rooms, and up to 300 parking spaces, all subject to zoning and historic preservation approval.

The site will also include restaurant and retail use, as well as a public park spanning the block, with a marketplace fitted beneath, taking advantage of the grade change. The retail will incorporate an incubator for the university's students; the request for proposals also envisioned the ground-floor of the future mixed-use development as "a 24-hour work, shop, eat, live, play destination".

“Bond Bread will play a pivotal role in the revival of Georgia Avenue by creating a unique 24/7 environment, and I am proud that the University had a diverse set of development options from which to make a selection,” Freeman said in a statement. 

The Bond Bread Factory was constructed in 1929 and is designed by Corry B. Comstock in an art deco style, while the WRECO garage on the V Street corner was constructed the following year and is designed by the renowned Arthur Heaton. Both buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Sites, necessitating a historic preservation and adaptive reuse approach.

The Bond Partnership, which is now in negotiations with the university on the terms of the deal, includes the Menkiti Group, Fivesquares Development, and EDENS. 

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/bond-bread-redevelopment-team-selected-and-450-units-planned-for-georgia-av/15209.