Logan Circle Developer Hasn’t Closed on Contract Due to Proposed Pop-Up Rule

• August 4, 2014
• 1 Comment

by Lark Turner

1310 Q Street NW

Update: Please see an update on this story here. The Office of Planning says permits will continue to be issued until the rule is finalized.

A potential change to the zoning code has put at least one sale on hold as a developer waits to hear whether the Zoning Commission will make changes that would more tightly control additions in residential districts zoned R-4 in DC.

The developer who is under contract to buy 1310 Q Street NW (map) and turn it into a six-unit development reportedly told a member of ANC 2F that they were postponing closing on the property because the Office of Zoning won’t issue a permit for the project until they know what will happen with the proposed code revision, according to notes from the ANC 2F’s Community Development Committee meeting in late July.

The change proposed by the Office of Planning is meant to target so-called “pop-ups,” additions to rowhouses that rise above the building’s facade — and often incongruously above the homes of neighbors. But it’s been criticized by some proponents of urban development for hewing to the status quo instead of allowing needed density to develop in the District’s most sought-after neighborhoods. The addition at 1310 is not a pop-up.

1310 Q Street NW was listed for $4.4 million in November 2013. The price was lowered to $4.1 million in February, and went under contract in April. The property, called the Shipman House, was slated for a modest four-unit addition, which the ANC supported in May. With the home itself plus its basement unit, the project would have six units. The concept and design of the addition were also approved by the Historic Preservation Review Board in May.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/developer_of_logan_circle_rowhouse_puts_purchase_on_hold_thanks_to_proposed/8820

1 Comment

1. Jennifer Steingasser-DCOP said at 5:36 pm on Thursday August 14, 2014:
   The headline is quite dramatic but the facts are quite inaccurate. Concerned by the inaccuracy of the story, the Office of Planning contacted the parties mentioned and offers the following correct facts: The Office of Zoning is not involved in the issuing of building permits. Building permits are reviewed and issued by the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, including review for zoning compliance by the Zoning Administrator (ZA). The ZA reported that permits continue to be issued under the current regulations and there is no inaction or halting of permits. The contract purchaser representatives confirmed that they are continuing forward as planned for six units as approved, and did not know why the story reports otherwise. A proposed change to the zoning text does not change the existing regulations until the Zoning Commission takes final action, after a public hearing. There has not been a public hearing or any action by the Zoning Commission, therefore the existing regulation continue in effect.