From 25 to 33 to 23: The Evolution of a U Street Condo Project

• July 15th 2016

by UrbanTurf Staff

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In March 2015, the Goldstar Group presented plans to the U Street Corridor community for a 100-foot, 25-unit residential development at 1355-1357 U Street NW (map) on the site of two historic properties.

“This is where you want density,” a Goldstar representative told the U Street Neighborhood Association at the time, pointing to the prospective location relative to the Metro.

A little over a year later, a revised concept for the development was presented to the ANC 1B Zoning, Preservation & Development Committee — a nine-story development with eight more residential units than the original proposal and retail on the basement, ground and second floors. The committee voted unanimously to recommend that the full ANC support the concept and massing for the redevelopment.

However, the development changed scope again when the developers went before the Historic Preservation Review Board for a third time last month.

“[In 2015] the Board found the design incompatible and suggested that the addition needed to be set back further, possibly with an increase in height,” a report stated. “In April 2016, the applicant proposed to add 7 floors set back 48’ plus a penthouse at a total of almost 109’ tall. The Board found the design and material palette more appealing, but determined the project was too tall to be considered compatible.”

At the meeting in June, the Board approved yet another revised proposal for the project that put its total height at 90 feet.

So, it is perhaps not surprising that when the Antunovich Associates designed development filed with the Board of Zoning Adjustment this week, there was a new iteration for the development — an 85-foot building with 23 residential units and retail. The development is looking for variances from parking requirements, the rear-yard setback, and green space requirements, so it will be interesting to see if we are looking at another version of the development in a few months.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/from_25_to_33_to_23_the_evolution_of_a_u_street_condo_project/11474.