81 Townhomes and Condos Planned for Schoolhouse in Capitol Hill

• April 22nd 2015

by Lark Turner

Insight Property Group has an ambitious plan to build 41 townhomes and 40 condos on a 2.13-acre site on Capitol Hill.

The developer detailed its plans for the Buchanan School property at 13th and D Streets SE (map), which shares a block with the neighborhood Safeway, at a heavily-attended community meeting on Tuesday night.

Insight wants to preserve the two oldest school buildings onsite and turn them into 40 condos, with unit sizes ranging from studios and one-bedrooms to larger two- and three-bedroom units. The rest of the development will be built with families in mind, too; all 41 of the rowhouses will have at least three bedrooms and top out at what’s likely to be the new maximum height in R-4 zoning districts: 35 feet.

The rowhouses will have alternating designs mimicking the historic homes in the neighborhood, from Federal-style facades to protruding bays to porchfront homes.

Nine of the townhomes, as well as the condos, will be built by-right. The remaining 32 townhomes will require approval from the Board of Zoning Adjustment before moving forward. The developer plans to provide below-grade parking for most of the townhomes through built-in, individual garages, with 14-16 surface parking spaces for the condos.

Construction is tentatively scheduled to begin in the fall of 2016 with completion expected in 2018.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/insight_plans_41_townhomes_and_40_condos_for_schoolhouse_in_capitol_hill/9796.