Is This The Closest Thing DC Has To A Soho Loft?

• September 10th 2024

by UrbanTurf Staff

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Over the years, UrbanTurf has featured a handful of loft spaces around DC. There was the 10,000 square-foot space in the former Pierce School owned by NBA star Dwight Howard. Then there was the 6,000 square-foot unit at an old schoolhouse in Eckington. Today, we head up to Columbia Heights to get a look at a newer 5,000 square-foot listing coming on the market soon that is about as close as the city comes to a property that you might find in lower Manhattan. 

The mansion warehouse unit at the Helicopter Factory along Girard Street (map) is set to come on the market later this week for just shy of $3.5 million. Listed with Daniel Heider of TTR Sotheby's International Realty, the three-level, 5,100 square foot residence is the largest unit in what was once a factory used to make parts for helicopters. 

The unit has a sprawling 50-foot-by-50-foot footprint, 15-foot ceilings, and sweeping outdoor space that the current owner has nearly doubled in size. The project was designed by Urban Design Group out of Baltimore, a firm that specializes in the redesign of warehouses.

The open spaces inside the listing are filled with exposed beams and rich red brick walls. The main living area is divided into a billiards space, a media room with a retractable projector screen, and a sitting area. The primary suite includes a private sitting area with a fireplace, a marble bath with dual vanities, and a large dressing room with a built-in island. The top level of the unit has a marble wet bar with a fitness studio framed by two walls of glass. Other standout features include a wraparound rooftop patio with multiple seating areas, and two parking spaces on the ground level located behind an automatic roll-up door.  

While helicopters were never built on-site, the Helicopter Factory name pays homage to Emile Berliner, an inventor who used the warehouse in the late 19th- and early 20th century to develop materials to build airplane and helicopter engines.

Photos courtesy of Derek and Vee. 

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/is_this_the_closest_thing_dc_has_to_a_soho_loft/22694.