JBG Smith Steps Away From Gallaudet's Sprawling 6th Street Development

• August 27th

by UrbanTurf Staff

✉️ Want to forward this article? Click here.

JBG Smith is no longer part of the development team for a large project near Union Market that has been in the works for nearly a decade.

In a recent filing with DC's Zoning Commission, Gallaudet University disclosed that it and a JBG Smith affiliate had terminated their ground lease and development agreement for the project planned along 6th Street NE. The University said it retains ownership of the design and construction drawings produced during the partnership and is searching for a new partner. As such, it is requesting a two-year extension of the approval for the development.

The project traces back to a first-stage PUD approval in 2017, which rezoned the parcels owned by Gallaudet for mixed-use development. Under the approved plan, one parcel would bring two six-story buildings with roughly 240 apartments along with retail and university space, while a second parcel is approved for an 11-story building with about 600 units and additional ground-floor retail. A separate, adjacent site at 1331 5th Street, NE, is covered by its own PUD approval and already has a permit deadline extended into December 2027.

The exit from the Gallaudet project comes amid a rough stretch for JBG Smith. In July, DC Superior Court found the development team behind the Wardman Tower condo conversion in Woodley Park — which included JBG Smith predecessor The JBG Cos. — liable for misleading buyers about the condition of the historic building, part of the former Wardman Park Hotel complex. The Wardman Tower Condominium Unit Owners Association sued in 2020, after a study uncovered dozens of undisclosed defects spanning the building's elevators, HVAC, fire safety, and electrical systems, exterior walls, and garage — problems the court found the developer-controlled condo board knew about and declined to address before ceding control to unit owners in 2019. The court tripled the award from an initial $118.7 million finding to roughly $356 million. JBG Smith has said it plans to appeal.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/jbg_smith_steps_away_from_gallaudets_sprawling_6th_street_development/24939.