21 Micro-Units Planned Above Office Building in Dupont Circle

• October 15, 2014

by Lark Turner

More micro-units could be on their way to Dupont Circle.

Valor Development, working with building owner Endeka Enterprises, originally proposed building eight condos atop the office building at 1337 Connecticut Avenue NW (map), and received zoning approval for their plan back in 2013.

They’ve now changed their plans and are proposing to build 21 micro-units ranging in size from 330 to 420 square feet in the same space the eight condos would have occupied, according to documents filed with BZA. (A handful of the units clock in at around 700 square feet.)

ALine Architecture is working with Valor on the project, which is in the Dupont Circle Historic District. The building at 1337 is a nonconforming structure built in the 1950s.

Changing the number of residential units triggers an added zoning requirement: More parking, which Valor says it can’t provide. Thirteen spaces are required for the development, but the developer doesn’t propose offering any additional parking beyond the eight spaces currently serving the building. One floor of residences will replace a level of offices, and since the office building was previously granted parking relief, it is unclear how many spaces the developer should provide. (In the zoning filing, Valor alternately asks for 13 or five spaces of parking relief, depending on what the Board considers appropriate.)

Valor is also asking for special exception relief to accommodate the building’s roof structure, which looks like an additional story but would actually house building mechanics.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/micro-units_planned_above_dupont_circle_office_building/9095