MRP/JBG Venture Could Bring Harris Teeter North of U Street

• February 3, 2014
• 16 Comments

by UrbanTurf Staff

Rendering for 965 Florida Avenue.

MRP Residential and The JBG Companies announced Monday that they have signed a letter of intent to form a joint venture to develop 965 Florida Avenue NW (map). And that means that the U Street Corridor will likely eventually get a Harris Teeter.

Back in July, the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED) gave the go-ahead to the team made up of MRP Realty, Ellis Development Group to redevelop the sought-after Florida Avenue NW parcel. JBG was on one of the teams that lost out on the bid. The initial plans that the MRP/Ellis team had in mind for the site include a 370,000 square-foot mixed-use building with a residential component and a market made up of stores and small grocers on the ground-level.

Rendering of planned retail.

“The JBG-MRP co-development team plan to work with District officials and members of the community and plan to provide a W Street connection and bring a full-service grocery to the neighborhood,” James Iker, a managing partner with JBG, said in a press release. “Our partnership has crafted a venture that will deliver these critical neighborhood needs and meet established city goals to transform the area. We are excited to be working again with MRP.”

The mention of a full-service grocery refers to the Harris Teeter store that JBG had in its original plans. With the new joint venture, it appears that is back on the table.

Rendering for 965 Florida Avenue.

Update: From MRP Residential spokesperson Julie Chase: “We have not signed any leases, but a grocery of that quality and scale is what we are targeting.”

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/mrp_to_collaborate_with_jbg_on_965_florida_avenue_will_bring_harris_teeter_/8078

16 Comments

1. gk said at 6:05 pm on Monday February 3, 2014:
   enough grocery stores in NW already.

1. ab said at 6:14 pm on Monday February 3, 2014:
   gk: there really aren't, especially in that pocket of NW. this will be a welcome addition for people who live on u st, in south columbia heights, ledroit park, bloomingdale, and people who attend howard.

1. jen | concrete jungle dc said at 6:17 pm on Monday February 3, 2014:
   This is such exciting news! I agree with AB. It's great for the neighborhood and the folks east of 14th St. Everyone doesn't want to shop at Trader Joe's and Yes! Market even though they're both great options.

1. Michael C said at 6:42 pm on Monday February 3, 2014:
   This is enormous! Thanks to Councilmember Jim Graham for helping to make this happen, to the benefit of all. For me, it's less about where I want to shop than the enormous value a full-service grocery store will bring to the neighborhood. All you have to do is look at the sea change Whole Foods brought to the Logan Circle neighborhood for corroboration. Indeed, it was the cataclysmic explosion of Logan Circle in the wake of Whole Foods' arrival that brought about the present renaissance north of U. This, together with the announcement last week that Landmark Theaters is coming to 8th & V is a real boon to the neighborhood.

1. corey said at 6:51 pm on Monday February 3, 2014:
   I agree that part of town desperately needs a grocery store. I live about 7 minutes from Giant (cohi) and Teeter (admo) and probably about 7 minutes from this. So at least there are options and there will be less crowds at the other places. But i think the amount of 'development' that a grocery store brings is being over valued. There is gonna be a trader joes down the street too....now its getting oversaturated. People already have options, so it is not gonna change the face of the neighborhood but it wont hurt

1. charlie said at 7:16 pm on Monday February 3, 2014:
   Yep, although there are a lot of grocery stores within a mile of the site for people who live nearby they are also all about a mile away. Trader Joes will help the situation somewhat. I'd still be worried that HT/Kroger may not see it that way. ANd again the HTC is down for the count.

1. Ronny said at 7:54 pm on Monday February 3, 2014:
   This is great news for the city, the neighborhood, and for local government that is responsive and accountable to the people. YES Organic and Trader Joes are great niche stores, but they do not purport to be full-service grocery stores. Unless you have a car, which residents of the neighborhood typically do not, there are no full-service grocery stores that are easily accessible. This will thankfully change. Next step for the neighborhood: develop Garfield Terrace and re-think Cardozo. We can redistribute the affordable housing throughout the neighborhood so that it is no longer concentrated, and there is no reason to have a magnificent palace of a high school that is under-enrolled and has abominable academics.

1. Nathaniel Martin said at 8:25 pm on Monday February 3, 2014:
   Another grocery store in the area would be great, but the renderings of this project make it look incredibly bland. We need more inventive architecture in such a lively neighborhood!

1. Mike said at 8:27 pm on Monday February 3, 2014:
   Ugh....I live right across the street, anyone wanna buy my place...ugh.

1. Rebecca said at 8:33 pm on Monday February 3, 2014:
   I still don't understand (and do not want) a W street connection. W St would just end at Georgia - that's really not that helpful. Motorists can still use Barry Place and U Street to get to Georgia Ave . We do not need increased traffic on W Street.

1. Jj said at 8:40 pm on Monday February 3, 2014:
   I don't object to another grocery store, but the largest Giant in the city is only 7 blocks away at 9th and P.

1. Jj said at 8:48 pm on Monday February 3, 2014:
   Rebecca - If everyone opposed traffic on their street, all the streets would be closed. The city put back the grid at city center and plans to do it above 395. It won't hurt to fill in a block.

1. 9th Street Neighbor said at 9:22 pm on Monday February 3, 2014:
   The people of the U Street Corridor have been listened to: they asked Jim Graham to help and he promised that "he would not vote to approve the required DC funding unless both MRP and JBG worked together to bring a full-service grocery store to the neighborhood. Thanks to Jim Graham and his staff for getting the job done that the Mayor's office refused to do: listen to the area constituents.

1. Bernardo Morais said at 9:52 pm on Monday February 3, 2014:
   I can't see this news as anything but positive. Why the complaining?

1. 12th Place said at 11:02 pm on Monday February 3, 2014:
   W Street going through would break up that block and help revitalize that long long block. Now, if we can talk about a hotel ...

1. Michael said at 4:50 pm on Wednesday February 5, 2014:
   Shopping options? OUTRAGE!