New Renderings and Details Emerge for Eastbanc's Planned Adams Morgan Project

• April 5th 2016

by Nena Perry-Brown

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Six months after presenting their initial plans to bring a large-scale residential project to the Scottish Rite site in Adams Morgan, developer Eastbanc has released more-detailed renderings.

As UrbanTurf reported over the past several months, Eastbanc plans to replace the enclosed surface parking lot adjacent to the Scottish Rite Center at 2800 16th Street NW (map) with a horseshoe-shaped, 90-120 unit apartment complex designed by Grimshaw Architects. The nine-story, matter-of-right project would include a large courtyard sandwiched between the apartments, the Scottish Rite Center and the Unification Church, as well as a rooftop pool overlooking Columbia Road, a ground-floor gym, cafe and lounge. Underground parking with 75-80 parking spaces would span two levels.

In response to neighborhood and ANC concerns about the height and massing of the proposed building, the development team has provided a more in-depth comparison of the building’s height as it relates to others in the immediate area. There are also panoramic views of the site and its surrounding streets from multiple angles, including some which show the proposed building in that context and how the new building’s size will relate to the Scottish Rite temple itself.

The new renderings also show the building materials that Eastbanc would like to use, with a mix of cement- and brick-colored porcelain or artificial stone which reference the temple and other buildings on adjacent streets.

While the updated renderings do satisfy what many community stakeholders wanted to see from Eastbanc, it remains to be seen whether they will be more comfortable supporting the project or will still have concerns about the size and context of the surrounding historical neighborhood, neither of which seems to have appreciably altered the core concept of the plans.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/new_renderings_and_details_for_scottish_rite_apartments/11065.