Plans Abandoned for Arts-Inclusive Virgin Hotel in Union Market

• June 29, 2020

by Nena Perry-Brown

Nearly five years after an arts-focused boutique hotel was proposed next to Union Market, the development team has decided to take a different approach for the site.

In 2016, a team led by D.B. Lee Development and Brook Rose Development received zoning approval to incorporate the industrial building at 411 New York Avenue NE (map) into an 11-story, 178-room hotel with arts and maker spaces. Now, the developers have filed an application to extinguish the planned-unit development (PUD). Virgin Hotels had been identified as the brand for the hotel; the company backed out in January, citing financing issues.

It is unclear what is next for the former Union Arts building, although it seems the hotel as previously proposed is no longer on the table. The application only discloses that "the Applicant has decided to pursue alternative development opportunities for the Property." 

Via a partnership with CulturalDC, the hotel was meant to deliver more than 4,300 square feet of art studios, classrooms, and gallery space, along with nine individual artist spaces on the first and second floors. Amenities would have included a restaurant above the hotel lobby, a restaurant/gallery on the 11th floor, and a rooftop with a lounge, pool, and bar. BBGM was the architect.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/plans-abandoned-for-arts-inclusive-virgin-hotel-in-union-market/17006