Plans Filed for Ward 6 Homeless Shelter Reveal Bold Design

• January 4, 2017
• 4 Comments

by Nena Perry-Brown

A rendering of the planned Delaware Avenue emergency shelter

While a planned replacement homeless shelter in Ward 3 faces community opposition, another in Southwest strikes UrbanTurf as an architecturally-impactful enhancement to the neighborhood.

Plans were filed this morning with the Board of Zoning Adjustment for a family shelter at 850 Delaware Avenue SW (map). The Unity Health Care center currently on the site would be razed to make way for a 50-unit emergency shelter; a nearly 8,000 square-foot healthcare center would return to the ground and cellar floors upon completion.

The shelter as seen from I Street SW

The seven-story building, designed by Studio 27 Architecture and Leo A. Daly, will contain 2-4 bed units and amenities such as outdoor play areas on floors two through seven. A surface lot would also provide parking for 13 vehicles.

The aesthetically-harmonious Randall School planned-unit development is also in the works for the adjacent site.

Located in Ward 6, this shelter is part of Mayor Bowser’s plan to replace the oversized and inadequate DC General shelter with smaller properties in seven of the city’s wards.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/plans_filed_for_a_shelter_that_looks_like_anything_but/12018

4 Comments

1. Nathaniel Martin said at 9:03 pm on Wednesday January 4, 2017:
   A very elegant design, though the I Street facade, which will be the most visible, looks more like what I'd expect to see as the back of the building. Perhaps that facade can be tweaked to give it more depth and interest.

1. Jay said at 12:21 am on Thursday January 5, 2017:
   It's already dated and out of place. Again--architects keep coming up with the same unoriginal crap that harkens back to urban renewal projects of the 50's and 60's that look so dated now. It's a niche design that doesn't have broad appeal.

1. Cara Lea Shockley said at 8:47 pm on Thursday January 5, 2017:
   @Jay -- the neighborhood is part of the urban renewal of the 50s and 60s which is why we welcome a building that fits in with the prevailing aesthetic. @Nathaniel Martin -- The I Street facade is intended as the entrance for the health clinic with the main entrance on Delaware Avenue. The current building's entrance is on Delaware, too.

1. Ronald said at 5:24 am on Monday January 9, 2017:
   Who is we? The thing is dated and horrible. Also, when did ANCs become such knowitalls? Get a real job.