Tire Shop to Make Way For 31-Unit Development on Benning Road

• December 6, 2016
• 2 Comments

by Nena Perry-Brown

UrbanTurf briefly reported on S2 Development’s planned redevelopment of a tire shop at 2101 Benning Road NE (map) in our east of H Street development rundown.

Now, the developer has submitted its redevelopment plans to the Board of Zoning Adjustment for a five-story building with penthouse and cellar levels, delivering a total of 31 residential units. There will be six efficiencies, 12 one-bedrooms and 11 two-bedrooms, along with a couple two-bedrooms with private roof decks in the penthouse.

Bennett Frank McCarthy Architects is designing the walk-up building, which, at a proposed 52 feet and 11 inches, exceeds the site’s height restrictions; the developer is also seeking relief from setback requirements.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/s2_development_submits_plans_to_bza_for_31_units_on_benning_road/11949

2 Comments

1. LionOfLeDroit said at 12:33 pm on Tuesday December 6, 2016:

   (1) Overall aesthetic is circa-1980s low-end apt building

   (2) Multi-unit buildings along H Street/Benning should incorporate ground-floor retail, in order to create and maintain a vibrant east-west commercial corridor.

   Come on guys, you can do better.

1. skidrowedc@gmail.com said at 6:30 pm on Tuesday December 6, 2016:

   Umm, Lion of LeDroit, the appearance isn’t 1980’s cheap—it’s Miami Beach circa 1936 cheap!  Which does have a certain fabulosity nowadays, although it’s an eccentric choice for Washington. I guess the idea is to pick up on the Carver House development across the street, which is from the 1930’s and has whispers of Art Deco?  In any case, materials would be my worry: the original, in Miami Beach, is stucco over concrete with single-pane steel windows.  That works okay in that climate, but here in DC, that combo would never work. It’s not clear how the aesthetic can be achieved with appropriate materials.  So probably not the best choice of stylistic motifs.

   Agreed about the retail, but this far east—with a windowless Verizon building on one side, some struggling small-scale retail on the other, and the Carver Houses sweep of lawn across the street, it’s hard to see this as more than a marginal site for retail.