The 12 New Developments Bursting from DC's Starburst Intersection

• September 23rd 2020

by Nena Perry-Brown

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There was a time a few years that development along DC's H Street Corridor seemed omnipresent. Now, development on this stretch has slowed as the pipeline ramps up on the other side of the Starburst intersection, along with efforts to complement that pipeline.

This year's budget allocation for the streetcar extension down Benning Road was the source of much hand-wringing, but the design process remains on (a delayed) track. The local Advisory Neighborhood Commission is also working on a map amendment that could shape development east of the Starburst intersection with an upzoning along Bladensburg Road and what could be the city's first use of its RF-4 zone effectively down-zoning the abutting neighborhood (the Zoning Commission is expected to vote on the matter next month).

Today, UrbanTurf turns our attention to what residential developments are still in the works north and east of the Starburst intersection. 

In case you missed them, here are the other neighborhoods we have covered this year:

• In Progress or On Hold: The 6,300 Unit Rundown from Brookland to Langdon
• The Over 4,500 Units Slated for Southwest DC
• Amazon Cometh: The 7,000 Units on the Boards Between Pentagon City and Potomac Yard
• The 1,000 Residential Units Delivering in Buzzard Point This Year
• The 1,500 Residential Units in the Works Between Walter Reed and Historic Takoma
• The 3,000 (or so) Units That May or May Not Be Slated for Anacostia and Skyland
• The Over 3,800 Residential Units Slated to Remake Rosslyn
• The 275 Units (Possibly) On the Boards For Georgetown
• 350 Units, Three Office Properties and the Water Buildings: The Wharf, Part II
• The 5,400 Units on the Boards for Downtown Bethesda
• The 2,000 Units on the Boards For AU Park and Tenleytown
• The Stops, Starts, and Stutters in the Navy Yard Residential Pipeline
• The 1,750 Units Delivering East of South Capitol This Year
• A Woonerf, a Whole Foods, and 870 Units: The Residences Delivering In and Around Shaw This Year
• The 230 Units on the Boards in Adams Morgan
• From Martha’s Table to Barrel House: The 330 Units Slated for 14th Street
• The 440 Units Delivering Along H Street in 2020

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1447 Maryland Avenue

The owner of the mixed-use building at 1447 Maryland Avenue NE (map) has applied for a special exception to add two stories and deliver nine apartments above 1,548 square feet of retail. As proposed, the walk-up building would deliver six one-bedroom units on the cellar and second floors, three bi-level two-bedrooms with private rooftop terraces, and no parking. 2Plys is the architect; a zoning hearing is scheduled for December.

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Hechinger Mall Redevelopment

Developers MRP Realty and JM Zell went under contract to purchase the 40 year-old shopping center at Hechinger Mall a year ago; the public is still awaiting details on what could be in the works. The 190,000 square foot site is located at 1501 Maryland Avenue NE (map).

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The Valaere

Aside from environmental testing, very little has happened at the Trinidad Baptist Church at 1611 Benning Road NE (map) since the conclusion of the "Carne y Arena" pop up gallery. Valor Development went from proposing a nine-story, 306-unit development to a seven-story, 257-unit building, then withdrew a map amendment application to await the city's Comprehensive Plan amendments. We will see what happens after the DC Council begins considering those amendments this fall.

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1701 H St NE

Despite a victory in appellate court in 2019, Capital City Real Estate sold the site of its 180-unit planned-unit development (PUD) to Grubb Properties earlier this year. The new developer plans to move forward with the project, which will also deliver nearly 15,000 square feet of ground-floor retail to 1701 H St NE (map). The WDG Architecture-designed project will include about six units each for households earning up to 50% and 80% of area median income (AMI), and the building will also have 45 below-grade parking spaces. The developer hopes to file for building permits next month and break ground in February.

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Fortitude at Delta Towers

While senior housing has already delivered down the street at 1164 Bladensburg Road NE, the second phase of Delta Towers is nearing completion at 808 Bladensburg Road NE (map). The 11-story building will deliver 179 units for people aged 55 and older, along with 4,300 square feet of ground-floor retail. The units will be affordable to households earning up to 30% of AMI, and 18 of the units will be set aside as permanent supportive housing. Gilbane Development Company, Dantes Partners, and Delta Housing Corporation led the development; KGD Architecture is the designer.

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Union Heights

Move-ins are beginning on a rolling basis at the second phase of the Flats at Atlas at 1676 Maryland Avenue NE (map). The five-story building contains 325 studio to two-bedroom units, and amenities include two interior courtyards, a pool, and a club room. Kettler and Westbrook Partners are the developers and Dwell Design Studio is the architect.

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The View at 17

Sales are underway for 47 condos at 1020 17th Place NE (map), a four story-plus-penthouse building that replaced rowhouses on the block. The units have already begun delivering and some have private outdoor space. The project also includes seven surface parking spaces and 15 bicycle spaces. McWilliams|Ballard is administering sales; prices start in the low $200s and there are also units subject to inclusionary zoning (IZ). Square 134 Architects is the designer. 

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1801-1809 Maryland Avenue

This May, developers Jared Kahn and Anthony Williams and Gallaudet real estate director Sam Swiller shared plans to file a map amendment for the six-unit properties at 1801, 1805 and 1809 Maryland Avenue NE (map). The proposed amendment would rezone the sites from MU-7 and RA-2 to RA-4, permitting an apartment building up to 90 feet tall with roughly 57 units.

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The Jacob

Delivery is on the horizon for the six-story, 31-unit apartment building at 633 21st Street NE (map). The unit mix for the S2 Development project will range from studios to three-bedrooms; some of the units are subject to IZ. Bennett Frank McCarthy Architects is the design architect, and Anna Kahoe designed the interiors. 

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1200 Bladensburg Road

Urbanico Realty Group filed for building permits last year for this striking building planned to replace the tire shop at 1200 Bladensburg Road NE (map). The project will have 37 studio to two-bedroom apartments above a coffee shop or restaurant. Five of the units will be for households earning up to 80% of AMI and another one bedroom will be for a household earning up to 50% of AMI. Bonstra Haresign is the executive architect and Kurv Architecture's Karim Rashid is the design architect.

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1214 Bladensburg Road

Urbanico Realty Group is also the contract purchaser next door at 1214-1216 Bladensburg Road NE (map), where raze permits were filed this spring. The proposed development is expected to deliver 41 for-sale residential units across four stories, a habitable cellar, and a penthouse; five of the units will be set aside as IZ. Amenities will include a fitness center, and the project will forgo parking, instead providing 14 bicycle spaces and giving each unit buyer a Smartrip preloaded with $100 and either up to three years of a Capital Bikeshare membership or a one-time carshare membership. Gal Bouskila and Bonstra|Haresign Architects designed the building.

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South Stone

South Stone is a collection of 16 two bedroom and two bedroom plus den homes coming to 1654 K Street NE this fall. The interior of the homes are outfitted beautifully with selections by the design team at ADG. The project is being developed by RLP Investments and McWilliams|Ballard is managing the sales. Pricing starts in the high $400,000s.

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1249 Bladensburg Road

Details are scarce, but the church at 1249 Bladensburg Road NE (map) has been razed to be replaced with a four-story, 20-unit building.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/the-residential-developments-bursting-from-the-starburst-intersection/17318.