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Gallaudet's Big Plans, 16 Acres Off New York Ave: The Residential Pipeline From Trinidad to Ivy City

  • June 16th 2021

by Nena Perry-Brown

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Five years after a large mixed-use development was initially approved, Gallaudet University is moving forward with its massive plans for six acres of its campus — and that isn't the only long-delayed project east of Union Market that's getting some traction. 

Below, UrbanTurf takes a look at what is on the boards for the Gallaudet project thus far, along with some other developments in the works in nearby Trinidad and Ivy City.

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


Gallaudet/JBG Development

Last summer, Gallaudet University and JBG SMITH filed a second stage PUD application for the first phase of development on the university's land on either side of 6th Street between Morse Street and Neal Place NE (map)

The completed PUD is expected to deliver over 450,000 square feet of office and administrative space, 129,000 square feet of retail, and up to 1,769 residential units; over 77,000 square feet of the residential space will be set aside as Inclusionary Zoning (IZ) units. Future Green Studio is the landscape architect and Hall McKnight is a consulting architect on the entire development, which is meant to incorporate DeafSpace design principles

At least 10,000 square feet of retail would be set aside as makerspace rented at 10% below market rate for qualified tenants, and another 5,000 square feet of retail will be rented to vendor(s) who are deaf or hard of hearing.

First up are plans for Parcels 2 and 3, for which Future Green Studio is the landscape architect, Eric Colbert & Associates is the architect of record; second-stage PUD applications are due for Parcels 1 and 4 by the end of March 2027.

The Zoning Commission set down the application last week for what will likely be multiple hearings for a modification of the first-stage PUD and the second-stage PUD proposals below. 

  • Parcel 2

Parcel 2 will contain two buildings delivering a total of 236 residential units, nearly 25,000 square feet of retail and over 15,000 square feet for university use. Specifically, the 2A building would have 160 units, 18,421 square feet of retail, and 11,350 square feet for university use, and the 2B building would have 76 units, 6,440 square feet of retail, and 4,099 square feet for university use.

Thirty-two of the units will be IZ for households earning up to 50% and 80% of median family income (MFI), and there will also be 201 below-grade vehicular and 121 bicycle parking spaces. Olson Kundig Architects is the designer. 

A "Creativity Way" will be built between Parcel 2 and the existing Faculty Row. It will have interactive experiences and "flexible creative and incubator space, including knowledge studios highlighting deaf culture, ASL language learning, and bilingual interactives," as described by the application. 

  • Parcel 3

Parcel 3 will deliver up to 600 residential units, 42,858 square feet of retail, and 321 vehicular and 242 bicycle parking spaces. The building will also include 72 IZ units for households earning up to 50% and 80% of MFI. A previous request for the option to convert some of the residential space to other uses has been rescinded. Morris Adjmi Architects is the designer. 


1020 Florida Avenue NE

ERB Properties got a raze permit for the townhouse at 1020 Florida Avenue NE (map) at the beginning of the year, setting the stage for a four-story development with 10 units. The unit mix will be two-bedrooms; one of the units will be IZ. Teass|Warren is the architect.


818 Bladensburg Road NE

Construction recently kicked off for a five-story development on the former church site at 818 Bladensburg Road NE (map). The project will deliver 32 for-sale units, most of which will be two-bedrooms up to 850 square feet each. Acumen Cos is the developer and PGN Architects is the designer.

Note: This entry was added after publication.


1200 Bladensburg Road

Building permits are under review for the 37-unit development planned to replace the tire shop at 1200 Bladensburg Road NE (map). The project will also have a ground-floor coffee shop or restaurant, and the unit mix will span from studios to two-bedrooms. 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. Urbanico Realty Group is the developer, Bonstra Haresign is the executive architect, and Kurv Architecture's Karim Rashid is the design architect.


1214 Bladensburg Road

Next door at 1214-1216 Bladensburg Road NE (map), Urbanico Realty Group recently secured building permits for another 41 units. The four-story development will be for-sale, and five will be set aside as IZ. Amenities will include a fitness center, and rather than providing parking, the building will have 14 bicycle spaces and each buyer will get a pre-loaded Smartrip preloaded 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.


ProFish Redevelopment

Between a lack of amended land use designation in the new Comp Plan and (long overdue) proposed funding for a community center, mixed-use development looks in doubt at the Crummell School site. On the same block, however, OceanPro Properties, part of the team initially granted development rights for Crummell School, is looking to redevelop its ProFish warehouse. 

Earlier this spring, the property owner previewed plans to replace the warehouse at 1900 Fenwick Street NE (map) with an 80 foot-tall, 123-unit building. Each of the apartments would have a balcony, and the development would have retail and makerspace on the ground-floor and part of the second floor, along with 80 below-grade parking spaces. PGN Architects is the designer.

The unit mix will include three-bedroom units, and there would be roughly 12-16 inclusionary zoning units affordable to households earning up to 60% of MFI. The project will require a PUD application with a map amendment to rezone the site from PDR-1 (production, distribution and repair) to MU-7 (medium-density mixed-use). 


New City

Last September, the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) applied for a Section 108 loan guarantee from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for this long-rumored Ivy City development, the first time in recent memory the agency has sought this backing. The Section 108 fund was approved in February, although it isn't clear how much of the monies will go to this Douglas Development project.

New City encompasses the 16 acres between New York and Montana Avenues off Bladensburg Road NE (map) (minus a triangular lot at New York Avenue and Bladensburg Road NE that was sold off). The development is expected to deliver nine buildings that would include a 150,000 square-foot grocery store, 859 residential units, 210 hotel rooms, 45,600 square feet of office space, and another 149,740 square feet of retail.

Twenty percent of the residential units would be affordable: 25% for households earning up to 50% of MFI and the remainder for households earning up to 80% of MFI. Per a building permit issued in October, the first phase will be a six-story building with 212 studio apartments and 74 parking spaces.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/the-residential-pipeline-from-trinidad-to-ivy-city/18390.

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