The People’s Choice: Developer Chosen For H Street Library Site

• January 25, 2013
• 4 Comments

by Shilpi Paul

1300 H Street NE, currently. Photo courtesy of NCinDC.

Last October, UrbanTurf reported on the six proposals being considered for the redevelopment of an increasingly prime piece of real estate — the site of the R.L. Christian Library at 1300 H Street NE.

After putting out a request for proposals (RFP) to develop the site, the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED) spent the fall considering the options, all of which contained residential and retail aspects. As the RFP had requested community-serving features, proposals included public space, local business incubators, an art gallery and a police substation. (Check our previous article for the details.)

The winning proposal.

The winner? The submission from Fundrise and H Street Community Development Corporation, which includes a 30-unit condo building along with a large retail component that would include a local food market, a retail incubator for ten local merchants, and investment through Fundrise’s crowdfunding system. Six of the 30 units will be kept affordable for artists and social entrepreneurs.

As stated in a press release from Fundrise, they believe that the community investment model helped their proposal stand out.

Our readers seem to have the same taste as DMPED: in a poll comparing the six choices, the Fundrise and H Street CDC option also came out on top.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/the_peoples_choice_developer_chosen_for_h_street_library_site/6567

4 Comments

1. Laura said at 7:28 pm on Friday January 25, 2013:
   While I appreciate all the work being done to H street, I had high hopes for that building to keep its architectural integrity. It's really quite a cool space and I love the architecture. It's too bad it will be torn down to make room for the typical condo/retail building. I hope the shops will all be local retailers.

1. Jim said at 7:39 pm on Friday January 25, 2013:
   Fundrise's financials and "crowdfunding" accuracy are still vaporware until they are publicly audited. Has any public project paid off yet? Have the management fees been disclosed? Are the property developers 3rd party arms length, or in house? Are the investors tiered? Until someone dives a little more deeply into the honesty and integrity of Fundrise and it's management Westmill Capital, this is no better than a get rich quick scam and the DMPED knows it.

1. anon said at 7:44 pm on Friday January 25, 2013:
   how could anyone want to keep that cool space and call that building architecture... it's a sign of unimaginative concrete municipal buildings and an eyesore.

1. larry said at 11:00 pm on Friday January 25, 2013:
   Laura - If that's you're idea of cool architecture worthy of preservation I would kindly ask that you never apply for a job in urban planning!