14th and U project moving forward

Yesterday, the HPRB approved the general form of the proposed project on the southwest corner of 14th and U. Almost everyone who testified, as well as the HPRB staff and board members, were pleased with the improvements that architect Eric Colbert made to the project since the initial sketches.

The rear of the building, away from 14th Street, is 7 stories on the southern end and 10 on the northern (the U Street end), including a portion that will overhang the historic brick rowhouses on U (first picture below). The front of the building on 14th will replace the ugly non-historic fast-food chains and parking lot (second and third picture) with a mostly three-story front portion as well as two taller towers toward the U Street end.

What disagreement existed revolved around three issues: the size of the building, symmetry in the northern towers, and the curb cut on 14th Street for the parking entrance.

Ramon Estrada of the ANC was most vehement in his opposition to the project’s size, asking for five stories in the south and seven in the north. But he was the only voice strongly pushing for a reduction; the HPRB staff and board agreed that the project as conceived, about the same height as the storage building in the north and an apartment building on T Street in the south, is generally in keeping with the neighborhood. The preservation groups who testified also offered little objection. Chairman Tersh Boasberg pointed out that the board’s “touchstone” is the zoning, which allows for a building of that height. The board can ensure the building is “compatible” with the existing historic district, and the consensus was that it achieved compatibility.

The meeting also achieved an entertaining debate about “balance” or “symmetry” between the two northern towers. The staff report praised the “symmetry” of the southern end and recommended greater “balance” if not actual duplication between the two taller northern towers. But then, Patrick Burkhart of the DC Preservation League actually suggested less symmetry, perhaps a one-story height difference between the two. Anne Lewis came down generally in favor of asymmetry, Calcott clarified that he was asking for “balance” rather than “symmetry,” and everyone had a good laugh about the debate over an issue that in the end is fairly minor.

Finally, the board clearly expressed their disinterest in debating the issue of the curb cut on 14th, which they don’t approve of. Cheryl Cort testified on behalf of the Cardozo-Shaw Neighborhood Association as opposing any parking entrance on 14th Street, while Phyllis Klein, who lives in the alley behind the site, pleaded again to move the parking entrance so that only loading would take place in the alley. Cort argued that removing the Dominos pizza delivery as planned would significantly improve alley traffic.

The curb cut question is in the hands of DDOT now and a traffic study; as I’ve said, I think that the best way to mitigate this concern is by reducing the parking. With less parking, there is less traffic, meaning the alley impact might be reduced if the garage entrance goes in the back. If Klein and others succeed in their efforts to move it to the front, the garage entrance will still harm the street-level appearance and feel of the block, but less parking would at least reduce the pedestrian-vehicle conflicts that result.

Ultimately, the most important issue is that this project should get built. However historically compatible the building will be—and more is better—the ugly fast-food buildings, check cashing, and car dealership are a blight on the otherwise vibrant area. We should build this to bring more retail and residents to a very transit-accessible area, and ensure that the parking lot doesn’t remain so long that it itself would become historic.