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A recent issue of apartment industry publication Multi-Housing News discusses a development about to take shape in the Adams Morgan area. The imposing, nearly century-old, neoclassical First Church of Christ, Scientist building at the corner of Euclid and Columbia streets will be reborn as a mixed-use condominium building. The newly monikered Unity Square Condominiums is a $27.5 million redevelopment, headed by the church, in partnership with Chevy Chase-based First Management Group. The church will retain some worship and community space along with 69 new condominium units, priced from about $450,000. Ten condominiums are planned as affordable units, to be offered to current Adams Morgan residents that qualify under certain income limitations.
According to the November 2005 issue of the InTowner, area residents were initially concerned by rumors that the building would be torn down in order to build a modern-style condominium building. Forty units will occupy the original building, with the remainder slated for a new, five-story addition designed by Maryland architect Berny Hintz to blend in with the historic building. The developer plans to apply for certification under the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program, citing such sustainable building techniques as a green roof, the use of recycled building materials, and environmentally conscious stormwater management techniques.
The church's plans came before the Board of Zoning Adjustment on July 11; construction is scheduled to begin in the fall, with occupancy slated for spring 2008.
Project image from the First Management Group website.
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Wooo, I was getting worried that DC was running out of condos...
Does anyone know if all this supply is mostly driven by demand? It seems 60% of all new construction/remodeling in the city is to make new condos. I know the market is still hot, but jeesh.
Reminds me of a friend's visit to the area a couple of weeks ago. He used to live in the area. As we drove through Rosslyn, he leaned out the windo and started screaming "more condos! build more condos!"
Yeah, is there really demand for this stuff still? The Post has been running stories recently about how some area condo projects are being cancelled or converted to rental units, and that some condo owners are selling and renting instead.
Eh....another overpriced condo to bring gentrifiers in Adams Morgan. That space would've been perfect for a community theatre or some other worthwhile venue, but NO, we instead get another overpriced condo to suck the soul out of this city.
Well Stone, if you have such great ideas for old buildings, why didn't you raise the money to buy the church to turn it into a "community theater" or some such nonsense? I'm sure that a bank would have absolutely no problem giving away loans to people like you to buy an expensive property for community use.
Stone,
Wouldn't living in a condo above a church, that's being run by the church, actually give more soul to the city?
I'm confused.
Yes, yes Sharon and TC. Because the community, of course, has no say in this. It's just about the banks and developers. Everyone else can go f themselves. Heck, why even have planning departments, ANCs, etc. when the requirements and the desires of the community are just getting in the way of the goal of turning every last corner of the city into a suburban milieu of over priced property, bad chain restaurants and shlocky quasi-historic architecture.
And that actually is what I WAS going to comment about before the Sharon and TC made me lose my grip there: why oh why does the new condo building have to be a bad copy of the church. I long for the day when DC understands that bad copies of historic structures don't in anyway improve the historic fabric of the city. In fact, by making it all a pastiche of cut-and-paste periodism -- it seems to enforce the idea that anything old is aesthetically the same. It's a post-modern disaster. Why not show of the beautiful old church by building a more contemporary building behind it? One that used contrast to accentuate the original? Instead of bad arches in fake stucco? Uck.
Stone, what is the "soul" to which you refer? Boarded up, unused buildings? Trash on the streets? Roaming thugs? Were you even here 10 years ago such that you have a clue what Euclid street east of this intersection used to be like? And all these horrible "gentrifiers" that you speak of -- I suppose the city will have no use for their property tax dollars?
I think it's clear that it was okay for there to be available places to live when Stone wanted to move to DC, but now that he's here no one else should be able to move in, since unlike him they would obviously be soulless gentrifiers. As an Adams Morgan resident I agree that a community theater would be great - but just as Been Here suggests, the money for that comes from tax dollars, not from attitudes of moral superiority.
The models seem to show that the developer is actually keeping the historic facade of the building and putting the new section *behind* the old, on the Champlain street elevation.
So yes, there will be some new construction, but at least the builders are trying to make it blend with the rest of the neighborhood, unlike some of the more recent PN Hoffman projects in that area.
And why is it that folks on this site trash new construction so often? Isn't the point of a city to have architectural variety (both in style and in age)? As nice as beaux arts buildings are, I'd be more than happy to have a few more contemporary designs on the streets.
>Isn't the point of a city to have architectural variety
Uh, yeah, but look at all the condo development in town. THEY ALL LOOK THE SAME! (church condo excuded of course). And yes, replacing long-time city residents with surburbanites who DEMAND a Quiznos and a Starbucks on every corner and drives up the rents of local businesses does diminish the "soul" of a city, no matter what you say.
Someone who lives in Petworth, Adams Morgan or Columbia Heights is by definition not a surbanite. Their presence does not diminish the soul of the city, which it turns out is self-regenerative and resilient. Just look at U street, whose business commmunity comprises businesses that are the same as ever, like Ben's, some that have returned after an unfortunate hiatus, like Bohemian Caverns, and some wonderful new ones that are thriving on the influx of resources, like Creme. Perhaps U street has less soul now than it did in 1935. It lost much of that soul, which is sad. But what can be done besides carry on? The net amount of "soul" in U street and 14th street is greater now than the amount that existed 15 years ago, when these areas were barely breathing.
It's up to us to demand more from our government & be active in our communities. Should we wring our hands because change happens? Change was necessary. The new folks moving in bring change that is mostly positive. We had plenty of chain stores (think fast food and convenience stores) before the arrival of these mysterious "suburbanites" who live in the heart of the city & whom you resent so much. For a while, things were changing for the worse. I'm glad those days are over.
If you want more contemporary structures, (which only succeed in the presence of successful traditional buildings and urbanism) why don't you move out to Crystal City, and let the downtown residential neighborhoods remain glass and steel free, please?
Ick.
Almost always looks awful within 5 years. Honestly. You are only allowed to be proud of a contemporary building while it is glistening spanking new. Don't get me wrong, most copyist shlock is bad. Some people do know how to do the right thing well though. We're trying....