You may have seen U Street’s new Ellington apartment building written up in the Post last weekend. The building, located across from the U Street-African American Civil War Memorial-Cardozo Metro stop was formerly the site of a commuter parking lot. Today, it’s festooned in neon lights, and the subject of an intense marketing effort to brand the development as a hip place “where urban life begins.” From the Post article:

“[The lounge] has the same comfort as my apartment,” said Marshall. “I actually fell asleep down there [once], and woke up at 3 a.m. That shows, to me, how safe it is, because I’m someone who’s always on guard.” …

The foyer is shiny and stylish, with a lot of gray and blue shades and angular furniture. At first, that was a bit intimidating, said Lee, especially when she left to run errands in her pajama pants and had to walk through what she called a “fancy building.”

Now, however, she said, “I feel a little more sophisticated and post-modern than I did before.” …

While DCist is pleased to see dense infill development near transit, there seems to be something going on here the Post is missing: gentrification. If the building were around when the Duke himself was performing on D.C.’s Black Broadway, would he live there? More importantly, how exactly does a building make you feel post-modern?

Marketing the building has generated its fair share of local controversy. When the Ellington’s renderings were advertised, the metrorail station pylon had something missing, part of the official name of the U Street station … African American Civil War Memorial. The City Paper pointed out the oversight a few months ago, and the full name, which is a mouthful, was added to the renderings.