LaKritz Adler, who is bidding to purchase a parcel of land from WMATA at 800 Florida Avenue NW, would develop a 180,000-square-foot hotel and conference center on the site, plus what they promise as “a prominent freestanding restaurant with live entertainment at the corner of 9th and U.”

Lydia DePillis pointed us to the rendering of the hotel and conference space, and we’ve got to admit, it’s underwhelming. To this editor, it looks like someone spent a little too much time staring at the Reeves Center down the street, as that’s the first thing that pops into mind when I look at the glass-enclosed atrium.

Bids for the space must be submitted by October 22. You may recall that Banneker Ventures — whose chief executive, Omar Karim, gained a reputation as one of Mayor Adrian Fenty’s “cronies” as a key player in the Parks and Rec contracting scandal — was selected by Metro to develop a residential complex on the site earlier this year, but the two sides couldn’t reach a final agreement on terms. (Karim claims that the deal was torpedoed by Jim Graham, who denied those claims.)