Rendering courtesy Steuart Investment Co.

Several District officials, including Mayor Vince Gray, were on hand yesterday as the developers of 360º H Street, the 290,000-square-foot mixed use development along H Street NE which will house hundreds of luxury apartments and a new Giant grocery store, broke ground.

The development, located on the north side of the 300 block of H Street, is directly next to a streetcar stop, and local politicians were quick to tout the building as yet another step in the revitalization of the H Street corridor.

“Welcome to one of the hippest streets in America,” Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells told the crowd. The street recently completed a long streetscape project, though the arrival of the streetcars themselves was recently pushed back.

“When private companies like Steuart Investment and Giant break ground on a major new development here, it is further testament to the faith that others have in the economic future of H Street locally and the District of Columbia as a whole,” Gray said in a statement.

After a long negotiation process, during which Steuart attempted to land Harris Teeter, Yes! Organic Market and Trader Joe’s, Giant finally announced that it would anchor the development in November with a massive 42,000-square-foot store; the plans for the project also call for other street-level retail and 215 housing units. Construction is expected to be completed in 2013.