Last week, Washington, D.C.-based Level 2 Development filed a Planned Unit Development (PUD) proposal with that city’s Zoning Commission for The Highline at Union Market, a 227,089-sf mixed-use building that will include 315 apartments and 8,472 sf of street-level retail.
It’s no accident that the word “Highline” is in this project’s name. The goal of this developer, according to its principal David Franco, is for the building to be a kind of gateway into the larger redevelopment of the surrounding neighborhood to resemble New York’s City’s trendy downtown Meatpacking District, through which runs a portion the High Line elevated park.
Level 2’s apartment building is located a block from D.C.’s NoMa/Gallaudet Red Line Metro Station, which since opening in 2004 has been the impetus for development.
Franco told The Washington Post that he sees The Highline at Union Market as “the front door” of the Union Market District, which he speculates could become a mecca for “specialty retail, artisanal food, dining, and entertainment.”
Getting people interested in living in or near this neighborhood appears to be a significant part of the redevelopment plan. Edens Realty, which is transforming the upscale shopping center Union Market, has submitted a PUD for a nearby 520-unit apartment building that Level 2 would be responsible for developing and completing.
The Highline at Union Market, designed by the architectural firm Eric Colbert & Associates, attempts to create a stylish yet industrial look with the appearance of rail car-looking boxes stacked on top of which other, albeit with different, seemingly random setbacks.
The apartments within range from 400 to 1,000 sf, with some premium units available. Franco tells BD+C that a zoning change is required in order to get the density that Level 2 wants from this building.
A hearing by the Zoning Commission is likely to occur next month, with public hearings to follow this summer. If all goes well, Franco says construction could begin in the third quarter of 2016.
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
First CityCenter projects earn LEED Gold
CityCenter announced today that it has received three Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design LEED Gold certifications from the U.S. Green Building Council for: 1) ARIA Resort's hotel tower; 2) ARIA Resort's convention center and theater; 3) Vdara Hotel. ARIA and Vdara will open in December on the Las Vegas Strip and are the first of CityCenter's developments to be LEED certified.
| Aug 11, 2010
Oldcastle Precast Building Systems wins PCI 2009 Sustainable Design Award
Oldcastle Precast Building Systems was part of the award winning team behind the affordable housing development Melrose Commons Site 5 situated in the South Bronx. PCI (Precast Concrete Institute) recently selected Melrose 5 for the “2009 PCI Design Award for Best Sustainable Project”.
| Aug 11, 2010
National Intrepid Center of Excellence tops out at Walter Reed
SmithGroup and The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund (IFHF), a non-profit organization supporting the men and women of the United States Armed Forces and their families, celebrated the overall structural completion of the National Intrepid Center of Excellence (NICoE), an advanced facility dedicated to research, diagnosis and treatment of military personnel and veterans suffering from traumatic brain injury.
| Aug 11, 2010
USGBC honors Brad Pitt's Make It Right New Orleans as the ‘largest and greenest single-family community in the world’
U.S. Green Building Council President, CEO and Founding Chair Rick Fedrizzi today declared that the neighborhood being built by Make It Right New Orleans, the post-Katrina housing initiative launched by actor Brad Pitt, is the “largest and greenest community of single-family homes in the world” at the annual Clinton Global Initiative meeting in New York.
| Aug 11, 2010
Trump luxury condos in Jersey City get more luxurious
Only two years after opening, Jersey City-based Trump Plaza Residences is getting a facelift. Interior designer Benjamin Noriega-Ortiz of BNOdesign has been commissioned to create a fresh design for the residential tower's entrance and outdoor pool, cabana, and lawn spaces. Renovations on the 55-story, 443-unit luxury high-rise will be completed in two phases.
| Aug 11, 2010
Apartments offer skyline view of Houston
Perched atop a hill near downtown Houston, the Gables Memorial Hills residential tower will rise to eight stories and cover 2.68 acres. With an average unit size of 965 sf, the brick and cast-stone complex will consist of 70% one-bedroom units and 30% two-bedroom units, some of which overlook downtown.
| Aug 11, 2010
Sustainable features central to independent-living building
Architecture firm Perkins Eastman, together with Saint Johns on the Lake retirement community, plans to open a 21-story, 88-unit independent-living building for seniors by mid 2011. When the $46-million project is complete, it will offer residents a streetside café, art gallery, spa and wellness center, classroom, and community performance space.
| Aug 11, 2010
Historic building to be restored in Kansas City
Construction has begun on the conversion of the historic 17-story Home Savings Association building in Kansas City, Mo. The transformed structure, to be known as Grand Boulevard Lofts, will house 134 apartment units. The $18-million project, designed by architect Rosemann & Associates, follows a revitalization of downtown Kansas City, where there is high demand for affordable housing to ser...
| Aug 11, 2010
Old factory converted from hearth to home
A former briquette factory in Cologne-Frechen, Germany, was converted into a mixed-use building by Astoc Architects & Planners, Cologne, in association with Rheinischen Amt für Denkmalpflege—the Rhenish agency for historic preservation. The roughly 172,200-sf building includes a mix of residential condominiums, lofts, and leased commercial space.
| Aug 11, 2010
And the world's tallest building is…
At more than 2,600 feet high, the Burj Dubai (right) can still lay claim to the title of world's tallest building—although like all other super-tall buildings, its exact height will have to be recalculated now that the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) announced a change to its height criteria.