Washington City Paper by Andrew Giambrone
Family-sized units and familiar developer names mark the eight proposals the District is considering for the site of the old Temple Courts complex at North Capitol Street and K Street NW.
Teams consisting of big-player developers and nonprofit groups presented their plans for mixed-income projects to residents over the weekend. Walker-Jones Education Campus, located a few blocks west of the site, hosted the presentations.
Torn down in 2008 as part of the city's New Communities Initiative, Temple Courts once housed more than 200 low-income families in the heart of D.C. The city placed many of those families in apartments nearby, but some have shuffled between public housing projects or died. The former complex is currently a surface parking lot, and has been for several years. Former tenants of Temple Courts and their advocates have called for development that will allow those who wish to move back to the site to do just that.
All of the proposals on the table include at least 211 replacement units for those lost when Temple Courts was demolished. These units would be set aside for residents who earn up to 30 percent of the area median income, or less than $32,600 annually for a family of four. Former Temple Courts residents have had a say in the site's redevelopment so far, and officials say they will continue to.
The office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development says it will likely choose a winning project in June. The proposals follow DMPED's solicitation for the 3.5-acre site last year. Launched more than a decade ago, NCI is designed to replace D.C.'s distressed public housing.
Below are summaries of each proposal and links to the development teams' recent presentations.
1) W.C. Smith, The NHP Foundation, The Warrenton Group, Torti Gallas Urban, Spectrum Management
Highlights: Three residential buildings with ground-floor retail as well as educational and fitness programs. Of 945 total units, 331 would be affordable and 614 market-rate. W.C. Smith and the Warrenton Group built 2M Street, a mixed-income project that partially replaced Temple Courts.
2) Monument Realty, Community Housing Partners
Highlights: Three buildings. Two would contain 442 affordable rental units up to four-bedrooms large and one would contain 167 for-sale units up to three-bedrooms large. Of the for-sale units, 147 would be market-rate. The site would feature corner retail, a new dog park, a central public plaza, and a "Knowledge, Innovation, & Technology Center."
3) Pennrose Properties, Republic Properties, The C.A. Harrison Companies, Mount Airy Baptist Church
Highlights: Roughly 1,100 residential units, of which 55 percent would be affordable and the rest market rate. Mount Airy Baptist Church, located across the street from the site to the north, would help provide child- and elder-care, and get an additional building to feature senior housing on the corner of North Capitol Street and L Street NW. Nonprofit DC Central Kitchen would run a culinary school amid retail. The plan includes an option for a 150-key hotel at North Capitol and K streets.
Highlights: The project would contain more than 600 residential units, including 211 replacement units up to four-bedrooms large for Temple Courts, 173 units of workforce-housing, and 75 senior units. It would also feature more than 20,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and four buildings.
Highlights: Almost 700 residential units, of which 40 percent would be affordable. Apple Tree Charter School would open a location on site. There would be 29,000 square feet of open space and 37,000 square feet of retail as well as four buildings.
6) MRP Realty, CSG Urban Partners
Highlights: More than 800 residential units, 30 percent of which would be affordable and feature sizes appropriate for families. About 56,000 square feet of retail space. The development would feature 22 units of permanent supportive housing for residents transitioning out of homelessness.
7) Brinshore, Banc of America CDC, Bozzuto, Triology, Hickok Cole
Highlights: 605 housing units and more than 23,000 square feet of retail. Half of the units would be two- to four-bedrooms and 64 percent would be affordable. Plan would unfold in four phases.
8) Donatelli Development, Gonzaga College High School, Paramount Development
Highlights: More than 400 residential units across three buildings as well as retail and recreational spaces. Residents and Gonzaga, a Jesuit school just south of the site, would get to use the latter.