Neighborhood Eyesore to be transformed into New Housing
Contact: Sean Madigan, 202-615-2029 (cell); Feras Sleiman, 202-251-8829 (cell)
(Washington, DC) – Mayor Adrian M. Fenty today joined Councilmember Muriel Bowser (Ward 4) and residents of the Brightwood neighborhood for a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the beginning of renovations for a mixed-income housing project at 6425 14th Street, NW. The District partnered with Blue Skye Development to transform the vacant property into a new apartment building, eliminating a blight on the Brightwood neighborhood.
“The era of decaying conditions and neglectful ownership of this property has come to an end,” said Mayor Fenty. “Today’s groundbreaking marks an important step toward welcoming more residents to this community through affordable housing and continuing our revitalization efforts up and down 14th Street,” said Mayor Fenty.
The total cost of the 6425 14th Street, NW redevelopment will be $4.6 million. Blue Sky Development was selected as the District’s development partner last year through a competitive solicitation process initiated last year. Upon completion of interior and exterior renovations, the property will feature 26 apartments, 14 of which will be reserved as affordable housing.
Additional amenities will include a community room, roof deck, energy-efficient aluminum windows, and an elevator. The project will also include single-space parking garages on the ground level as well as outdoor spaces directly behind the building. The District expects the redevelopment of the property to be complete by March 2010.
Built in the 1950s, the four-story, 29,856 square-foot building had previously been vacant since the 1980s. The District purchased the property for $3 million in the spring of 2008 from disgraced landlord Vincent Abell, against whom the District filed suit in April 2008 for numerous building code violations.
For more information on various development projects in the District, visit the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development website: dcbiz.dc.gov and the Development Blog at dcdevelopment.typepad.com.