Never Say Never: Renderings at Last for 18th & Washington
After nearly 15 years of mystery, we finally have a visual for this 18-unit building
There are few corners in the city that have been more mysterious over the years than the NE corner of 18th & Washington. After serving various industrial functions during the corridor’s rail-heavy period during the early 20th Century, the building had more recently been operating as a window and door showroom as recently as 2017, before the rather non-descript building was demolished to make way for a previous proposal that never came to be.
The site had remained in a state of limbo since then, with zoning approval and site work slowly moving ahead - surprisingly with plenty of steel to boot. We had bits and pieces of info, with permits stating that an 18-unit, four-story building designed by HDO Architecture would be rising on the site. But beyond that, we had next to nothing to work on. Until today, that is, when researching a different project led us to a rather shocking find.
What you see there, folks, is the very first rendering we’ve seen for this project after years and years of looking. The approach here will break up the building by placing a modern, geometric massing with plenty of windows on the corner, with a more traditional facade along 18th St., along with parking access. A 5K sqft commercial space will be included along the first floor, which will also have dedicated parking in the garage. It looks as though gray brick will be predominantly featured, with a dark mansard roof adding some old school character on the west-facing facade. Eight street trees will also be included per the rendering, adding some much-needed greenery to this concrete heavy stretch.
And speaking of this stretch, it is truly amazing how much things have changed - and how much they could potentially change close by. With the west side of Washington Ave. changing more and more by the day, it is comforting to at least have a bit of certainty here.
The mansard roof is a nice touch, breaking up the mass of grey brick. The trees must be kept healthy!
Great project. I'll take a curb cut on 18th St. over one on Washington Ave. any day. Steel is an impressive building material for a four story structure. Large west and south facing windows will flood the units with light. Balconies too. The massing is pleasingly broken up by the two different design styles.
HDO Architecture has advanced considerably since the days when it was known as Harman Deutsch Architecture.
Recent large scale mixed-use residential development on the north side of Washington Avenue west of Broad St. includes the 1400, 1700, 2100, 2200, 2400, and 2500 blocks. The south side has only a 2300 block, street and people deadening "Extra Space Storage" facility.
Graduate Hospital welcomes new residents.
Point Breeze denizens and their Registered Community Organization want only commercial job-generating development. The neighborhood continues to actively oppose residential construction, a stance supported by their representative, 2nd District Councilman Kenyatta Johnson.