Reply to Are these H St. NE / Capitol Hill houses priced appropriately?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Does anyone know what's going on with these houses at the corner of K ST NE and 2ND ST NE? There's an entire row of boarded up homes overgrown with weeds, in an area where development is popping. They look like they've been abandoned for years.

https://goo.gl/maps/oH3JrhbrbHU1Rr8TA[/quote]

I just noticed these today on my am walk! I’m guessing they were bought by a builder who has dreams of another big condo overlooking the tracks. [/quote]

My understanding (I'm not privy to the details) is that they are locked in a legal battle with some neighborhood NIMBYs. Apparently the organization that bought all of the homes (including a few on K and Parker) wants to build an eight-story building filled with a hundred micro-units (per the above UrbanTurf link and minutes from ANC meetings during the past couple of years). That's as large as nearby block-long developments on a footprint of a half-dozen rowhouses, with no alley access. It's a ridiculous plan, and while this is playing out between lawyers, the developer is just letting the properties fall into disrepair, attracting squatters and vermin and being a general eyesore. Sad.[/quote]

why is it a ridiculous plan?[/quote]

Wild guess:

"That's as large as nearby block-long developments on a footprint of a half-dozen rowhouses, with no alley access."[/quote]

It's an apartment building - so of course it's going to be a relatively small footprint.  That's then entire point of increasing housing - more housing on less land.  As for alley access, why is that important?  I assume the building will be designed in a way that allows entrance and egress as required under the codes.  If it's blocking existing alley access for homeowners, then that's a different matter, but I still don't think the alley access of a handful of residents ought to stand in the way of a building that could house hundreds (including low income set asides).  [/quote]

This is probably the first time I've seen someone on DCUM advocate for tearing down historic single-family homes to build a low-income apartment building. :shock: [/quote]

maybe you should stop hanging around with so many NIMBYs?[/quote]

I live a few blocks away and I agree that it makes sense to use the space for something like what the PP described.  Those houses are perfectly nice but they aren't anything so special that they need to be preserved.  I've heard it described that the city is aiming for a smoother transition between the density of NoMa/downtown and the less dense neighborhoods around H Street, which seems reasonable.

That said, it's not obvious to me that the goal for the building is low-income housing.  This is a couple of blocks from Union Station, so I think they may be aiming for the business on the Hill pied a terre set who are only there part time and need very little space.[/quote]

I think they are looking for a variance, which means the inclusionary zoning regs that require a percentage to be low income would kick in. But I’m not sure. It’s not all low income, agreed. [/quote]

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