Randall PUD Revisions Submitted

Now that Lowe Enterprises has been brought on as a developer partner in the redevelopment of Randall School on I Street to a mixed-use project, revisions have been made to the previously approved (and recently extended) PUD. One major change to the previous PUD is the removal of an annex building for the museum, which results in a larger courtyard separating the historic Randall School building and the proposed apartments. In addition, the design of the apartment building has been revised to further open up the courtyard – a portion of the wings of the apartment building was pulled away from the historic building. The courtyard will be open during the day and closed at night with gates. 

West view of courtyard

The east and central buildings will contain an approximately 32,000 SF modern art museum. The museum entrance has been shifted to the east building, which will allow the center building to be fully restored. Originally, a restaurant was planned in the east building’s auditorium, but instead this space will contain museum space with larger pieces of art, as well as ancillary retail (café, bookstore, gift shop). A mix of commercial, retail, and non-profit uses are still planned in the west building, but a mezzanine level will be added to increase the amount of usable space. 

Museum entrance moved to east building

Meanwhile, the residential entrance will now be in the center of the apartment building on H Street. The number of units have been reduced from 520 to 489 units. While the number of units have been reduced, the percentage of units set aside as affordable will remain – 20% of the units will be set aside as affordable to households earning up to 80% of Area Median Income. Most of the units will be apartments, but a portion may be built as condos. The parking garage entrance has been moved to the northeast corner and a total of 301 spaces are planned. The ground floor of the apartment building might include retail/service uses and two-level units might be created. Penthouse configuration and trellis placement are also changing slightly. The Bing Thom-designed apartment building has been refined by Beyer Blindle Belle, simplifying the façade to allow balconies and to further distinguish the historic Randall buildings from the new construction.

Former design 

Current design

If approved, abatement of the historic buildings are expected to start in late 2018, then demolition of the non-historic portion, which would likely put the start of construction in 2020. 

Renderings courtesy of Lowe Enterprises

Revised PUD for Randall School Submitted

At long last, a revised PUD application for the Randall School site at 65 I Street was filed on May 31 with the Zoning Commission. The Telesis/Rubell team has had the shuttered school under contract from the Corcoran since 2010 and since then has been working on plans for the site. With the help of Bing Thom Architects, the team has come forth with a plan to preserve the three existing historic buildings along I Street for use as a contemporary art museum and other arts uses, as well as a restaurant. Other newer additions will be removed. 

The original Randall Junior High School building, built in 1906.

The museum will be located in the original 1906 center building; other arts-related uses will be located in the west wing; and a restaurant with outdoor seating will be in the east wing (both wings were built in 1927). Behind the center building, a new four-story addition will house additional exhibition space for the art museum.  The new addition will have exterior walls that will allow images and video to be displayed that will be visible from a large courtyard open to the public. Two 12-story towers with 550 residential units will wrap behind the historic buildings and courtyard. 

Video can be projected on the side of the museum facing the courtyard

 Following is a description of the design of the residential buildings from the PUD application:

The new twelve-story residential building will be set behind the historic Randall School. It is comprised of nine distinct blocks that are stacked around the west, north and east sides of the site and behind the historic school structures to the south. These forms enclose a publicly accessible courtyard and run parallel to H Street, the former Half Street and former First Street, thereby physically defining these streets in the neighborhood. Gaps between these building blocks emphasize their proportions and recall the slab building forms common in the Southwest neighborhood. The lower six levels of the new south west and south east building elements are cut at an angle leading into the center of the site in deference to the historic buildings. It is at these points that the entrances to the residential "towers" will be located just behind the historic buildings to the east and west. Six levels above these entries at the south side of the courtyard are two building wings that span from the perimeter of the building to columns on either side of the new museum structure. Ground floor units facing 1st Street, H Street and the courtyard will have individual entrances and private outdoor spaces along the street or at the interior courtyard. The site and public space in front of the historic buildings on I Street will be modified to make the historic buildings accessible and to provide opportunities for street side café seating. The massing concept, which evolved through a series of meetings with District agencies and the staff of the Historic Preservation Office, places a majority of the project’s density away from the historic building toward the rear of the site. The sensitive massing of the new construction allows the historic Randall School to continue to appear as a separate building along I Street, and maintain the character of the existing streetscape.

Individual entrances for units on the ground level from the street.

The building materials used for the residential buildings are primarily metal panels and glass arranged in an irregular format to contrast with the structured facades of the historic buildings. The main entrances will be located on the southwest and southeast corners of the buildings. Some sustainability elements include rain-water harvesting, urban forestry best-practices, and green roofs. Each residential building will have a rooftop pool and separate amenity space on the ground level. Parking for 200 vehicles will be below grade and six surface spaces along the right-away of 1st Street. Access to the parking garage and loading will be off of H Street.

H Street facade of the residential buildings.

 

An extensive public benefits package is proposed for the project, which includes:

• A new contemporary museum of art.
• An annual art exhibit at the museum featuring art from ANC 6D residents, including at least one public school student.
• Each year designate a neighborhood visual arts project in ANC 6D and provide resources needed to make the project a reality.
• Organize, sponsor, and provide resources for an annual outdoor Arts Festival in ANC 6D that’s free and open to the public.
• Offer free admission to the museum to all residents of ANC 6D (with proper ID).
• Establish a program of recruiting museum volunteers from ANC 6D.
• Pay five annual memberships in the Corcoran Gallery of Art for DC public school teachers.
• Provide at least five annual full scholarships to ANC 6D residents to participate in the Camp Creativity program sponsored by the Corcoran Gallery of Art or the Corcoran College of Art & Design.
• Twenty percent of the gross floor area dedicated to residential will be set aside for households earning up to 80% of Area Median Income (AMI).
• Historic preservation of the three buildings along I Street.
• First Source Employment Agreement using District residents for at least 51% of the jobs created by the project.
• Use of Certified Business Enterprise (CBEs) when possible.

Southeast corner view of the project along I Street.

The project is phased so the museum, other arts uses, retail, and the east residential building will be done first. The west residential building can be built in a later phase. The Telesis/Rubell team will have to come before ANC 6D for their support before meeting with the Zoning Commission later this year.


Renderings courtesy of Bing Thom Architects

Old Friendship Baptist Church Grounds to be Used for Baseball

While redevelopment of the Old Friendship Baptist Church site at Delaware Avenue and H Street is on hold, the owner has leased the grounds to the Batter Up Foundation for use by DC RBI as a bullpen, batting cage, and storage space. The Batter Up Foundation is a non-profit organization affiliated with Major League Baseball that helps to bring baseball to inner-city youth in several cities across the country.

The grounds of the church are being set up as a batting cage, bullpen, and storage.

Next door to the church at Randall Recreation Center, the local DC Junior RBI Little League team has been practicing for the past couple of months at the ball field. Even though some of the 14 kids on the team are local Southwesters and attend Jefferson Middle School, this is the first season that the team has been practicing in Southwest. Coach Andrew Williamson, who is in his fourth year of coaching with DC RBI, said that DC RBI draws kids from Wards 5, 6, 7, and 8 and the Randall Rec Center ball field is ideal since it's centrally located, lighted, and easy to get to for the players. The Randall field has been underutilized by youth - the only people using it previously has been adult softball teams. Coach Andrew says DC RBI has been working with DPR, King-Greenleaf Recreation Center, and community leaders to bring the team to Randall. "We want people to know that kids here have an interest in baseball," said Williamson.

The ball field at Randall Recreation Center is behind the church.

Practice is held twice a week (Monday and Wednesday evenings) from 6:30 - 8:30pm. The first game of the season will be this Saturday, but the team plays their games at a little league field east of the Anacostia. The team mostly plays against other teams in DC, but also a few in Virginia and Maryland.

This isn't the first site in Southwest that has temporary uses on it while development has been delayed. Besides the parking lots along South Capitol Street, St. Matthew's has used their site at Delaware Avenue and M Street as a Christmas tree lot and community garden, and the northwest parcel at Waterfront Station has been used as a field for Ultimate Frisbee.

The Washington Business Journal also has a story on DC RBI's lease, and mentions in its article that Washington Parks and People will also lease part of the grounds for use as an urban agricultural site.

Randall School Developers Seek Extension

At last Monday's ANC 6D meeting, Marilyn Melkonian from Telesis came before the commissioners to request their support in extending the PUD for the Randall School project at Half and I Streets.  The Telesis/Rubell team have yet to submit their own PUD for the project, so the extension is for the original plans when the site was owned by the Corcoran and Monument Realty. The Telesis/Rubell team agreed to purchase the site from the Corcoran in 2010, but the sale closed only a few months ago. Telesis is putting together the programming, financing, and design of the project and hopes to start construction in 2013 with completion in 2015-16. While the project is still in the design phase, some particulars were revealed during the presentation. Below is a massing study done on the project by Bing Thom Architects that was presented at the meeting.  

The model shows the three heritage buildings that will remain along with two residential buildings with a total of approximately 400 units that will rise up to 110 feet behind. Of the 400 units, 20% will be set aside as affordable housing for households earning up to 80% of Area Median Income (AMI). A boutique hotel was also planned previously, but it was determined that it was not financially feasible, so the residential component was increased. It's envisioned that the modern art museum that will house the Rubell Family Collection/Contemporary Arts Foundation will be located within the heritage buildings. In addition, a restaurant may be placed in the easternmost heritage building. A new mid-block east-west street will be created behind the heritage buildings to remove some traffic off of I Street, but deliveries will primarily occur on H Street. With the removal of the newer wings of the Randall School, the back of the heritage buildings will be exposed and the development team is still contemplating whether to build townhouse units alongside the rear of the heritage buildings or retail spaces. A courtyard will be created behind the central heritage building that will be open to the public.  Ms. Melkonian said she hopes the entire project will be built in one phase starting in 2013, but the residential buildings could be done in two phases.  While the residential buildings are currently planned as apartments, it's possible that one of the buildings could be done as condos if built in phases and depending on market conditions. Regardless of when the residential buildings are completed, the modern art museum will be done in the first phase.

The ANC voted to support the PUD extension 6-1 after agreeing to rescind their prior disapproval 5-1-1 when no one from the Telesis team came to the February ANC meeting. Next, the Telesis/Rubell team will meet with the Zoning Commission on March 21 to seek the PUD extension.

ANC Votes to Approve Extension of Old Friendship Baptist Church Redevelopment

I wasn't able to attend last night's ANC 6D meeting, but the developer of the Old Friendship Baptist Church site on Delaware Avenue & H Street tells Southwest...TLQTC that the ANC unanimously approved a request to allow a two-year extension of the Planned Unit Development (PUD) for the project that the developer has pending with the Zoning Commission. The Zoning Commission will make a decision on the extension request at their December 14th meeting. Steve Tanner, the developer of the project, plans to convert the 100+ year-old church into office space and construct a residential building with condos. Delays with the Corcoran's neighboring Randall School project (see post from last November), as well as the state of the economy, helped the developer obtain approval from the ANC. However, Tanner says that the Corcoran is working on a contract with a new developer for their Randall School site. Several stalled development projects around the city have applied for 2-year extensions in recent months, the nearest one to SW is the RiverFront on the Anacostia site in Near SE. As a condition of the ANC's approval, the developer will need to pay to clean up the Randall Park baseball fields each month once he applies for a building permit. Above is a rendering of the site - the white church is the existing building and the Shalom Baranes-designed 7-story residential addition is at the rear of the church (rendering courtesy of Steve Tanner).

Delays and Progress in the Neighborhood

In today's Washington Post, there's an article describing the slowdown in construction around the Washington metro area due to the credit crunch. The Randall School project is mentioned in the article. From the article: "A half-mile from the ballpark, the Corcoran Gallery of Art and developer Monument Realty intended to turn what was once a public school and then a homeless shelter into an art school and apartments. But Monument withdrew in August, as its equity partner, Lehman Brothers, collapsed, leaving Corcoran to find another developer." Southwest...TLQTC reported on this story back in November. Another victim of the delay at Randall School is the old Friendship Baptist Church site (AKA Square 643) at 734 1st Street (H Street & Delaware Avenue). Developer Steve Tanner has plans to renovate the historic church into office space and build a residential component behind the church, which has been in the works since at least 2003. The timing of delivery, though, is dependent on the completion of the Randall School project. Now that the Randall School is delayed, Tanner will have to wait to see who will be the new developer partner of the Corcoran. The old Friendship Baptist Church is over 100 years old and was one of the few structures saved when Southwest was razed during urban renewal in the 1950s. According to the Cultural Tourism DC website: "In December 1902 the congregation dedicated a new church at 734 First Street, SW (at H Street). The eclectic Victorian style structure, built by James A. Boyce over a 12-year period, had Romanesque, Gothic Revival, and Queen Anne elements. A name change -- to Friendship Baptist – in June 1905 followed the congregation’s move...In September 1965 it celebrated its 90th anniversary and dedicated a new building at 900 Delaware Avenue, SW. The old Friendship Baptist Church at 734 First Street, SW, was designated a DC Historic Site on May 27, 2004." A rendering of the site is above - the white church is the existing building and the Shalom Baranes-designed 7-story residential addition is at the rear of the church (rendering courtesy of Steve Tanner).

At least one major Southwest project is moving ahead. Waterfront Station received construction financing in September to build the two new office buildings as a part of phase one of development, but the fate of the adaptive reuse of the old EPA towers to residential is unclear.

The rendering above is the metro plaza in front of the new SW Safeway under construction at Waterfront Station, courtesy of Vornado.