DC Metrocentric: “Utopia is Happening” at 14th & U

This is great news–huge news, in fact–for the 14th and U corridor. The real estate and development blog, DC Metrocentric, reported yesterday that the Utopia project slated for the southwest corner of 14th and U Streets NW will happen: financing is available and groundbreaking is scheduled for winter of 2011.

This comes on the heels of a report (noted here on Tuesday) that the status of the Utopia project seemed to be uncertain due to project financing, according to DC Mud, another real estate blog.

As DC Mud explains, the Utopia project will have 220 residential units and 20,000 square feet of retail space. It will run from T to U Street on 14th and then along U Street all the way to the the Extra Space Storage building at 1420 U Street NW.

Another large project, on 14th Street NW, gets underway in September. The west side of 14th Street NW between S and Swann Streets will be demolished–except for the former Whitman Walker building at S Street–and JBG will construct condominiums with ground-level retail space. Whitman Walker sold and vacated the building in 2008 and the former laundromat at 14th and Swann Streets has been closed for several months.