Development: A Construction Tower, The Last Lot, Demolition

From Tom Hay. Questions for Tom? Send him an email. You can follow him on Twitter @Tomonswann

Anyone out on 14th Street NW this past weekend surely noticed the massive construction equipment lined up between S and T Streets in front of JBG Cos.’ 125-unit District Condos project. Lining the streets for 12 hours, the equipment was used to erect the construction tower and crane for that project. (Excavation was temporarily halted in May due to some problems with soil conditions.) In an email to nearby neighbors of the construction, James Nozar, development manager for JBG, reported that excavation work on the site is complete, and that the project is on track for completion by late summer or early fall 2012.

Last Lot on Rhode Island Avenue

A few blocks south in Logan Circle, Abdo Development announced plans to construct a 70-unit residential building on vacant land at 1427 Rhode Island Avenue NW. This plot is the last vacant property on the 1400 block of Rhode Island Avenue and will complete the transformation of the block that began a decade ago.

Big 14th & U Project

Just days earlier, JBG and Georgetown Strategic Capital announced a joint-venture for a mixed-use project at the southwest corner of 14th and U Streets NW. Originally referred to as “the Utopia project,” it no longer has a name, according to the Washington Business Journal. The complex will include 267 apartments and 30,000 square feet of retail. Construction is expected to start at the end of this year, with anticipated completion in late 2013.

Many of the merchants along the stretch of 14th Street (from T to U on the west side) have already closed or relocated. Although several buildings will be demolished to make room for the new construction, the historic facades near the corner of 14th and U along with a few along the 1400 block of U Street will be preserved.