Before and preliminary after rendering of the redevelopment of the two historic Buchanan School structures
Current layout of buildings on the Buchanan School site. Note the non historic auditorium attached to the left of the center building and the newer structure on the lower left, both scheduled to be razed.
First Look at Plans for Development of Capitol Hill’s Buchanan School/IGU Site
40 Townhomes and 41 Condos Planned for Site
by Larry Janezich
Tuesday night, Insight Property Group Partner Sarah Davidson met with some 40 Capitol Hill residents to discuss Insight’s plan for redevelopment of the 2.13 acre site currently occupied by the former Buchanan School and the International Graduate University. The plan calls for 81 residences – 40 townhomes priced around $1 million, and 41 condos priced between $300 thousand and $1 million.
3. Layout of Insight’s Plan for Residential Units on the Buchanan Site. (See text below for explanation.)
Using the illustration above for orientation, and starting in the lower right, the large structure represents the two oldest structures on the site dating to 1895 and 1921. These will be combined into one building by razing the interstitial structure and replacing it with a new entry way and elevators. The condos will reside in the combined structure and will range in size from studio to three bedrooms, providing options for singles as well as larger families who desire a one level living space. 14 – 16 parking spaces will be provided.
Moving clockwise to the upper right corner of the illustration locates nine large townhomes on D Street on the site’s northeast corner. The more recent auditorium on the north side of the north historic building will be razed to make room. These three story townhomes will be built as a matter of right, on 18 foot wide lots of 1800 plus sf. These units will have a minimum of three bedrooms, backyards, standalone parking spaces, and roof terraces facing north.
Continuing clockwise on illustration an additional nine townhomes will face D Street on the site’s northwest corner. (The relatively recent structure currently nearest the corner of 13th and D Streets will also be razed.) Directly below are 23 additional three-bedroom plus townhomes on lots ranging in size from 16 to 20 feet wide. The smaller lots will have “tuck under” parking – larger lots will have standalone parking. The smaller lots will feature “tuck under” parking garages; larger lots will have standalone parking. These units will have roof terraces facing the street. A zoning variance will be necessary for configuration of these townhomes and under zoning regulations, 10 percent (2-3) of these townhomes will fall under Inclusionary Zoning (IZ) regulations, but none of the condos will. (For CHC on Inclusionary Zoning go here: http://bit.ly/1FT5TCb)
The eleven townhomes in the middle of the site and closest to the original historic structures will face those buildings and be separated from them by green space which will be part of the North – South walk-through which will be open to public transit. The space behind these townhomes and between the 12 units facing 13th Street will be an alley way, designed to encourage community interaction. (See below.)
Preliminary rendering of alleyway between two parallel rows of townhouses.
Time line for the project:
Begin demolition in May – June 2015
BZA Approval – November 2015
Purchase property – December 2015
Start construction – September 2016
Complete construction – March 2018
Some of the issues raised during the question an answer period were as follows:
Safeway – Insight speculates that it will be redeveloped sometime in the future, but despite having conversations with the company, they really have no idea when.
Parking – residents complained about difficulty in parking at night, especially during times when Watkins field is in use. The development raises the prospect that the current diagonal parking on 13th Street opposite Watkins will be lost to RPP residential parking.
Peter Bug Matthews Shoe Academy – Insight alluded to enhancing the site and continuing its use to develop neighborhood activities. The building sits on a city owned site and its status going forward is unclear. Asked if he’d been given any guidance from the city, Mathews said no one has said anything to him. “I’ve been there 38 years – it seems to me I should be grandfathered in.”
Ed. Note: In March, Sean Ruppert of OPaL LLC revealed plans for a 45 unit mixed residential project comprised of townhouses, condos, flats and a carriage house for the site at 1309-1323 E Street, SE, across E Street to the south from Buchanan School. (For CHC article, go here: http://bit.ly/14qcnLZ)
CAPITOL HILL CORNER 
I was under the impression that the diagonal parking on 13th was primarily created for teachers during the day for the school year. Yes people are using it for activities when school is out but that was just a side benefit. If they don’t remove the diagonal parking I wouldn’t want to pay what they plan on asking to live with that out front – it can get incredibly junky on weekends.
I will say that million dollar places in this neighborhood seems a bit pricey but what do I know. I wouldn’t pay $1 million to live across from a rec field/basketball court or across from KY Courts. However, I am glad Peterbug is going to be around – at least based on what we know……..
Kentucky Courts is a great neighbor. The remaining portion is quiet unlike the demolished older portion. From DCHA website, it consists of mostly 1 BR apartments for seniors (47%) and the disabled (51%), 79% of residents are single, and 3% of the residents in 107 units are children. The rec center can be a mixed bag on nuisance but it’s a nice resource for the field and playground.
weird that none of the alley adjacent homes have even a small private patio or yard. Roof terrace is nice but less so for entertaining or eating outside. All of the homes adjoining my home’s alley have rear yards in addition to the public alley, not in lieu of them.
the interior row in the center also looks oddly oriented — front façade faces Buchanan school or the parking pad of D St. homes. But I guess the alternate is having the façade face the 13th St homes’ alleys. The mews configuration would not be unique on the Hill, but it’s not common either. I wonder if it would make more sense to make the interior cluster another apartments building and expand the lots for the 13th St. properties.
“The development raises the prospect that the current diagonal parking on 13th Street opposite Watkins will be lost to RPP residential parking.”
That parking isn’t RPP parking. In fact, it’s mostly used by out-of-state employees of DDOT’s sign making shop in the alley north of the Safeway. They park there all day, every working day for free. I suspect few of those spaces are used by neighborhood residents with an RPP.