Hine Project Landscaping Plans to Be Considered by Preservation Board Next Week – HPRB Will Also Rule on Project’s 7th Street and C Street Residential Buildings

Hine Project Landscaping Plans to Be Considered by Preservation Board Next Week – HPRB Will Also Rule on Project’s 7^th Street and C Street Residential Buildings

by Larry Janezich

Hine neighbors met with Stanton Development Sunday night to hear the developer’s presentation on the plans which will be before the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) on Thursday, August 4.  The plans, which will include the layout for the weekend flea market will be presented to the larger community at ANC6B’s Special Call Meeting, set for Tuesday, July 26, 7:00 -9:30 pm, People’s Church/National Community Church, 535 8^th Street, S.E.

Following are the main points which emerged from the presentation and the discussion which followed.

• The 7^th Street residential building may yet be a hotel.  Stanton says that two hotels have expressed interest.  Each have their own criteria and are awaiting number crunching and HPRB design approval to determine if the space will work for them.
• Like other buildings in the project, the façade designs of the 7^th street and C Street buildings have been simplified and parts of the C Street building have been lowered by two feet.
• The current plan is for the interior courtyard to be private.  A discussion revealed considerable support for public use of the space among the neighbors.  The developer suggested one way to accomplish this would be for public events to be hosted in the courtyard, should a hotel end up occupying the 7^th and C Street residential building.
• No contracts with retail outlets will be sought until construction is well underway, about two years from now.
• The amount of parking in the building is still uncertain.  The developer says that whether there will be more than one level of parking is still undecided.
• Joel Larsen, from the city’s Office of Planning, will make a 20 minute presentation explaining the Planned Unit Development process ANC6B’s Special Call Meeting on Tuesday.  That process will begin sometime next spring and will be the community’s last chance to win concessions (amenities) from the developer regarding the project.
• Stanton’s Design Concept for the two buildings and the landscaping can be viewed here:  http://hineschool.com/vision