Tag Archives: Hine

ANC6b To Ask Historic Preservation Board To Delay Consideration of Hine Project – Will Hold Second Special Call Meeting in April

by Larry Janezich

In order to provide additional time for public comment and Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6b (ANC6b) consideration of the Stanton Development’s Historic Preservation Application (HPA) for the Hine project, the commission will ask the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) to delay its consideration of the application until April 28.  The commission is confident the request will be granted.  ANC6b has been caught in a time squeeze between the March 24 HPRB meeting where Stanton’s HPA had been scheduled for consideration, and a desire to provide opportunities for the community to provide input on the project.

Some nearby neighbors have been very active in voicing their concerns on the project and how it will affect the quality of life in the neighborhood.

The community will first have an opportunity for public comment during the ANC6b regular meeting on Tuesday, March 8, though the time will, of necessity, be limited.

A second and longer opportunity will occur at the previously announced ANC Special Call meeting on Tuesday, March 15, from 6:00pm until 9:00pm at St. Coletta School – the somewhat whimsical collection of buildings at 19th and Independence, SE.  Developers will make a presentation on the current plans, including any changes since the last presentation on March 2.  The meeting will then be given over to questions and comments from the community and the ANC.

A third opportunity for public comment will be at a second ANC6b special call meeting which will occur in April at a time and place to be determined.  The developers will report to the community on any changes in the project which develop after the March 15 meeting.

ANC6b will subsequently make a recommendation on Stanton’s Historic Preservation Application to the HPRB for its April 28th meeting, and that meeting will provide a fourth opportunity for public comment.

As reported elsewhere in this blog, Stanton is expected to submit the proposal to HPRB at least once more, probably in early summer, as design details are added.  This will provide additional opportunities for public comment.

Larger images of images of the Hine project and some new ones are now available on the emmcablogs Facebook page.  Please click the link on our homepage.

View from Hill's Kitchen - Residential Building on Right

8th and D Streets Looking North

8th Street Looking South

North Residential Building on C Street, Looking West from 8th Street

North Residential Building - C Street View

North Residential Building on C Street from 7th Street

Residential Building or Hotel on 7th Street, from Eastern Market Looking SE

7th Street Looking South

Pennsylvania Avenue Looking East

7th Street Looking North

Pennsylvania Avenue Looking West

New Conceptual Drawings of Hine Redevelopment Project Unveiled

Time Issues Force ANC to Alter Schedule for Consideration

by Larry Janezich

Tuesday night, Stanton-Eastbanc unveiled their latest concept drawings for the Hine project to the ANC6b Planning and Zoning Committee, Chaired by Commissioner Francis Campbell.  This is the first step toward consideration of their Historic Preservation Application (HPA) for massing and height by the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) on March 24^th.  As additional details are finalized, the plans will go back to HPRB for additional review in late spring or early summer.

It’s unlikely that the 20 or so near-by residents who turned out for the meeting liked what they saw and several the ANC6b Commissioners appeared skeptical of the proposal and the amount of information they were given.  One was overheard to say, “This building is too damn big,” and that sentiment seemed to express the feelings of several commissioners.

Because of logistical time constraints on the meeting, Stanton’s architect, Amy Weinstein, rushed through a 20-plus minute power point presentation which was long on images and necessarily short on details.

The major changes in the design since Stanton’s last public presentation February 3 include elimination of the bridge between the commercial and residential buildings on the Pennsylvania Avenue face, thus effectively separating the two buildings; elimination of some ground floor residential space on 8^th Street in favor of “quiet retail,” and the addition of a sixth floor to the residential building on the Pennsylvania Avenue side to accommodate larger residential units.  Ms. Weinstein said Stanton was still unsure whether a boutique hotel would become part of the plan.

In architectural design terms, the concept for the office building on 7^th Street and fronting on Pennsylvania Avenue will be a contemporary combination of red brick and pier and glass construction.  The façade of the residential building will feature corbelled brick, similar to the concept employed in the façade of the Hospice Association Building on 7^th Street, across from Eastern Market, also designed by Weinstein. Clay tile or slate will be employed in the façade of the north residential building facing a newly-reopened C Street.

The full ANC6b had been scheduled to hear a Stanton Eastbanc presentation and take final action on their Historical Preservation Application on March 8^th.  Since there was no time for questions from the commissioners or statements and questions from the community on Tuesday night, the Commission decided to hear those statements and questions at the full ANC6b meeting on March 8.  A Special Call Meeting has been announced for Tuesday, March 15, at a place and time to be determined, at which Stanton Eastbanc will make another presentation for the community at large and answer questions and concerns raised by commissioners and members of the community.  The Commission will then decide what recommendation to make to the Historic Preservation Office for consideration by the HPRB on March 24.

For now, the position of ANC6b Planning and Zoning on the HPA is to “take no position,” and to request additional information from Stanton.  ANC6b Chair Glick specifically requested the “HPRB package” and Commissioner Pate insisted on clearly outlined details on the dimensions of the project, particularly regarding height and setbacks.

Stanton will make a separate presentation to the near-by neighbors Wednesday night and post the presentation on their website soon after that.  That site can be found at: http://hineschool.com/

8^th Street Residents List Objections to Hine Redevelopment and Request Changes

by Larry Janezich

The neighborhood organization “Eyes on Hine” (EOH) – residents who live on 8^th Street opposite the Hine site – have written to ANC6b Planning and Zoning Committee Chair Francis Campbell and Vice Chair Kirsten Oldenburg to protest that the proposed Hine Development will damage the historic character of the neighborhood and to request specific design changes.

The ANC6b Planning and Zoning Committee hears from Stanton Development on Tuesday night, regarding their Historic Preservation Application (HPA) on the Hine redevelopment, the first step in moving the plan through the ANC.  ANC6b will rule on the HPA at its March 8 meeting and that judgment will go to the Historic Preservation Office and be given great weight when the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) considers Stanton’s HPA for the Hine project.  As this blog has noted elsewhere, the HPRB decision is subject to appeal to the Mayor’s office.

EOH’s objections address the proposed design’s size, appearance, density, and economic impact.  In summary, the objections are:

From 8^th Street, SE, the Hine redevelopment would present a mammoth building filling much of the block with an unbroken façade.  The developer’s justification for a height increase beyond 40 feet was flawed, since historic buildings shown for comparison did not fill an entire block and were in juxtaposition to two and three story rowhouses.  The five story corner tower at 8^th and D Streets, and the five story entrance to the apartment complex mid-block on 8^th Street will mar the historic viewscape, block light and air, and “mock” the modest scale of the rowhouses across the street.  The proposed heights are not only out of harmony with the neighborhood but also emphasize the building’s massiveness.

The proposed four story bay windows, a response to an EOH request to ensure the frontage comport with the appearance of residential housing, emphasizes rather than mitigates, the building’s monolithic appearance.  And the massive size and scale of the proposed development demands deeper and more varied setbacks.

The letter notes that for the first time in history, there will be no open space accessible to the entire neighborhood on the Hine site.  And that the result of waiving current R4 residential zoning limits and the attendant 40 foot height limit will degrade the quality of life of the neighborhood by encouraging and enabling vastly increased traffic.

EOH states that the economic consequences of the project include the danger that overdevelopment will threaten an historic neighborhood that, by its charm and scale, has attracted new residents and businesses.  The letter notes that as taxes and rents soar, small and locally owned businesses are already being driven away from the vicinity of Eastern Market.

EOH proposes a number of changes to help make the current Hine development harmonize with the neighborhood.  They include the following:

A maximum 40 foot height limit for the residential building on 8^th Street, with no five story segments for the SE corner or on Pennsylvania Avenue.

A recessed 8^th Street entrance to the project mid-block rather than using additional height to designate the entrance.

More variation in height of the rooflines of the buildings.

More variation in the setbacks of the buildings along 8^th Street as opposed to an unbroken stretch of bay windows.

A set back from the curb for the entire building further than that proposed.

Two or three separate structures along 8^th Street, rather than a single long structure.

The letter ends with a statement defining what the group sees as being at stake:

“The land of the Hine School site belongs to all of us, the citizens and taxpayers of the District of Columbia.  The developers were awarded the right to propose how to develop that public land, but we believe that the current concept design is not congruent with, does not harmonize with, and potentially threatens the historic character of Capitol Hill.  The massive, block-sized building plan evokes corporate standardization, anonymity and conformity, and, per the changes outlined at the beginning of this letter, we call upon the developers to create an alternative concept more responsive to the neighborhood in which it will sit for decades to come.”

The Planning and Zoning Committee will meet at 6:30pm on Tuesday, March 1, at Caesar Chavez Public Charter School, located at 714-722 11^th Street, SE.

ANC6b will meet at 6:30pm on Wednesday, March 8, at the Church of Jesus Christ of LDS at 522 7^th Street, SE

ANC6b Plans Special Call Meeting on Hine PUD Process

Appointment of Taskforce on Hine Redevelopment Likely

by Larry Janezich

ANC6b is planning a Special Call meeting in April or May to inform the community on details of how the Public Unit Development (PUD) process will unfold for the Hine Redevelopment.  The PUD process could be the final opportunity for public and community input into the design of the project and one which often involves tradeoffs, or “public amenities.”  Commissioners Frishberg and Pate are pushing to appoint a special Taskforce made up of commissioners and representatives of community organizations, including EMMCA and Eyes on Hine, to provide input for the ANC’s participation in the PUD process.  The Zoning Commission can require changes to the design as the result of the PUD review.

The Special Call meeting and Taskforce issues will likely come up when Commissioner Pate (SMD05) hosts an open house to discuss community issues on Saturday, February 26, at the Corner Store, 900 South Carolina Avenue, SE, between 1:00pm and 2:30pm.

Stanton Development was scheduled to send their massing and concept design for the Hine project to the Historic Preservation Office (HPO) on Thursday, February 24, but did not do so.  They have until today – Friday – to file to meet the deadline to be scheduled for a Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) hearing on March 24.

Stanton will make a presentation regarding its Historic Preservation Application (HPA) to the ANC Planning and Zoning Committee meeting at Caesar Chavez Charter School, next Tuesday, March 1, at 6:30pm.  The Committee will make a recommendation on the application and pass it to the full ANC which will consider it at their March 8 meeting.  That meeting will occur at 6:30pm at the Church of Jesus Christ of LDS at 522 7^th Street, SE.  The ANC recommendation on the massing and concept design will, in turn, be forwarded to the HPO and HPRB for the March 24 hearing.

According to HPO, there are at least three historic preservation related public hearings at which the public may provide testimony.  First, the ANC Planning and Zoning Committee, second, the full ANC meeting, and finally, the HPRB meeting.  HPO also welcomes written comments in lieu of testimony.  Those are forwarded to the HPRB as part of the review process.

Some large projects – e.g., Friendship House on Capitol Hill – go through the HPRB in two phases.  HPRB looks first at height and massing, and then at the details at a later hearing.  Stanton anticipates following this scenario, which will provide three additional opportunities for public input.   Stanton hopes to go back before HPRB in late spring or early summer, depending on the outcome of the hearing in March.

The developer can make minor changes to the plan after the HPRB review, in consultation with HPO.  HPO evaluates proposed changes and judges if they are major or minor or if they relate to concerns raised during the review process.

The Capitol Hill Restoration Society (CHRS) will also weigh in on the design, but their review process seems to be more cursory than the ANC’s.  The CHRS Historic Preservation Committee will take a look at the designs Stanton submits to HPRB and make a recommendation.  A more formal presentation to the Committee will depend upon a request from Stanton to appear before the committee or the CHRS Board.  Stanton briefed the committee in February, but did not formally submit anything and the committee did not write an “official” report, preferring instead to treat the meeting as a dialogue with the architect/developer.

Stanton also appeared before ANC6b and the Hine neighbors in February to reveal their massing and design concepts and changes which reoriented the project toward a residential development as opposed to a primarily commercial development.  For information on those meetings, please refer to the emmcablog postings on February 2^nd and 3^rd.

Next up:  Update on the Two Tracks on Retail Mix

Stanton Development Briefing on Hine

Developers Appear to Reorient Hine Toward Higher-end Residential Market – Project Details Emerge

by Larry Janezich

Ken Golding and other representatives of Stanton Development briefed more than 100 community residents – including Councilmember Tommy Wells and ANC6b Commissioners – on the status of the Hine Redevelopment project at Wednesday night’s Special ANC6b meeting.

The limp economy has required several changes to the project which will reduce its overall size and appears to reorient it toward the high-end residential market in what has become one of DC’s hottest housing destination markets.

If a possible boutique hotel does not materialize, there will be a total of 162 residential units, with a few studio efficiencies of 800 square feet and apartments or condos of 1400-1600 square feet.  A variety of options will be provided, including one bedroom, one bedroom with den, two bedrooms, two bedrooms with den, and three bedrooms.  The developer promises lots of storage.

Since the redesign of the project provides only 12 additional residences over the original plan, yet the increase in residential square footage is 100,000 square feet, it appears that the developer has significantly increased the percentage of apartments with higher square footage.

The project will consist of four distinct buildings which step up in height as one moves toward 7^th Street from the east, and again steps up as one moves toward Pennsylvania Avenue from the north.

A long residential building along the reopened C Street connecting 7^th and 8^th Streets will anchor the project’s north end, separated from the other three by C Street and a community plaza splayed out, opening toward 7^th Street.  The structure will contain 33 rental units and below-grade retail.  It appeared from developer’s remarks that this building will be reserved for affordable housing for seniors, teachers, and city employees – except for the Shakespeare housing, which Stanton also considers mixed income housing.  Stanton “is still working on determining an appropriate mix” of mixed income units for the project.

The existing alley between 7^th and 8^th lies behind this building which will be three full stories tall, with a partial fourth floor set back.

The second building, on the NW corner of 7^th and C Streets, will be a residential building with 36 units unless it becomes a hotel.  Golding said the hotel question will be determined in the next 30 to 60 days.  If it remains residential, it will be five stories, with retail on the first floor with four floors of apartments above, rising to a height of 57 feet above the plaza.  If it does become a hotel, the total number of residences will drop to 126.

A driveway opening onto 7^th Street for trucks moving into the completely enclosed truck bay in the center will separate the residential/hotel building from the retail and office building.  This building will run along 7^th Street and wrap around the corner along Pennsylvania Avenue to a wide entrance to the interior courtyard in the middle of the block between 7^th and 8^th Streets.  There will be retail on the first floor, four floors of offices, and a sixth and seventh floor of offices, the last two with a significant set back.

The fourth building will contain 93 residential units and will start on the east side of the entrance to the courtyard on Pennsylvania Avenue, wrap around the Southeast corner of the building and run the length of 8^th Street to the intersection of C and 8^th Streets.  The four ground floor units between the entrance to the center courtyard and 8^th Street may have to be marketed as professional office space or “quiet retail,” if they cannot be marketed as residences, but no retail will front onto 8^th Street.  The Shakespeare studio apartments for temporary residents will be allocated to the north end of this building.  There will be four floors of residential and a partial fifth floor which will include mechanical space and seven penthouse units.  The building will rise 40 feet to top of the ceiling of the top floor, plus the additional height of any towers or turrets – then the fifth story will rise to a height of 52 feet after a 30 foot set back.

Nicole White, traffic consultant from Symmetra Design, discussed site access, traffic, and parking issues.

She asserted that improved site accessibility and circulation will be effected by reopening C Street, having cars enter the garage from C Street, and having trucks approach the enclosed loading docks from 7^th Street.

With respect to traffic, White backed away slightly from a previous statement that there will be minimal impact on traffic.  She said instead that the project will not generate a lot of traffic, relatively speaking.

Computer models and analysis predict the following number of vehicle trips will be generated by the Hine project.

269 additional trips per peak morning hour

193 additional trips per peak afternoon hour

176 additional trips per peak weekend hour

But, White said, this additional traffic will be dispersed in a predictable fashion onto all of the surrounding streets, which in terms of a percentage increase per street appears less significant.  She promised to have the percentage increases available at the next Hine status briefing.

With respect to parking, she said the project will provide enough parking for itself.  One question still outstanding is to what degree the project parking will compensate for the temporary parking the community has become accustomed to on the Hine playground which will be lost once construction starts.  White said she would provide this analysis at a later date.

Finally, architect Amy Weinstein noted that the buildings are being designed to encourage bike use, with bike storage for the residences and lockers and showers for ride to work bikers.

A question and answer period wrapped up the meeting eliciting the following additional bits of information.  Detailed drawings for historic preservation purposes will be available by the end of February.

The time line anticipates that Stanton will apply to the Zoning Commission next year for a Planned Unit Development.  If approved, they will finish the design, get a building permit, close on the property, and begin the two year construction program.  A completion date is still anticipated for 2015.  In addition, Golding pledged they will come back to the community to talk about plans for demolition.

Stanton expects to post the presentation by the end of the week at:  http://hineschool.com/

ANC 6B will hold a special information meeting on February 2^nd for the Commission and the community to hear the latest on the plans for the redevelopment of the High Jr. High School site.  The presentation will be made by Stanton-EastBanc, the development team selected by the city.  The meeting will be held on Wednesday, February 2, 7 – 9 PM at the Brent School, 301 North Carolina Avenue SE.  There will be time for questions of the development team by both the 6B Commissioners and the community.

The original project plans that the team put forward can be viewed at http://hineschool.com/.  Those with questions about the project should contact Ken Golding, the head of the Stanton-EastBanc team at kengolding@erols.com.

ANC 6B

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

7 – 9 PM

Brent School, 301 North Carolina Ave SE

Agenda

Hine site redevelopment plans:

* presentation by Stanton EastBanc development team

* questions from Commissioners

* questions from the community

Adjourn

Hine School Information Meeting Scheduled by Stanton-Eastbanc

by Larry Janezich

Ken Golding of Stanton Development Corporation has announced an informational meeting regarding the Hine School development.  The meeting will be on February 1, 2011, at 7:00pm at the Stanton Development office, 305 7^th Street, SE, above Marvelous Market.  Golding states that, “we would like to present the concept drawings to obtain your further input prior to (presentations) to the ANC & CHRS (Capitol Hill Restoration Society).”  The informational meeting with ANC6b will be on February 2, 2011, at Brent School, at 7:00pm.  No word on when the meeting with CHRS will take place.

Golding also shared the information that the Historic Preservation Board hearing is scheduled for March 24^th.