O St Market Continues to Public Hearing

Last night I had the honor of attending the Zoning Commission meeting last night at Judiciary Square to see just what was in store for the O st Market and the adjoining Giant Grocer Store. Apparently I wasnt the only one either. The room was surprisingly full, mostly of neighborhood residents and bloggers(?). Thats right, once returning home, the first three bloggers to spread the news were DaddyFiveOh, IMGoph, and OffSeventh.

In a 5-0 vote, the commission voted to allow Roadside Development LLC's proposal to have a public hearing. My understanding was that originally, Roadside proposed a 110 foot structure on the site where the current Giant sits which caused unease with several of the commissioners. However, after proposing a lower structure at 90 feet (?) last night, the commission didn't feel that the new height would be as disruptive to the neighborhood and allowed it to continue to a hearing.

Congrats to all of the area residents who have supported the project since day one.

OffSeventh says the hearing will come in February so I'll keep you updated with the status.

For more about the project click HERE.
(skip to the 18th minute to review just the Roadside case)

O St Market May Have a Hiccup

Thanks to the ANC2C02 RSS feed, it was noted that at the last meeting, Roadside Developments initial plans to build to a height of 110' may not be as promising as it once was. At the recent meeting, the Zoning commission seemed a objectionable to the variance submitted by the developer to go to the increased height under their PUD, or planned unit development. According to the article, "Commissioners Jeffries, Parson, Chairman Mitten, Vice Chairman Hood and Commissioner Turnbull stated that 110ft seemed to be too disproportionate and "not tailored to the neighborhood."

O St Market Update

As many of you have passed by and seen the 1881 Market Building at the corner of O and 7th Streets NW, there may finally be movement for the development of the building. The most impressive news is that the building may soon be housing the cities largest Giant Grocery store anywhere in the city! At the recent ANC2C02 meeting, this past month, Roadside Development presented their latest illustrations for the behemoth $250 Million dollar project.

Roadside Development is known for many of their incredibly popular developments such as the Cityline at Tenley (the Best Buy Building), and Potomac Town Center. This upcoming development should be their most impressive yet. Their proposed plans include the 65,000 sq ft Giant, 600 rental & condominium units and a 180 room hotel. Given that the project is "proposed" they will be applying for a PUD, requesting for the city to allow them for the mixed use development, and I believe they will get it due to the fact that the lot is 4 acres big. Someone please correct this statement if it is wrong but it is to my understanding that if you have a single conjoined lot of 2.5 acres or more, the city will significantly favor the PUD application approval and the likelihood is increased four-fold. In addition there will be several retail locations and a restaurant.

Its a great move for the area, not much has been done here in quite a while but between this development and Broadcast Center One (Shaw, the New Entertainment Hub for DC), the area is sure to change over the next two years. For more info, read my previous blog on the market HERE.

O St Market to include 700 parking spots & a Luxury Hotel

According to Susan Ruether of DC North, the O St Market (between the John F Kennedy Center and Giant) may soon have a new face. According to the newest plans, currently with the support of Historic Review Board, there may soon be a 65,000 sq ft Giant Food, a 180 room luxury hotel, 300 Condos, 300 apartments as well as a bit of affordable housing and 7,500 sq ft of local retail.