Walking Through a Potential Development Site

by Joe Stampone on June 28, 2010

  • Sharebar

Throughout my internship in DC I’ve been living at my brother’s college house in Brookland, just steps from the Brookland/CUA red line metro stop. Having spent some time wandering the streets, I’ve struggled to get a feel for the area and where it’s headed economically.

Brookland is filled with Catholic institutions and organizations including The Catholic University of America, Trinity University and the Mount Saint Sepulchre Franciscan Monastery Center. Nearly 60 Catholic institutions called the area home by 1940.  Brookland has been nicknamed “Little Rome” by the many Catholic institutions clustered around CUA.

Brookland has developed into a neighborhood integrated among economic classes and races with a small, but thriving business community centered along the main street, 12th St. NE. However, the street has an odd clutter of misplaced retail, but at the same time stores that show signs of gentrification (organic markets, cafes etc). I’m really amazed that the main street corridor just steps from the red line metro and a major private university has a number of vacant buildings.

There’s one parcel in particular that I think would be a great development site, if you had the time, experience, energy, local connections and expertise to make it happen. Here it is, below I’ve noted some of my initial thoughts on the development potential.

View from 12th Street

Red is the site blue is the Brookland/CUA metro stop

  • The site is a vacant former auto-body shop that must undergo soil remediation to be used for affordable housing or student housing with commercial space on the ground floor (brownfield site). Note small brownfield sites are always inefficient to remediate.
  • The site sits in a c-1 zone which permits matter-of-right neighborhood retail and personal service establishments and certain youth residential care homes and community residence facilities to a maximum lot occupancy of 60% for residential use, a maximum FAR of 1.0, and a maximum height of three (3) stories/forty (40) feet. Rear yard requirements are twenty (20) feet; one family detached dwellings follow R-1 side yard requirements, one family semi-detached dwellings follow R-2 side yard requirements. Therefore, a variance will be needed for the proposed development. It’s worth noting that there is a basic older condo development across the street.
  • I would use modular construction while making an effort to hire local, minority, and female residents to participate in the construction of the development in their own neighborhood.
  • I would establish a partnership of private and public funders, local non-profits, Catholic University, community leaders etc.
  • The goal would be to raise the bar for design, energy efficiency and green building in a way that can be replicated across the area.
  • The project will take many funding sources (I would imagine at least 5 or more sources of funding to make this feasible).buy drugs without prescription alt=”" width=”300″ height=”234″ />

I picture something like this with ground floor retail, possibly a live/work space while maintaining the design and architectural integrity of the downtown.

Do you think this site has development potential? What are the issues that a developer is sure to run into?

Similar Posts:

  • http://www.astudentoftherealestategame.com/ Joe Stampone

    A few minor thoughts I wanted to add. This site probably contains petroleum contanmination which is com0plicated to clean up. Often CDC's own similar properties and they aren't developed because they don't know how to go about the clean-up process.

    Also, the owner of this site is likely just holding onto the property until the market recovers.

  • Florida Property

    Great post, very interesting concept. You make a good point that all the factors need to come into play. Selecting a good property agent is most important for property management who helps you throughout the buying process and beyond to completion.

    Florida Property