Abandoned 30 Years, 1442 T Street to Get Renovation

The electricity was turned off sometime before 1983. A significant portion of the existing structure has decayed and collapsed. Some walls are braced from the inside. D.C. authorities have replaced part of the roof with plywood sheeting.

Inside 1442 T Street today (Photo credit below)

A committee of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont Circle has heard a plan to covert a long-abandoned single-family house at 1442 T Street NW into a livable space. If it clears the necessary bureaucratic hurdles, 1442 T Street will once again be a single family home. It will be expanded to three levels and approximately 2,700 square feet, of which about 700 square feet will be in the basement.
 
Representatives of E/L Studio made the presentation at the regular monthly meeting of ANC2B's Zoning, Preservation and Development (ZPD) Committee last night (December 3).

The proposed design would replace the existing L-shaped footprint. In its place would be a third story addition at the rear, and would create an enclosed lightwell on the north side of property.

According to testimony at the meeting, the proposed third floor addition would not be visible from T Street.

E/L Studio is seeking ANC2B endorsement on the renovation before they bring their project to D.C.'s Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) for approval. HPRB approval is necessary because 1442 T Street is located in the U Street Historic District. No additional permissions or zoning variances will be required for the project to move forward.

ZPD committee chair Leo Dwyer (Commissioner for District 07) expressed enthusiasm for the project.

"It will be taking an abandoned structure and revitalizing it," he said.

No vote was taken at the meeting, but remarks by the commissioners indicated they would probably endorse it at the next meeting of the full ANC, scheduled for December 18 11, 7pm, at the Brookings Institution (1775 Massachusetts Avenue). Commissioner Noah Smith (district 09) said he would write up a resolution and circulate it to the other ANC Commissioners before the meeting.

1442 T Street is in Smith's ANC district.

Online records show 1442 T Street was built in 1870 and sold in September 2013 for $450,000. 

(Photo credit: from documents presented by E/L Studio to the ZPD Committee)