1324 W Street: Renovation Shorter, Less Visible

Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 1B/U Street voted at its February 6 meeting to endorse a planned pop-up and rear expansion on a row house located at 1324 W Street NW. The original proposal (reported in an SALM blog post of November 20, 2013) was modified after the local community and D.C.'s Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) expressed concerns.

1324 W Street in 2013

The pop-up will be 15 inches shorter than originally planned and not visible from the street. The HPRB in its latest report on the project pledged to conduct pre-construction tests to make sure the pop-up would not be visible from the street.

The same report noted the planned front basement entry had been removed. The size of planned rear balconies had been reduced as well, so that they no longer wrap around the back of the building.

Jim Shetler of Baltimore-based Trace Architects told ANC1B the building will still have four apartments, as originally planned, on three stories and a cellar. There will be 4000 square feet, Shetler said.

The Meridian Hill Neighborhood Association and U Street Neighborhood Association have both approved the project.

Shetler sought ANC1B endorsement before returning to HPRB for final approval.

He will need to return to ANC1B for a separate endorsement of his application for a special exception from D.C.'s Board of Zoning Adjustments (BZA). The proposed modification requires BZA approval because the renovated building will have a floor area ratio (FAR) of 2.2. D.C. zoning regulations say buildings in this district should not have an FAR of more than 1.8.

ANC1B's Design Review Committee recommended that the full ANC endorse the renovation as modified.

The vote was 6-1 with two abstentions.

Commissioners voting in favor: Marc Morgan (district 01), Juan Lopez (07), Emily Washington (08), James Turner (09), Tony Norman (10), and Zahra Jilani (12).

Commissioner voting against: Ricardo Reinoso (05).

Abstentions: Jeremy Leffler (02) and Dyana Forester (06).

Commissioner E. Gail Anderson-Holness (11) arrived too late to the meeting to vote on this project.

Commissioners Sedrick Muhammed (03) and Deborah Thomas (04) were not present at the meeting. 

1324 W Street is located in the ANC district of Commissioner Thomas.