Hive Hotel Gets ANC Buzzing

ANC 2A
November 19 2015

ANC 2A and Neighbors Have Reservations

Developer Jim Abdo, the name behind such as Wooster-Mercer Lofts, Landmark at Senate Square, Monroe Street Market and Bryan Street Lofts, is launching Abdo Hospitality with the renovation and restoration of the former Allen Lee Hotel in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of the District.

Located at 2224 F Street NW in Foggy Bottom at the corner of F Street and Virginia Avenue, the Allen Lee previously offered low-cost rooms to travelers and locals with minimal accommodation needs.

Abdo's Hive Hotel will be DC's first pod hotel, offering rooms of approximately 250 square feet in size. Restoration of much of the original exterior, along with incorporation of architectural elements such as 115 year-old exposed brick on the interior, is well underway, The interior design is hip, urban and smart, utilizing tech and small space storage solutions to offer guests a compact-but-stylish, plugged-in experience. Hive Hotel will also offer a summer garden and sidewalk cafe. Located very near Foggy Bottom Metro Station (orange, silver & blue lines), the hotel will also be convenient to Foggy Bottom's Whole Foods market, various eateries and shops, Georgetown and West End.

So why did ANC 2A commissioners and some local residents issue a stinging protest against Hotel Hive;s liquor license application at Wednesday night's ANC 2A meeting?

In short, parking, traffic congestion and noise. Residents worry that there is not enough space in front of or behind the building to allow for deliveries, loading and unloading of passengers and luggage, or taxi service.

From one resident:"You have no loading dock..." and "The width between the wall and the sidewalk is about the length of a car. I think you've exaggerated your space availability." 


VIDEO

Abdo responded that a 100' no parking zone in front of the hotel will be designated for loading and unloading:


VIDEO

Noise, roofdeck, summer garden and sidewalk cafe operation hours were primarily at issue, with some residents complaining that noise in the area has an amphitheater effect throughout the neighborhood:


VIDEO

Abdoi Hospitality seeks approval for:

1. Application by “Abdo F St., LLC” (dba Abdotel) for a substantial change to their Retailer’s Class “C” Hotel liquor license (2224 F Street NW, ABRA-090189) 
   

Commissioners unanimously voted to protest on the basis of parking, noise and diminution of property value.

Aldo and his team stated their intention to work with the commission to reach solutions agreeable to neighbors.