Columbia Heights Affordable Housing Designed for Deaf

There is a tree-lined section of Euclid Street NW in Columbia Heights where a mural of an ocean scene faces an empty, grassy lot.  That lot, at 1421 Euclid Street, NW - near the corner with 14th Street NW and a BP gas station - is the site of a future housing development designed for the deaf.

The 28-unit, $11.5 million apartment building will feature an audio-video entry system and balconies with every unit.  The building will be the second D.C. apartment building designed especially to accommodate members of the Deaf and hard-of-hearing community (Gallaudet beat them, by a bit).  The rental units will also meet the city's affordable housing requirements.

Justice Park Designed Especially For the Deaf

Buwa Binitie of Dantes Partners, the project's developer, released new renderings of the project to DCMud this week.  "This is going to look and feel like any other high-quality market-rate housing," Binitie said.  According to project architect Zachary Schooley of Grimm + Parker Architects, the apartment design, in addition to a two-way, audio-video entry system - will feature open floor plans to facilitate visual communication and signing.

The building's design considers future prospective deaf and hard-of-hearing residents' greater "reliance on the visual and tactile senses," Schooley told DCMud.  "Spaces where the tenants can openly assemble together, open stairways, large amounts of glazing and the use of color all create a more stimulating (visual) environment." The design includes eight studio units, 16 one-bedroom units, four two-bedroom units, for a total of 28 units - 9 fewer than the original plan's call for 37 units.

Schooley said architects are working to amplify well-lit spaces and minimize the number of

Park view from future Justice Park apartments on Euclid St. NW

darkened, or sharp, corners.  He said the design team had also been experimenting with textural elements, such as wall coverings, flooring materials that will enhance residents' tactile experience of the space.

Binitie said Dantes has also brought on a new development partner on the Justice Park project.  Mi Casa, Inc., an affordable housing non-profit, has replaced former development partners Perdomo Group and Capital Construction Enterprises, turning the development triad into a duo.   The switch-up happened in April, Binitie told DCMud, adding that Dantes has "always been in the lead development role in the project."

Justice Park, rendering courtesy Dantes Partners

Dantes Partners won the contract to design, build, and develop the city-owned property in July, 2010, under the administration of former mayor Adrian Fenty. The city stipulated that the building accommodate renters who meet eligibility requirements for affordable housing.  Dantes Partners is the firm behind several other
recent D.C. developments including VIDA affordable senior housing in Brightwood and the long-running but embattled redevelopment of the West End library and fire station.   

Binitie said Dantes has worked with a variety of community stakeholders during the design stage of the Justice Park project.  According to Binitie, input has come from the neighboring condo communities of The Villaggio and Fairmont, among other locals.

Justice Park, rendering courtesy Dantes Partner

Another person involved with the project since its inception is Glen Sutcliffe, an agent with W.C. & A.N. Miller, who caters to D.C.'s deaf and hard-of-hearing community.  The child of deaf parents, Sutcliffe said he immediately welcomed the opportunity, and rallied members of his network to support the project.

He said the ubiquitous open floor plans featuring joined kitchen-living-dining areas have particular value to the deaf and hard-of-hearing.  "When you are designing a living space for a deaf or hard-of-hearing individual, you have to think: everything is visual," according to Sutcliffe. He said the design would feature a strobe light fire alarm with a flash "piercing" enough to wake anyone up from a deep sleep, which would be a benefit even to the hearing. "Things that are designed and developed for a deaf person could have universal use all the time."
Although the D.C. metro area has a higher concentration of deaf individuals than almost any other locale in the world, Sutcliffe said, housing options for the deaf are extraordinarily underrepresented. "People might ask why we are doing this," Sutcliffe said. "Because a deaf person goes to buy a condo or a co-op or rent an apartment in the District and they have to do battle with the board, builder, or landlord to get accommodations."

Sutcliffe said even the simplest and cheapest feature is one that more builders could integrate into their designs:  the audio-video entry system. "It is my sincere hope that this building may serve as a model for other developers to design their building similarly as far as accessibility,"  Sutcliffe told DCMud. "What is necessity for the deaf community could be an amenity for the hearing population - if you look at it that way, it makes perfect sense."

But as stipulated by fair housing law, the apartments must be made available for rental to anyone eligible for affordable housing on a first-come, first-serve basis.  However, Binitie said, marketing will be "aggressively targeting deaf professionals." Renters must earn between 30 and 60 percent of the area median income (AMI), or, no more than $60,000 a year. Binitie says he expects ground-breaking will take place in early 2013, and the units will open to reservation until six months after construction.

"It will be first-come first-serve according to fair housing, but you have to understand that these are going to accessible units and we are going to try to accommodate as many (deaf) as possible," said Sutcliffe.

Washington D.C. real estate development news

Unbuilt DC: Public Murals Dot DC's Underdeveloped Landscape

Map of BicycleSpace & MuralsDC bike tour

While DC is rife with cranes and construction projects, for some sites the time has not yet come - at least not for condos. In a whirlwind, art-chasing bike journey that led through the northwest DC neighborhoods of Shaw, Columbia Heights, Kalorama, and the U Street Corridor, MuralsDC hosted a mural bike tour this weekend chasing down 18 of the city's (officially sanctioned) murals.  

MuralsDC and bike purveyor BicycleSpace, located on 7th Street NW between the Shaw and Mount Vernon Triangle neighborhoods, organized the mural tour.  The (official) murals are publicly-funded through the MuralsDC program, an organization established in 2007 with the goal of deterring graffiti on historically "frequently-tagged" walls.

Eric B. Ricks (right) in front of his mural at 8th and S Streets NW

Through the program, building owners can apply for their building to be considered for a mural.  The city - through the DC Department of Public Works (DPW) and the D.C. Commission on the Arts and the Humanities (DCCAH) - works in collaboration with the group Words Beats & Life Inc to settle on the artists and designs.  In DC, at least 35 murals have been painted through the MuralsDC program and seven more are being created this summer.  Four of those, according to MuralsDC tour guides, were due to be completed yesterday.

Albus Cavus's "Blended", 2030 8th St NW

During a stop at one of the newest MuralsDC works - due for completion this summer - mural artist Eric B. Ricks, whose art appears at S and 8th Streets NW,  said his hummingbird piece reflects the ideas of work and productivity, and is also a symbol that could be a harbinger of joy for the neighborhood.  "The humming bird is one of the hardest-working animals," Eric B. told us.  "As a totem animal, it always carries joy and brings joy wherever he goes."

From Albus Cavus's "Blended"

Other graffiti art groups create non-publicly funded murals, such as the D.C. collaborative public art and art education group Albus Cavus.  One of the group's murals - "Blended" - appears at 2030 8th St. NW, a building due for demolition in October.  Albus Cavus artists painted the building's walls during an art performance party and fundraising event - organized by Albus Cavus and AIGA Washington - at the site in June.  The event raised money to support Albus Cavus's programming. JBG Companies donated the site for the event.  The building is also currently home to the pop-up gallery The Randall Scott Projects.

MuralsDC mural at Walter Pierce Park

The MuralsDC program also aims to engage youth in the neighborhoods where the murals are painted; one mural was painted by an artist who worked with neighborhood children, giving paint to passersby for contribution.

A public art mapping platform by the ArtAround project has created an open-source inventory of DC public art, including murals.  Users can search by type of art, funding source, and location.

"Every Day I See Something New," by Cita Sadeli, Champlain Street NW

"Let's Meet at the Corner", artist Alicia Cosnahan, 13th St. and Park Rd. NW

"My DC" - Corner of 14th and Randolph Streets NW

NDC's Renovates Columbia Heights Eyesore

Local developer The Neighborhood Development Company (NDC) has commenced work on Columbia Courts, an 11-unit boutique condominium project at 1225 Fairmont Street, NW in Columbia Heights.  Columbia Courts will replace the unattractive apartment building at the same address, the appearance of which has been even worse by sitting vacant and unkept.

"We just recently broke ground," says Juan Powell, Principal at NDC.  "Well, I shouldn't say break ground - we're doing a comprehensive renovation of the existing structure.  Gutting it, redoing everything.  We started renovations last month and we expect to be done by September or October."

NDC won the rights to redevelop the building at 1225 Fairmont through a competitive solicitation process overseen by the District of Columbia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD).  The property had previously been under the control of the Development Corporation of Columbia Heights (DCCH), which, in conjunction with five tenant households, made a winning bid of $427,000 for the property at a 2001 HUD auction.  But by 2010, the building had fallen vacant, and the District was soliciting bids for a new development.

Columbia Courts will feature a large interior landscaped courtyard, balcony units, and below-grade parking. And while all the units will be designated "affordable," they will all include finishes such as "wood floors, hard surface countertops, and stainless steel appliances."

NDC Builders, an affiliate of The Neighborhood Development Company, is the general contractor on the project, and PGN Architects spearheaded the redesign.

Washington D.C. real estate development news