Is Something Finally Getting Built at Florida and North Capitol?

By Marisa M. Kashino on April 6, 2016

Bloomingdale, Eckington, and Truxton Circle are among the fastest changing neighborhoods in DC, rife with new condo projects and rowhouse gut-jobs. But the main intersection of Florida Avenue and North Capitol Street, where all three neighborhoods meet, has been slow to keep up, thanks in large part to the vacant lot in its northwest corner. For neighbors, it’s long been a point of concern—walking past the vast empty space at 1600 North Capitol Street after dark, for instance, isn’t exactly comforting. Property records show that gas-station magnate Joe Mamo has been sitting on the 19,000-square-foot site since 2003, when he bought it for $825,000 (it’s currently assessed at $2,848,620). Three years ago, he finally seemed to be headed toward developing it, retaining highly regarded architecture firm Bonstra Haresign to draw up plans for a seven-story residential building there. We asked Bill Bonstra, one of the firm’s name partners, about the project a couple of weeks ago, and he explained that progress had essentially stalled since last spring.
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And here is a brief update by the Washingtonian:

UPDATE: Anastasia Kharchenko, a vice president with J Street’s retail division, confirms that she is “soft marketing” the plan to potential retail tenants. However, there is no projected timeline for construction to begin.