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Wednesday, March 05, 2014
87 Florida Avenue NW exterior -- now stuccoed
The blue tarp came down in front of 87 Florida Avenue NW. The exterior brick has been covered with stucco -- and painted moss green. What do you think?
Wonder if it's stuccoed because of the massive cracks that were running through the middle of the exterior. I couldn't tell from the masonry work they were performing whether this issue was fixed or simply masked. Definitely something for potential homeowners to be aware of...
Interesting that the owner hasn't really done anything to the ground floor other than stucco the outside (relatively cheap to do)... No added windows, boards over the window openings. Makes me think (hope) there are additional changes to come, including storefront glass and a retail tenant.
When they first started working on the exterior, they were removing grout like they were going to repoint, but then the tarp went up,
They removed the door and steps at the corner where the small window is. There had also been steps to a basement that had been blocked earlier (I think).
When the building was on the market, there was talk of it becoming a wine bar.
Yep, I saw them starting that masonry work as well but, as you say, the tarp went up. From what I saw, it did not look as if the problem was going to be fixed. But who knows at this point. If anyone sees someone looking at this space, I would suggest letting them know that this could still be a structural issue with the building.
Thank you for sharing valuable information. Nice post. I enjoyed reading this post. The whole blog is very nice found some good stuff and good information here Thanks..Also visit my page florida background check We believe that our customers are entitled to solutions that fit their needs.
If they are doing renovations for retail use they should at least make the place WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE. I am so sick of violations of the federal law (Americans With Disabilities Act or ADA) and then having to deal with the owners after the fact who have loads of excuses (can't afford, blah blah blah, "it's historic building" blah blah blah, "we don't get wheelchair users coming here" blah blah blah). DC govt is of course major league remiss here as they don't ensure this when they issue permits for renovations. Lawsuit waiting to happen....
Its hideous and I'm disappointed. I thought the tarp was going to be removed and a great brick exterior would be revealed. I can only hope that something better is coming.
I'm the owner of the building and happy to offer a few updates on what is coming to the space. We'll be opening offices there for a small DC company. We have a young, friendly, urban staff who love and live in the area or in nearby neighborhoods. We promise to be good neighbors and we're VERY committed to the community. I apologize for not openly sharing our name (since we haven't yet coordinated our move and announced that we're moving and because our timeline is still dependent upon when work to the building is done and the permitting timeline - we won't very openly share our name yet).
Sorry there won't be a wine bar (we would love one too) but we have additional exterior plans for the building to add even more visual appeal including new windows on the main floor, and glass/wood exterior door, new fencing, iron work and permanent landscaping on the south side of the building, planters to the west and new lighting. It will also be ADA accessible through a new rear entrance and ramp that is going in the back (even though we don't serve the public). Before the exterior stucco was done, the building was waterproofed and re-pointed where the severe cracking happened. We are certainly bummed to hear that some folks think it's hideous. But we're gonna try not to take it personally. To reply to some of the comments here - the building was structurally assessed by several engineers. It has been badly abused over the last century and we're doing all we can and spending all we can afford to preserve it. The exterior brick was NOT salvagable and our only option was to work with stucco to give the exterior a much needed facelift. The interior work and remainder of the exterior work will be done over the summer once the remaining permits are done and then we hope to enjoy being everyone's neighbor! When we're open, we'll be having an open house to invite folks to see what we did. We do hope to be value add!
Wonder if it's stuccoed because of the massive cracks that were running through the middle of the exterior. I couldn't tell from the masonry work they were performing whether this issue was fixed or simply masked. Definitely something for potential homeowners to be aware of...
ReplyDeleteInteresting that the owner hasn't really done anything to the ground floor other than stucco the outside (relatively cheap to do)... No added windows, boards over the window openings. Makes me think (hope) there are additional changes to come, including storefront glass and a retail tenant.
ReplyDeleteWhen they first started working on the exterior, they were removing grout like they were going to repoint, but then the tarp went up,
ReplyDeleteThey removed the door and steps at the corner where the small window is. There had also been steps to a basement that had been blocked earlier (I think).
When the building was on the market, there was talk of it becoming a wine bar.
Yep, I saw them starting that masonry work as well but, as you say, the tarp went up. From what I saw, it did not look as if the problem was going to be fixed. But who knows at this point. If anyone sees someone looking at this space, I would suggest letting them know that this could still be a structural issue with the building.
DeleteIts ugly and doesnt fit our neighborhood. I wonder also if its just to cover up the cracks. Which would be sad.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing valuable information. Nice post. I enjoyed reading this post. The whole blog is very nice found some good stuff and good information here Thanks..Also visit my page florida background check We believe that our customers are entitled to solutions that fit their needs.
ReplyDeleteIf they are doing renovations for retail use they should at least make the place WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE. I am so sick of violations of the federal law (Americans With Disabilities Act or ADA) and then having to deal with the owners after the fact who have loads of excuses (can't afford, blah blah blah, "it's historic building" blah blah blah, "we don't get wheelchair users coming here" blah blah blah). DC govt is of course major league remiss here as they don't ensure this when they issue permits for renovations. Lawsuit waiting to happen....
ReplyDeleteIts hideous and I'm disappointed. I thought the tarp was going to be removed and a great brick exterior would be revealed. I can only hope that something better is coming.
ReplyDeleteI'm the owner of the building and happy to offer a few updates on what is coming to the space. We'll be opening offices there for a small DC company. We have a young, friendly, urban staff who love and live in the area or in nearby neighborhoods. We promise to be good neighbors and we're VERY committed to the community. I apologize for not openly sharing our name (since we haven't yet coordinated our move and announced that we're moving and because our timeline is still dependent upon when work to the building is done and the permitting timeline - we won't very openly share our name yet).
ReplyDeleteSorry there won't be a wine bar (we would love one too) but we have additional exterior plans for the building to add even more visual appeal including new windows on the main floor, and glass/wood exterior door, new fencing, iron work and permanent landscaping on the south side of the building, planters to the west and new lighting. It will also be ADA accessible through a new rear entrance and ramp that is going in the back (even though we don't serve the public). Before the exterior stucco was done, the building was waterproofed and re-pointed where the severe cracking happened. We are certainly bummed to hear that some folks think it's hideous. But we're gonna try not to take it personally. To reply to some of the comments here - the building was structurally assessed by several engineers. It has been badly abused over the last century and we're doing all we can and spending all we can afford to preserve it. The exterior brick was NOT salvagable and our only option was to work with stucco to give the exterior a much needed facelift. The interior work and remainder of the exterior work will be done over the summer once the remaining permits are done and then we hope to enjoy being everyone's neighbor! When we're open, we'll be having an open house to invite folks to see what we did. We do hope to be value add!