Proposal for 926 N Street, NW

The CCCA has the scoop on a plan for a three story, mixed use (fourteen residences, two retail spaces), fifty four foot tall building for 926 N Street, NW.  The HPRB Staff Report (viewable here in PDF) indicates that the design is a work-in-progress (particularly with regard to scale, materials and detailing of the front and alley façades), and the project is on the agenda for tomorrow night's ANC2F meeting, so now is the time for community input to help shape how this project ultimately looks.

Here are some of the renderings:

What do you think of the current design for 926 N Street?  Can a well designed modern structure be appropriate at this site?  Or should a building at this site -- an entrance to Blagden Alley -- replicate existing alley architecture?  What materials would you like to see used?  What changes would you suggest regarding the current design?  

Everytime I see a proposal for a modern building in a historic district, I'm reminded of a panel I attended in 2010 at the AIA called Context/Contrast:  New Architecture in Historic Districts. The discussion was inspired by an an exhibition at the AIA headquarters exploring the role and realization of new architecture in urban historic districts.  It was neat to see what a beautiful justaposition modern and historic design can be together, and it also explored some not-so-great examples of attempts at the same.

625 Rhode Island Avenue Development Underway

This weekend I noticed that work on the United House of Prayer's condominium development at 625 Rhode Island Avenue, NW is underway.  Notably, the site has been cleared of four row houses (which can be seen prior to demolition here) and fenced off. 

According to Urban Turf, the project will include sixteen two and three-bedroom units, and half of the units will be affordable to households earning 60 to 80 percent of the area median income. The Reatig-designed development will have eleven parking spaces, open green space at ground level, a green roof, and a small rooftop deck

Here's a look at how things look now:

And here's a rendering of what's in store for the site:

The Development tab above has been updated to reflect the status of this project.