300 Unit Tower Proposed Near Hechinger Mall

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Rendering of 1625 Benning c/o Valor Development.
Valor Development is looking to construct a 303 unit apartment building across from Hechinger Mall on Benning Road NE. PGN Architects are the architects for the project. A. Morton Thomas and Associates are acting landscape architects and civil engineers. Bozzuto will ultimately mange the property.

The "Valvaere" would be located at 1625 Benning Rd NE, consolidating nine parcels including what is now Trinidad Baptist Church and attached surface parking lot. The Valvaere will actually be comprised of two buildings; a nine story, 90 foot tall building facing Benning Road, and a 3 story, 38 foot tall building facing 16th St NE. About 7,000 sq ft of ground floor retail is incorporated into the plans. 100+ on-site parking spaces would be provided in a below grade parking lot. There will be over 100 bike storage spaces as well, protected, inside the building.
Bird's eye view of Benning Rd. Rendered with Google Earth©
This building is near plenty of retail including Hechinger Mall and the shops and restaurants of H Street. Transit-wise, it is on the X2 bus line, and one block from a DC Streetcar platform. Stops for the X8 and B2 buses are about two blocks away. The closest Metro stations are Stadium Armory (1 mile) and Union Station (1.5 miles).

It's been about one year since Capital City Real Estate proposed a 180 unit building at 17th & Benning. And Washington Business Journal recently concluded that 5 of the 10 largest residential building under construction in the greater Washington area are in Northeast DC, with two on H St NE. This could signal a wave of apartment and condo buildings in and around Carver Langston. There are a fair number of undeveloped lots in the neighborhood, including on Bladensburg Rd, Benning Rd, and Maryland Avenue. 
2008 planning doc from DC Office of Planning.
An Office of Planning document from 2008 (part of the Benning Road Small Area Plan) outlined possible development in this part of northeast, identifying specific parcels, including the site of 1701 H Street and the Valvaere development. With $2,200+ per month "micro-units" being celebrated on 14th Street NW, the sentiment of affordability for new projects has been shed for much of midtown, downtown, and all but a few areas between Rock Creek Park and North Capitol Street. With the prospect of streetcar expansion eastward toward Minnesota Avenue, the wave of large scale residential (and perhaps commercial) development will move beyond North Capitol, Noma, and Union Market and into Carver Langston, River Terrace, and Benning.

We need more housing in DC. We need diverse new housing. Housing for families and single people and cohabitants. But we have to maintain real affordability. That means first time home-buyer programs programs, steadfast inclusionary zoning, strong tenant rights, rent control, housing assistance, mandates for living wages, and meaningful services for people experiencing homelessness.

Making good use of available land is important and I would say vital, but not to the detriment of those who live around newly developed properties. They should have a stake in the success stories these developers are trying to sell. They've enabled the success stories and lifestyle the developers are trying to sell. That being said, this project will have more than 20 affordable units via inclusionary zoning. It's not clear how much market rate units will rent for, but the building will have amenities such as a pool, gym, interior courtyards, green roof, and a community garden space with rentable plots. 

The Valvaere is set to deliver in 2018.

Read more:
Nine-Story, Mixed-Use Development Proposed to Replace Church on Benning Road
Valor Development Submits Plans to Bring 303 Apartments East of H Street
Fears of Gentrification Shadow Northeast Community Development
Looking south toward 1625 Benning Road NE, from Hechinger Mall. Trinidad Baptist Church is on the right.
Looking southeast toward 1625 Benning Road NE, from Hechinger Mall. The China House restaurant would remain.

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