Aria Development Seeks To Demolish NoMa Exxon Where It Plans Mixed-Use Project
The mixed-use development planned for a prime corner in NoMa appears to be moving forward.
An affiliate of Aria Development Group applied last week for a permit to raze the gas station and convenience store at the corner of Florida Avenue NE and North Capitol Street, Office of Planning records show.
The raze permit application comes after Aria acquired the Exxon gas station property on the Florida Avenue-North Capitol Street corner in September 2018 for $25.5M. The developer in 2016 bought several adjacent properties on P Street.
The developer in August 2018 obtained a $25M loan from EagleBank for the property, and in July the bank extended another $910K, according to documents filed in the D.C. Recorder of Deeds. EagleBank's Tony Marquez said the loan was for acquisition and pre-development services, such as design and permitting, but not a construction loan, and he does not know the project's timeline. Aria didn't respond to a request for comment.
Aria said in 2018 it was planning a "prominent mixed-use building" on the site, but it has not released further details. The site's zoning allows for high-density mixed-use developments up to 130 feet tall, the same as most of the NoMa neighborhood. The property sits less than a half-mile from the NoMa Metro station.
"It’s a tremendous location,” Aria founding partner Joshua Benaim said in a 2018 statement. “It sits between the beloved neighborhoods of Bloomingdale and Shaw, Union Market with its new Trader Joe’s, and the office and transportation hub of NoMa. We are excited to help weave back together the fabric of this neighborhood.”
Aria last year delivered a 156-unit apartment building on the 14th Street Corridor, branded as The Clifton. The developer also has projects in Foggy Bottom, Hyattsville and Columbia Heights.
