Office Building Near Union Station Eyed For Hotel, Retail Redevelopment
An office building near Union Station that is losing its federal government anchor tenant could soon undergo a major redevelopment.
The RMR Group filed an application with the Board of Zoning Adjustments seeking to rezone the site at 20 Massachusetts Ave. NW to increase the building's height and allow a mix of uses, including hotel and retail.
The office-only building has been occupied by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which is preparing to vacate several leased locations in D.C. to move to a newly built headquarters near the Branch Avenue Metro station in Prince George's County.
The owner is seeking to increase the building's height from 88 to 110 feet. The project would convert the building into a mixed-use property with four floors of office space above four floors of hotel space, with a mix of office, hotel and retail space on the lower two floors.
The project, first reported by UrbanTurf, would also have penthouse amenity space for the office tenants and hotel guests, including a rooftop bar and restaurant. It would have two below-grade parking levels.
Renderings of the project show the developer plans to reskin the building's facade to include floor-to-ceiling windows. The owner is working with architect Leo A Daly to design the project.
The building was previously owned by Government Properties Income Trust, which in 2018 merged with Select Income REIT to form Office Properties Income Trust. The RMR Group manages the REIT's properties.
