Douglas Plans 615-Unit Redevelopment Of Historic D.C. Building
Douglas Development Corp., a developer known for reviving historic D.C. buildings, is planning another major adaptive reuse project in Southwest D.C.
The company filed plans with the Zoning Commission on Dec. 24 to redevelop the Cotton Annex property at 300 12th St. SW into 615 apartments, UrbanTurf reported.
The Zoning Commission filing is a request for relief from the prohibition against increasing building density of a designated historic structure. It comes after the Commission of Fine Arts held a hearing on the project in November, during which it expressed "strong support" and provided recommendations.
Douglas acquired the Cotton Annex building at an auction from the General Services Administration for $30M in 2017. The historic building, a six-story, 80K SF structure, occupies about one-fifth of the site's total land area, according to the application.
The developer proposes to rehabilitate the existing structure and add 370K SF of new construction to the site, an apartment building reaching up to 118 feet high. The historic building will contain roughly 100 of the project's 615 apartments.
The development would form a C-shape around a central courtyard, and it would have about 1,400 SF of ground-floor retail or service uses. It would also include a fitness center and other tenant amenities.
The project is the latest in a series of historic D.C. buildings that Douglas has redeveloped.
The developer last year completed the $15M renovation of a 1930s-era East End office building. In 2017, Douglas completed the redevelopment of a printing press building in Brookland into 296 apartments.
Douglas in 2015 completed the redevelopment of the Hecht Warehouse into 335 apartments, and it has repurposed a series of other old Ivy City buildings. It also redeveloped the Uline Arena in NoMa into office and retail space, including a flagship REI.
Additionally, Douglas turned its Manhattan Laundry and Wonder Bread Factory buildings into creative offices and leased them to WeWork, though the coworking provider closed both locations last year.
