Letter
Dear Mr. Elliott:
Due to the Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic and national health emergency, the Commission of Fine Arts cancelled its public meeting scheduled for 19 March 2020, and the Commission members were not able to hear a presentation of the final design for a new multi-family residence, The Elliott, at 3255–3259 Prospect Street, NW (OG 20-086). However, based on their review of the submitted design, the Commission members have voted by poll to provide the following recommendations and comments.
The Commission members adopted the report of the Old Georgetown Board (enclosed) and recommended approval of the project, noting the responsiveness of the proposed building’s secondary massing strategies to the immediate context. This recommendation will be placed on the administrative agenda for confirmation at the Commission’s next public meeting. As always, the staff is available to assist you with future submissions.
Sincerely,
/s/Thomas E. Luebke, FAIA
Secretary
Robert Elliott
3251 Prospect Street, NW, Suite 500
Washington, DC 20007
cc: Aubrey Jason Grant, Emotive Architecture
Encl.: Report of the Old Georgetown Board, 19 March 2020
Report
OG 20-086, HPA 20-153
3255-59 Prospect Street, NW
New four-story, mixed-use building
Permit
(Reviewed in concept as OG 16-375: Nov 2016, Dec 2016; as OG 19-185: Oct 2018, Nov 2018, Dec 2018; in permit as OG 20-086: Feb 2020, Mar 2020)
REPORT: The applicant proposes a new four-story, mixed-use building in an empty lot formerly the site of a commercial vernacular building housing a Domino’s Pizza franchise. Because of changes in program, designer, and ownership, the project has been through eight reviews with the Old Georgetown Board (OGB), with the OGB recommending permit approval on the Consent Calendar at its March 2020 meeting with the condition that the OGB review a materials mockup on site prior to construction.
In 2018, the project was reviewed by the DC Historic Preservation Review Board, which resulted in the use of a mansard roof at the third floor at the rear (north) side to mitigate the impact of the multi- family building on the single-family properties to the north. In December 2018, the project was approved by the Commission as a revised concept design on the Old Georgetown Appendix,
provided that the “mansard option is presented in permit drawings, including dormer windows that sit proud of the roof and are installed closer together, three window openings are installed at fourth-floor west elevation, the rooftop equipment is shifted north, and the trim at the storefront windows is made thinner.” Since then, the OGB has reviewed a permit submission in February 2020, when the OGB recommended that the windows have more muntin divisions, the storefront appear more vertical, the storefront cornices have texture and detailing, and the legibility of the entrances be improved.
The applicant’s current proposal reflects design changes related to all previous comments and was therefore recommended for approval by the OGB. Staff notes that we are waiting for revised drawings that show the dormers and storefronts clad in closed-grain wood instead of fiber-cement boards and molded polyurethane (Fypon) trim as documented in the current submission drawings.
RECOMMENDATION: NO OBJECTION to the final design for construction of a four-story, mixed-use building, per drawings received 20 February 2020, PROVIDED a materials mockup is reviewed on site by the OGB prior to construction. Note: Any subsequent modifications to the approved design must be resubmitted to the Commission for approval.