Near the northeastern edge of the footprint of the Yards, on the southeast corner of 5th and M, stands the old Gun Assembly / Broadside Mount Shop building, also known as
Building 202, built in 1941 and waiting its turn as the next historic building in the neighborhood to be "adaptively reused."
When plans to redevelop the old Southeast Federal Center into
The Yards were unveiled, Building 202 was included in the lineup of the project's first phase, and was said to be on the boards
to be redeveloped by PN Hoffman as a 270ish-unit condo building. But other than some
very basic renderings and a
few tentative dates that quietly came and went, the building has remain untouched.
But perhaps that is about to change, as the
Washington Business Journal is reporting that "numerous developers have approached Forest City about buying and redeveloping" the 215,000-square-foot building, prompting the decision to now actually
market the site for sale, with offers due on Oct. 15. ("Price not disclosed.")
(This second image of Building 202 was taken from the roof of the old Capper Seniors building in late 2007, shortly before its demolition and long before Twelve12 and its Harris Teeter arose next to 202.) The building is described as having potential "as an industrial loft-style office space, a boutique hotel, high quality condominium units or cultural use." The sales flyer also mentions the central atrium that "extends the full height of the building" and that 202 is part of the Washington Navy Yard Historic District, which means that any buyer will have quite the steeplechase of approvals to get before doing anything to the building. (One would also imagine that Forest City would want any future plans for the building to fit in with the rest of the tableau at the Yards.)
As for PN Hoffman, the developer did not forsake the Yards--the company
purchased the "
Parcel O" site at 4th and Tingey last year and is moving forward with a
130ish-unit condo building on that site, with a new Forest City rental building planned immediately to its south. Both buildings are expected to begin construction early in 2016, and in fact just today a reader alerted me
to a new sign on the lot announcing "Condo Sales Spring 2016/PN Hoffman."