
There hasn't been much made public yet about this development, other than it will be a mix of office, residential, and retail, and the
hearing announcement says that the FAR will be 7.9 and the maximum building height will be 110 feet. In addition to the overlay review (which sets out some
firm guidelines for projects along M Street and in the Ballpark District), Akridge is also asking for relief from roof structure requirements, loading requirements, ground-floor retail requirements, and step-back requirements.
It's been reported that Akridge is expecting to begin on the project in 2010; they've hired
HOK (designers of the ballpark and the
Plaza on K),
Esocoff & Associates (
Onyx) and
StreetSense Inc. to design what an
Akridge press release calls a "one-of-a-kind destination." Quoting further: "'Half Street is the city's newest and most unique urban destination,' says Matthew J. Klein, Akridge President. 'This stretch between the Metro and the ballpark has great energy and we look forward to capitalizing on that and other natural amenities like the river, to deliver the area's best urban living, working, shopping, dining, and entertainment project.'"
I've marked this movement by finally giving the site
its own project page (now separate from the old "
Ballpark District" page). Hopefully in the lead-up to the zoning hearing we'll get a peek at some renderings.