UPDATE 2/6/20: On January 30, 2020, HPRB issued the following action related to this property. It is included below and can also be accessed at this link.
CLEVELAND PARK HISTORIC DISTRICT
3400 Connecticut Avenue and 2911 Newark Street NW, HPA 20-043, concept/ construct two new buildings for residential and retail [continuation of Dec 19 meeting].
The Board made the following findings:
(1) The conceptual site plan is respectful of the site organization of the Macklin and compatible with the character of the historic district, but making the north side of the townhouse/retail building parallel to the south elevation should be evaluated;
(2) The height and mass of the new buildings are generally compatible with the historic district, subject to elimination of the penthouse and providing additional setbacks on the south and north elevations of the apartment building;
(3) The architectural character of the townhouse/retail building is generally compatible, but the Newark Street elevation should be simplified and the design of the top floor restudied;
4) The architectural character of the apartment building needs to be rethought, simplified and made more compatible. The scale of fenestration, use of projections, material color choices, and whether the building could be further lowered in height should all be studied.
5) The project should return for further review by the Board when ready.
Vote: 6-0.
ORIGINAL POST:
Many of you have been following the proposal to build two retail/residential structures on either side of the Macklin Apartments at 2911 Newark/3400 Connecticut Avenue. Here is a summary of the current status and the ways in which CPHS has engaged thus far with the developers and the Historic Preservation Office/Historic Preservation Review Board (HPO/HPRB).
Current status:
HPRB will hear additional comments from the community this Thursday, January 30, at 10:30am (for details, see HPRB agenda here).
- This hearing is a continuation of the hearing in December. If you are interested in submitting letters and/or providing testimony, you are encouraged to attend the meeting or submit them here.
- If you wish to watch the hearing, but are unable to attend in person, a livestream will be available here on the day of the hearing.
- The HPO Staff Report on the proposal was presented at the December HPRB meeting and can be found here.
CPHS Engagement:
- Rick Nash, President of CPHS, testified on behalf of CPHS at the December HPRB hearing. His testimony can be seen here (beginning at minute 4:30)
- and read here.
- Tersh Boasberg, a founding member and former president of CPHS, and chair of the HPRB for 11 years, also testified. His testimony is here.
- Richard Longstreth represented the Committee of 100 with his testimony (which supported the CPHS position) linked here.
- The CPHS Board drafted a resolution (link here) on the proposed development and submitted it to the ANC and HPO/HPRB. The resolution referenced the original Cleveland Park Historic District Registration (here) as the core support for the
- The developers presented their plans to the CPHS Architectural Review Committee (ARC) on two occasions in November and December 2019. Members of the Cleveland Park community also attended these meetings and shared their opinions. The ARC issued its report after each of the November (here) and December (here) meeting.
We will provide another update after HPRB has released their decision on the project.
