Amid the hustle and bustle in Downtown’s vibrant Chinatown community, comes another exciting development project planned for the area near the northeast corner of 7th and H streets. It’s called Gallery Tower. Monument Realty will develop a 10-story building with 80,000 square feet (SF) of office space and 10,500 SF of retail space on the first two floors. The building will stand just a few yards from the Chinatown Arch and abut Douglas Development Corporation’s (702 H Street) development project underway on the prime, northeast corner of 7th and H streets.
“These two important, and difficult to execute, infill projects will complete the development adjacent to the 7th and H Street intersection, which is often referred to as ‘DC’s Time Square,’” says Gerry Widdicombe, the DowntownDC BID’s director of economic development. “In addition to further enlivening the northeast corner of the intersection with ground floor retail, these projects will bring $3 million to $4 million in annual new property and sales tax revenue to the city.”
Widdicombe also noted that the Monument Realty project will bring the number of remaining vacant lots, or surface parking lots, in the DowntownDC BID area to single digits for the first time in decades.
The Monument Realty 627-631 H Street development site was once home to the popular China Doll Gourmet restaurant, which closed in 2006 and was later razed. Construction on the new building will begin this spring, with a late 2014 delivery date. Once completed, it will not only tower above nearby buildings, including those housing Vapiano (625 H Street) and Tony Cheng’s Restaurant (619 H Street), but also sport a new address: 655 H Street.
Visually, it will be alluring, with an aluminum curtain wall and spandrel glass systems, punched windows consisting of one or more pieces of glass, architectural precast concrete and dimension stone cladding. Tenants will have access to a concierge, roof top deck and 36 underground parking spaces on three levels.
The welcome addition, along with the Douglas Development renovation project at 801 7th Street that replaces a long vacant, boarded-up CVS, will enhance the physical appearance of the northeast corner of 7th and H streets immensely. Douglas Development’s project is adding a one-story addition to the restoration of several existing buildings, which are being transformed into a state-of-the-art, mixed-use development that includes about 22,000 SF of office space and 33,000 SF of retail on several floors, including a flagship Walgreens, Yo! Sushi restaurant, and Panera Bread.
Monument has other properties in the Downtown. It developed Columbia Center (1152 15th Street) and Franklin Square North (1100 13th Street) and is currently the leasing manager of both properties and the property manager of the latter. Columbia Center is a 12-story building delivered in 2007, and Franklin Square North is a 270,000-square-foot Class A office building which houses several media firms and Maddy’s Taproom, which opened last week. The real estate development company also has a $35 million renovation and expansion project underway at 2055 L Street in the nearby Golden Triangle BID area.
Monument Realty purchased the debt on Gallery Tower for $11.5 million in June 2010 and says the new development is being financed using private debt and equity. Also on its drawing board is a potential 150,000 SF residential project on Eye Street—but plans are very preliminary. Stay tuned.