New and Improved
The principals behind the proposed project at 1905-1917 14th Street returned to meet with the Wallach Place neighbors last week. In front of a group of about a dozen neighbors, David Franco and John Kardon of Level 2, along with their architect Eric Colbert, brought the next iteration of plans for their building.
Level 2's first iteration
As Franco described the process, the latest set was revised a number of times from their first presentation, Franco saying it’s “an evolutionary process,” and these would be the set of plans they go back to the USNA, ANC and HPRB with, but the end design could also reflect additional tweaks.
Level 2, Take 2
Franco told the crowd that they “went back to the drawing board to incorporate comments (from the Wallach residents and HPRB, and)… more sensitive to massing and setbacks.” Franco said they looked forward to continue working with the various stakeholders. Key changes include:
- A four-story setback on the Wallach Place (North) elevation
- A 4th floor cornice to establish a historic reference
- A strong cornice line at the 6th floor
- Entrance was moved which shifted the massing towards the south
- Glazing patterns broken down into smaller elements
While the footprint and overall height remain the same, interior square footage was sacrificed to accommodate the changes. Franco now expect there will be a total of 144 units, down from 154, and nearly 4,000 sf less.
Franco said that both a traffic and shadow study could be conducted. Wallah residents, mostly from the south side, were skeptical of the clearances the alley could allow for the anticipated 30 foot moving trucks. Those are some rather steep angles back there nd not a lot of space to swing even a medium-sized rig.
The consensus of the Wallach neighbors was that this set of plans was a marked improvement over the first set. All are thankful of the time and effort Franco, Kardon and Colbert gave to the block’s residents.
The complete set of renderings is here:
Major improvement. Like the red brick.
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