Jair Lynch Details Half Street Vision
Half Street, across from Nationals Park, is about to explode with tower cranes.
Five months after it acquired the hole-in-the-ground from longtime owners Monument Realty and Lehman Brothers, a partnership of Jair Lynch Development Partners and MacFarlane Partners has filed its plans to revive the Half Street project across N Street Southeast from Nationals Park.
There are two scenarios for the 471,600-square-foot development plan, according to the Feb. 26 filing with the Zoning Commission, first detailed by Jacqueline Dupree of the JDLand blog. One would combine 401,600 square feet of residential with 60,100 square feet of retail. The other would provide 326,500 square feet of residential, 75,100 square feet of hotel and 60,100 square feet of retail.
The all-residential scenario calls for 445 units (a mix of for sale and rentals). If a hotel is included, the plan is for 80 guest rooms and 365 residential units.
Designed by Baltimore-based Hord Coplan Macht, the project is described in filings as a “modern architectural concept” that “employs a range of unified materials in a variety of ways to differentiate the uses, and reinforce the mixed-use character of the surrounding neighborhood and Half Street gateway.”
Residential and two stories of retail dominate the Half Street frontage, per the filing, while three stories of retail would rise at the intersection of Half and N streets, across from the Nationals Park gate. The development “has been designed to support the District’s vision of a lively, pedestrian-oriented Half Street that is appropriately scaled and contains active ground floor uses that complement” the ballpark.
Monument earned approval from the D.C. Zoning Commission in February 2007 for multi-pronged development, including an office building on the northern portion of the site, and a mixed-use building to the south containing residential, retail and a hotel. The office portion, 55 M St. SE, was constructed and sold to Hines for $141 million. The southern portion floundered in the recession.
Jair Lynch and MacFarlane acquired the undeveloped portion of Half Street, on the east side of Half, in September for $34 million. Lynch said at the time he hoped to be in the ground by 2016.
Both sides of Half Street have experienced a recent revival. Days before Jair Lynch filed its planned with the Zoning Commission, the JBG Cos. acquired the majority of Akridge’s Half Street parcel for $45 million. JBG expects to break ground on its Half Street project (currently home to the Fairgrounds), in addition to a mixed-use project at nearby 1244 South Capitol St. SE, later this year.
View the article on BizJournals.com.