Lower Barracks Row will finally get its beer garden.
It’s been a four year journey, but a permit was issued Friday for the construction of a traditional beer garden, with an accessory space for food trucks at 1007 8th St. SE. “The Brig,” as it will be called, will seat 210 and serve 299, said Alan Gaunoux of Georgetown’s G Properties. It will replace a parking lot at the corner of Eighth and L streets SE.
Our first mention of the Bavarian Beer Garden dates back to January 2011, though the pitch was first made at least three months earlier(and struggled to win community approval). In the meantime, early versions of the development were scaled back, Gaunoux said, and the permit process was a lengthy one.
Gaunoux, who has partnered with Mark Brody and Chris Chambers (of H Street NE’s Biergarten Haus) on this project, described the beer garden as a “one-story structure with a bar and some food,” and perhaps live music. He expects to break ground next week.
“The whole area is just exploding,” Gaunoux said.
Other permits issued Thursday and Friday:
- 2321 Fourth St. NE: The H Street Development Corp., with partner E&G Group, will construct a five-story, mixed-use building on this Edgewood lot. The first floor will include parking spaces, tenant offices, loading, retail and tenant community space, and the second through fifth floors will hold 116 affordable residential units— four studios, 70 one-bedroom, 38 two-bedroom and four three-bedroom units. The building was approved in 2012 for six stories and more than 150 units, but the partnership returned one year later with a scaled-down version. More than half of the $30.2 million project will be funded through D.C. Housing Finance Agency-issued bonds.
- 1239 Good Hope Road SE: Conversion of existing commercial building into mixed-use with residential on the second floor and a gallery/studio on the first floor. Work will include a two-story addition, storefront renovations and new windows. The property is owned by artist Craig Kraft. The Washington City Paper reported in October 2013 that Kraft would convert the vacant space into a studio, gallery and residence.
- 1929 Florida Ave. NW: Renovations to convert the vacant theater on the first floor and mezzanine level of the Universal North Building into a new fitness center, Flywheel Sports.
- 799 Ninth St. NW: Interior renovation to seventh floor office space (partitions, furniture, etc.) for the American Gaming Association. The association is currently headquartered at 1299 Pennsylvania Ave. NW.
- 601 13th St. NW: Interior renovation to fifth floor office space for AmerisPhere. The Omaha, Nebraska-based mortgage banking company currently operates a Bethesda office. It is unclear if this is a relocation or expansion of its D.C. area presence.
- 1550 Seventh St. NW: Interior renovation and tenant layout at Jefferson MarketPlace, a new mixed-use complex in Shaw, for a retail establishment selling pet supplies only. The work will provide a “warm-lit space for a future tenant,” that being Unleashed by Petco.
- 1422 Harvard St. NW: Alterations and repair to an existing townhouse, to include the addition of a bathroom and relocation of partitions. The carriage house on the property will be renovated from a garage to a finished and conditioned space, and the property’s use will change from single-family to a 10-resident community-based residential facility. The home is owned by Samaritan Inns Inc.
- 3700 O St. NW: Interior tenant fit-out in Georgetown University’s new Healey Family Student Center for the Hilltoss coffee and smoothie cafe.
- 3543 Warder St. NW: Interior alteration to all levels, to include new lighting, plumbing, electrical and floor framing, as this single-family home is converted into a two-family flat.
- 55 Q St. NE: Conversion from single-family to two unit flat, with work to include a new basement entrance.
