Toll Brothers’ expansion into D.C.’s crowded multifamily arena got a boost Thursday with the D.C. Zoning Commission’s tentative approval of a 525-unit apartment building planned for 200 K St. NE in NoMa.
The Horsham, Pennsylvania-based developer, best known for its suburban, single-family subdivisions, earned the commission’s unanimous, preliminary OK for Union Place, a 14-story tower that acts essentially as a second phase to the 10-story Loree Grand at 250 K St. NE.
Final action is expected early next year, or perhaps sooner.
See what was approved, in the gallery
Toll Brothers acquired the 1.25-acre 200 K St. NE site from the Cohen Cos. in May 2013 for $30.1 million. Cohen, with TIAA-CREF, developed the Loree Grand, and there were talks between the two to jointly develop the second phase. But an ugly falling out and a lawsuit later, Cohen sold off what is to become Union Place.
A year before acquiring 200 K St. NE from Cohen, Toll Brothers purchased 1101 First St. SE, also from Cohen, for $24 million. That Capitol Riverfront lot is now an active construction site, what will become the 13-story, 287-unit Parc Riverside.
The Toll Brothers NoMa project, proposed in April, will be constructed in two phases. The first will be 296 units and the second, 229 units. The building will total 555,678 square feet, including 450,742 square feet designated as residential, and 16,398 square feet as retail. It will include a landscaped courtyard — what one the commissioners described as a “wonderful change” — fewer than 250 parking spaces and upward of 175 bicycle spaces.
The commission generally liked the project, though Toll Brothers and its architect, Davis, Carter, Scott Ltd., were asked to tweak a few things, such as the trellis setup and the various colors of brick, which several commissioners deemed too “busy.” The project should receive final approval in relatively short order.
The Cohen Cos., now called Cohen Siegel Investors, continues to control the third phase of Union Place, The Dana, a 236,905-square-foot, seven floor, 41-unit building to be located at 1030 Third St. NE.
