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Articles
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| Federal commission rejects Randall School penthouse design |
VOICE writes, "BY BEN WEINSTEIN
The National Capital Planning Commission last week voted to recommend scaling back Southwest’s Randall School makeover, saying aspects of the proposed renovation would adversely affect the city.
The commission -- central planning agency for the federal government -- will ask the city to require an increased setback for the school project’s penthouse level, because, they said, the current plans violate the 1910 Height of Buildings Act.
The proposed planned-unit development, which requires changes to the zoning map, would transform the former Randall Junior High School building, at 65 I St. SW, into a 500,000-square-foot residential development and Corcoran College of Art + Design facility.
The plans call for 16-f00t-tall penthouse units that would house mechanical systems atop the tallest section of the development. The commission said that because the penthouse level extends beyond what is allowed under federal rules for District buildings, it must be set back at least 16 feet from the building’s edge. The current plan calls for a 6.5-foot setback.
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The commission voted 7-3-1 to ask the city’s Zoning Commission to require increased setbacks before approving the development. The Zoning Commission is not required to follow the federal commission’s recommendations.
But some commissioners and a representative of developer Monument Realty argued that the setback applies only if the main portion of the building reaches the height limit. The main section of the Randall project does not reach the limit, they said, so the penthouse level does not require the proscribed setback, they said.
The height law says that buildings in the District cannot exceed the width of the fronting street plus 20 feet. The act says most roof structures exceeding that limit must be set back from the edge of the building as far as they are tall.
The street in front of the Randall project, I Street, is 90 feet wide, which means the building can go up to 110 feet. The tallest part of the project is 100 feet, but the penthouse would make it 116 to 118 feet.
The commission’s recommendation notes that the Building Height Act helps preserve the horizontal character of the District, which is a priority in the city’s Comprehensive Plan.
In 2006, the city sold the vacant Randall School property to the Corcoran Gallery of Art for $6.2 million. The Washington Post reported that the Corcoran Gallery planned to resolve its financial problems, in part, by expanding its educational program.
Under developer Monument Realty’s proposal, the 2.66-acre site, which abuts Randall Park recreational facilities, will have about 400,000 square feet of residential space and about 100,000 square feet for the arts college, which will occupy the front of the building.
According to the planned-unit development provisions, about 20 percent of the 400 to 500 residential units would be set aside as affordable housing. The building would have a 400-space underground parking garage.
In October, after months of negotiations with Monument Realty, the Southwest advisory neighborhood commission approved the project. Several commissioners and residents said they thought the project was too large, but the neighborhood commission panel supported the project, saying if offers a favorable community benefits package.
"Opposing this [project] will get us nothing," commissioner David Sobelsohn said at an October meeting, adding that the developer made significant design concessions to appease the community.
The benefits package includes $200,000 toward a community investment fund, arts-education scholarships and other opportunities at the Corcoran College for Southwest residents and teachers; space for community meetings; preference for Southwest residents on construction jobs and preference for Southwest residents for affordable-housing units in the project.
The Randall building has not been used as a school since 1978. Since then, it has housed a homeless shelter and the Millennium Arts Center, where local artists had studio space.
The Corcoran Gallery said artists would have an opportunity to lease studio space in the new development.
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Posted on Jan 19, 2008 08:48am.
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