The People's Choice: Developer Chosen For H Street Library Site

• January 25th 2013

by Shilpi Paul

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Last October, UrbanTurf reported on the six proposals being considered for the redevelopment of an increasingly prime piece of real estate — the site of the R.L. Christian Library at 1300 H Street NE.

After putting out a request for proposals (RFP) to develop the site, the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED) spent the fall considering the options, all of which contained residential and retail aspects. As the RFP had requested community-serving features, proposals included public space, local business incubators, an art gallery and a police substation. (Check our previous article for the details.)

The winner? The submission from Fundrise and H Street Community Development Corporation, which includes a 30-unit condo building along with a large retail component that would include a local food market, a retail incubator for ten local merchants, and investment through Fundrise’s crowdfunding system. Six of the 30 units will be kept affordable for artists and social entrepreneurs.

As stated in a press release from Fundrise, they believe that the community investment model helped their proposal stand out.

Our readers seem to have the same taste as DMPED: in a poll comparing the six choices, the Fundrise and H Street CDC option also came out on top.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.production.logicbrush.com/articles/blog/the_peoples_choice_developer_chosen_for_h_street_library_site/6567.