A look at what's going on in Trinidad, on H Street, and in the larger area north of Capitol Hill.
Thursday, January 05, 2006
H Street Self Storage
7 comments:
Anonymous
said...
This building bothers me every time I see it. It's a huge, hulking box that deadens almost an entire block along H street. There are unused lots all over the city that would make sense for storage - why on earth was it built on a commercial strip sandwiched by a dense residential area? It's just one more thing that makes H street less inviting for strolling pedestrians.
It actually wasn't built for the self storage business. The structure used to house a car dealership. The recent At one point Murry's was a Safeway. The recent (and in my mind, more problematic) construction is across the street. But yeah, the 600 block of H Street isn't exactly inviting.
This is a building that I think, "What if?" everytime I walk by. It has so much potential.
It's an interesting space inside. The elevators are built to carry cars, so they're huge and very industrial. Each floor is concrete and spare, but full of metal lockers for storage. If the storage folks ever sell, this building could be used for all sorts of great things. It could be picked up by somebody like Abdo and sold off as expensive condos. Or (much better) it could be used as subsidised artist space with shops down below.
1. The idea in the H St. SDP was that this block could be converted to a supermarket type use, but the market and other eager developers have move beyond this particular concept, which must not have resonated with the property owners, which include one of the largest real estate trusts in the U.S.
I was one of the electricians who worked to 'renovate' H Street Storage in 1999. I have since become a Media Analyst. Back then, H Street was very much an eye sore to the rest of the city, so it was no big deal to put it there. Now that H Street is being revitalized, the building is the eye sore.
I do believe the owner would sell if the price is right. Turning the building into condos would be almost perfect. There is already an apartment in the building that houses the manager and this apartment is very, very nice.
7 comments:
This building bothers me every time I see it. It's a huge, hulking box that deadens almost an entire block along H street. There are unused lots all over the city that would make sense for storage - why on earth was it built on a commercial strip sandwiched by a dense residential area? It's just one more thing that makes H street less inviting for strolling pedestrians.
It actually wasn't built for the self storage business. The structure used to house a car dealership. The recent At one point Murry's was a Safeway. The recent (and in my mind, more problematic) construction is across the street. But yeah, the 600 block of H Street isn't exactly inviting.
But remember that the city goverment operations in the 600 block of H street are moving to MN Ave. in 2007. There could be hope for this block.
This is a building that I think, "What if?" everytime I walk by. It has so much potential.
It's an interesting space inside. The elevators are built to carry cars, so they're huge and very industrial. Each floor is concrete and spare, but full of metal lockers for storage. If the storage folks ever sell, this building could be used for all sorts of great things. It could be picked up by somebody like Abdo and sold off as expensive condos. Or (much better) it could be used as subsidised artist space with shops down below.
It would be a great spot for a Whole Foods if Harris Teeter did not come to H--would have enough space even for parking!
1. The idea in the H St. SDP was that this block could be converted to a supermarket type use, but the market and other eager developers have move beyond this particular concept, which must not have resonated with the property owners, which include one of the largest real estate trusts in the U.S.
2. Re the old use, check out this photo, which predates by at least ten years the enlargement of the building that is now H St. Self-Storage. Horyzdack photo of Ourisman Chevrolet, Lib. of Congress
3. I agree that this site has great potential.
I was one of the electricians who worked to 'renovate' H Street Storage in 1999. I have since become a Media Analyst. Back then, H Street was very much an eye sore to the rest of the city, so it was no big deal to put it there. Now that H Street is being revitalized, the building is the eye sore.
I do believe the owner would sell if the price is right. Turning the building into condos would be almost perfect. There is already an apartment in the building that houses the manager and this apartment is very, very nice.
Post a Comment