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“My wife asked me to come over here and ask for a Trader Joe’s,” said one meeting attendee.
Another resident pushed for more affordably-priced apartments.
And then several attendees called for support to neighboring Georgia Avenue businesses.
After years of stagnation, the $150 million Howard Town Center is finally beginning to take form—-and everyone has a wish list.
Developer Tim Kissler of Castlerock Partners unveiled his initial project rendering, and divulged plans for 400-450 residential units, a grocery store, and some 100,000 square feet of retail total.
Those numbers, however, are flexible, said Kissler, standing before a crowd at the Emergence Community Arts Collective in Pleasant Plains.
Kissler and his team are currently negotiating a 99-year ground lease and a development agreement with Howard University for the land. The project will be located on a 2.2 acre parcel at 2100 Georgia Avenue, across from Howard University Hospital.
In the next six months, Kissler and co. expect to sign an agreement with a grocery store—several are being considered, including Philadephia chain Fresh Grocer.
Kissler and his team stood in front of a few renderings, which he pooed pooed to the crowd.
“These are almost of cartoon quality,” he said, emphasizing that he’d nailed down few details about the project.
Neighborhood groups are already lining up to meet with Howard Town Center team though. One meeting—-a local ANC, I believe—-was actually scheduled midway through yesterday’s meeting when a leader called out from the crowd with an invitation.
Image by Ruth Samuelson