2030 8th Street at Atlantic Plumbing
Another glassy, luxury condo development? These days, they’re everywhere you turn. But 2030 8th Street at Atlantic Plumbing, the 62-unit building from JBG at the corner of Eighth and V streets, Northwest, is a standout. Designed by New York’s Morris Adjmi Architects, the project features plenty of industrial references—floor-to-ceiling, warehouse-style windows and a steel facade—as an ode to the site’s former occupant (the actual Atlantic Plumbing). A full-service concierge and party-ready rooftop don’t hurt. The price, on the other hand, is a little painful: Studios start in the $300,000s; penthouses push $2 million. 2030 Eighth St., NW; 202-792-8880.
The Mission
This prewar beauty at 14th and R streets, Northwest, has had many lives: a 1920s Studebaker dealership, a homeless shelter, and now the coolest apartment complex in DC. The architecture firm Eric Colbert & Associates designed the Mission apartments to incorporate three neighboring historic rowhouses and a new addition in the rear, but the best units are the ones in the old car showroom, which have exposed-brick walls unlike any you’ve seen (and if you’ve been in the District five minutes, you’ve seen tons). These show so many layers of old paint, they look like original artwork. The rent might be more than your mortgage (a 392-foot studio goes for $2,225 a month), but one look inside and you may consider moving. 1350 R St., NW; 202-779-9172.
This article appears in our July 2015 issue of Washingtonian.