Design- and real-estate-watchers surely haven’t forgotten the stunning Huntress Coal Oil condos completed last year in Shaw. Among the District’s seemingly limitless sea of engineered hardwood and white Shaker cabinetry, the project’s bold finishes and staging were a welcome change of pace. Now that they know taking a risk with edgier choices can pay off, Philip and Lee Simon of S2 Development have reconvened the same design team behind Huntress Coal Oil for their next four projects: Anna Kahoe, co-owner of GoodWood, the beloved U Street vintage furniture shop, and architect Shawn Buehler of Bennett Frank McCarthy.
“We are leaving the safety of ‘typical’ finishes behind,” says Philip Simon via email.
The team is working on two buildings already under construction, one that’s undergoing city review, and a fourth project in the planning phase.
The building that’s closest to completion is 1012 Harvard St., NW, in Columbia Heights. It has ten units—all of them two-bedrooms—and will be done by the end of the year. Finishes include custom knotty pine cabinetry that Kahoe designed herself, concrete kitchen backsplash tile by Loz Feliz, and wide plank oak flooring. Pricing will range from $450,000 to $699,000. Here’s a look at the building in its current state:
And here are renderings of what 1012 Harvard will look like when it’s done:
The team’s other under-construction project is at 1301 H Street, NE, in the H Street Corridor, where demolition just began on an abandoned church that will get replaced with these nine condos atop two floors of retail space:
For a small lot at 30 Florida Ave., NW, on the border of Bloomingdale and Truxton Circle, the team is planning this building with eight condos:
And they just began the design phase for this project with 30-plus units, at 2101 Benning Rd., NE, east of the H Street Corridor:
S2 has not determined whether the Benning Road building will be rentals or condos. More on that project here.
Marisa M. Kashino joined Washingtonian in 2009 and was a senior editor until 2022.
