Developer Maedwell Companies plans to break ground on a mixed-use project called the Denizen in DC’s Bloomingdale neighborhood during the second quarter of 2017. The developer’s president, Syga Thomas, tells Washingtonian exclusively that he’s in talks with potential cooking school and grocery tenants for the ground floor of the building at 1634 North Capitol St., NW. Thomas describes the grocery component as “a garden market” with fresh produce, prepared foods, and a large wine selection, similar to the Foragers Market chain in New York. He likens the culinary school to another New York business, Haven’s Kitchen. He says he envisions it hosting cooking classes for local school kids during the day, and private dinners and classes for adults in the evenings.
On the other side of a pedestrian walkway/courtyard area, Thomas plans to build a 4,000-square-foot co-working space, which Maedwell Companies will operate. He says it will likely include one-, two-, and three-person offices, rather than the open, communal working areas typical of other co-working concepts.
Upstairs, three floors of apartments will range from studios to three-bedrooms, all with ten-foot ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows. Residents will have access to a shared rooftop terrace. Thomas says he expects pre-leasing to start in fall 2017. Pricing has not been finalized.
The Denizen will be located between Old Engine 12, the historic firehouse converted into a restaurant in 2014, and the Pub and the People restaurant and bar, open since spring 2015. As Bloomingdale’s restaurant scene around 1st St., NW and Rhode Island Ave., NW thrives, Thomas says he anticipates North Capitol Street will continue to evolve into a destination, too.
Marisa M. Kashino joined Washingtonian in 2009 and was a senior editor until 2022.
