Barely a few weeks after it began redeveloping the old Atlantic Plumbing warehouse on V St., Northwest, the development firm JBG is set to begin construction on another mixed-use development in the immediate vicinity. The new project, called “the Shay”—because every new development needs a clever name—will put apartment buildings on both sides of Eighth St., Northwest along Florida Ave., bringing even more new real estate to the area around DC’s famed 9:30 Club.
When complete, the project will include 245 residential units and 28,000 square feet of retail space encased in a design that JBG says “evokes an industrial past.” But even with all the promises of exposed concrete, brushed steel detailing, and other millennial-baiting design motifs, the buildings will plenty modern with roof decks, media walls, and a pool. JBG is also eyeing the retail space for restaurants and cafés.
New apartment buildings have been creeping up Florida Ave. for several years, but JBG has all but taken over the 9:30 Club’s immediate neighborhood. Besides “The Shay” and the Atlantic Plubming projects, it also owns a large empty lot that hosts the District Flea marketplace on Saturdays. The company plans to eventually develop that parcel, too, but it folds into a long-term strategy of building a haven for relatively young apartment-dwellers with plenty of disposable income.
“Indie retail that includes one-of-a-kind merchants, coffee houses, galleries, sandwich shops, bakers and art studios is the right street vernacular here,” JBG vice president Robin Mosle says in a press release. “We believe there’s a huge appetite for individuals seeking a homegrown, urban alternative to other D.C. neighborhoods.”
Benjamin Freed joined Washingtonian in August 2013 and covers politics, business, and media. He was previously the editor of DCist and has also written for Washington City Paper, the New York Times, the New Republic, Slate, and BuzzFeed. He lives in Adams Morgan.
