Nobody would walk down Q Street in Georgetown — a leafy residential area — and think, “This would be a great spot to build an industrial garage.”
But that’s exactly what stood at 2516 Q St. for most of the past century until May, when the Sheridan Garage was reborn as a 34-unit luxury condo. The property is a rare bit of new construction for Georgetown, although its developers kept the original shell of the garage.
“Even the metal letters spelling out ‘Sheridan Garage’ are from the 1920s,” said broker Kevin McDuffie, vice president of Coldwell Banker’s Dupont Circle branch.
The original garage was an oddity as soon as it was completed in 1923 to store and service cars owned by Georgetown’s newly motorized gentry. It was built with a 50-foot setback from Q Street, reflecting a 1920 zoning requirement for commercial garages in residential areas, and was later used by the phone company for decades to park and repair its trucks.
The result is that the three-building property, vacant since the early 1980s, has a formal, old school elegance to it, with its red brick front exterior highlighted by a matching brick parking plaza. There is also a garage and spaces are available for $65,000 for surface parking or $75,000 underground.
One building was designed to look like two historic townhouses. But the condo has a distinctly modern flair — thanks to a penthouse level with slanted aluminum-framed windows. The two new buildings are attached to the original garage by glass walkways.
“It really blends with the surrounding neighborhood,” McDuffie said. “They ended up with a really handsome project.”
The condo conversion project took 16 years from when local developer Keener-Squire Properties signed an option to buy the property.
Besides going through planning and historic reviews, the builders had to contend with underground fuel tanks and other environmental cleanup. The architectural firm Shalom Baranes Associates created the new penthouses and buildings and Eric Colbert & Associates designed the interior spaces.
Each unit is a unique space with a wide variety of size and price. They range from a 500-square-foot studio to a 2,400-square-foot, 3-bedroom, 2.5-bath penthouse.
The most dramatic of the five penthouses — a 360-degree glass box studio — sold already, one of the first of 10 units that have closed or are under contract.
All of the units have the same luxury materials, including 5-inch plank oak flooring, honed granite countertops, cherry cabinets and limestone bathrooms. All units have a mix of recessed lighting and minimalist glass and steel chandeliers. The units come with huge industrial style windows, some of which are frosted and some of which reach the ceiling.
The bathrooms also display careful attention to design, with the dual-flush Toto toilets hidden behind partial walls. Units come with walk-in closets with built-in shelving and stacked washer/dryer combos hidden in closets.
In keeping with Georgetown’s traditional vibe, the designers rejected the craze for exposed ceilings and ductwork in favor of finished elegance. The model penthouse, for example, has an open space joining the kitchen, living room and dining room but it actually has a
separate hallway leading to its two bedrooms and a winding staircase to a loft space and balcony.
Most units come with a package of stainless steel Bosch appliances but the penthouses have an upgrade with Sub-Zero refrigerators and Wolfe ranges.
