The scaled-down look of the Hine redevelopment project near Eastern Market is now up online, but it still may not be enough for the neighbors.
The project by Stanton-Eastbanc was cut back after key tenants pulled out in recent months. The developer unveiled the new project renderings this week at an Advisory Neighborhood Commission Planning and Zoning Committee meeting.
But even with the scale-back, the residents say the project is still too big for the surrounding neighborhood of two- to three-story retail buildings on Pennsylvania Avenue and townhouses on side streets.
It’s unlikely that the 20 or so near-by residents who turned out for the meeting liked what they saw and several of the ANC6b Commissioners appeared skeptical of the proposal and the amount of information they were given, reported Larry Janezich, on the Eastern Market Metro Community Association’s blog. “One was overheard to say, ‘This building is too damn big,’ and that sentiment seemed to express the feelings of several commissioners.”
Some of the changes from the old design include the elimination of some ground-floor residential space on 8th Street in favor of “quiet retail,” and the addition of a sixth floor to the residential building on the Pennsylvania Avenue side to accommodate larger residential units.
The ANC is delaying its vote on a recommendation to the Historic Preservation Office until March 15 to allow more time for community input and developer comments. The preservation office is scheduled to take up the development, which will raze the shuttered Hine Junior High School, on March 24.
