Developers for the project say they are waiting only for final approvals from the D.C. control board and the Department of Housing and Community Development for a mixed-use structure that would provide 350 parking spaces and about 65 residential units as well as some retail space in the heart of the 18th Street business district.

When approval is given, the developers can start applying for excavation and building permits. "We’d love to start in July," said Michael Gewirz, president of Potomac Investment Properties, which is building the project. "The bricks and stick part can start this fall when the excavation is complete, with the first phase of construction scheduled to take about a year. The garage section would be built first and once it is open the residential units would be added on top of the garage, taking an additional nine months to complete.

Neighborhood residents closest to the site of the proposed complex expressed concerns during a recent Adams Morgan Advisory Neighborhood Commission meeting about traffic congestion and safety issues around the construction zone.

"It’s going to be a little bit upsetting, but it’s only for a little while," Gewirz said later.

The idea of a 500-space parking garage in Adams Morgan was originally proposed in 1991 by the administration of Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly. No bidders came forward until Potomac Investment three years ago proposed its mixed-use complex to be built on the 2300 block facing both Champlain and 18th Streets.

Gewirz said getting the project underway has been a longer-than-normal process. "No project should take that long, especially one that’s of direct benefit to the community," he said.

Plans call for the residential parking garage and housing to front on Champlain Street, with the entrance to commercial parking on 18th Street. Two-hundred fifty parking spaces are expected to be used for commercial purposes, with the remaining100 reserved for residential parking. Once the garage and residential units are complete, construction will begin on the final phase, which calls for retail space on a smaller lot facing 18th Street.

Potomac Investment Properties started in Adams Morgan over 70 years ago.

Copyright 1998, The Common Denominator