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Washington Harbour
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Washington Harbour
Washington Harbour is a Class-A mixed-use development at 3000 and 3050 K Street, N.W., in Washington, D.C., United States. The southern edge of the development borders the Potomac River on the Georgetown waterfront. Designed by Arthur Cotton Moore, the complex consists of two curved towers and three other buildings attached to them, all in the Postmodern architectural style. Completed in 1986, the complex contains luxury condominia, offices, retail space, restaurants, and underground parking.
Construction of the complex was preceded by a seven-year zoning and legal battle over the future of the Georgetown waterfront. This dispute led to the designation and development of a new national park, the Georgetown Waterfront Park. A two-year controversy over the design of the complex, which included accusations of malfeasance by a D.C. agency, followed. Construction began in November 1981, and was complete in June 1986. Critical reception of Washington Harbour was mixed, but the public quickly embraced it.
Washington Harbour suffered management problems in its first two years, which led to the removal of one of its developers as property manager. The complex was sold to local real estate magnate Conrad Cafritz in 1988 in a controversial purchase-like lease agreement. Cafritz subsequently sold the property, which passed through the hands of six owners between 1990 and 2013, when it was once again put up for sale.
Washington Harbour has a first-of-its kind set of floodgates to ward off Potomac River floods. In 2011, a failure to use the floodgates properly caused a major flood, leading to a lawsuit and a $30 million renovation.
During the 1800s, the Georgetown waterfront was largely a commercial harbor. Most of the land was occupied by warehouses. Between 1900 and 1960, commercial river traffic declined sharply and the warehouses were replaced by coal gas, cement, steel, and other medium and light industrial manufacturing plants. By 1960, many of these plants closed, and the waterfront fell into disuse. A city-owned waste incineration plant, a waste-sorting facility, and construction-materials depot occupied portions of the site.
Between 1960 and 1970, five studies offered recommendations for redeveloping the waterfront. None was acted upon, in part because they—like other D.C. planning proposals of the time—proposed to build a highway along the river, which was strongly opposed by many D.C. residents, including those in Georgetown. A sixth study, commissioned in 1970 by the National Capitol Planning Commission (NCPC) and the Georgetown Citizens' Association (GCA), proposed not to build a highway but to demolish the 21-year-old Whitehurst Freeway. The study's authors said the freeway blocked vistas, inhibited development of the waterfront, was poorly engineered, and caused traffic back-ups at both of its ends. The report urged the city to bury the freeway in an enclosed trench and sell the air rights above it to developers or use it as parkland.
The 1970 study was received favorably by President Richard M. Nixon, who in April 1971 issued a message to Congress on the District of Columbia in which he called for "an overall preservation and development plan for the Georgetown waterfront" lest Georgetown's historic character be lost forever. Nixon's message provided a new impetus for planning in Georgetown, and in January 1972 the federal government funded a $250,000 study intended to spur zoning changes which would permit large redevelopment of the waterfront. Members of the study committee included the NCPC, GCA, the District of Columbia Highway and Traffic Department, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of the Interior, the Department of Transportation, and the United States Commission of Fine Arts (CFA).
Some developers attempted to move ahead with construction before the federal study was finished, causing disputes that would eventually shape Washington Harbour. In April 1972, Georgetown Inland, a subsidiary of the Inland Steel Company, commissioned architect Arthur Cotton Moore to design an eight-story office building on company-owned land at 1055 Thomas Jefferson Street NW. But the CFA, which had statutory authority to approve the design and height of structures in the area, recommended against its construction for being too tall. On June 29, the D.C. Zoning Commission issued, without comment, a 120-day ban on all construction on the waterfront. The GCA argued for a ban on all construction in the area until the federal study was complete, but in August 1972 Georgetown Inland unveiled a plan to construct an $80 million complex of restaurants, hotels, office buildings, retail space, and a small harbor. Georgetown Inland argued that a construction ban, however temporary, would drive developers permanently away from the waterfront. The GCA sued to stop construction of the building, but the United States District Court for the District of Columbia refused its request on October 12. On September 29, the D.C. Zoning Commission lifted its June 29 ban and said that construction on the 100-acre (400,000 m2) Georgetown waterfront could proceed.
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Washington Harbour
Washington Harbour is a Class-A mixed-use development at 3000 and 3050 K Street, N.W., in Washington, D.C., United States. The southern edge of the development borders the Potomac River on the Georgetown waterfront. Designed by Arthur Cotton Moore, the complex consists of two curved towers and three other buildings attached to them, all in the Postmodern architectural style. Completed in 1986, the complex contains luxury condominia, offices, retail space, restaurants, and underground parking.
Construction of the complex was preceded by a seven-year zoning and legal battle over the future of the Georgetown waterfront. This dispute led to the designation and development of a new national park, the Georgetown Waterfront Park. A two-year controversy over the design of the complex, which included accusations of malfeasance by a D.C. agency, followed. Construction began in November 1981, and was complete in June 1986. Critical reception of Washington Harbour was mixed, but the public quickly embraced it.
Washington Harbour suffered management problems in its first two years, which led to the removal of one of its developers as property manager. The complex was sold to local real estate magnate Conrad Cafritz in 1988 in a controversial purchase-like lease agreement. Cafritz subsequently sold the property, which passed through the hands of six owners between 1990 and 2013, when it was once again put up for sale.
Washington Harbour has a first-of-its kind set of floodgates to ward off Potomac River floods. In 2011, a failure to use the floodgates properly caused a major flood, leading to a lawsuit and a $30 million renovation.
During the 1800s, the Georgetown waterfront was largely a commercial harbor. Most of the land was occupied by warehouses. Between 1900 and 1960, commercial river traffic declined sharply and the warehouses were replaced by coal gas, cement, steel, and other medium and light industrial manufacturing plants. By 1960, many of these plants closed, and the waterfront fell into disuse. A city-owned waste incineration plant, a waste-sorting facility, and construction-materials depot occupied portions of the site.
Between 1960 and 1970, five studies offered recommendations for redeveloping the waterfront. None was acted upon, in part because they—like other D.C. planning proposals of the time—proposed to build a highway along the river, which was strongly opposed by many D.C. residents, including those in Georgetown. A sixth study, commissioned in 1970 by the National Capitol Planning Commission (NCPC) and the Georgetown Citizens' Association (GCA), proposed not to build a highway but to demolish the 21-year-old Whitehurst Freeway. The study's authors said the freeway blocked vistas, inhibited development of the waterfront, was poorly engineered, and caused traffic back-ups at both of its ends. The report urged the city to bury the freeway in an enclosed trench and sell the air rights above it to developers or use it as parkland.
The 1970 study was received favorably by President Richard M. Nixon, who in April 1971 issued a message to Congress on the District of Columbia in which he called for "an overall preservation and development plan for the Georgetown waterfront" lest Georgetown's historic character be lost forever. Nixon's message provided a new impetus for planning in Georgetown, and in January 1972 the federal government funded a $250,000 study intended to spur zoning changes which would permit large redevelopment of the waterfront. Members of the study committee included the NCPC, GCA, the District of Columbia Highway and Traffic Department, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of the Interior, the Department of Transportation, and the United States Commission of Fine Arts (CFA).
Some developers attempted to move ahead with construction before the federal study was finished, causing disputes that would eventually shape Washington Harbour. In April 1972, Georgetown Inland, a subsidiary of the Inland Steel Company, commissioned architect Arthur Cotton Moore to design an eight-story office building on company-owned land at 1055 Thomas Jefferson Street NW. But the CFA, which had statutory authority to approve the design and height of structures in the area, recommended against its construction for being too tall. On June 29, the D.C. Zoning Commission issued, without comment, a 120-day ban on all construction on the waterfront. The GCA argued for a ban on all construction in the area until the federal study was complete, but in August 1972 Georgetown Inland unveiled a plan to construct an $80 million complex of restaurants, hotels, office buildings, retail space, and a small harbor. Georgetown Inland argued that a construction ban, however temporary, would drive developers permanently away from the waterfront. The GCA sued to stop construction of the building, but the United States District Court for the District of Columbia refused its request on October 12. On September 29, the D.C. Zoning Commission lifted its June 29 ban and said that construction on the 100-acre (400,000 m2) Georgetown waterfront could proceed.
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