Rather than pull their Planned Unit Development in NoMa, developer MRP Realty instead hopes to modify their original proposal. Rather than an office building, the developer hopes to construct the North Tower at the corner of New York and Florida avenues NE as residential.
The North Tower would be part of a major three-tower development, called Washington Gateway. The first of the project's three towers, called Elevation, opened in August 2014 with 400 apartments and 5,000 square feet of retail.
Greater Greater Washington reported that the developer hopes to receive approval from the D.C. Zoning Commission to build the 16-story North Tower with 372 residential units. Eight percent of the units would be designated for households making 80 percent of the area median income.
The planned 13-story South Tower is currently approved for office space, but the developer hopes to gain approval to convert it into residential if they change their mind.
In the South Tower, there will be a $1.2 million, two-story, public bicycle lobby, designed by Gensler. WashCycle reported that the developer will also "improve the paving, landscaping, and lighting along the Mefropolitan Branch Trail." WashCycle further reported:
"The proposed two-story bike lobby is located in the South Tower and is accessed from the bike path on the second floor of the tower. Inside the lobby, a grand stair with a bike trough will mediate the grade difference to allow riders to easily access the plaza located on the ground floor. In addition to bike storage, the lobby will have space designated for information about the trail and surrounding neighborhoods, station maps, an automatic bike tire pump, drinking fountain, and bicycle racks."
By the end of 2015, the population of the NoMa Business Improvement District grew to more than 6,000 people, a growth rate of more than 30 percent since 2008, reported Greater Greater Washington.