Columbia Heights garage with Beastie Boys, Chuck Brown mural gets demolished

The new development that will be located on the site will be a mixed-use project with office and residential space.

By Michelle Goldchain@goldchainam Updated Sep 5, 2017, 3:00pm EDT

Editor's Note: This post was originally published in August 30, 2017 and has been updated with the most recent information.

In Columbia Heights, a former automotive repair shop has been torn down. Located at 1018 Irving Street NW, the 18.5-foot-tall garage is known for being covered from head to toe in graffiti. The images depicted included Chuck Brown and the Beastie Boys’ Adam Nathaniel Yauch, otherwise known as MCA.

The property was constructed in 1909 in two phases. First, it was used as a private stable before it was expanded in 1916 to be used as a a store for Thompson’s Dairy, according to the Park View, D.C. local blog. From approximately 1928 to September 2012, the property was used as an automotive repair shop.

There have been plans to redevelop the site since 2012. At the time, the plan was to create a five-unit, mixed use development, called Thompson Lofts.

The expanded building was planned to have an additional two floors with the ground-floor reserved for offices for Four Brothers LLC and the upper floors used for four two-bedroom condos and one one-bedroom condo. The Park View, D.C. local blog further reported that the project also hoped to feature a total of six parking spaces. [UPDATE 9/5/17: Four Brothers LLC will not be a part of the current project. There is still a search for a tenant.]

The developer attempted to get permission from the Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) for zoning relief as well as relief from limitations on the height of the building. In July 2013, the BZA approved the application.

In September 2016, the developer filed new plans for the project. Rather than a five-unit project with offices, the proposed project was for an office and two dwelling units. The hope was also to increase the building height to 23 feet.

Below, take a look at the renderings filed in September 2016:

Curbed DC reached out to developer Seven Five Three Development to confirm the current details for the project and its timeline. [UPDATE 9/5/17: The current plans for the project are to develop an approximately 2,500-square-foot, two-level office space with a balcony. There will also be two single-family homes, each about 2,500 square feet.

For the new building, there are also plans to add murals on the exterior, hopefully by the same artists who made the murals on the pre-existing building. The delivery is expected around April or May 2018.]

Below, see some more recent renderings of the project: