#2 Wardman Annex Hotel-to-Housing Proposal

PowerPoint and Script

Wardman Hotel Affordable Housing Conversion Presentation

(To accompany Wardman Hotel Strategy Group Concept Design)

June 10, 2021

Slide #	Screen	Suggested Narration
#1	Taft Bridge	Northwest of the Taft Bridge on Connecticut Ave. is…..
#2	Aerial outlined in yellow	the former Wardman Hotel, an ideal property for conversion to an innovative affordable housing community and enriching asset to the neighborhood.      The site is adjacent to the Woodley Park Metrorail Station and served by several bus routes.  and Rock Creek Park is a regional recreational amenity. The low-rise commercial development along Connecticut features a broad array of neighborhood-serving retail, restaurants and shops neighborhood-s   The property is now in bankruptcy and will be auctioned onsite on July 20.
#3	Site plan of existing hotel	Located adjacent to a beautiful center green park and playground that faces Woodley Road to the north the building is surrounded by high-rise residential properties tithe east, west and south.   It is close to the Oyster-Adams Bi-Lingual Elementary school located just to the east and a nearby Montessori school.
#4	Photos of building	Built in the 1970’s, this convention facility replaced an historic hotel. While the current structure appears massive and fails to complement its surroundings, repurposing this building for housing is highly sustainable and efficient by preserving the embodied energy in the structure, cutting time and expense of construction, and making staged occupancy possible so that some of the building could be occupied in record time while other construction is taking place.
#5	Site and Massing Strategy	The site has tremendous potential to serve a wide variety of needs for new residents as well as those who live in the surrounding neighborhood.
#6	Site Aerial	The footprint of the building is quite large and presents possibilities for non-intrusive residential expansion.
#7	Massing concept	So, how might this site best be adapted for affordable housing and services?  First, reuse the existing building frame and slightly extend the exterior skin by 8 ft. 3 inches on each side to create better-sized housing units.  This extension also provides an opportunity to craft a well- scaled and more refined architectural expression – more in keeping with the neighborhood and Washington’s best residential design traditions.
#8	Massing Concept with extensions	Second, rebalance the building at the same height with two wings above the existing ballrooms to nearly double the capacity without extending at all into the common green space along Woodley or crowding other nearby buildings.
#9	Concept Rendering	Third, articulate the façade to echo neighboring building types and increase the overall sustainability of the building with a green roof. (Please note that this rendering does not reflect the ultimate choice of materials in any way but is intended to suggest general architectural character only.)
#10	Green Spaces Precedents	There are many precedents to bring the new and existing community residents together around green open spaces.
#11	Potential Lobby Uses Precedents	And the vast lobby and lower levels spaces offer many opportunities for learning, training, small business development, recreation and the arts.
#12	Existing Ground Floor Scale Comparison	To give you a sense of the scale, this plan illustrates how the space might be laid out.  The legend is on the right. Note the classrooms on the bottom left in gray.  The architects are exploring a connection to Oyster School to help relieve overcrowding there, and a member of our group has been in contact with the schoolOther spaces can easily be accommodated within the vast interior of this existing building such as [note to presenter:  Read a selection of spaces from the legend without square footage.]
#13	Interior Planning	Unlike office structures, Hotels are more amenable to conversion into multi-family housing due to their compatible spacing of columns and mechanical shafts.
#14	Family Units and Multigenerational Living	And one of the incredible assets of the Wardman is the opportunity for multi-generational and family-sized units –the kind most in demand and most scarce in DC.
#15	Existing Plans of Typical Hotel Level	The existing layout of rooms on a typical floor offers tremendous potential to be re-configured in a variety of ways as the next images illustrate
#16	Existing Hotel Rooms	In particular The structural columns and mechanical/ plumbing shafts -shown in grey – are spaced at a cadence very amenable to reconfiguration as residential dwelling units.
#17	Example Typical Plan	A typical floor plan with the wing extensions might consist of 24 four-bedroom units, 3 three-bedroom units, 9 two-bedroom units and 4 studios, for a total of 52 units/floor.    Or, it could be configured entirely differently, depending on the needs of the residents.
#18	Example Unit Plan 3 + 4 Bedrooms	These floor plans illustrate the typical layout of two large units – beautiful spaces for families to grow and thrive.    And even the grandparents could have their own space in a studio but still be adjacent to their loved ones.
#19	Example Unit Plan, Studio and 1 + 2 Bedrooms	The idea is that people can live in this community through several life stages and build a life and last relationships that help them grow and thrive in our city.
#20	Seize the Day!	The Wardman Hotel could produce about 500 units of affordable housing and meet 25% of the mayor’s goal for Ward 3.  We must regard this building as a precious asset, just waiting a new life to meet the goals of a more just and equitable city where all of our residents can live in dignity and gain prosperity.

We believe in the power of shared vision and sustained commitment to create dynamic communities for all people, regardless of income.