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Douglas Development has filed plans to overhaul one of the District’s more unique office buildings.
The property, at 111 Massachusetts Ave NW, is known as the “Darth Vader” building due to its monolithic façade and heavy banding. Douglas has plans for significant renovations, and is also planning a 95k SF addition that will increase the building’s height to 130 feet, the Washington Business Journal reports.
The existing eight-story building was constructed in the early 1980s, and acquired by Douglas in 2002 for $62M under the name Jemal’s Darth Vader LLC. Renovation plans call for updates and improvements to the building’s architecture, a full modernization of the building systems, and for the building’s lobby to be reoriented to accommodate the ground-level retail space.
Studios Architecture has been tasked with design for the project, and has come up with a striking design to transform the building. Gone is the dark, heavy massing that the building is known for, and in its place is a light, glassy design that helps pull the building away from the dark side.
This is the latest project from Douglas that involves an overhaul of one of its existing office properties. Back in March, the company filed plans to convert a 530k SF office building at 1900 Half St SW into a residential and retail development. [WBJ]
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