Howard University is looking to rezone a large swath of land along the east side of Georgia Avenue to allow a mix of uses with higher densities than the low-rise buildings on the site.
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In a map amendment application filed on Friday, the university asked the Zoning Commission to change the zoning for a series of parcels totaling nearly 27 acres on the east side of Georgia Avenue, abutting Howard’s campus, from mostly production, distribution and repair zoning designations to mostly MU-10 zoning.
Mixed-use, or MU, zones are intended for a mix of housing, shopping and business needs, and MU-10 is intended for “medium to high density mixed-use,” with buildings allowed to rise up to 90 feet.
The map amendment didn't detail any development plans for the properties. The Zoning Commission application is the first step in initiating new uses for the area.
Howard University didn't respond to a request for comment.
“If the Property is rezoned to MU-9A and MU-10, it could be redeveloped with a mix of neighborhood-serving retail, residential, office, and institutional uses that would be accessible for existing and future residents of the surrounding neighborhood, creating a more dynamic corridor space,” the application says.
The section of Shaw that Howard is looking to rezone is close to a rail corridor, which made the area ideal for 19th-century industrial facilities to transport goods. The industrial footprint expanded in the first three decades of the 20th century, including two notable commercial bakeries, as industrial, distribution and commercial service operations chose to locate along the major auto corridor, according to the zoning filing.
The properties today feature a series of low-rise buildings occupied by Howard University facilities and retail uses. The Shaw neighborhood around Howard and nearby U Street has boomed over the last two decades with a host of multifamily buildings, restaurants and retail.
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The request is the latest effort from Howard to reimagine its substantial land holdings in Shaw. Over the past several years, it has entered into ground lease agreements with developers to build several large-scale projects.
In September 2022, the university signed over two parking lots to Lowe, FLGA and Davenport to build 500 residential units with 27K SF of retail.
Similarly, the sites of the former Bond Bread Factory and Washington Railway and Electric Co. are leased to a partnership developing 469 residential units, a 180-key hotel and just over 50K SF of retail.
Edens, a developer on that project, is also involved with another Howard redevelopment, a site at the intersection of Georgia Avenue and Bryant Street Northwest that is set to become a research center, including a 260K SF office and lab building and 430 apartments.
MRP Realty built Reverb, a 312-unit apartment building at 2133 Ninth St. NW, directly north of the 9:30 Club, on 32K SF that it developed under a ground lease with Howard.
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