Blog News!

We've launched a new website at lock7development.com, and our blog will be moving to that site.  For the next few weeks, posts will continue to appear both here on Blogger and on the new site.  However, at the end of the March, we'll switch full-time to the new address.  To continue receiving new posts, please update your bookmarks to:

http://lock7development.com/blog/

Thanks!

Dave

1449 Harvard St NW- Almost Topped Out

The addition at Harvard Row is almost complete.  The final stage is framing the roof, which we hope to complete in the next few days.  The addition was a massive undertaking.  Between the excavation, new foundation, concrete work, and framing, we basically built a new house.  The addition is over 3000 SF, which would be a massive house on it's own.  When you add that to the 4000 SF of existing space in the original house, you can really grasp how large these units will be once complete.

Here's the rear addition from the alley.

The rear level of unit 2 has tons of light.

Most of the units in the building are in this condition.  They are all framed, but we're waiting to finish the roof to run any electric, mechanical or plumbing.  The goal is to start early next week.

The two-level rear unit is huge- almost 1250 SF.

The new building will be about 4 feet taller than the old one.  Here, you can see the block walls are in place, but the old roof hasn't been removed yet in the front of the house.  That will come out next week.

Framing out the final floor.

The sunny weather yesterday was incredible, especially after all the rain the day before.

New Website for Lock 7 Development!

We are extremely excited to announce the launch of a new website for our company at Lock7Development.com.  The new website has a ton of awesome info about all of our previous, current and future developments.  It also links seamlessly with all of our social media, such as Twitter, Facebook and this blog.

The homepage is clean and well-organized.

Another new feature is the ability to check availability, view floorplans and get building details without having to go to an external website.

We also were able to incorporate the Walk Score app into each project page.  On that note, our lowest Walk Score of any project is 86, which happens to be one block from Columbia Heights.  

Another useful feature is a well-organized portfolio, which is sorted into various categories (like kitchens, baths, etc.)

Harvard Row- Excavation

With all of our addition permits fully issued, we started off the new year with an army of excavation  machines at 1449 Harvard St NW.  The addition in the back will extend 25 feet, so we needed to remove almost 25 loads of dirt in order to lay the new foundation.  The new concrete footers and foundation walls will take about two weeks to complete.

The little machine can maneuver in small spaces and removes the dirt close to the building.  The bigger machine then scoops it up and puts it into a waiting dump truck.

New Site Up

The website for Harvard Row at 1449 Harvard St NW in Columbia Heights is up and running.  You can access it at HarvardRow.com.  One of the coolest features on this site is the 3D model under "Tour The Homes" which allows you to scroll over the building and see the layouts for each unit.  Pretty awesome.  Here's a screen grab of the entry page:

1449 Harvard- Construction Progress

At our new project on Harvard St, we've been working hard to complete a majority of the marketing materials.  The top priority was to get a splash page up at HarvardRow.com so we could start advertising the site.  It's now up, and here is what it looks like:

One of the features that we added for this project was the status chart on the bottom of the page, that we can update as the construction moves along.  We want to make the process more interactive, so potential buyers can really follow along as their units are completed.

Another thing you might notice from the blog is the new color of the building.  We decided to go with the more bold crimson color over the original bluish-gray.  Here is the color in the new rendering:

Design- Moveable Kitchen Islands

We're starting to work on the kitchen layouts for Harvard Row at 1449 Harvard.  One option that has been discussed is using kitchen islands that could be moved to allow for different configurations.  This is a creative use of the space because the island could be used for food preparation, and then moved out of the way to be used as a table during the meal.  The most common way this is accomplished with with wheels on the island, although some people also choose to use a table that is light enough to move without wheels.

Help us decide- please vote below!

This island is very basic and could easily be used as a dining room table.

This island looks permanent, but it can actually be moved if needed.

This island is made from an old dining room table that was re-purposed.

1449 Harvard- More Renderings

We got another rendering back from our talented graphic designer.  This one is of the rear view of 1449 Harvard St NW.  You can also see the two roof decks- pretty awesome.

1449 Harvard St NW- Rendering

Moving along at our new condo building at 1449 Harvard St NW.  Right now, we're working on framing back the floor joists.  Here's a sneak peak of what the building will look like once complete:

1449 Harvard St NW- Framing

We have all of our attention focused on framing the building at 1449 Harvard St NW. We're also working hard to finalize the name for the building. We should have it settled by the end of this week. In the mean time, our masons and carpenters are busy getting in the new floors and repairing the old ones.

The ceiling height in the basement is great.  You can see in this picture that the 8 foot tall bobcat fits with no problem.

The masons are busy repairing the brick so the floor can be attached to the wall.

After the brick is repaired, the new floors are bolted to the wall and look like the picture above.  Here, a carpenter is putting joist hangers on each joist to make them sturdy.

Neighborhoods- Columbia Heights

Us DC natives already all knew it, but Columbia Heights is hot. It's an exciting neighborhood with several unique restaurants, bars and shops. The New York Times just ran a feature on 11th St, calling it "Columbia Heights' Hip Strip." The link is here:

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2011/02/20/travel/20110220-SURFACING.html

It's a great read and worth checking out. Our new project at 1449 Harvard is right in the center of all the action.

Demo Underway at 1449 Harvard St NW

We just finished the project at 2431 Ontario Rd and without a break moved about three blocks east to our new development at 1449 Harvard St NW. Last week was the first full week, and we made a ton of progress. The new layouts are totally different than what was existing, so we are demolishing all of the existing interior walls. Also, the building has a lot of old plaster, so we're removing it in order to install all of the new insulation, electric, plumbing and HVAC.

The front of the building is unchanged and won't look much different for several months until we replace the front steps and paint the front.

Inside pretty much looks like a tornado came through the house.  To the right center you can see the old chimney shaft.  We took the fireplace down to reuse again in the new units.

Here's one of the old fireplaces.

In the rear, the masons worked to put back a piece of the fencing between our house and the apartment building next door.

The basement is finally starting to get cleaned out.  All of the debris on the ground is shetrock that was pulled down today and put in the dumpster at the end of the day.

1449 Harvard St NW- Coming Soon!

We're very excited to announce our newest project, which is a large condo conversion project in Columbia Heights. The existing house at 1449 Harvard St NW is a stunning huge victorian with a certificate of occupancy for six units. We plan on building 6 or more two bedroom, two bath units. The top level units will have a mezzanine level and rooftop decks. Check back often as our plans develop.

The house has tons of curb appeal already.

One of the best features of the house is all of the original fireplaces, which will be reused in the new condos.

There is an existing roof deck with views of the Washington Monument.  This will be the best spot in the city for the fireworks.