Construction Update- The Gracie

With the holidays coming up and a lot of our workers traveling to be with family, we've decided to hold off on the excavation at our other project at 2431 Ontario Rd.  This allows us to focus fully on making big progress at The Gracie.  Our goal was originally to get the sheetrock up before the new year, but now it looks more like we'll do it in the first week of January, which is still great.  The HVAC, electric and plumbing are totally done on the first three floors, and now everyone just has to come back for the penthouse once the framing is complete.  The final two pieces will be the sprinklers- which only take a day or so- and the soundproofing, which we're doing now.

The brickwork is done around the new front balcony.  It's really starting to look like the rendering, which is exciting.

In the basement, the carpenters worked friday to install the resilient channels for soundproofing.  The drywall gets attached to the metal channels on the ceilings instead of the joists, which prevents the sound from traveling between units.

I liked this picture because it shows how we like to go  one step further than our competitors.  In the basement bathroom, we installed copper plumbing along the exterior wall because it resists freezing better than PVC.

In the basement, other carpenters are building the bulkheads beneath the new ductwork.  We used metal studs so we could gain an extra inch and a half of ceiling height over using wood framing.

Design- Dark Kitchen Cabinets

Dark kitchen cabinets are becoming very popular in the DC area. Part of the draw of them is that they give you the ability to provide a lot of contrast between the cabinets and the flooring, countertops and backsplash. We like to do dark cabinets when we have a big kitchen space with a lot of light. Here are some of the better uses of dark kitchens that I've found:

This designer did a good job on creating a lot of constrast between the light maple floors and the dark espresso cabinets.

This is a very simple kitchen design but has a lot of thoughtful details.  The shelves on the side of the island are useful and the space in the middle of the island is convenient for pushing in stools.

This is a good example of a kitchen that looks great in a magazine but would be hard to maintain in real life.  Not having upper cabinets means you have to be extremely organized with your dishes.

Construction Update- The Gracie

Lots going on at The Gracie project at 1470 Chapin St NW.  We're almost done with framing out the roof, which will be a big relief because the weather is starting to get wintery and we might get snow at the end of this week.

The water service contractor cut the street to run the new pipes for the water and sewer service.  We have to upgrade the size of the line at every condo project because of the increased demand.

The masons started repairing the brick in the front and building the walls of the new front balcony.  The new brick is the same size as the original, although the color is much darker.  This won't matter, though, once we paint the building.

This is the penthouse unit before the carpenters started working on the roof.  It's really, really cold outside.

Neighborhoods- Columbia Heights

The Gracie Condominiums are located in the southwest corner of Columbia Heights. This area is very popular for several reasons. First, it's right on top of the red line of the metro, so it's it's easy to get anywhere else in the city very quickly. Also, it has a gorgeous housing stock, with lots of old grand Victorians as well as several new condo buildings. Finally, the DC USA development a few years ago brought 30+ new stores, the largest of which include Target, Best Buy, Giant and Bed, Bath and Beyond. However, the real benefit of these huge shops was the smaller, more local places that followed that really give the neighborhood some unique flavor.  Here are some of the best:

1. Red Rocks Firebrick Pizzeria (1036 Park Road NW)

The basic Margherita pizza is a great bet.  Photo courtesy of seriouseats.com

Red Rocks Pizza opened in 2007 and has been packed every day since. It's in a small converted rowhome that features exposed brick and a very comfortable feel. They have an outdoor patio with picnic tables in the warm months. The pizza here is incredibly fresh and flavorful, and very reasonably priced.

2.  The Meridian Pint (3400 11th St NW)

The coolest part of this bar is the beer taps at each table.  Photo courtesy of dcbeer.com

Meridian Pint opened last year and provided the neighborhood with its' first real upscale bar.  The beer menu here is also huge and they have several microbrews on tap.  

3.  Taqueria Distrito Federal (3463 14th St NW)

The tacos are simple and tasty.  Photo courtesy of cuisinivity.com

TDF is a small taco stand just north of the metro station.  They serve some of the most authentic tacos in DC, and specialize in meats that are difficult to find elsewhere.  I've heard the tripe and tounge tacos are good, but I've never tried either.

4.  Tynan Coffee (1400 Irving St NW)

Lots of space to do work and free Wifi.  Photo courtesy of GTM Architects.

Tynan is a large coffee shop that is a popular meeting place.  The space is large and the couches are perfect for spreading out with your laptop and getting work done.



5.  The Wonderland Ballroom (1101 Kenyon St NW)

Wonderland is the neighborhood bar that most neighborhoods wish they had.  It's very casual and attracts a booming crowd on weeknights.  However, it's even more fun to go for brunch on the weekends and sit outside on one of the picnic tables.

6.  The Heights (3115 14th St NW)

The Heights has one of the best brunches in the city.  Photo courtesy of theheightsdc.com

The Heights is a large restaurant with a huge patio that serves some of the best casual food in the city.  The menu is nearly identical to Logan Taverns' because they have the same owners.  However, there might be an hour wait at Logan Tavern on a Sunday morning, but you can usually get a table in 15-20 minutes at The Heights.  It's a little-known secret.

Construction Update- The Gracie

We had some torrential rains this week which really slowed things down, but things finally cleared up and we were able to get a lot done over the last three days.  It's gotten really, really cold here in DC so everyone is motivated to get the building sealed up so we can get some heat blowers running.  The electricians came on Friday and finished running the wires for the new panels in each unit in one day.  Next week, the plumber is coming back to finish his pipes and we're going to start framing the top unit.

The back of the building is pretty chaotic right now, but you can see the block wall is progressing nicely.  They're about halfway done.

Upstairs, the masons have reached the level for the floor of the mezzanine.  They were working friday to install a piece of iron that goes in between the floors.

The electricians came and installed their meter box outside.  We were originally thinking about putting it on the front of the building, but there was no where to do it without blocking one of the basement levels.  We found a great spot for it along the side of the property.

Kitchen Ideas

We're getting closer to choosing all of the finishes for The Gracie. We're leaning towards replicating the kitchens from the project we did last year at 1133 6th St NW (The Grayson). These kitchens work really well because they're modern but they also fit in with the rest of the unit, which has a lot of traditional elements. Although this building does not have the original floors, it will have really great new oak ones which will match these cabinets perfectly. We're also considering staining the floors a darker color like the ones from 2106 10th St. Here are some pictures from The Grayson:

This is the kitchen with the glass backspash.  We did this in units 1 and 3.

This is the same kitchen scheme but in the basement.

This was the same granite, cabinets and floors, but we used a marble backsplash in this unit and the penthouse.

This is a better view of the same kitchen.