Block-Long Mid-Rise Becomes Community Gathering Spot

2018 MFE Awards, Mixed-Use, Grand: The Apollo

The Apollo's three-story lounge and lobby is open to the public until 10:00 PM each evening.

The Apollo’s three-story lounge and lobby is open to the public until 10:00 PM each evening.

In the process of creating The Apollo, which covers an entire city block in Washington, D.C.’s, H Street corridor, Insight Property Group held over 90 public meetings with the area’s advisory neighborhood commissions to ensure that the upcoming development would address local needs and wants. What grew from these meetings was a mixed-use development that would welcome H Street’s existing residents, not just as a retail center but as a space for the community to gather.

Since The Apollo opened, in November 2016, it has served as the “de facto living room” for the H Street neighborhood , according to Insight Property Group partner Trent Smith. The Wydown Café storefront to the left of the building’s main entrance feeds directly into its three-story lobby and lounge, which features art deco design elements by EditLab at Streetsense, inspired by the architecture of the property’s former Apollo Theater.

The public is welcome to use the lobby until 10 o’clock each night, and local businesses and civic groups are able to reserve the lobby for events, which so far have included a weekend market, local award ceremonies, and a regular series of jazz concerts on Friday nights.

“Most apartment buildings feel very walled off from the community and especially this neighborhood,” Smith says. “Given all our work with the community, it was important to us to bring people in rather than just drop this big building in the middle of the neighborhood and not allow the existing community to interact with it.”

2018 MFE AWARDS: THE APOLLO

A Whole Foods store anchors The Apollo’s retail component, providing a grocery within walking distance for residents and locals. WeWork, a coworking and office space, is located around the corner. Between these anchors are a series of small storefronts occupied by local businesses, including the aforementioned Wydown Café, a vegan restaurant, a bike shop, a local bookstore, and an alley bar still under construction.

The 431 residential units range from studios to three-bedroom apartments, with 439 to 1,518 square feet of living space and monthly rents ranging from $2,150 to $4,500. Resident amenities include a guest suite, a gym with a private studio and boxing area, a dog wash and dog run, bike storage, and a lending library of cookbooks and household tools.

On the rooftop, residents can access a conservatory event space with a green roof as well as a clubhouse with a show kitchen, indoor fireplace, and table games. The east rooftop features four grilling stations and a movie projector, while the west rooftop has a two-tiered outdoor pool and fireplace.

The community is pending LEED Gold certification and utilizes energy-efficient fixtures and green power sources and cleaning methods. The roof and conservatory spaces feature vast green plantings, and several dozen garden plots are located on-site for resident and retailer use alike.

2018 MFE AWARDS


Source: https://www.multifamilyexecutive.com/design-development/mfe-awards/block-long-mid-rise-becomes-community-gathering-spot_o

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