A Visit to Howell Street Lofts
Last weekend was Sanctuary and this weekend was a preview party & open house for Howell Street Lofts. The lofts are a 3-townhouse project on Howell between 18th and 19th on Capitol Hill. I stopped into the party and took a few photos; in addition to taking the opportunity to meet the team behind this project including David Neiman (architect).
It is basically an infill project to a narrow strip of land that was formerly the back yard of the still existing house next door. Besides 5-star Built Green, Howell Street lofts had these interesting features:
- 10′ ceilings makes the townhouses feel more spacious despite a fairly small footprint (20′ in depth).
- Lots of windows (as if there was any doubt with the walls of windows visible from outside) including windows in the stairwell and even under the stairs.
- Nicely outfitted kitchens and bathrooms – although the master baths only have a shower if I remember right.
- The nautical-style caged lighting was a hit with me.
- The pair of townhouses are transit-oriented (aka no garage or parking) but also have more square footage than the freestanding unit with a garage.
- Rooftop decks are a nice addition as well, although not as spacious as John Street Lofts (which are both pending now BTW).
One more thing: I really liked what Playhouse Staging did in staging the middle unit. Especially the art which I later discovered was by John Osgood of Bherd Studios. The graffiti-style art and that gasoline pump piece in the basement played well with me.
Before I left the party, word came in that an offer was expected that night on one of the two remaining (one farthest east in the row). The freestanding unit is the only one of the three officially spoken for though.
All of my photos are here.