NEWS

Community Three has delivered the first phase of its long-awaited 9½ Street Initiative in Washington, DC’s Shaw neighborhood. Throughout the summer, office tenants will be moving into the newly redeveloped 134-year-old Grimke School building, situated across the street from the U Street/African-American Civil War Memorial/Cardozo Metro station.

The building, which retains its original red brick façade, provides a new permanent home for the African American Civil War Museum. It also will house new international headquarters for two organizations: award-winning architecture and design firm Torti Gallas + Partners, and an international nonprofit that advocates for education. More than half of the Grimke School’s 57,000 SF of boutique office space has now been leased; additional office suites are available for immediate move-in.

The 9½ Initiative is a 133,000 mixed-use adaptive re-use and redevelopment of an 1887 public school property and adjacent parcels in partnership with the District of Columbia Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development. It broke ground in 2019 after a decade of planning with the District government and people of Washington, DC.

“We made it a priority to redevelop Grimke School in a way that represents and advances our DC values, and we couldn’t be prouder to welcome new businesses to the site,” said DC Mayor Muriel Bowser. “With our partners at Grimke School, we’re preserving history, celebrating the creatives and makers who make DC the city we are today.”

Added Grant Epstein, President of Community Three: “We are very excited to bring this decade-long community-driven effort to fruition. The respectful historic preservation effort has furnished one-of-a-kind workspaces that will only add to the already rich history of this unique property.”

The new office spaces at Grimke School take advantage of proximity to Metro and Shaw’s hundreds of restaurants, shops, and cultural venues, including the historic Howard and Lincoln theaters. The LEED Silver certified building offers Verizon Fios gigabit service as well as indoor bicycle storage. The lobby displays artwork curated by Cultural DC, featuring local artists Katherine Mann, Emon Surakitkoson, Jordann Wine, and Kasey O’Boyle.

Adjacent to Grimke School and delivering this summer is The Fold, a new 30-unit condominium building being built on a former parking lot. Sales of the condominium units are currently underway.  Also part of the project and scheduled to break ground in 2022 is The Thread, which will combine 38 mixed-income rental apartments with ground-floor “maker” spaces fronting a reinvigorated 9½ Street.

Grimke School, built in 1887 as a vocational school, was renamed in 1934 in honor of Archibald Grimke. Born into slavery in 1849, Grimke became the second Black graduate of Harvard Law School. He practiced law successfully in Boston before moving to Washington, DC in 1913 to head the District’s branch of the newly formed NAACP; he also was a diplomat and journalist. Grimke Elementary School closed in 1989 and housed District government offices until 2012.

Community Three is a full‐service real estate development company driven by innovation, creativity, and opportunistic positioning to create above-market returns. Using its 50-plus years of combined urban real estate experience, Community Three leverages its real estate, design, construction, and sustainability knowledge to bring maximum value for its customers, investors, and the surrounding community.

For more information about Grimke School and please visit www.grimkeschool.com or contact Stream Realty Partners, attn: John Klinke, jklinke@streamrealty.com. For more information about The Fold, please visit www.thefolddc.com or contact Urbanpace, attn: Matt Ford mford@urbanpace.com. For more information about Community Three, please visit www.communitythree.com.