22nd Street Hotel Project Restarted Mixed Views on Hilton Garden Inn

When a five-star, boutique hotel was announced in 2007 for the corner of 22nd and M Street in the West End, the project was greeted warmly. As part of a new "1 Hotel" chain of luxury hotels, it was described in glowing terms, as "combining environmentally sustainable architecture" with "impeccable service and luxurious comfort."

A concept drawing of the 170-room project, as then planned and designed by the Miami firm of Oppenheim Architecture and Design, is shown at right.  It was to include, like the Ritz-Carlton complex across the street, both hotel rooms and luxury residences.

But that plan quickly ran into the credit crisis that affected housing and hotel construction nationwide. The old buildings on the site—the former Embassy of Nigeria and Asia Nora restaurant—were torn down in 2008, but the hotel groundbreaking scheduled for the same year never took place. The lot at the northwest corner of 22nd and M has been vacant for more than three years.

But now there is a new plan for a very different kind of hotel—a Hilton Garden Inn—and a new architectural design, as shown at right. (Click to see a larger version.)

On June 10, 2011, the joint owners, Perseus Realty and Starwood Capital Group, announced their intention to file a "modification" of the 2007 zoning case, to allow for a different hotel. The one-page letter filed with the Zoning Commission asked essentially only that the number of rooms be increased from 170 to 238.

However, the project now has an additional development partner, a new architect, and a new concept. The Hilton Garden Inn brand is a recent hotel flag that is geared to "individual business travelers" and the "weekend leisure segment," according to an industry description of the franchise. Hilton Garden Inns are said to be "value engineered" and the brand "eliminates the costly-trappings of large-scale properties."

Some neighbors have already said they fear the new hotel will attract "the fanny-pack crowd" to the tony West End neighborhood, and some of those concerns were voiced at the June 15 meeting of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2A, when the development team made a presentation and unveiled the new architectural plans.

Thomas Messervy, a representative of the new development partner, OTO Development of Spartanburg, SC, told the meeting that the previous 1 Hotel concept was "no longer feasible" at the site. He called the Hilton Garden Inn concept a "proven upscale brand," and said the new hotel would have a fitness center, a restaurant with an entrance on M Street, and an outdoor terrace.

The new architect, Patrick Burkhart, a principal in the Georgetown firm of Shalom Baranes Associates, presented several drawings showing the new exterior design as well as internal floor plans. Burkhart, who has been the lead architect on two recent and successful West End projects—the Columbia Hospital conversion to condominiums and the WestEnd 25 apartments on 25th Street—did much to put fears to rest that the new building would look like a low-cost property.

He stated that the ground floor would have an 18-foot ceiling, and that the restaurant would have folding glass doors opening on M Street to provide an indoor-outdoor setting. The plan also includes a trellised, rooftop pool, and a "green-seeded" roof.

"The architecture is not brand-driven," Burkhart said. "There's nothing in our design to make it look like a Hilton Garden Inn."

Mark Adamo, a representative of the local Perseus Realty firm (with offices at 2099 Pennsylvania Avenue), said after the meeting, "This is not going to be an inexpensive hotel, and it's not an inexpensive site." Perseus is reported to have paid $15.5 million for the site in November 2006.

Rebecca Coder, chair of ANC-2A, said she was not yet asking the commission to take a position on the project, as the developers had not then filed their new plans with the Zoning Commission. That filing was scheduled for the week of June 20. ANC-2A will be an automatic party in the case.

Anita Diliberto, president of West End Friends, stated that WEF also would be applying for party status in the new zoning case to assure that near neighbors are represented. Other groups participated in the 2007 zoning case for the original hotel concept, and Diliberto has been critical of the fact that some of the so-called amenity funds were diverted to other neighborhoods and to projects that  are now out-of-date or need revision.

A public hearing for the revised project is expected to be held this fall, and Adamo said he expected the project to be completed around January 2014.