Key Bridge Exxon Condo Design Rejected by Old Georgetown Board

EastBanc presented its design for a high-end condo complex at 3601-3607 M Street (the gas station property next to the Exorcist stairs) to the Old Georgetown Board, April 7, and was sent back to the drawing board. Residents may be fuming about the height of the complex against their backyards, but it was the way the condo looked and worked on the street that garnered the rejection. While some OGB officials agreed with Georgetown architect Robert Bell’s opinion that the condos as drawn had a look of “Marriott-hotel quality,” others found the design unfriendly or uninviting to pedestrians. While not exactly a high traffic area in terms of walkers, the Key Bridge Exxon will close by the end of July 2012. (The property is owned by D.C.’s gas station king, Joe Mamo, who also owns Parker’s Exxon on MacArthur Boulevard, Georgetown Exxon at Q Street and the Watergate Exxon.)

Meanwhile, EastBanc will be presenting designs to local officials, April 25—this time for the West End neighborhood—for the public library site (24th and L Streets) and fire station (23rd and M Streets). The library site involves a 10-story residence of up to 180 units above a new library and retail; the firehouse would have 52 units above its new building.