![](/dc/images/2014/halfm-10-2sw-201404-2.jpg)
Last week developers submitted to the Zoning Commission plans and drawings for the
Homewood Suites Hotel being developed at
50 M Street, on the northeast corner of Half and M SE, one block north of Nationals Park.
This is part of the
Capitol Gateway Overlay Review that projects in many parts of the neighborhood are required to go through, to make sure that new buildings meet the many goals for design that were set when the area was just a gleam in the Office of Planning's eye.
The filing mentions the basics: the hotel will be 11 stories/40,000 square feet, of which about 4,800 square feet will be reserved for ground-floor retail. There will be a pool and fitness center, a rooftop terrace, and a green roof. And if the current design becomes the final design, the project would most likely meet LEED Silver requirements.
![](/dc/images/drawings/50m-mstreetrendering-201405-1.jpg)
Also included were some early elevations, such as the one at right and a few others that I snagged and have put on a newly thrown-together
50 M Street project page. (And yes, it's in the new JDLand design format--I can't be bothered to build a separate one in the old layout. If it's not displaying right for you,
drop me a line and tell me what browser you're using.)
The only special exception to the CG Overlay being sought is that the developers are asking to include only 40 parking spaces, when 53 would be the normal base requirement, because of the hotel's "urban location" directly across from the west entrance of the Navy Yard-Ballpark Metro station. Judging from the drawings, the underground parking entrance will be on Cushing Street; and the developers stated in the filings that they would be building a new sidewalk along the property's frontage on that street.
ANC 6D will be reviewing the project at its next meeting, on Monday, May 12 at 7 pm at 200 I St. SE., in advance of the Zoning Commission's as-yet unscheduled hearing.