WASHINGTON — Over time, neighborhoods rise and fall and then rise again.
Such has been the case with Shaw, an inner-city neighborhood named after an urban renewal district. A host of programs failed to revive the once-thriving area, which was devastated by the 1968 riots that followed the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
But decades later, gentrification came to Shaw, and now it has perhaps reached its zenith with the real estate rebranding of a portion as North End Shaw. At least, that is what JBG, a major local developer heavily invested in the area, is calling it, as it markets its newest project, four stylish residential rental and condo buildings with ground-floor retail shops.
The old Shaw was largely low income and African-American. Its U Street was hailed as the Black Broadway, with clubs frequented by the likes of Duke Ellington, Pearl Bailey and other top black performers in segregated Washington.
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But now a whole different scene has emerged in the newly energized corridor. It is increasingly home to white millennials seeking a walkable, urban lifestyle close to two Metro subway stations. It is also home to trendy stores like the eyewear emporium Warby Parker; Chrome Industries, which morphed from a maker of backpacks for bicycle messengers to a seller of clothing “for urban mobility”; and Frank & Oak, a Canadian clothier that started online and now has 12 stores, three in the United States.
Such has been the case with Shaw, an inner-city neighborhood named after an urban renewal district. A host of programs failed to revive the once-thriving area, which was devastated by the 1968 riots that followed the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
But decades later, gentrification came to Shaw, and now it has perhaps reached its zenith with the real estate rebranding of a portion as North End Shaw. At least, that is what JBG, a major local developer heavily invested in the area, is calling it, as it markets its newest project, four stylish residential rental and condo buildings with ground-floor retail shops.
The old Shaw was largely low income and African-American. Its U Street was hailed as the Black Broadway, with clubs frequented by the likes of Duke Ellington, Pearl Bailey and other top black performers in segregated Washington.
Continue reading the main story
Related Coverage
Eric Hilton has backed a string of restaurants and bars that have been credited with helping transform pockets of the city’s night life.
Thievery Corporation’s Eric Hilton Builds an Empire in D.C.OCT. 30, 2015
But now a whole different scene has emerged in the newly energized corridor. It is increasingly home to white millennials seeking a walkable, urban lifestyle close to two Metro subway stations. It is also home to trendy stores like the eyewear emporium Warby Parker; Chrome Industries, which morphed from a maker of backpacks for bicycle messengers to a seller of clothing “for urban mobility”; and Frank & Oak, a Canadian clothier that started online and now has 12 stores, three in the United States.
That a dozen such brands have chosen to locate here is a result of careful planning and “place making” by JBG, based in Chevy Chase, Md., which assembled public and privately owned parcels five years ago. It has now developed these tracts into a hub of shops and residential buildings, with 708 rental and condo units. They include Atlantic Plumbing, on the former site of a plumbing supply company; the Shay; the Hatton; and 2030 Eighth Street at Atlantic Plumbing, with a penthouse unit priced at nearly $2 million.
At Atlantic Plumbing, JBG has leased ground-floor space at low rents to enterprises like Cherry Blossom, a graphic design firm, and Foundry Gallery, a cooperative art space.
At Atlantic Plumbing, JBG has leased ground-floor space at low rents to enterprises like Cherry Blossom, a graphic design firm, and Foundry Gallery, a cooperative art space.
This Content was originally posted on: EUGENE L. MEYER
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