Eastern Section of Union Market
For the purposes of this post, the eastern section is defined as the area and buildings starting on the northern side of Florida Avenue, NE at 5th Street, going over to 6th Street, and then running up in between both streets until Penn Street (including Morse Street). You can view our interactive map here (note: this is not perfectly drawn to scale and does not perfectly reflect lot lines, etc). The properties are colored by owner; the color purple indicates that the property is not owned by one of the large development companies.
The eastern section of Union Market is the area that has seen the most development recently thanks to Edens’s construction of the Union Market building. This section is also likely to see significant additional development in the coming years thanks to two owners controlling the majority of the real estate: Edens and Gallaudet University. Edens has elaborate plans to add to the existing Union Market building, while Gallaudet University has an elaborate vision for redeveloping 6th Street to add retail and to integrate Union Market with Gallaudet’s campus that is currently somewhat isolated. Recently Gallaudet University chose JBG–a major DC developer that controls several parcels in NoMa–as the firm it would partner with to develop its land.
Starting at Florida Avenue in between 5th and 6th streets (view interactive map here):
500 and 520 Florida Avenue
- 500 and 520 Florida Avenue (purple on map): this land that comprises the entire block of Florida Avenue is controlled by one owner. Currently, 520 Florida Avenue houses a Hess gas station. No plans have been announced for any kind of redevelopment.
Turn left down 6th Street and walk north (view interactive map here):
Large Section of 6th Street Owned by Gallaudet University
- Right (east) side of the street (yellow on map): all of this land on 6th Street is owned by Gallaudet University, all the way up to Neal Place (across the road from the Edens’s Union Market building). In the coming years it will be developed by Gallaudet working with JBG. Past Neal Place, the land is part of Brentwood Park and will not be developed.
Turn left onto Morse Street and head west (view interactive map here):
Morse Street Between 5th and 6th Streets
- 500 Morse Street (purple on map, right side of road): this land is currently a 24 hour Subway and is owned by an independent owner.
- 501-527 Morse Street (purple on map, left side of road): all of this land is owned by independent owners and is a variety of shops. Of particular note is 517 Morse Street, which is A Litteri, an Italian store that has been there since 1932.
- 530 Morse Street (purple on map, right side of road): this large corner lot is owned by an independent owner.
Turn right on 5th street and walk north (view interactive map here):
5th Street Between Morse Street and Neal Place
- 1271 5th Street (purple on map): independent owner.
- 1275 5th Street (yellow on map): this land is currently used as a large outdoor parking lot for Union Market; however, it is owned by Gallaudet University and will be developed in the future. The land also includes an additional square that is a continuation of the parking lot on 6th Street up until the property line for Subway. The fact that Gallaudet University owns this space is probably part of why Edens’s plans for Union Market include a large underground parking garage in the future (see below).
Major Land Owned by Edens and Gallaudet University
- 1309 5th Street (red on map): Edens’s Union Market building on this land sparked all of the redevelopment plans for the area. Edens plans to add on to the market by building up. According to the Washington Business Journal, Edens will build a movie theater on top (to house Angelika Film Center which is temporarily residing as a popup further north in the Union Market area) as well as four stories of office space. This construction is still in the zoning and permitting process and is several years away.
- 1329 5th Street (red on map): Edens owns the land directly behind the existing Union Market building and is planning a major building that will be either residential or office space. As the Washington Business Journal writes, Edens is planning major open space between the two buildings and will redo all of the sidewalks to make them more friendly as well as adding a major parking lot underground.
- 1331 5th Street (yellow on map): this land directly behind the two properties that Edens owns is controlled by Gallaudet University. The land currently has several falling down structures on it; the area will be redeveloped by Gallaudet and JBG in the future.
In the next post, we will examine the future development of the top (northern) section of Union Market.
Special thanks to Washington Business Journal for their previous reporting on the real estate deals in Union Market and to ANC 6C 06 Commissioner Tony Goodman for his help in answering questions about the area.
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