In January I reported that a long vacant lot on O St. just east of Hyde-Addison school was for sale. Now the new or prospective owner is proposing the construction of a new home on the lot, according to a recent Old Georgetown Board filing.
As I discussed in January, this lot is empty due to the previous owner controversially razing an existing home on this lot in 1997. The OGB filing includes news clippings covering that controversy, including photos of the building before and during the razing:
The plans submitted to OGB appear fairly conceptual at this point, which is a common approach in situations like this. This enables the owner and architect (Christian Zapaka in this case) to get a general sense for what the board will accept before they spend too much time and money on fleshing out the details.
One aspect of the design that the applicant is floating relates to the footprint. One option, (seen above) pulls back the east facade from the property line and puts the entrance on the east side, seen here from the east:
The other option would have the house go right up to the east property line and keep the entrance on the streetside:
To long time observers, the history leading up to the razing represented the epitome of demolition of neglect. Rumors have long circulated that as a form of informal punishment for the alleged demolition by neglect, no plans would be approved for a new building as long as the same owners held the lot. I cannot confirm those rumors at all, but it would be notable if almost 30 years later plans for a home get approved only along with an ownership change.
The Georgetown Metropolitan 
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