Ribbon Cutting at the Baldwin Apartments

25 February 2019
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The Baldwin Apartments recently hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony celebrating their grand opening. The new building is a 100 percent affordable housing community. The Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, Brian Kenner, and DC Mayor, Muriel Bowser, were two honorary guests and speakers present at the ceremony. Members of the community, Baldwin residents, and project team members gathered around in excitement to explore the new building. 

Located within the bustling H Street Corridor, the Baldwin is surrounded by multiple popular entertainment localities. History and art interlace to create a thriving landscape of acquainted DC culture. Congested with trending restaurants, music venues, historic landmarks, and art galleries, this lively one-and-a-half-mile strip is a hub for local activities. The Baldwin sits on a monumental corner that once housed the Robert L. Christian Library. This popular DC public library was a place where the youth of the neighborhood could congregate to read, apply for jobs and be mentored. Upholding the vibrant fabric of the surrounding community was a major objective in the development of the project.

The Baldwin was created as a part of the initiative to increase quality affordable housing in DC and provide amenity-rich corridors to families and residents that earn 30 and 50 percent of the area’s median income. Within the last four years, DC has produced/preserved 7,000 units of affordable housing, 1,000 of these units were apart of Planned Unit Development projects by the government of the District of Columbia.

The 4-story, 32,400 SF mixed-use building contains 35 apartment units including three penthouse apartments, 6,600 SF of retail space, as well as 2,400 SF of lobby and support space. Those who stuck around after the ribbon cutting ceremony were able to take a tour of one of the units. The light-filled apartment featured impressive views of the energetic main street below, beautiful state-of-the-art kitchen, luxurious bathroom finishes, and in-unit washer/dryer. The one-bedroom unit was spacious enough to fit all of those who were interested in a tour, approximately 20 people at one time.

Henry Adams provided the MEP engineering design for the low rise, retail/multi–family housing. Energy efficiency was achieved on the Baldwin project through selective use of efficient lamps and ballasts as well as automatic controls. Interior lighting for general, emergency, and task lighting applications consist of commodity-grade luminaires. Fluorescent lamps for general use luminaires are energy efficient for linear systems and LED or compact fluorescent for downlights and sconces.