As 2020 comes to a close, we reflect on a year that has presented unforeseen challenges that our team, together with our clients and consultants, has worked diligently to overcome. We are fortunate to work in a resilient industry, essential to the health of our economy and providing housing for all, with five of our projects across the region breaking ground and beginning to come to life.

The Augusta, 3831 Georgia Avenue, NW | Washington, DC

917 Kennedy Street, NW | Washington, DC

Park + Ford | Alexandria, VA

The Cadence | Arlington, VA

Paulist Fathers’ Residence and Mission House | Washington, DC

Across federal and local jurisdictions in the region, Bonstra | Haresign ARCHITECTS has obtained community support and approvals on projects that require careful analysis and design solutions responding to unique urban conditions, while maximizing value for our clients. With over 150 entitlements awarded on more than 75 projects, we maintain a 100% approval rate. Most recently, B|HA worked closely with the Maryland National Capital Parks and Planning, the Bethesda Board of Architectural Review and the Montgomery County Planning Board (MCPB) on projects located in Silver Spring, MD and Bethesda, MD, and with the DC Office of Planning (DCOP) and the Zoning Commission on an affordable housing project in Washington, DC.

The Midtown Row mixed-use development in Williamsburg, VA is taking shape as steel and concrete podiums are in place and wood framing is complete on multiple buildings. Midtown Row includes four new mixed-use buildings with 70,000 square feet of retail, office, and housing for over 620 residents, two grocery-anchored shopping centers with community-serving retail, an activated community green space, and parking garage. Buildings 1 and 4, the two larger L-shaped buildings, will be the first to be constructed. Building 1 will serve as the main hub for community and resident interaction. It will house the leasing office and a series of amenity spaces for the residents including an exterior patio with a pool.

Changing trends in the religious sector are increasingly leading many clerical orders to capitalize on the value of their land by selling all or parts of it for redevelopment, while in turn building smaller, more versatile and efficient facilities. Bonstra | Haresign ARCHITECTS is working on one such project with the Paulist Fathers, who are building a new right-sized mission house and residence as the last of a series of redevelopments of the Paulist’s land in the Brookland neighborhood, DC’s “Little Rome”.

Twelve years in the making, the Capital One parcel master plan focuses on several key goals: establishment of an urban street grid linking to the surrounding community; a mix of uses and density, particularly in proximity to the McLean Metro Station; establishment of an inter-connected network of pedestrian-oriented amenities; and environmental stewardship and sustainable urban development.

Bonstra | Haresign ARCHITECTS has transformed two military-style dormitories into modern luxe apartments in the historic LeDroit Park neighborhood of Washington, DC. We’ve developed a case study that discusses some of the key design challenges and creative solutions to reallocate space and revitalize the historic buildings; our design process is explained through diagrams, renderings, photos and explanation.

Bonstra | Haresign ARCHITECTS and the National Building Museum are hosting a Construction Watch Tour of the renovation and façade rehabilitation of 2144 California Street, NW in Washington, DC. Join B|HA’s Bill Bonstra, FAIA, LEED AP, Aaron Margolis, AIA, and Robert Kuentzel for a tour of this 1959 mid-century modern apartment building featuring 113 reconfigured units. The renovation includes an enhanced lobby, public areas, upgraded elevators, and a fitness facility culminating with a landscaped roof deck affording spectacular views to the Potomac River and beyond.

Bonstra | Haresign ARCHITECTS has restored and added to the historic Tilden Hall, a 1924 Colonial Revival-style apartment building situated on the corner of Connecticut Avenue, NW and Tilden Street, NW. The project added 25 new units in a contemporary addition while restoring and modernizing the main lobby, corridors, and 76 apartments in the existing building for a total of 101 apartments.

Bonstra | Haresign ARCHITECTS’ successful history achieving entitlements continues with over 125 approvals from federal and local zoning, architectural, and historic preservation review boards. In 2018, we continued the successful run with nine recent entitlements approvals in Washington D.C., the City of Alexandria, Fairfax County, Arlington County, Williamsburg, Virginia, and Montgomery County, Maryland. Congratulations to