Bowser Touts Affordable Housing in Luxury Building Near Union Station

(Updated at 1:05 p.m.) A mixed-use residential building with a demonstration kitchen, Skee-Ball and other high-end amenities officially opened near the H Street corridor and Union Station yesterday, with help from Mayor Muriel Bowser.

Highlighting affordable units in the building, the mayor cut the ribbon to Station House at 701 2nd St. NE, as Ward 6 Councilman Charles Allen and other government and business leaders looked on. Station House, which started leasing last month, has 25,000 square feet of retail space and 378 apartments, 28 of which are designated as affordable housing. Applicants for the affordable housing must enter a lottery through Station House.

Rents for the market-rate units start at $1,710 per month for a studio and can exceed $2,945 per month for a two-bedroom apartment, according to the building’s website.

Bowser praised Station House as a “quality development.” It’s a “beautiful building, very conveniently located, close to transit, close to jobs and close to our thriving H Street corridor,” she said.

Marshall Tycher, president of Roseland, which is managing Station House, declined to say which businesses will occupy the building’s ground-floor retail space. But those should be announced this summer, he said.

One business so far has appeared to announce plans to open in Station House. A sign on the building says the exercise studio Barre3 is coming soon.

Inside Station House and on its rooftop pool deck yesterday, Toki Underground, Dangerously Delicious Pies and other local restaurants served food and drinks as people toured the building.

A large crowd gathered around the demonstration kitchen while a chef was at work, not far from a game room that has Skee-Ball, table tennis, pool and shuffle board. Several people also ventured to the roof to check out the view.

No one took a dip in the pool, however.