Upon completion, Tivoli Square will offer 65,000 sf of retail space including a 53,000-sf Giant Food grocery store, 28,000 sf of office space, 40 purchasable townhouses, the 250-seat Gala Hispanic Theatre and a parking structure capable of accommodating up to 230 vehicles. As for the design factor, Tivoli Partners is taking care to remain true to the historic property's Italian Renaissance architectural style. The developer has tapped a team of seven firms specializing in restoration, as well as modern urban retail design, for this very purpose.

The Tivoli Square project has been in the works for some time, but had been plagued by a series of delays, including issues over securing the necessary historic preservation funding. Now everything is back on track at land Parcel 29 in the Columbia Heights neighborhood and a groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled to take place May 1.

"It's taken a long time to get to where we are," Horning Bros. COO Sean C. Cahill tells GlobeSt.com. "This is an urban renewal project and we're excited to be a part of it and to help marshal it along." The project is expected to take 18 months to complete from the time of construction initiation.