Condominiums to Stand Where Hotel Once Ruled

WASHINGTON, DC-Development of new condominium property has gotten under way at the former site of the Pitts Hotel, a one-time famous destination for Civil Rights era figures and entertainers traveling through the District. While the groundbreaking took place late last month, the remaining structures on the property have just been demolished, paving the way for the 103-unit Fedora at Meridian Hill. Belmont Partners LLC, a joint venture involving Bozzuto Homes Inc. and GH Purcell, is behind the development of the project, which will cost $35 million to complete.

While the Pitts Hotel had enjoyed many years in the limelight after its development in 1950, its existence in the last two decades of the century paled in comparison. The property had fallen into grave disrepair after the 1968 riots all but obliterated the neighboring 14th Street Corridor, and it was frequently used as a less-than-hospitable shelter for the homeless in the 1990s. The property had been completely abandoned by 2002, when Belmont Partners purchased the hotel and three bordering lots for $3.4 million.