A 28-unit building proposed for the east end of the H Street Corridor received the green light from the Zoning Commission on Tuesday despite objections from the Office of Planning.

The commission granted developer Mehari Sequar a variance from the 21 parking spaces that would normally be required of the project, which will be built on a triangular-shaped site at 1401 Florida Avenue NE (map). The development also received a variance to exceed the floor area ratio (FAR) normally permitted by zoning regulations. Because of the shape of the lot, Sequar said it was unique enough to warrant zoning relief. He suggested the vacant site would not be developed by anyone without the relief requested.

The Office of Planning disagreed, saying in a pre-hearing statement that the building was not “so unique or unusual that it results in a practical difficulty in providing a building of a conforming scale with a reasonable service core. … The large number of buildings designed and constructed on a variety of sites that meet the applicable FAR regulations indicates that this should be possible on this site.”

DDOT supported the request for a parking variance. Unlike other projects that have received similar approval for buildings without parking, 1401 Florida is more than a mile from a Metro station, though it will be easily accessible to the as-yet unfinished H Street streetcar.

Jeff Goins of project architect PGN tells UrbanTurf that construction on the project should get underway by the end of the year.