(Washington, DC) – Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser, Deputy Mayor for Panning and Economic Development John Falcicchio, and Ward 1 Councilmember Brianne Nadaeu celebrated the new Torti Gallas + Partners offices in the historic Grimke School. The relocation of Torti Gallas + Partners’ corporate headquarters to DC, after 70 years in Maryland, brings 100 daytime jobs and increased tax revenue to the District. Torti Gallas + Partners, their Certified Business Enterprise (CBE) partner Torti Gallas Urban, and the Malala Fund are now co-located in this office space and employees are currently back to the office in-person.
“The re-imagined Grimke School is another example of how we can work together – across the public and private sectors – to move important projects forward after years of planning and strategizing to deliver housing and jobs while preserving our history and culture,” said Mayor Bowser. “As employers like Torti Gallas continue to reimagine the future of work, we know that workers will still want to be in places where they have access to public transportation, where they can walk to great amenities, and where they have access to the cultural experiences that attract people to cities like DC. This project has it all.”
The redevelopment of the Grimke School and the parking lot at 912 U Street NW has rehabilitated the historic Grimke Elementary School, including the new permanent home for the African American Civil War Museum; created arts space programmed by cultural organizations; created commercial office space that will be the new headquarters for Torti Gallas and Partners and the Malala Fund; built a new mixed-use building with 68 mixed-income residential units over ground floor retail on the surface parking lot at 912 U Street NW; and in Summer 2022, it will repurpose the Grimke School gymnasium on 9 ½ Street into an additional residential building.
This redevelopment is walkable, mixed-use, and transit-oriented with an important cultural amenity as its anchor – The African American Civil War Museum.
“DC is open,” said Deputy Mayor John Falcicchio. “The redevelopment of the historic Grimke School brings abandoned District land back to life, creates a more vibrant neighborhood in Ward 1, and helps us meet Mayor Bowser’s bold goal of delivering 36,000 units of housing, 12,000 of them affordable, by 2025. I thank Torti Gallas + Partners for moving the headquarters to the District and for partnering with us to safely return employees to work.”
The redevelopment of Grimke School was made possible by a partnership between the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, DC developer Community Three, and Torti Gallas Architects.
“This move reflects Torti Gallas’ continuing commitment to revitalizing and transforming cities while also providing affordable housing in the city,” said Torti Gallas + Partners Chief Executive Officer Tom Gallas. “The redevelopment of the Grimke School will contribute to the Mayor’s Affordable Housing Initiative by adding 20 affordable housing units in Ward 1.”
At the start of her second term, Mayor Bowser set a bold goal to deliver an additional 36,000 units of housing – including at least 12,000 units of affordable housing – by 2025. By further equitably distributing these goals across the District's ten planning areas, Mayor Bowser made DC the first jurisdiction in the nation to create affordable housing goals by neighborhood. With 16,550 new housing units delivered since January 2019, the District has reached 46% of that goal. During that same period, 3,758 affordable units have also been delivered, which represents 31% progress toward the affordable housing goal. You can track the District’s progress toward #36000by2025 at open.dc.gov/36000by2025.