An Architect’s Read of the Rift Valley Drawings in the Civic Core Surplus Package -Building Height
Posted on Chevy Chase Community Listserv on October 7, 2026.
Thank you to everyone who responded to my previous posts. I appreciate the constructive discussion among neighbors. Much of the information in the city’s legislative surplus package remains unclear. It would be immensely helpful if Rift Valley or their architect could simply provide the key figures our community has been asking for:
- Building height at the penthouse apartment roof level on both Northampton and McKinley Street;
- Detailed programming for the community center and library;
- Total square footage of open space at the ground level.
To ensure we are all on the same page, I want to clarify the following technical points based on the official documentation.
1. Which version of the Rift Valley design is being analyzed?
My analysis strictly references the latest Rift Valley concept design drawings included in the city legislature surplus package (Legislation B26-0801: https://lims.dccouncil.gov/
Several comments mention previous versions including “one-floor reduction” from a prior presentation. I do not see this reduction reflected in the latest Rift Valley drawings.
2. How many floors does the building actually have?
The building has a total of 8 floors, including the basement level and the penthouse apartment level.
- The 7th-floor penthouse level is not just for mechanical equipment or elevator rooms.
- As labeled in the Rift Valley Gross Square Footage Table, the 7th floor contains 12 apartment units (2 bedrooms and 3 bedrooms) totaling 16,995 square feet.
- Per zoning regulations, these penthouse units must be set back 12 feet from the main facade.
- It is unclear whether there are mechanical units and fences on the penthouse apartments’ roof, as the roof plan is not included in the package.
3. Where is the building height measured per zoning rules?
Per Zoning Regulation Subtitle B, Chapter 11 § 307, because the NMU-4/CC2 zone is a mixed-use district, building height must be measured from the level of the curb opposite the middle of the front of the building.
Because the Civic Core site fronts on three streets (Northampton, Connecticut, and McKinley), Subtitle B § 307.7 allows any front to be used to determine maximum height. Therefore, the measurement point can be established using Northampton Street, which has the highest curb elevation:
- Allowed Building Height: 65 feet
- Allowed Habitable Penthouse apartments: An additional 12 feet (above the 65-foot base).
- Allowed Mechanical/equipment Penthouse: An additional 15 feet (above the 65-foot base).
- Maximum Allowed Total Height: 80 feet (measured from Northampton)
4. What is the building height shown on Rift Valley’s latest drawings?
By subtracting the street curb elevation Above Sea Level (ASL) from the roof elevations, the actual heights shown in Rift Valley’s drawings are as follows:
- 7th Floor Apartment Floor Elevation: 403 feet – 2 inches ASL labeled on level 7 Plan.
- Northampton Midpoint Elevation: 338 feet ASL labeled on Level 2 Plan.
- Height to the Floor of the 7th Floor Apartment: 65 feet – 2 inches.
Total Resulting Heights:
- Northampton Street Facade: Building height is 77 feet at the penthouse Apartments’ roof (65 feet to the Floor of the 7th Floor plus 12 feet to the Penthouse Apartment roof), and 80 feet at the mechanical rooms, including all rooftop privacy and equipment fencing.
- Connecticut Avenue Facade:87 feet – 0.5 inch at the mid-block Library entrance (as detailed in my previous analysis).
A recent post stated: “With the building at 7 stories, the roof height is 50′ along Northampton.” Given the data from the latest drawing package, I don’t see how it’s possible to determine there will be a 50-foot roof height along Northampton Street. I welcome further clarification on this math.
Wei Torti
Candidate, ANC 3/4G-05