The Gage School is about to begin a new chapter of its history.  Built in 1904 and dedicated to Nathaniel Parker Gage in 1905, it will soon be home to Parker Flats at Gage School, ninety two condominiums in two new and one historic building.

Nathaniel Parker Gage came to Washington, DC, in 1862 to be an educator at an all male grammar school that met in a firehouse. The school expanded and relocated to a new building designed by the famous architect Adolf Cluss, and Gage ultimately became its principal before being promoted to principal of all schools in his district, the Second Division, in 1877. He served in this position until his death in 1903 and was recognized as having had a tremendous impact on public education in the District of Columbia, plus a loyal, devoted following of former students.

Thus, when a new school building in the neighborhood was completed the year after Gage’s death, it was only fitting that it be named to memorialize a beloved and successful educator and principal of the public school system.

“A dedication to Nathaniel Parker Gage is inscribed in the entrance way of the school, and we liked the idea of preserving its history, so we named the condominium development “Parker Flats at Gage School”. Throughout the project, we tried to preserve and restore the architecture of the building, and preserving its legacy was also important,” said William Herman, president of Urban Realty Advisors, the real estate development firm building the project.

The project, located on 2nd Street between U and V Streets, NW, and Flagler Place, NW, consists of three buildings: the Gage School, Flagler, and 2nd and V. “It is a unique project that combines historic preservation (Gage School) with beautiful new features and buildings that compliment each other,” said Herman. “The Gage School was gutted because it was beyond repair and a fire hazard, but there was a beautiful staircase that we were able to restore… What’s really beautiful is the exterior of the building – it is wonderful. We are replacing the windows with wood windows that are exactly the way they used to be, and we replaced or repaired the cornice under the eaves. (“The cornice is a dental molding that looks like teeth – big, square blocks with multiple ridges,” he added, for the architecturally challenged.) We also replaced the roof with metal and slate,” Herman said, emoting a deep appreciation for returning the building to its original splendor.

“The condominium lofts at the Gage School are unique in a market where everything comes from a cookie cutter… Fourteen foot ceilings, twelve foot windows and a mix of traditional condominiums in the new buildings,” explained Herman. “We are 50% sold in a market that has slowed down immensely from the time we started,” he continued.
The buildings will be delivered sequentially. Flagler, a new building with sixteen units designed to look like the neighboring row houses, is expected to be completed by the end of 2006; Gage School, the historic building with thirty-three units, will be completed in February 2007 and 2nd and V, a second brand new building with forty-three units, will be completed by April 2007.

The completion of the buildings, and the restoration of the school in particular, will indeed be a new chapter in the building’s and the neighborhood’s history. After its dedication, the Gage School operated as a DC public school until the 1970s. At that time, the Gage-Eckington Elementary School was built and its students transferred to the new building.

The building sat vacant for over thirty years,  owned first by the Peoples Involvement Corporation, a community development corporation founded by Marion Barry, and then by Howard University. Howard envisioned using the building for student or faculty housing, but instead the building was such a fire hazard that it had to be gutted and remained empty.

Ultimately, Howard University put out a request for proposals for the building, and the winning bid was submitted by Urban Realty Advisors, who purchased the land in 2004. Construction began in 2005. “After thirty years of being vacant, the neighborhood was concerned about that eyesore. We worked with the LeDroit Park Association and the Bloomingdale Association and spent about a year to draw up plans and get it approved by the Historic Preservation Review Board,” Herman stated, noting that it was time and effort well spent.

“When we first went into the property, it was just a fire trap. It was down to the brick and we could see the rafters and the sub floor – made out of actual lumber, not plywood, an invention of the 1950s,” Herman explained for the lumber history-challenged.