Evening star., 1952-11-23
Big Office Building
Planned on Part Of
Temple Heights Site
By Robert J. Lewis

Plans are being drawn for con-
struction of multi million dollar
Office building on the Temple
Heights property facing Connecti-
cut avenue above Florida avenue
NV, and for eventual further
development Of the Seven-and-a-
half-acre site with other CONNER
cial and residential structures.
That was disclosed last night
by the CafritZ Construction Co.
and the Charles H. Tompkins Co.
They announced they expect to
start with the office-building
project some time next spring or
summer as a joint venture. The
two control holding companies
which own the land.
The Office building would be of
the same basic design as the
park = at your desk" CafritZ
Building at 1925 I street NV, the
central core of which consists of
parking area reached by a circu-
lar ramp that rises inside the
building.
When eventually developed. the
Temple Heights property could
involve the investment of $40 or
S25 million. the firms estimated.
Acquired by Masons in 1922.
Announcement of plans for con-
struction of the Office building
the only project that the builders
said was practically definite in
the development plan-is the lat
est Of many proposals for the site
during its long period of disuse.
Newspaper library files are filled
with clippings of grandiose earlier
plans for the site, knnwn formerly
as the Dean Tract.
Back in 1922, it was acquired
by the Masonic Grand Lodge of
the District and christened Temple
Heights preparatory to its use as
the location for a huge Masonic
temple.
Development Of the tract never
materialized, though 81 million
was raised for this purpose. Later
there were efforts to have the
area acquired by the District for
recreation purposes and by the
Federal Government as the site of
q war memorial.
At one time, plans were an
nounced by promoters for a COM
mercial development on the site
to be known as Crystal City"
Sketches for that one were drawn
up by the famous Frank Lloyd
Wright. Still later another group
of promoters announced plans
for apartment-hotel construction
there.
One thing or another always
seemed to ntervene-mainly a
lack of interest on the part of
financing institutions-and none
of the commercial projects ever
reached beyond the promotion
stage.
In 1916. Morris Cafritz and Mr..
Tompkins acquired the property
from the Masonic Lodge in what
was reported as 81 million trans
action.
After their purchase. the Zon-
Ing Commission changed from
residential to commercial a part
OF the tract facing on Connecti-
cut and Florida avenues, and at
that time Mr.. Cafritz said he
would like to see another Radio
City" rise on the spot.
Subsequently, in 1948, a large
house on the property was razed
and in the next year Messrs.
Cafritz and Tompkins offered a
part OF the tract free to the Food
and Agricultural Organization for
an FAC headquarters provided a
building was started in the fol-
lowing year.
Parking Building Successful.
Influencing the present plan
for construction of a combined
office and parking building.
spokesmen for the two firms said,
was the success of the park-at-
your-desk building Mr.. CafritzI
completed several years ago on Il
street which combines parking
and office space under one root.
That building, said to be the
only one of its kind in the country
was designed by Leroy L. Werner.
and architect associated with the
Cafritz firm who will also design
the Temple Heights building.
Temple Heights now consists of
about 7l2 acres of land, since
about l p acres of the original 81
acre property was dedicated to the
District so that T street could be
extended through it from Florida
avenue to Connecticut avenue.
The proposed building will oc-
cupy one-acre site at the inter-