From the City Paper:
“What timing! Bisnow is reporting that B&B Investments has purchased a warehouse at 50 Florida Avenue NE for “under $10 million,” and plans to build housing units totaling some 300,000 square feet within 18 to 24 months. They’ll presumably all be market rate, too, which would pour a lot of money into the neighborhood. Big, big news.”
Bates Area Civic Association 
Yes, this condo project is referenced in the new “Pipeline” feature at Urban Turf: http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/urbanturf_launches_pipeline/3015 .
In case anyone missed it, there’s also a rumor about a gas station property at North Capital and Florida. According to the City Paper, “[Joe] Mamo sold a former station property at 1024 Pennsylvania Ave. SE on Capitol Hill. Today the site of the foreboding-looking Butterfield House condos. He has lined up the necessary zoning permits to do the same with gas station property at the corner of North Capitol Street and Florida Avenue.”
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/articles/40430/joe-mamo-dc-gas-station-master/full/
This property (in Eckington, not NoMa) is zoned commercial and it needs to stay that way. The area is awash in condos and desperately needs retail. Without it, southern Eckington/northern NoMa could become yet another urban suburb (“urburb”?) filled with car-dependent residents who drive elsewhere to shop every weekend, and southern NoMa just another 9 to 5 office district. This is a far cry from the lively, near round-the-clock urban village city planners originally envisioned.
Yes, I know we’re in an economic downturn. But either developers believe this will eventually end, or they don’t. If they’re optimists, they can wait a little longer for their investment to pay off, and handsomely. If they aren’t, they can’t expect us to surrender the future of a whole neighborhood just so they can make a quick and easy profit.
For more, read my post at http://www.quirkyhouse.com/50-florida-zonin/