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On Tuesday, August 16, 2022, the Soto team attended the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at The Lewis in Suitland, Maryland. It was great to see our work come to fruition, and celebrate this milestone with Mission First HDC, the Prince George’s County Redevelopment Authority, L.A. Bolden Company, The Henson Development Company, as well as many others who contributed to the success of this development. The celebration shone a light on how the completion of The Lewis is a positive step for affordable senior living in Prince George’s County. The completion is also a monumental milestone for the up and coming Towne Square at Suitland Federal Center, as it is the key component to the ever growing community of Suitland. During the ceremony, the Soto team’s hard work was kindly acknowledged by Sarah Constant, Senior Vice President of Mission First HDC. She noted that our hard work and attention to detail helped bring their vision to life… a beautiful result made possible through our dedication to the project. They also showed pride in how Soto’s attentiveness to the project led to a completion that was not only on-time, but also below budget. The Lewis consists of 137 units, comprising 111,000 square feet, and rising six stories tall. The Lewis so far has welcomed 99 residents, and we can’t wait to see the community continue to grow. The Lewis also provides residents with a club room, rooftop terrace, yoga room, fitness center, and party room. These spaces, as we already witnessed on Tuesday, encourage residents to gather, communicate, and remain physically active… creating a community of their own. "While at the ribbon cutting ceremony yesterday, I had the pleasure of meeting some of the current residents living there. One excited new resident invited the Soto team into his apartment, in which he told us how he loved his spacious two bedroom apartment. He not only loved the open kitchen and living concept to entertain his guests, but also the fact that the second bedroom is spacious enough to welcome his guests to stay over. It was exciting to meet a current resident who has made this beautiful project his home, and to see how enthusiastic he was about sharing his space with the design team." - Jennifer Castellanos, Project Coordinator + Interiors It was heartwarming to meet the residents at the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony and see how living in the Lewis and our attention to detail has made an impact on these residents’ lives. We are proud of the completion of The Lewis, and the impact we are not only able to make on the Suitland community, but also, for affordable senior housing in the DMV!
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 The Soto team is excited to share that Livingston Place at Southern Avenue has been awarded the Golden Nugget Award of Merit for Best Affordable Senior Housing Community.
Livingston Place opened on June 4th, 2021 with a ribbon cutting ceremony that marked the monumental opening of the first affordable senior living community in Washington DC. We are proud to have contributed to such a monumental project alongside Hamel Builders, Gilbane Development Company, Dantes Partners, Wiles Mensch, and Aumen Asner. It is an honor to have been awarded such a prestigious award alongside other top innovators in design, planning, and development in the nation. On Thursday June 16, 2022, Soto attended the Groundbreaking Ceremony of The Residences at Springbrook. The Residences at Springbrook is a four-story new-construction senior housing development in Clinton, MD. This project features 90 units with a mix of 72 one-bedroom units and 18 two-bedroom units. It features community spaces such as a fitness center, cafe, party room and rear patio that allows residents to connect with one another. The Soto Team is excited to see where this project takes us in the future! On Wednesday, June 8, 2022, the Soto team excitedly attended the Topping Out Ceremony at Woodmore Apartments, alongside developer Varsity Investment Group and the builder, CBG Building Company. The team began walking through the almost completed clubhouse, then through the many different construction phases on site: from beginning framing to viewing finished units. Woodmore Apartments is a new market-rate community located in Glenarden, Maryland of Prince George’s County. The community consists of five four-story buildings with 268 apartments. Additionally, a five-thousand square foot clubhouse will provide future residents with a party room, fitness room, and gathering spaces. Seeing this large project come to life was exciting for our team, as it is one of our largest projects in construction yet.
This experience was a great lesson learned for the team and we are excited to see the continued progress of Woodmore as construction continues!
Learn more about the Woodmore Apartment project here  On Friday, May 20, 2022, the Soto Team attended the Montgomery County Affordable Housing Conference, where we received First Place for Architectural Design for the Renovation of 22 Light Street, located in downtown Baltimore, Maryland. Livingston Place also received an award at the conference.
Additionally, Livingston Place is a finalist for a 2022 Gold Nugget Award! A Gold Nugget award is a national award selected from over 600 entries for innovation in design, planning, and development. It is an honor to even be considered a finalist for this prestigious award. The winners will be announced on June 22, 2022 at the Gold Nuggets Awards, and we are excited to hear the results! We are excited and proud of the awards and recognition we are receiving for our work so far this year and we can't wait to see what else 2022 has to offer for the Soto Team! On Tuesday, the Soto team joined partners from the NHP Foundation, Legacy Real Estate Development, Aetna CVS Health, Hamel Builders, and local artists at Paramount Baptist Church in southeast to celebrate the roof-raising of 17 Mississippi Ave. The celebration was not only for the building’s progress, but for the partnerships that made the project possible and the impact it will have on the local community. The four-story, 41-unit building will provide a mix of affordable, artist, and permanent supportive housing in Ward 8. Construction progress continues to be on-budget and ahead of schedule, set to deliver in early 2023!
The building has really taken shape over the past month, with most of the framing completed and roof trusses being installed this week. The exterior is being sheathed and prepared for cladding and windows in the coming weeks, while plumbing continues to be installed inside. The design team is thrilled with the progress, and is continuing to look for opportunities to incorporate local artists’ work into the building and site. See NBC Washington’s coverage here: https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/dc-affordable-housing-to-devote-space-to-artists/3053763/ The Soto team is excited to share that Phase One of Park Morton has begun, alongside the developer, The Community Builders, and the builder, Hamel Builders.
The multi-family community will be located in the Park View neighborhood of Washington DC and will bring two new-construction mixed-income buildings to the neighborhood. The first phase underway is a five story apartment building, consisting of 142 units, exterior courtyards, a ground floor amenity space, underground parking, and roof terraces. We can’t wait to see the development of this project in its new phase of construction! The Soto team is proud to share that Livingston Place, located in Southeast Washington DC, and 22 Light Street, located in downtown Baltimore, Maryland, have both been awarded Excellence Awards!
Livingston Place, which was completed and opened in June of 2021, has been awarded an Award of Excellence in Multifamily from the National Association of Local Housing Finance Agencies (NALHFA). Livingston Place was the first assisted-living community built in the District of Columbia’s Ward eight. The facility has amenities and accommodations for residents to receive assistance eating, bathing, grooming, as well as medical assistance. These amenities and accommodations include a salon, a dining room with a commercial-sized kitchen, as well as medical facilities. 22 Light Street, which also opened in the summer of 2021, was awarded the 2022 Excellence in Affordable Housing Preservation Award by the Department of Housing and Community Development of Maryland. 22 Light Street was an adaptive reuse of an existing 6-story office building, with a long, rich history in Baltimore. The historic Lanhan Building’s exterior and structure was beautifully preserved, while the interior was artfully redesigned to accommodate high quality residential apartments. In the past year, we have excitedly seen residents move into both Livingston Place and 22 Light Street, making them their new homes! Soto is excited to see our project at 17 Mississippi Avenue SE make significant progress and rise out of the ground! The four-story, 41-unit building will provide a mix of affordable, artist, and permanent supportive housing in Ward 8. Currently running on-schedule and on-budget, the building is set to deliver in early 2023.
Most of the site work, excavation and grading is complete, as well as the concrete garage and cellar levels, allowing for the recent erection of the CMU stair and elevator cores. In the following weeks, framing will begin and the building will rapidly take shape! Meanwhile, the design team is anticipating the delivery of materials for the exterior mockup to evaluate colors, textures, and finishes for the building, and working on collecting and evaluating samples for the interior finishes such as flooring, tile, wall coverings and paint colors. By Kyle Huck, Project Coordinator  We are excited to see and share the progress being made at Suitland Senior in Suitland, Maryland! Soon this 137 unit senior development will be a key component of the Town Square at Suitland Federal Center, and we can't wait to welcome residents to make this place their home in the future.
Breaking Down More Barriers Through Design On Wednesday, July 7, 2021, the ribbon was cut at 809 Kennedy Street NW, in the Brightwood Park Neighborhood in the District of Columbia, marking the opening of the Todd A. Lee Senior Residences. It was an honor to have contributed to such an amazing project, alongside Dantes Partners, Gilbane Development Company, and DCHFA, in honor of the late Todd Lee, who was an advocate for affordable housing in the District of Columbia.
This summer, Soto brought on two junior interns from Elizabeth Seton High School in Bladensburg, Maryland, to teach them what it is like to work in the architectural field and to help guide them in what kind of career they would like to pursue in the future. Alina D'Andrade was the first, and worked here, at Soto, for three weeks. Alina is a rising junior at Elizabeth Seton High School, who enjoys math and art and is a member of the varsity volleyball team at her high school. While at Soto, she experienced working with architectural software, like Sketchup, and assisted in design process of some of our current projects.
On Wednesday, June 23, 2021, the team went to the construction site of the future Suitland Senior. Suitland Senior is a senior development project consisting of 137 units in Suitland, Maryland. The development embraces new urbanism and the goals of mixed-use town centers. The building will soon face a town, which will encourage seniors to participate in civic and cultural activities. The building will provide many amenities to this future senior community, including social and medical services, many community rooms, especially on the upper-most level, and an outdoor roof garden.
Final touches are underway at 22 Light Street in the Inner Harbor of Baltimore, Maryland. 22 Light Street will serve as an affordable residence, with a nine percent tax credit, to downtown Baltimore.
On Friday, June 4th, 2021, the Soto team proudly attended the ribbon cutting ceremony of the firm’s first completed new construction project on Southern Avenue in Southeast DC. The Soto team worked with Hamel Builder to deliver Livingston Place, the first affordable living community in the District of Columbia. The development and construction of this project on Southern Avenue SE will provide new opportunities for enhanced quality of life for the aging population in Ward 8 of the district.
Soto Proposes a New Design for the Reeves Center!Early Process Sketches to Latest 3D Renderings The redevelopment of the Reeves Center is an incredible opportunity to celebrate Black culture and the legacy of the African American community in our City. We propose a matter-of-right development that promotes pedestrian activity, provides high-quality affordable housing, expands job opportunities, and celebrates the legacy of Franklin D. Reeves, Mayor Marion Barry Jr., and Black culture in our Nation’s Capital.
Ms. Horton, Sister Hagar, and LEAD students on their furniture tour An Interview with President, Sister Hagar and Capital Campaign Director, Monica HortonElizabeth Seton, a private, all-girls Roman Catholic high school in Bladensburg, Maryland, is just about ready to welcome a brand new cafeteria to their community! During interviews with Sister Ellen Marie Hagar, Seton high school’s President, and Monica Horton, the school’s Capital Campaign Director, it was clear that Seton’s students are part of a close knit community driven by a strong support system.
Livingston Place at Southern Avenue is on track to finish construction in March 2021! This year, our team at Soto has been working with Hamel Builders to deliver the first affordable assisted living community in Ward 8, which broke ground on November 21, 2019. The 152-unit community includes over 15,000 square feet of diverse amenity spaces, a commercial kitchen which serves three meals a day, and an exterior landscaped courtyard.
A Small Scale Project with a Large Community Impact Recently at Soto, our design team has been working on a project that looks a bit different than our typical portfolio: a civic renovation project that has been driven by students who are determined to showcase their school spirit.
 The renovation at 22 Light Street in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor is nearing the halfway point. With an expected completion date of March 2021, the structure originally known as the Lanahan Building, will begin its next life serving as affordable residences for 40 families within the downtown district.
 Through a highly collaborative effort with Dantes Partners, Gilbane Development Company, Carding Group, and HSCDC, Livingston Place at Southern Avenue is set to be completed in March 2021.
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Soto Architecture & Urban Design is Registered as a Certified Business Enterprise (CBE) by The District of Columbia's Department of Small and Local Business Development (DCDSLBD) and as a Minority-Owned Business Enterprise by the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT). We are also a USGBC and Energy Star Partner.
Soto Architecture & Urban Design, pllc
1348 T Street NW Suite 200
Washington DC 20009
[202] 750-6717
Soto Architecture & Urban Design, pllc
1348 T Street NW Suite 200
Washington DC 20009
[202] 750-6717