801 Men’s Shelter at St. Elizabeth’s Campus
Washington, DC

Size: 85,600 sf
Owner: DC Department of General Services
Architect: Wiencek + Associates

The new St. Elizabeth's East Men's Shelter replaced the existing 801 East Men’s Shelter at 2700 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue in the Ward 8 Anacostia community located in Southeast Washington, DC. The Historic St. Elizabeths Hospital East Campus location is most known for treating soldiers during the Civil War, at one point even taking care of animals due to a not yet built National Zoo. Now, the new shelter is adjacent to the circa 1884 dry barn, the last remaining dry barn in the District of Columbia, as well as the craftsman style hospital stable which originally contained stalls for 65 horses and mules in 1901.

The Design-Build team of Coakley & Williams Construction, in a joint-venture with Blue Skye Construction, with architects, Wiencek + Associates, carefully designed the new shelter to ensure that the Historic foundations would not be undermined. Another notable feature is that the project sits directly on top of the WMATA Green Line subway tunnel, which introduces complexities with the buildings structural system as WMATA requires that no additional loads be placed on the tunnels. The Design-Build team designed a structural system to span on over the tunnels. The new three-winged building has a cast in place podium with wood framing above the first floor and includes a 365-capacity dormitory-style housing and health clinic for the homeless. The project includes a reception area, administrative offices, staff break rooms, conference rooms, multipurpose space, pantries, commercial kitchen, dining room, bathrooms, locker rooms, laundry room, security station, storage rooms, loading docks, and outdoor spaces. This project achieved LEED Gold certification through the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

Awards

2022 Community Leader Award (Judge’s Choice), USGBC National Capital Region

2022 Excellence in Construction Award (Institutional - $25-100m), ABC Chesapeake Shores

2023 Merit Award for Institutional Architecture, AIA Potomac Valley

2023 PV Award, AIA Potomac Valley

Images: © Jeff Sauers