9th Street Commercial is located along one of Washington's most heavily trafficked commercial corridors, yet followed a trend into disrepair that plagued much of the building fabric of the area. Community Three's strategy to restore this commercial gem began with the adaptive reuse of the historical elements and facade of the 1920s building, ultimately leading to one of the first mixed-use interventions in Washington, DC's Shaw Historic District.

With the scale of the project acting against the costs of third party certification for sustainability (such as LEED), Community Three implemented its own sustainability program optimized for the appropriateness to the project. At the core of this strategy was site selection and the modernization of the existing building. The process further identified specific sustainable materials, such as low-E 272 Argon insulated glass and low-flow fixtures for use throughout the new spaces. These simple interventions drastically minimized life-cycle energy use.

The second floor roof is also covered with a vegetative layer, landscaped with drought tolerant floral species, that helps insulate the interior spaces and reduce the need for artificial climate control. The finished product further employs local building materials and professionals to ensure local benefits both from microeconomic effects and limiting the high embodied energy concerns of transporting materials.

9th Street Commercial is evidence that even small buildings, the cornerstone of Washington, DC's building stock, can successfully participate in reducing our current and future impact on the natural environment while furthering social and economic neighborhood growth.