Graduation Could be the Last at SEU

Yesterday, the Washington Post had an article about the graduation ceremony for Southeastern University students, which was held yesterday at Constitution Hall in Northwest. However, the University could lose its accreditation in September, as mentioned in a prior post, so the school will either close, or merge with another institution. From the Post article:

According to the [Middle States Commission on Higher Education's] report, 14 percent of first-time students seeking bachelor's degrees there graduate within six years. Southeastern officials have been hoping to merge with the GS Graduate School, which provides continuing education to more than 200,000 students a year. [Interim President Elaine] Ryan has said she can't talk about the potential merger because of a confidentiality agreement; officials at GS Graduate said they are examining Southeastern's finances and operations and might make a decision next month.

At one point, SEU was negotiating to merge with UDC, but now it looks like they may become a part of the GS Graduate School, which is affiliated with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and has a campus near L'Enfant Plaza.

Additional Liens at Potomac Place Tower

In last week's Washington Business Journal (thanks for the tip, reader DavidSW), there was a brief article (subscribers only) about the troubles that developer Monument Realty has experienced with liens at Potomac Place Tower, a condo conversion project at 4th & G Street. From the article:

At the end of May, at least three contractors filed suit in D.C. Superior Court to enforce more than $1.3 million in mechanic’s liens the contractors filed against the last of three condominium buildings Monument is building at [Potomac Place] near the Southwest waterfront.

Back in December, Southwest...TLQTC first reported on a lien placed on the condo building by general contractor Dietze Construction. (Above is a photo of Potomac Place Tower taken in December 2008)

Scenes From Southwest

The fountains at Town Center Park were operational again when this photo was taken on June 16th and the grass has been cut. Earlier this month, standing water in the pond and poorly maintained grounds were causing a health hazard (i.e. mosquitos). See these two posts from Ward 6 Council member Tommy Wells' blog for more background on the transfer of the park from NPS to DPR and the resulting deferred maintenance.

This photo was taken on Friday morning. Construction continues along the soon-to-be-opened 4th Street next to Waterfront Station. It was a little difficult to get around, since jersey barriers have been erected on the northern edge of M Street from the 4th Street intersection to the Bank of America trailer. Also visible in this photo is the East Tower of Waterfront Station, which is a little less further along in construction than the West Tower.

This photo was taken on June 7th. Bike lanes have been installed by DDOT on both sides of I Street between 6th Street and 3rd Street.

Capitol Skyline Hotel Pool Featured in WaPo

In Sunday's Washington Post (and reported on JDLand), there was an article about the reopening of the pool deck at the Capitol Skyline Hotel, located at 10 Half Street. The article gives a history of the hotel, which was opened in 1962 and designed in South Beach-style architecture by Morris Lapidus. Most recently, it was a Best Western flagged hotel, but the Rubell family (of Studio 54 fame) bought the hotel in 2002 and recently started some major renovations, including the pool area. Earlier this year, the Best Western brand was dropped from the hotel and it was renamed Capitol Skyline Hotel. Since the pool reopened last month, several events have been held there, including pool parties every Sunday. The hotel has hooked up with Spike Mendelsohn, the former Top Chef contestant and proprietor of Good Stuff Eatery on Capitol Hill, to grill up hamburgers poolside on Sundays. On Spike'd Sundays, for $10, you gain admittance to the pool, with DJ Butter mixing some beats, and receive a free cheeseburger. According to an article in June's Hill Rag magazine, other events at the pool include a Pool Boy Party on Thursday evenings from 4-9 pm with DJ TMY, and on Fridays there are young professional mixers from 5-10 pm. I haven't been to the pool deck yet, but I'll have to check out this new neighborhood "hot spot" sometime this summer. Has anyone been to any of the pool parties so far, and if so, how were they?

Arena Stage Gets Critiqued

The ArchiCritic over at DC Metrocentric made a return visit to Southwest, after writing about Tiber Island a few weeks ago. This time, he decided to critique the new Arena Stage, which is under construction at the corner of 6th Street and Maine Avenue. Here's a link to his critique. His preference would be for the concrete and truss structure that is currently visible to remain, instead of being covered up with glass, cladding, and a canopy. I'm really excited about this project and how it will lead passersby from the Metro towards the SW Waterfront. I don't think there's a building in DC that's quite like it. My favorite part of the building so far are the wood columns that support the roof structure - it brings a natural element to the project. Here's a link to a YouTube video that gives a hard hat tour of the new Arena Stage by Bing Thom, the Canadian architect of the project. The structure should be enclosed in glass by this fall, and afterwards, the interior finishing touches can be made. The new Arena Stage is supposed to be ready for performances by Fall 2010 and I plan on being there for opening night! (Above is a photo of construction along the Maine Avenue elevation of Arena Stage, which was taken this past Sunday).

Shooting at Holocaust Museum

The blogger.com website has been down all day, so I wasn’t able to post a link to the story that has made national news – the shooting at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum on Wednesday afternoon, where museum guard Stephen Johns was killed. The museum is located at 100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, just south of the National Mall, and has been open since 1993. Here are a few links from The Washington Post, NBC 4, Fox 5, and CNN. The museum will remain closed tomorrow in honor of Stephen Johns.

Update: Suspected shooter James W. von Brunn is still too ill to appear in court, according to an article in The Washington Post. von Brunn was shot in the face by security guards after he was suspected of fatally shooting guard Stephen Johns and is currently being treated at United Medical Center in Southeast.

Update #2: A hearing is scheduled for von Brunn on June 30th, according to an article in The Washington Times.

Update #3: The June 30th hearing was postponed until July 10th, because von Brunn still can't leave the hospital, according to an article in The Washington Post.

Pizza Autentica Opens

Pizza Autentica officially opened for business on Sunday morning. As I mentioned on Friday, the pizzeria will be open seven days a week until 10PM. Earlier this evening, I stopped by for some pizza and took some photos. According to one of the employees, business was a little slow on Sunday, but things were much busier today. Pizza Autentica is located on the northeast corner of 7th & D Street at the ground floor of The Reporters Building. Below are a couple exterior and interior shots of the restaurant.

Here is an exterior shot of the pizzeria. There is outdoor seating available for patrons. I drove by the restaurant on three occasions today and each time I saw people using the outdoor seating.

There is no seating inside of the restaurant, but the interior was nicely done with a modern design. The pizza was pretty good too.