Randall School Developers Seek Extension

At last Monday's ANC 6D meeting, Marilyn Melkonian from Telesis came before the commissioners to request their support in extending the PUD for the Randall School project at Half and I Streets.  The Telesis/Rubell team have yet to submit their own PUD for the project, so the extension is for the original plans when the site was owned by the Corcoran and Monument Realty. The Telesis/Rubell team agreed to purchase the site from the Corcoran in 2010, but the sale closed only a few months ago. Telesis is putting together the programming, financing, and design of the project and hopes to start construction in 2013 with completion in 2015-16. While the project is still in the design phase, some particulars were revealed during the presentation. Below is a massing study done on the project by Bing Thom Architects that was presented at the meeting.  

The model shows the three heritage buildings that will remain along with two residential buildings with a total of approximately 400 units that will rise up to 110 feet behind. Of the 400 units, 20% will be set aside as affordable housing for households earning up to 80% of Area Median Income (AMI). A boutique hotel was also planned previously, but it was determined that it was not financially feasible, so the residential component was increased. It's envisioned that the modern art museum that will house the Rubell Family Collection/Contemporary Arts Foundation will be located within the heritage buildings. In addition, a restaurant may be placed in the easternmost heritage building. A new mid-block east-west street will be created behind the heritage buildings to remove some traffic off of I Street, but deliveries will primarily occur on H Street. With the removal of the newer wings of the Randall School, the back of the heritage buildings will be exposed and the development team is still contemplating whether to build townhouse units alongside the rear of the heritage buildings or retail spaces. A courtyard will be created behind the central heritage building that will be open to the public.  Ms. Melkonian said she hopes the entire project will be built in one phase starting in 2013, but the residential buildings could be done in two phases.  While the residential buildings are currently planned as apartments, it's possible that one of the buildings could be done as condos if built in phases and depending on market conditions. Regardless of when the residential buildings are completed, the modern art museum will be done in the first phase.

The ANC voted to support the PUD extension 6-1 after agreeing to rescind their prior disapproval 5-1-1 when no one from the Telesis team came to the February ANC meeting. Next, the Telesis/Rubell team will meet with the Zoning Commission on March 21 to seek the PUD extension.

New Bike Lanes

Bike lanes have been installed along 4th Street from E Street to I Street and also on I Street from 3rd Street to South Capitol Street and beyond. Above is a photo of the new bike lanes on the 800 block of 4th Street. Eventually, the 4th Street bike lanes will go north all the way to Pennsylvania Avenue and south to P Street. Bike lanes were installed on 4th between I Street and M Street when that road reopened in 2010 and the rest of the street was supposed to be completed the same year, but the installation was delayed. Renovations are ongoing at the Mary E. Switzer federal office building between C & D Streets, closing off part of 4th Street, so I imagine once that is complete, the bike lanes will be installed to connect residential Southwest to the National Mall.  Several bikers already use 4th Street as a commuter route and there are two Capital Bikeshare stations on the street - one at Waterfront Station (4th & M Streets) and the other next to Patriots Plaza (4th & E Streets).  The pre-existing I Street bike lanes were installed a couple of years ago from 6th Street to 3rd Street.   According to the DC Bicycle Master Plan, bike lanes will also be installed on 3rd Street between I and M Streets, portions of M Street, 1st Street, O Street, and Potomac Avenue.

A Few Quick Items: Dog Park, St. Matthew's PUD, 7th Street Landing Activities, Capital Bikeshare Expansion, Kastles Roster, Fish Market Restoration, Craft Beer & Food Truck Festival

- The PAWS of SW will be submitting an application to the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) to create an off-leash dog park at Lansburg Park since Southwest is the only quadrant in the city without a dog park. They will be working with the newly created "Friends of Lansburg Park" to do fundraising and organize community events, with the support of SWNA. Over $100,000 is needed to build the dog park, which will go towards ground modification, fencing, running water, and to make the site ADA accessible.  A minimum of 5,000 square feet is needed for a dog park, but the proposed dog park will not take up all of Lansburg Park. Other uses are being explored for the large, underutilized green space, including a playground, community garden, and skate park. The PAWS of SW meets at the SW Library on the first Wednesday of every month and they have a Google Group (sw-dog-park@googlegroups.com).

- The development team behind the St. Matthew's church and multifamily housing project met with the Zoning Commission last week to get approval for their PUD application.  There were so many people who wanted to testify at the meeting that it was adjourned until March 19.   Neighbors of the proposed development have created an online petition in opposition to the development. Below is a video of the March 5 meeting in case you are so inclined to watch the meeting. Rendering courtesy of Shalom Baranes Architects

- Hoffman-Madison Waterfront is proposing to offer wine and beer sales at 7th Street Landing this season on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Last year, beer and wine was sold only on Thursdays during the farmers market. The farmers market will be back on Thursday evenings with jazz performances starting on June 7 for approximately 16 weeks.  Friday evenings will bring community entertainment, while YaLa and yoga will return on Saturday mornings.  New this year will be family-friendly movie screenings on Saturday evenings. Sundays will be dedicated to recreation, including bocce, table tennis, and cornhole.

-  Renovations are planned this summer at Amidon-Bowen Elementary school.  Phase 1 will include a new administrative office suite at the front of the school, a new walk-through from the front to the play area in back, re-sized classrooms, and a new ADA-compliant entrance. All of the renovations will be complete by the end of August.  Last summer, Target donated funds to renovate the school's library. There will be an open house on Tuesday, April 10 from 6-7pm at the school where the plans will be shared with the community.

- Two Capital Bikeshare stations were installed today on the National Mall.  One is located on Jefferson Drive between 14th and 15th Streets by the Washington Monument and the other is on Ohio Drive near the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial.  Three more stations will be installed over the coming weeks.

- The Washington Kastles have completed their roster selection and will bring back most of the team from last season, including Captain Leander Paes, Bobby Reynolds, and Arina Rodionova. Replacing retired player Rennae Stubbs will be Arina's sister Anastasia Rodionova.  The Kastles will have two sets of siblings with the Rodionovas and the Williams sisters, who will also return this season.

- The Housing Complex blog describes how the Hoffman-Madison Waterfront team will preserve and restore the Oyster Shucking Shed and Lunch Room at the Maine Avenue Fish Market as a component of The Wharf development.  Currently, the white buildings at the market are vacant and in disrepair.  From the post:

The currently unused Oyster Shucking Shed and Lunch Room, a pair of ramshackle buildings surrounded by vending machines and ice boxes, will become a "centerpiece," according to a spokesman for the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development. They've submitted an historic landmark application for the seemingly nondescript structures, which were built in 1916 and are now literally falling apart inside. They retain enough integrity, though, to "serve as reminders of the Southwest Waterfront's historic commercial and maritime industries." According to the application, the Lunch Room was home to the Cadillac Restaurant from the 1940s through the 1970s, while fish dealers used the shucking shed to prepare their catch for sale. 

- LivingSocial is hosting a Craft Beer and Food Truck Festival at Kastles Stadium at The Wharf on the weekend of April 21-22 from 12-5pm. There will be 25 craft brewery tents, live local music, 10 food trucks, and backyard lawn games and activities. LivingSocial is currently offering a package for $35 on their website.

Sky House Commencement Ceremony

This morning’s commencement ceremony of Sky House Apartments (the adaptive reuse of the former EPA towers) at 4th & M Streets was attended by developers, lenders, architects, as well as community and city leaders including ANC 6D Chair Andy Litsky, Ward 6 Council member Tommy Wells and Mayor Gray. Removal of the concrete skin at the eastern tower actually began last month, but there was an official ribbon cutting today in a tent erected next to the construction site, along with several speeches and a nice breakfast spread. 

A tent was set up next to the construction site. Mayor Gray's Lincoln Navigator is parked nearby.

Construction went on in the east tower as the ceremony was underway.

Upon completion, the two towers will have a total of 530 apartments with 106 affordable units (20% of the total) for those earning up to 50% of Area Median Income (AMI) and will be the tallest residential buildings in Southwest.  The project is a partnership between Urban Atlantic and The JBG Companies, with exterior design by Wiencek + Associates and interior design by RD Jones & Associates.  Urban Atlantic purchased the buildings from Waterfront Associates in 2011 for $10 million. In addition to Sky House apartments, Urban Atlantic has a mixed-use project next to the Rhode Island Avenue Metro station that’s about to deliver, and are a partner in the Capper Carrollsburg Hope VI redevelopment in Near SE. Vicki Davis, President of Urban Atlantic stated during the commencement ceremony:

We are confident that Sky House will appeal to a variety of individuals seeking luxury living amidst the exciting ambiance of the Southwest Waterfront. The apartments are beautifully designed with a full range of lifestyle amenities.

A description of the planned amenities can be found here.  In addition, a few new renderings were released, as seen above and below:

The apartments will be the tallest residential buildings in Southwest.

The rooftop will have a pool and deck area with incredible views.

Renderings courtesy of Wiencek + Associates

DC United Stadium Proposal

There’s an article in this week’s Capital Business about plans for a possible Buzzard Point stadium for DC United that were developed back in 2010 by Dallas-based architecture firm HKS.  A map in the article shows the footprint of the proposed stadium site, which covers only a small portion of the 100 V Street site owned by Akridge (the southern block of the 100 V Street site is slated for a velodrome - at least temporarily). There would also be other amenities in the area to make the Potomac Avenue corridor an entertainment district linking the Buzzard Point stadium and Nationals Park, similar to some ideas floated last year on this blog.  Here’s a snippet from the article about the plan:

The stadium would have team offices, a club venue and underground parking. A public plaza, shopping, ticketing center and theater would line Half Street SW. The planners included images from outside other famous sporting venues, including Boston’s Fenway Park, San Diego’s Petco Park and Flushing Meadows in New York City.

There’s also an unnamed source in the Gray administration mentioned in the article stating the city might be willing to pay for new infrastructure if the team can finance construction of the stadium.  Back in November, Mayor Gray stated at a SWNA meeting his support for DC United remaining in DC, but said the city didn’t have the money to build the team a new stadium. In addition, the City Council passed a resolution last week stating their support for the team staying in DC.  More details about what’s primarily been behind-the-scenes negotiation between the city and the team will probably emerge in the coming weeks and months, but the perceived tone between the two sides has improved since last year when there was chatter about the team moving to Baltimore.

A Few Quick Items: 5x5 Art in SW, Helen Hayes Nominations, Kastles Schedule, FTC Wants to Stay Put, Biomass Plant for Blue Plains

- As a part of this year’s National Cherry Blossom Festival, the DC Commission of Arts and Humanities is putting together a 5x5 Temporary Public Art Project to help activate end enliven public spaces.  Two of the 25 pieces of art will be displayed in Southwest – one in front of Arena Stage and the other near the Titanic Memorial on the waterfront.  Below is a description of the two southwest sculptures from the press release:

The Cherry Blossom Cloud by Charles Juhasz-Alvarado, a large-scale temporary public sound sculpture fashioned in the shape of a xylophone from cherry wood that will be situated outside the Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater. Drumsticks will be available nearby for passers-by to activate the work by playing a melody or creating their own musical work. 

Deborah Stratman & Steven Badgett’s Polygonal Address (PA) System is a monumental floating platform, anchored at the Gangplank Marina and the waters behind the Titanic Memorial. This solar-powered sound system will feature a wide range of historic sound recordings, such as public addresses given during the 1932 Bonus Army protests on the National Mall. It will also provide a platform for guest sound programming by local, D.C.-based musicians, speakers, and artists.

- Arena Stage has received nine nominations this year for the 28th Annual Helen Hayes Awards. Five of the nominations are for Ruined, while three are for Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf and one for Equivocation. This year’s awards program will take place on Monday, April 23 at the Warner Theatre.

- The Washington Kastles have released their 2012 season home schedule: 

• Thursday, July 12 vs. New York Sportimes (featuring Martina Hingis)

• Sunday, July 15 vs. Philadelphia Freedoms (USTA Family Night)

• Monday, July 16 vs. Boston Lobsters

• Wednesday, July 18 vs. Sacramento Capitals

• Friday, July 20 vs. Orange County Breakers (Chris Evert Fan Reception)

• Sunday, July 23 vs. Kansas City Explorers (with Serena Williams)

• Tuesday, July 24 vs. Philadelphia Freedoms (with Venus Williams)

Last season, the Kastles had a perfect season, record-breaking attendance at their new home at The Wharf, and won the World Team Tennis title.

- According to the Washington Business Journal, the Federal Trade Commission is against a proposal to move from its current headquarters building on Pennsylvania Avenue to Constitution Center in order to help fill some of the space that was to be occupied by the SEC.  From the article:

“To require the agency to move out of its historic headquarters building at 600 Pennsylvania NW, which still suits the agency and its mission, would impose well over $100 million in wholly unnecessary costs,” the [FTC] commissioners wrote. “This unprecedented giveaway would be completely contrary to the interests of American taxpayers, especially in this time of fiscal austerity.” 

- In addition to the Combined Heating and Power facility planned at The Wharf, a new biomass plant will be built at the Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment plant according to the Washington Business Journal. Power from the plant will provide electricity for 30% of the electrical needs at Blue Plains. Construction is supposed to begin in August with completion in late 2014.

L'Enfant Plaza 2.0

L’Enfant Plaza’s retail center transformation continues moving forward, which began back in 2009. The retail center, two office buildings, and a hotel at the massive complex are owned by The JBG Companies and the renovated retail center was designed by SmithGroup. Now open at the food court: Potbelly Sandwich Works, Moe’s Southwest Grill, Starbucks, Crumbs Bake Shop, Roti Mediterranean Grill, Au Bon Pain, Frozen Yogurt Indulgence, Gourmet Too, Mina’s Boutique, Nash’s Mens Wear, 4-U, Hallmark Cards, Gateway Newsstand, Jay Jewelers, a sports injury rehab center, and a post office. A few other retailers are still scheduled to open over the next few months, including Five Guys and Mamma Ilardo’s.  Several of the restaurants are open beyond 5pm during the work week and are also open on Saturday. 

Hallmark Cards is one of the retailers who moved from the old retail promenade to the renovated center. 

Construction on Phase II is underway and demolition will soon begin on the western portion of the existing retail center with completion scheduled for the third quarter of 2013. Many retailers have expressed interest in coming to Phase II of the retail center, according to Matt Ginivan of JBG, who attended the International Council of Shopping Centers conference last week at National Harbor. Some of the targeted retailers at Phase II include sit down restaurants, as well as a fitness center and child care facility.

Rendering of the atrium interior planned for Phase II

A couple of weeks ago, the Commission of Fine Arts approved designs for the grand glass atrium entryway planned for the plaza in Phase II; however, ZGF (Zimmer Gunsul Frasca) needs to go back to the drawing table on the planned office building on Frontage Road since the commission requested a number of changes to those preliminary designs. 

Rendering of atrium exterior on the plaza.

Meanwhile, renovations are also underway on the east office tower, which includes the addition of glass to the lobby area to give it some “pop” and compliments the glass atrium planned for the plaza. The hotel above the east office building was recently renovated and construction on a new extended-stay Homewood Suites hotel will get underway at 9th and D Street this summer. The addition of windows at the food court, as well as the new atrium and office lobby improvements in the east tower will add more light throughout the complex. Eventually, an office building is planned for the plaza itself, but those plans are still preliminary.  

Glass additions to the east office building lobby are visible in the background.

Even though L’Enfant Plaza is geographically close to the residential area of Southwest, access to the complex by foot is daunting. In the intermediate and long-term, there are plans to make improvements. The developer is looking to eventually improve pedestrian connections from the south with the construction of the proposed Frontage Road office building.  As a part of the Southwest Ecodistrict initiative, there are plans to remake 10th Street into a pedestrian-friendly street that will better connect L’Enfant Plaza to The Wharf development and the rest of Southwest. In addition, the DC Office of Planning has been working on the Maryland Avenue Draft Plan in conjunction with the Southwest Ecodistrict which calls for a new south entrance to the L’Enfant Plaza Metro station.

Renderings courtesy of SmithGroup

SS United States Conservancy Kick-Off & Silent Auction

Wharf PUD Presentation Recap

This evening's monthly SWNA meeting was a presentation of the Stage Two PUD for phase I of development at the Southwest Waterfront (called The Wharf) by the Hoffman-Madison Waterfront team. The presentation was held in the Kreeger Theater at Arena Stage. At the presentation, the developers and master planner gave a description of what is planned for parcels 2, 3, 4, 11, and public places including District Pier, Transit Pier, Waterfront Park, and 7th Street Park.  The Stage Two PUD application was submitted to the Zoning Commission on February 3rd. A description of what's planned for the parcels can be found here. 

Monty Hoffman from PN Hoffman gave his vision for the project and mentioned some of the refinements made to the plan since the Stage One PUD was approved in the fall.  For instance, the proposed traffic circle in front of Arena Stage has been removed from the plan. At the water's edge, wooden fending has been added to wrap around the bulkhead and provide a nicer face to the shoreline, especially at the District Pier and Transit Pier. Earlier in the process, a streetcar line was proposed for Wharf Street, but that has been shifted to Maine Avenue due to safety concerns. An extra mews was added to separate the office building and hotel planned for parcel 3. In addition, the facades have been broken down at street level to have more of a human scale to them. The Hoffman Madison Waterfront team is working with Washington Gas on building a Co-Gen plant on Maine Avenue that would use clean-burning natural gas to power the rest of the development. As a result of the Combined Heating and Power Facility (or Co-Gen plant), over 1,000 coal cars per year will be saved since most of the city is powered using coal fuel. 

Pier Mews by the Intercontinental Hotel in Parcel 3b

Next up was Stan Eckstut from Perkins Eastman who gave an overview of what's planned in the development. As much attention was given to the water plan as the land plan, and in fact, the water plan was done first.  Eckstut mentioned that the only other city in the US that has a comprehensive water plan for their waterfront is Baltimore. Along the water's edge at The Wharf, there will be a continuous bench (about 2,000 feet) instead of a railing, so people can enjoy the water more easily. Lighting will be near the base for safety purposes at night, as well as blue lighting along the water's edge to serve as a way to define the waterfront that can be seen from passersby crossing the Case Bridge into the District.  

Aerial view from the water

The Transit Pier is triangular in shape and is located near Parcel 2. This is where most of the dinner cruise ships, water taxi, and charter boats will dock. Music barges will also dock here for festivals.

Transit Pier

Down-channel from the Transit Pier is the District Pier, which will serve at the ceremonial entrance for tall ships and other vessels from around the world that visit the city. The District Pier is very large - 650 feet long (more than twice as long as a football field), stretching from Maine Avenue out into the Washington Channel.  The public space created here will be larger than comparable spaces in other cities, including Covent Garden in London, outside of Faneuil Hall in Boston, or Harborplace in Baltimore. District Pier is designed to serve a variety of purposes, with permanent scaffolding along the sides to facilitate the set-up for events and festivals throughout the year. For instance, the pier can serve as a venue for the National Cherry Blossom Festival, or become a large ice rink in the winter. Closer to Maine Avenue, there will be a large water feature called Water Court next to where people will emerge from a parking garage underneath the District Pier. At the channel end of the pier, there will be the Dock Master building with a pavilion affording views out to the water and back towards the city. 

District Pier

On the land side of the development, the design of the retail space along the wharf and Maine Avenue will vary, but will be smaller format with no big box retail. Along the wharf there will include mostly restaurants, as well as kiosks, while Maine Avenue retail will focus more on neighborhood-serving retail. Meanwhile, retail along the mews will be cafes, and some entertainment venues along what is dubbed "Jazz Alley" between Parcel 4 and Parcel 5. 

Example of retail along Maine Avenue

The design of the buildings will include more masonry than glass in most areas, with the exception of the condo building planned for Parcel 4.  Buildings facing Maine Avenue will more closely resemble the design of buildings in the city, while the wharf-facing buildings will have more windows to allow views out to the water. In addition, at least 50% of the roofs will be green. Parking will all be below grade, which is rare for waterfronts in the US and will accommodate around 1,500 cars. Nearly the same amount of bike parking spaces will be provided. A second Capital Bikeshare station will be installed at 9th Street and Maine Avenue to join the one already at 7th Street (which will move slightly from its present location to be closer to Maine Avenue). 

Example of retail at District Pier

Located between Parcel 3 and Parcel 4 will be the Yacht Club Piazza, next to which will be the Capital Yacht Club clubhouse.

Yacht Club Piazza

Next to Parcel 5 (which is owned by the JBG Companies and is not a part of this PUD submission) is 7th Street Park, a more formal and quiet green space where 7th Street Landing is currently located. Adjacent to the park is 7th Street Pier, which is not included in Phase I of development.

7th Street Park

Next to Parcel 11 is the 4.2-acre Waterfront Park, the details of which can be found here.  The park will be built in Phase I despite being disjointed from the rest of the development because the ANC requested this space be completed early in the process as a concession to the existing community.

Pergola at Waterfront Park

After Mr. Eckstut's presentation, Shawn Seaman from PN Hoffman went over the sustainability measures planned for the development. The Wharf will seek LEED-New Development Gold, while the individual buildings will strive for a minimum of LEED-Silver. An elaborate 675,000 gallon cistern system will be constructed to capture the more than 25 million gallons of runoff each year that currently dumps into the Washington Channel due to the lack of permeable surfaces at present. The captured runoff will be recycled to the greatest extent possible, including the provision of chilled water for the Co-Gen plant. Solar power may also be used for lighting throughout the development.

There was a question & answer period after the presentations that lasted nearly an hour. Questions included parking concerns, types of retailers, housing preferences for existing neighborhood residents, recreational opportunities, and traffic disruptions during construction, among many others. All of the questions and answers will be posted soon on the project website. 

Next in the timeline is a set down hearing with the Zoning Commission in April, followed by a presentation to the ANC and vote in May. Public hearings will be held in June and July, with approval anticipated by the Zoning Commission in the fall and groundbreaking in the first quarter of 2013.

Renderings courtesy of Hoffman-Madison Waterfront

Sky House Progress Photos

Over the past couple of weeks, demolition has been underway at the former EPA east tower at Waterfront Station.  Windows have been taken out and part of the concrete skin has been removed.  In its place will be Sky House I, a 266-unit apartment building. More details on what's planned can be found here. Below are a couple photos taken last week:

A new entrance to the building has been created facing the multicolored walkway.

Later in the week, more of the concrete skin and windows have been removed.

Update: A new website has been created for the project, although there isn't much information on it right now. There will be a mix of studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom apartments. A media advisory describes the apartments as containing sleek interior designs, upscale fixtures, floor-to-ceiling windows, hardwood flooring, and contemporary kitchens. In addition, the project amenities will include a roof deck with pool, e-lounge, resident clubroom with gaming elements, pool table and movie screening area, gym with yoga studio, and an outdoor courtyard with sitting areas, TVs, gas fireplace and grills. An official commencement ceremony will take place on Monday, March 12 at 9:30am.  Dignitaries will be present, including Mayor Gray.  It appears that construction on Sky House II with 264 units will now begin in the spring of 2013 instead of May 2012.