Catching Up on a Few Quick Items: Micro-Units, Constitution Center, DC United, Green Bike Lanes, Retail, Early Voting

- Micro-units are planned for a portion of one of the rental apartment buildings in phase one of The Wharf, according to DCmud.  The micro-units are planned for parcel 2, which also includes the Wharf Center performance space and the co-gen plant. These units will range from 330 - 380 square feet and will have space-saving features such as built-in furniture and cabinets, Murphy beds, and small appliances. Large windows will offer views of the Washington Channel and some units will have small French balconies. The theory behind having smaller units is that the lifestyle of people in cities has changed - many renters spend less time in their living space and more time at restaurants, bars and other entertainment venues, which will all be present at The Wharf.  Smaller units are also more affordable for renters (and more profitable for developers).

Rendering courtesy of Hoffman-Madison Waterfront

- Constitution Center, the massive office building on top of the L'Enfant Plaza Metro station at 400 7th Street, will be occupied by the Federal Trade Commission, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Humanities, according to an article in the Washington Business Journal. These tenants will fill the 1.4 million square-foot complex since the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Housing Finance Agency already committed to the bulk of the space after the SEC backed out of their lease in 2010.

- Ward 2 Council member Jack Evans mentioned in an interview with The Washington Post earlier this month that he hopes a framework of a deal for DC United to build a stadium at Buzzard Point will be in place by the end of the year.  From the article:

United would cover the costs of constructing the stadium but also seek to keep a share of the tax revenue. The D.C. Council would have to approve such a request. The city would also pay for infrastructure improvements at Buzzard Point, an undeveloped area next to Fort McNair near the confluence of the Potomac and Anacostia rivers. 

- More green bikes lanes have started to pop-up – the latest has appeared at the intersection of 4th and I Streets. Earlier this month, lanes were painted green at the intersection of South Capitol and I Streets. At the 4th & I intersection, the green bike lane was painted on 4th Street southbound leading to the intersection. In addition, a green bike box was painted at the intersection, a buffer area where cars are not supposed to cross when stopped at the intersection.

- A Caseys Coffee is coming to 355 E Street, the Phase 3 building of Patriots Plaza, according to DCmud. Construction of the 2,245 SF space is supposed to begin in November. The downtown location on L Street, NW is open Monday - Friday from 6:30am - 4:30 pm, so the new SW location will probably have similar hours. They serve coffee, soups, sandwiches, and salads.

- Early voting began this week at One Judiciary Square, but starting tomorrow, each ward will have a polling place open for early voting. The Ward 6 polling station is King Greenleaf Recreation Center at 201 N Street. The polls will be open each day (except Sunday) from October 27 - November 4 from 8:30am - 7pm.

Green Bike Lanes

DDOT has started experimenting with painting green bike lanes at intersections, which helps to better identify where bike lanes are located.  An example can be found on I Street where it intersects with South Capitol Street.  I Street on either side of South Capitol has the new paint marking.  Other cities have started using green bike lanes. Portland has taken it a step further and has introduced Bike Boxes at intersections, where bikes have a special space at intersections closer to the crosswalk where cars are not allowed to enter when stopped at a light.  The bike boxes are painted green and bike lanes leading to and away from the box are also painted green.

A Stroll Down 4th Street

View 4th Street Development in a larger map

There is a lot of construction activity either underway or planned along 4th Street with something going on at almost every block from the National Mall to N Street. Above is a map of construction projects along the corridor with a summary of each project listed below from north to south.

Going south on 4th from the National Mall, the first project that comes up is the reseeding of the lawn on a section of the Mall stretching from 7th Street to 3rd Street. 

After crossing Independence Avenue, the west side of the street in front of the Department of Education will be transformed into a memorial to President Eisenhower. The memorial will take up the rectangle bordered by 6th Street to the west, Independence Avenue to the north, 4th Street to the east, and the Department of Education headquarters to the south. There’s been a lot of controversy over the memorial’s design, done by famed architect Frank Gehry.

Image courtesy of Gehry Partners, LLP

On the next block between C Street and D Street, renovations continue at the Mary E. Switzer federal building. Interior work is being done, along with the creation of green space along C Street that will replace the surface parking lot that once was there.

At the northwest corner of 4th & E Streets, the new Consolidated Forensic Laboratory (CFL) is nearing completion.  I took a tour of the building last fall (unfortunately we were not allowed to take photos inside) which will include a forensic lab, MPD test firing range, and the coroner’s office.  Interior build-out is underway.

On the southwest corner of the intersection, a new office building with the address 400 E Street will replace the parking lot, and a new Engine 13 firehouse will be on the ground floor on the 4th Street side. In addition, there will be space on the E Street side for DC Central Kitchen and KidPower. A sign on the lot says the building will deliver in the 4th Quarter of 2013, but I don’t see that deadline being met since a major tenant hasn’t been lined up yet for the office building and construction has not begun.

Rendering courtesy of WDG Architecture

On 4th Street from School Street to I Street, a bike lane has been created on either side of the street.  The bike lanes were supposed to be installed a couple years ago shortly after the I Street to M Street segment was done, but better late than never I guess.

Potomac Place Tower, the condo conversion by Monument Realty at 800 4th Street has sold over 80% of its 396 units and is the largest condo project currently selling in the city.

The northeast and northwest parcels of Waterfront Station are currently slated for residential.  Construction on the northwest parcel may begin in 2014 once Sky House Apartments are completed a couple blocks south. The District owns the northeast parcel and the timetable for issuing a RFP has not been determined yet.

Construction at Sky House I Apartments began in February, the conversion of the former EPA towers at Waterfront Station by Urban Atlantic and the JBG Companies. Upon completion, both buildings will contain 530 apartments with 20% set aside as affordable housing for households earning up to 50% of Area Median Income (AMI).

The two vacant lots (well, one of those lots has a Bank of America trailer) at Waterfront Station fronting M Street are slated for office buildings.  No timetable has been set yet for construction.  

Tiber Island is planning to redo the stark, wind-swept plaza area that connects the four towers at the complex with a new oval-shaped fountain, seating, a pergola, and plantings.

 Rendering courtesy of SmithGroup

New Bike Lanes

Bike lanes have been installed along 4th Street from School Street to I Street and also on I Street from 7th Street to 6th Street & 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.

Capital Bikeshare Expansion Planned

DDOT has announced that the increasingly popular Capital Bikeshare has plans to expand later this year in the District with 25 stations and 250 bikes. There are several locations under consideration, including some in Southwest. The proposed Southwest stations include 4th & E Street, 4th & C Street, and 4th Street & Independence Avenue. All three of these proposed locations are proximate to the Federal Center SW Metro station. To see a map of all the proposed stations, check out this link. There are currently four CaBi stations in the quadrant (Waterfront Station, 7th Street Landing, Smithsonian Metro, and L'Enfant Plaza Metro). DDOT will host a public meeting on May 25 to solicit input from the community about which locations should be chosen.  The meeting will take place from 6pm - 8pm at 441 4th Street, NW, Room 1107.  In addition, the public can send an email to DDOT to comment on the proposed locations or submit their own suggestions (ddot.bikeshare@dc.gov).  

CaBi Arrives at Waterfront Station

A 15-bike Capital Bikeshare station was installed across the street from the Waterfront-SEU Metro station today. Service on the bike sharing program, which spans 110 stations with 1,100 bikes in the District and parts of Arlington County, will begin on Monday, September 20th. There will be a total of five Capital Bikeshare stations located in Southwest - Waterfront Station; 4th Street on the National Mall; 7th & I Street near Jefferson Middle School; 12th & Independence Avenue at USDA headquarters; and 7th & C Street near L'Enfant Plaza. Check out the Capital Bikeshare website for a map of all the stations and how to sign up. I took a couple of nighttime photos of the bike share station - I'll try to get some daytime photos tomorrow. Above is a photo of the station, located at the northwest corner of 4th & M Street.

Here are instructions on how to use the bike share station. Will any of you be using Capital Bikeshare?

Update: Below is a daytime photo of the Waterfront Station Capital Bikeshare station, with bikes now docked.

A Few Quick Items

- The Washington Post reports that the main MLK Memorial sculpture is stranded in China because the Greek government (who volunteered to ship the sculpture to DC for free) doesn't have enough money to do it due to its economic crisis.

- The third installment of the Transformers movie series may shoot part of the film on the National Mall, but the producers are running into resistance from the National Park Service, according to The Washington Post, because of the types of scenes they want to film, including a car race on the gravel paths along the Mall and simulated explosions on Independence Avenue.

- An unclaimed bag at C & 6th Street caused some street closures earlier this evening, according to The Washington Post, but by 8:15pm, C Street was reopened by MPD.

- The WashCycle complains there aren't enough bike parking spaces at Waterfront Station. Also, there was a complaint that there is no loading area in front of Safeway and cars are blocking the bike lane on 4th Street (umm...the loading area is in the garage).

M Street Redesign Discussed Last Night

Last night, I attended a meeting hosted by Council member Tommy Wells that discussed possible changes for M Street using the Complete Streets concept, which is defined as a street that's safe, comfortable, & convenient for travel by automobile, foot, bicycle, & transit regardless of age or ability. Greater Greater Washington and JDLand have good summaries of the meeting, so there's no need for me to repeat what has already been written, but basically, the Council member is interested in improving sidewalks and placing concrete-like cycle tracks along M Street from 11th Street, SE to Maine Avenue, which would remove one lane of M Street in each direction and serve as a traffic calming measure along this busy stretch of road. These changes would get people (commuters) used to less traffic lanes for when streetcars eventually make their way to M Street and give bicyclists refuge from cars. With 10,000 residential units planned and 25,000 employees projected to make their way to the M Street SE/SW corridor upon full build-out (a mid-sized city as Wells put it), a holistic approach needs to be taken to address inadequacies along M Street. There was trepidation from some ANC 6D commissioners and other members of the audience about losing a lane of traffic in each direction, but there were others who were excited about the changes. Generally, people are afraid of change, especially in an area of the city that's seeing a lot of change, so perhaps a less permanent solution should be used for a trial period to see if these improvements could work on M Street. If it works, then make the changes permanent, otherwise, the road can be easily converted back to its current state and another solution can be explored. At any event, I think the status quo on M Street shouldn't be maintained because the road now acts more like a highway than an urban street. Above is a photo of the Maine Avenue corridor.

Alternative Transit Options on Inauguration Day

By foot: The Inauguration Day 2009 website created by the District government states the following pedestrian routes are available to get to the swearing-in ceremony:

The following access points have been identified as pedestrian-only routes to the National Mall:

• E Street, NE from Massachusetts Avenue, NE to 3rd Street, NW
• 7th Street, SW from D Street, SW to Independence Avenue, SW
• 19th Street, NW from K Street, NW to DuPont Circle, NW
• 3rd Street Tunnel (I-395) from New York Avenue, NW to SE/SW Freeway
• Arlington Memorial Bridge from Virginia, around Lincoln Circle to Independence Avenue, SW
• East Capitol Street, NE to North Carolina, SE to New Jersey Avenue, SE to I Street, SE [continue until 7th Street, SW to Independence Avenue, SW

By sea (ok, river): For those of you coming into DC from Northern Virginia, I heard on NBC4 this morning that there will be water taxi service from Old Town Alexandria to the Southwest Waterfront. From the NBC4 website:

The U.S. Coast Guard says it has approved water taxi service from Virginia to D.C. on Inauguration Day. The Inaugural Water Taxi will be provided by the Potomac Riverboat Co., for $90 roundtrip or $50 one way. The taxi will depart from the Alexandria City Marina at Union and Cameron streets in Old Town Alexandria and arrive at the Southwest Waterfront's Pier 4, at 600 Water St. in D.C.

600 Water Street is where Cantina Marina is located and the Odyssey is docked. Tickets go on sale today and can be purchased on the Potomac Riverboat Company's website. (The above photo is of Cantina Marina and the Odyssey dock, taken in July 2007)

By bicycle: A press release today from DDOT states that there will be two free bike valet parking stations available - one will be on the south side of the Jefferson Memorial and the other will be on 16th Street, NW between I & K Streets. From the press release:

Both sites are within walking distance of the Inaugural festivities and will be open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. A limited number of commemorative valet claim checks and spoke cards will be offered to cyclists who use the valets. WABA says the service will operate like a car valet. “You simply ride up to the valet, a volunteer will attach one half of a claim ticket to your bike and hand you the other half,” said Henry Mesias, the project manager at WABA. “The volunteer will then park the bike in a safe enclosure while you head off to enjoy the Inauguration. When you want to leave, you show us your half of the claim check and we get you your bike and you ride off. It’s quite simple.” The sidewalks on all bridges over the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers will be open to bicyclists and pedestrians, and the Memorial Bridge will be dedicated to bicyclists and pedestrians. Cyclists coming from Arlington, Alexandria, Southeast and Southwest DC can use the valet station at the Jefferson Memorial, while riders from the north can use the station at 16th and K Streets, NW.

Here's a link to WABA's website describing the bike valet service.

By Metro: According to the WMATA website, Metrorail will be running rush hour service on Inauguration Day from 4am to 9pm and commemorative passes & SmarTrip cards are available for purchase. The Smithsonian Metro station will be closed, so the closest Southwest stations to the National Mall will be L'Enfant Plaza and Federal Center SW. Those stations serve all rail lines, except for the Red Line. (The above map shows the Metro stations and bus routes near the National Mall, from the WMATA website)

Scenes from Southwest

Here's a photo of a couple of bicyclists riding along M Street near Tiber Island on a recent Saturday morning.

This next photo is of the Francis Case Memorial Bridge, which crosses over the Washington Channel. Wouldn't it be cool if as a part of the redevelopment of the Southwest Waterfront that the bridge was lit up at night like some of the causeway bridges in Miami?

Here's a peek at a part of the SW waterfront from Banneker Overlook. In the distance you can see East Potomac Park and way off in the distance is the masonic temple in Alexandria and the control tower at Reagan National Airport.

What Bloggers are Saying About Southwest

- DCMetrocentric reports that construction at Waterfront Station has reached ground level. I'll actually be in town this weekend and the weather is supposed to be perfect, so I'll finally have a chance to go around the neighborhood and take some updated photos, including Waterfront Station.

- Greater Greater Washington reports that a bicyclist was killed in West Potomac Park along Maine Avenue. I ride my bike around there on occasion when I ride to work, and that area can be dangerous for bicyclists.

- Imagine, DC would like a Metrorail line or light rail line to run up the median of I-95 to I-395 and connect to L'Enfant Plaza to help reduce traffic in the area.

Walking Town Comes to SW

On Saturday, September 20th and Sunday, September 21st, Cultural Tourism DC will bring back Walking Town DC, Fall Edition to the streets of DC. There will be six tours on Saturday featuring sites in SW, including DC By Foot: Monument Tour, The Southwest Waterfront, The National Mall: What the Memorials Don’t Tell You, Capital Sites by Bike, The Secrets of Federal Center, SW, and Washington Waterfront. On Sunday, there will be three tours, including two DC by Foot: Monument Tours and Bike Tour of the South West Gateway Art Installation. For more information, see the schedule.