Another Traffic Advisory

DDOT released a traffic advisory today about the closing of the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge on Sunday morning for testing of the swing span.

Arena Stage Progress Photos

The new Arena Stage is coming along nicely at 6th Street & Maine Avenue. During the past month, the "Cradle" has continued to rise on the northern portion of the construction site. The first photo was taken in October 2008 and the second was taken in late November.

This is the 6th Street frontage of the Arena Stage site taken on October 11, 2008.

This is the 6th Street frontage of the Arena Stage site taken on November 22, 2008.

Road Construction News

Two traffic advisories from DDOT regarding road construction in Southwest: one of the eastbound lanes of D Street is closed until April 2009 while overhead work is done on the 11th Street bridge near L'Enfant Plaza. Also, starting this evening, at least one southbound lane of I-395 (SE-SW Freeway) will be closed each evening for the next three weeks due to the rehabilitation of the 9th & 10th Street bridges.

Two Upcoming Events

- Parade of Lighted Boats: The Washington Waterfront Association invites all to attend the annual Parade of Lighted Boats in the Washington Channel on Saturday, December 6th, 4:00pm, Flotilla at 5:00pm. Come join Santa Claus as he lights the Christmas tree in the park between Channel Inn and Gangplank (The 600 block of Water Street SW). Enjoy refreshments, music and photos with Santa! Toys for Tots collection boxes are available from the waterfront businesses Note: Please bring brand new unwrapped items for toddlers through 17 year-olds.

Imagine it's night time and the boats are lit up...that's what the parade will look like on Saturday.

- ANC 6D meeting: The next meeting of ANC 6D will be held on Monday, December 8th at 7pm. The meeting is located at St. Augustine's Episcopal Church (600 M Street). Southwest-related issues include street closing for the Cassidy & Pinkard Colliers Race for Hope in May 2009, a thank you letter for lighting at the Arena Stage construction site, support for the SW Child and Family Services Walk-In Screening Clinic, and an update on the community benefits provided by the Corcoran.

Meeting Planned for Firehouse Site Proposals

The Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development tells Southwest...TLQTC that there will be a meeting in January where the three development teams vying for the DCFD Engine 13 parcel and nearby vacant lot will present their proposals to the community. See my post from October for the list of developer teams and a general description of the proposals for the sites. Once an exact date and time is set for the meeting, I'll post it here. The Google Earth map above shows the location of the two parcels.

South Capitol Project is Recipient of Neighborhood TIF

The Washington Business Journal and DCMud report today that three DC retail projects were awarded neighborhood tax increment financing (TIF). Up until recently, most TIF funds were only available for downtown projects, but the city is looking to revitalize blighted neighborhood commercial corridors using TIF. One of those projects is located in Bellevue, along South Capitol Street on the east side of the Anacostia River. From the WBJ: "CityInterests LLC will get $8.8 million for a 530,000-square-foot $108 million project to replace South Capitol Shopping Center, a strip of stores in the 4000 block near the District’s southern tip that currently includes Domino’s Pizza, Mai’s Nails, a liquor store and Jackson Hewitt tax service. It would include 220 residential units, 85,000 square feet of office space, 500 parking spaces and 47,000 square feet of retail. Chris LoPiano of CityInterests said he has a letter of intent for 50,000 square feet of office space and is in negotiations with a pharmacy and plans to open a small grocery store as well."

Delays and Progress in the Neighborhood

In today's Washington Post, there's an article describing the slowdown in construction around the Washington metro area due to the credit crunch. The Randall School project is mentioned in the article. From the article: "A half-mile from the ballpark, the Corcoran Gallery of Art and developer Monument Realty intended to turn what was once a public school and then a homeless shelter into an art school and apartments. But Monument withdrew in August, as its equity partner, Lehman Brothers, collapsed, leaving Corcoran to find another developer." Southwest...TLQTC reported on this story back in November. Another victim of the delay at Randall School is the old Friendship Baptist Church site (AKA Square 643) at 734 1st Street (H Street & Delaware Avenue). Developer Steve Tanner has plans to renovate the historic church into office space and build a residential component behind the church, which has been in the works since at least 2003. The timing of delivery, though, is dependent on the completion of the Randall School project. Now that the Randall School is delayed, Tanner will have to wait to see who will be the new developer partner of the Corcoran. The old Friendship Baptist Church is over 100 years old and was one of the few structures saved when Southwest was razed during urban renewal in the 1950s. According to the Cultural Tourism DC website: "In December 1902 the congregation dedicated a new church at 734 First Street, SW (at H Street). The eclectic Victorian style structure, built by James A. Boyce over a 12-year period, had Romanesque, Gothic Revival, and Queen Anne elements. A name change -- to Friendship Baptist – in June 1905 followed the congregation’s move...In September 1965 it celebrated its 90th anniversary and dedicated a new building at 900 Delaware Avenue, SW. The old Friendship Baptist Church at 734 First Street, SW, was designated a DC Historic Site on May 27, 2004." A rendering of the site is above - the white church is the existing building and the Shalom Baranes-designed 7-story residential addition is at the rear of the church (rendering courtesy of Steve Tanner).

At least one major Southwest project is moving ahead. Waterfront Station received construction financing in September to build the two new office buildings as a part of phase one of development, but the fate of the adaptive reuse of the old EPA towers to residential is unclear.

The rendering above is the metro plaza in front of the new SW Safeway under construction at Waterfront Station, courtesy of Vornado.

Guardian Angels Descend on Southwest

On Saturday evening, the Guardian Angels held its second neighborhood patrol of Southwest. The first neighborhood patrol was on Saturday, November 22nd. Police Service Area (PSA) 104 requested the assistance of the Guardian Angels after recent assaults in SW, including the death of local resident Mark Blank back in October. Both neighborhood patrols met at Potomac Place Tower at 800 4th Street. Community members are welcomed to join the Guardian Angels during the neighborhood patrols - about 40 community members showed up at the November 22nd patrol. The Guardian Angels volunteer their time to help walk the streets and point out safety concerns during their neighborhood patrols. Other areas of the city where the Guardian Angels have been active lately include Trinidad, Columbia Heights, Capitol Hill East, and Brightwood.

On a related note, at last week's SWNA meeting, Sgt. Brad Wagner from MPD stated that robberies have decreased by almost 50% in the past 30 days compared to a year ago, while burglaries have slightly increased during the same time period. Comments from local community list-servs express frustration with the growing crime problem in Southwest and PSA 104 has brought these concerns to light. In response, besides inviting the Guardian Angels on patrols, developers have increased lighting at neighborhood construction sites, MPD has increased foot patrols in problem areas, and a Juvenile Response Unit has been created, since most of these crimes are done by juveniles. We'll see if these measures will help decrease crime in the area.

The Shuttle Bug is Coming!

The SW Action Team, a volunteer problem-solving team trained in 2006 by MPD's Policing for Prevention Division, reports that a Shuttle Bug service for residents living above I Street will be up and running by the week of December 8th. The Shuttle Bug is a temporary bus service that will allow residents to safely get around the construction zone at Waterfront Station since pedestrian access was blocked to the site back in November 2007. Once 4th Street is reopened by March 2010, the shuttle will discontinue service. There will be stops near the entrance to Safeway and the CVS/Bank of America trailer, however, there are Jersey barriers currently blocking the Safeway stop. Negotiations are underway to have those barriers removed in time for the debut of the shuttle service. Once the schedule, map, and routes are available, I'll post the information here, but I would imagine the bus will make a loop from M Street to 6th Street, to I Street, to 3rd Street, and back to M Street. The Shuttle Bug is financed by the DC Government, Waterfront Associates (the developers of Waterfront Station), and Fairfield Residential (developers of The View at Waterfront).

Progress at Waterfront Station

Gordon Fraley, the project manager of Waterfront Station, gave a progress report at Monday's SWNA meeting. Currently, the 3rd floor is being poured at the site and the two office buildings should be topped off by February/March of 2009. By next August, the facades will be up at the Shalom Baranes-designed buildings. Both of the buildings will have a terracotta facade, similar to Monument Realty's office building under construction at Half Street - another Shalom Baranes-designed project near Nationals Park. Since the transfer of the 4th & I Street park to the DC Government from NPS occurred a couple weeks ago, the development team can reconnect 4th Street from I Street to M Street. The reconstructed portion of 4th Street will reopen before March 1, 2010, since the street must be reopened before DCRA and the DC Office of Tax & Revenue move into their new office space at Waterfront Station. By May 2010, the new Safeway should be open.

This is a rendering of the new SW Safeway, courtesy of Vornado.

Here's the exterior of the MVT Safeway.

The new SW Safeway may include a Starbucks and a dry cleaners, similar to the MVT Safeway. The SW Safeway Starbucks would be the 5th Starbucks to open in Southwest during the past few years. The other four Starbucks stores are at Capital Gallery (600 Maryland Avenue), The Portals (1201 Maryland Avenue), the Holiday Inn (550 C Street), and the Small Business Administration building at Federal Center SW (409 3rd Street). It would be the first SW store to locate south of the SE-SW Freeway.