Council Meeting Still In Progress Over SW Waterfront

The D.C. Council began their final meeting of the year at 11 am and at hour 12 of the meeting, there's discussion on the Southwest Waterfront parcels transfer. The Southwest Waterfront Disposition Third Revised Disposition Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2008 was far down on the agenda. Stay tuned for when (if) the resolution passes tonight.

Update @ 10:42 pm: The resolution passed! There was no roll call vote, but it sounded like it was unanimous. See my prior posts here, here, here, and here for some background on the drama related to the land transfer.

Update #2: Here's a WBJ article on the resolution's passage.

Update #3: Here's PN Hoffman's press release.

The photo is a model of the northern portion of the redeveloped Southwest Waterfront (phase II), which includes the Maine Avenue fish market.

Library Architect to Speak

The Washington City Paper reports that London architect David Adjaye will be at the Matthews Memorial Baptist Church in Anacostia at 6pm this evening. Adjaye was chosen by the DC Public Library to design the new Washington Highlands branch library in Bellevue back in October. According to the Washington Highlands Neighborhood Library Project website, the design process should be complete by Summer 2009, with construction taking 18-20 months. By Spring 2011, the new library should be open. An interim library will be open for the community while the new one is built.

Deal Reached in SW Waterfront Land Transfer

In Monday's Washington Business Journal, there's an article which states a compromise has been struck between DMPED and the D.C. Council's Economic Development committee over the transfer of land along the Southwest Waterfront. From the article: "...the administration submitted a new bill that would require the project conform to affordable housing requirements previously passed by the D.C. Council, that the Hoffman-Struever team submit a financing plan to the council in May, that the land not be sold to another developer, and that small, local businesses maintain their stake in the project. All those requirements were included in the land deal between the administration and the developers, said Brown, chair of the Economic Development Committee, but having them 'memorialized' in the law would prevent them from being changed without council approval. 'We’re just saying that if you amend anything in the [land disposition agreement], you can’t amend these items' without the council, Brown said. Brown didn’t get everything he wanted, such as an independent appraisal of the land’s value, but said he was 'satisfied that the administration now has agreed to make sure that all the community benefits are preserved and that the residents are going to get what they are promised.'" The D.C. Council meets later today for their final meeting of 2008, and it's expected that this compromise bill will be passed at that meeting.

January Issue of the Southwester is Available

Here's a link to January's issue of The Southwester.

Shuttle Bug Route Map Released

The new free Shuttle-Bug service will start operations on Wednesday, December 17th. Southwest...TLQTC reported back in November that the service would start last week, but there was a delay due to the jersey barriers that were placed in front of the Safeway. The Shuttle-Bug Route Map at the top right corner shows the route and hours of operation. Whenever I see a Circulator bus, Cajmere's "It's Time for the Percolator" always gets stuck in my head for at least a half hour. Now, with the Shuttle-Bug, I'm already hearing "Jitterbug" from Wham's "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go" in my head. The public transportation soundtrack in my head keeps expanding! So far, no songs come to mind when I see a Metrobus...

National Mall on Inauguration Eve: No Camping!

The Washington Post reports that the Feds are forbidding people from camping out on the National Mall on the night before the presidential inauguration. From the article: "To accommodate the crowd, the entire Mall is being opened to inauguration spectators for the first time, with Jumbotrons showing the noontime ceremony at the Capitol. Sgt. Robert LaChance, a U.S. Park Police spokesman, said that it is 'not legal to camp on the Mall' and that tents will be banned. Although the Mall is open 24 hours, it might be swept in a check for bombs during the night, he said. 'What we encourage people to do is come once public transportation is open,' he said. Metro will start running trains at 4 a.m. on Inauguration Day, a federal holiday in the District. Unlike at the Capitol or on the parade route, backpacks, chairs and strollers will be permitted on the Mall, he said. People can also take food and coolers there. But authorities are discouraging people from bringing many items on Metrorail because trains will be jammed." A pitched tent on the Mall could have been a cheap alternative for people compared to some of the accommodations offered on Craigslist.

More on SW Waterfront Drama

In today's Washington Business Journal, there's an article (subscribers only) giving some background to the delays in getting the Southwest Waterfront parcels transferred from the city to the Hoffman-Struever development team. The delay stems from a disagreement between At-large Council member Kwame Brown and Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development Neil Albert. From the article: "The delay over the Southwest waterfront involves a bill that would allow the mayor to convey 16 acres to a development team led by D.C.-based PN Hoffman Inc. and Baltimore-based Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse. After complaining he had not received the full agreement from the mayor over the summer, Brown scheduled an Oct. 8 hearing on the bill. Citing the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur, he adjourned the hearing and took no action until the meeting with the council chairman. Before that meeting, Brown said he had no confidence the developers could execute the project in this financial environment. He also said the affordable housing component is inadequate and the equity offered to the team’s small, local and minority-owned companies is a 'slap in the face' to them, even though four of their executives testified that they are pleased with their involvement in the project. 'I fundamentally have issues with a number of areas of this transaction,' Brown said...Although Brown eventually agreed to hold the hearing, he still maintains that Albert and his team 'don’t really care how projects get done. They just want them to get done. I want to make sure that they actually benefit residents.' He reconvened the hearing, he said, because 'I don’t want to be seen as the one holding up the project.'" That hearing was held yesterday at the Wilson Building. Once I get a chance to listen to it, I'll report any new and interesting developments.

Update: The WBJ has another article from Friday that says Council member Brown wants to change some of the terms of the land transfer. From the article:"...Brown is expected to propose new measures to protect affordable housing, require an independent appraisal of the land value, create a deadline for the developers to get a financing commitment and allow the land to return to District control should the development fail. He was vetting the idea with fellow council members Friday afternoon." Brown wants to introduce these changes using emergency legislation at the Council's last meeting of the year on December 16th. The drama continues!

Email from Safety Walkers

The following is an email sent by Saadia Athias, a resident of SW...

Hello Safety Walkers and Community

Last Saturday December 6, 2008 our community Safety Walkers met at 800 4th Street SW, at 3:30, it was our third walk. Our plan was very successful despite a few delays to coordinate with MPD, however 1st District sent over five patrol officers and a patrol car who accompanied [us] on the safety walk. We were also joined by our community councilpersons and representatives from the Mayor's office.

This week we explored G Street between 4th and 3rd and continued to the end of the cul-de-sac, where we explored the dangerous pathways and the perilous cut thru from Market Inn that ends on South Capitol in the "$5.00 Parking Lot”. Also the back path from 4th Street was noted as highly unsafe. It was ongoing about how treacherous that area is for pedestrians and the patrol officers noted those areas that need attention.

We headed down G Street and 7th Street, where residents pointed out three year old graffiti, on light posts and other notable concerns at the bus stops. At that time it started snowing, but all of the walkers remained with the group. We arrived at The Parade of the Lighted Boats, at 600 Water Street around 4:45 that afternoon; (between Channel Inn and Gangplank) to support the neighborhood event and to spread the word and recruit other Safety Walkers.

We ended the tour with [a] wish list for Santa for safe streets and the photo was given to all of the walkers. The enthusiastic walkers sought refuge from the cold and snow at Cantina Marina, and enjoyed their star gazing view of the procession of boats and hot chocolate. We returned to 800 4th Street, SW at approximately 5:30 pm.

If you live or work in SW please come join us for future walks! We meet every Saturday at 5 pm at 800 4th St. SW as we will this Saturday, December 13, 2008. Please spread the word, and feel free to forward this email to all Southwest friends, tenant associations, landlords’ property managers and neighbors in an effort to promote crime prevention and awareness in Southwest.

Thank you,

Saadia Athias

Council Committee Hearing Set for SW Waterfront Transfer

The Washington Business Journal reports that DC Council member Kwame Brown, chairman of the economic development committee, will reconvene a long-delayed hearing to discuss the legislation transferring the Southwest Waterfront parcels from the DC government to the Hoffman-Struever development team. According to the article, the meeting will be held tomorrow at 12:30pm in the Wilson Building. Read the article for more on why the meeting and subsequent transfer has been delayed over the past few months.

What Bloggers are Saying About Southwest

- DCMud posts a story on parks that are planned around the District. The post briefly mentions the park space planned at the Southwest Waterfront. The above model shows the public park planned on the south portion of the Southwest Waterfront redevelopment. The building in the middle of the green space is St. Augustine's Episcopal Church, which isn't a part of the redevelopment. The roof of Arena Stage is also visible on the top left corner of the model.

- DCist reports that public meetings will be held over the next couple of weeks to discuss the city's Neighborhood Circulation Study. According to the website, the focus of the study is: " Identify current deficiencies in neighborhood transit connectivity; Improve local bus services to enhance neighborhood circulation as well as connectivity; Identify new neighborhood services which will enhance circulation and connectivity; and, Complement the long-range growth of DC’s transit system." The Bellevue area will have its meeting on Tuesday, December 16th at 6:30pm at The Specialty Hospital of Washington -Hadley located on Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue.