Valentine's Day Community Peace Walk

Click on the flyer below for information regarding this Saturday's Valentine's Day Community Peace Walk sponsored by the Southwest Neighborhood Safety Walkers.

Economic Benefits for Neighborhood Theaters

In this week's WBJ (subscribers only), there's an article which explores the theory that theaters help boost business in their surrounding neighborhoods, including the increased patronage at restaurants with Arena Stage's temporary presence in Crystal City. However, in these tough economic times, the article states that theater companies are trying to adapt in different ways. Here's a snippet from the article which deals with Arena Stage:

When Arena Stage noticed its sales slipping, the theater unveiled a new $25 ticket strategy and sold [$20,000] worth of discounted tickets in 24 hours. It will keep some seats at that price permanently this year...Arena Stage’s new $125 million three-theater campus is set to open in 2010. Artistic Director Molly Smith said she does not have concerns about opening a facility in a sluggish economy, partly because the new space does not include more seats to fill. Arena’s former capacity is redistributed over the three new theaters.

Below are updated photos of the new Arena Stage under construction taken this past Sunday from 6th Street (left) and Maine Avenue (right). Check out a prior post to see progress photos from October and November.

National Marathon Route to Change

The 4th Annual SunTrust National Marathon is scheduled for March 21st, where up to 3,000 marathon runners will traverse all four quadrants of the District on a 26.2 mile course. The route map has been set (click map below to see a larger version - from the national marathon website).

There's just one problem...the 9th Street Bridge is closed for a year due to reconstruction, so the event organizers at the Greater Washington Sports Alliance need to find an alternative route into Southwest. Representatives from the sports alliance were supposed to go before ANC 6D last night in order to get approval for street closures along 9th Street, Maine Avenue, P Street, and South Capitol Street, but now they need to go back to the drawing board and come up with a new route. Time is not on their side, since the ANC doesn't meet again until March 9th and the race is supposed to be held 12 days after that meeting. The ANC's approval carries weight with the Mayor's Special Events Task Group, which has jurisdiction over special events held in the city, including the marathon. According to the Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency's (HSEMA) website, event planners are supposed to meet with the Mayor's Special Events Task Group at least 90 days before an event. It's not clear if a change in the marathon route would mean the sports alliance would need to meet again with the task group. In addition, the event organizers need to get the route approved with the Traffic Control Plan from DDOT and complete an application within 15 business days of the event with MPD. The marathon will most likely still happen, but the course map will definitely have to change.

Update: Lou Holder from the Greater Washington Sports Alliance tells Southwest...TLQTC the following:

Our technical team is currently assessing the 9th St construction project and is devising several alternatives. We don’t anticipate any delays in our permit process as we are working closely with public safety officials to find a solution that works for everyone. Our goal has always been strong jurisdictional support, community engagement, and effective communication to ensure a safe and enjoyable event.

Beware the Ides of March...

At tonight's ANC 6D's monthly business meeting, Sean McCarthy from the Office of Property Management (OPM) stated that MPD will start moving into their new District 1 HQ at the former Bowen Elementary School on March 15th, with tours of the facility available for the community in April. McCarthy and Commander David Kamperin from MPD were at the ANC meeting to get approval for a public space permit before going to a zoning hearing next month. They need approval for 17 parking spaces inside MPD's property along Delaware Avenue that already exist, but since the original construction of the spaces was done without getting proper approvals years ago when Bowen was still a school, OPM needs to go through the proper channels to get the spaces approved, which sounds like a technicality to me. There will be a total of 182 parking spaces available to police personnel at the new HQ, compared to 75 spaces at the current HQ, which should have less of an impact on street parking surrounding the new HQ. There will also be four spaces on Delaware Avenue for use by visitors, which won't be metered like the spaces in front of the old HQ building. Instead of meters, these spaces will have a 15-minute to 30-minute time limit, depending on the type of business a visitor needs to do at the HQ. Along with the parking spaces, a seven-foot iron fence will be installed along the Delaware Avenue elevation and part of the M Street elevation, with three gates along Delaware Avenue. It was unclear if there would be fencing on the other elevations as well. The metal fence, while offering security, will give the new HQ building a more open feel than the 10-foot brick wall that is at the current HQ on 4th Street. Lighting will be installed in the parking lot using down lighting, which shouldn't cause light pollution to the neighboring residential buildings. After a little discussion, the ANC approved the public space permit items in a 6-1 vote, with Commissioner Sobelsohn abstaining.

Here's a photo taken yesterday of the entrance to the new District 1 headquarters building at 101 M Street, which is still under renovation.

A second vote related to the community space agreement between MPD and the ANC was approved unanimously. The community room at the new HQ was described to be slightly larger than the sanctuary at St. Augustine's where tonight's ANC meeting was held, and will have items including a 20' x 20' A/V screen, ports for Internet connectivity, and three microphones. Some of the activities that MPD wants to organize, especially for neighborhood kids, include a summer camp, summer school, and movie screenings, among other things.

What Bloggers Are Saying About Southwest

- DCMud: DCMud did an interview with Ehrenkrantz Eckstut & Kuhn Architects, the master planner of the new Southwest Waterfront. Here's an excerpt from the interview conducted with principals Sean O'Donnell and Matthew Bell:

[DCMud] What can we expect from the Southwest Waterfront? The only other true counterpart it has at present is the Georgetown Waterfront. What will the comparisons be once it’s completed?

SO: Well, one thing we learned from Stan [Eckstut] about waterfronts is how important the water actually is. You need to have a plan for the water too, and not just focus on the land side of things.

MB: What happens on the water totally influences the rest of the project. I think the general feeling is DC doesn’t have, outside of the Washington Harbor, a place where the city comes right to the water. If you think about [it], most of Georgetown pulls back and places like the Navy Yard never really went right to the water and, for years, were industrial. And, of course, the Anacostia is silted up and never became a great port. If you go back and look at the L’Enfant plan for the city, people were originally going to come by water and then travel by canals, so it was going to be a waterfront city. It never really happened that way and the idea is to finally bring the city to the water with people living there, working there, hotels, retail, restaurants and all different kinds of activity.

[DCMud] How do you go about integrating those original L’Enfant designs into your plans for a modern development?

MB: We base all of our work on what works in other places, so we spend a lot of time looking at precedents. We feel very strongly that great places are made by looking at other places, taking those ideas and using them as a basis for new ideas. I don’t think necessarily we’re trying to reinvent; rather, we’re taking the best of what you have at other waterfronts across the world and trying to make something that’s unique for DC. The L’Enfant plan is one aspect of that, but there are other ideas and other places as well. There’s an idea to connect to the Mall along [10]th Street, there’s an idea to make Maine Avenue a vibrant place with active waterfront uses that ties in the existing fish market in a creative way.

The Hoffman-Struever development team is now in the planning stage, since the SW Waterfront land transfer agreement was reached with the city late last year and initial infrastructure funding was approved last summer by the D.C. Council. However, in this week's WBJ (subscribers only) there was an article primarily focused on the collapse of the development deal at Poplar Point, but mentioned that Struever Brothers Eccles & Rouse has defaulted in nearly $6 million in construction loans unrelated to the SW Waterfront and PN Hoffman president Steve Earle said the following:

“Most real estate development companies are facing difficulties in this economic climate,” said Steve Earle, president of PN Hoffman Inc., Southwest’s lead developer. “[Struever Brothers is] a viable partner and we’re working with them.”

Construction is slated to begin in 2012. (Above is a rendering of the new Southwest Waterfront, from the SW Waterfront website)

- JDLand: Our blogger neighbor to the east has decided since Southwest...TLQTC and another blogger are now up and running in Southwest, she will no longer cover projects on the west side of South Capitol Street, which is technically not in Near Southeast. However, South Capitol Street itself and the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge fall under both neighborhoods, so here is a link to JD's observations from last week's ANC 6D's presentation meeting regarding the South Capitol Street EIS and bridge replacement, as well as my post about the subject last month. JD mentions that construction could begin as early as 2011 with completion in 2015, but funding hasn't been secured yet for the project, which will cost $700 million. As Southwest...TLQTC mentioned in a post last month, the new bridge could possibly be partially funded by the stimulus package currently going through Congress. Also, JD reports that the city is in the process of acquiring the red brick warehouse at the northwest corner of South Capitol Street and Potomac Avenue in order to create the traffic oval that will lead to the new Douglass Bridge. (Above is a rendering of the traffic oval and new Douglass Bridge, from the EIS website)

- Washington City Paper: The Housing Complex Blog did a post on the current state of the Southwest Waterfront and the new restaurant that will soon open at the former H2O site. Here's the intro to the post:

In the coming years, the Southwest waterfront will transform into a glittering $1.5 billion development with three new hotels, condos, and a bustling promenade overlooking Hains Point. But until then, locals can take in the old scenery: the garish Maine Avenue Fish Market, boring anchor sculptures, empty wooden benches, and a strip of boxy seafood restaurants and clubs, including the now-closed D.C. hotspot and drama magnet, H20.

Proprietor Kristina Noell, who used to work at H2O, has plans to open a new restaurant at the old H2O space called Hogate's, but it won't be a night club. Noell has negotiated a two-year lease with DMPED and after a contentious meeting with ANC 6D, she received approval to open the restaurant and obtain a liquor license last month. Here's another excerpt from the post:

Noell plans to call her addition to the waterfront Hogate’s after the seafood restaurant that operated in Southwest [at the H2O site] for three decades and was a pillar of the neighborhood..."There will be things that will be reminiscent of the old restaurant-they [had] the rum buns that everyone still loves,” she says about the old place’s famous sticky buns. “We’ll also have our own rum buns, but there will be a twist.”

The new restaurant plans to open this spring and is located at 800 Water Street. By the way, those wooden benches aren't always empty...below is a photo I took on a beautiful Sunday afternoon (it was 67 degrees yesterday!) with those wooden benches along the waterfront promenade getting some use.

Fire Trucks Kept Busy This Weekend

First, WUSA (from DCist) reports that there was a fire at 1200 Delaware Avenue on early Sunday morning. From the article:

A 66-year-old man was taken to the hospital in critical condition after being rescued from a fire that broke out in his apartment. The man was brought down a ladder from his fifth floor unit 1200 Delaware Avenue SW around 4:00 Sunday morning. He suffered from severe smoke inhalation.

The early Sunday morning fire is believed to be accidental, but an investigation is underway. I walked right by that apartment building yesterday afternoon and noticed some broken glass on the sidewalk and a window screen dangling from the fence, but I didn't realize the debris was due to a fire. Then, last evening, I noticed quite a few fire trucks on the 200 block of G Street. However, I didn't investigate to see which building might have been on fire, since I was running late for dinner. Does anyone know if there was a fire last evening around the 200 block of G Street?

Next ANC 6D Meeting & 7-Eleven Closing?

Here's a link to the agenda for Monday's ANC 6D meeting, which will begin at 7pm at St. Augustine's Episcopal Church. Southwest-related items on the agenda include the Randall School, 1101 South Capitol Street, the new MPD District 1 HQ, and street closures for two races. 1101 South Capitol Street is the former KFC site where Southwest...TLQTC reported back in August that the Ruben Companies had plans to construct an office building. However, 1101 South Capitol no longer appears on their website on their list of projects. On the Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) website, there's a hearing on March 10th where 1101 South Capitol LLC will look for a variance and an exception in relation to a planned office building at the site. Perhaps a new developer has purchased the site? Real estate developers typically use LLCs when developing their projects, so this LLC could still be Ruben Companies, but we'll find out on Monday...

On a related note, District Chronicles reported last month that the 7-Eleven on South Capitol Street will close in a year to make way for new development. The 7-Eleven is owned by Vornado. Already, the Bernstein's Reliable Liquor store on M Street was shuttered last year and a cab company has vacated the site. Last night as I was driving along M Street, I noticed the top floors of the building where the liquor store was located was in the process of being gutted...I think. I'll go by the site again today to see if what I saw was correct (admittedly I was pretty tired when I drove by, so maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me).

(Above is a photo of the liquor store site taken in mid-December and in that photo, it wasn't yet gutted, but it was boarded up)

Update: My eyes were not playing tricks on me...below is a photo of the liquor store site today with the top two floors gutted out and surrounded by fencing.

Update #2: Ruben Companies still owns 1101 South Capitol. However, the ANC tabled discussion about Ruben Companies' requested variance and exception at Monday's meeting since they are still in negotiations with the developer regarding community benefits.

Obamas Make the Rounds in Southwest

President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama have been making their way around federal agencies this week. So far, they have been to at least three agencies headquartered in Southwest. According to The Caucus Blog, the First Lady is making a point to visit all of the federal agencies over the next few weeks. Her first stop on Monday was the Department of Education, which is located just south of the future Eisenhower Square memorial. On Wednesday, she visited HUD headquarters on 7th Street. Yesterday, the President was at the Department of Energy, which is located south of the Smithsonian Castle near L'Enfant Plaza.

Forensics Lab Update

According to January's issue of the Consolidated Forensics Laboratory (CFL) newsletter, construction continues at the former Bowen Elementary School, which will be transformed into the new HQ for MPD's 1st District within the next couple of months. Once the new HQ is complete, the old 1st District HQ building at 4th & E Street can be demolished, which will make way for the CFL. Construction services for the CFL gave gone to bid and a general contractor should be named soon. So far, the project is still on target for completion in Fall 2011. (The above rendering is of the CFL from the CFL website)

Click on the graphic below to see a list of green features that will be incorporated into the new CFL.

Lane Closures on I-395 This Week

DDOT has a traffic advisory stating that two lanes of the SE-SW Freeway (I-395) will be closed due to demolition work on the 9th Street bridge. From the traffic advisory:

The District of Columbia Department of Transportation (DDOT) is scheduled to demolish a 1000-foot section of the 9th Street, SW Bridge this week. That work will require temporary lane closures on Interstate 395 beginning this evening. DDOT is in the process of completely rehabilitating both the 9th and 10th Street, SW Bridges. It is a year long project that began last November. The demolition work will require closing 2 lanes on southbound I-395 each night this week. The left and center lanes under the 9th Street Bridge will be closed from 8 pm to midnight. In addition, on Thursday, February 5 and Friday February 6, there will be single lane closures on northbound I-395 under the 9th Street Bridge. The far left lane will be closed from 10 am to 3 pm on both days. Variable message signs will be in place to alert motorists and direct them around the lane closures.