NCPC to Take Up Several SW-Related Items Tomorrow

The National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) will have their monthly meeting tomorrow afternoon and several of their agenda items are for projects located in Southwest. One of those projects is the District of Columbia War Memorial, which is located in West Potomac Park and is dedicated to District residents that fought in World War I. The National Park Service (NPS) is seeking approval for renovations. Thanks to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the NPS received $7.3 million for repairs last April, but back then, the renovation was supposed to be completed by September of this year. The Commission is expected to approve final site and building plans for the memorial.

In addition, the NCPC is set to approve the replacement of the roof and window sashes at the Arts and Industries Building on the National Mall. The Arts and Industries Building is currently vacant, but these improvements, along with other restorative work that's currently underway, are necessary to maintain the 100+ year-old structure as a new use is determined for it by the Smithsonian Institution.

The DC Zoning Commission is requesting that zoning rules be changed so that development of District-funded affordable housing or as part of an approved New Community plan can achieve the maximum allowable Floor Area Ratio (FAR) and building height in a Transferable Development Rights (TDR) Receiving Zone through a special exception by the Zoning Commission. Parts of the Federal Center SW area are in the receiving zones, so higher-density development would be permitted in this part of the city under the rule change. The NCPC will most likely approve this change as well.

An agenda item that has city-wide ramifications is the CapitalSpace plan, which seeks to improve the quality of park space around the city, from pocket parks to squares & circles to the fort parks. As a part of this plan, one of the case studies in the draft plan was Lansburg Park. However, it appears that the Lansburg Park plan was omitted from the final draft.

Also on the agenda is to consider plans that were released in December by the Hirshhorn Museum to provide a 145-foot temporary inflatable structure in the museum's courtyard in May and October starting in 2011. It looks like the NCPC likes the overall concept, but has some outstanding issues that need to be addressed, including ADA accessibility and views along the Mall.

One item on the agenda that the NCPC isn't too pleased about is a plan to construct an administrative building and warehouse at the Naval Support Facility Anacostia, which is next to Bolling Air Force Base. Before the plans are approved, the NCPC wants to be sure that views to and from the new U.S. Coast Guard headquarters at St. Elizabeths aren't blocked by the planned buildings.

Food Cart Arrives at Waterfront Station

Thanks to a tip from reader Andrew, I can report that a food cart has been set up at the corner of 4th & M Street, which should provide a quick bite to eat for office workers at Waterfront Station. I haven't had a chance to go by the intersection yet, so can someone tell me if the food cart is one of those green vehicles, or is it a traditional metal cart that you would find near the National Mall? I noticed a few weeks ago another food cart has been placed in front of Constitution Center during working hours. As was mentioned last week, a Subway will open at Waterfront Station by the end of July.

What Bloggers Are Saying About Southwest

- JDLand tweets about an article in the Navy Times, which describes efforts to bring the Navy Museum to the Southwest Waterfront, although the Navy itself isn't on board yet. Back in January, Ward 6 Council member Tommy Wells voiced his support for the move in a letter to Navy Admiral Gary Roughead.

- Over on DCMud, there's a post about the continued space needs of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), even though their headquarters is being moved to St. Elizabeths in SE. The U.S. Coast Guard, which currently resides in Buzzard Point, will be one of the first agencies to make the move to St. Elizabeths, as their new headquarters is currently under construction. According to the DCMud post, the GSA will issue a request for proposals (RFP) for 1.1 million square feet of space to suit the needs of DHS. Constitution Center has 1.2 million square feet of empty space in a highly secure environment, so that complex is an obvious candidate for the RFP, but the space needs don't necessarily have to be filled in one building.

Design Concept Selected for Eisenhower Square

The Washington Post reports that the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission met today to select a design concept for Eisenhower Square, the name of the memorial planned across from the National Air & Space Museum for President Eisenhower. The article gives a brief description of the selected design concept:

The commission chose the most elaborate of the designs, with a central grove and columns on the north and south sides, plus a "tapestry" of woven stainless steel mesh.

Back in January, the Commission selected Gilbane Building Company to oversee the design and construction of the memorial, which will be designed by famed LA architect Frank Gehry. The Commission will present their selection to the National Capital Planning Commission at their next meeting on April 1. Hopefully I can get a rendering of the design concept soon to include with this post.

Update: The Post has another article about the memorial that includes a rendering and gives more details about the plans. Here's an excerpt from the article:

Instead, Gehry has proposed closing off a newly defined square defined by the intersection of Independence and Maryland avenues and Fourth and Sixth streets SW. The north and south sides of "Eisenhower Square" will be [lined] by huge limestone columns, the interior filled with a grove of large oaks and a semicircular space made of a rough assemblage of monolithic stone blocks. There will also be carvings and inscriptions and a service building. But the most intriguing and potentially most problematic element of the design are three huge tapestries, made of woven metal. Preliminary models show one tapestry running along almost the full height and length of the north face of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Department of Education Building. That could limit light and affect sightlines for workers who once had views to the Mall. Gehry, who attended the commission's Capitol Hill news conference, said that the tapestry would be translucent and that it will stand 90 to 100 feet away from the Education Department building, which is essentially the width of a city street.

The memorial will close off Maryland Avenue, but sightlines to the Capitol will be maintained.

Update #2: Above is a rendering of the proposed memorial, from the Eisenhower Memorial Commission.

Update #3: DCist and Greater Greater Washington have posts about the memorial, along with more renderings.

CityZen Pastry Chef Nominated for RAMMY; Sou'Wester Reviewed in Hill Rag

The nominees for the 2010 RAMMY Awards, given by the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington, have been released and one of the nominees for Best Pastry Chef is Amanda Cook at CityZen, one of the restaurants at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. This year's RAMMY's will take place on June 6th at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Northwest.

Another restaurant at the hotel - Sou'Wester, which has been open for about six months, was reviewed in March's Hill Rag in a piece called Sou'Wester Sparkles in Southwest. I have yet to visit this restaurant since I don't eat out very much for dinner, but I'm adding it to my list. Have any of you eaten at Sou'Wester? How is the food?

Subway...Eat Fresh!

Subway is on its way to 1101 4th Street (West Tower) at Waterfront Station, according to Gordon Fraley, Senior Development Manager at Vornado/Charles E Smith. This is the first food establishment to officially sign a lease at the project, although the developer is in negotiations with a burger joint and a sit-down restaurant. There are already three Subway restaurants within a one-mile radius of Waterfront Station, so cannibalization isn't exactly a concern for the chain. The Subway lease was signed earlier this month and the restaurant should be open by the end of July.

DDOT to Install Speed Bumps Near Greenleaf Rec Center

At 9am this morning, according to an email from the Office of Ward 6 Council member Tommy Wells, the Council member will be in attendance to oversee the installation of speed bumps along Canal Street in front of Greenleaf Recreation Center. DDOT will also be installing four-way stop signs at Delaware Avenue & Canal Street.

4th Street Close to Completion

Over the past few days, 4th Street has been getting closer to completion, with road crews taking advantage of the warmer weather to lay the final layer of asphalt on the street and repairing intersections. Currently, the road is only open to DC government tenants at Waterfront Station and their guests. That could change soon, as the stretch of road between I Street and M Street now has lane markings and appears to be mostly complete. As of Saturday night, though, when I walked home from the Waterfront-SEU Metro, the new streetlights at the intersection of 4th & I Street haven't been turned on yet. The street has been designed to help calm traffic in an area that will experience high pedestrian traffic. There are bike lanes on both sides of 4th Street and one car lane in each direction. The road has a slight curve to it and sidewalks are wide, with park benches lining the street.

Above is a photo of road crews laying the final layer of asphalt in front of 1100 4th Street.

Things to Do and Avoid This Weekend

• WeLoveDC via DCist reports that Cantina Marina’s outdoor deck will be open this weekend because of the beautiful spring weather we’re experiencing.
• Kites of Asia will be taking place at the National Air and Space Museum on Saturday (the event is indoors, but it’s free!).
• The SunTrust National Marathon will make its way through Southwest on Saturday, causing certain street closures. Check out their website for a list of closures.
• DDOT will be closing the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge from 4am – 9am on Sunday to test the swing span.

Update: DDOT has announced there will be a detour route for Circulator service during the marathon on Saturday. Here's a link describing the detour route.

FRESHFARM Market Coming to HHS

On my morning run along the National Mall yesterday, I noticed there was a small vegetable stand set up in front of the Health & Human Services (HHS) headquarters building at 200 Independence Avenue. Then, I read in the Washington Business Journal’s Top Shelf Blog that starting on June 2, a FRESHFARM Market will arrive at HHS, the first FRESHFARM Market to open in Southwest, although other farmers markets in the area have operated at the former DOT headquarters (now Constitution Center) and the USDA Parking Lot at 12th & Independence Avenue. The FRESHFARM Markets’ Mission Statement, according to their website, is the following:

FRESHFARM Markets strives to build and strengthen the local food movement in the Chesapeake Bay region. We use our markets to create vibrant urban and community places, to provide economic opportunities for farmers and to showcase our region's agricultural bounty. We aim to create a sustainable urban-rural partnership that brings the blessings of healthy local food to our communities and sustains the working landscapes that feed us.

The HHS FRESHFARM Market will be run in collaboration with FedStrive, a new comprehensive health & wellness program initiated by the department of Federal Occupational Health (FOH) that’s being tested on HHS employees. According to an interview done by Corporate Wellness Magazine of FOH Director Dr. Gene Migliaccio last month, FedStrive hopes to achieve the following:

FedStrive hopes to bring a take charge approach to health, wellness, and work/life balance. Putting an emphasis on statements like “I want to be ____,” Federal employees are encouraged to fill in the blank and strive to accomplish their personal wellness goals. To help maintain momentum, the FedStrive program will also offer incentives to HHS Federal employees in the form of free Fitness Center memberships or other non-cash incentives.

The HHS FRESHFARM Market will operate on Wednesdays from 2:30 pm – 6:30 pm and will run until October 27th.