A Couple Quick Items: Reduced Bus Service, SW Dog Park Listserv Created

- WMATA has proposed to change the 70/71 Metrobus routes that currently terminate at Half & O Street in Buzzard Point to instead end at the National Archives at 7th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, which would eliminate service in Southwest starting this fall. The 70/71 buses would be replaced with a new 74 bus that will run from 5am to 8pm Monday-Friday.  No service will be provided in the evening or on weekends. To supplement the lack of service during these times, the V8 bus will be rerouted to the affected area.  In addition, Metro is considering increasing headways between Metro rail trains on the weekends from 12 to 18 minutes on Saturdays and from 15 to 20 minutes on Sundays. WMATA will have a special hearing on Wednesday, June 8 from 6:30pm - 8:30pm at Arena Stage to discuss these proposed changes.  The hearing is sponsored by Ward 6 Council member Tommy Wells and ANC 6D.  News of reduced Metrobus service comes on the heels of a transit development plan that recommends Circulator service on the Convention Center - SW Waterfront route to be discontinued while The Wharf gets developed due to low ridership.

- For all you dog people out there, a new listserv has been created just for you!  Email swdogpark@gmail.com to join the new SW Listserv dedicated to establishing a permanent dog park in Southwest. The new group will be sponsoring joint dog walks weekly for exercise and community building.

Photos from my ART and CaBi Ride Before the "Rapture"

Water taxi this way!



The Dolley Madison docked at the Gangplank Marina.



The back side of Cantina Marina facing the Washington Channel.



Going around Hains Point and the Naval War College.



The Washington Monument and the Old Post Office Building.



About to pass under the Memorial Bridge.



On the other side of the Memorial Bridge.

Riding past the new MLK Memorial - under construction along the Tidal Basin.



The DC World War I Memorial is getting refurbished across from the MLK Memorial.

A Few Quick Items: Redistricting, Amidon-Bowen Library, Buzzard Point Stadium, SEC Lease Drama

- JDLand reports that the draft redistricting map has been released and the Southwest Waterfront neighborhood (as well as Near SE) will remain in Ward 6. In addition, the section of Ward 2 on the north side of the Southwest Freeway south of Independence Avenue will become a part of Ward 6.

- Amidon-Bowen Elementary School is one of five DC schools (42 schools nationwide) to receive a $200,000 grant from Target this summer, according to the Examiner.  From the article:

The minimum $200,000-per-school renovation will include light construction, technology updates, new furniture, carpet and shelves, and 2,000 books...Every student at the 42 selected schools and his or her siblings will receive seven new books. Target will also establish Meals for Minds pantry sites at each school to allow all students and their families to choose food to take home.

- More buzz about DC United's search for a new stadium site, this time from The Washington Post's Soccer Insider. The insider takes a tour of Buzzard Point to check out 100 V Street as a potential stadium location.

- The Washington Business Journal reports that the SEC and the GSA are having discussions about the lease the SEC signed at Constitution Center last year and the issues revolving around excess space the agency may or may not use.  In addition, the WBJ reports that the inspector general for the SEC says the agency could owe $94 million in damages for the space it leased but backed out of a few months later.

Niña and Pinta Arrive at Gangplank Marina Today

Two Columbus replica ships will be making their way up the Washington Channel to the Gangplank Marina this afternoon at 2pm and will stick around through the holiday weekend.  Below is the media advisory:

On Thursday May 26th at 2:00 p.m., the ‘Pinta’ and the ‘Niña’, replicas of Columbus’ ships will arrive in Washington. The ships will be docked at the Gangplank Marina, 600 Water St., until their departure early Monday morning May 30th.

The media are invited to a private viewing of the ships on Thursday after docking. The ships open to the general public on Friday May 27th. The Niña was built by hand and without the use of power tools and considered to be the most historically correct Columbus Replica ever built. The Pinta was recently built in Brazil and is a larger version of the archetypal caravel. Historians consider the caravel the Space Shuttle of the fifteenth century.

While in port, the general public are invited to visit the ships for a walk-aboard, self-guided tour. Admission charges are $8.00 for adults, $7.00 for seniors, and $6.00 for students 5 – 16. Children 4 and under are Free. The ships are open every day from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. No reservations necessary. Teachers or organizations wishing to schedule a 30 minute guided tour with a crew member should call 1 787 672 2152 and leave a message. Minimum of 15. $4.00 per person. No Maximum.

Visit our website OR EMAIL columfnd@surfbvi.com.

¿Dónde está la Santa María?

Capitol Skyline Hotel Pool Party Season About to Begin

This news kind of slipped through the cracks, but the Going out Gurus blog at The Washington Post reported last week that after two years of running pool parties, the organizers of the pool scene at the Capitol Skyline Hotel will change from Brightest Young Things to the team behind 18th Street Lounge and Marvin. No more Spike'd Sundays and "zany" poolside activities - instead, the organizers will focus more on music, drinks, and lounging. Food trucks will feed the masses. 

The pool parties became pretty popular since the Capitol Skyline Hotel refurbished the Olympic-sized pool, deck, and hotel a couple years ago. Two summers ago, the pool was the weekly hangout for the cast of Real World DC. Here's a snippet from the GOG blog about what's planned this summer at the pool:

Starting Memorial Day, the parties -- called “Dubsplash” -- will take over the pool every Saturday and Sunday between 11 a.m. and 9 p.m. DJs will include many regulars from Marvin and Eighteenth Street Lounge, including Jahsonic, Adrian Loving and Thomas Blondet, with guest appearances by ESL Music artists, including Ursula 1000, and Scott says that there will be regular afternoon performances by local bands, such as the Arkives, a reggae band that packs Patty Boom Boom, and disco-soul singer Frank Mitchell Jr. Later in the summer, Dubsplash will host larger bands -- including Thievery Corporation -- in the hotel parking lot adjacent to the pool, but details about those events are still being worked out. The opening weekend will be DJ-focused. Saturday the 28th finds D.C. funk fixtures Thunderball joining Marvin’s DJ Keenan. Sunday’s pool party features Volta Bureau -- a new DJ team featuring Will Eastman, Micah Vellian and Outputmessage -- with electro-spinner Chris Nitti opening.

The entrance fee for the parties will be $15 and there will be two bar areas - one by the pool and another indoors that will serve "really nice cocktails."  Pool memberships are also available. The Capitol Skyline Hotel is located at 10 I Street.

Sneak Peek Photos of Station 4

 

 Last night, Andrew Lightman, the editor of the Hill Rag and SW resident, got a tour of Station 4 and was kind enough to pass along some photos he took of the restaurant.  He invited me to come along, but I had a prior engagement and unfortunately couldn't attend. As you can see from the photos, there are a variety of seating types in the restaurant.  Also, reader Sylvia noticed yesterday that outdoor seating was set up in the patio and it appears to be wicker furniture. Andrew notes that the bar and indoor lounge area are still under construction and vendor issues have delayed the restaurant's opening.  If you haven't done so already, make your guess of the restaurant's opening date in the comments.



The partition separates the main seating area from the bar.





Here are some cool red seats along the still-papered up windows.





Family style dining area.



Proprietor Med Lahlou in front of the gas fireplace.



7th Street Landing Schedule for June

At this evening's Southwest Waterfront meeting co-hosted by SWNA and the CBCC, Elinor Bacon and Bob Rubenkonig from the Hoffman-Madison Waterfront team discussed the community benefits package they agreed to with the city (which I will post about later), and in addition, Bob went over the programming schedule for 7th Street Landing for the month of June.

Starting on June 2 and every Thursday until September 29, there will be a farmers market with jazz and blues from 5-8pm. The farmers market will feature Arcadia Green Market, Red Apron Butcher & Larder, Buzz Bakery, Frank (handmade hot dogs from Red Apron), handcrafted beers and regional wines (from the purveyors of ChurchKey and Birch & Barley), and King Ribs BBQ with Grillmaster Bufus.  Click here for more information on the security plan for the market. The following jazz and blues bands by Jazz Night in Southwest, a project of Southwest Renaissance at Westminster Presbyterian Church, will perform in June:

• June 2: Antonio Parker Quintet
• June 9: Queen Aisha & Friends
• June 16: Thad Wilson Jazz Ensemble
• June 23: David Cole Blues Band
• June 30: Nasar Abadey Quartet

On Friday evenings, there will be Summer Rhythms and a Food Truck Roundup from 6-8pm.  The following bands will perform in June, provided by DC Harbor Cruises:

• June 3: Patrick Alband and Noche Latina (Latina and Salsa)
• June 10: Crawdaddies (Cajun Soul)
• June 17: New Legacy Jazz (Big Band Swing)
• June 24: Higher Hands (Fusion)

Each Saturday morning in June there will be Waterfront Yoga from 10-11am provided by Flow Yoga on The Wharf with Caitlin Uzzell.  In addition, King Ribs will provide breakfast BBQ. All events at 7th Street Landing are free and open to the public. Activities at all events include Bean Baggo, Table Tennis and Bocce and free WiFi access. A monthly schedule of events for 7th Street Landing will be placed in The Southwester.

Station 4 News (or Lack Thereof)

I receive comments and emails almost daily from readers asking about when Station 4 will open. If I had more news about the highly anticipated neighborhood restaurant I’d most certainly share it with you all. However, I don’t. I’ve tried contacting the manager for an update, but there’s been radio silence so far. What I do know is the following:

The restaurant’s website states that Station 4 will now open in May – previously, it was winter 2011. Since winter 2011 has come and gone, the date was changed to May. Word on the street earlier this month was the owner was aiming for a May 15th opening, however, this latest opening date estimate has passed as well. I’ve been told so many opening dates (ranging from August 2010 to last month) I will no longer believe anything until I see food being served inside the restaurant or on the patio for paying customers.

As I tweeted last week, a peek inside the restaurant shows most of the furniture is installed and it looks like it is almost ready to open. Above is a grainy photo I snapped with my camera phone from that evening. Reader Sylvia recently commented there was a “For Hire” ad taken out on Craigslist last month. That is a good sign that the restaurant will open soon. Here are a few indicators I will look for that will assure me that Station 4’s arrival in Southwest is imminent: 

1. Once a sign for the restaurant is installed outside its front door. When Subway and Waterfront Cleaners put up their respective signage, those establishments opened within a matter of days.
2. Station 4’s website shows a menu.
3. Furniture is installed in the patio outside.

Before I discovered the restaurant’s website changed its opening date to May, I tweeted my guess of the actual opening date to be June 4. Let me know what your guess is for Station 4’s opening (the first day with paying customers) in the comments and whoever is first to correctly guess the exact opening date (Station 4 employees excluded!) will get a drink on me at the upcoming 3rd anniversary blog happy hour (more details about the happy hour coming soon).

And Z-Burger…all I know is they are supposed to open “in a few months” but once I hear something more definite, I WILL let you know, so stop asking, ok? :-)

EPA Towers at Waterfront Station on Track for Conversion to Residential

On the heels of the groundbreaking ceremony of Camden South Capitol apartments, which is supposed to get underway later this morning, there's news that the former EPA towers at Waterfront Station will soon be converted to apartment buildings. According to a source at Urban Atlantic, who purchased the buildings from Waterfront Associates on March 7 for $20 million, the developer will start construction this fall on the conversion of the East tower to 265 units and the West tower to 252 units. 20%, or about 104 units, will be set aside for households earning up to 50% of Area Median Income (AMI), which is approximately $51,750. Construction will last about 22 months, so expect delivery around the end of 2013. The buildings will be designed by Wiencek & Associates, the same architects that are working with Adjaye Associates on the Washington Highlands Library in Bellevue. The architects have made refinements to the designs originally done by Shalom Baranes Associates when the PUD for phase one of development was approved a few years ago. The ANC will most likely have to approve these latest design changes. I should be able to get new renderings in a few weeks since they are still being finalized. One thing is for certain though - the hulking concrete skin of the former EPA towers will be removed when the buildings are repurposed as residential.

Southwest Library Book Sale

The Friends of the Southwest DC Public Library is holding its Spring Book Sale this week upstairs at the Southwest DC Public Library, 900 Wesley Place (at K & 3rd St). All proceeds for the sale go directly to supporting programming and equipment needs of the SW library branch.

Member Preview Night: Wednesday, May 18th - 6:30 to 8:00 pm If you become a member at the door for $10, you'll have first pick of the sale.

Book Sale OPEN TO ALL: Saturday, May 21st - 10 am to 3 pm

Most Hardbacks - $2, All Fiction and Trade paperbacks- $1, Pocket Paperbacks - 10¢

Questions or Have Books to Donate? Visit their website, email at friendsofswlibrary@gmail.com, or call the Friends at 202-670-7795. “Like” on Facebook – Search for “Friends of Southwest Library"