Design Revealed for Ward 6 Temporary Family Housing Facility

Design concepts were unveiled last night at a community meeting to discuss the planned Ward 6 short-term family housing facility to be built at 850 Delaware Avenue. The site is currently occupied by a District-owned building that contains Unity Health Clinic. A new health clinic is planned as part of the new housing facility, located primarily on the lower level of the building with an entrance on I Street. The proposed building, designed by Studio 27 Architecture, will be seven stories tall and will house up to 50 homeless families at one time. On the ground floor of the building, there will be a dining room and kitchen, as well as a computer lab and administrative space. A fenced off play area will be created along Delaware Avenue. Each residential floor will have a common area on the north side of the building with TVs and seating where programming will be administered – these rooms will have views of the Capitol building due to their location along Delaware Avenue. In addition to the larger play area along Delaware Avenue, each floor will contain an outdoor play area. The design of the building maintains the view shed of the Capitol dome along Delaware Avenue by gradually stepping back the façade, creating small green spaces throughout. There will also be a large green roof, which helps the building obtain LEED-Gold certification. 

Back in February, the community was alerted to the fact that the city selected 700 Delaware Avenue (a site adjacent to Blind Whino) as the location of the Ward 6 short-term family housing facility. The Bowser administration wanted to close DC General and place a family homeless shelter in each ward of the city. After some community concerns were raised about the proposed 700 Delaware Avenue site, how it was selected, and the cost to the city for leasing it for the shelter, the DC Council changed the location to the District-owned 850 Delaware Avenue site. An Advisory Team was created to allow a variety of voices from the community to provide input on the plan and design for the project, including the ANC, Council member Charles Allen, and neighbors Greenleaf, Capitol Park IV, and Telesis (developer of the Randall School project). 

The facility's design will be refined over the next few weeks and the city will submit an application with the Board of Zoning Adjustment in January for the project, with the hope of starting construction after approval by November 2017. The Ward 6 facility is anticipated to open by the summer of 2019 when a Good Neighbor Agreement will be drafted. 

Rendering courtesy of Studio 27 Architecture

Family Homeless Shelter Planned for Square 643

Mayor Bowser announced this morning the location of eight community-based short-term family housing locations (family homeless shelters), one for each Ward of the city. These eight facilities will replace DC General, which is the current family homeless shelter and is scheduled for closure. Ward 6’s proposed location is on land adjacent to Blind Whino SW Arts Club at 700 Delaware Avenue. The proposed facility will house up to 50 families at a time in a seven-story building and may open by May 2018. According to the Mayor's office, the facility will offer the following:

• Private rooms for families
• Parking
• Playground & recreation space (Randall Field is located next door so if these amenities are included in the building, they would be redundant)
• Computer lab for residents
• Ongoing support services & programming for families

Former proposal for Square 643

Back in 2003 Steve Tanner, the owner of 700 Delaware Avenue (Square 643), planned to transform the old Friendship Baptist Church building into office space and build condominiums on the adjacent land. The project received PUD approval over a decade ago, but was delayed several times due to inaction on the redevelopment of Randall Junior High School across the street (coincidentally, a homeless shelter used to be located at Randall, but closed in anticipation of its redevelopment as a museum/residential project). Eventually, the developer came to an agreement with Blind Whino to convert the church into the non-profit Blind Whino SW Arts Club and a mural was painted on the building's exterior. The club opened in 2013, but the residential portion of the original development was not built. Other temporary uses for the site included batting cages for a youth baseball league and a community garden.  

With the proposed facility, the site's redevelopment would finally be complete; however, before construction can begin, the city will need to file a new PUD since the previous one for the site has expired. The DC Council will also need to approve all eight proposed sites. A community meeting to discuss the community-based short-term family housing proposal will be held on Thursday evening at 6:30pm at Friendship Baptist Church, located at 900 Delaware Avenue. 

Renderings courtesy of DC Government and Steve Tanner

A Few Friday Afternoon Quick Items: Wharf Front Page News, Au Revoir Channel Inn, Buzzard Point Planning, Blind Whino Reception

The Wharf development is featured on the cover of this week’s Washington Business Journal (subscribers only). A timeline showing how the project has progressed over the past 10+ years is presented, as well as a description of each of the parcels to be developed. A groundbreaking ceremony is supposed to occur sometime this month (it’s election season of course, so it has to happen soon). 

Rendering courtesy of Hoffman-Madison Waterfront

On a related note, PoPville reports that the Channel Inn will close at the end of March, which is more than a month before the May deadline it was given by Hoffman-Madison Waterfront. As reported last month, the Channel Inn will be used as office space for the construction team and the Capitol Yacht Club will move its operations there. In addition, Jenny’s Asian Fusion may open a small restaurant in the Channel Inn space that would include breakfast. A building permit was issued recently for the conversion. 

The Office of Planning will be undertaking an Urban Design Framework for the Buzzard Point neighborhood in anticipation for the new DC United stadium planned for 2nd and R streets. An Opportunity Analysis Diagram was sent in the monthly SWNA newsletter that shows certain elements that should be taken into consideration when re-imagining the neighborhood. Most of the southern portion of the study area is industrial in nature while some public housing and private homes are in the northern portion near P Street. A public kick-off meeting will be announced soon. The last time a plan was done for the area was the Buzzard Point Planing Assistance Team (PAT) back in 2009.

Do you support the current plan between the District and DC United for a soccer stadium in Buzzard Point? Vote in the poll on the left sidebar of the blog.

Rendering courtesy of the Office of Planning

Blind Whino: SW Arts Club will be hosting a free reception on Saturday, March 22 from 8-11pm to kick start Art Without Borders 2014, which is a custom vinyl art exhibit raising awareness and funds for the Doctors Without Borders Organization. The arts club is located in the former Friendship Baptist Church at 734 1st Street. After the reception, the exhibit will be on display until April 22 at the Art Whino Gallery at National Harbor. RSVP for the reception here.