Upcoming Events

Now that monsoon season has apparently ended, SWBID and SWNA will be hosting Southwest Duck Drop this Sunday at the SW Duck Pond, located at 6th and I streets from 1 – 4pm, which was rescheduled from May due to rain. The event is the celebration of the refilling of the SW Duck Pond and is the second year the BID has hosted. There will be ice cream, BBQ, a local Blues band, games, dance demonstrations, and it is free! 

During the weekend of June 16 and June 17, Events DC will host DC JazzFest at the Wharf, with free performances at District Pier, Transit Pier and Hyatt House, along with a ticketed concert at The Anthem. The schedule of events can be found here. 

The 13th Annual Capital Fringe Festival will be held at venues across Southwest from July 7 through July 29, including Arena Stage, St. Augustine’s Church, Christ United Church, Westminster Church, and Blind Whino. Tickets go on sale on June 18. More details will be posted here when available. 

The DC State Fair will make its return to Southwest this fall when the annual event will be held on Sunday, September 23 at Waterfront Station, located at 4th and M streets. Last year, the fair was also held in Southwest – the DC State Fair has been held in previous years in Columbia Heights, Adams Morgan, Capitol Hill, Shaw, and NoMa. The Southwest BID was instrumental in bringing the fair back to Southwest. According to a press release, contest entries so far include Best Bud, Honey, Wine, and Fiber Arts categories. New categories include Best Salsa, Best Biscuit, and Best Cookie. Other events include the Pet Parade, live music, food and craft vendors, and demonstrations.

Pool Schedule Released

DPR has announced pool and spray park opening dates and operating hours for the summer season. In Southwest, Randall Pool and East Potomac Pool will open on Memorial Day weekend (May 28-30) from 12-6pm. The pools will be open only on weekends through June 12. Starting on June 18, the pools will be open most days of the week, starting at 11am and will remain open until Labor Day (Monday, September 5). Meanwhile, the new King-Greenleaf Spray Park at Canal and N streets will open for the summer on Saturday, May 28, operating daily from 10am-7pm. The spray park will close on Labor Day. 

On a separate note, the SW Duck Pond, which has been closed for construction, is expected to reopen on July 4.

A Couple Quick Tuesday Morning Items: Upcoming Events This Week

On Thursday, there will be two events in the neighborhood. One is a Community Open House and Ice Cream Social hosted by the Neighbors of Southwest Duck Pond, which will take place at the SW Duck Pond at 6th and I streets from 6 to 7:30pm. Community organizations will have tables set up at the SW Duck Pond, including SWNA's Youth Activities Task Force, Randall Recreation Center, the CBCC, PAWS of Southwest (who has spearheaded the campaign to bring a dog park to Lansburgh Park), the Amidon-Bowen Elementary PTA, the Friends of the Southwest Library, SW Community Gardens, Arena Stage, and Waterfront Academy Montessori. 

The second event will be a hearing on the DC United stadium legislation (Bill 20-805) hosted by the Chair of the DC Council’s Committee on Economic Development (Ward 4 Councilmember and the Democratic nominee for Mayor) Muriel Bowser. The hearing will start at 7pm at 1100 4th Street, Room 200E. Those who want to testify at the hearing should either call or email Tsega Bekele, Legislative Counsel to the Committee on Economic Development, at 202-724-8052 by COB today. Written testimony is also encouraged for those who cannot attend the hearing and should be sent to: 

Committee on Economic Development 

Council of the District of Columbia 

Suite 110 of the John A. Wilson Building 

1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW 

Washington, DC 20004 

Rendering courtesy of  DC United

SW Duck Pond Happenings

There will be an illumination and dedication reception for the SW Duck Pond on May 8 at 6th and I streets. The event will start at 7pm. The Morpheus Winds, a woodwind quintet will play and there will be light refreshments. 

The Neighbors of the SW Duck Pond group has been working with DGS to have new lighting installed in the pond as well as other maintenance issues, such as the coping along the pond's edge and landscaping. The lights will be turned on for the first time and the fountains will be turned on for the season at the event.The group is also getting a plaque created for Ron McBee and will be dedicating the fountains in his memory. In addition, they will be honoring their volunteer of the year and employee of the year from 2013. 

This year, there will be a new event series at the duck pond called Second Saturdays which will take place in June, July and August featuring chef demonstrations by ChefKev and the Amidon-Bowen PTA will also be out grilling. Other activities and events this season will include: tai chi, yoga, SWArtsFest, and a Halloween event for children.

A Few Quick Items: L'Enfant Plaza Hotel, DC United Poll, SW Duck Pond Fundraiser

It was reported last week in the Washington Business Journal that the new owner of the L'Enfant Plaza Hotel is anticipating to begin a $30 million renovation in the spring. An affiliate of Sanford Hotels Group closed on the sale of the hotel in December from The JBG Companies. According to the article, the owners plan to bring the hotel up to four diamond status. From the article:

The renovation will include revamps of all the meeting spaces, the rooftop pool area, the lobby and associated food and beverage offerings. The room number is expected to stay relatively the same at 372, with the possibility that it will go down slightly if the upgrade of fitness facilities or the addition of a concierge lounge requires some of that space, Gibbs said. 

A Washington Post poll states that 59 percent of respondents are against using city funds to help build a stadium for DC United in Buzzard Point. Under the terms of the agreement, the city would spend up to $150 million to acquire land, do remediation, and make infrastructure  improvements to the stadium site at 2nd and R streets. The team would then spend $150 to build the stadium. The same poll revealed that 71 percent of respondents stated that the $650 million spent on a publicly-financed stadium for the Nationals was a good investment for the city.  A Housing Complex article's spin on the poll suggests that the poll question wasn't worded properly and that the stadium proposal is more popular than the poll results.

Update: City Administrator Allen Lew responds to the Post survey.

Rendering courtesy of Gensler 

The Neighbors of the Southwest Duck Pond will be having a Chinese New Year fundraiser on Thursday, January 30 at Jenny's Asian Fusion restaurant starting at 7pm. Tickets for the fundraiser are available online.

A Couple Upcoming Events

The DC Job Fair will be held tomorrow at Arena Stage (1101 6th Street).  This is the second time that Ward 6 Council Member Tommy Wells has hosted a job fair with Arena Stage.  According to Wells' website, companies onsite will include Bank of America, City Year, Comcast, Community Services Foundation, DC Department of Human Resources (DCHR), DC Water, Dress for Success, Forest City, Giant, Safeway, Specialty Hospital of Washington, Strive DC, UnitedHealthcare, United Planning Organization (UPO), Unity Health Care, U.S. Army, U.S. Office of Personnel Management and Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. The DC Job Fair will be held from 10am to 2pm.

Over at the Southwest Duck Pond at 6th and I streets, the PAWS of Southwest have partnered with the Neighbors of Southwest Duck Pond to host an event to celebrate Veteran's Day on Saturday. There will be a Patriotic Pet Parade, judged by local veterans, along with music and light refreshments. Pet owners should arrive at noon and the parade will begin at 1pm. Patriotic costumes are encouraged for dogs and their owners.

Former SEU Campus Building Under Contract

It was reported in Capital Business today that The Shakespeare Theatre Co. has the former Southeastern University (SEU) campus at 6th and I streets under contract.  The campus has been vacant since The Graduate School USA absorbed SEU and the university lost its accreditation in 2009. At first, it was thought that The Graduate School USA would expand its L’Enfant Plaza campus to 6th and I streets, then it was announced in 2011 that the school would be the anchor tenant at The Wharf. Afterwards, the campus was put on the market. There were some suitors for the campus, including Apple Tree Early Learning Public Charter School, who wanted to renovate the building for a school, but that proposal never resulted in the sale of the building. It was announced publicly last week that The Graduate School USA had backed out of The Wharf deal due to federal government budget issues. 

The Capital Business article states that the Shakespeare Theatre Co. proposes an actors’ campus for the site, which would include actors’ housing, rehearsal space, and storage for costumes and set equipment.  It would not just serve as a campus for Shakespeare, but it could also serve other theater companies who have similar space challenges. From the article:

Neither Shakespeare nor Graduate School USA officials released the terms of the contract. [Chris] Jennings said he is in the early stages of determining how to finance his idea. Shakespeare could partner with a developer on a mixed-use project in which some of the market-rate housing helps pay for the artist and theater space. He also plans to approach D.C. officials about support the government may be able to provide.

The campus is slightly under one acre in size and is currently zoned as R-3, which allows matter-of-right development of single-family residential uses (detached, semi-detached, and row dwellings), churches, and public schools. Depending on what Shakespeare has planned, the campus may need to be rezoned. Next door to the campus is Amidon-Bowen Elementary school and row homes. Across the street is the SW Duck Pond. It is located two blocks north of Arena Stage and three blocks from the Waterfront Metro station.

A Couple Quick Items: Waterfront Academy Info Sessions, SW Duck Pond Ice Cream Social

Waterfront Academy, the new Montessori dual immersion private school opening this fall on South Capitol Street, will have more parent information sessions over the next week.  Below are the times for the information sessions:

• Thursday, July 25 at 9:30am
• Saturday, July 27 at 2pm
• Monday, July 29 at 9:30am
• Wednesday, July 31 at 9:30am

All of the information sessions will be held at Lot 38, located at 1001 2nd Street, SE.

A community open house and ice cream social will be held this evening at the Southwest Duck Pond at 6th and I streets from 6pm to 7:30pm. Free ice cream will be provided by the Neighbors of SW Duck Pond and information tables will be set up by neighborhood organizations, including Amidon-Bowen PTA, ANC 6D, CBCC, DC Sail, Friends of the SW Library, Girl Scout Troop 4298, Neighbors of SW Duck Pond, PAWS of Southwest, Southwest Chamber Players, SWNA, Southwest Playground Project, SW Gardens, and Waterfront Academy.

The Little Farm Stand is back this season at the SW Duck Pond and will be held on Saturdays from 10am to 2pm through November.  Fresh, local organic produce from Loudoun County will be for sale, along with farm-baked pies, preserves, and honey.  Email littlefarmstand@yahoo.com to join the weekly list serve of fresh offerings and pre-order your selection.  Aya Community Markets also has a farm stand on Saturdays from 9am to 1pm on the grounds of Christ United Methodist Church at 900 4th Street.

Waterfront Station Update

Representatives from Waterfront 1001 4th Street, LLC, which proposes a residential building for the NW parcel of Waterfront Station, came before ANC 6D at the May monthly meeting to garner support for their Stage 2 PUD, which includes a 365-unit high-rise rental apartment building with 2-level townhouse units at the base. Also included are three spaces of ground-floor retail totaling 4,400 SF. More details on the PUD can be found here. The commissioners unanimously supported the PUD, under two conditions: the commissioners want to encourage more retail at the project and the developers need to create a construction management plan to limit disturbance to the SW Duck Pond during and after construction. The developers are scheduled to go before the Zoning Commission on June 6th.

Sky House East Tower.

Meanwhile, Sky House has recently been placed on the market by Urban Atlantic and The JBG Companies. The still-under construction pair of rental apartment buildings totals 530 units with 20% of the units reserved for residents earning up to 50% of Area Median Income. According to the sales brochure, the East tower is expected to be completed this December and the West tower in March 2014. The buildings are expected to sell before tenants move in to avoid TOPA rules. Due to the size of each of the buildings, it is doubtful that either of the buildings will switch to condominiums since the pre-sale requirements for buildings financed by Fannie Mae or FHA are still quite stringent. In addition, Bresler Reiner is selling their interest in the two planned M Street office buildings and NW parcel. Vornado and Forest City will continue to be partners in the development. 

Vacant corner retail space at 1101 4th Street.

On the retail front, the four vacant retail spaces in 1100 and 1101 4th Street are still on the market three years after the office buildings were completed, but it was revealed in Monday’s ANC meeting that the current owner USAA is in negotiations with a potential tenant to take two of the retail spaces north of Subway at 1101 4th Street. New banners were recently placed on the light poles along 4th Street to help give the area a sense of place as the “Main Street” of Southwest. Per the Stage 1 PUD approval, it is required that all of the retail at Waterfront Station must be neighborhood-oriented retail. What neighborhood-oriented retail should open at Waterfront Station? Vote on the left sidebar for your choice and/or leave a comment.

Rendering courtesy of Perkins Eastman

A Couple Quick Items: SW Duck Pond Annual Meeting Tonight, SWNA Elections Set for March 9

- The Neighbors of Southwest Duck Pond will have their annual community meeting tonight at Waterside Towers Club Room (907 6th Street) at 7pm. Special guests include Katie Rehwaldt from DPR and Hank Laverly from Millennium Pool Service.

- As it was reported in The Southwester, the Southwest Neighborhood Assembly (SWNA) will be holding elections on Saturday, March 9 for their Board of Directors, which includes President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and eight district representatives. The election will be held in front of the Waterfront Station Safeway. Check here for the list of boundaries for each of the districts as defined by SWNA.

Bake Sale at SW Duck Pond Tomorrow

The SW Community Gardeners is having a bake sale tomorrow at the SW Duck Pond from 11am to 5pm, located at 6th and I Street.  The group is raising funds to help build a community garden at Lansburgh Park.  A dog park is also planned for the park, which is being organized by the PAWS of SW.  Their application with DPR was approved earlier this year and the group is in the fundraising stage.

Performance Parking Revenue Brings New Amenities

A new community-oriented Public Information Display System (PIDS) will soon make its way to the entrance of the Waterfront Station Safeway. The PIDS will be a community information kiosk giving real-time information such as when the next train or bus will arrive, number of Capital Bikeshare bikes available in the area, the performance schedule for Arena Stage, and other important information. DDOT is funding this project through its Ward 6 Performance Parking Zone program, which adjusts the cost of parking depending on demand, but is the brainchild of SW resident Cecille Chen, who heads up SWNA’s Southwest DC Heritage Project. The SW PIDS will be the first in a citywide rollout of this technology and will also be accessible to residents via DC’s free WiFi network. Total cost for the project will be $75,000 and is scheduled to be up and running by January 2013.

Other improvements potentially coming to the neighborhood thanks to Performance Parking revenue include some public art. The Capitol Hill Arts Workshop (CHAW) will receive $35,000 to install a statue or sign representing all of the lettered streets in the Southeast (and potentially Southwest) parts of the city. The program is designed to help children learn the alphabet.

Update: As Commissioner Craycraft mentioned in the comments section, Damon Harvey from DDOT also committed to funding the restoration of the underwater lighting at the SW Duck Pond during last week's ANC meeting, which was supposed to be done earlier in 2012.

My Fair Doggie Tomorrow!

Some Upcoming Events

Here is a list of some upcoming events in the neighborhood:

• Saturday, October 20th is the second annual House Boat Tour at the Gangplank Marina from 10am – 4pm.  Check here for more information. Proceeds will benefit the SW Scholarship Fund and the PAWS of SW.

• Monday, October 22nd is SWNA’s monthly meeting which will be a candidates’ forum for ANC 6D commissioner seats.  Contested races include single-member districts 6D02 and 6D05. Incumbent Cara Shockley is running (as a write-in candidate) against Near SE residents Ed Kaminski and Damon Patton in SMD 6D02, whose borders changed with redistricting to include a portion of Near SE. Over in SMD 6D05, incumbent Roger Moffatt is running against Grace E. Daughtridge.  Donna Hopkins is running unopposed in Bob Craycraft's soon-to-be vacated 6D01 seat while incumbents Ron McBee, Andy Litsky, Rhonda Hamilton, and David Garber are all running unopposed in their respective SMDs.  The meeting will take place at Arena Stage starting at 7pm.

• Saturday, October 27th is Fall Fun Day at the Southwest Duck Pond with the Neighbors of Southwest Duck Pond and Girl Scouts Troop 4298 from King-Greenleaf Recreation Center from noon – 2pm.

• Saturday, November 17th is My Fair Doggie event at the Southwest Duck Pond, where there will be a costume contest for dogs in conjunction with Arena Stage’s run of ‘My Fair Lady’ from noon – 2pm.  Judges will include Ward 6 Council member Tommy Wells and Arena Stage’s artistic director Molly Smith.  Proceeds will benefit PAWS of SW.

• Monday, November 19th is the next ANC 6D meeting at 7pm, located at 1100 4th Street, 2nd floor.  Agenda TBA.

Fall Foods Cooking Demonstration

There will be a cooking demonstration this Saturday at the Little Farm Stand at the SW Duck Pond.  Learn how to prepare Fall foods at 12pm and 1pm. The Little Farm Stand sells fruits, vegetables, pies, and preserves from local farms every Saturday from 10am - 2pm. A couple blocks down I Street at Christ United Methodist Church there is another farmers market each Saturday from Aya Markets from 9am - 1pm.

Little Farm Stand Taking a Test Drive at SW Duck Pond Tomorrow

On Saturday starting at 11am, The Little Farm Stand will be stationed at the Southwest Duck Pond for the day. The farm stand sells locally grown fruits and vegetables.  If the farm stand is successful, it may return for the season in 2013. Prior to the farm stand opening, the Neighbors of SW Duck Pond will have their monthly clean-up from 9am to 10:30am.  Last month, Kate Baldwin, star of Arena Stage's recent production The Music Man, stopped by the SW Duck Pond to show her support.

Existing Public Parks Finally Getting Some Love

(This post is an abbreviated version of the South by West article that will appear in June's Hill Rag.)

The Southwest Playground Project (SWPP) is projected to receive $250,000 in the District's FY2013 Budget to bridge the funding gap needed to build a playground adjacent to the Southwest Branch Library at 3rd and I Street SW. Budget funds are coming from Ward 6 Council Member Tommy Wells' Committee on Parks, Libraries, and Recreation. The SWPP, a project of the Near SE/SW Community Benefits Coordinating Council, already raised over $100,000 on its own to build the playground, but several infrastructure issues need to be addressed at the city-owned park, such as storm water drainage, broken concrete pathways, and the need for retaining walls. These infrastructure improvements added nearly $250,000 to the budget estimate made by DC-based Landscape Architecture Bureau, who has been hired to design the playground. With the additional funds from the District, design work can proceed and a land survey can be conducted. Since the fiscal year begins on October 1, 2012, the District funds cannot be used until after that date. The first vote on the budget was done earlier this month and final passage is expected on June 5.

There will be a park clean-up this Saturday from 10am - 12pm at the Library Park. SWPP will provide bags, gloves, and refreshments.  Bring shovels, rakes, and of course, your children.

Meanwhile, another $400,000 is reserved in the FY2013 Budget for improvements to Lansburg Park, the large underutilized park located to the east of Greenleaf Gardens along Delaware Avenue. District funds reserved for Lansburg will go towards restoring the overhead lights, as well as installing basketball court to replace the tennis courts that are currently in bad shape. The "Friends of Lansburg Park" group was formed recently to join DPR's Parks Partners program and to use SWNA's 501c3 status to do fundraising. The Friends group is working with the PAWS of Southwest, who is applying with DPR to build what would be the largest dog park in the city at Lansburg, as well as with a group who wants a community garden. An open house was held last month to solicit ideas for the future of Lansburg and a charrette is planned for sometime this summer.

In addition, at the Southwest Duck Pond's annual Volunteer Recognition Event and sign unveiling ceremony yesterday, Council Member Wells announced there will be funding set aside in the FY2013 Budget for improvements to that park. As mentioned previously, there was funding set aside in the FY2012 Budget for park improvements, but since then, the newly created Department of General Services has taken jurisdiction over capital improvements from DPR and nixed the funding appropriation.

The Music Man Opening Night Preview Event at SW Duck Pond

SW Duck Pond Update

Over the next month or so, some major infrastructure improvements are planned for the SW Duck Pond, located at 6th & I Streets. An appropriation has been provided by the DC government to do some brick work in the park, including the coping around the water's edge, as well as the retaining walls which are in pretty bad shape.  In addition, the appropriation includes the installation of new globe lighting with outlets at the base to allow lights to be strung around the light poles for special occasions (festivals, holidays, etc). The benches will also be painted. Bids have been submitted and a contractor will be chosen next week.  

Crumbling retaining walls will be fixed.

Under a different funding mechanism, the Neighbors of SW Duck Pond have applied for a grant from DDOT's Performance Parking program instituted when Nationals Park opened to restore the underwater lighting in the pond that have long been disabled. The park is used as a cut-through for people coming to and from the businesses on 4th Street and the Metro, so the addition of underwater lighting will increase safety in the park at night. Estimates for the repairs range from $1,800 - $20,000, depending on the condition of the existing wiring for the underwater lights, but the actual cost won't be known until the contractors get to work on the project.

Last year's fountain "turning on" ceremony.

Work on both projects will aim for completion by April 7, when Ward 6 Council member Tommy Wells will be on hand for the annual ceremony to turn on the pond's fountains for the season, the same day as the SW Waterfront Fireworks Festival.  Last season, the pH balance was changed in the pond to return the water to a more natural state and make it hospitable for ducks to return. As a result, the pond water turned green and maintenance was more costly since the filters had to be changed more often. In previous years, the water was chemically treated to keep the water clearer and it will most likely return to that cleaning schedule this season.   

Catching Up on Old News: SW Library Receives Mini-Makeover

The Southwest Branch library closed for a few weeks back in September for a mini-makeover of the first floor.  New carpets and book shelves were installed, walls were painted, and new Macs were provided for the teen space area.  Above is a photo of the new carpets and shelving. Over the next few years, the library will receive an $8.8 million renovation to become a LEED-Silver rated facility. The ANC recently approved a resolution requesting that DDOT install a ramp in front of the library to better connect the building with the walkway that leads to the Southwest Duck Pond. The ramp installation would result in the loss of a couple of metered parking spaces on Wesley Place.