Reminder: SW Neighborhood Plan Mayoral Hearing Tomorrow!

Here is a reminder that a Mayoral Hearing for the Southwest Neighborhood Plan will be held tomorrow evening at 1100 4th Street, Second Floor (the same room where most ANC 6D meetings are held) from 6:30 – 8:30pm. The hearing will give residents the chance to share their comments on the plan. A summary of the plan can be found here and the full plan here. Written comments may also be submitted for the public record until January 30. Comments should be sent to: 

Melissa Bird 

Neighborhood Planning Coordinator for Ward 6

DC Office of Planning 

1100 4th Street, SW, Suite E650

Washington, DC 20024 

melissa.bird@dc.gov

202.478.1323 

The ANC has also asked that residents who submit comments via email should also CC the ANC office (office@anc6d.org).

Image courtesy of DC Office of Planning

SW Neighborhood Plan Released

After more than a year in the making, the Office of Planning released the draft Southwest Neighborhood Plan last month. The plan creates an urban design, land use, and neighborhood preservation framework to enhance Southwest assets for the next 5 to 10 years. A summary of recommendations was released back in June, but three major changes have been made since then: 

• The Plan makes no land use change recommendations for the townhomes adjacent to Waterside Towers along Maine Avenue.
• The SW branch library should remain in its current site, but in a new facility. There was a proposal by DMPED and DCPL over the summer to move the library to a site owned by the District at Waterfront Station as a mixed-use development. That proposal will not be moving forward. 
• A zoning change is not recommended for the Southeastern University campus site at 6th and I streets. However, Shakespeare Theatre Company will need a zoning change in order to move forward with its plans for the site. It can pursue a land use change through the Comprehensive Plan Amendment process that will be underway in 2015. 

The full plan can be found here. Seven key concepts from the SW Neighborhood Plan and goals for each are listed below: 

Model Community 

• Support the responsible redevelopment of the Greenleaf complex to benefit existing residents and realize a well-designed development and mixed-income community.
• Maintain a mix of affordable and market-rate residential units that better serve community needs. 
• Update public realm and transit infrastructure to enhance accessibility for all. 
• Promote healthy living and food access for the entire community. 

Modernist Gem 

• Celebrate the distinctive character of Southwest and promote preservation of its outstanding Modernist architecture, landscape architecture, and urban design. 
• Retain and enhance the character of the L’Enfant Plan in Southwest including associated vistas and reservations. 
• Ensure that future development is compatible with the existing design of the community. 

SW Neighborhood Plan Summary of Recommendations

The draft recommendations from the SW Neighborhood Plan have been released ahead of the final public meeting on June 25 to be held from 6-9pm at the Capitol Skyline Hotel. Open House sessions will occur from 6-7pm and 8-9pm with a presentation from 7-8pm. A series of meetings in a variety of formats have been held since the summer of 2013 to garner community input on crafting the recommendations. Below is a summary of the recommendations by category – the full description of the recommendations can be found here, including any requested zoning changes for specific parcels (see site map for the location of each parcel): 

Arts and Culture

• Build on Southwest’s growing arts movement as a means to celebrate the neighborhood’s legacy. 

Historic Preservation and Neighborhood Character

• Celebrate the distinctive character of Southwest and promote preservation of its outstanding modernist architecture, landscape architecture, public housing and urban design. 
• Retain and enhance the character of the L’Enfant Plan in Southwest, including associated vistas and reservation. 

Parks and Open Space 

• Enhance pedestrian and bike access between parks and open space as greenways along I Street. 
• Redesign Lansburgh Park as the Central Park of Southwest so it becomes a thriving neighborhood amenity, better connects to the community and serves as an anchor for future development around the park. 
• Transform Randall Recreation Center into a thriving park and community center that blends recreation and community/arts oriented programming. 
• Improve outdoor space at King-Greenleaf Recreation Center. 
• Improve facilities, programming and maintenance of the Duck Pond in an effort to make it more inviting. 
• Maintain acreage and location of Library Park at Third and I Street and improve the park by designating areas and equipment for young children. 
• Improve outdoor recreation space at Jefferson Middle School Academy. 

Second Southwest Neighborhood Plan Meeting Summary

 

While more than 250 people attended the Southwest Neighborhood Plan kickoff public meeting in September, turnout for the second meeting on December 11 was much lower. During the meeting, the audience was presented with the results of the Existing Conditions Analysis and detailed demographic data from the market study that is underway for the study area. There were ten themes that emerged from the September meeting from comments made by those who attended:

1. Southwest Culture: Foster an environment that encourages and embraces cultural and economic diversity 
2. Neighborhood Character: Preserve the varied scale and green character of the neighborhood
3. Pedestrian/Safety: Designed buildings, connections and sidewalks to improve safety, security and pedestrian circulation 
4. Retail: Support, enhance and expand neighborhood retail amenities 
5. Parks: Enhance, connect and better utilize parks, both active and passive, as open space 
6. Community Amenities: Invest in community and arts uses that serve resident needs 
7. Housing: Preserve and develop a range of housing for a mix of income, age and family size and encourage quality design and architecture 
8. Transportation: Strengthen multi-modal transportation; improve street connections, parking and safety 
9. Historic Preservation: Remember the history and legacy of the Southwest community while looking ahead 
10. New Development: Develop a strategy for height, density and open space that enhances, acknowledges and complements the character of the neighborhood 

Existing Conditions Analysis 

Even though Southwest is not currently in a historic district, several buildings have been registered with the Historic Preservation Review Board, including Potomac Place, Arena Stage, Waterfront Tower, and others, while Randall Recreation Center and Capitol Park Tower are pending designation. Southwest is unique in the city for its block structure, which is much longer than the typical block length in the city, a result of urban renewal. 

Several of the streets in Southwest have dead-ends due to the reconfiguration of the neighborhood during urban renewal. Only a few streets connect through the neighborhood to other areas, such as Maine Avenue/M Street (which carries between 17,800 and 26,400 cars per day), I Street (a section of I Street, SE in Near SE is currently under construction), South Capitol Street, and 4th Street. Vehicular access may not be ideal, but the entire planning area is within a 10-minute walk from a Metro station and 20 bus lines serve the area. Capital Bikeshare access is spotty, though - only one station is located in the planning area. 

Most of the publicly owned land is on the east side of Southwest and that is where there is the highest potential for change. These sites include Greenleaf, MPD first district headquarters at M Street and Delaware Avenue, the DMV just to the east, the FEMS Maintenance facility, as well as the inspection station and the privately owned lots along South Capitol Street. The Southwest Neighborhood Plan will not make recommendations for changes to existing, established residential areas, but will make suggestions to improve amenities such as parks and open space.

Greenleaf Extension was built in 1959.

A Few Quick Items: Upcoming Meetings and Events

The second Southwest Neighborhood Plan meeting will be held on Wednesday, December 11 from 6:30 to 9pm at Westminster Church, located at 400 I Street. The previous meeting was back in September at Arena Stage and was well attended. The Southwest Neighborhood Plan study area extends from South Capitol Street to Maine Avenue and from P Street to Interstate 395. The plan will focus on four key elements – people, parks, connections, and building. A project website and a second website called “Engage Southwest” have been created where community members can interact.

Image courtesy of Graphic Recorder Jim Nuttle

DDOT will be hosting an Anacostia Waterfront Initiative (AWI) transportation master plan update initiative meeting for the South Capitol Street corridor will be held on Thursday, December 12 from 6:30 to 8:30pm at the Capitol Skyline Hotel, located at 10 I Street. The AWI is a 30-year, $10 billion series of transportation, environmental, economic, community and recreation projects that are transforming the shores of the Anacostia River into a world-class waterfront. The AWI Program area stretches from the Tidal Basin to the city’s northeast border with Maryland.

Rendering courtesy of DDOT

The Southwest Neighborhood Assembly will have its annual holiday party on Monday, December 16 from 6 to 9:30pm at the Pier 7 Restaurant at the Channel Inn. All those attending will be able to order from the menu (menu items range from $14.95 and up). All entrees come with side salad and fresh baked loaves of bread. One check will be issued per table due to the unique seating arrangement in the dining room.

Image courtesy of SWNA

A second Randall Neighbor Day will be held on Saturday, December 21. The first one was held on November 30. All residents of Southwest and Near SE (Zip codes 20024 and 20003) get free admission to the Corcoran - normal admission is $10. This community benefit was negotiated with the ANC back when the Corcoran was planning to move its College of Art + Design to the Randall School site. Those plans fell through and now the Telesis/Rubell team is seeking PUD approval for a new modern art museum, a restaurant, commercial space, and 550 residential units; however, Randall Neighbor Day remains. Current exhibitions at the Corcoran include Alex Prager: Face in the Crowd and Mia Feuer: An Unkindness. The Corcoran is located at 500 17th Street, NW and will be open from 10am to 5pm.

Southwest Neighborhood Planning Process Kicks Off

Over the next six months, the DC Office of Planning will be engaging Southwest residents and stakeholders to create a community led plan to guide the changes in the Southwest neighborhood for the next five to ten years. The Southwest Neighborhood Plan will focus on four key elements – people, parks, connections, and building. A Public Kickoff meeting related to the Southwest Neighborhood Plan was held on September 11th at Arena Stage. The meeting was well attended with people who live and/or work in Southwest. For the first hour or so, there was an Open House with different stations that allowed residents to comment about the benefits and challenges that exist in each of the four key elements of the neighborhood plan. Afterwards, Planning Director Harriet Tregoning and Ward 6 Planning Coordinator Melissa Bird gave a presentation about the planning process and entertained questions from the audience. During Tregoning’s presentation, she mentioned that some of the values Southwest residents expressed to her during the Open House portion of the meeting include diversity, green space/tree canopy, and the library. Following the presentation, the Open House resumed for another hour. 

Some of the participants at the Open House.

During the planning process, the Office of Planning and their consultants will work with the community to analyze several components to help inform their recommendations for the Southwest neighborhood. First, they will assess the development potential for multiple underutilized District-owned sites. A number of underutilized District-owned properties are included in the study area, including Randall Recreation Center, the northeast parcel of Waterfront Station, First District headquarters, Lansburgh Park, the DMV inspection station, and the DCFD Repair Shop/Engine Co. # 7, among others. The team will create an urban design framework that promotes greater pedestrian access, improved neighborhood connectivity and increased multimodal transportation choices. A coordinated approach to public parks and public space improvements will be developed. Meanwhile, neighborhood conservation potential will be assessed to reinforce character in established residential areas. Finally, opportunities will be identified to enhance sustainability at a neighborhood-level. 

The Southwest Neighborhood Plan study area extends from South Capitol Street to Maine Avenue and from P Street to Interstate 395. Within the study area, the portion from I Street to M Street is considered to be the primary focus area – where most of the development opportunities are located, as well as urban design issues. A portion of Greenleaf is also included in the primary study area, but a separate study will be conducted for that site as a part of the HUD Choice Neighborhood Planning Grant recently submitted by the DC Housing Authority. The remaining area is considered to be the secondary study area, where neighborhood conservation, neighborhood connectivity, and sustainability are the principal focus. 

The Office of Planning has created a project website and a second website called “Engage Southwest” where community members can interact. Other ways to participate in the process include using social media (use the hashtag #SWDCPlan on Twitter, “like” posts on Facebook, etc.), submitting hand-written comments or questions at the public meetings, calling the Office of Planning at 202-442-7600, or sending an email to Melissa Bird. All of the comments from the Open House will be posted soon on the website. Not all Small Area Plans focus exclusively on real estate development – questions and comments from the audience at the kickoff meeting suggest that the Southwest Neighborhood Plan may include other components, such as teaching computer skills to seniors, helping break down barriers between longtime residents and newcomers, as well as other social improvements. 

Image courtesy of Graphic Recorder Jim Nuttle

Small Area Plan to Move Forward, KIPP Plan Stalls

The Mayor announced last week that the Small Area Plan process will move forward for Southwest, which in effect stalls KIPP DC's plans for the Randall Recreation Center site at South Capitol and I streets. Several neighborhood and civic organizations called on the Mayor to keep the SAP process moving forward after KIPP DC began maneuvering to build a new school and recreation center at the site, which has been contentious to say the least. KIPP DC's ambitious timeline called for a new school to open in time for the 2014-15 school year; however, the Small Area Plan will take about a year to complete. The plan boundaries are South Capitol Street to the east, 9th and Water streets to the west, the Southwest Freeway to the north and P Street to the south, which includes several District-owned parcels. The area highlighted in red on the map above shows the primary focus area, where most of the new development opportunity sites and primary urban design issues are located. The areas highlighted in blue are the secondary study area where neighborhood conservation, neighborhood connectivity, and sustainability are the primary focus.

Kick-off occurs this month and the plan will be developed over the next nine months with a series of public meetings. Final draft recommendations will be made by March 2014 along with a draft plan for public comment. By April 2014, the Mayor will transmit the plan to the DC Council for approval. Once completed, the Small Area Plan will guide land use and provide a neighborhood development framework to enhance pedestrian access, improve street connectivity and transportation options, integrate community amenities, and better serve residents.

Map courtesy of the Office of Planning