A Few Quick Thursday Afternoon Items: Masala Art, AVDLM Progress, Streetcar Meeting, Kastles to GWU

Interior build-out continues at Masala Art, an Indian restaurant on the ground floor of 1101 4th Street at Waterfront Station. According to a Facebook post by DC Waterfront Gateway, the grand opening is currently planned for some time in July. This will be the second location for the restaurant, which already has a location in Tenleytown. According to ABRA public hearing notice, there will be seating for 133 with the option for a sidewalk café. Masala Art is described as a “new fine dining Indian restaurant with full bar service to patrons dining in the restaurant.” The requested hours of operation are: 

Sunday 10am – 2am
Monday – Thursday 11am – 2am
Friday – Saturday 10am – 3am 

The restaurant will likely not open that late, but it would be allowed to do so if the liquor license is approved. The hearing date is on June 23. 

Construction of the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial is coming along at 150 Washington Avenue and a dedication ceremony is scheduled for October 5. The AVDLM will contain the following components: a star fountain with eternal flame, triangular reflecting pool, granite paving, stone and glass walls, sculptural elements, trees, landscaping, lighting, and parking on the south side of the site. Glass walls planned at the memorial (also known as the Voices of Veterans) will include quotes of disabled veterans and seven images showing wounded and disabled soldiers and veterans and images of care givers. The "Wall of Gratitude" that will run along the middle of the memorial will contain quotations from George Washington and Dwight Eisenhower when they were generals. 

Rendering courtesy of Michael Vergason Landscape Architects

The third and final round of public meetings for the North – South Corridor Planning Study will be taking place during the week of June 9. DDOT will report back on what the agency has heard from the community, present analysis for potential streetcar routes and provide an overview of the next steps in the process. These routes have been evaluated using criteria such as ridership potential and traffic. The meetings will be open-house style and will include two opportunities for participants to hear an overview presentation. The South Sub Area meeting (which includes Southwest) will be on Tuesday, June 10 from 3:30pm – 8:30pm at 1100 4th Street in the 2nd Floor community room. There will be two presentations – one at 4pm and another at 7pm. 

The Washington Kastles have decamped from Southwest entirely and are moving indoors this season to the Smith Center in Foggy Bottom, says the Washington Business Journal. Kastles Stadium at The Wharf lasted for three years and was dismantled after the end of last season to make way for phase one of The Wharf. The team was considering a move to a vacant lot at Waterfront Station, but after an extensive amount of due diligence, the site did not work out. While tennis won’t be played at Waterfront Station, there will be some bocce, at least for a day. DC Bocce will have their Bocce-N-Beers Charity Tournament and End of Season Party on Saturday, June 14, featuring 20+ kegs of beer, live music, and an all-day bocce playoffs tournament.

North-South Corridor Meeting

DDOT will be hosting a public meeting on Monday evening to discuss the North-South Corridor Planning Study, a 9-mile corridor connecting Buzzard Point with Takoma. The study area extends east-west from about 16th Street, NW on the west to approximately one-quarter mile east of Georgia Avenue, NW.  A streetcar line is planned to connect these areas and the study to determine alignment will last one year. After the one-year study period, there will be an environmental review and then potentially the start of construction. There will be four meetings, but the one located in Southwest will be on Monday, November 4 from 6:30pm to 8:30pm at St. Augustine's Episcopal Church (600 M Street). Two more sets of public meetings will be held during the study period.

ANC 6D Approves Stage 1 PUD for The Wharf *

Updated: After two hours of discussion of The Wharf Stage One PUD, with a presentation by lead developer Monty Hoffman from the Hoffman-Madison Waterfront team and a question & answer period, ANC 6D voted unanimously to approve the application at their monthly meeting this evening.  That approval came with 27 conditions that need to be addressed by the Hoffman-Madison Waterfront team before they meet with the Zoning Commission next Monday. Below is a summary of the 27 concerns and conditions from the ANC resolution:

- bus traffic should be removed from Pier 4 and away from existing residential areas of Southwest, as well as the residential units planned at parcel 11 (St. Augustine's Church)

- a Plan B in case pending legislation in Congress to transfer jurisdiction of the Channel and the ability to allow homeownership along the waterfront do not pass

- a transition plan for residents of the Gangplank Marina

- a dedicated walkway along the Washington Channel of 20 feet

- residential housing at Pier 4 (about 26 townhouses are planned at the current site of the the Spirit Cruises pier) should maintain a minimum 10-foot setback from the existing waterside edges of the pier and not be higher than 45 feet

- the commercial pier structures should not exceed the height of the headhouse structure at Pier 4 except for a two-story office building planned

- the 5-acre Waterfront Park should be built in the first phase and the planned food pavilion should be lowered from 34.5 feet to 20 feet

- massing of buildings

- parcel 11 setbacks should be consistent with the residential buildings along M Street from 6th Street to 2nd Street

- the height of buildings near M Street Landing (parcels 9 and 10) and as the design of the new St. Augustine's Church blocks views along M Street towards the waterfront

- construction staging should be restricted on parcels 10, 11, the Waterfront Park, or any area south of M Street from 6th Street to the Titanic Memorial (basically any area adjacent to existing residential buildings)

- streetcars (no overhead wires along the waterfront and place flange fillers on the tracks until the streetcars are operational)

- no parking at the Waterfront Park nor along the private road leading to Pier 4

- transportation embellishments (bike parking, electric car charging stations, car sharing)

- maintain existing tree canopy along Maine Avenue and the pedestrian walkway between the Washington Channel and Tiber Island and Harbor Square

- restrict Internet gaming that was recently passed citywide by the City Council at The Wharf outside of personal residences

- liquor licenses (the ANC wants to maintain the ability to approve or deny individual liquor licenses)

- provide office space for SWNA and ANC for 20 years starting January 2019 similar to what is provided at Waterfront Station (that space is only available for 10 years)

- environmental issues - abide by federal and District regulations regarding storm water runoff
- create kinetic, programmable recreational spaces for all ages throughout the development, especially toward the western end and the many mews and passageways
- restrict flexibility of future phases on parcels 6, 7, and 8
- create a 37 foot setback along the Maine Avenue side of parcel 7 - similar to the Waterside Towers Townhouses across the street

- placement of the Titanic Memorial and Maine Lobsterman statue within the development

- memorialize commitments to Ward 6 residents from the land disposition agreement between the city and Hoffman-Madison Waterfront

- create an advisory committee with members from the ANC, CBCC, SWNA, and other neighborhood stakeholders to enforce workforce development and jobs, 5% of the 35% Certified Business Enterprises requirement be procured from Ward 6, and housing affordability and diversity with a preference for Ward 6 residents

- help with the planning and implementation of a community center

- transportation issues - a comprehensive traffic study of the Maine Avenue-M Street corridor needs to be conducted

Several of these concerns have already been addressed since the resolution was written last week, but the ANC wanted to include all of these items in anticipation for the Zoning Commission meeting next week.

As a refresher to what the ANC voted on this evening, a Phase One PUD application looks at the following aspects of a given development:

• General site, landscape and development plan
• Development areas including height, density, and massing
• Public parks, open space, and roadways are identified
• Parking and loading access and impacts on the existing neighborhood
• Overall project amenities 

The Wharf aims to transform the Southwest Waterfront into a lively mixed use neighborhood with office, residential, retail, open space, marinas, and cultural uses.  See a general description of the plan here. Some more details about what is planned at parcel 2, or the Wharf Center concert venue, were mentioned at the ANC meeting.  The Wharf Center will be located to the northeast of the intersection of 9th Street and Maine Avenue. This 2,500-seat venue will host events between 150 and 200 nights a year, including concerts, performances, and possibly the Washington Kastles. The high use of this facility is similar to the scheduled use of the Verizon Center, but at a smaller scale. It will be developed during the first phase of development, along with parcels from 7th Street to 9th Street, as well as parcel 11 and the Waterfront Park on the southeastern edge of the development.  Parcel 1 and the area by the Fish Market will be done in Phase II, while the area from 7th Street to Pier 4 will be done in Phase III.

The Zoning Commission will meet on Monday, July 18th at 6:30pm (located at 441 4th Street, NW, Suite 220-S) to discuss the PUD.  Those who wish to testify for or against the PUD can contact Dana Hanousek before the 18th at Donna.Hanousek@DC.gov or 202-727-0789 and provide your name, your desire to testify in support or opposition to the Southwest Waterfront Plan, Case No. 11-03, your telephone number, and a request for confirmation you are on the list.  After the PUD goes through the Zoning Commission, the public process for the Waterfront Park will begin in the fall. Around the same time, a luxury hotel operator will be announced for parcel 3, which will also be where the Graduate School USA will be located. A Stage II PUD application for specific buildings in Phase I of development will begin in late 2011/early 2012. Construction is set to begin on Phase I by the end of 2012.

Renderings courtesy of Hoffman-Madison Waterfront

A Few Quick Items: South Capitol EIS Meeting, Streetcar Expansion, Constitution Center Sale, Humphrey's Former Home

  

- DDOT recently released its final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the South Capitol Street corridor. Among some of the highlights of the EIS, there are plans to boulevardize South Capitol Street with a median north of N Street, remove the tunnel under M Street, build a new Frederick Douglas Bridge, and create signalized intersections at K & L Street. A public meeting is scheduled this evening at Amidon-Bowen Elementary at 6:30pm to discuss the EIS.

- In Mayor Gray's proposed 2012 budget, The Examiner reports about $100 million is set aside for streetcars over the next six years. As a result, DDOT will start planning this summer for streetcar extensions, including along M Street SE/SW. Streetcars are proposed to run along the M Street corridor, Buzzard Point, Maine Avenue, and the soon-to-be created Wharf Street on the Southwest Waterfront.

- Since Constitution Center has been completed, is now nearly fully leased, and tenant build-out is underway, the owners have decided to put the 1.4 million square foot building on the market according to the Washington Business Journal (subscribers only).  As the largest privately-owned office building in the District, it is expected that Constitution Center will sell for a record-breaking amount.  The city has assessed the building at $648 million

- UrbanTurf reports that former Vice President Hubert Humphrey's former home at Harbour Square has been for sale since February and the price was recently cut by 7% to $925,000. The 2,332 square foot three bedroom, three bath co-op was originally priced at $995,000. Other political figures who have lived in the complex include former Supreme Court Justices David Souter and Lewis Powell and Admiral William Radford, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under the Eisenhower administration   

What a DC United Stadium *Could* Mean for Buzzard Point Development

Over the past week (which happens from time to time), there have been several reports about DC United looking for sites to build a soccer stadium in the District. This time around, one of the leading sites under consideration is in Buzzard Point, specifically Akridge’s 100 V Street. Currently, 100 V Street is planned as a secure federal campus, but there have been no tenants lined up so far. Due to the size of the sites under consideration, the Greater Greater Washington blog contends that a stadium would be “urban” with few surface parking spaces and would fit within the current street grid (except for the possible closure of T Street between 1st and 2nd Streets).

This site is located three blocks southwest of Nationals Park and if the soccer stadium is located there, the area would become a stadium district of sorts, akin to the Meadowlands (before the Nets and Devils left Izod Arena) or Philadelphia. Linking the stadiums would be Potomac Avenue, which currently is lined mostly with industrial operations west of South Capitol Street. With a soccer stadium on one end and a ballpark on the other, Potomac Avenue could become an entertainment district with retail stores, bars and restaurants to cater to fans, as well as for neighborhood residents and employees at Fort McNair. The DC streetcar is planned to have a couple lines come down to Buzzard Point and possibly run along Potomac Avenue, which is a wide boulevard that would have room for a streetcar. Perhaps ferry service can be introduced on game days via James Creek Marina, located just to the southwest of the stadium site.

While there are differing opinions over the effect that stadiums have on development nearby, a DC United Stadium in Buzzard Point may cause other projects to get underway that otherwise would take several years or decades to get built, including development on Potomac Avenue. The introduction of retail to the neighborhood, coupled with a streetcar line could help spur residential development in the area, like Marina Place, a planned condo project catty corner to the stadium footprint at 1st & V Street. Just to the east of the stadium footprint is the Buzzard Point Power Plant, which Pepco plans to decommission by May 2012. The power plant itself will most likely be landmarked, but perhaps can be repurposed as a cultural amenity like a museum or art gallery space. With the planned departure of the U.S. Coast Guard from its headquarters at 2nd & V Street to St. Elizabeth's in SE by 2015, perhaps that site can be redeveloped as a mixed use project that embraces its location next to the river and provide public access to the waterfront. Some of these ideas for Buzzard Point stem from a neighborhood study done in 2009 by the American Planning Association’s Planning Assistance Team (PAT). For now, talk about DC United moving to Buzzard Point is just that...talk. Who knows whether they will choose Buzzard Point over other areas under consideration and if they can obtain financing to build a stadium. However, it's fun to talk about what possibilities exist for Buzzard Point, with or without a soccer stadium in the neighborhood.

Renderings courtesy of Akridge and Buzzards Point LLC.

D.C. United Focuses on Buzzard Point as a Potential Stadium Site

In this week's Capital Business, there's an article about DC United's renewed push to get a new soccer stadium built in the District. According to the article, a leading contender is the 100 V Street site in Buzzard Point. From the article:

Last fall, Akridge President Matt Klein and D.C. Council Member Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) discussed the site, which is largely used for parking now. Wells said last week that he isn't sure how a stadium would be financed, particularly with the city facing an expected $400 million-plus budget shortfall next year, but that a stadium on Buzzards Point would enliven the neighborhood. The Akridge property is between First and Second and R and V streets SW, a neighborhood that has seen little new development. "It's an area that really could be a great place for soccer, but also a great place to have more commerce and retail on the west side of South Capitol," Wells said.

There was talk a year and a half ago about that site potentially becoming a stadium for United. Also in the running is a site at the Capital City Market in NE, and in recent months, Baltimore has expressed interest in having the team move to that city. The 100 V Street site is a 9-acre site three blocks long and one block wide. It seems a bit narrow to build a soccer stadium, but I'm not an architect. A couple of streetcar routes are planned to run to Buzzard Point, which could help with accessibility to the proposed stadium if one gets built in the neighborhood.

Update: NBC 4 also has a story about the stadium, as well as DCist, the Examiner, and Greater Greater Washington.

PAT Recommends Buzzard Point Should Be Primarily a Residential Neighborhood

On Saturday I attended a meeting where the American Planning Association’s Planning Assistance Team (PAT) presented their results of a four-day study of Buzzard Point. Once the slide show presentation from the meeting is released, I’ll provide a link. In the meantime, here are my notes from the meeting:

Buzzard Point is a separate neighborhood from the Capitol Riverfront or Southwest Waterfront, with distinct opportunities and constraints. The PAT recommends that Buzzard Point become a primarily residential mixed-use neighborhood of varying density with improved access to the waterfront. The existing public housing in the northern part of the area should be preserved and upgraded. There are nine major points about the current condition of Buzzard Point that need to be considered when planning for the future, including:

• Much of the area is low & medium density affordable housing.
• There is limited accessibility to and from Buzzard Point.
• Fort McNair acts as a wall.
• River access is blocked.
• The area is flanked by a major sports entertainment district and a large retail center under construction at Waterfront Station.
• There is a huge amount of development occurring to the east of Buzzard Point.
• There are poor multimodal connections to the area.
• Industrial uses in the area aren’t conducive to residential development.
• The Pepco power plant is an impediment.

However, there are some transformative events that will occur over the next 15 years that will have an impact on development in Buzzard Point. The DC Streetcar project will bring streetcars to Buzzard Point; the Coast Guard will relocate to St. Elizabeth’s in Southeast; South Capitol Street and bridge will be rebuilt; and there will be new waterfront connections. Since these events will take a long time to happen, change in the area will be incremental. Following is an analysis of how the planners think different sections of Buzzard Point should be developed:

2nd Street
The Anacostia Riverwalk should be extended from Buzzard Point to M Street via 2nd Street. The historic SW Community House on 2nd Street should be restored as a museum or café.

Potomac Avenue
Potomac Avenue should be extended westward to 2nd Street. Since the road extension will reach the entrance to Fort McNair on 2nd Street, mixed-use development could happen along that stretch which would support the military base, including a retail node. In keeping with L’Enfant’s street grid plan for the city, triangle parks should be created where the diagonal Potomac Avenue crosses east-west and north-south streets.

P Street
Since the distance between the Southwest Waterfront and Nationals Park is only a half mile along P Street, a pedestrian link should be maintained along this street. The PAT recommends that the proposed streetcar alignment along M Street be changed so that the transit line turns south from M Street to 1st Street, SE, then turn down Potomac Avenue until its new terminus at 2nd Street, SW, then turn north on 2nd until P Street, west on P until 4th Street, then north on 4th until it reaches the Waterfront-SEU Metro station at 4th & M Street. The new alignment would better connect Buzzard Point with the rest of the Capitol Riverfront and Southwest Waterfront.

The Waterfront
Once the Coast Guard vacates its headquarters building for St. Elizabeth’s, the building, along with Jemal’s building, which is visible along the waterfront as you cross the South Capitol Street bridge, should be purchased by the District government and transformed to a mix of open space and limited redevelopment. This is one of the more ambitious aspects of the PAT’s plans because it involves the District spending a large sum of money acquiring these sites, but the current buildings block access to the waterfront and redevelopment would open up a lot of space. Also, the city could recover part or all of the cost of acquisition through the sales of development rights to other parcels in the District. As an aside, a representative from Monday Properties, the Coast Guard’s current landlord, stated that the likelihood of the headquarters building being demolished in the next 15-20 years was slim to none, so this aspect of the plan may take longer to fulfill. Some ideas for the waterfront range from providing large parks along the river to creating marinas framed by housing (an example being the Pier Homes along the Inner Harbor in Baltimore).

100 V Street
If Akridge’s 100 V Street project is developed as planned, the PAT thinks it would be a major missed opportunity for the area. An alternative would be to build medium-density housing developed in partnership with the federal government for military families and/or new federal government hires. The northern part of the site could support 2-3-story buildings, while taller 5-6-story buildings could be developed closer to the waterfront.

South Capitol Street Oval and Steuart Site
Great care should be given to the planned traffic oval at the intersection of South Capitol Street and Potomac Avenue. The oval will be 7-acres, but if DDOT doesn’t properly design it to accommodate pedestrians, the result could be a large hole in the urban fabric of the community. The area at the terminus of South Capitol Street where the street meets the river (also known as the Steuart site) should have a major iconic cultural attraction…a la Sydney Opera House. The site should be engaging from the water side (perhaps with a grand staircase like the Lincoln Memorial) as well as on its land side facing the traffic oval.

Pepco
The District should work with Pepco to gradually shrink the footprint used for electrical generation consistent with sound energy practices. As properties become available, they should be developed for uses compatible with housing. Once the power plant building is decommissioned, it should be redeveloped as a low-impact attraction like a museum, gallery, etc. An example given by the PAT was the Tate Modern in London.

Once the presentation is available online, the PAT will allow public comments on their plans, so they can produce a final report in February or March of next year. Above is a map I made of Buzzard Point showing where the planners recommend changes in the area.

Update: The presentation is now available on APA's website. Send your comments to CAP@planning.org by January 15, 2010.

A Couple Quick Items

- According to the Capitol Riverfront BID, the American Planning Association is bringing a Planning Assistance Team (PAT) to Buzzard Point in two weeks to conduct a four-day analysis of the area. The process will result in a series of recommendations and visions for the area for further study and implementation. The PAT will conduct interviews with stakeholders and property owners to gain a better and full understanding of the various sites and property owners involved, and develop a comprehensive vision for Buzzard Point. Last week, we did a post on how the proposed streetcar network may impact development in Buzzard Point. Devising a plan for the area is a good idea because there is great potential for making Buzzard Point a waterfront destination, where the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers meet.

- Earlier this week, Washington Real Estate Bisnow had an article about Waterfront Tower, the condo conversion project next door to Waterfront Station on the corner of 3rd & M Street. This is the first condo conversion the Bernstein Companies has done in 30 years. Eventually, the developer wants to build two more buildings on the parking lots of the existing towers, similar to what Fairfield Residential had planned at The View at Waterfront before it went into foreclosure in August.

Streetcar Investment May Spur Development in Buzzard Point

Last week, DDOT began holding meetings in each of the eight wards to explain their plans for the return of streetcars to DC. The proposed 37-mile streetcar network will include eight lines and will be built in three phases during the next 7-10 years. One of the lines is already under construction in Anacostia (the blue line on the map, from DDOT's website), and will terminate on 1st Street in Buzzard Point. Once all three phases are built, there will be two lines that run through Southwest and terminate in Buzzard Point. The second streetcar line (the orange line on the map) will run along M Street and go north on 7th Street towards downtown. Currently, Buzzard Point is a no-man's land of sorts, with industrial operations, a few office buildings, including the current headquarters of the U.S. Coast Guard (although they are moving to the East Campus of St. Elizabeth's), a couple marinas, and Fort McNair. Buzzard Point is a part of the Capitol Riverfront BID, which also covers most of Near Southeast. While there has been substantial development on the Southeast side of the BID, nothing has happened yet in Buzzard Point. Akridge has plans to develop a secure office campus at 100 V Street (the same site was rumored a few months ago as a possible site for D.C. United), but no tenants have been found yet. A few years ago during the height of the housing market bubble, Walnut Street Development had plans to build a condominium project in the area, but those plans were scuttled. With an investment as substantial as a streetcar network coming to Buzzard Point, the Southwest part of the Capitol Riverfront BID may soon start to see some development activity, or it may just be a convenient place to build a maintenance facility. DDOT officials tout the amount of private investment that Portland's streetcar system brought to neighborhoods along its route, so they are banking on a similar effect here in the District. We shall see...

Wells Chats With GGW

Yesterday, Greater Greater Washington blog hosted a live chat with Ward 6 Council member Tommy Wells. Some Southwest-related issues were brought up during the chat, including affordable housing at the Southwest Waterfront, delays at the CFL and Engine 13, as well as the prospect for streetcars. Could streetcars one day rumble glide along the streets of Southwest? Before that can happen, a lot needs to happen. For one, the city, according to Wells, needs to come up with a plan for the next generation of mass transit, as well as figure out how to finance these transit options. In addition, the city needs to figure out how they are going to power the planned H Street NE streetcar line (where tracks are about to be laid) and the alignment of the Anacostia line (CSX tracks vs. running along city streets). Above is a photo of the Maine Avenue corridor, one of the areas of the city Wells thinks has room for dedicated streetcar lanes. In two of the renderings of the new Southwest Waterfront, streetcars are visible running along Maine Avenue, as seen here and here.

Articles About Southwest Development

Here's a Washington Times article, which was picked up by JDLand, that gives an overview of two major development projects in Southwest: Waterside Mall (AKA Waterfront) and the SW Waterfront. The article states that vertical construction is underway at Waterfront and the first phase of office buildings will be ready by 2010. Construction along the Southwest Waterfront should begin in late 2010 or 2011 with completion in 2017. The entire Southwest Waterfront project will be LEED-Silver certified. Also, earlier this week, DCMetrocentric had a post about the Southwest Waterfront which received several comments about the rendering resembling the Inner Harbor and National Harbor. The developers could be a little more daring with the architecture, especially in Southwest, which doesn't look like the rest of DC to begin with. These are probably just preliminary images, so things may change before construction actually begins. If you look closely at the rendering, you can see what looks like a streetcar running along Maine Avenue...wouldn't that be nice!