Progress in the Wings at the Southwest Waterfront

On May 13th, PN Hoffman and the development group for the Southwest Waterfront signed a Transaction Agreement with a company called SWW, LLC (of which the JBG Companies is a controlling interest) which outlines how SWW will receive one future development site at the Southwest Waterfront in return for relinquishing their existing leaseholds at Phillips and Channel Inn at closing.

This agreement now clears the site control at the Waterfront. The remaining parcels are owned by the District and will be part of the land disposition. The only outstanding leaseholders (long-term) at this point are Capital Yacht Club and Washington Boat Lines – and PN Hoffman is close to finalizing with both leaseholders and should have agreements with them completed this summer.

The design and community outreach phases of the project should be recommencing in September, 2009.

Photo: Concept rendering of proposed Waterfront from SW Waterfront site.

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Town Center Park East's Disgrace

Does it really matter who is supposed to be in charge when a park overflows with trash and a pond rots in the middle of a neighborhood?

Councilmember Tommy Wells' office was inundated with complaints about Town Center Park East on 6th and I Street and shook some answers out of the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR). DPR immediately blamed the National Park Service (NPS) which turned the park over to the city recently. DPR complains that NPS "did not coordinate the maintenance or provide instructions on care for the pond and water features." So? Is that an excuse to just give up and do nothing. DPR has egg on its face for this misstep. So DPR finally cut the grass and collected the trash last week. They needed instructions to do that? Now they are "reaching out" to NPS for instructions for pond maintenance. Is this DPR's first ever pond? Would they just have let it go all summer? Or is a neighborhood with construction just not a priority?

You can read the report on Councilmember Wells' site here.

Photo from www.tommywells.org. The pond in the park. Just scratch your screen for a sniff of it.

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Memorial Day Stroll Photos from Southwest

I took a stroll on this muggy afternoon to get some photo updates on various projects in the neighborhood. Here are my haphazard pics:

From left to right: The new 4th Street is finally backfilled; steel plates cover utility work on 4th and M Street; two views of the shared loading dock construction on the northeast side of the Waterfront Station project.

L to R: The View at Waterfront is now leasing renovated apartments in the south Pei Tower on M Street; fitness equipment newly installed in the north tower of The View; lots of signs on Maine Avenue sending would-be residents right through SW and on to properties in Near Southeast.

L to R: The old Police Station on 4th Street finally gets a sign saying that it has moved, well after the actual move; new signage announces the start of the Consolidated Forensic Lab in the spring of 2009; the only indications of any razing going on at the old station, on the School Street side.

L to R: Northbound lanes of I395 sport their new coat of asphalt; the new L'Enfant Metro entrance on the D Street side of Constitution Center now has a handicap access ramp; new trees await planting in the soon to be "private" courtyard of Constitution Center.

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Unexpected Nighttime Safeway Store Closure

The corporate office of Safeway just notified us that they are closing the SW Safeway store at 6 p.m. today, Wednesday, and will be opening tomorrow, Thursday, at their regular time (5 a.m.). This is due to construction issues at the new Waterfront Station site. I will update this posting when I arrive at the metro station on the way home tonight, if I see anything of consequence.

UPDATE I: It seems that the "construction" is inside the Safeway store. There is no activity around except a small fleet of Total Refrigeration vans outside the entrance.

UPDATE II: Thursday morning at 6:30, the store was still closed. No kind employee at the door to tell you when it would open, no sign indicating it was closed, just yellow caution tape and the same vans. A peek through the window revealed no visible changes. Please leave a comment to let us know how things progress through the morning, and what modifications might have been done.

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New Parking Plan Proposed for Ward 6

Greater Greater Washington has commented on a new parking plan proposed to the city council by Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells (with a similar bill for Ward 1). The plan would reserve one side of every street in Ward 6 for resident parking, with passes for residents and guests similar to the current ones.

The Ward 6 Residential Parking Protection Pilot Act of 2009 will be debated at tomorrow's city council meeting. Unfortunately, one change from the current plan involves fees. The parking passes are now free, but the new plan establishes fees of $15 per year for the first permit per household; $50 per year for the second permit per household; and $100 per year for each additional permit after the first 2 permits per household. It is also not clear from the bill if the permits will apply to day-time parking only. Councilmember Wells has a question and answer posting on his blog which you can find here.

UPDATE: From Comment Section:
Actually, the fee is not for the visitors pass. The fee is for the RPP permit, not the visitors pass. Currently, every car at a given household is $15 per year. The proposal is to place a higher value on the RPP permit for the second, third, fourth, etc. vehicle in a household. So the first vehicle remains at $15/year. The second vehicle is $50/year. the third vehicle is $100/year, and so on. The visitors pass would still work the way it does in the Ward 6 parking pilot area -- each household gets one for free.Hope that helps clear up any confusion.
Charles Allen, Chief of Staff for Councilmember Wells.

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Thurgood Marshall Imortalized on G Street

The G Street Circle was honored today with a call box dedicated to Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. The much admired Justice lived a few hundred feet from the call box for many years with his wife Cissy and their family. The circle remains a peaceful treed area, protected by a gate from traffic on Delaware Avenue. It is in the shadow of the historic Friendship Baptist Church which, despite many ideas for its redevelopment, remains abandoned with a large "For Sale" sign out front.

The call box art is the creation of Annie King Phillips, parishioner at St. Augustine's Church and well known collage artist. Her chosen medium is paper, and the images used in the call box are from her own experiences. This is the last of the call boxes taken on by the Southwest Neighborhood Assembly (SWNA) Call Box Task Force. This particular call box was sponsored by SWNA, ANC6D, St. Augustine's Church, and Friends of River Park. An outdoor ceremony preceded the unveiling today.

Photo: Annie King Phillips poses with her collage which appears in the G Street call box.

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Community Youth Garden Coming to Southwest

For those who like green, and those who like to eat: St. Matthew's Lutheran Church lot on M and 3rd Street will be hosting a community youth garden for young people and their parents who want to coax some veggies out of Mother Earth. The church is providing supervision, tools, and mentoring. They are, of course, asking for a certain committment to ensure that the plants grow and produce.

There will be a sign up meeting at King Greenleaf Recreational Center on Tuesday, May 19th at 7:00 p.m. Call 202.488.8268 or 202.645.7454 for more information.

The website Community Walk has a map of community gardens in D.C. According to the map, the St. Matthew's garden will be only the second such effort in SW, the first being The Waterside Garden at St. Augustine's at 6th and M Street.

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SE/SW Freeway Gets New Coat (of Asphalt)

The Southeast/Southwest Freeway (Interstate 395) is being repaved, thanks to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), better known as "the stimulus". Only the west bound lanes are involved from the South Capitol Street Bridge to the Case Bridge (the east bound lanes were repaved in April). The total project cost of $1.7 million is being offset with $1 million from ARRA. The project was described as "shovel ready" by the city, so work could start quickly. This is the first District Transportation project to involve federal stimulus money. The work began yesterday and will be finished up by Thursday, May 14. All paving is being done at night to minimize traffic disruption. But be aware that there will be lane closures after 9 p.m. which will be reopened at 4:30 a.m.

So don't expect a tear-down of I-395 any time soon. We can only hope that this major obstacle in our neighborhood will disappear in some distant future.

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Capitol Skyline Opens New Restaurant and Other Amenities

We have a new restaurant in Southwest: Lapidus at Capitol Skyline Hotel at S. Capitol and I Street. The American cuisine restaurant is open seven days a week for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and boasts a full bar. There is finally another option in Southwest to meet and have a meal. The photo below shows the crisp new decor of Lapidus.


The new restaurant is part of a major remodel of Capitol Skyline. The hotel will open its remodeled pool and adjacent lounge area on Memorial Day Weekend. The pool area will be open to membership and will feature special guests on the weekends for events.

The entire lobby has been redecorated with modern furniture and accessories. A brand new fitness room flanks the lobby. There is even a gift shop which offers another place to buy the simplest of sundries like gum and ice cream, one of only four such places in the residential area of Southwest. The hotel offers a myriad of transportation options for guests and provides two levels of underground parking.

Photos: Pool area. Two views of the newly redecorated lobby.

UPDATE: I went over for Sunday lunch, and it was a treat: the hanger steak was perfectly grilled and enjoyed with no trappings. The crab cakes were among the best I have ever had: no heavy frying and no filler, just delicious crab. There is a different dinner special every night on top of the regular menu. I can't wait to try them for a weekend breakfast.

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7-11 to Remain Open for Two More Years

SWDCBlog has learned that the 7-11 store on South Capitol and M Street has signed a two-year lease to remain on its current site.

We had reported that it was to close, as early as July 2009, we were told, but since Vornado/Charles E. Smith, the underlying propery owner, has not been able to secure financing for any development on the site, 7-11 sought out the short term lease. It looks like SW will continue to have its second largest grocery store available for a bit longer.

The buildings on the property behind the store on M Street have been razed and a pay and display $5-a-day parking lot has taken their place.

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No More Night Construction at Waterfront Station

I had not noticed (since I live on 6th Street) that night-time construction was taking place at the Waterfront Station site, mostly on the utilities and back filling of the new section of 4th Street at M. Apparently, neither our city councilmember nor our ANC was notified of the night construction permits.

After many noise complaints, the office of Councilmember Tommy Wells worked diligently together with ANC6D to resolve the situation. Yesterday, Tommy's website published a release saying that the District Department of Transportation will reissue permits to the contractors prohibiting night time work, and an agreement not to work at night will be enforced until the permit situation is resolved. Construction and sleep now both continue on schedule.

Photo: a rainy Wednesday night at the Waterfront Station construction project.

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Whiting-Turner to build Consolidated Forensic Lab

The Executive Office of the Mayor has just announced its choice for the contract to build the $133 million Consolidated Forensic Lab (CFL) on the site of the old police station at 4th and E Streets, SW: Whiting-Turner. The city awarded the construction management contract to Jacobs Engineering last year. The project design architect is HOK.

“This is our most important public safety, public health and homeland security project,” said Mayor Adrian Fenty. “It is critical that we keep this project moving on the fast track.”

The mayor's office press release states that

[t]he CFL will be a state-of-the-art research facility for the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Forensic Laboratory, the Department of Health (DOH) Public Health Laboratory and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME). It will coordinate crime, public safety and health investigations to help law enforcement solve crimes quickly without having to rely on other laboratories with competing priorities.

The total project cost will be about $220 million, including specialized equipment.

The 287,000 square foot CFL will stand six stories and include two levels of underground parking. Designers anticipate the project will qualify for a LEED Gold green building certification.

If the project is on the fast track, then demolition at the site of the old police station should begin soon. The First District Police Department has completed its move to the old Bowen School on M Street and plan to have an open house for June 16th.

Whiting-Turner is a 100 -year-old Contracting Company with a huge portfolio of projects around the country. It is headquartered in Baltimore.

HOK (formerly Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum) is the world's fourth largest architectural firm. Recent projects range from The Natural History Museum of the Adirondacks in Tupper Lake, N.Y. to the Doha City Centre in Qatar. HOK considers itself a leader in sustainable design, or green architecture, a trait that will come in handy in the execution of a green laboratory.

Photo: CFL Site Scheme from CFL website.

UPDATE: The Examiner reports that President Obama's budget proposal includes $14 milllion for the District's CFL.

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New Educational Center in Southwest

A new educational center is coming to Southwest: Mountain State University has announced that it has opened a new campus at 600 Maryland Avenue SW, L’Enfant Plaza. It is in the building right outside of the Maryland Avenue exit of the L'Enfant Metro Station.

According to their website, Mountain State (MSU )was founded as Beckley College in 1933. Its central campus is located in Beckley, West Virginia. It is a private, nonprofit institution which began as a junior college, and now offers undergraduate and graduate degrees with a total enrollment of more than 8000.

The press release announcing the new campus states that the campus will offer MSU's Bachelor of Science in Organizational Leadership and Master of Science in Strategic Leadership degree programs. An open house and information session for perspective students will be held at the new Maryland Ave. site on May 19 at 5 P.M.

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Urban Forestry Starts Tree Keeper Program for Residents

The Urban Forestry Administration of the District Department of Transportation is launching its Tree Keeper Program to allow groups or individuals to adopt their trees and provide care for them.

"DC Resident Participation & Tree Keeper Pledge
I / We pledge to be responsible for the care of my/our

I / We will provide regular care for this tree, including:
Filling the watering bag every 2 weeks (fills to 25 gallons), whenever it has not rained at least one inch during the preceding 7 days (until leaves drop and/or ground freezes). Empty and store the watering bag during the winter months.
Spread mulch around the base of the tree keeping it away from the trunk to help retain moisture on the roots as needed.
Clean the area around the tree, picking up and properly disposing dog waste and keeping the trunk of the tree clear of signs and lights.
Monitor the growth & health of the tree and seek appropriate professional help as required.
Furthermore, I/we agree to assisting with a visual inspection of the public space tree and/or answering a follow-up telephone call to get my feedback on watering the tree and general tree care."

For more information and to obtain a copy of the pledge to sign adopting a tree, contact Amber Lily Kenny, Community Outreach Coordinator, Urban Forestry Administration, District Department of Transportation: Office 202/671-5133 Cell 202/497-9246

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