The Washington Post today tells the story of the lone surviving townhouse on Massachusetts Avenue NW between 4th and 5th Streets NW.
The owner, an architect who bought the building in 1980 for about $135,000, had refused offers of up to $2.75 million for the little property as developers made plans for condominiums a few years ago. Ultimately, they worked around him, putting up new high rises on both sides and behind the building. He then vowed to start a Ledo's Pizza until a dispute with Adams National Bank led to the end of the financing for the needed renovation. The house, built in 1890 and dwarfed by its neighbors, is a reminder of the houses that once sat on Massachusetts Avenue in times past. It now sits vacant.
Developer types throw around ideas for the spot. A cafe could work, perhaps, or a bar or restaurant. Whatever opens, Cary Silverman of the Mount Vernon Square Neighborhood Association said, he has the perfect name: "The Holdout," an eternal reminder to anyone and everyone "to not make unreasonable demands."
And the citizens said, "Director Argo, take down these billboards!" And, this morning, residents ran out onto the streets to watch them fall, all four of them, at New Jersey Avenue and P Streets NW (and shared their observations via e-mail).
Neighborhood activists and ordinary citizens, working with the District's Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, should be proud. The process demonstrates DCRA's commitment to address quality of life issues in our neighborhoods, even when they might seem relatively small to some.
A bit of background. Residents of the Shaw neighborhood, including the Bates Area Civic Association pleaded with DCRA to seek removal of what appeared to be illegal billboards at NJ and P. Not only were they unsightly, but the large vacant lot lent itself to dumping, littering, drug dealing, and other crime. The billboards contributed to blight and lowered property values in the neighborhood. Residents longed to see housing, a park, anything at the prominent corner location. Even a dedicated website emerged.
While DC law has long banned billboards, some were allowed over the years. Additional regulations made clear that billboards were not permitted near residential buildings. Records dating prior to Home Rule, however, were misplaced. City regulations changed repeatedly and their retroactive application to previously permitted billboards was apparently arguable.
Nevertheless, these billboards and many others across the city, remained in plain site. Many provided a source of income for derelict owners of vacant lots, parking lots, used car dealerships, and liquor stores.
The Mount Vernon Square Neighborhood Association chimed in and urged DCRA to remove billboards at several locations in its neighborhood and review the issue citywide. To its credit, DCRA promptly announced that it would begin enforcement of the billboard law. Given missing records and conflicting regulations, enforcement posed a challenge. DCRA commited itself to fixing the situation and, eventually, at least three sets of billboards came down over the past several months.
The billboards at New Jersey and P Streets NW, however, led to a fight. They are owned by Clear Channel, which had a permit dating back several decades and they sought and obtained an court injunction prohibiting their removal. In the midst of the legal strangling, the situation took an odd turn when another District agency, the Department of Health, placed a public service ad on one of the billboards. To avoid an expensive legal fight, last week, DCRA promulgated emergency regulations to address the issue. That seemed to get Clear Channel's attention.
According to DCRA Director Linda Argo:
The District has reached a settlement agreement with Clear Channel regarding their four billboards at 4th and P Street, NW and additional billboard at 3rd and K Street, NE.
The agreement calls for Clear Channel to begin removing the billboards today, Tuesday, December 15, and to completely remove the billboards no later than Monday, December 21. Clear Channel will then remove any supporting posts for the billboards by December 31.
I’m thrilled we’ve reached this amicable settlement with Clear Channel and want to express my gratitude for the community’s invaluable assistance in these efforts.
Just fifteen minutes after receiving Director Argo's e-mail, Richard Dane Norwood, Ward 5 Coordinator for the Mayor's Office of Community Relations and Services reported that removal was underway.
Congratulations to the community for its hard work and to DCRA (as well as the Attorney General's Office) for following through on their commitment and delivering an early holiday gift to the neighborhood. Let's hope to see the lot put toward a beneficial and productive use in 2010!
Over the past week, a sculpture called "Lift Off" was installed at 5th and K Streets NW. It's not yet finished, but it is nearing completion. According to the artist, David Black, “The sculpture was inspired by children flying kites on the national Mall.”
I'm all for public art and I'm not a professional art critic. My first impression of this piece is that it is just a bit too massive for the space. It practically blocks the entirety of Bus Boys and Poets from view from the street. It also reminds me of a piece of unfinished building construction, clad in in taxi cab yellow, on steroids. But maybe it will grow on me.
What's your view? Vote in the poll on the top right corner of the blog.
The Gales School, 65 Massachusetts Ave NW. Photo by M.V. Jantzen on Flickr.
Three weeks short of one year ago today, Mayor Fenty closed the Franklin School, which was being used as a shelter for over 300 homeless men downtown. The Franklin School needed to close and - given its design, need for renovation, and size - the city should never have turned the building into a homeless warehouse in the first place. Moreover, it was an emergency shelter that was serving as a permanent home for hundreds of people.
When the Mayor closed the Franklin Shelter, it was part of a plan that included: (1) moving 400 of the chronically homeless into permanent housing with extensive support services through the Housing First initiative within 6 months; and (2) moving the Central Union Mission from its long-time home in Logan Circle at 14th and R Streets NW to a renovated Gales School at 65 Massachusetts Avenue NW. The new location, sitting between Mount Vernon, Chinatown, and Union Station, would provide emergency shelter for the temporarily homeless, those who find themselves without a place to stay due to a sudden calamity. It would include 125 downtown beds for homeless men. Ultimately, the city's long-term "Homeless No More Plan" aspires to provide 2,500 units of permanent supportive housing financed by a Housing First Fund.
According to an October 1, 2008 news release, Mayor Fenty met his 6 month goal of providing permanent homes for 400 chronically homeless -- in fact -- he claimed credit for surpassing 600, including 305 men, as well as 215 families, 75 men and an additional 12 individuals who were moved from a median strip along I-395.
But what of the Gales School? Workers overlooking the building report that other than seeing a few workers sweeping up around the property, there has been no work for several months. The city is to pay $7 million to renovate the building, which will then be owned and operated without subsidy by the Central Union Mission. (You can read the history of this building, up until 2004, here)
According to David Treadwell, Executive Director of the Central Union Mission, the city has not entered a contract on the redevelopment of the school, which is basically a vacant shell. The Central Union Mission now anticipates that they will move into the Gales School no sooner than fall 2011, though the new facility was tentatively scheduled to open in 2009.
Did a lawsuit delay the project? Financing issues? Lack of will?
Photos of the Chevy Chase Playground and Recreational Center. (Compare to 600 N Street NW Park). The camera phone, however, does not do the park justice.
One arriving at the Chevy Chase Playground and Recreation Center might think they'd died and gone to Montgomery County. A large wrap-around playground for kids with all the amenities. A ballfield in tip-top shape with netting, dugouts, and stadium seating. Two lit tennis courts and two lit basketball courts, which appear newly resurfaced. There's even a poop bag dispenser, demonstrating that kids, adults, and dogs happily co-exist.
But the park is on the D.C. side of the line, and it is managed by the DC Department of Parks and Recreation (with the assistance of a "Friends of Chevy Chase Playground" group that donated the new playground equipment last year). DPR renovated the baseball diamond in March.
Tomorrow, as the Shaw community sits down with DPR to consider, yet again, plans for renovating the park on the 600 Block of N Street NW, consider the potential to make that park, as well as the Bundy Field/Lot and for New Jersey and O Street (Dunbar) Park, great!
I have not posted on TheOther35Percent in a while, but you can continue to read my posts on issues of local concern on Life in Mount Vernon Square. Some of the recent ones include:
Signs of Progress: DCRA begins enforcing its billboard moratorium in response to our efforts. The Examiner covered the issue here.
Will it Ever be Home Again: A discussion of the District's failed program to redevelop vacant properties into affordable housing. One of the many Home Again properties is discussed here.
The Good News in Mount Vernon: Detailing progress and recent positive happenings in the neighborhood including new restaurants coming this fall.
What Goes for Progress in Shaw: Will the District turn a vacant lot slotted for recreational and residential use into a massive parking lot? Why? The post is part of a larger discussion on the Bundy School property on the 400 Block of O Street NW. The Washington Post had a brief article on the community's engagement on this issue.
You can also read about our challenge (available here) to the validity of Bishop Harry Jackson's voter registration and his referendum to revoke the District's gay marriage recognition law (Rev. Jackson is the Pastor of a Maryland-based church, who lives and works in Maryland, but recently registered to vote using a D.C. address in order to serve as the principal proponent of the referendum):
Paul Millstein of Douglas Development presents plans for Squares 450 and 451 in the Mt. Vernon area.
Last night, the Mount Vernon Square Neighborhood Association heard a long-awaited presentation from Paul Millstein of Douglas Development on the project that includes property they had amassed over the last fifteen to twenty years in the area just east of the Washington Convention Center. In September, the Washington Business Journal discussed the scope of the project and speculated on what might come to an area that is full of vacant property and parking lots. I highlighted some of the reported details on Life in Mt. Vernon Square.
Millstein provided an underwhelming few more details last night. The Triangle blog provides the specs and a map of the site. I won't repeat that information here.
The project is still very much in the conceptual stage. There were no detailed renderings available, just the massing sketch from 30,000 feet visible in the photo above. Douglas Development plans on presenting this concept to HPRB next month, but I would not be surprised if the presentation is postponed. Mr. Millstein committed to returning to MVSNA with more information in the future. This project is still far off -- at least 6 to 12 months as the concept develops, they'll need HPRB and Zoning approval, then add a year for permitting -- 2, most likely 3, years until groundbreaking. They do not yet have financing.
For the time being, Millstein was receptive to considering improving lighting on the 600 Block of L Street, which is near pitch black and experiencing increased pedestrian traffic between the metro and CityVista/Yale Lofts. They are also open to temporary uses of the property, such as the Fringe Festival hosted at AV Restorante earlier this year.
Here's a few things we learned about the project. Douglas Development is DONE amassing property. They've thrown in the towel on some of the hold outs, such as Marakesh, the corner lot at 6th and New York, and one of the historic properties on the 1000 Block of 7th Street NW. They do own property including The Eagle and the club formerly known as Avenue. There are still a few properties on which to close.
Mr. Millstein reported that Douglas Development has given up on the property they own on the northwest corner of 6th and L Streets NW. MVSNA had reviewed a proposal for housing at that location about a year or two ago - it includes a historic house where Thurgood Marshall reportedly lived at some point, a vacant lot, and a small condemned structure that is sometimes used as an illegal billboard. Apparently, the site is now considered unbuildable for financing reasons. Sad and disappointing. The house is falling apart. I guess it joins Carter G. Woodson's home on the list of dilapidated and forgotten black history.
So back to the project. It involves:
Fully restoring the historic properties along 7th Street;
Literally picking up and consolidating several historic properties to make room for new buildings;
Retail, restaurants, I believe, a hotel, and entertainment at the ground level with offices above. Regarding the entertainment anchor, Milstein said, "I think they have a phenomenal entertainment venue" lined up that would open at 7th and New York Avenue. What it is, however, he could not yet say. Past articles have noted the potential for a House of Blues in the project;
Below-grade parking (no amount discussed); and
Zero, none, zilch residential units.
That last bullet is likely to be the most controversial aspect of the project. Currently, zoning laws would require a residential component -- it's part of the push to create a living downtown. Mr. Millstein mentioned seeking something called a "CLD," which would apparently allow them to forego the residential requirement by paying money to support housing somewhere else. Does anyone know how this works?
Should a project of this size and at this location include a residential component?
My initial reaction is mixed.
On the one hand, DC has come great lengths since I first moved down here from the-city-never-sleeps NY and was surprised to find a downtown ghosttown. Incorporating residential into Penn Quarter certainly helped. DC's population has increased to about 580,000, but that is still far short from its historic pre-riot high of over 760,000. There is plenty more room to grow. It would seem the portion of the project on the 600 block of L would be ideal for residential. Currently, the plan for that block is to use it for loading docks and a parking garage entrance for the retail/office frontage on New York Avenue, continuing the dead zone. Think the 1400 Block of Church Street in Logan Circle, where they turned the Rainbow auto repair shop into a unique condo.
On the other hand, has the massive condo and apartment explosion maxed out, particularly in the area surrounding this site? Over the past few years, in addition to the Penn Quarter units, we've seen condos and rentals come online at 400, 450, and 555 Massachusetts Avenue, the Sonata, and the Whitman. Most recently, Yale Laundry, CityVista, and Madrigal Lofts have opened their doors. (Note: Yale has filled about 65 of 140 units so far). Yale II is under construction. How much more housing can the area sustain? What will the current financial market allow? As Mr. Millstein notes, there's plenty of unfilled demand for retail and restaurants in the area. It's amazing how consistently packed Bus Boys & Poets is within weeks of opening.
At some point, the community will be asked to weigh in on a request for zoning relief from the residential requirement. Let the debate begin.
