Read about Walmart’s role in securing Fort Totten Square Washington Business Journal’s award for best real estate financing deal of 2013.
Monthly Archives: April 2014
ANC 5A meeting wrapup
Guest post
On April 23, 2014, ANC 5A held its monthly community meeting at the Backus Campus of UDC’s Community College. The meeting included information on the following topics.
Auto-Related Crime Has Increased
MPD Officer Lucas reported on police activity in the Fourth District. Year-to-date, there have been dramatic increases in the number of stolen autos and the number of incidents of theft from autos.
Officer Lucas reminded us of the steps that each of us can take to avoid becoming a victim of auto-related crimes. (Click here and here for auto crime-prevention tips.)
New Trash/Recycling Receptacles
Call 311 to arrange pickup of your old, unwanted trash and recycling receptacles
2015 Budget
The DC budget cycle for FY 2015 is in-progress, so public hearings on the budget are being conducted. This website has the 11-page public hearing schedule for DC’s “Fiscal Year 2015 Proposed Budget and Financial Plan.”
Bike Lanes
Commissioner Edwards said that DDOT is moving ahead with its plans for bike lanes this year. (See this list of “2014 Planned Bikeways” and this link for a map of those bikeways). These plans include bike lanes on Harewood Road between Michigan Avenue and Taylor Street, and on Fort Totten Drive between Bates Road and Rock Creek Church Road. If you need more information on the bike lanes or have comments, contact DDOT Bicycle Program Specialist Mike Goodno at mike.goodno@dc.gov or (202) 671-0681.
National Park Service Options; Comments Due May 2nd
The Commissioners passed a resolution in support of a direct path between Gallatin and Galloway Street, the option that the community agreed upon at the recent SMD 5A08 meeting on improvements to the NPS paths between Gallatin and Galloway Streets. Contact Commissioner Alston about wording of the resolution. Remember comments are due May 2nd on the project’s website.
New Charter School to Open on AFRH Campus This Fall
Golnar Abedin, Ph.D., is Executive Director/Principal of the Creative Minds International Public Charter School, currently located at 3224 16th Street NW in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood.
Dr. Abedin said that this fall, the school will open an additional facility, for pre-school through 5th-grade students, on the campus of the Armed Forces Retirement Home (AFRH; aka the Old Soldiers’ Home).
After Dr. Abedin described the School’s programs and admissions policies, the ANC 5A Commission voted to pass a resolution in support of the School’s AFRH facility. (Note that the application period for Creative’s 2014-2015 school year closed in March.)
An April 2nd article in the Washington City Paper about the school’s additional facility also mentions other ways the AFRH campus could soon be open to non-AFRH residents.
Education Officials Discuss Plans
DC Councilmember David Catania and DC School Board President Mark Jones spoke about various initiatives in the DC public school system.
Councilmember Catania, who is Chair of the Council’s Committee on Education, described the Committee’s recent legislative efforts. President Jones announced that the Deputy Mayor for Education is holding a series of community meetings to get the public’s opinions on the proposals she has made to change school feeder patterns and boundaries. (Greater Greater Education blog has a post discussing the boundary change process that also includes a link to an app created by Code for DC to help families determine how the proposed changes affect them.)
Also, President Jones described the School Board’s work on revisions to high school graduation requirements to ensure preparation for college or careers.
Former ANC5A Commissioner Rip Preston reminded us that a non-profit, community-based organization, the Ward 5 Council on Education, is working to improve the quality of education in Ward 5 schools.
DC Humanities Council Offers Grants; Proposal Deadline is May 9th
Natasha Brown, from the Humanities Council of Washington, DC, announced that proposals are due May 9th for applications for the DC Community Heritage Project (DCCHP) grant. This particular grant provides funding and support to community leaders interested in preserving the history, architecture, and collective memory of their neighborhoods. The Humanities Council has other community-based grant programs as well.
Washington Business Journal reports on Art Place at Fort Totten groundbreaking →
Many of the details in today’s Washington Business Journal article on Art Place at Fort Totten should be familiar to those who have been keeping up with our posts on the subject.
Architect Viewpoint on Fort Totten Square
The Architectural Record has a nice article on Fort Totten Square with a few renderings (click link to see photos). The architect, Hickok Cole, noted how the topography of the land was favorable to incorporating underground parking. From the very beginning of the project, the architects stated they wanted to build something that was more modern for the neighborhood. They accomplish that with several types of material on the Riggs Street facade, but they incorporate more brick veneer for the apartments on the 3rd Street side to blend in with the more residential feel of that street. They also use more brick on the retail space at the corner of Chillum Place.
The developers noted they want to attract young people who want access to the city without paying downtown prices. Judging from the renderings, the residents will be enjoy two beautiful courtyards with a pool and other amenities. At the Fort Totten Square community meeting, someone did ask about neighborhood access to the pool. The answer is to become friends one of the residents there.
On a personal note, I have never been crazy about the amount of blue branding incorporated into the design. However, it will be a massive structure, so once we see it at scale, perhaps it will not seem as overwhelming.
Fort Totten Square view from 3rd & Riggs. Photo courtesy of JBG
Fort Totten Square courtyard. Photo courtesy of JBG
Updates from SMD 5A08 Meeting: Art Place and Metro shortcuts
Art Place at Fort Totten
At last night’s SMD 5A08 meeting, we heard a few updates regarding Building A at Art Place at Fort Totten. The construction team is waiting for final approval of the traffic control plan to start construction. The entire site will need to be fenced off before they begin relocating the utilities underneath Hamilton Street NE, which will be permanently closed. Once construction starts, there will be jersey barriers along the north side of Galloway Street NE so that pedestrians can access the metro station. That means there will no longer be a parking lane for cars on the north side of Galloway. The bus stops on both sides of Galloway should remain accessible during construction.
The architect mentioned one change that they are proposing to the residential parking. As approved, the residential building is to have around 344 residential parking spaces in a structured garage. The team proposes to reduce that amount by 80 spaces, dropping 1.5 floors of parking, to reduce costs. That leaves around 264 spaces for 520 units. The building will have 141 affordable units (of which 98 will be reserved for seniors), enough to relocate the residents of the Riggs Plaza apartments. The residential apartment building is slated to have a senior work room/quiet area for seniors, rooftop pool and barbecue area, and fitness room. In adidtion to retail tenants, Building A will have space for an ANC 5A office, and possibly a daycare center. They are still working on executing leases with retailers.
National Park Service Environment Study on Improvements to Paths between Gallatin and Galloway Street NE
The deadline to comment on the National Park Service options for improvements to the paths between Gallatin and Galloway is May 2, 2014. Visit the project website by clicking here. In addition to commenting on the specific options, individuals can share anything they wish about the paths. The official from the NPS emphasized that this is an environmental study, so when they evaluate the comments, they will do so with an eye towards the impact any proposed action would have on the native plants and trees and experience of the park. He also noted that the NPS does not yet have funding to implement any particular plan, but this environmental study is the first step in determining what they want to do and how much to budget for it. Commissioner Angel Alston noted that there might be an opportunity for partnership to fund implementation and maintenance of any proposed plan. The commissioner asks that people print out their comment so that the ANC has a record of the comments (a “print this page” tab will appear once a comment is submitted). The ANC will vote on a recommendation at the next ANC 5A meeting.
April 9: SMD 5A08 Community Meeting
Commissioner Angel Alston is holding a community meeting for SMD 5A08 tonight.
Location: UDC-CC, Backus Campus, Room 129.
Time: 6:30 pm – 7:45 pm
On the agenda: (1) Art Place at Fort Totten update; (2) National Park Service comment period on improvements to metro shortcuts between Gallatin and Galloway Street NE.
Next Stop...Riggs Park 