Monthly Archives: December 2017

2017 Year-End Neighborhood Development Roundup

Posted by nextstoprp in Neighborhood Development

Post updated 12/23/2017 to add information about the Bertie Backus Food Hub

Lots of movement on the development front in Riggs Park this year.

Art Place at Fort Totten

In September 2017, residents began moving into The Modern at Art Place, the first phase of Art Place at Fort Totten, located at 400 Galloway Street NE. On November 27, 2017, Mayor Muriel Bowser cut the ribbon to officially celebrate the opening of this development. Leasing for the 520 apartments is being done in phases. The retail portion covers about 100,000 square feet. Lots of rumors abound, but the retailers we know about for sure include X-Sport Fitness, Ramadans Pharmacy, Shining Stars Pediatric Dentist, and T-Mobile. Those will open some time after the new year.

Explore! Children’s Museum

The Explore! Children’s Museum is still slated for the second phase of Art Place at Fort Totten. There have been questions about the news that the National Children’s Museum will be opening up downtown in the Reagan Building in 2019. The Explore! Museum and the National Children’s Museum are two different children’s museums. Plans are still afoot for the Explore! museum to come to Riggs Park in the future. Earlier this year, Explore! established a partnership with National Portrait Gallery. The museum has also held well-attended, quarterly festival events in the neighborhood in Riggs Park for the past couple of years. Look for a larger festival next year.

Fort Totten Square 

Ribbon cut at Culture Coffee Too

Culture Coffee Too opened at Fort Totten Square at 300 Riggs Road NE on November 13, 2017, bringing a much needed gathering space and cultural offerings to Riggs Park. The coffee shop joins Walmart, Subway, Petco, and Five Guys to complete retail leasing for Fort Totten Square.

Fort Totten South

JBG, developer of Fort Totten Square, has teamed up with EYA for the second phase to Fort Totten Square, known as Fort Totten South. We previously wrote extensively about this project because it involved the sale of District-owned property to the development team. The council approved the sale earlier this year.

EYA has changed the design since the first iteration, which previously involved building approximately 180 back-to-back townhomes atop a podium with retail on the ground floor. The latest plan has 160 homes, with only 65 back-to-back homes atop a podium and the remainder traditional townhomes with garages. There will be fewer two-bedroom homes. The majority will be three-bedroom. Though they have reduced the number of homes, there will still be approximately 29 below-market rate homes, both two and three-bedroom.

Ground floor retail space remains at around 20,000 to 23,000 square feet. There will be underground parking for the retail and the townhomes on the platform instead of a structured garage as in the previous plan. EYA is considering two alternative color schemes, red brick and what they consider a more modern, lighter color. A small portion of the site has a residential zoning designation instead of a mixed-use zoning designation, so the developer will apply to the Board of Zoning Adjustment for a change to make the zoning designation mixed-use for the entire site.

See EYA Fort Totten South Revised Plans December 2017

 

Lamond-Riggs Library

The Lamond-Riggs Library will be completely rebuilt at its current location at 5401 South Dakota Avenue NE. The kick-off meeting was held in October 2017. A design team will be selected around April or May of 2018. A design kickoff meeting will follow in summer 2018. Library officials will hold targeted focus groups for residents. The current library is anticipated to close in fall 2019 and the interim library will open around the same time. The current timeline has the new library opening in 2021.

Be sure to visit the project website at http://dclibrary.org/newlamondriggs for up-to-date information.

Metro/Donatelli Fort Totten Joint Development Project

Donatelli/Metro joint development plan

The project to redevelop the long-term parking lot at Fort Totten metro station has been hanging around for a couple of years now, waiting for approval of a joint development agreement by Metro’s board. We wrote about the project in this post. Metro selected Donatelli for the joint development project back in 2015. The plan involves building around 345 apartments and 10,000 square feet of retail with a structured garage to replace the surface parking lot. Construction is anticipated to begin in 2018.

Metropolitan Branch Trail

We are including the extension of the Metropolitan Branch Trail from Brookland to Fort Totten in this development report because it will be a useful connection for residents from Riggs Park to points south and into downtown. In October 2017, DDOT awarded a design-build contract to Potomac Construction Company for the Fort Totten extension. Construction is anticipated to begin in 2018 and should take around one to two years to complete.

Bertie Backus Urban Food Hub

In September of this year, UDC CAUSES held an open house to introduce the Bertie Backus Urban Food Hub to the community. The food hub is located on the campus of UDC-CC Backus at 5171 South Dakota Avenue NE (off Galloway Street). The food hub has a hydroponics house, aquaponics house, compost collective, community garden, and will eventually contain a native plant nursery and commercial food kitchen. There is also potential for a farmers market, or at least possibly a farm stand by summer 2018. The open house was the start of more community engagement with the food hub, spearheaded by Cheryl Dixon and CAUSES faculty. Compost training classes and sign-ups for the community garden took place in November and December. CAUSES faculty remarked how surprised they were by the strong level of resident interest in the activities at the food hub. Next year will bring more opportunities for community participation during the growing season as well. This food hub really is an opportunity to organically build community and we look forward to watching it grow next year.

That wraps up our 2017 development report. Lots of retail to look forward to coming online in 2018. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year.

December 14-15: Drilling at Lamond-Riggs Library

Posted by nextstoprp in Uncategorized

From DCPL regarding drilling at Lamond-Riggs Library to examine soil prior to rebuilding project:

Hillis-Carnes Engineering to commence the geotechnical drilling on site tomorrow.

Hillis-Carnes will have a drilling rig/truck on site after 9:30 am and they will be working through COB Friday. Hillis-Carnes will need to come back to finish the drilling and additional inspections next week. The drilling will start in the grassy area around the library building and proceed to the parking lot by Friday. Hillis-Carnes expects the drilling to produce minimal noise disturbance to the neighbors during normal business hours.

ANC 5A November 29, 2017 Meeting Recap

Posted by nextstoprp in Uncategorized

Guest Post

Post updated

On November 29, 2017, ANC 5A held its monthly public meeting.

Commissioners present: Grace Lewis (5A02); Isaiah Burroughs (5A04); Ronnie Edwards (5A05); A. Jamaal Lampkin (5A06); Sandi Washington (5A07); Gordon-Andrew Fletcher (5A08). Commissioner Wilds (5A01) is recuperating from surgery and is doing well.

The commissioners unanimously approved the October 2017 minutes.

Police Report

PSA 405 Sergeant Scott Dowling stated that Lieutenant Ashley Rosenthal has been replaced by Lt. Todd Perkins who currently works the midnight shift. Sgt. Dowling’s crime report covered the last 60-days of activity:

Crime +/- Change over Prior Period
Robbery +1
Assault w/Deadly Weapon -4
Gun -1
Burglary -3
Property Crimes (Package Theft) -1
Theft from Auto -1

Sgt. Dowling mentioned that PSA 405’s crime statistics skew upward due to the local hospitals, which are crime hotspots. He also mentioned that the higher prevalence of crime in Adams Morgan and Columbia Heights disproportionately affects the statistics for the Fourth District.

Catholic University of America (CUA) Expansion

Catholic University Architect Margaret Carney and Catholic University General Counsel Lawrence Morris spoke next about CUA’s field expansion. Mrs. Carney explained that CUA wants to develop a playing field on its property adjacent to Bates Street NE and opposite the Fort Totten Transfer Station. The new field would incorporate a storm water management system and feature synthetic turf. Also, 130 parking spaces, additional lighting and restroom facilities are included. Lastly, the DDOT-installed gate on Bates Street NE would be moved to allow CUA traffic to access the field from Fort Totten Drive NE. However, the gate would remain to deter other traffic from accessing John McCormack Drive NE via Bates Street NE. Mr. Morris asked for an ANC 5A letter of support, which ANC 5A voted unanimously to provide.

DC Department of Public Works (DPW)

DPW Inspector Darlett Sally addressed sanitation infractions for a variety of offenses such as (1) using trashcans without lids, placing excess litter on top of trashcans, or leaving trashcans in the alley well before or after trash pickup; (2) using plastic bags (especially black) for leaf disposal; or (3) failing to notify bulk trash in advance of bulk item disposal.

In response to questions, Inspector Sally explained the Helping Hands and Sustainability DC programs. Helping Hands is a community cleanup program in which DPW provides tools and supplies – rakes, brooms, bags, gloves – for use.  The inspector provided Mr. David Williams at (202) 615-7190 and Mr. Earl Simpson at (202) 576-9004 as contacts. However, the compost delivery plan promised as part of Sustainable DC is not available yet.

DC Department of Behavioral Health (DBH)

Mr. Travis Dread-Hughes cited that the DBH provides mental health and drug addiction support city-wide. According to the DBH website “The Department of Behavioral Health provides prevention, intervention and treatment services and supports for children, youth and adults with mental and/or substance use disorders including emergency psychiatric care and community-based outpatient and residential services.”

Mr. Dread-Hughes informed the audience that DBH has a network of 60 inpatient and outpatient drug and mental health treatment centers throughout the city. All can be accessed by calling a single number, (888) 793-4357, to access a 24-hour helpline. Mr. Dread-Hughes provided the contact information to each audience member. He closed by saying that we need to rise above our stigma against those who truly need help.

Mayor’s Office Report

Ward 5 MOCR Lionell Gaines covered the Mayor’s latest initiatives which follow:

  • December 9, 2017 – Explore the city’s school options (Pk3 – 12) by attending Edfest 2017 from 11:00 to 3:00 p.m. at the D.C. Armory, 2001 East Capitol Street SE.
  • December 15, 2017 – Attend the two-year anniversary celebration of the Commission on Fathers, Men and Boys from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Smith Public Trust, 3514 12th Street NE.
  • January 31, 2018 is the last day to enroll in the DC HealthLink insurance program.

Ward 5 Councilmember’s Office Report

Ms. Chanell Autrey gave the following information from Ward 5 Councilmember McDuffie’s office:

  • December 13, 2017 – Ward 5 Holiday Party at the Docks in Union Market, 1309 5th Street NE, from 6:00 – 9:00 p.m.
  • December 30, 2017 – Legislative meeting on the disposition of Keene School (emergency legislation for DC Bilingual PCS) at Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Room 120 at 11:00 a.m.
  • TBD – Meeting with Riggs Plaza Tenants before end-of-year

ANC 5A website

Commissioner Fletcher (5A08) said the final website updates, including commissioner biographies, will be done by the end of the year.

Grant Request: Ward 5 Warriors

Mr. Andrew-Fletcher introduced the plight of the Ward 5 Warriors, a Pop Warner football team, to the audience. The Warriors earned a berth to playoff rounds held in Florida, but $30,000 is needed for lodging and travel. So far, the Warriors have only raised $2,500. More importantly, this sum must be raised in a few days.

To do so, the ANC commissioners unanimously agreed to waive the 14-day advance notice requirement to make the grant available. Next and after some discussion, the commissioners agreed to support a $5,000 grant if the team coaches:

  • Complete the grant application, and provide supporting documentation that lists the team members living in ward five; and if
  • Gottlieb Simon, Director of DC Office of Advisory Neighborhood Commissions, approves this expenditure.

Community Concerns

  • Lamond-Riggs Library Friends (LRLF)

Mr. Oliver, President LRLF, discussed the following:

  • Lamond-Riggs Librarian, Liane Rosenblatt, will retire during December 2017. She led adult programming and won the prestigious Cafritz Outstanding DC Government Employee Award in 2016.
  • A vendor will drill core samples on library property during December to assess the soil conditions.
  • DCPL has issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) to interested architectural firms. Three finalists will be selected next year to be evaluated by a board composed of DCPL and community members.
  • Community Activists

Activists presented two proposals for ANC 5A consideration:

  • A draft resolution to divest from Bank of America. The activist noted that four ANCs have already approved it, including that covering Cleveland Park.
  • A second resolution in support of the NEAR Act was provided for ANC review and approval.

Chairman Edwards (5A05) collected the resolutions for further review and comment by the commission.

December 4: LRCA monthly public meeting

Posted by nextstoprp in Lamond Riggs Citizens Association

Lamond-Riggs Citizens Association
Public Meeting
December 4, 2017
7:00 pm

Location: LaSalle-Backus Education Campus (501 Riggs Road NE, enter on Madison Street)

Guests:

* UDC CAUSES Bertie Backus Food Hub (compost, community garden, nursery, farmers market)
* Food & Friends
* Capital Area Food Bank

Light refreshments will be served.

Pay dues online at http://www.lrcadc.org/join-lrca to support scholarships for neighborhood youth ($10/year for individuals & $15/year for households of 2+ adults)

Read the December 2017 community newsletter.

Please support the LaSalle-Backus holiday drive.