Monthly Archives: May 2021

DPR 2021 Summer Hiring Fair

Posted by nextstoprp in Recreation

From DC Department of Parks and Recreation

DPR is currently hiring for various summer positions across multiple divisions and if you think you’re a good fit, we want to hear from you!

Are you interested in joining our summer workforce as a lifeguard, camp counselor, food monitor, or program facilitator? Submit your resume today to request a spot at our in-person hiring fair.

Qualified applicants will receive a formal invitation from the Office of Human Resources to interview on one of the following dates:
Saturday, May 8
Wednesday, May 19
Location and time of interview will be provided in follow-up confirmation. Offers will be made on the spot to select applicants.

Now’s your chance to join the team that makes fun happen across all 8 wards.

Sign up today and let’s get #BacktoSummer.
Attend the Summer Hiring Fair

Press Release: Two New Retailers Join Cafritz’s Art Place at Fort Totten

Posted by nextstoprp in Cafritz Art Place at Fort Totten

From the Cafritz Foundation

ONELIFE FITNESS AND PHENIX SALON SUITES JOIN ART PLACE’S GROWING LIST OF RETAILERS

National Fitness and Beauty Retailers to Open in Fort Totten in Q1 2022

WASHINGTON, D.C — MAY 4, 2021 — The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation (Cafritz Foundation) today announced Onelife Fitness and Phenix Salon Suites are joining its growing list of retailers at their mixed-use development, Art Place at Fort Totten, with 16- and 10-year leases respectively. 

“As we continue with the second phase of construction at Art Place, Onelife Fitness and Phenix Salon Suites will bring valuable amenities to the growing Fort Totten community,” said Jane Cafritz of the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation. “Onelife and Phenix will add to the character of Art Place and further enrich the lives of our residents and neighbors.”

Onelife Fitness will open its first location in the District, joining 16 nearby locations in Maryland and Virginia, in the retail area below The Modern apartments at Art Place. This opening will bring 40,000 square feet of cutting-edge equipment and facilities to the neighborhood. The premium fitness center will be a unique, modern design, with two spacious, open levels and floor to ceiling natural lighting, and will feature three boutique studios, an indoor saltwater pool, cutting edge cardio and strength equipment, functional turf training, and more.

“We are incredibly excited to open a new Onelife Fitness Sports Club in Fort Totten, and to provide this active and growing community with health and wellness solutions to live a healthy and happy life. As we have been reminded during this challenging time that our personal health, both mental and physical, has never been more important,” said Ori Gorfine, Chief Operating Officer. “We need to keep moving and stay active, and we need to maintain bonds and connectivity to one another.”

After finishing an invigorating workout at Onelife Fitness, Art Place visitors can experience the luxury suites at Phenix Salon, a boutique concept that offers beauty and wellness professionals the opportunity to own and operate their own business. Phenix’s 10,000-square-foot Art Place location is anticipated to open in early 2022 in the retail area below The Modern.

At full build out, Art Place will include nearly two million square feet of mixed-use space, including multi-family residential, retail, cultural, art, public, educational and entertainment spaces. The Modern, which is the first phase of the Art Place development, includes 520 apartments and almost 100,000 square feet of retail space. Retailers at the Modern, in addition to Onelife and Phenix Salon Suites, include Love and Care Development Center, Ramdass Pharmacy, ShiningStars Pediatric Dentistry and T-Mobile. Art Place’s second phase, anticipated to open in 2024, will include hundreds of new apartment homes as well as more than 300,000 square feet of retail, arts and cultural spaces occupied by D.C’s largest Aldi Grocery store, a food hall, a performance venue, interactive art exhibitions, community spaces, and Explore! Children’s Museum. Infinity Prep, a Rocketship Public School, also opened at Art Place in September 2020. 

For more information on the Cafritz Foundation please visit http://www.cafritzfoundation.org.

For Retail Leasing, please contact H&R Retail or visit https://hrretail.com/properties/art-place-at-fort-totten/

About The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation

The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation is the largest private, independent, local foundation dedicated exclusively to the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. The Foundation is the legacy of Morris Cafritz–one of Washington’s leading commercial and residential builders from the early 1920’s to the mid-60’s–and is committed to improve the quality of life for residents of the area. Since 1970, the foundation has granted awards totaling more than $447 million. In just the last ten years, $185 million has been awarded to more than 961 organizations in Community Services, Arts & Humanities, Education, Health and the Environment.

LRCA Election: Vote for Barbara Rogers

Posted by nextstoprp in Lamond Riggs Citizens Association

By now, Lamond-Riggs residents who paid dues by the April 2, 2021, deadline to vote in the upcoming Lamond-Riggs Citizens Association election should have received an email with voting information (check your spam folder). As I mentioned in this post, I encourage residents to vote for Barbara Rogers for president.

Also, I am not aware of any accurate list of candidates to date published by LRCA on any of its platforms. One of the candidates for trustee, Danielle Lewis-Wright, had her name egregiously misspelled in the minutes in LRCA’s May 2021 newsletter, so I wanted to make a note of that here to let residents know she is running for trustee. I encourage residents to vote for both Danielle Lewis-Wright and Heather Rodgers for trustee.

Below, please find a final message from Barbara regarding this election.

Hello Lamond-Riggs Family,

This is my message to you before the LRCA election: VOTE YOUR CONSCIENCE.

It is not my personality to run a negative campaign. You should never have to say negative things about a person to make yourself look good. I am running on integrity and inclusion. My past record will always speak for me as a person, resident, and a leader. I took on this journey after requests from many neighbors wanting to see change. I have never stopped serving my community and will continue to do so regardless of the outcome of this election.

I commend all of the past and current board members that take time out of their personal lives to give back to their community. I also encourage all those reading this to get involved. Ever since I started going to LRCA meetings over the past 10 years, there had been so much advancement. There had been an increase in membership and attendance. A goal of LRCA to become a 501(c)3 was accomplished during my previous presidency. I am not taking the credit for that happening because it was the hard work of an awesome executive board. What I most admire about the executive board when I was president, is that they challenged me and things that were on the agenda.

What I hope most to come out of this election is inclusion and respect for all neighbors. Our neighborhood deserves some positive energy. We are ONE community and we need to respect and get along with all of our neighbors.

Whether you vote for me or not, thank you for participating in the process and supporting LRCA.

Well wishes,

Barbara Rogers

2021 Candidate for President of the Lamond-Riggs Citizens Association

(202) 904-1027 

lrcabarb@yahoo.com

The New Riggs-LaSalle Playground is Open

Posted by nextstoprp in Recreation
View of new Riggs-LaSalle playground looking towards field

The new Riggs-LaSalle community playground is now open in the 500 block of Nicholson Street NE. As noted in this post, this playground has been a long time coming. It really is a testament to working together as a community–former Lamond-Riggs Citizens Association (LRCA) president Barbara Rogers championed a new playground during her tenure. When I became president of LRCA after her, I picked up the ball and ran with it, writing several letters to the DC Council and Mayor Bowser to secure funding and organizing parents to advocate for a playground. Mayor Bowser and former Ward 4 Councilmember Brandon Todd came through with the funding during the latter half of my tenure as LRCA president. And finally, once the project kicked off, so many neighbors and the newly established Friends of Riggs-LaSalle Rec wrote numerous letters in support of the playground along with a number of suggestions for improvements. Kudos to the community for making this happen.

See message from the DC Department of Parks & Recreation Project Manager Peter Nohrden dated April 30, 2021, below:

Dear Riggs LaSalle Playground Community,

     On behalf of the DC Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) and the DC Department of General Services (DGS), I am pleased to announce that the Riggs LaSalle Public Playground is now opened. The playground has passed the Playground Safety Inspection and is now ready for play. Please note that drinking fountains are still turned off due to COVID protocols, but we wanted to open the playground as soon as possible so that the community can enjoy it this weekend.

     The renovations to the Riggs LaSalle Playground includes: a new 5-12 play area, a new 2-5 play area, swings, benches, a drinking fountain with a bottle filler, waste and recycling receptacles as well as new lighting and security cameras. There is also perimeter landscaping, which includes canopy trees that will one day provide great shade for the playground.

Enjoy!

View of playground looking towards Riggs-LaSalle Rec