ANC 5A held its monthly public meeting on February 28, 2024. Commissioners present: Duvalier Malone (5A01); Karlus Cozart (5A02) – Parliamentarian; Emily Singer Lucio (5A03) – Vice Chair; Diego Rojas (5A04); Tyeron Boston (5A05); Gordon Fletcher (5A08) – Chair; Shelagh Bocoum (5A09) – Treasurer. ANC 5A06 and 5A07 are vacant.

Commission Business

Commissioner Diego Rojas resigned as the ANC’s secretary. Commissioner Emily Singer Lucio was sworn in as secretary. She will hold two positions, vice chair and secretary.

The ANC approved minutes for the November 2023 regular meeting (Commissioner Lucio abstained), the November 2023 special meeting, and the January 2024 meeting.

The ANC approved the annual report for 2023. It will be on the ANC’s website.

Public safety report

No real updates from Commissioner Karlus Cozart about the public safety committee. Commissioner Lucio suggested that the ANC reach out to MPD’s 4th District Citizens Advisory Council to foster more engagement with this part of 4D.

Faith United Church Hypothermia Site (5A08)

The temporary hypothermia shelter at Faith United Church will officially close on March 8, 2024. ANC Chair Gordon Fletcher (5A08) stated that the site was little used and that it is unclear if the contract will be renewed. He said that he has stressed to the DC Department of Human Services that if the city wants to renew the contract or provide a similar service within the boundaries of the ANC, then the ANC wants to be notified in advance and be part of the process.

243 Hawaii Avenue NE (5A06) – BZA case no. 21070

The ANC voted to support the conversion of the existing duplex at 243 Hawaii Avenue NE to a two-family flat. The owner presented at the last ANC meeting and came back after doing more outreach to her neighbors.

Catholic University Temporary Modular Housing (5A04) -ZC case no. 12-01G

The ANC voted to support Catholic University’s plan to build temporary modular housing to provide more student housing. Catholic is requesting an amendment and further processing of the university’s 2012 campus plan. The approved campus plan calls for permanent student housing, but because of financial conditions, the university wants to build temporary housing to house up to 125 students.

University representatives stated the housing plan was reviewed by a traffic consultant and by DDOT and that the university expects little impact to traffic and parking. The university expects to begin underground utility work in spring (around May). The units will be constructed off site and brought to campus as they are constructed, likely starting in the fall. The representatives stated that it takes about two weeks to put each unit onto its foundation. The university expects to have the units ready for occupancy in spring semester 2025.

The Zoning Commission hearing is scheduled for March 7, 2024.

Ward 5 Council Report (Carlos McKnight, Constituent Services Coordinator for Ward 5 Councilmember Zachary Parker)

Councilmember Parker held his monthly public safety call. Materials from meeting:

• Recording of the meeting;
• Slides from the meeting;
• The Zoom chat transcript.

Councilmember Parker submitted his FY2025 budget request letter to Mayor Bowser.

Councilmember Parker prepared a year-end review of his first year in office.

Boys Town (5A02)

Chair Fletcher said that Boys Town, located at 4801 Sargent Road NE, is closing. This item was listed on the agenda, but a representative from Boys Town did not attend the meeting. The ANC will aim to have a representative at the March meeting. Commissioner Lucio stated she is concerned because the campus is a large property, so she wants the ANC to be involved in any development plan from the beginning. She wondered aloud whether St. Anselm’s Abbey School might be interested in expanding to part of the property.

Proposed Gas Station at 4975 South Dakota Avenue NE (5A08) – BZA case no. 17963A

The hearing for the proposed gas station at 4975 South Dakota Avenue NE has been postponed to April. Chair Fletcher stated he has reached out to the applicant about coming to an ANC meeting but has not heard back yet. (Aside: At the February meeting of the North Michigan Park Civic Association, a representative for the applicant stated that the applicant is not planning to install an electric vehicle charging station instead of a gas station. The hearing has been postponed multiple times at this point, but the representative said he could not say if the applicant will withdraw the application at some point).

Art Place at Fort Totten (5A09)

The development team for Art Place at Fort Totten provided an update on sequencing for the second phase of the project.

The space for Aldi will be turned over to the grocery store for buildout around April 1, 2024. This is the building under construction on the corner of South Dakota Avenue & Kennedy Street NE. Aldi is looking to open around October 1, 2024. This may be a soft opening for certain days/hours. The store will hold hiring fairs this spring/summer either within the store, at The Modern, or at Lamond-Riggs Library. Stay tuned for information about that.

The space for the children’s museum will be turned over for buildout in late summer/early fall 2024. The museum is looking to open late 2025.

The development team is still seeking financing for the second sequence of Phase 2. This is the housing piece (294 housing units, of which 33 are income-restricted, affordable units).

The last sequence will be construction of the rotunda. They are in early negotiations with potential users.

As for Building A (also known as The Modern or Phase 1), the team is still looking to sign a restaurant and an ice cream shop. There was a brewery under lease that had trouble securing financing, so the development team has reached back out with revised leasing terms.

A resident asked about having a police substation in Building A. The team said they are always open to discussions with the city about that and that maybe it could go in the space that was built out for temporary use by the library.

University of the District of Columbia (UDC President Dr. Maurice Edington)

UDC strategic plan presentation to ANC 5A

UDC president Dr. Maurice Edington informed the ANC and residents about the university’s new strategic plan. It will be open for public comment for 60 days. View the plan at https://www.udc.edu/strategic-plan. Send feedback to udcstrategicplanning@udc.edu.

Miscellaneous

In response to a question, Commissioner Lucio stated that the Providence Hospital campus deal is still being reviewed by the Office of the Attorney General for DC.

The next ANC 5A public meeting will be March 27, 2024.