The Office of the Attorney General for DC (DC OAG) announced a revised deal for the Providence campus after a lengthy investigation into the proposed $1 sale of the campus to a team of developers EYA and Menkiti (known as Vision PH Associates) for a new development.
Around 2018, Providence started graduallyreducing services at the hospital and emergency room before permanently closing. They poorly ran an urgent care center for a few months following closure of the emergency room. These years were marked by lack of transparency and strange focus group meetings regarding the fate of the hospital before the deal with the development team was publicly announced in May 2023.
The campus sits in ANC 5A, and the development team held several meetings beginning in mid-2023 before the investigation stalled plans. DC OAG’s press release explains the reason for the investigation and the terms of the revised deal.
OAG’s independent experts determined that the $1 purchase price that Providence initially agreed to sell the campus for did not reflect the true value of the campus — even accounting for the extensive, value-depleting demolition and remediation costs necessary to clear the campus for residential housing development. As a result, OAG concluded that the originally proposed sale would not adequately preserve Providence’s charitable assets, which DC taxpayer dollars have supported for decades.
Following its evaluation, OAG informed Providence and Vision PH that it would only approve the proposed sale on certain conditions. Under these conditions, Providence and Vision PH have agreed to:
Contribute $5 million to support healthcare services in the District. These funds will be placed in a charitable healthcare trust. If an urgent care center is approved and established on the Providence campus, the trust will use the funds to help support the center. If a center is unable to be established, the trust will otherwise dedicate the funds to support healthcare services in the District, as HECA requires.
Include plans for an urgent care center as part of Vision PH’s proposal to redevelop the Providence campus.
Transfer millions of dollars worth of Providence’s functional medical equipment to the District or District-designated charitable healthcare providers, including diagnostic and medical imaging equipment.
During redevelopment, Vision PH will facilitate continued operation of the healthcare services that remain on the campus. These services, which Providence does not provide, include a senior assisted living facility, a first responder clinic, and two medical office buildings offering a wide range of specialty and general practitioner care.
Ward 5 Councilmember Zachary Parker released a statement on socialmedia.
In a recent newsletter, Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George noted that she is working ANC Commissioner Danielle Geong (4B09) on pedestrian safety near LaSalle-Backus Elementary School. Commissioner Geong and several residents testified about this issue at DDOT’s recent oversight hearing.
CM Lewis George writes:
Working to Improve Traffic Safety in Riggs Park
Last week, my team joined ANC 4B Commissioner Geong, DDOT’s Safe Routes team, and the LaSalle-Backus PTO for a traffic safety walk around LaSalle-Backus Elementary School. The area along Riggs Road where the school is located has been a source of concern for many community members, with frequent reports of speeding and drivers running red lights, endangering students and families, particularly during drop-off and pick-up time. DDOT’s Safe Routes team is looking into several solutions, including potential jersey barriers, street narrowing, and speed bumps, and committed to improving signage in the area. I’m also continuing to work with DDOT to advocate for a Safe Routes Action Plan for LaSalle-Backus to look into further traffic calming measures to ensure our students, teachers, and families are safe.
ANC 4B has cancelled the special meeting scheduled for tonight March 25. The ANC voted on the noticed resolutions at its public meeting on March 24, 2025.
For voice-only participation on a telephone, dial +13017158592, 81406325863#
Meeting ID: 814 0632 5863
1. Call to Order & Roll Call
Administrative Items Instructions for participation in virtual and in person meetings Consideration and approval of March 2025 Regular Public Meeting Agenda Approval of February 2025 Regular Public Meeting Minutes Treasurer’s Report
Commissioner Updates
Community Concerns Please use the “Raise Hand” button via Zoom or *9 via telephone to speak. The Commission will provide details regarding how to present community concerns at the start of the virtual meeting. This is the time for questions or statements from members of the public about issues on the agenda or other areas of concern. Please limit your statement or question to one minute, you will be muted if you go beyond your designated time. You may also contact members of the Commission before and after Commission meetings.
Reports Leticia Acosta, Mayor’s Office on Community Relations and Services (3 minutes) Darrell Whitmyer, Office of Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George (3 minutes) T. Michelle Colson, Ward 4 State Board of Education (3 minutes) 4B Community Safety & Support Committee (2 minutes)
Presentations Council of the District of Columbia: Office of the Budget Director (Subject to Change)
Consent Calendar Resolution 4B-25-0301: Supporting Application for Special Exception at 405 Riggs Road, NE BZA 21257 (Commissioner Geong) Resolution 4B-25-0302: Calling on DC Department of Public Works to Enforce ROSA Violations for Vehicles with Temporary Tags (Commissioner Johnson) Resolution 4B-25-0303: Supporting Approval of All After Hour Work Permits and Temporary Noise Waiver for Washington Gas (Commissioner Berry) Letter to DCPS/DCPCSB on Immigration Enforcement Guidance (Commissioner Geong)
Letter urging policy changes for the Metropolitan Police Department and Office of the Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice prohibiting the reinstatement of police officers convicted of crimes (Commissioner Johnson)
Adjournment The next ANC 4B Planning Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, April 8 at 6:30 p.m. The next ANC 4B Regular Public Meeting is scheduled for Monday, April 28 at 7:00 p.m. The next ANC 4B Community Safety and Support Committee meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 24 at 7:00 p.m. Please check the Commission’s website for additional information: anc4b.com Contact your Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner:
Social Justice School (5450 Third Street NE) plans to renovate the vacant warehouse next to its current location (next to Fort Totten Metro Station)
Other topics of interest to the neighborhood
Please attend the meeting if possible, and also feel free to email Commissioner Bocoum at 5a09@anc.dc.gov if you have an opinion about the school’s plans or have any other topics that you would like added to the agenda.
For voice-only participation on a telephone, dial +13017158592, 81406325863#
Meeting ID: 814 0632 5863
1. Call to Order & Roll Call
Administrative Items Instructions for participation in virtual meetings
Consent Calendar Resolution 4B-25-0301: Supporting Application for Special Exception at 405 Riggs Road, NE BZA 21257 (Commissioner Geong) Resolution 4B-25-0302: Calling on DC Department of Public Works to Enforce ROSA Violations for Vehicles with Temporary Tags (Commissioner Johnson) Resolution 4B-25-0303: Supporting Approval of All After Hour Work Permits and Temporary Noise Waiver for Washington Gas (Commissioner Berry) Letter to DCPS/DCPCSB on Immigration Enforcement Guidance (Commissioner Geong)
Letter Urging Policy Changes for the Metropolitan Police Department and Office of the Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice Prohibiting the Reinstatement of Police Officers Convicted of Crimes (Commissioner Johnson)
Adjournment The next ANC 4B Planning Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, April 8 at 6:30 p.m. The next ANC 4B Regular Public Meeting is scheduled for Monday, April 28 at 7:00 p.m. The next ANC 4B Community Safety and Support Committee meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 24 at 7:00 p.m. Please check the Commission’s website for additional information: anc4b.com
DC’s Office of Planning (OP) is holding three intro sessions for DC 2050, DC’s next comprehensive plan that will guide the city’s growth and development across all 8 wards.
Join in to share your ideas about where and how the city should add housing, jobs, services, and everything people need to thrive.
MLK Library – Saturday, March 22, 2025, from 11am-1pm
Barry Farm Rec Center – Tuesday, March 25, 2025, from 6-8pm
Online – Thursday, March 27, 2025, from 6-8pm
All three sessions will cover the same content.
Services provided include:
Children’s activities
Language interpretation/ADA accommodations by request via the RSVP form
This event will give Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton the chance to speak directly with the District of Columbia federal workforce and provide resources. All District of Columbia residents are welcomed to join the call. Norton, Managing Director of the Civil Service Strong & Good Governance Initiatives for Democracy Forward, Rob Shriver, and Ottis Johnson, District 14 National Vice President, American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) will speak.
Those who would like to join can do so by calling 833-408-1990, or watch the live stream at http://norton.house.gov/live.
DC Dental Studio will be opening at 430 Galloway Street NE at Art Place at Fort Totten in late spring/early summer 2025. Owner Dr. Jasmine Marshall shared the following:
DC Dental Studio will be a modern, welcoming dental practice focused on providing compassionate, high-quality care. We offer comprehensive dentistry, including fillings, crowns, veneers, and Invisalign, all in a comfortable and personalized setting.
To ensure accessibility for our patients, we will work with most major dental insurance plans and offer membership plans for those without dental insurance.
Find DC Dental Studio on Instagram (@dcdentalstudio) and online at washingtondcdentalstudio.com, where they will share updates as construction progresses.
DC Dental Studio will join current first phase tenants:
Menomale and Urban Garden Brewery are still in the works for the first phase as well.
Aldi grocery store opened on the corner of South Dakota Avenue & Kennedy Street NE in December 2024 to anchor the second phase of Art Place at Fort Totten.
UDC’s College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability, & Environmental Sciences (CAUSES) is seeking volunteers for its neighborhood food hubs and Beltsville farm. UDC CAUSES maintains a food hub at the Lamond-Riggs campus at 5171 South Dakota Avenue NE (off Galloway Street). For more information, email the volunteer coordinator at Michele.Bassler@udc.edu.
The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) has issued a Notice of Intent (NOI 25-03-TSA) to install a new crosswalk at 8th and Jefferson Street NE. Send comments in support to alexander.webb@dc.gov by April 24, 2025.
DC’s Department of Insurance, Securities, and Banking (DISB) is holding its next estate planning session at the Lamond-Riggs Library on March 26, 2025. Registration required. Information copied from DISB below.
Please arrive by 4:30; presentations will begin at 5:00.
This event will include an overview of estate planning concepts and documents such as a will and probate, trust, healthcare directives, power of attorney and more.
Learn about the steps you can take to plan for your future and protect your property, possessions and loved ones.
At this event, DC residents will have the opportunity to learn more about their property’s ownership. DC residents will also have the opportunity to complete on-site intake for estate planning, probate, and/or foreclosure legal services, and may be paired with a lawyer from a participating organization at no cost; strict income restrictions apply for those interested in legal representation.
Advance registration is required and will be capped at 100 guests.
ANC 5A held its monthly public meeting on February 26, 2025. Commissioners present: Timothy Thomas (5A02) – Vice Chair; Emily Singer Lucio (5A03) – Chair & Secretary; Derrick Holloway (5A06); Elaine Alston (5A08); Shelagh Bocoum (5A09) – Treasurer. ANC 5A01, 5A05, and 5A07 are vacant. The Board of Elections certified the election of Jack Hermes to fill the vacant ANC 5A04 seat on February 28.
Commission Business
There are still vacant seats for ANC 5A01, 5A05, and 5A07.
ANC 5A has a balance of $103,095.69 in the bank. No official treasurer’s report given.
Ward 5 Mayor’s Office Report
Ward 5 MOCR Manager Anthony Black could not attend, so he gave information for Commissioner Lucio to share. The mayor’s office held a budget forum at Rosedale Recreation Center on February 27 at 5:30 pm. Spring registration for DPR programs opens soon, so plan ahead by setting up an account. Aquatics registration opens on March 11. All other programs open March 12. Find info at dprprograms.com.
The Ward 5 MOCRs hold Ward days on Tuesday and Wednesday, 10 am-3 pm when they can come out to hear concerns from commissioners and residents.
Washington Yu Ying Public Charter School (Jose Sousa, Chair, Board of Directors) (5A05)
Washington Yu Ying’s new building opened at 4350 1st Street NE on January 2, 2025, at the old Kirov Academy. This campus serves prek3, prek4, and kindergarten. The existing Taylor Street NE campus serves grades 1-5.
The school is working with DDOT to address dropoff/pickup and traffic issues around the new campus. The school has a walking school bus for parents with children at both campuses. The school is using spaces at Archbishop Carroll for overflow teacher parking. School officials will continue to meet with the community to refine plans.
There is no ANC commissioner for this area. Questions/concerns may be sent to leadership@yuying.org.
Washington Latin Public Charter School) (Peter Anderson, Head of Schools/CEO) (5A05)
Construction is underway for Washington Latin’s new building at the old Kirov Academy. They expect to move into the new building summer 2025. Kashiffa Roberts will be the principal.
The high school will occupy the renovated building. The middle schools will occupy the new wing. They anticipate that the older students will use public transportation to get to school.
The buildings will have a fence with a gate that is closed during school days. The gate will be open during dropoff/pickup.
Representatives stated they have been letting teachers know that there is very little parking for teachers at the campus, and they have encouraged teachers to find alternative ways to get to the campus.
They said the school sees itself as a community resource.
They would like an exception to do construction on holidays to make up construction time because of the winter weather this season. An SMD meeting was scheduled for March 6 to discuss the exception.
There is no ANC commissioner for this area. Questions may be directed to communication@latinpcs.org or 202-209-2195.
Wesley Housing 1 Hawaii Avenue NE Project (Joe Nelson; Grant Koehl) (5A06)
Wesley Housing broke ground on the 1 Hawaii Avenue NE project in July 2024. They are targeting LEED platinum certification. They expect move-ins by February 2026.
They are requesting an exception to do construction on DC Emancipation Day and on Memorial Day to get construction back on schedule and to avoid working on weekends. Sandi Washington, president of the Fort Totten Civic Association and former ANC commissioner, asked to work with ANC Commissioner Derrick Holloway (5A06) on the request and to schedule a virtual single member district (SMD) meeting. Ms. Washington said she would not support working on Emancipation Day, so she suggested they look at a different holiday. (Note: This project was in ANC 5A07 before Census redistricting. Ms. Washington was the commissioner at that time. Now the project is in ANC 5A06).
Commissioner Alston (5A08) asked about internship opportunities for high school students. In response, the team said that their contractor Davis Construction already had plans to have the local high school focused on trades visit the site.
McDonald’s Rebuilding Update (Eileen Seeburger, Construction Area Manager; Christian Mercado Ribertt) (5A08)
The McDonald’s team received their final building permit to begin the process for rebuilding the restaurant located at 4950 South Dakota Avenue NE with a drive-thru. The Gavignano family bought the restaurant in May 2024. The restaurant closed on March 1, 2025. The goal is to reopen in August 2025.
Eileen Seeburger is the area construction manager. She can be reached at eileen.seeburger@us.mcd.com or 215-206-5386 for construction-related emergencies.
The crosswalk on Delafield will close (unclear when). Notice of 72 hours is required before closing a sidewalk. They are still looking at using Faith United Church for parking for construction workers.
The restaurant will have 22 seats with two kiosks for ordering. Commissioner Alston stated she was disappointed in how few seats there will be, stating that this is a community gathering place. Ms. Seeburger stated that design, seating, and other decisions are dictated by McDonald’s headquarters in Illinois. Ms. Seeburger stated that McDonald’s did do a seating audit, but she did not say what the audit found.
In response to my question about how the team plans to communicate construction updates, the team did not have an answer. The owner said everything has to go through headquarters and that it is hard to get a hold of headquarters to approve content for release. All of these non-answers made Commissioner Tim Thomas (5A02) a bit exercised, and he suggested that the ANC work to get a stop work order. Ms. Seeburger stated that no work had started to be stopped.
(Aside: This is why the majority of residents opposed this drive-thru plan, because it was clear that this was all driven by people in Illinois who had no concern for the experience of pedestrians around the location. The ANC, NMPCA, OP, and ZC all shrugged and accepted McDonald’s fictitious account of why a drive-thru was necessary. At every meeting this new team has attended, they have not been able to answer very simple questions. It’s all very strange).
Lots of questions were not answered. As a result, Chair Lucio asked McDonald’s to come back for a special meeting tentatively scheduled for March 13 to provide a more comprehensive presentation with a communications plan. (Note: On March 6, the ANC distributed an email stating that a special meeting will not take place and that any questions should be directed to Commissioner Alston at 5A08@anc.dc.gov).
The North Michigan Park Civic Association is accepting scholarship applications for its 2025 Higher Education Scholarship. The Association plans to offer a $1000 scholarship to two students who live in North MIchigan Park. Applicants must be currently enrolled in (2024-2025) or accepted to an accredited college, university or trade program. The parent/guardian of the student must be a paid member of the North Michigan Park Civic Association (dues paid by March 31, 2025). Applications and required documents must be received or postmarked by May 2, 2025.
The DC Department of Public Works (DPW) has installed new food waste “Smart Bins” across the city for individuals to deposit food waste/food scraps for composting. The bins are accessible 24/7 and can be unlocked using an app or an access code.
Mayor Muriel Bowser and DC councilmembers have compiled resources for former federal government employees navigating the changes taking place in the federal government.
The DC Department of Employment Services (DOES) has launched a website to help support former federal government employees with navigating Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE), finding career support, and learning more about career opportunities in DC Government.
Lots is happening around the neighborhood. Make sure you are on the distribution list for your neighborhood and advisory neighborhood commission (ANC) for meeting notices and updates.
Also, other elected officials and District government agencies have email lists to which you can subscribe if you like getting lots of information in your inbox. The mayor and council all have active social media accounts if that is your jam.
ANC 4B meets at 7:00 pm the 4th Monday of each month except July, August, and December.
ANC 4B does a nice job of posting meeting notices & information on its website at http://anc4b.org. You can subscribe to ANC 4B’s email list via the ANC’s website.
ANC 4B also has several committees. Meeting notices for those committees are posted on the ANC’s website.
ANC 5A meets the 4th Wednesday of each month except July & August.
To join ANC 5A’s email list, fill out the form on ANC 5A’s website at https://anc5a.org.
Individual commissioners have their own distribution lists as well, so I recommend reaching out to your commissioner to find out if they have a single member district (SMD) distribution list. Find your ANC/SMD. Find contact information for your commissioner: ANC 4B; ANC 5A.
I know that these commissioners have SMD distribution lists:
Commission Emily Singer Lucio (5A03) – email 5A03@anc.dc.gov
Councilmember Zachary Parker also distributes a weekly newsletter. Sign up at ward5.us/newsletter. He also produces a weekly podcast called The Ward 5 Wave. A recent podcast featured Riggs Park neighbor Sia Barbara Kamara, a volunteer coordinator of the monthly mobile market at Faith United Church who has a remarkable life story.
DC At-large Councilmembers & DC Council Chair
Each of the DC At-large Councilmembers and DC Council Chair Phil Mendelson distribute a newsletter. I think it is helpful to also follow the councilmembers who chair committees that interest you, for example the committee on transportation, committee on business & economic development, etc.
If you find yourself often having questions about certain District government agencies, it is a good idea to subscribe to the distribution lists for those agencies. Visit mayor.dc.gov to subscribe to newsletters and email updates for Mayor Bowser as well as a long list of District government agencies. You can also subscribe to individual agency newsletters by visiting the agency’s website. For example, DDOT distributes a weekly construction update newsletter that includes notice of sidewalk and street paving locations.
DC mayor office liaisons (known as MOCRs) typically have a distribution list. There is regular turnover in the MOCR office, as each MOCR typically serves around two years. Reach out to your Ward 4 or Ward 5 MOCR to be added to their list.
Metropolitan Police Department (MPD)
The police department has a google group for the Fourth District. MPD 4D Sector 2 (which covers the neighborhood) meets the 2nd Tuesday of each month. Reach out to Officer Robert Hamrick for more information at robert.hamrick@dc.gov.
Next Stop...Riggs Park 