Yesterday, a few representatives from the neighborhoods surrounding the Cafritz development “Art Place at Fort Totten” met with the Cafritz team to get updates and have a conversation.  Specifically, a tenant from the Riggs Plaza apartments, leadership of the Lamond Riggs Citizens Association and the North Michigan Park Civic Association, Commissioner Sandi Washington, and Commissioner-elect Frank Wilds met with Jane Cafritz, Calvin Cafritz, Dennis Hughes (lawyer for the project), and Jim Volsky (architect for a portion of the project) in a meeting facilitated by Councilmember McDuffie.  The Cafritz team stated that their focus is on getting Building A up in order to relocate the tenants from the Riggs Plaza apartments.  They submitted an application to modify their PUD with respect to Building B earlier this year and a hearing on the modification was held in July, but they said that application was submitted more for timing purposes.  In other words, Building B (with plans for hockey/ice skating rink, other recreational uses, etc.) and any discussion about Building B are on the backburner.

Recall that initially Building A was to be anchored by a grocery store.  With the big box store coming up the street, Cafritz requested a modification to move the grocery component to Building B.  That modification was approved.  Everything else for Building A is the same, including the design.  Building A will still have ground floor retail with around 515 rental apartments on top.  Recall that Building A looks like 3 buildings because the residential components, which sit atop the 2 story retail base, are separated by a courtyard and a driveway.  The architect said to think of the building as having 3 zones.  Each zone is designed to be able to site a restaurant fronting South Dakota Ave as well as Ingraham St.  That does not mean each zone will get a restaurant, but rather that the team is prepping the site to be able to attract restaurants to Building A.

The Cafritz team is still trying to secure an anchor retailer for Building A.  They stated they have spoken with a specialty grocer, a national health club, and a big box store. In the interim, they are prepping the site for utility work and street changes.  Recall that Hamilton Street will be closed off and a new public street on Ingraham will be created.  They are hoping for “movement” on Building A in first quarter 2013, but they still need to secure financing.

Some color commentary:  There are rumors about a high end grocer going to Brookland.  And recently there’s been scuttlebutt about a popular local restaurant going to Takoma.  This restaurant has served an anchor role in that it attracts commitment from a certain caliber of retailers to development projects.  It’d be awesome to have that kind of anchor go into Art Place at Fort Totten, but with the big box store going in up the street and a foundation that is not really in the development business, the team certainly has its work cut out.  At any rate, these points underscore the upside and downside of being located between two very nice neighborhoods that are also seeing development.  But we have a really great community as well.  All the more reason for residents to be engaged and discuss the types of retail and amenities that the community would love to see and support.       

Now that Fort Totten Square is getting underway, let’s turn attention to Art Place at Fort Totten.  A new series called “What Should Go Here?” asks for input and discussion on various uses of the site once occupied by the Riggs Plaza apartments, now surrounded by fencing.  The Cafritz development, currently called Art Place at Fort Totten (and I say currently for a reason), is envisioned as the site of nearly 1,000 rental apartments (including senior and affordable housing), retail, and a children’s museum.  Formerly, the site was also to include a grocery store, but with the big box coming to Fort Totten Square, that plan has been nixed.  The site was also slated to include space for arts nonprofit organizations.  The current PUD modification application envisions hockey/ice skating rinks and other recreation uses.  The Office of Zoning expressed some hesitation about the new plans at the latest hearing.  I’ll post updates later on the PUD modification application, but in the interim, since it looks like the Cafritz team has run into some trouble pitching a vision that will attract dollars and community support, let’s help them out by suggesting what should go here.