Dr. Anthony Ramdass, owner of neighborhood pharmacy Ramdass Pharmacy, discusses his work assisting vulnerable residents during the COVID-19 pandemic in this column by Courtland Milloy in the Washington Post. Dr. Ramdass visits homes of seniors to deliver prescriptions and vaccinations. This is one column by Mr. Milloy that I am happy to promote. Learn a bit about our neighborhood pharmacist and why health equity is so important.
Category Archives: Neighborhood Development
Art Place Construction Notice 06/29/2020-7/13/2020: 4th Street Closing July 2
Art Place Construction Notice 6/29/2020
Note 4th Street NE between Ingraham Street and Kennedy Street will be closed starting July 2, 2020.
Chick-fil-A Curb Cut Closures Approved with Conditions
On June 25, 2020, the District Department of Transportation’s Public Space Committee approved by a vote of 4-0-1 Chick-fil-A’s application to close two curb cuts for its planned new restaurant at 220 Riggs Road NE. Recall Chick-fil-A plans to tear down the KFC/Taco Bell located at the corner of 3rd Street NE and Riggs Road NE along with the former Dakota Liquors building next door and build a new 3,900 square foot Chick-fil-A restaurant with 42 interior seats and outdoor seating. Chick-fil-A wants to close two curb cuts on 3rd Street, including the curb cut closest to the 3rd Street/Riggs Road intersection, as well as one of the curb cuts by the Dakota Liquors building. It will retain a curb cut on 3rd Street and reconfigure the curb cut on Riggs Road. I wrote about Chick-fil-A’s traffic study in this post.
The Public Space Committee voted to approve the application with conditions. DDOT noted that the traffic study indicated adequate space for queueing on site except for Saturday afternoons. The agency stated it was satisfied with the proposed overflow queue lane. The agency requested that Chick-fil-A observe and collect data on movement and ingress and egress around the site for three months after the restaurant opens, particularly with respect to U-turns on 3rd Street near Walmart’s driveway. Before obtaining its permits, Chick-fil-A will need to collect a bond in order to ensure payment for any traffic mitigation measures, such as adjustments to the median on 3rd Street, signage, and striping. In addition, Chick-fil-A will have to work with DDOT’s Urban Forestry division on tree protection and to determine the best placement for new street trees around the site. Chick-fil-A agreed to these conditions.
ANC 4B supported the application. The ANC has also requested removal of one parking space near Walmart’s driveway along with installation of flexiposts to prevent future illegal parking in order to improve sightlines and traffic circulation.
It will be helpful to see how traffic circulates when the restaurant opens. Removal of a parking space will also be helpful. But I still think additional improvements are necessary and maybe it would make sense to wait until the restaurant opens. As already noted, there will be a lot of U-turns around the area. The immediate area would benefit from improved sidewalks and marked crosswalks. The 2nd Street/3rd Street intersection needs to be adjusted. Though Chick-fil-A stated that DDOT indicated the 2nd Street/3rd Street intersection is too far from the restaurant to have an impact on traffic circulation, that intersection still needs to be addressed. Some people will eventually figure out that it might be easier to travel down 3rd Street from Chillum Place to the restaurant rather than trying to make a U-turn into the site. The intersection at Riggs Road and South Dakota Avenue, reconfigured in 2011, needs to be reconfigured again because it is poorly designed.
In any case, approval of the public space permit application gets the neighborhood one step closer to having a Chick-fil-A.
24 Hour Fitness out at Art Place (UPDATED)
Update 7/2/2020: The developer contacted me to let me know that 24 Hour Fitness has not rejected the lease and still might be coming to the Modern.
Original Post
At last night’s ANC 5A public meeting, ANC Commissioner Gordon Fletcher (5A08) announced that 24 Hour Fitness has backed out of its contract to anchor the first phase of Art Place at Fort Totten due to the financial impact of COVID-19. The first phase, called the Modern at Art Place, was completed in fall 2017. As noted in this post, the company has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy so this result is not too surprising, though disappointing. Notably HR Retail, the leasing agent for the development, has an updated brochure and site plan for Art Place that do not list 24 Hour Fitness (though 24 Hour Fitness is still listed as a confirmed tenant on HR Retail’s website). It looks like those marketing materials were updated on June 23, 2020.
With DC’s move into Phase Two of reopening on June 22, 2020, gyms are now permitted to reopen at reduced capacity. But this comes after months of being closed. Other gyms and fitness companies have also filed for bankruptcy or permanently closed locations.
I for one was really looking forward to having a decent gym in the neighborhood and I still am. I thought perhaps one benefit of not having the gym built out at Art Place at this point would be that by the time the gym finished building out the space, we would be further along in managing COVID-19, so we would have the benefit of time. It is unclear if the developer is now negotiating with another gym.
Officially Official: Riggs Park Place Deal Closed
Press release from the mayor’s office announcing long-awaited closing on financing for Riggs Park Place:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
June 19, 2020
CONTACT:
LaToya Foster (EOM) – (202) 727-5011; latoya.foster@dc.gov
Jessica Carroll (DMPED) – (202) 550-6845; jessica.carroll@dc.gov
Mayor Bowser Closes Deal on Long-Awaited New Housing Community in Fort Totten Neighborhood
New Development in Ward 4 to Deliver Homeownership Opportunities, Apartments for Seniors, and Retail Options
(WASHINGTON, DC) – Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser, along with Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED), announced the closing of financing on Riggs Place Park in Ward 4, a long-awaited 171-unit housing community of townhomes, apartments, and retail located at the intersection of Riggs Road and South Dakota Ave, NE.
“These types of projects are helping to continue our commitment to delivering a variety of housing options – rental and home ownership – for all different income levels and family sizes across the District,” said Mayor Bowser. “Despite the current financial challenges, we are pressing forward with economic development opportunities and creating new affordable housing further setting up the District up for an equitable recovery.”
The first phase of Riggs Park Place will feature 90 new townhomes for sale, five of which will be designated as affordable homeownership opportunities. Phase two will be a mixed-use senior apartment community with at least 30 affordable units. The 90 townhomes will be modern, two, three, and four-bedroom floor plans close to Fort Totten Metro Station, a café and shopping across Riggs Road, the newly renovated Lamond-Riggs Library, as well as cultural and art experiences at Art Place, an adjacent mixed-use development offering apartments, retail, a new fitness center, a children’s museum, and more.
“Ward 4 is known as one of the most desirable places to raise a family, live, work, and shop with a vibrant and diverse community,” said Ward 4 Councilmember Brandon T. Todd. “The city’s public private partnership with EYA brings for-sale townhomes and senior rental housing for a broad range of incomes and supports neighborhood revitalization.”
The Lamond Riggs Citizens Association and ANC4B expressed support for the project, particularly for senior affordable apartments and neighborhood-serving retail.
“This project is a long time coming – in fact, Mayor Bowser was working towards this goal when she was an ANC Commissioner herself,” said Acting Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development John Falcicchio. “Who would have thought that in these uncertain times, our team would push this over the finish line bringing new housing opportunities to families of all income levels in Ward 4. It’s a proud day for DC.”
Other financial partners for Riggs Place Park include EYA, JBG Smith and Paramount Development, with its lender, Eagle Bank.
“Riggs Park Place and our partnership with the city exemplifies EYA’s ability to effectively work with residents, local jurisdictions, and our financial partners to both create value and bring meaningful projects to life,” said Aakash Thakkar, EVP at EYA. “We are moving forward even in these uncertain times because there is tremendous demand for high-quality, attainably priced new housing in the region. The public-private nature of the project, its revitalization impact on the neighborhood, and its delivery of missing middle townhomes that address a broad demographic are all core tenets of our mission. We appreciate the partnership with JBG Smith, the District, and the community that enabled us to move the project forward.”
The closing of Riggs Place Park follows other recent closings during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, including Spring Flats, The Hartley on the Parks at Walter Reed and the Karin and Anna Cooper Houses. Mayor Bowser reaffirmed her commitment to investments in affordable housing with her Fiscal Year 2021 budget proposal, recognizing that both short- and long-term efforts must be ongoing to preserve housing affordability and stability for all District residents. The Mayor’s FY21 budget proposal includes an investment of $100 million in the Housing Production Trust Fund – for the sixth consecutive year – and a $1 million investment in the Housing Preservation Fund.
Art Place Construction Notice 6/15/2020-6/29/2020
24 Hour Fitness Files Chapter 11 Bankruptcy
24 Hour Fitness has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, seeking restructuring with plans to close approximately 130 locations. This move was not unexpected. The CEO released a statement to members in April acknowledging the financial impact of COVID-19 on operations, in response to media reports that the company was considering seeking bankruptcy relief. At that time, I reached out to the developer of Art Place at Fort Totten to find out if they expected any impact on the opening of 24 Hour Fitness at Art Place. The developer stated that to their knowledge, plans for the 24 Hour Fitness at Art Place had not changed. The thinking was that the gym would seek reorganization and close some gyms, but newer facilities under construction would not be impacted.
The gym is supposed to anchor the first phase of Art Place in Building A. Residents know it has been a long slog to get the first phase of retail off the ground. X-Sport Fitness was originally slated to anchor the first phase, but that company had its own problems and could not make adequate progress towards opening, so the developer struck a deal with 24 Hour Fitness. Just when it looked like interior buildout for 24 Hour Fitness was finally making progress, the COVID-19 public health emergency hit.
I have reached out again now that the company has officially filed for bankruptcy relief to find out if there will be any impact to Art Place.
Explore! Children’s Museum Sandbox Activities
Check out Explore! Children’s Museum new Sandbox portal. The site contains free hands-on activities and resources for children nine years old and younger.
Welcome to the Explore! Sandbox, our curated list of online, at-home, and hands-on activities and resources. Find “your” inner artist, performer, scientist, musician, chef, and storyteller in this exciting collection of hands-on art activities, science experiments, cooking lessons, storytelling, creative movement, theatrical, and musical performances. Travel around the globe for virtual tours of museums, aquariums, botanical gardens, zoos, concert halls, theaters, and cultural centers that highlight special experiences for children, ages 0-9, and their families.
Zoning Commission votes to approve Art Place Block B modification
At its public meeting on June 8, 2020, the DC Zoning Commission voted 5-0-0 to approve slight changes requested for Block B of Art Place at Fort Totten (case number 06-10E). We described that Modification of Consequence application in this post.
ANC 5A supported the request; the Lamond-Riggs Citizens Association offered no objection; and ANC 4B did not participate (as they did not in the underlying case). Zoning Commission member Peter May noted that this project is a complicated one that always felt unsettled so it was not surprising that the developer was returning with changes. At least there is agreement that these are changes for the better.
Art Place Construction Notice 6/1/2020-6/15/2020
Riggs Park Place Townhome Development Update
At ANC 4B’s meeting on May 26, 2020, EYA presented updated plans for Riggs Park Place (formerly known as Fort Totten South), the mixed-use townhome development proposed for the southeast corner of South Dakota Avenue and Riggs Road NE directly across the street from the Walmart. The project is located in the boundaries of ANC 4B, specifically ANC single member district 4B09. One thing EYA noted is that the project was formerly known as Fort Totten South. They had always planned to change the name. The project is now called Riggs Park Place because the project is located in the Riggs Park neighborhood (as is pretty much all of the development taking place around Fort Totten metro station). Edwin Washington, executive director of The Parks Main Street, was able to convey to EYA the importance of making sure development does not rename or rebrand the neighborhood, intentionally or not.
View the presentation to ANC 4B here:
EYA Riggs Park Place Community Update Presentation May 2020
As previously noted, the plans have changed many times over the past several years, with the latest iteration being for-sale traditional townhomes along with senior rental housing and retail. Part of land to be developed for the project is owned by the District so that meant jumping through a few more hoops than usual. EYA anticipates completely closing the deal with the District in mid-June 2020 with construction starting July 2020. Because the project involves disposition of public land, EYA also has a community benefits agreement with the Lamond-Riggs Citizens Association (LRCA). (Disclosure: I worked on and signed the agreement during my service on the board of the LRCA. I no longer serve on LRCA’s board.)
The project will be built in two phases. The first phase will be construction of 90 townhomes. These will be traditional townhomes with garages. Of the 90 homes, five will be offered below market rate. All of the below market rate homes will have three bedrooms, have the same exterior fixtures as the market rate units, and have the same interior features as the market rate units. Options offered for the below market homes will be the same as those offered for the market rate homes and will be offered at market rate. If things run smoothly from here, they anticipate having the first set of homes completed by mid-2021.
The multifamily portion containing the senior housing and retail will be constructed in the second phase beginning in fall 2022, with completion anticipated around fall 2024. This part of the development will front Riggs Road. Of the 84 senior rental units, 30 have to be designated affordable units. The developer wants to make all of the senior rental units affordable and is working through financing to make that happen.
EYA is going with a “contemporary industrial” look for the project. ANC Commissioner Alison Brooks (4B08) stated that the project does not look like anything in the neighborhood. There is a lot of brick facade in the project. Whenever a new development comes on board, some residents tend to state they want red brick because red brick is what people are used to in the neighborhood. As EYA has tweaked the design over the years, residents seem to be pleased with the design, but realistically no project is ever going to please everyone. EYA got in touch with a couple of the artists who designed some of the murals in the neighborhood and hopes to work with them to incorporate art into the project.
EYA held a virtual sales grand opening yesterday. Prices for the townhomes begin in the mid-$500,000 range. More information on the project is available on EYA’s website at https://www.eya.com/townhomes/washington-dc/riggs-park-place-fort-totten-metro
Art Place Construction Notice 5/18/2020 – 6/1/2020
Art Place Construction Notice 5/4/2020-5/18/2020
Slight changes to Art Place Block B plan
The Cafritz Foundation has filed a Modification of Consequence for Block B of Art Place at Fort Totten seeking approval for modifications to the residential, family entertainment zone, and landscaping components of the plan approved by the Zoning Commission. ANC Commissioner Gordon Fletcher (5A08) will be having a single member district meeting at some point to discuss the proposed changes.
Proposed residential component changes:
- Modifications to the façade and fenestration treatment of the residential structure along the former 4th Street and Ingraham Street;
- Raising the proposed pedestrian bridge across the closed 4th Street one level – to the third floor;
- Creation of a central lobby for the residential building;
- Grouping of the 30 artist affordable units in the northern tower to create more of an actual artist community rather than having the units dispersed throughout two towers; and
- Creation of separate loading areas for each portion of the residential building rather than having one large loading area.
Proposed Family Entertainment Zone (FEZ) component changes:
- Increase in height of the drum and fins by eighteen inches to better screen the roof structure;
- Reduction in the massing of the structure above the Aldi grocery store along South Dakota Avenue; and
- Internal modifications that result in slightly modified square footage for the various uses.
Proposed landscape component changes:
- Redesign of the Kennedy Street Plaza – removing the previously approved circular drive and vehicular drop-off area;
- Relocation of the dog park to property adjacent to Block B on the west side of former 4th Street; and
- Enlarged 4th Street central plaza for additional restaurant seating
The plan previously included one remaining Riggs Plaza apartment building on the west side of 4th and Kennedy Street NE to accommodate remaining Riggs Plaza tenants. The filing states, “The building that was previously shown in this location is now vacant and is no longer necessary for tenant relocation purposes, as the remaining Riggs Plaza Apartments tenant has been provided relocation opportunities.” So it looks like that space can now accommodate the dog park. Eventually Kennedy Street will be realigned during a future phase.
The case number is 06-10E.
Images of proposed modifications
Art Place Construction Notice 4/20/2020 – 5/4/2020
Zoning Commission Order Issued for Art Place Phase 2
The DC Zoning Commission has finally issued a written order approving the second phase (Block B) of Art Place at Fort Totten. The conditions of the approval are outlined in the order beginning on page 28. The order will become effective upon publication in the DC Register on March 20, 2020. (Disclosure: I served as president of the Lamond-Riggs Citizens Association (LRCA) during the Zoning Commission’s review of Block B and represented the LRCA before the commission. I no longer serve on the board of the LRCA).
The commission voted to approve the project at a commission meeting way back in June 2019. The DC Council and mayor have approved the closure of 4th Street NE between Ingraham Street and Kennedy Street for the project. As noted in this pre-pandemic post, residents should expect to see a uptick in activity around the site in the next several weeks. Fencing has already gone up around some of the legacy Riggs Plaza Apartment buildings. ANC Commissioner Gordon Fletcher (5A08) will be the point of contact responsible for distributing construction information to the community.
Coming Back from the House Of Eternal Return
By David Kosub (Contributor)
On a recent swing through New Mexico to see some friends, we stopped in to visit the House of Eternal Return. This is Meow Wolf’s interactive, immersive art experience that started it all in Santa Fe. What better way to get our heads wrapped around what’s coming to Riggs Park as part of Block B of the Cafritz Foundation’s Art Place at Fort Totten development, than to experience their first installation up close and personal. We had a blast. Here’s a sampling of what you may experience too…and don’t forget your 3-D glasses…
You start, as you would any time you come home, by getting the mail, but this is no ordinary mailbox…there are clues!
….upon entering the house, you see a scene, probably one pretty familiar to us all…
…while exploring the house, looking for more insights on what this family is up to, you find yourself being sucked into a portal…in the bathroom when nature calls nonetheless …
…going through the portal, you naturally find dinosaur bones, but not just any normal bones, these make music when you tap them. Yabba Dabba Doo!
…coming out the other side, you’re under water….
….traveling further, you begin to enter a magical forest world
…complete with a treehouse to play in.
…You stumble upon a bus…a tad askew, that probably has seen better days….
….and then, of course, you dance like you’ve never danced before to some deep electronic beats in the strobe light room ….
… portaling back from whence you came, you reanimate inside a cake, because, why not…
…other worlds exist to explore here with Meow Wolf, but you will need to go and experience it yourself. Before you leave though, don’t forget to stop and smell the roses
WBJ on Art Place at Fort Totten Phase 2
We reported on ramp-up of activity on the second phase of Art Place at Fort Totten in this post on ANC Commissioner Gordon Fletcher’s (5A08) February 2020 SMD meeting. Since then, the Washington Business Journal has run a couple of reports on the second phase. The first article (subscription required) is a feature on Sean Cahill, the development manager hired for the second phase. Mr. Cahill attended Commissioner Fletcher’s SMD meeting.
The second report (subscription required) notes that construction on the second phase is gearing up while the developer continues to lease up the first phase.
Phase one retailers include T-Mobile, ShiningStars Pediatric Dentistry and Ramdass Pharmacy, all of which opened in 2018. Still to open are a Love & Care Daycare, which is expected to open in the fall of 2020, and Rocketship Public School charter school, which will open in August for the 2020-2021 school year.
Another anchor, a 40,000-square-foot 24 Hour Fitness gym, is projected to open in The Modern by the end of the year. 24 Hour Fitness replaces the previously announced XSport Fitness, which fell through for the development.
While Cafritz declined to comment on why retail leasing has been such slow-going for phase one, the spokesperson said that the retail in phase two is already 40% pre-leased, mostly with entertainment tenants. That number doesn’t include a planned 25,000-square-foot Aldi grocer store at the development.
Phase two will consist of three multi-story, mixed-use residential buildings with 272 units, 30 of which will be accessory dwelling units, and the FEZ (family entertainment zone), which will house a food hall, the 30,000 square foot Explore! Children’s Museum and the 80,000-square-foot Meow Wolf multimedia museum. Phase two is projected to deliver by late 2021 or early 2022.
The Foundation says it intentionally sought to incorporate more experiential retail in phase two, which will also include flexible event space, studio space and maker spaces intended for community rental and to support local arts and culture programming.
Preliminary Chick-fil-A Traffic Analysis
Chick-fil-A (CFA) presented its preliminary traffic analysis at ANC 4B’s public meeting on February 24, 2020. You can find the presentation here and the draft comprehensive transportation review (CTR) here.
As previously reported, Chick-fil-A plans to demolish the existing Taco Bell/KFC building located at 220 Riggs Road NE and the vacant Dakota Liquor building next door and build a new building. Because this will be a new build, they must comply with the District’s Green Area Ratio regulation. Accordingly, they plan to have bioretention on site.
They scrapped their plan to have only drive-thru at the location. The new plan is for a 3,900 square foot building with 42 interior seats and 20 exterior seats. There will be 9 vehicle parking spaces and 6 bicycle spaces. There will be a dual drive-thru lane for ordering. They anticipate having space for 10 vehicles to queue in the drive-thru order lanes (5 vehicles per lane), space for 9 vehicles to queue for the payment and pickup window, and space for approximately 6 vehicles to circulate and queue on site if the drive-thru lanes are full. Commercial deliveries will be made outside of business hours.
The project is a matter-of-right project, but they will have to go through DDOT’s public space permit process because they plan to eliminate two curb cuts–the curb cut closest to the 3rd Street/Riggs Road intersection and one of the two curb cuts by Dakota Liquor. That will leave one curb cut on Riggs Road, which they will realign, and one curb cut on 3rd Street.
Site access and circulation
Turning to the details of the CTR, they anticipate that most drivers will approach the site from either South Dakota Avenue or Riggs Road. The biggest issue I see in the CTR is that CFA and DDOT know that for inbound trips, drivers will be making U-turns all over the place and apparently DDOT is fine with that.
Drivers approaching from South Dakota Avenue will either decide to turn left on Riggs to enter the access point there or continue straight onto 3rd Street only to have to make a U-turn because of the median on 3rd Street to access the site from 3rd Street. DDOT does not want to remove the median. Drivers traveling eastbound on Riggs will either make a U-turn to access the site off Riggs or turn left onto 3rd Street to then have to make a U-turn to access the site from 3rd Street. Drivers traveling west on Riggs would be able to access the site from Riggs without making a U-turn. CFA stated DDOT anticipates only 5% of vehicles will approach the site from the 3rd Street/2nd Street NE intersection, which would require no U-turns at all.
The CTR states the site will be able to accommodate all queueing on the site without spillover onto public streets. In the case that there is spillover, they plan to have additional staff to assist with order taking, delivering orders, and directing vehicles to move to the overflow queue lane.
They used data from a CFA location in Olney to support the assumptions in the traffic analysis. The CTR identified afternoon peak and Saturday peak as two periods in which vehicular travel around the site at the South Dakota Avenue/Riggs Road intersection could be impacted. The CTR states adjustment to traffic signal timing should mitigate the issue a bit. They are aware that other projects will come online in the next couple of years that will affect travel around the site, including the second phase of Art Place at Fort Totten and EYA’s Riggs Park Place townhome project. Also, the owner of the properties at 5642-5650 3rd Street NE has applied for a map amendment, so those properties will be redeveloped as well (though the owner has previously stated he has not identified an intended use yet). Once built out, more signal timing changes may be necessary.
I asked about the 3rd Street/2nd Street intersection because I did not see any reference to it in the presentation. Because of the assumption that only 5% of vehicles will approach the site from that intersection, I guess DDOT will not worry about it even though something clearly needs to be done about that intersection. Plenty of motorists use 3rd Street to avoid Riggs and so while they might not be going to CFA, there will be plenty of action happening between vehicles exiting the Walmart parking lot, vehicles making a U-turn on 3rd Street to enter the CFA, and vehicles traveling along 3rd to other destinations.
Interestingly, in the CTR, CFA identified three intersections that have higher than expected crash rates and anyone who lives in the neighborhood would not be surprised by the results: (1) South Dakota Avenue & Riggs Road/3rd Street; (2) Riggs Road and 1st Place NE; and (3) 3rd Street/2nd Street NE.
Chick-fil-A’s recommendations
CFA identified several recommended safety improvements primarily to address the South Dakota Avenue/Riggs Road intersection. DDOT does not have to undertake these improvements, but doing so would help to improve travel around the site. They include restriping, removal of two parking spaces next to the Walmart driveway on 3rd Street to improve sightlines, enforcement of no parking zones near intersection, better signage, and adjustments to signal timing.
The South Dakota Avenue/Riggs Road intersection was reconfigured in 2011 to remove the slip lanes. Even reconfigured, it is poorly designed and really does need to be fixed. The one good thing that may come out of the CFA project is that residents have previously requested a traffic study of the corridor (which has not been done). Many of CFA’s recommended safety improvements are things that residents have requested for a long time so now that a business is recommending these safety improvements, maybe they will get done. Notably the CTR identifies that existing pedestrian facilities around the site are sorely lacking, again something for which residents have previously requested action. Perhaps those missing and deficient sidewalks and missing crosswalks will be addressed.
After looking at the traffic analysis, I am a bit skeptical about how all of this will work. Of course my big wish to get rid of the drive-thru entirely is likely not an option. This project is still about a year out so there is still time for CFA to make refinements. The project is located in ANC 4B, so if you have any thoughts, please share them with ANC Commissioner Alison Brooks (4B08) at 4B08@anc.dc.gov.
January 2020 Development Roundup
Here is a new year roundup with the status of a few neighborhood development projects to the best of my knowledge.
1. Art Place at Fort Totten
I have received a lot of questions about Art Place at Fort Totten, particularly regarding the first phase, which was completed in late 2017 at South Dakota Avenue NE between Galloway and Ingraham. Ramdass Pharmacy and Shining Stars Pediatric Dentistry have been open for a while now. Here is what we know or have been told so far about the rest of the retail spaces. The gym (24 Hour Fitness) and daycare (Love & Care Child Development Center) are under construction with completion anticipated the end of June this year. No word on when the urgent care center might open. A number of other retail spaces are under negotiation, but the developer is not prepared to share information at this stage about what those retailers might be. If you have specific retailers that you either have a connection to or want the developer to reach out to, please let the developer know (seriously).
As for the second phase, which will be located on South Dakota Avenue between Ingraham and Kennedy, as we know, it will be anchored by Meow Wolf, and will have an Aldi grocery store, Explore! Children’s Museum, food hall, maker spaces, around 270 rental units, and ground floor retail. Meow Wolf held community meetings last year and will continue its community outreach this year. The DC Council held a first vote on the closure of 4th Street NE between Ingraham and Kennedy on January 7, 2020, for this phase of the project. Construction is anticipated to begin first quarter of this year, but considering the DC Zoning Commission has not yet entered an order for this phase, it is unclear when we will start to see construction on the site.
2. Fort Totten South
What we have known as the Fort Totten South project, or the second phase of Fort Totten Square planned for the southeast corner of South Dakota Avenue and Riggs Road NE, should finally be breaking ground this year. The “Coming Soon” sign and webpage for what they are now calling “Riggs Park Place” are up. This is the project that started out as mixed use rental apartments above retail that changed to a back-to-back townhome project with ground level retail that then changed to traditional townhome units with retail. As of June 2019, the project changed again to traditional townhomes with rental apartment units for seniors above ground floor retail. Look for activity likely around spring of this year.
3. Rocketship Charter School
Interior renovation of the warehouses at 5450 Kennedy Street NE is ongoing for Rocketship Charter School. In addition to elementary instruction provided by Rocketship, AppleTree Learning Center will provide pre-kindergarten instruction, and the Social Justice School will provide middle school instruction. The campus is scheduled to open in fall 2020
4. Chick-fil-A
Stay tuned for more details about the Chick-fil-A planned to replace the KFC/Taco Bell on the corner of 3rd Street and Riggs Road NE. We have it on good authority that Chick-fil-A now plans to have interior seating. They are working on revised plans and hopefully will have those ready along with their traffic study in time for ANC 4B’s February meeting.
5. Lamond-Riggs Library
The design team is finalizing the design for the new Lamond-Riggs Library. An interim library will be housed at the Modern at Art Place on Ingraham Street NE. Given the regulatory and permitting processes required, DC Public Library officials cannot say exactly when the existing library will close, but they anticipate closing the existing library mid-year 2020 with the interim library opening a few weeks afterwards. View the planned design on the project website at https://www.dclibrary.org/newlamondriggs.
6. Metropolitan Branch Trail (MBT)
Projected completion of the MBT extension to Fort Totten has been pushed back to September 2020 due to project delays.
Residents will likely get updates on these projects from ANC 4B and ANC 5A as the year progresses, so be sure you are signed up for email notification for your ANC.
Next Stop...Riggs Park 