Category Archives: Neighborhood Development

Clean Team & Main Streets Designation Possibility for South Dakota Avenue/Riggs Road Corridor

Posted by nextstoprp in Neighborhood Development

DC’s Department of Small & Local Business Development is soliciting applications from nonprofit organizations to manage a Clean Team for the South Dakota Avenue/Riggs Road NE corridor. Applications are due July 13, 2018.

Most of the corridor as defined in the request for applications is located in Riggs Park:

  • South Dakota Avenue from Galloway Street to Riggs Road;
  • Riggs Road from the train tracks to Chillum Place NE; and
  • 3rd Street NW from Rittenhouse to Sheridan Street NW (Manor Park)

This will be really great for the neighborhood because we have civic assets such as the community college, DOES, and local library, as well as beautiful federal parkland and a major metro station. The objectives of the clean team are:

  • Improve commercial district appearance to help increase foot traffic, and consequently, opportunity for customer sales.
  • Provide jobs for DC residents.
  • Reduce litter, graffiti, and posters, which contribute to the perception of an unsafe commercial area.
  • Maintain a healthy tree canopy, including landscaping, along the corridor.
  • Support Sustainable DC goals by recycling, mulching street trees, using eco-friendly supplies, and reducing stormwater pollution generated by DC’s commercial districts.

DSLBD is also accepting applications from nonprofit organizations to operate a Main Streets program for the corridor (same boundaries as for the clean team). That deadline is August 3, 2018. The Main Streets program is important because it provides support for existing small and local businesses and helps to attract the kinds of small and local businesses that neighborhoods really need to thrive. The purpose of the Main Streets grant is to “assist business districts retention, expansion and attraction of neighborhood-serving retail stores and unify and strengthen the commercial corridor.” Ideally in the future the Main Street operator would manage the Clean Team as well.

We previously posted about the Vibrant Retail Streets initiative for the neighborhood. Part of creating vibrant retail streets is providing local investment. These Clean Team and Main Street efforts really demonstrate the kind of local investment necessary to help attract sustainable retail for the corridor. More local investment is necessary (streetscape improvements, repaved roads, sidewalk replacement, undergrounding power lines along the entire corridor, and funding for better utilization of parkland and public spaces), but these efforts are appreciated as well.

 

More activities for Fridays at Fort Totten Concert Series

Posted by nextstoprp in Cafritz Art Place at Fort Totten

More activities are in store for the The Fridays at Fort Totten Concert Series sponsored by On Tap Magazine and The Modern at Art Place. Tomorrow, in addition to live music by the band Of Tomorrow, there will be food by Lil Mack’s BBQ food truck, hula hoops, miniature golf, corn hole, and card-making for Father’s Day. Festivities take place at the plaza located on the corner of South Dakota Avenue and Galloway Street NE from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Remember to bring a lawn chair or blanket for seating.

Update: This event made the Washington Post’s list of 8 Things to Do in DC June 14-20!

Riggs Liquor is Open

Posted by nextstoprp in ANC 4B, Neighborhood Development

Riggs Liquor at the corner of Riggs Rd. & Chillum Pl. NE

[Disclosure: This article discusses actions taken in my capacity as president of the Lamond-Riggs Citizens Association (LRCA) regarding the reopening of Riggs Liquor on the corner of Riggs Road and Chillum Place NE (official address 5881 South Dakota Avenue NE) and deliberations around Walmart’s application to sell beer and wine at the store located at 310 Riggs Road NE, across the street from Riggs Liquor.]

Riggs Liquor had a soft reopening yesterday. Owner John Yoo said there will probably be an official grand reopening in two weeks. The store had been closed for almost 1.5 years for renovations after a fire. The interior looks so much better than it did previously.

Interior of newly renovated Riggs Liquor

Bullet resistant glass is still in place, but Mr. Yoo stated he will not be putting stickers and other items on the glass as was done in the past. It will be clean. He said his goal was to go a “little more upscale.” According to what previous customers have said, the store had always had a decent selection of wines, so he plans to continue to carry a variety of wines at different price points. He already has in stock an assortment of craft beers, including by DC breweries. He said he will sell less of the really cheap beer products that tended to draw customers who would drink and hang out outside the store. He plans to paint the sign and is looking at how to make the exterior a little nicer to match the much better looking interior. In addition, he plans to do some landscaping around the property. In April of this year, one side of the building was painted with a mural by muralist Jay Hudson as part of the Riggs Park Art Crawl. Mr. Yoo plans to put a mural on the other side of the building, remove the overhang on the side of the building, and remove an old storage shed from behind the building.

Perhaps most importantly, he has promised to do a better job of getting loiterers to move on and not drink in front of his property. When I visited the store yesterday, people stopped in to greet Mr. Yoo and congratulate him on the reopening. More than one told him that he needs to make sure that he does not let folks hang around the outside of the store, so he is very much aware that this was a big problem previously, and people are looking to make sure it is not a problem going forward. In just a year or two, a new mixed-use townhome community will be constructed adjacent to the property so that area will look very different, and there will be even more people looking to make sure the liquor store is a good neighbor.

Walmart Wants to Sell Beer & Wine

The reopening comes just as the Walmart across the street at 310 Riggs Road NE seeks a license to sell beer and wine. There was previously a moratorium on alcoholic beverage licenses for grocery stores in Ward 4. The DC Council lifted that moratorium in December 2017. Walmart has applied to sell beer & wine from 7:00 am to midnight. Store hours are 6:00 am to midnight. ANC Commissioner Tischa Cockrell (4B09) held a public SMD meeting on June 6, 2018. DC’s Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA) Community Resource Officer Sarah Fashbaugh, Mr. Yoo, and several Walmart officials attended, including Paul Hill, the manager for Walmart’s Riggs Road location. Ms. Fashbaugh said ABRA is still reviewing Walmart’s application for legal sufficiency. One issue hanging up the store is a legal requirement that the store show at least $500,000 in renovations over the previous 12-month period. The purpose of that requirement is unclear. Julia Payne, a Walmart representative, suggested that Walmart will fall under some exemption to that requirement because the store has only been open for approximately three years, but Ms. Fashbaugh did not have any information about that.

Mr. Yoo attended to ask people not to support Walmart’s application mainly because of expected competition to his store, which he has operated in the neighborhood since 2002. Mr. Hill said Walmart’s stance is that it will not be in direct competition with Mr. Yoo’s store because Walmart cannot sell spirits and because Walmart plans to sell basic beer and wine, not craft beers or specialty wines (though the store will have certain imported beers). He also stated that Walmart will focus on selling larger packs of beer (12 count and higher), but when specifically asked if the store will sell any 6-packs, he hedged a bit because those kinds of decisions ultimately have to be approved by Walmart’s headquarters. Mr. Hill said Walmart just wants to be more of a one-stop shop for customers who have asked why the store does not sell beer and wine. He said the store is not applying for a tasting license. He provided a handout on Walmart’s alcohol beverage sales policy. That can be viewed here: Walmart Adult Beverage Sales Policy Handout (pdf).

Both Mr. Yoo and Walmart officials spoke about the community support they have provided. Mr. Yoo, as president of the Korean American Grocers Association, annually awards $10,000 in scholarship money to Ward 4 youth. Walmart discussed its contributions to the Lamond-Riggs Citizens Association and brought a few groups from outside of the community to talk about the support Walmart has provided to those organizations. [Disclosure: As Walmart noted at the meeting, Walmart gave a monetary donation to LRCA to support the recent Riggs Park Day celebration, LRCA’s scholarship program, and for other educational expenses for neighborhood youth. The store has also donated food items for LRCA’s holiday meetings since the store opened in October 2015.]

Several residents at the meeting voiced support for Mr. Yoo and generally seemed unfavorable to Walmart’s request. A few residents talked about how Mr. Yoo’s store had been an eyesore for so long and said he was not really responsive to those concerns.

ANC 4B will take up the issue at its next public meeting on June 25, 2018. There are a few standards for determining whether a license from DC’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Board is appropriate:

  • The effect of the establishment on real property values;
  • The effect of the establishment on peace, order, and quiet, including the noise and litter provisions set forth in §§ 25-725 and 25-726;
  • The effect of the establishment upon residential parking needs and vehicular and pedestrian safety

For applications for a new license, the Board also considers:

  • The proximity of the establishment to schools, recreation centers, day care centers, public libraries, or other similar facilities;
  • The effect of the establishment on the operation and clientele of schools, recreation centers, day care centers, public libraries, or other similar facilities; and
  • Whether school-age children using facilities in proximity to the establishment will be unduly attracted to the establishment while present at, or going to or from, teh school, recreation center, day care center, public library, or similar facility at issue.
  • Whether issuance of the license would create or contribute to an overconcentration of licensed establishments which is likely to affect adversely, the locality, section, or portion in which the establishment is located.

[D.C. Code Title 25 and regulations at D.C.M.R. Title 23].

Commissioner Cockrell said from her count, the community seems evenly split between those who support Walmart’s application to sell beer and wine and those who oppose. If ANC 4B were to decide not to support the application, the commission would need to make the case for that position based on the factors described above. Residents have cited all of the appropriateness standards as concerns, particularly peace, order, and quiet, parking, proximity to LaSalle-Backus Education Center and the Riggs-LaSalle Recreation Center, and potential overconcentration of licensed establishments. The ANC is also considering a settlement agreement should the commission decide to support the application. [Disclosure: In my capacity as LRCA president, I worked with Commissioner Cockrell on a draft agreement should ANC 4B decide to support Walmart’s application. LRCA has not taken an official position on the application and instead is relying on the ANC.]

If you have any input you would like to provide to Commissioner Cockrell, you may email her at 4b09@anc.dc.gov.

June 15: Fridays at Fort Totten Outdoor Concert with Band Of Tomorrow

Posted by nextstoprp in Cafritz Art Place at Fort Totten

The Fridays at Fort Totten Free Outdoor Concert Series sponsored by On Tap Magazine and The Modern at Art Place continues this Friday with live music by the band Of Tomorrow, described as a funk rock reggae samba hip hop musical contraband collective. Takes place at the plaza on the corner of South Dakota Avenue and Galloway Street NE, 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Bring a lawn chair or blanket for seating. Tell a neighbor.

 

June 8: Fridays at Fort Totten Free Outdoor Concert with Sol Roots

Posted by nextstoprp in Cafritz Art Place at Fort Totten

The Fridays at Fort Totten Free Outdoor Concert Series sponsored by On Tap Magazine and The Modern at Art Place kicked off on June 1 with live music by JWX: The Jarreau Williams Xperience and food for sale by Carnivore BBQ food truck. It was a great time. The fun continues every Friday for the entire summer, 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm at the plaza on the corner of South Dakota Avenue and Galloway Street NE.

This Friday features live music by Sol Roots and eats by DC Slices. Bring a lawn chair or blanket for seating.

Full summer line up:

June 8 – Sol Roots
June 15 – Of Tomorrow
June 22 – Cecily
June 29 – Black Masala
July 6 – All the Best Kids
July 13 – Oh He Dead
July 20 – FeelFree
July 27 – The JoGo Project
August 3 – The Ron Holloway Band
August 10 – Justin Trawick and The Common Good
August 17 – Deacon Izzy and The Congregation
August 24 – La Unica
August 31 – Rain Date

June 6: Walmart Beer/Wine Sales Application Meeting

Posted by nextstoprp in ANC 4B, Fort Totten Square

Walmart, located at 310 Riggs Road NE, wants to sell beer and wine. The store has filed an application for a class B license for full-service grocery stores to sell beer and wine from 7:00 am to midnight. Store hours are 6:00 am to midnight. ABRA is still reviewing the application for legal sufficiency.

In the meantime, ANC Commissioner Tischa Cockrell (4B09) is holding an SMD meeting about this topic on June 6, 6:30 pm at Riggs-LaSalle Recreation Center, located at 501 Riggs Road NE. An ABRA representative will be there to explain the ABRA process and answer questions. The meeting is open to the public so if you have thoughts or questions, come on out. You can also email Commissioner Cockrell at 4b09@anc.dc.gov.

What are your ideas for Art Place at Fort Totten?

Posted by nextstoprp in Cafritz Art Place at Fort Totten

The Cafritz Foundation, developer of Art Place at Fort Totten (the development at South Dakota Avenue & Galloway Street NE), is gearing up for the second phase of the development, which will be on South Dakota between Ingraham and Kennedy Street NE. You can send your ideas for retail and public space programming to artplaceprogramming@gmail.com.

We’ve had our “Neighborhood Wish List” on the site since we first started the blog, so if you’re looking for ideas you can start there. We also participated in the Vibrant Retail Streets workshop for the neighborhood conducted by DC’s Office of Planning and Streetsense. We reported on the results of that work and what they determined the neighborhood could support in these posts. For those of you who may be new to the neighborhood, it might be worthwhile taking a look there as well.

We know it seems like the first phase is still pretty empty, but there is progress. Shining Stars Pediatric Dentist is now open. A daycare tenant has been signed. T-Mobile and Ramdass Pharmacy will open soon. X-Sport Fitness gym is still on track to open near the end of the year on December 26 according to the developer. Several spaces are under negotiation.

The developer is required to submit plans for the second phase to the zoning commission by September of this year. The second phase will be mostly commercial. With Walmart around the corner, the market for certain kinds of retail is just not there, so the developer wants to be a little creative and maintain a focus on the arts by having more unique retailers that will draw people to the neighborhood. Explore! Children’s Museum is still slated for the second phase, as is a grocery store. (Don’t get too excited; we’re pretty sure it’s not Trader Joe’s but it’s kind of close). To firm up ideas, the developer hired the firm responsible for programming Bryant Park in New York City and put out a retail and public space programming survey that received over 450 responses from residents (well done!). (Disclosure: We had a hand in working with the consultant on the survey). The consultant also conducted focus groups on May 29 and 30 with smaller groups of residents who live in the development and in the surrounding neighborhoods. The consultant presented a long list of around 50 ideas for public space programming, including cooking classes, art classes, dance classes, capoeira, string quartet, buskers, movable chairs/tables, umbrellas, board games, fire pits, magic shows, puppet shows, public restrooms, author discussions, silent dj, yoga, tai chi, outdoor bar, pretty much all of the activities that take place at Bryant Park. Bryant Park of course is humongous, so the development team will select the items that appear to have the most support and that are the most feasible for the site.

If you did not get a chance to fill out the survey or attend a focus group, or if you simply have more on your mind, you can still share ideas with the development team by sending an email to artplaceprogramming@gmail.com. Be as specific as you can be. For example, it’s not enough to say you want a sit-down restaurant. It’s better to say you want a sit-down restaurant that is like [insert your choice restaurant]. Same with the public space programming. It is not enough to say you want activities for kids. What kinds of activities do you want for children? What do you do with your children outside of the neighborhood that you wish you could do closer to home? For example, some people have asked for dog fountains, language classes, tot pools, arcades, laser tag. If you’ve ever thought to yourself that you wish the neighborhood had this or that, now’s your chance to speak up and let the developer know.

Reminder: Sign up for Art Place Focus Group

Posted by nextstoprp in Cafritz Art Place at Fort Totten

Please remember to sign up for retail & public space programming focus groups being conducted for Art Place at Fort Totten on May 29 & 30 at 5:00 pm & 7:00 pm on both days. Each session will be identical so you only need to sign up for one session. Several 5:00 pm seats are open on both days, so if you can attend the earlier time that would be great. If you can only attend the 7:00 pm session, go ahead and sign up for that time slot. Each session will last approximately 90 minutes.

TO SIGN UP: Send email to artplaceprogramming@gmail.com with one preferred day & time to attend. Focus groups will take place at The Modern at Art Place, 400 Galloway Street NE. Pizza and refreshments will be served.

This is your chance to have a say in what goes into the development so please participate! See the Art Place team message below.
—

Dear Neighbor,

You are cordially invited to participate in a focus group to help us program future retail, activities, and amenities at Art Place at Fort Totten. Four focus groups will be held at The Modern at Art Place (400 Galloway St NE, Washington DC 20011). Each session is limited to 20 people. Please respond to this email indicating the ONE time slot that you would like to attend.  Sessions will be held the evenings of May 29th and May 30th.

Each night we will hold a session at 5:00 PM and again at 7:00 PM.  The four sessions are identical and will each last 90 minutes.  Pizza and refreshments will be provided.

Parking can be found either on the street or in the retail garage (entrance on South Dakota Avenue).

Your participation will help make Art Place at Fort Totten a lively and active destination filled with things to do at all times of day and for all ages. We look forward to seeing you there!

–The Art Place Team

Sign up for Art Place at Fort Totten Focus Group

Posted by nextstoprp in Cafritz Art Place at Fort Totten

The Art Place at Fort Totten team is conducting retail and public space programming focus groups on May 29 & May 30, at 5:00 pm & 7:00 pm both days at The Modern at Art Place, located at 400 Galloway Street NE. Each session is 90 minutes. Pizza and refreshments will be served. If interested, send an email with the one day and time you would like to participate to artplaceprogramming@gmail.com.

Also, if you have not filled out the Art Place survey, you can do so until May 28 here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/9M26PYZ.

These are opportunities for you to directly let the Art Place team know how you think the development can become a lively retail and programming destination.

Complete Art Place Programming & Retail Survey by May 28

Posted by nextstoprp in Cafritz Art Place at Fort Totten

As promised, you can now take a survey regarding retail and public space programming at Art Place at Fort Totten, the development on Galloway Street and South Dakota Avenue NE. Please be as specific as possible where you are able to enter in your ideas and thoughts about retail and programming. The survey will close on May 28. Please let your neighbors know.

Complete LRCA Community Benefits Survey by May 23

Posted by nextstoprp in Riggs Park Place (formerly Fort Totten South)

The Lamond-Riggs Citizens Association is working on a community benefits agreement related to the Fort Totten South mixed-use townhome project that will be located at South Dakota Avenue & Riggs Road NE.

Please complete this community benefits agreement survey to provide input on beneficiaries to provide workforce development, small business development, and community development, and to share your thoughts on public space improvements in the Lamond-Riggs community. The survey closes May 23, so don’t delay! Please let your neighbors know.

Fort Totten South Project

Posted by nextstoprp in Riggs Park Place (formerly Fort Totten South)

Updated with link to BZA Application March 13, 2018

DC Urbanturf and Curbed DC recently reported on the Fort Totten South project coming to Riggs Park that we have been reporting on for a few years now. Fort Totten South is a mixed-use townhome project proposed by JBG and EYA for the southeast corner of South Dakota Avenue and Riggs Road NE. Recall that the development team is filing a BZA application for the site to make the zoning designation consistent. Most of the site is zoned mixed-use, but a small portion of the site is zoned residential.

For additional information, see EYA Fort Totten South Revised Plans December 2017

See also Fort Totten South BZA Application March 2018 (pdf) and Fort Totten South Architectural Plans and Elevations March 2018 (pdf), BZA case number 19745

 

 

2017 Year-End Neighborhood Development Roundup

Posted by nextstoprp in Neighborhood Development

Post updated 12/23/2017 to add information about the Bertie Backus Food Hub

Lots of movement on the development front in Riggs Park this year.

Art Place at Fort Totten

In September 2017, residents began moving into The Modern at Art Place, the first phase of Art Place at Fort Totten, located at 400 Galloway Street NE. On November 27, 2017, Mayor Muriel Bowser cut the ribbon to officially celebrate the opening of this development. Leasing for the 520 apartments is being done in phases. The retail portion covers about 100,000 square feet. Lots of rumors abound, but the retailers we know about for sure include X-Sport Fitness, Ramadans Pharmacy, Shining Stars Pediatric Dentist, and T-Mobile. Those will open some time after the new year.

Explore! Children’s Museum

The Explore! Children’s Museum is still slated for the second phase of Art Place at Fort Totten. There have been questions about the news that the National Children’s Museum will be opening up downtown in the Reagan Building in 2019. The Explore! Museum and the National Children’s Museum are two different children’s museums. Plans are still afoot for the Explore! museum to come to Riggs Park in the future. Earlier this year, Explore! established a partnership with National Portrait Gallery. The museum has also held well-attended, quarterly festival events in the neighborhood in Riggs Park for the past couple of years. Look for a larger festival next year.

Fort Totten Square 

Ribbon cut at Culture Coffee Too

Culture Coffee Too opened at Fort Totten Square at 300 Riggs Road NE on November 13, 2017, bringing a much needed gathering space and cultural offerings to Riggs Park. The coffee shop joins Walmart, Subway, Petco, and Five Guys to complete retail leasing for Fort Totten Square.

Fort Totten South

JBG, developer of Fort Totten Square, has teamed up with EYA for the second phase to Fort Totten Square, known as Fort Totten South. We previously wrote extensively about this project because it involved the sale of District-owned property to the development team. The council approved the sale earlier this year.

EYA has changed the design since the first iteration, which previously involved building approximately 180 back-to-back townhomes atop a podium with retail on the ground floor. The latest plan has 160 homes, with only 65 back-to-back homes atop a podium and the remainder traditional townhomes with garages. There will be fewer two-bedroom homes. The majority will be three-bedroom. Though they have reduced the number of homes, there will still be approximately 29 below-market rate homes, both two and three-bedroom.

Ground floor retail space remains at around 20,000 to 23,000 square feet. There will be underground parking for the retail and the townhomes on the platform instead of a structured garage as in the previous plan. EYA is considering two alternative color schemes, red brick and what they consider a more modern, lighter color. A small portion of the site has a residential zoning designation instead of a mixed-use zoning designation, so the developer will apply to the Board of Zoning Adjustment for a change to make the zoning designation mixed-use for the entire site.

See EYA Fort Totten South Revised Plans December 2017

 

Lamond-Riggs Library

The Lamond-Riggs Library will be completely rebuilt at its current location at 5401 South Dakota Avenue NE. The kick-off meeting was held in October 2017. A design team will be selected around April or May of 2018. A design kickoff meeting will follow in summer 2018. Library officials will hold targeted focus groups for residents. The current library is anticipated to close in fall 2019 and the interim library will open around the same time. The current timeline has the new library opening in 2021.

Be sure to visit the project website at http://dclibrary.org/newlamondriggs for up-to-date information.

Metro/Donatelli Fort Totten Joint Development Project

Donatelli/Metro joint development plan

The project to redevelop the long-term parking lot at Fort Totten metro station has been hanging around for a couple of years now, waiting for approval of a joint development agreement by Metro’s board. We wrote about the project in this post. Metro selected Donatelli for the joint development project back in 2015. The plan involves building around 345 apartments and 10,000 square feet of retail with a structured garage to replace the surface parking lot. Construction is anticipated to begin in 2018.

Metropolitan Branch Trail

We are including the extension of the Metropolitan Branch Trail from Brookland to Fort Totten in this development report because it will be a useful connection for residents from Riggs Park to points south and into downtown. In October 2017, DDOT awarded a design-build contract to Potomac Construction Company for the Fort Totten extension. Construction is anticipated to begin in 2018 and should take around one to two years to complete.

Bertie Backus Urban Food Hub

In September of this year, UDC CAUSES held an open house to introduce the Bertie Backus Urban Food Hub to the community. The food hub is located on the campus of UDC-CC Backus at 5171 South Dakota Avenue NE (off Galloway Street). The food hub has a hydroponics house, aquaponics house, compost collective, community garden, and will eventually contain a native plant nursery and commercial food kitchen. There is also potential for a farmers market, or at least possibly a farm stand by summer 2018. The open house was the start of more community engagement with the food hub, spearheaded by Cheryl Dixon and CAUSES faculty. Compost training classes and sign-ups for the community garden took place in November and December. CAUSES faculty remarked how surprised they were by the strong level of resident interest in the activities at the food hub. Next year will bring more opportunities for community participation during the growing season as well. This food hub really is an opportunity to organically build community and we look forward to watching it grow next year.

That wraps up our 2017 development report. Lots of retail to look forward to coming online in 2018. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year.

The Modern at Art Place Ribbon Cutting

Posted by nextstoprp in Cafritz Art Place at Fort Totten

On November 27, 2017, Mayor Muriel Bowser cut the ribbon to celebrate the opening of the first phase of Art Place at Fort Totten, The Modern at Art Place. Developed by the Cafritz Foundation, the first phase brings 520 rental apartments and over 100,000 square feet of retail to Riggs Park.  

Calvin and Jane Cafritz gave opening remarks. Mr. Cafritz spoke about his late father Morris Cafritz, who developed the Riggs Plaza apartments as workforce housing in the 1950’s. Most of those apartment buildings were torn down in 2012 to make way for the new development.

Mrs. Cafritz followed by speaking about the role of art in bringing a community together. The Modern features works by various artists influenced by the Washington Color School. Mrs. Cafritz noted that the first phase will have a 24-hour gym (X-Sport Fitness), pharmacy, pediatric dentist, daycare facility, ANC 5A office, and possibly a coffee shop and eyewear shop later on. The retail portion is not completely built out just yet and is expected to open after the new year. The Explore! Children’s Museum is lined up for the second phase. Future phases could bring additional retail, community and family recreation space, cultural spaces, and even another school to the neighborhood, this one focused on art.

Mayor Bowser focused her remarks on the importance of maintaining affordable housing. Of the 520 apartments at the Modern, 140 are offered at below-market rate for seniors and for the tenants who resided in the Riggs Plaza apartments.

This is the second ribbon cutting for the mayor during the month of November in our neighborhood. Mayor Bowser, who lived in Riggs Park for 17 years, celebrated the opening of Culture Coffee Too on November 13. It is really exciting to see long-planned development delivering in Riggs Park.

To view video of the ribbon cutting of The Modern at Art Place, click here.

 

 

Culture Coffee Too Ribbon-Cutting

Posted by nextstoprp in Fort Totten Square and tagged with

Mayor Muriel Bowser, At-Large Councilmember Robert White, Ward 4 Councilmember Brandon Todd, and Acting Director of DC’s Department of Small and Local Business Development Kristi Whitfield all came out yesterday to cut the ribbon to celebrate the opening of Culture Coffee Too at 300 Riggs Road NE. I had the honor of giving remarks on behalf of the Lamond-Riggs Citizens Association. The coffee shop is a beautiful space, airy, and full of natural light.  There will be evening art and music events the entire week, including an artist reception on Friday with featured artist Greta Chapin-McGill. [Update: The shop will be open for special events this week while awaiting final inspection on Thursday.]

To view video of the celebration, click here.

 

 

Coffee Shop Culture Coffee Too Opening November 13

Posted by nextstoprp in Fort Totten Square and tagged with

Post updated with store hours

A full week of events is planned to celebrate the grand opening of coffee shop Culture Coffee Too on November 13, 2017, at Fort Totten Square, 300 Riggs Road NE. Initial store hours will be 7:00 am to 8:00 pm Monday through Friday, and 9:00 am to 6:00 pm on weekends.

Grand opening week lineup  

November 13
10:00 am – 10:30 am
Ribbon Cutting with DC Mayor Muriel Bowser

7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Live Painting

November 14
12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Live music with Plastic Sky

November 15
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Spoken Word & Live Painting

November 16
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Live Jazz with Julian Hipkins

November 17
6:30 pm
First Friday Artist Reception with Greta Chapin-McGill

November 18
11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Waffle Brunch with DJ Love

2:00 pm – 3:30 pm
Kids Open Mic

November 19
2:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Day Party with  DJ Diaspora