Just on the heels of our last post comes a DC Urbanturf blog post on the grand opening of the Townes at Hampshire this Saturday, July 27, 12:00 pm to 2:30 pm. The Hampshires is a new housing community by the Comstock development team, located at 6000 New Hampshire Avenue NE in Riggs Park. The community features 38 detached single family homes and 73 townhomes. According to the blog post, over half of the detached homes (priced from $679,000) have sold. The townhomes start at $499,000. The community is about one mile north of Fort Totten metro station and one mile south of Takoma metro station. Ward 4 Councilmember Muriel Bowser will be on hand to cut the ribbon. There will be a catered lunch and plenty of family activities.
Category Archives: Neighborhood Development
Walmart-related Development News
A couple of Walmart-related development items:
Large Retailer Accountability Act
By now, most have surely heard about the op-ed by Walmart regional general manager Alex Barron, stating the retailer will not proceed with three previously announced District stores that have not broken ground (Skyland, Capitol Gateway, and New York Avenue NE), if the city council passes the proposed Large Retailer Accountability Act of 2013 (LRAA). The LRAA, commonly known as the living wage bill, would raise the minimum wage for employees of retail employers with at least $1 billion in sales and that operate in spaces of at least 75,000 sq ft., from $8.25 per hour to $12.50 per hour. The DC council is scheduled to vote for a second time on the bill on July 10, 2013. On the first reading of the bill, the council voted 8 to 5 in favor of the bill. According to the Washington Post, Mayor Vince Gray issued a statement encouraging the council to reconsider the bill and its stated purpose. The Washington Business Journal reports that the Skyland developer stated that project will be on hold indefinitely if Walmart pulls out as an anchor for the development. Mayor Gray personally lobbied Walmart to anchor the development. Prior to Walmart’s July 9th op-ed, the Washington Post published an editorial against the bill. That editorial followed media reports, in which Walmart executives stated they believed the city was pulling a bait and switch by soliciting Walmart’s business and then changing the business conditions under which the retailer would operate through the LRAA.
With the Washington Post editorial against the bill, the Walmart op-ed, and Mayor Gray’s statement, it is hard to see a path to enactment for the LRAA. There are policy and technical reasons not to support this particular iteration of what some call a fair wage law, but a few questions remain. Does Walmart’s threat now mean that even if the bill fails, any future attempt by the council to raise minimum wage across the board will be met with threats to shut down stores? Will Walmart decide not to proceed with the three stores not under construction even if the bill fails because conceivably, according to Walmart’s logic, the council could always later introduce a bill to raise the minimum wage before all six stores have broken ground?
These questions lead nicely to the second bit of Walmart development related news since Walmart executives also stated the LRAA could affect even the three stores that are already under construction, which includes the store planned for Fort Totten Square.
Buyers sought for First and H Street Development
The Washington Business Journal reports that the JBG Companies is seeking buyers for the Walmart-anchored mixed-use development at First and H Street NW. That project is scheduled for a fall 2013 completion. No other retail tenants have been announced so far. It is not too surprising that JBG has listed the development since the developer tends to put up several of its projects for sale. However, this is noteworthy because JBG is also part of the team developing the Walmart-anchored Fort Totten Square, along with Lowe Enterprises. This is one of the reasons we have always believed it is important to get the Fort Totten Square project right from the beginning in terms of design and retail mix. JBG could very well exit the project at some point.
Of course, these two Walmart-anchored projects are in different neighborhoods with different market conditions, so it is not a given that the developer will do with Fort Totten Square what it has done with First and H. And in fact, JBG has treated the two developments quite differently. According to the Washington Business Journal, the Walmart lease for First and H is only 20 years, while we know the retailer’s lease for Fort Totten Square is 60 years. While both developments are mixed-use projects, the Walmart store at First and H is significantly smaller than the planned store at Fort Totten Square (80,000 square feet versus 120,000 square feet). The First and H project does not incorporate Walmart’s typical blue branding in the building’s design. However, the Walmart blue branding, which has appeared less frequently in recent building designs, is incorporated a bit in Fort Totten Square .
As we mentioned in a previous post, having a Walmart-anchored development in the city can carry certain risks depending on a developer’s goals. It is interesting to see how these two projects by the same developer are shaping up. A couple of the differences were pointed out in the past and the developer provided rationales for the differences.
Now with Walmart’s announcement about the LRAA, it will certainly be interesting to see what happens with the Walmart-anchored developments. Another Walmart store (the Georgia Avenue store) under construction less than two miles away from Fort Totten Square is scheduled to be completed this year, while Fort Totten Square is not scheduled for completion until 2015. There have always been questions about how this dynamic will play out. Supposedly, Walmart executives believe the planned Fort Totten Square store will be its most successful DC store of the six announced to date. Given this dynamic and what we know about how the various stores currently under construction are designed, one has to question how many Walmart stores will end up in the city, no matter the fate of the LRAA.
Tidbits from the Fort Totten walking tour
The Coalition for Smarter Growth hosted a walking tour around Fort Totten called “Fort Totten: More than a Transfer Point,” on June 15, 2013. Greater Greater Washington has a nice recap of the tour. In addition, CSG has pictures posted on facebook and flickr.
Overview
Deborah Crain from the Office of Planning provided an overview of the process that created the Small Area Plan for the South Dakota Avenue/Riggs road NE corridor.
More Apartments On the Way
A resident of the apartments at Aventine Fort Totten recounted the history of the complex, which was originally constructed in 2007 as Fort Totten Station apartments on WMATA property next to Fort Totten metro station under a 99 year lease. The project, which consists of three apartment buildings, was originally slated to be five buildings, including some condos. Residents and advocates were successful in finally getting a walking path from 3rd Street NE opened to Riggs Road. Now, residents are hoping to make the walkway ADA compliant.
Fort Totten metro station is one of the stations around which WMATA hopes to create new transit oriented development. Stan Wall, WMATA Director of Real Estate & Station Planning, spoke a bit about plans for rental apartments on the site of the commuter parking lot on 1st Place NE. The project will still contain commuter parking, but likely will not contain any retail. The RFP for that project will likely be out around September of this year.
Improved Pedestrian & MBT Connection
Anna Chamberlain, DDOT transportation planner and project manager, discussed the city’s desire to create a better pedestrian experience around the metro. DDOT’s transportation/access plan for the Fort Totten metro area, including for Galloway Street and 1st Place NE, can be found here. Part of the plan involves transforming 1st Place NE from a service road for WMATA to a city-owned street with the attendant streetscape improvements. WMATA and DDOT are currently negotiating that deal. Ms. Chamberlain and others also highlighted DDOT’s reconfiguration of the South Dakota Avenue & Riggs Road NE intersection, which eliminated the flyby, constructed a four corner intersection, and created high visibility crosswalks and streetscape improvements.
Ms. Chamberlain also discussed the Fort Totten connection to the Metropolitan Branch Trail. DDOT plans to create a cycle staircase, which will require bikers to dismount, next to the the trail at a 5% grade. The city has allocated money for this fiscal year and next to design the Fort Totten connection, with money allocated for FY2016 for construction of the Fort Totten portion of the trail.
Art Place at Fort Totten
With respect to the two major developments underway in the neighborhood, the tour highlighted the difference in engagement between the team for Art Place at Fort Totten and the team behind Fort Totten Square. No one from the Art Place team was on hand to provide updates on the project. Residents and representatives from the Lamond Riggs Development Task Force filled in the gaps. We know that a bid is out for general contractors, with a selection expected to be made in July.
Fort Totten Square
Although the Art Place project is a planned unit development (PUD) and one would expect more engagement since there is more approval required for the project, the team behind Fort Totten Square has been much more forthcoming about the realities of the Fort Totten Square project, which is a matter of right project. That is not to suggest that residents always get what they want with Fort Totten Square. Residents were quite vocal about not wanting Walmart as an anchor for the project for a variety of reasons. The reality also is that certain businesses can afford to pay rent and do not mind co-locating with a Walmart, so while the developers have promised that they will not solicit businesses like liquor stores and check cashing stores, they have not ruled out cell phone stores, for example. The challenges of having a Walmart-anchored project were acknowledged on the tour. However, the strong points about the project, including its mixed use design and “urban format” grocery component were highlighted.
During the tour, Jamie Weinbaum, JBG project manager for Fort Totten Square, described the amount of programming and amenities the residential component will have (yoga, outdoor movies in the courtyard, two-tiered pool, transit screens, bikeshare, car2go parking in the garage).
One other tidbit from the tour was Mr. Weinbaum’s response when asked whether his team would work with existing small businesses to improve storefront facades to contribute to the overall improvement of the South Dakota/Riggs corridor. He said his team has had talks about development opportunities and various discussions with local businesses. However, nothing concrete was provided. He also discussed what is known as the south site, the grassy area in front of the mural on Riggs Road. He said his team has resumed talks with the city about a land transfer for that site. However, given that his team is interested in making sure Fort Totten Square is fully leased for both residential and retail purposes, it does not seem as if there is any urgency into getting control of that site if it will not be developed right away.
Overall, the tour provided a nice opportunity to meet folks from Riggs Park, North Michigan Park, Petworth, and South Manor who are all interested in seeing a great, established neighborhood have improved connectivity and more neighborhood amenities.
Farmers Market for Backus?
At the ANC 5A meeting on May 22, 2013, Dr. Calvin Lewis, research associate, principal investigator, and farmers market coordinator at the University of the District of Columbia (UDC), presented on UDC’s proposal to operate a farmers market at its Backus community college campus on South Dakota Avenue NE.
They propose to operate the market in the large parking lot on Galloway Street NE just off South Dakota Avenue. However, that land is zoned R-2 for residential uses. Dr. Lewis stated he was told by DCRA that the application for a farmers market likely would not be approved because a farmers market is considered a commercial use.
The commissioners at the ANC meeting told Dr. Lewis he can likely apply for an exception to the permitted use. Frank Wilds, commissioner for the ANC SMD in which the campus resides (ANC 5A08), is supportive of a market there, but he was told he needs to present the concept to residents of his SMD before the ANC will consider whether to support UDC’s application for a farmers market at Backus.
UDC currently operates a farmers market during summer months at its main campus on Connecticut Avenue NW. That market was first operated under a grant received from the Department of Agriculture, according to Dr. Lewis.
He said his team at UDC thought it would be a good idea to bring a market to the Backus campus since the surrounding neighborhood is home to a large number of senior citizens who would benefit from being able to walk a short distance to get fresh produce. He said several UDC students walked around the neighborhood to ask residents if they would like and support a farmers market at Backus and that the response was overwhelmingly positive.
I caught up with another staff member at the meeting who said they have the same vision to incorporate chef tastings and demonstrations that they presently have at the UDC market.
Dr. Lewis will be at the Lamond Riggs Citizens Association general body meeting on Monday, June 3, 2013, to share information with residents about this proposal. The meeting will run from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm.
Connectivity around Fort Totten
This post is long overdue, but still timely because of a couple of events coming up. At the Ward 5 budget townhall meeting, I raised a question about connectivity around Fort Totten. Of course, Fort Totten metro station with its three lines and several bus bays is a huge plus for the neighborhood, but the neighborhood could benefit from a bit more connectivity. More specifically, I asked if funding would be made available to improve connectivity through completion of the Metropolitan Branch Trail, installation of bikeshare stations in the neighborhood, and a study of the feasibility of a north-south streetcar route along South Dakota Avenue NE to Riggs Road NE.
Metropolitan Branch Trail
Currently, the northbound off-road portion of the MBT ends in Brookland. From there, an on-street route continues (partly up a steep hill) to Fort Totten. DDOT previously held workshops and planning sessions to determine the best route for completing the MBT north of Brookland. The National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board’s (TPB) May meeting included proposed amendments to update DDOT’s section of the FY 2013-2018 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). One of the items is completion of the Fort Totten portion of the MBT in 2015.
Bikeshare
Residents have been asking for bikeshare stations in the neighborhood for a while. JBG/Lowe, developers of Fort Totten Square, have said they are committed to paying for installation of a bikeshare station at the corner of the FTS development on 3rd Street & Riggs Road NE. However, that station will not be installed until the development delivers in spring 2015. They also said Walmart, which will anchor the development, has promised to pay for installation of a bikeshare station at Fort Totten metro station, but it’s not clear if Walmart will pay for that station to be installed before the development is complete. In any event, the neighborhood will be getting at least one, maybe two, stations by spring 2015.
Opportunities for input
In the next couple of weeks, there will be two really good opportunities to speak directly to and hear from the agencies that are responsible for shaping the way residents connect and move around the city. The first is DDOT’s moveDC public workshop on Thursday, June 6, from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm. at Lamond Riggs Library. MoveDC is DDOT’s initiative to develop a strategic, multimodal long-range transportation plan for the city. The workshop will provide a chance to talk about how residents travel around the city and share ideas on projects and priorities and what residents hope to see in the future. Residents are strongly encouraged to participate. Visit the moveDC website for more information.
The second opportunity is a walking tour hosted by the Coalition for Smarter Growth called “Fort Totten: More than a Transfer Point,” on Saturday, June 15, from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm. This tour is more of an opportunity to learn about what is happening in the neighborhood. Plenty of agency officials will be on hand. CSG’s policy director Cheryl Cort will lead the tour. A representative from WMATA will discuss plans to develop the parking lot parcels at Fort Totten metro station. A representative from DDOT will discuss the streetscape improvements in the neighborhood and the reconfiguration of the South Dakota Avenue & Riggs Road NE intersection. A representative from JBG will discuss the vision for Fort Totten Square as a placemaking development. A representative of the tenants of the Riggs Plaza apartments will discuss the Art Place at Fort Totten development. Finally, a representative from the Office of Planning familiar with the neighborhood will tie it all together. Hopefully residents were able to sign up because registration is now full.
Building Permit Issued for Fort Totten Square
A representative from JBG shared updates on the progress of Fort Totten Square, the mixed-use development anchored by Walmart with approximately 345 rental apartment units. Final building permits were issued on May 30, 2013. Digging will soon end and the concrete will start to pour. Once the digging is done, many more contractors will be working on the site. Clark Construction, the general contractor on the project, will set up a trailer office near the site. Residents are encouraged to report problems with trash and other issues.
The construction job fair on March 23, 2013, yielded over 900 applications. Qualified applicants will be contacted directly by the subcontractors. In addition, the Fort Totten Square website contains information about hiring for the Walmart store. A hiring center will open three to four months before the store opens. More information about the hiring center will be posted on Walmart’s Washington DC website.
As mentioned in another post, JBG will pay for installation of a bikeshare station at 3rd Street & Riggs Road NE once the development is complete in spring 2015. Walmart has also agreed to pay for a bikeshare station at Fort Totten metro station. The developers anticipate having transit information screens in the residential buildings. These are part of the developers’ effort to promote a walkable, bikable neighborhood.
Renderings of the development are available on the site of the development’s architects Hickok Cole. The blue paneling seen in the online rendering is supposed to be more of a muted blue color. The renderings provide views of both the residential and retail portions of the development.
The development has space for three to four additional retail tenants on the ground level at Chillum Place & Riggs Road NE. In addition, a separate ground level retail space will be available at 3rd Street & Riggs Road NE. There is hope that a major coffee shop will be interested in leasing the 3rd Street retail space. Luring such a tenant will partly entail convincing DDOT to have 30-minute parking meters for the 16 spaces that line Riggs Road in front of the development. It is still a little early to approach tenants for an anticipated delivery of spring 2015, but residents should use the time to think about what they would like to see at Fort Totten Square.
ANC 5A-08 SMD Community Meeting Wrapup
Guest Post
ANC-5A SMD 5A-08
Community Meeting Wrapup
On Thursday evening, May 16, ANC 5A-08 Commissioner Angel Alston held her first SMD 5A-08 Community Meeting of 2013 at the Backus Campus of UDC’s Community College. The meeting included a report from Officer Lucas on police activity in the Fourth District, plus information on the following topics.
Fort Totten Park
Due to years of foot traffic, unauthorized dirt-path shortcuts to the Metrorail Station have developed in Fort Totten Park, between Gallatin and Galloway Streets NE.
As a result of several recent meetings that Commissioner Alston had with the National Park Service (NPS) and other stakeholders, the NPS began improving the safety and security of the paths on Friday, May 17. Overgrown shrubbery is being trimmed, and the portable flood lights will be repaired.
Cafritz’s ArtPlace at Fort Totten Project
Background Information: The ArtPlace at Fort Totten Planned Unit Development (PUD) is a multi-building, multi-phase construction project that includes rental apartments, retail space, and cultural facilities on 16+ acres. The ArtPlace Project will be built over a period of several years on the west side of South Dakota Ave., NE, near the Fort Totten metrorail station.
Since the 1950’s, the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation has owned the land on which the ArtPlace Project will be built. The Foundation is a private, independent non-profit organization, and its overall mission is to improve the quality of life for residents of the Washington, DC, area.
The ArtPlace Project has been in the planning stages for years; the DC Zoning Commission first approved it in 2009.
Presenters for Cafritz: Several representatives for the ArtPlace Project attended the SMD 5A-08 Community Meeting to discuss the status of “Building A,” the first to be constructed in the multi-year ArtPlace Project. Presenters included Dennis Hughes, from the law firm Holland and Knight, and architects from the Washington, DC-based architectural firm Shalom Baranes Associates.
Pre-Construction for Building A: Five Riggs Plaza Apartment buildings (50+ years-old) that occupied part of the site for Building A have already been demolished. Mr. Hughes said that the construction of Building A is currently “out for bid by general contractors.”
Regarding the schedule for the next phase of the project, Mr. Hughes said that work on Building B will not begin until Building A construction is “well underway.”
Mr. Hughes said that he is not at liberty to discuss potential stores and businesses that might use Building A. Confidential occupancy negotiations are in-progress for the retail components of the building.
Public-Space Plan In-Progress: Mr. Hughes and the other ArtPlace Project representatives gave a presentation on the landscape plans for the perimeter streetscape of ArtPlace Building A. They said that Cafritz has submitted the Public-Space Plan for Building A for discussion at DDOT’s Public-Space Committee Meeting on Thursday, June 27th, 2013.
The Public Space Committee meets monthly to review requests for the use and occupancy of the public right-of-way, ensuring that those areas conform to DC’s public-space laws and engineering standards.
Public Space Committee meetings are open to the public; DDOT encourages citizens to attend.
For More Information
To see the ArtPlace Project documents online, go to the DCOZ link below. Also, reference copies of some of the ArtPlace Project documents are on view at the Lamond-Riggs Library.
For ArtPlace Project documents on the DCOZ website, go to:
http://app.dcoz.dc.gov/content/search/Search.aspx
In the “Search By” list, select “ZC or BZA Case Number.” In the “Search Term” box, enter: 06-10.
Note that as of this writing, the ArtPlace at Fort Totten project website is content free–that is, a blank white screen.
Local retail and Walmart
The Washington Post has an article about Walmart’s solicitation for local businesses to co-locate with the Georgia Ave. Walmart, which lies approximately 1.5 miles from the Walmart planned for Riggs Park. Walmart’s spokesperson Steve Restivo stated that if the retailer cannot find sufficient local businesses to occupy one or two spaces for lease, it will find a national chain. Links to the square footage and design of the space are provided within the article. It will be noteworthy to see which local business, if any, ends up leasing space at the Georgia Ave Walmart.
In community meetings with respect to the Walmart planned as an anchor for Fort Totten Square in Riggs Park, Walmart representatives have stated that they would be open to providing space to a local business. It was unclear at the time (and still unclear now) precisely where that space would be–whether in the interior of the store with no access to the frontage along the street or whether there would be signage on the street promoting the interior tenant. A point has been raised about making sure the design would accommodate a local business by providing adequate street frontage. Construction continues apace and full financing for Fort Totten Square has been secured.
Now’s a good time to revisit the design as JBG & Lowe reach out to retailers to fill out FTS and continue discussions with the city to secure the south site to begin work there. The Lamond Riggs Citizens Association has certainly made local retail a priority in discussions with JBG, Lowe, & Walmart. Let’s hope local and aspiring business owners will be ready to take advantage of an opportunity to open up shop in 2015.
Ward 5 budget townhall April 10 & Lamond Riggs neighborhood library
Mayor Gray will host a budget townhall with a focus on Ward 5 on April 10, 2013 at Luke C. Moore Academy (1001 Monroe St. NE) at 6:30 pm. In his press release on the mayor’s budget, Councilmember McDuffie said that he would like to see money allocated for the modernization of Lamond Riggs library. The mayor’s proposed budget does not include any money for modernizing Lamond Riggs library, but it does provide money so that all DC public libraries will be open 7 days per week.
Updated 3/29/2013
The mayor’s proposed FY 2014 budget includes a line item for renovating the Lamond Riggs library (pdf), with full funding estimated at over $18 million. It notes that the library is 45 years old and is energy inefficient. The spec calls for the library to be substantially renovated “to create a new 21st century state-of-the-art LEED Silver Rated vacility.” The budget includes zero FY 2014 funding for renovating the library, but includes proposed funding for FY 2015 & FY 2016. It notes that Cafritz’s development (Art Place at Fort Totten) includes a spec in a (much) later phase to build a new library for the neighborhood as part of the Art Place development. The document states DCPL is still involved in discussions with Cafritz about this. An older budget timeline projected that the design for a renovated library would be completed by October 2011, with construction starting in Jan 2012 and completed by June 2018. Of course none of those milestones was met and it’s unclear at this point if Cafritz’s proposal is the reason for the delay.
The Hampshires (6000 New Hampshire Ave NE) featured in Urbanturf
Urbanturf has a sponsor feature from Comstock on The Hampshires, the new housing community being developed in Riggs Park at 6000 New Hampshire Ave NE. We’ve mainly reported on 6000 New Hampshire in the context of the PUD modification concerning the portion of the development sold to a second developer. Upon completion, The Hampshires will have 38 detached homes and 73 townhouses surrounding open green space and a dog park. Neighborhood representatives attended the grand opening of the detached homes in September. Comstock starts construction on the townhomes this week.
Funny aside: DC Urbanturf’s facebook post asks the question, “Do you know where that is?” in reference to Lamond Riggs.
It’s official: Busboys & Poets going to Takoma (and Brookland)
This post has been updated
The Washington Post breaks the official news that Busboys & Poets owner has signed a lease to bring the restaurant to the new Carroll St. development in Takoma. Also reported is that the owner is negotiating to open a sixth location in Brookland.
This is semi-good news for Riggs Park (remember what we mentioned about being sandwiched between these two neighborhoods in this post). Both Takoma and Brookland are sort of walkable (or certainly bikeable) from Riggs Park, so it looks like in a couple of years we’ll get to have our pick of two Busboys to patronize.
One instructive point from the article is owner Andy Shallal’s statement that he received emails from Takoma residents soliciting him to bring his restaurant to the neighborhood. He said that he likes to go into areas that lack community gathering spaces, certainly an issue for Riggs Park. As Fort Totten Square and Art Place at Fort Totten come online, it’s worth thinking about what kind of outreach, communication, organizing, and consensus building the community can do to really showcase the community we have here surrounding Fort Totten and to make sure we get the types of amenities we really want, so as not to be blindsided again like we were with the introduction of the big box store to come.
Fort Totten Square Construction Job Fair March 23, 2013
FORT TOTTEN SQUARE CONSTRUCTION JOB FAIR
SATURDAY, MARCH 23, 2013
9 AM – 12 PM
CORNER OF RIGGS ROAD AND 3RD STREET NE
Seeking construction workers with specific skills. The anticipated trades that will be at the Job Fair
include:
Mechanical
Electrical
Plumbing
Concrete
Rough Carpentry
Masonry
Roofing / Waterproofing
Participants are encouraged to bring a resume or other documentation of work experience.
Fort Totten Square is a mixed-use project currently under construction at 300 Riggs Road NE. When
completed, Fort Totten Square will include approximately 345 apartments and 130,000 square feet of
retail space, anchored by an urban-format Wal-Mart containing a large grocer and pharmacy.
For more information, please visit www.FortTottenNews.com.
Development news roundup: Children’s museum & anchor for Art Place at Fort Totten, a brewery in the neighborhood, and a rehabilitation facility for 6000 New Hampshire
Lots of development news to report:
- First up, community representatives held an initial meeting with consultants from the Cafritz team on the children’s museum component of Art Place at Fort Totten. You may be wondering why we’re talking about the children’s museum component since we reported recently that Cafritz was still looking for an anchor to secure financing for the project. Well, unofficially there may be an anchor in place (a possible anchor we listed in this post). We haven’t gotten official word, but it makes more sense that they would schedule a meeting at this point for museum consultants to introduce themselves and solicit community input if there is an anchor on the horizon. Look for more information in the future from the ANCs and the leadership of the Lamond Riggs Citizens Association and the North Michigan Park Civic Association.
- The Totten Life blog brings us news of a brewery headed for Riggs Park with a link to a news release from DC Beer. Hellbender Brewery is building out the space at 5788 2nd St. NE (not too far from Fort Totten Square and 3 Stars Brewing Company). Just in case you’re curious, according to this release from DC Beer, the brewery is named for the hellbender, the largest salamander in North America. The Hellbender team plans to use the salamander as a symbol of the team’s “‘environmentally safe brewery practices and waste disposal.'” The team wants to work with local businesses and residents to make the neighborhood “a better place for everyone.”
- The Office of Planning recently recommended approval of a modification to the PUD for 6000 New Hampshire Ave NE. Recall this is the site of the new Comstock detached single family homes and townhomes. The original developer sold his interest in the 2 other buildings on the property. These buildings are zoned for residential use and the original PUD called for residential apartment buildings. The current develper would like to modify the PUD to accommodate a rehabilitation center for mentally disabled adults in one of the buildings and reduce the number of apartments in the other building. The ANC and LRCA (and other community groups) officially opposed the modification, outlining areas of concern. The Office of Zoning held a hearing on the modification request on February 21, 2013. The neighborhood groups and the ANC presented testimony on their areas of concern. While it is almost certain Zoning will approve the modification, Zoning would like the developer and neighborhood groups to come to a consensus on the outstanding concerns and it appears that such a consensus can be reached.
ANC 4B Special Public Meeting on 6000 New Hampshire PUD, Feb. 5 at 7 pm
A special meeting for ANC 4B has been called for Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013, at 7 pm at Emery Recreation Center (5701 Georgia Ave. NW). The agenda includes discussion and vote on recommendation to Zoning Commission on the PUD for 6000 New Hampshire Ave. NE.
Jan. 30 Fort Totten Square Groundbreaking and Food & Friends Welcome
As noted in the aside, JBG & Lowe will formally break ground on Fort Totten Square (300 Riggs Rd NE) on January 30, 2013, at 9:30 am. Invited guests include Mayor Vincent Gray, Deputy Mayor Victor Hoskins, Councilmember Muriel Bowser, Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie, Planning Director Harriet Tregonig, and WMATA General Manager Richard Sarles. Fort Totten Square is a mixed use project that will feature retail topped with residential apartments, anchored by what’s being billed as an urban format Walmart. The project is currently scheduled to be completed in late 2014.
Following the groundbreaking, Food & Friends (219 Riggs Rd NE) will be hosting a Walmart Welcome from 11:00 am until 12:30 pm.
Groundbreaking on Fort Totten Square Jan. 30
Groundbreaking on Fort Totten Square (300 Riggs Rd NE) will be Wednesday, January 30, 2013, at 9:30 am. More details to follow
Applications available for artist studio space at Monroe St. Market
Applications (RFP) now available for artist studio space at Brookland’s Monroe St. Market. Click here for more information.
Zoning regulations update community meetings
DC’s Office of Planning (OP) is holding a series of community meetings in each ward to discuss updates to the zoning regulations. Individuals can attend meetings in any ward, not just their home ward.
The remaining January meetings are-
Ward 3: Tuesday, January 8, 2013, Wilson High School, 6:30 pm-8:30 pm;
Ward 5: Wednesday, January 9, 2013, Foster Auditorium, Ely Building, Gallaudet University, 6:30 pm-8:30 pm;
Ward 7: Saturday, January 12, 2013, Room 2309/10, DOES Building, 10:00 am-12:00 pm; and
Ward 4: Wednesday, January 16, 2013, Takoma Education Campus, 6:30 pm-8:30 pm.
In addition a second twitter townhall will be held Monday, January 14, 2013 at 12 noon (#ZRR). (this post will be updated once correct date is confirmed)
Copies of the proposed text can be found on OP’s regulation update site here and additional information can be found on their blog here. Printed copies are also available at OP’s office (1100 4th St. SW, 6th Floor) and in libraries in each ward (Woodridge library in Ward 5 and Takoma Library in Ward 4). The regulation update site includes FAQs and areas of interest, notably information relating to recommendations for updated PUD regulations, design review regulations, and a number of other areas that are relevant to the neighborhood.
*This post has been updated
Prelim construction starting at Fort Totten Square
Preliminary construction starting at Fort Totten Square as December draws to an end. Full scale excavation expected to start beginning of 2013. Groundbreaking currently planned for last week of January.
UrbanTurf: Still optimistic about the neighborhood
Local real estate blog Urbanturf revisited its 2010 predictions of neighborhoods “on the rise.” In 2010, one agent included Fort Totten as a neighborhood that would stand out for homebuyers by 2015. Optimism about the neighborhood expressed in 2010 still holds in 2012. Mentioned was the Cafritz project, Art Place at Fort Totten.
Next Stop...Riggs Park 