Aldi is now hiring for full-time and part-time positions at the new store that will be opening at 5300 South Dakota Avenue NE (at Kennedy Street NE) in fall 2024.
Applicants who are selected for an interview will likely be asked to interview at an existing Aldi location. Interview days are already being scheduled, so apply as soon as possible.
Aldi’s website offers the following tips for potential candidates:
Do your research – Make sure you understand ALDI and the job requirements.
Arrive early – Try to arrive 10-15 minutes before your scheduled interview to allow yourself time to get settled.
Come prepared – Research common interview questions and brainstorm your answers. Prepare questions for your interviewer, to show you are interested in the position. Also, be sure to bring extra copies of your resume, and a pen and paper to take notes.
Follow Up – Kindly follow up with your interviewer(s) by sending a thank you email or handwritten note, thanking them for their time and expressing your interest in the position.
Please let your neighbors who are looking for part-time or full-time work know about these employment opportunities right here in the neighborhood and encourage them to apply.
The store is several weeks behind in construction due to delay in getting an interior buildout permit. They are still anticipating a fall opening around mid-November.
Back in June, the DC Public Charter School Board approved Social Justice School’s relocation application (see this post for information about the relocation). The plan remains having modular classrooms in place at 333 Kennedy Street NE for the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year. If there is a delay, classes will be held temporarily at Impact DMV Church on First Place NE.
School officials are still negotiating with the Cafritz Foundation over a permanent move to the remaining warehouse at 3rd and Kennedy Street NE. If they reach an agreement, school officials anticipate that construction on the warehouse will take approximately 18 months and that they will be able to occupy the space in time for the 2026-2027 school year.
Aerial view of space reserved for Social Justice School temporary location in black border.
Food & Friends is requesting a curb cut on South Dakota Avenue just north of Kennedy Street NE. The so-called conceptual curb cut request will be the subject of a DC Public Space Committee meeting on August 22, 2024 (application #445416).
Food & Friends is looking to expand its building on the corner of South Dakota Avenue & Riggs Road NE in order to serve more clients. Because the land to the north of the property is District-owned land slated for park space, Food & Friends is looking to expand east towards South Dakota. Food & Friends reps have been to a few meetings, but there are still a lot of unanswered questions. They are calling this a conceptual curb cut project because they contend that their expansion is years away. So apparently the Public Space Committee is going to decide on whether the organization can get a curb cut on South Dakota Avenue in the absence of any information about their building expansion plan.
Conceptual curb cut diagram provided by Food & Friends.
Curb Cut Design
Residents do not have access to public space applications in the city’s online permitting system, which is known as TOPS. What we do know is that they are requesting a pretty sizeable curb cut (leading to a driveway) that looks to be about 33 feet wide on a block that currently has none. In an email to me, they said, “The design includes a 6-foot-wide pedestrian safety island, increased turn radii to alleviate off-tracking, and right-in/right-out movement.” We also know that curb cut access will likely require some amount of public space beyond just sidewalk access because of the way the property lines are drawn. But it is not clear to me based on the one diagram we have exactly how much public space they are requesting.
They say they are requesting this curb cut because they are thinking about building an expanded kitchen facility closer to South Dakota Avenue. So, they will want to reroute food delivery (via 18-wheeler trucks) to the South Dakota side in the future. My understanding is that DDOT is requesting that they close one of their two curb cuts on Riggs Road if they want a curb cut on South Dakota. My understanding is that staff and volunteers would continue to use Riggs to access the parking lot. But it’s a pretty large parking lot, so who knows if that space would be reconfigured as well as part of an expansion plan.
In an email to me, Food & Friends said:
Sixty-five staff, 80 kitchen volunteers, 10 Food & Friends delivery vans, 30 volunteer delivery cars and several vendor delivery trucks (including semi-sized) currently travel to our location daily to prepare and home-deliver 6,000 meals a day to the region’s most vulnerable neighbors. We encourage use of Metro and cycling (we had a cycling team in the 2000s!) and routinely shuttle our staff and volunteers to the Metro station to encourage less vehicles.
Ward 5 Councilmember Zachary Parker submitted a letter in support of the conceptual curb cut to the Public Space Committee.
My thoughts
I do not think anyone has done a really good job of explaining what is really happening here and we’re being asked to comment on something on which we lack full information, specifically impacts to public space. Obviously, Food & Friends plans to build on their property and may even want more public space than what is being publicly discussed. Residents do not have access to applications in TOPS and the ANC is not doing anything regarding this matter. I’m sure most support Food & Friends in their goal to serve more clients around the region.
(Fun fact about me: I served in Americorps in DC before continuing my education. One team member was placed at Food & Friends, and we would have team service days at Food & Friends at their old location in Southeast DC. I’m a big fan and supporter of Food & Friends).
We already know that curb cuts introduce vehicle/pedestrian conflicts. I think a really useful conversation would be how to maximize the amount of public space available to the community, how to minimize harm introduced by installing a new curb cut on the block, and how to safely and most efficiently accommodate the multiple uses that the property owners in the immediate area wish to put in that one little area.
I think it would be super useful for the property owners in the area to talk to one another, particularly the Cafritz Foundation (and their tenants) and Food & Friends. This conversation could also include Metro, National Park Service, and Impact DMV Church. I get the impression they don’t really communicate about their plans and how they are connected to an actual neighborhood, and I think that lack of communication at an institutional level makes it way more difficult than it needs to be to get things done.
Anyways, submit comments to the Public Space Committee at public.spacecommittee@dc.gov by August 20 and send a copy of your comments to CM Parker.
Wing Stop is open at 300 Riggs Road NE in the former Culture Coffee Too space. Hours are 11am-11pm Sunday through Thursday and 11am-midnight Friday and Saturday.
Yesterday’s opening was described as a soft open because they are still training workers. They will have an official ribbon cutting in a few weeks.
Wing Stop joins the other culinary offerings, Subway and Five Guys, at Fort Totten Square. I’d say we’re tapped out on fast food for the neighborhood.
Work is taking place in many facets of the building at once and is broken down as follows:
Exterior Work and Power
Wet Utility installation has started at the SW corner of Riggs Road NE and South Dakota Ave NE. Our deep sanitary and storm piping is complete and being backfilled. The fire service line has been installed, inspected, flushed, and backfilled. We’ll have a crane in about 1 week to set the water meter vault and the wet utilities should be completed in the next 2-3 weeks or so.
Our dry utilities for our incoming PEPCO power lines are being completed now. We’re going for PEPCO inspections on our ductbanks to kickoff PEPCO setting our transformers and pulling wire to get us permanent electrical power. This is the largest milestone needed to complete the project on time. At the same time, we should be receiving our main electrical equipment to power the building in the next few weeks. Once this is installed and inspected and the exterior work is complete, PEPCO can finalize our power on site.
The grey brick will be installed on the rest of the east (near the terrace / townhomes), west (Riggs Road Side), and North sides of the site in the coming month. Brick should largely be completed by the end of July. Storefront installation at our level 1 retail areas will commence in mid-July following the brick installation.
Siding should commence in August after brick and after we load the building with drywall and gypcrete to allow the wood to properly compress prior to siding installation. Once east side siding is competed, we’ll mobilize our site concrete and landscape contractors to excavate for the bioretention basin on the east side of the building before completing our pavers and sidewalks around the property.
We will have a crane likely on a Saturday in July (either the 13th or the 20th) to deliver and set all of our rooftop mechanical equipment. Once the is complete, worker will being tying in power for units and preparing refrigerant lines for HVAC start-ups once permanent power is established by PEPCO.
Interior Work (Rough-Ins and Finishes)
Garage level MEP rough-ins are nearly complete. WE have some minor HVAC fans and equipment to install and we need to complete our Sanitary connection to the main sanitary line outside of the building. Once this is complete, we will begin installing our garage drywall ceilings and start painting our back of house rooms.
Elevators will mobilize to site in the next few weeks and commence installation. We should have operable elevators by September roughly.
Level 1 OH plumbing and HVAC is nearly complete. We’re framing our amenity space ceilings now to terminate light fixtures, sprinkler heads, and HVAC ducts to. Level 1 units are ready to hang drywall pending sprinkler hydro inspections which should be completed any day now.
Level 2
MEP rough-ins and blocking inspections are complete. We’ve insulated our unit ceilings and have begun hanging one side of our drywall partitions. This will allow us to insulate and air seal our walls properly. Air sealing is done to minimize air transfer between units / outside of the unit which promotes HVAC and energy efficiency. It’s a unique process to one-side walls in wood framing, but a critical piece to pass our final Energy Star certifications.
Bulk drywall hanging and finishing shall commence in the next 2 weeks or so.
Level 3
Final MEP adjustments are being made in preparation for blocking completion and ceiling insulation installation. We’ll start one-siding drywall and begin our finishes sequence accordingly.
Level 4
Final MEP rough-ins are taking place, particularly for mechanical rough-ins and plumbing loose-ends. We’re going through our MEP inspections now in preparation for our framing and firestopping inspections.
Community + Safety
As we are in the midst of hot summer months, DAVIS has implemented worker safety measures to manage heat stress. This includes a designated break area on the lower floor with misting fans. We’re also occasionally providing electrolyte popsicles to our workers. We also have fans on site to promote airflow on each floor while we await permanent power and permanent conditioning start-ups.
We completed our ABC CORE program at the end of May. We graduated 10 / 18 candidates and had 13 /18 attend consistenly. Our trades/partners ahve hired or are in the process of hiring (8) of the (13) candidates. We’re working with our trade partners to help find them employment opportunities and grow meaningful careers.
The Fire Marshal’s office of DC held a meeting on site with DAVIS and the adjacent community. They expressed concern about vehicles from the neighborhood parking within Riggs Park Place NE, a fire lane. The main entry needs to be kept clear of parked vehicles save for temporary deliveries and with drivers in place to move vehicles immediately in the event of an emergency. DAVIS is working diligently within the confines of our permitted traffic control plan to keep traffic and neighbors from being impacted. We’ve even moved/relocated our perimeter fencing along Riggs Road to keep the eastbound bus stop open based on neighborhood requests, even though our permit allows us to utilize this space. Once our utility work is completed, we intend to further narrow our perimeter fence line to open up as much space as possible for bus stop access. We want to respect our neighbors and communities with as few disruptions as possible.
Aldi is now hiring for full-time and part-time positions at the new store that will be opening at 5300 South Dakota Avenue NE (at Kennedy Street NE) in fall 2024.
Note, the starting wage of $19.50/hour listed on the hiring poster is the wage that will be in effect starting August 26, 2024. The starting wage listed on the website will be updated in August.
Applicants who are selected for an interview will likely be asked to interview at an existing Aldi location. Interview days are already being scheduled, so apply as soon as possible.
Aldi’s website offers the following tips for potential candidates:
Do your research – Make sure you understand ALDI and the job requirements.
Arrive early – Try to arrive 10-15 minutes before your scheduled interview to allow yourself time to get settled.
Come prepared – Research common interview questions and brainstorm your answers. Prepare questions for your interviewer, to show you are interested in the position. Also, be sure to bring extra copies of your resume, and a pen and paper to take notes.
Follow Up – Kindly follow up with your interviewer(s) by sending a thank you email or handwritten note, thanking them for their time and expressing your interest in the position.
Please let your neighbors who are looking for part-time or full-time work know about these employment opportunities right here in the neighborhood and encourage them to apply.
The store is several weeks behind in construction due to delay in getting an interior buildout permit. Previously they were anticipating opening around October 1, 2024. They are still anticipating a fall opening.
Aldi is now hiring for full-time and part-time positions at the new store that will be opening at 5300 South Dakota Avenue NE (at Kennedy Street NE) in fall 2024.
Individuals must apply online. Current opportunities posted on Aldi’s career site:
Applicants who are selected for an interview will likely be asked to interview at an existing Aldi location. Two interview days have already been set up at Aldi in Takoma Park.
Aldi’s website offers the following tips for potential candidates:
Do your research – Make sure you understand ALDI and the job requirements.
Arrive early – Try to arrive 10-15 minutes before your scheduled interview to allow yourself time to get settled.
Come prepared – Research common interview questions and brainstorm your answers. Prepare questions for your interviewer, to show you are interested in the position. Also, be sure to bring extra copies of your resume, and a pen and paper to take notes.
Follow Up – Kindly follow up with your interviewer(s) by sending a thank you email or handwritten note, thanking them for their time and expressing your interest in the position.
Please let your neighbors who are looking for part-time or full-time work know about these employment opportunities right here in the neighborhood and encourage them to apply online.
The store is several weeks behind in construction due to delay in getting an interior buildout permit. Previously they were anticipating opening around October 1, 2024. They are still anticipating a fall opening.
Aldi is anticipating opening at 5300 South Dakota Avenue NE (at Kennedy Street) around October 2024. They have applied for a new class B Full-Service Grocery store license with a Tasting Permit Endorsement to sell beer and wine for off-premises consumption. Hours of beer/wine sales would be Sunday through Saturday 9am – 8pm.
The ABCA protest petition deadline is July 8, 2024. The roll call hearing date is July 29, 2024. The protest hearing date is September 18, 2024, at 1:30 pm.
The store sits in ANC 5A09. ANC Commissioner Shelagh Bocoum (5A09) will discuss the application at her single member district meeting on June 17, 2024.
The popular Fridays at Fort Totten summer concert series kicks off next Friday May 31, 2024. The series, sponsored by The Modern at Art Place & DC Fray, features a different artist 6pm to 8pm each Friday through August.
Bring a chair, hang out with neighbors, and enjoy live music, a food truck, and games.
Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing is constructing Riggs Crossing Senior Residences, an income-restricted, affordable senior housing building on the corner of South Dakota Avenue & Riggs Road NE. Individuals interested in leasing who are 62+ and who have an income at or below 50% of median family income should fill out the interest form.
Retail space is delivering 1st Quarter of 2025 in Riggs Park near the Fort Totten metro station. Seeking local and unique tenants for exclusive under-market lease. Tenant improvements available. Flexible retail split option may be considered (similar concept to Black & Forth).
Offers received by May 23, 2024, will be given priorty.
Elevator roof deck, hoist beams, and divider beams
All interior metal stud framing and pre-rock for ceilings below podium.
Mock-Up Unit Rough-Ins and level 1 unit ceiling framing
Garage ramp waterproofing and topping slab
Drain, Waste, and Vent Riser Completion and Inspections through level 4
Gypcrete Pre-Pours Levels 3 and 4
Ongoing and Upcoming Work
Work is taking place in many facets of the building at once and is broken down as follows:
Exterior Work and Power
DAVIS continues our ongoing perimeter layback, pile burnoff, and backfill. We have to cut down all of the steel piles that supported our excavation so it doesn’t interfere with future sitework and since the top 4’ of these piles interfere with waterproofing, we need to expose this area to complete our waterproofing accordingly. We’re 85% complete through the building, awaiting the backfill on the NW corner and the north side of the site.
Brick will be starting at the SE corner and the east side of the building near the townhomes. Expect to see mortar mixers, forklifts, scaffolding, and a lot of workers on the side of the building facing the townhomes! Before brick starts, we need to finish all of our air barrier and waterproofing systems to ensure they’re complete and that the building remains watertight.
Bulk roofing is commencing on Thursday 05/09/2024. We will have a mobile crane to boom material up to the roof that will be staged within the project extents on the Riggs Road side of the building (West Side). We will start craning roof materials as well as mechanical equipment up to the roof shortly.
Framing + Facade
Below Podium (Level 1 and Garage)
We’re installing our stick-pinned insulation and drywall pre-rock. We have to install drywall slab-to-slab for fire ratings, but we need to frame ceilings before hanging bulk drywall. In order to do so, we install drywall from the structure above down to the ceiling elevation.
Blocking QC —> DC inspects all of our blocking to ensure it meets accessibility standards/requirements such that every unit, not just ADA units, can meet accessibility requirements in the future (e.g. every unit is convertible).
Masonry infill work and preparation for elevators.
Final air barrier and waterproofing tie-ins
Above Podium (Level 2 and Up in Wood Framing)
Installation on balcony knife plates. The balconies have cables that attached to the building for structural support. The “knife plates” are the blades on the east side of the building that stick out and are black. These will be visible in our finished facade.
Structural and blocking punchlists. MEP installation damages our structure and the framers have to follow after the trades to ensure our structure remains in tact.
Now that the building should be substantially weathertight, our focus is on completing balcony doors and knife plates.
Interior Work (Rough-Ins and Finishes)
Garage level MEP rough-ins have started and are ongoing. This will be a process as parts are dependent upon the building becoming dried in and there are many building systems that need to be installed in a specific sequence for coordination.
Level 1 OH plumbing and HVAC is complete until ceilings are fully framed. Next up is pulling refrigerant lines and completing water lines.
Main plumbing drain, waste, and vent rough-ins, including final roof drain tie-ins, are forthcoming in conjunction with roofing.
Plumbing waterline rough-ins on level 2, moving up to level 3.
HVAC ductwork installation on levels 2 and 3; Finishing up 100% and then moving to level 4
Electrical box out and pulling wire level 2 and 3.
MEP Post Dry-In activities have started (insulation and pulling wire)
Interior pre-rock and setting tubs
Community + Safety
As we approach the summer months and hotter days, DAVIS is ensuring that we have our heat stress plan in place for worker safety. This includes having a large misting fan on site, electrolyte powder. electrolyte popsicles, and cooldown stations for our workers. We have also set up picnic tables in our retail space for a lunch break area to keep workers out of the sun and for them to have a comfortable space to take breaks when needed.
As for our ABC CORE Training Program, we held a job fair with (6) of our trade partners on 05/02/2024 and we’ve heard feedback that at least 5-6 of our candidates have been hired after the fair. Telligent, Platform, CA Klein, Justin Company, Benchmark Building Enclosure, and Muller all attended. Atlas Foundations and Miller & Long DC have also contacted candidates as has A. Wash & Associates and Miscellaneous Metals, Inc. We’re pushing to get our trainees hired as we near our class completion on 05/16/2024.
An Italian restaurant is looking at space next to the brewery.
One Life Fitness is expanding with construction anticipated to finish up by end of this year.
A dentist office is looking at space.
One other sit-down restaurant has looked at space, but it is not at letter of intent stage just yet.
Phase 2 – The FEZ (Block B under construction along South Dakota Avenue between Ingraham and Kennedy streets NE)
Aldi plans to open on the corner of South Dakota Avenue & Kennedy Street NE around October 1, 2024. The store plans to hold three job fairs over the summer.
Kids Museum is looking at opening along South Dakota between Ingraham and Kennedy in 3rd or 4th quarter 2025. They are finishing up a feasibility study.
There is interest from a couple of retailers, but the development team is not ready to share details yet.
The development team is still looking at financing for the residential portion of this phase (294 rental units).
The team is sequencing construction and occupancy for the second phase.
Social Justice School Relocation
Social Justice School, a public charter middle school, is currently subleasing space from Rocketship Public Charter School at 5450 3rd Street NE. Recall that Rocketship signed a 35-year lease with the Cafritz Foundation for the 3rd Street property. After renovating and combining a couple of the older warehouses on the site, Rocketship opened its Infinity Prep preK/elementary school campus in August 2020. Rocketship decided to sublease to Social Justice School for a few years while Rocketship gradually expanded its grade offerings. Now it is time for Social Justice to vacate the space for Rocketship’s use.
Social Justice School wants to stay in the neighborhood and worked with the Cafritz team to find space nearby. They recently filed an application to amend their charter to relocate to 333 Kennedy Street NE, which is across the street from their current location.
The DC Public Charter School Board (DCPCSB) hearing on Social Justice School’s proposed relocation will be on May 20, 2024, at 6:15 pm. Instructions on how to submit testimony are in the hearing notice. The school’s application notes that they want to relocate in time for the 2024-2025 school year. The application states that the school will use prefabricated modular classrooms, which will be delivered and installed in the new location.
The application notes that the school contacted ANC Commissioner Gordon Fletcher (5A08), who is the chair of ANC 5A, as well as Ward 5 Councilmember Zachary Parker. The school sits in ANC 5A09. ANC Commissioner Shelagh Bocoum (5A09) is the commissioner for that area.
The DCPCSB plans to vote on the planned relocation on June 24, 2024. If the request is approved at the time, I imagine we will start to see movement around the site pretty quickly so that the school can open in time for fall.
I am sure I am forgetting some updates, but more to come.
Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing (APAH), developer of Riggs Crossing Senior Residences, is seeking interested local and unique retail tenants for under-market lease opportunity. The project is currently under construction at 307 Riggs Road NE on the southeast corner of South Dakota Avenue and Riggs Road NE in Riggs Park. Project delivery expected first quarter 2025.
There will be a virtual information session on Tuesday, May 14, 2024, at 10:00 am.
The May 2024 LRCA Community meeting will be held on Monday, May 6, 2024, from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM EST. Doors open at 5:45 PM.
This IN-PERSON meeting is scheduled to take place at the Lillian J. Huff Neighborhood Library, Meeting Room 1, located at 5401 South Dakota Avenue NE, Washington, DC 20011.
Next Stop...Riggs Park 
