Through different media over the years, neighbors have weighed in on what they’d like to see in the neighborhood.  This page is a wish list.  Some items are things that we could very well see in the short term.  Others are probably wishful thinking, but they are still listed here because it’s nice to wish.  Feel free to add suggestions to the neighborhood wish list.

• Sit-down Restaurants

I think it’s safe to say every single resident would like to see a quality sit-down restaurant in the neighborhood.  We have a few fast food and carryout restaurants, but no real restaurant to take the family to or enjoy with friends.

Thai would be awesome

Caribbean would be awesome

Indian would be awesome

Mediterranean would be cool

Basically some sort of “ethnic” cuisine would be great.

Casual Diner:  DC doesn’t seem to have too many true diners.  A casual place to grab a quick breakfast or dinner would be nice.

• Specialty Pizza Place:  Place to get quality pizza within walking distance

Update Aug. 2024: There are plans for a specialty pizza restaurant for the first phase of Art Place at Fort Totten, looking to open 2025.

• Coffee Shop

A coffee shop would be much appreciated and patronized. With Culture Coffee Too’s departure, there is once again a market for a coffee shop.

• Neighborhood Bar/Wine Bar/Dessert Bar

• Bakery

• Some type of food store

This one is a little harder because we know that a Walmart that carries groceries opened in Fort Totten Square. There is also a Giant on Eastern Avenue just across the DC/MD line. However, many believe the neighborhood can support a specialty food store, along the lines of an organic food store or an international food store.

Update Aug. 2024: Aldi grocery store plans to open at Art Place at Fort Totten on the corner of South Dakota & Kennedy in mid-November 2024. Hiring is taking place now. Apply online.

• Commercial Kitchen/Incubator

• Daycare Center

One amenity that Art Place at Fort Totten will have is a daycare center. With more families moving to the neighborhood, a daycare center will come in handy.

Update 2021: Love & Care Child Development Center opened at Art Place at Fort Totten in early 2021.

• Bank

Many of our seasoned citizens (as our councilmember calls them) have been waiting for a bank to come to the neighborhood, ever since Suntrust vacated the former strip mall on Riggs Road.  Many people are used to going into a branch to conduct transactions.  The developers of Fort Totten Square mentioned that it is difficult to get a full service bank in developments these days, so we will see if this comes to pass.

• Recreation

Gym

The rec centers in the neighborhood have small fitness rooms.  However, an actual gym would be nice.

Update Aug. 2024: One Life Fitness opened at Art Place at Fort Totten in January 2022. It will expand into adjacent space by the end of 2024.

Pool

The closest pool is probably at Turkey Thicket in Brookland. On the Ward 5 listserve, people have asked whether a pool could go into Backus.

Tennis Court/Squash Court 

The closest public courts are probably Turkey Thicket or Takoma. It would be great to have tennis courts nearby (I’ve always wondered why they were not included when the rec center was built). Alternatively, I have heard people mention squash or racquetball courts as options.

Walking/Running Track

This one is a personal thing and slightly gratuitous since I can (and do) just walk around the neighborhood. Fort Circle Park offers a lighter impact surface for walking. However, there’s something nice about a walking track. I never got an answer to the question of why the rec center (recently built in 2005) was built without one. Anyhow, a walking track would be great for meeting up with neighbors to get some daily exercise in.

• Playground

Many of the homes in the community have decently-sized backyards. However, I have heard parents say they would like a neighborhood park to provide space outside the home for play.  Fort Circle Parks provide lots of open green space in the neighborhood. However, that space belongs to the National Park Service, which has said in the past that they see a value in keeping the park undeveloped in line with its historic role. The rec center also offers lots of programs and sports leagues for children. But it is fair to say families in the neighborhood would like to see programmed outdoor space for the little ones. 

Update spring 2021: The new Riggs-LaSalle Community Playground at Riggs-LaSalle Recreation Center opened in spring 2021.

Update spring 2025: Nice that we have a playground. Parents also want an indoor play space for kids. Something a little less formal/structured but offering opportunity for the littles to have some fun and run around.

• Dog Park

I have added dog park to the list. That seems to be a popular ask. There is District owned property close to Food & Friends on the southwest corner of South Dakota Avenue and Riggs Road NE that would be a perfect location. It does not directly abut any residences and it is on a busy road, so there should be minimal complaints about noise/nuisance in that location. There is a star ground in use (that’s the object sticking up in the middle of the land), so no excavation is supposed to be done within 100 feet. Not sure how that would affect putting a dog park there or anything else for that matter, but it might be worth investigating. A reader also mentioned the space by Hellbender Brewery.

Update spring 2021: There are plans for a dog run as part of the second phase of Art Place at Fort Totten.

• Nature/Meditation/Native Plan Garden

Many neighborhoods are seeing development and finding themselves at a loss for green space. In this neighborhood, we have NPS parkland, which is great, but as already mentioned, the NPS is usually not keen on having those spaces programmed or disturbed. Legacy Memorial Park was recently created near the intersection of South Dakota Avenue and New Hampshire Avenue. Making sure we preserve some of our existing green space is probably worthwhile.

Update Aug. 2024: There are plans for green space on the southwestern corner of South Dakota & Riggs.

• Cultural Space

Space for readings, exhibits, performances

• Public Art

Appropriately-scaled public art would be a big improvement to the neighborhood. The neighborhood was the site of a 5×5 project on the southwest corner of South Dakota Avenue and Riggs Road NE, but I do not think it was appropriately scaled to have much of an impact. If you look at the original version of what was placed, you can see it was a much more dramatic work than what was placed in the neighborhood. We have one mural and as is the nature of art, some like it, some do not. It would be nice to work with the DC Commission on Arts and Humanities to have public art commissioned for the commercial corridors.

• Community Meeting Space

The staff at the rec center and the community college have been very accommodating when it comes to providing meeting space.  However, space for more than the occasional civic association meeting would be nice.

• Music/Record Store

This one is definitely a pie in the sky wish and a bit personal because I love music.  I have no idea how the music store business is doing.  I know there’s a music store on Georgia Ave near downtown Silver Spring that is closing (I suppose that should tell me all I need to know about standalone music stores).  How nice it would be to walk or bike to a store to have an instrument tuned up, pick up songbooks, or browse records.

• Fabric/Crafts Store

This one might also be pie in the sky, but there are not too many places in DC where one can pick up fabric and supplies for design and craft projects.  A few places offer a limited selection of fabrics.  A true fabric/arts and crafts store would be nice.

• Home goods store

• Office Supply Store