Art Place at Fort Totten

At last night’s SMD 5A08 meeting, we heard a few updates regarding Building A at Art Place at Fort Totten.  The construction team is waiting for final approval of the traffic control plan to start construction.  The entire site will need to be fenced off before they begin relocating the utilities underneath Hamilton Street NE, which will be permanently closed.  Once construction starts, there will be jersey barriers along the north side of Galloway Street NE so that pedestrians can access the metro station.  That means there will no longer be a parking lane for cars on the north side of Galloway.  The bus stops on both sides of Galloway should remain accessible during construction. 

The architect mentioned one change that they are proposing to the residential parking.  As approved, the residential building is to have around 344 residential parking spaces in a structured garage.  The team proposes to reduce that amount by 80 spaces, dropping 1.5 floors of parking, to reduce costs.  That leaves around 264 spaces for 520 units.  The building will have 141 affordable units (of which 98 will be reserved for seniors), enough to relocate the residents of the Riggs Plaza apartments.  The residential apartment building is slated to have a senior work room/quiet area for seniors, rooftop pool and barbecue area, and fitness room.  In adidtion to retail tenants, Building A will have space for an ANC 5A office, and possibly a daycare center.  They are still working on executing leases with retailers.   

National Park Service Environment Study on Improvements to Paths between Gallatin and Galloway Street NE

The deadline to comment on the National Park Service options for improvements to the paths between Gallatin and Galloway is May 2, 2014.  Visit the project website by clicking here.  In addition to commenting on the specific options, individuals can share anything they wish about the paths.  The official from the NPS emphasized that this is an environmental study, so when they evaluate the comments, they will do so with an eye towards the impact any proposed action would have on the native plants and trees and experience of the park.  He also noted that the NPS does not yet have funding to implement any particular plan, but this environmental study is the first step in determining what they want to do and how much to budget for it.  Commissioner Angel Alston noted that there might be an opportunity for partnership to fund implementation and maintenance of any proposed plan.  The commissioner asks that people print out their comment so that the ANC has a record of the comments (a “print this page” tab will appear once a comment is submitted).  The ANC will vote on a recommendation at the next ANC 5A meeting.