ICE barriers relocated

Lots of activity around the Chester A. Arthur Builing (CAAB) since the Immigrations and Customs Enforcements Agency (ICE) moved to SW DC. Cranes have been removing items from the roof, Eye Street has been torn up, and today the planter barriers are being relocated.

Forklift operator moving barrier

Barriers realigned along K Street following the perimeter of parking lot

I'm very glad to see the barriers relocated as I detested them. The barriers along Eye Street were in the street taking up roadway. The barriers also obstructed the view of 4th Street southbound traffic for vehicles stopped at Eye Street's eastbound stop sign. Additionally relocating the barriers along 4th Street will get us one step closer to DDOT's plan to convert this road to two-way use in 2009.

Adios Lee Loo

Our reader Cozmot reports that an eviction notice has been posted at the Lee Loo Lounge (6th & G Streets NW).

Click image to enlarge

I had not yet been to Lee Loo. However the few times the restaurant came up in conversation with locals the same basic sentiment came across "nice owners, we try to support them, but it doesn't seem like they know how to run a restaurant." I certainly don't want to kick anybody while they are down - but what should Lee Loo have been doing differently?

WBJ: F Street's Past is Prologue

The winter edition of Washington Business Journal's OnSite magazine has about the revitalization of the 900 block of F Street called F Street's Past is Prologue. In it the author doles out grades on architectural merit of Akridge's Carroll Square versus Douglas Development's projects across the street (Atlantic Building, The Ventana).

Photo of National Union Building from flickr user army.arch

The print edition has far more photos including one of the old style iron-caged elevator cab inside the National Union Building.

Single Serve Moratorium Exemptions

The recently passed Single Serve Moratorium legislation, which prohibits the sale of single containers of beer, malt liquor or ale (of 70 ounces or less) and spirits (liquor) sold in half-pint or smaller volumes is set to be enacted in the coming months.

Photo from flickr user jciv

Local businesses are beginning to apply for exemptions to the ban. A thread on the Lifein MVSNA blog has an active discussion. The announcement of the final approval of the Ward 6 ban on Councilmember Tommy Wells' blog is also worth a read.

Taylor Gourmet Deli

This afternoon I made a trip east to Taylor Gourmet Deli at 1116 H Street NE. Taylor is a Philadelphia themed deli and italian store that opened earlier this month.


I knew I was in for a long wait the moment I walked through the front door. Over twenty people were lined up along the wall and counters near the open kitchen. The space was deep and narrow with exposed brick, wood that looked like it was salvaged from a ship wreck and stainless steel abound. The owners replaced the aluminum garage door the property previously had with a glass garage door that allowed for considerable natural light.

The sandwich selection includes two dozen variations of hoagies of chicken cutlet sandwiches all named after streets and landmarks in Philly. The menu also offers a sausage sandwich, arugla salads, risotto balls, ravioli and mozzarella sticks. Taylor uses the freshest ingredients with cured meats and cheeses from Italy and hoagie rolls delivered daily from Sarcone's bakery. Among the snacks offered are Herr's chips and tastykakes.

click to enlarge menu

After brief deliberation I decided on the "Art Museum" chicken cutlet sandwich and the toasted "Ridge Ave Raviolis". I slowly slurped down several refills of my delicious Boylan's diet rootbeer while I waited, waited and waited.

By this time I positioned myself at a vantage point along the counter where I could see what order tickets were actively being worked on. Over an hour elapsed before my order was fulfilled. My patience was not rewarded. Despite twice uttering aloud "Art Museum" co-owner David Mazza apparently made my sandwich with prosciutto rather than roasted red peppers which is the "Penn Square". I had to pick off the prosciutto and redress my cutlet with fixings from my fridge.

Today's experience was not good but I see the potential and I will be back. Considering the marinara with my ravioli was fantastic I may try the "Benjamin Franklin" next time. The sausage sandwich also looked enticing. I just don't think my next visit is going to be very soon as the crowds are leading to heavy waits.

For other perspectives check out the preview from Brightest Young Things and reviews on WaPo, Yelp,

Park Improvements at 2nd and Mass (update)

UPDATE (11/21/2008 3:30pm) - MVT Bill says copies of the volunteer commitment letters have been left at the lobby desks of the Madrigal and Sonata buildings. 12 signatures are needed by Tuesday the 25th.

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I've got an update from DPR and the MVT CID on the proposed improvements for the park at 2nd, Mass and H Streets.

Jul 2008 Rendering from Dept or Park & Recs (DPR)

The MVT CID will be submitting a proposal to Casey Trees this month to donate and plant both large and small trees in the park, as well as some native groundcovers underneath the trees. If the proposal is approved by Casey Trees, planting will happen in the spring. ***** The CID needs two community members to pledge a commitment for each of the six trees, contact MVTBill@downtowndc.org to help. ***** The commitment is minimal as the CID will be adding the watering responsibilities to the Clean Team if funding for irrigation cannot be secured.

DPR's proposed plan also involved salvaging materials from the Art Walk at the Old Convention Center site. These materials include benches, bike racks, trash cans and lights. The timeline for securing these materials depends on Hines Archstone staying on track for their redevelopment of the Old Convention Center site.

Lastly, DDOT is still set to provide grant money for moving the hardscape pieces from ArtWalk park, as well as fixing up the concrete, coping and the central circular wall. DPR is still looking for funding to pay for light installation and possibly irrigation for the site.

WP: 23 Used-Car Dealerships Closed in Citywide Crackdown

I came across this WaPo article, 23 Used-Car Dealerships Closed in Citywide Crackdown, while reading the Frozen Tropics blog. I'm wondering if Jimmy's Autos, across from Yale Lofts, will be one of the 23 dealers named. Do people actually buy cars there?

Douglas Development presents concept for Squares 450/451

Paul Millstein of Douglas Development shared a concept his company has for Square 450 and 451 at this month's MVSNA meeting. The Triangle had speculated about these squares in the past and it was good to hear plans straight from the developer.

RED=Square 450; BLUE=Square 451; ORANGE=Convention Center Hotel; GREEN=Old Convention Center

Douglas Development has spent 15-20 years in assemblage on these blocks. They presently feel they own or have under contract all the properties they are likely to be able to acquire. Because of this they are now ready to design their concept around those holdout properties.

Below are my long list of notes. Please remember all this is preliminary:

• Plan is for high energy mix of retail and office
  
• Seeking CLD to build mandated residential elsewhere in city
  
• Shalom Baranes will be the architectural firm
  
• All but 1 property on the 1000 block of 7th Street NW are owned or under contract
  
• Plans are solely to restore these 7th Street NW properties rather than build over them (similar to DD's past project on the 700 block)
  
• On NY Avenue the plan is to move the DC Eagle building next to the Avenue/Lux building
  
• Will not acquire Marrakesh or corner of 6th and L
  
• Two office buildings with ground floor retail will occupy the remainder of the square 450
  
• Square 450 office buildings will be roughly same height as the convention center and have windows on all four sides
  
• Square 450 loading docks and other curb cuts will be on L Street
  
• Douglas will relocate historic properties south on Square 451 to a cluster on K Street
  
• Square 451 will have massive office building with ground floor retail
  
• Plan to rebuild The Waffle Shop on K Street
  
• Plan to embrace K Street's wide sidewalks with retail and restaurant uses
  
• Will not acquire the rowhouse at 628 New York Ave NW or the small parking lot on the SW corner of 6th and NY Ave
  
• In discussion with an entertainment anchor that will have an entrance on 7th and NY Ave and below grade venue. Would not name the anchor but said "It will blow your mind." Could it be HOB?

Douglas will spend the next year in the entitlements process including presenting this concept to HPRB in December. Another year after that would be spent filing more documents. Ground breaking would still be 2+ years out. You can then of course add another 2+ years for construction. They plan to continue dialect with the MVSNA and present at another meeting in the near future.

UPDATE (11/19/2008 2:00 pm): Cary Silverman's blog has also posted on the presentation. Cary questions the lack of residential with mixed feelings.

Second Annual Downtown Neighborhood Survey

The Second Annual Downtown Neighborhood Survey is being conducted now through December 26th. The survey collects demographic and purchasing behavior habits of people who live and/or work downtown. Your privacy remains protected as providing your name is not required.


This survey is invaluable to the Downtown Neighborhood to attract retailers to our area. Most national and regional retailers rely heavily on marketing data that is modeled off of Census data. At this point Census data is over 8 years old and very stale. This is especially true for the District's downtown which has undergone a transformation this decade. Anecdotally retailers know our area has transformed and is thriving but they aren't always comfortable making that plunge without data to support the decision. This survey can bridge that gap.

The URL for the survey is www.downtowndc.org/programs/economic_development/neighborhood-survey-08

For the purposes of the survey, downtown is defined by the following map:


The report from last year's survey can be found on the reports page of the DCDNA website.


Images from downtowndc.org

November MVSNA meeting

Convention Center Hotel

Cary Silverman's blog has renderings and details of the planned Marriott Marquis Convention Center Hotel.

ORANGE=Convention Center Hotel; RED=Square 450; BLUE=Square 451; GREEN=Old Convention Center

The headquarters hotel is a long overdue complement to the convention center. A 2007 WaPo article sums up the importance:

The D.C. Convention and Tourism Corp. argues that the lack of an adequate headquarters hotel has cost it 29 potential clients representing $250.3 million worth of convention business for bookings from 2006 to 2015. The largest of those conventions was the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, which had considered holding its 2009 annual meeting in the District. That convention would have represented $33.2 million worth of delegate spending, according to the D.C. tourism corporation.

"A fundamental requirement is having a convention center hotel with a sizeable room-block agreement in place," Abdo said. "How do I get a room-block agreement with individual, fragmented hotel owners, okay? That is not something that is possible, that is not going to be in their underwriting, that is not going to be in their financing, that is not something they are going to want any level of restriction on."

Profile of Seattle's South Lake Union Streetcar

Below is my profile on Seattle's South Lake Union Streetcar. Because the intended audience was Greater Greater Washington, where it is crossposted, it wades deep into the details. The District is currently in the planning stages for a streetcar in Anacostia. If the district could settle the overhead wires issues I think streetcar routes down H Street NE and 7th Street NW could be outstanding catalysts for revitalization.

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During a recent trip to Seattle, I fed my transit craving by examining the city's fledgling South Lake Union Streetcar. There is more depth to this new streetcar system than just a crass acronym...

The South Lake Union Streetcar, with the Space Needle in the background.

Seattle built a streetcar here largely because of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, who heavily invested in the South Lake Union neighborhood through his venture capital company, Vulcan Inc. Allen pushed for the line to jump-start revitalization of the area.

With support from Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, Seattle created a public-private partnership finance the $52 million project. Service began on December 12, 2007 after 15 months of construction.

The route, stations, and maintenance facility. View larger map

THE ROUTE
The South Lake Union streetcar is a 2.6 mile, eleven stop loop, connecting downtown to the Denny Triangle and South Lake Union neighborhoods. The majority of the route follows Westlake Avenue, which is a wide two-way avenue with two lanes in each direction and metered parking on each side of the street. The Westlake segments are primarily at-grade tracks in each direction along the right-hand lane of traffic.

Sidewalk bulb-outs at the stations keep metered parking between the tracks and the curb, though there are exceptions. A four-block segment of the northbound route breaks off Westlake to follow the parallel Terry Avenue. Due to Terry's one way traffic pattern, stations appear on the left hand curb on Terry.

The Westlake and Terry Avenue tracks meet again at a dedicated ROW and station stop along the 12 acre waterfront Lake Union Park. Upon leaving the park, the route returns into mixed traffic. The line continues to its northernmost point along Fairview Avenue with a station stop in the median. When in mixed traffic, the tram travels slightly slower than cars or buses and waits at traffic lights like other vehicles.

The streetcar takes about 10 to 15 minutes to traverse the route. Fares are $1.75 for adults and $0.50 for children and seniors. A single ticket gets you unlimited travel in a two-hour travel window, rather than a single trip. The streetcar uses the honor system for payment, with the possibility that a fare inspector may ask for your ticket. One tram operates in each direction throughout the system's operating hours (6am to 9pm Monday through Thursday, 6am to 11pm Friday and Saturday, and 10am to 7pm Sunday).

At downtown end of the route is Westlake Center, a twenty-five story office tower and four story shopping center that also adjoins the southern terminus of the Seattle Monorail. Beneath the mall is a Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel, which accommodates the city's metrobuses and eventually light rail. Within blocks of this station is Pacific Place, the Emerald city's version of Gallery Place, and the Washington State Convention and Trade Center.

As the route proceeds down the Westlake Avenue corridor, it travels through the Denny Triangle and South Lake Union neighborhoods that are both brimming with potential for economic development. Along the way a stop at Westlake & Denny Way serves the most impressive Whole Foods Market I've ever stepped inside of and the city's oldest park (Denny Park).

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
The streetcar project is part of a larger transformation for the area north of Seattle's downtown.

The Denny Triangle, bounded by Fifth Avenue, Denny Way and Olive Way, has historically been a traffic funnel and sea of surface parking lots. Development has begun to seep from downtown into this underutilized land over the last decade. In 2006 the city council approved downtown rezoning south of Denny Way (map) that increased base height limits and outlined incentives for height bonuses (up to 500 ft) for developers that meet affordable housing and LEED standards. The rezoning placed intense development pressure on the area.

A big beneficiary of the rezoning is Clise Properties, which has amassed 12 contiguous acres that represent nearly all the land bordered by Denny Way and Fifth and Westlake avenues. Clise has changed directions and is looking to sell rather than build. Imagine a project with three times the land of Mount Vernon Place and about four times the height limit! Al Clise told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer,

"[The full potential is] a thriving world-class development on par with New York's Rockefeller Center or London's Canary Wharf. We're a small, privately held company and for us to do it ourselves would be a very difficult task. I don't think we could do it in the time frame it needs to be done."

The potential for a downtown site this large is enormous, but it will require deep pockets in a climate where capital is tough to come by. It will be interesting to watch and I hope they don't settle for fracturing it into tiny projects.

For decades South Lake Union had been a light industrial and auto services oriented district with residences only in the Cascades section (east of Fairview). Paul Allen has worked with the city for infrastructure improvements including not only the streetcar, but a new substation, multi-space parking meters and street lighting. In return, his Vulcan Real Estate is transforming the area into a 24/7 mixed use community with office, residential and retail. Vulcan has put a special focus on making the corridor a biotechnology hub; tenants include Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Zymogenetics, Seattle Biomedical Research Institute, Seattle Children's Hospital, and University of Washington Medicine. In December of 2007 online retailer Amazon announced that it will consolidate its vast Seattle operations into an 11 building urban campus spanning six blocks Vulcan has broken ground on the Amazon development and one can see cranes galore along Terry Avenue.

STREETCARS & INFRASTRUCTURE
The city purchased three 12 Trio 3-segment articulated trams from the Czech based Inekon company. The Inekon website features photo galleries inside the tram manufacturing facility and one dedicated to the Seattle Streetcar that includes snapshots from inside the maintenance facility on Harrison Street.

The trams have 3 doors on each side and a low floor base for easy boarding in the middle section of the car. A drivers cabin is placed on each end of the tram to support two way use. At the end of lines drivers simply transfer from one cabin to the other. The cars feature air conditioning, an on board payment kiosk, stop request straps, and sparse seating. An on-board passenger information system provides audible announcement and digital displays of real time arrival information.

Stations are glass and steel overhangs roughly 12 feet wide equipped with LCD's that state time until the next tram will arrive. Benches are no where to be found but riders do have the convenience of a route map and payment kiosk at each station. The trams are powered by overhead wires that are seemingly about 18-20 feet above the street. Aesthetically this was not much of a leap for Seattle as they have fleets of hybrid buses that use overhead lines.

Visit the entire Flickr photo set.

RIDERSHIP & SAFETY
Each streetcar can fit 140 riders (29 seated), which is more than double the capacity of the articulated buses in King County's standard fleet. Presently ridership has been exceeding the city's estimate of 950 riders per day or just 7.5% of the 12,600 capacity per day. In fact, the streetcar surpassed the estimated ridership for the first year (347,000) three months ahead of schedule. I believe those statistics are independent of the ridership from the inaugural first month when fares were free (video).

I explored the streetcar during the mid afternoon of a lazy Thursday. Traffic was light and cyclists few and far between. According to KUOW radio (audio link), five cyclists have raised litigation against the city because of accidents related to bike tires snagging on the street car tracks. Seattle has provided a bike lane on the parallel 9th street to address the concern. Lawyer Bob Anderton claims that the city was negligent to the risk the tracks impose on cyclists and that the city should have aligned the tracks in the left hand lane, leaving the right hand lane safe for bikes.

That would force all stations on two way streets to be in the median. Ethan Malone, streetcar program manager from SDOT, says that is a possibility for future lines. What do you think about this issue? I'm sure few care about the impact to automobiles of placing the tracks in the left hand lane, but what about forcing pedestrians/riders to the median strip? Another consequence of streetcars traveling in the left hand lane along the median is that it pushes the overhead wires further out into the street, often creating a nest effect.

CONCLUSION
Overall, I was impressed with the streetcar. It was a reliable, clean, safe and predictable form of transportation. The passenger information system that displays the wait time for the next tram was a tremendous asset. However, with a one way distance of just 1.3 miles, it doesn't span much pavement and at the moment is more of a people mover than great transit. It's a first step. This line needs to be extended to the University District while Seattle plans and prioritizes the rest of the network.

Ashton Judiciary Square

If you have been wondering what the construction behind Mass Court check out these links from DCMud and PQLiving.

Rendering from The Hanover Company via DCMud

The project is said to consist of 49 premium multi-family units. There is no ground floor retail, but the building has a small footprint, no Mass Ave frontage, and is tucked up along side the highway.

MVT Crime Map - YTD

I'm traveling today - so now seemed like as good a time as any to post an update to the Year-to-Date MVT Crime Map (thru 10/28).

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Courtesy of DC MPD's Crime and Activity Statistics webpage I was able to create a Google Map of year-to-date crime activity in the Triangle. The MPD tool allows you to specify the details of your report. I exported the report as a KML file and then imported it into Google Maps.


The image above is a thumbnail of the Crime Map. For the full effect, click through to the Google Map. Once on the google map click on the pushpins for descriptions of the crimes. Most are theft from autos but there is a car jacking, a pair of muggings on 5th Street, and a few ADWs. For help deciphering the shorthand notation in the descriptions or other general knowledge behind MPD's crime maps, please visit the DC MPD Crime Incidents Abstract.

Note: While the number of year-to-date MVT crime incidents on the map may seem high - many neighborhoods had exponentially many more. The Downtown BID had more year-to-date incidents then the KML export tool could even output.

LENSCAPE at Zenith Art Gallery

Zenith Gallery (413 7th Street NW) will be showcasing a new photography exhibit called LENSCAPE running from Nov 14th to 30th. The show features works from David Glick and Colin Winterbottom is dedicated to landscapes, some by man and some created by nature.


Gallery Hours are Tuesday thru Friday 11-6, Saturday 11-7, and Sunday 12-5.

Zenith Gallery is a future tenant of The Arts at 5th and I project.

G20 Summit this weekend at NBM

This weekend the G20 Summit to discuss the world economic crisis will be held at the National Building Museum. I'm heading out of town in the morning but recommend PQLiving for the ongoing neighborhood coverage of the event.

WaPo's Get There with Dr Gridlock has the full list of street closures and tells us the Judiciary Square Metro will be closed on Saturday. Word is that Mass Court residents won't be allowed to keep their blinds open during the event.

5th Street Ace Bag Sale Saturday

Bag Sale Saturday at 5th Street Ace Hardware


From Gina:

5th Street Ace Hardware is having a One Day Bag Sale on Saturday, November 15. All day long 5th Street Ace will be giving 20% off anything that fits into their paper shopping bags, so be creative! Power tools and small appliances are 10% off. You're not a clone, why shop at one? 5th Street Ace Hardware is located at 1055 5th Street NW; phone: (202) 682-4570; www.acehardwaredc.com. Hours on Saturday are 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

DCMetrocentric features the Triangle

DC Metrocentric has featured our blog in their "Focus On" feature.

Below I've cross posted the content.

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Focus On: Mt Vernon Triangle

Each week we turn the site over to a different neighborhood blogger from the metro area and let them loose on a series of topics about what makes their neighborhood great. This week we are focusing on the emerging neighborhood Mount Vernon Triangle.


Neighborhood:
The Mount Vernon Triangle's boundaries comprise 15 blocks within the east end of downtown bordered by Seventh Street on the west, New York Avenue on the north, New Jersey Avenue on the east, and Massachusetts Avenue on the south. Our blog covers the Mount Vernon Triangle in depth and occassionally posts on topics related to neighboring Chinatown, Penn Quarter and Mount Vernon Square.

Neighborhood's Best Kept Secret?
Tunnel Fine Wine and Spirits is a small boutique wine shop at 4th and H Streets NW with high end spirits, cigars and engaging ownership.

Favorite Neighborhood Building?
The City Vista development is the anchor for the neighborhood with the Safeway, Busboys and Poets, 5th Street Hardware, Results Gym, and Chevy Chase Bank. The project offers still more potential as nearly 12000 square feet of retail space is still available for lease. Focusing on design rather than amenities I like 455 Mass Ave within the Triangle and the Carnegie Library, Yale Lofts and Avenue across the street from our formal borders.

Least Favorite Building?
Much of the prostitution and drug dealing in the community is in the shadows of the low income Museum Square Apartments. That can't help but shape opinions of the building. I would like to see 635 Mass Ave leveled and rebuilt after NPR moves to NoMa in 2012. At the confluence of 7th Street, Mass Ave and K Street NW it is just far too prominent a location to be void of substantial retail.

Biggest Current Issue for Residents?
The biggest issues for the community are crime and safety. While improvement has been seen with the MVTCID contracting MPD officers for weekend patroles and neighborhood activism helping to shut down illegally operated crime magnet Fun Fair video more progress is needed. Transgender prostitutes are a constant fixture at the 1000 block of 4th Street (4th between K & L Streets NW) and drug peddlers roam K Street late at night. Beyond crime and safety, the lack of cranes in the neighborhood is a tad disheartening. Revitalization in the Mount Vernon Triangle is geared towards high-rise new construction which has development windows that last several years. In an area like ours ideally you'd hope to see atleast one crane in the neighborhood at all times so that the next wave of progress is never too far off.

New Development you are looking forward to?
I'm most excited about the recent RFP awarded by the District to the development team led by Donohoe. The Arts at 5th and I is one block from City Vista and will be anchored by the Me by Melia hotel, Zenith Art Gallery, a cafe, bike shop and the London based Boisdale will operate a subterranean jazz club. This project has a good mix of destination and neighborhood serving retail and will further foster pedestrian activity and identity for the 5th street corridor.

Anything you would like to ask the DCMetrocentric readers?
If you comment regularly on your neighborhood blog, why do it as Anonymous instead of an identifying screen name?

DNA meeting tonight

From DNA president Mile Groves:

Dear Neighbors,

This was a great week for our neighborhood as over 50% of our registered voters went to the polls. We will not know the full participation until the absentee votes and special votes were included, but it was a great day for participation. Last night was a great night as Commissioner Docter (who was elected again to serve as one of our commissioners) was honored by the Downtown Business Improvement District as the Downtown Citizen of the Year.

November Meeting
Our regular November meeting is scheduled for next Tuesday, November 11th. As usual the meeting starts at 6:30PM and will end promptly at 8PM at Calvary Baptist Church. Sandwich fare will be provided at the beginning. We will have PSA 101W officers attending who will be able to update us on 7th Street activity and other public safety concerns of our neighborhood. This is the last regular meeting for 2008 and a key topic of discussion will concern objectives for 2009.

Please join us and bring your ideas. If you have not RSVP's, please do so we have a sense of how to set up the room and how much food to order.

Thanks for your support,

Miles E. Groves
Downtown Neighborhood Association

I won't be attending tonight. If anyone else has a chance to feel free to email me a recap and I will post it -or- leave a recap in the comments.

2nd and Mass Park cleanup this Saturday

There is a park cleanup event at 9AM on November 15th (Saturday) at the 2nd and Mass Ave NW Park.

From the MVTCID:

Come join your neighbors for a park clean up at the 2nd and Mass Ave NW park. We will sweep, rake, weed, and pick up trash at this Triangle park. Please bring gloves and wear your work clothes.

I've contacted DPR's Sarah Moulton to see if there is further update on the proposed improvements for this park.

ICE melting away

The Immigration and Custom Enforcements (ICE) agency is moving out of the Chester A. Arthur Building (425 I Street NW) to Southwest DC. The move has been ongoing for weeks and will be completed by year end.


The seven-story 384,520 s.f. class B office building has served as the headquarter for ICE (formerly INS) for 30 years. The agency is moving to JBG's Potomac Center North at 500 12th Street SW.

The Australian based Paramount Group purchased 425 I Street in 2005 for 135.5 million dollars, or about $352 per square foot. Given the high cost per square foot razing the building would not seem to be an option. Paramount will transform the building into Class A office space and is considering adding two stories, an atrium and/or re-skinning the building. The face lift will likely take 12 months while they search for a new tenant.

With the next tenant not likely to be GSA the concrete planters along Eye and 4th Streets that I detest so much should be removed. While the building is vacant, lack of eyes on the street could become an issue. One of my neighbors at Madrigal suggested to me that the early morning activity in the parking lots from the ICE workers each morning allows the walk to Results Gym to be less sketchy.

Urban Turf features City Vista

Urban Turf had a recent feature on City Vista.

Interesting excerpt about the parking:

The development has two levels of underground parking reserved for residents. Depending on the unit, a space is included in the list price. Some of the spaces are tandem spots (where cars are parked back to back) which means that it would be helpful if the owners knew one another.

Can any City Vista readers elaborate on these tandem spots?

Mount Vernon Place office building update

As I reported a little over a week ago, the recent demolitions on 3rd Street do not signify movement on the Mount Vernon Place project. The vacant buildings were razed because they were attracting vagrants and prostitutes.

However after attending the PQNA Breakfast meeting I have learned more detail about Mount Vernon Place from the presentations from Sandy Wilkes and David Mayhood. Wilkes presentation began by listing his architectual partners and unveiling an overview of Mount Vernon Place master plan complete with renderings. This information is readily available on www.MountVernonPlace.com.

Rendering of 300 K Street

After that introduction Wilkes painted a deeper picture of what we can expect with the Mount Vernon Place office buildings on K Street.

• They don't plan to build any of the K Street office buildings until a lead tenant is identified
  
• They believe the location will attract non-profits and associations rather than law firms or GSA government
  
• Considering target tenants are non-profits they believe the buildings will have some of the highest LEED green building standards in the city
  
• They are committed to significant retail on all their K Street offices and integration of public art

Rendering of offices on 400 block of K Street

It was interesting to hear that Non-Profits and Associations are considered to be the target tenant. Recent news items show that non-profits like NPR and the Sierra Club planning to move to NoMA for lower costs. Does targeting non-profits mean we can infer that price/sqft lease rates at Mount Vernon Place will be a little closer to NoMA than the Downtown BID? I was encouraged to hear that GSA was not considered a probable client. With GSA buildings comes sidewalk barricades and armed guards.

The 100 million dollar question is: When will they break ground on these buildings? Considering a lead tenant has not been identified and the credit markets are locked up I don't think *anyone* can answer this question. I can speculate that unless a lead tenant is identified in the next 3-4 months that 2009 may be unlikely.

Renderings courtesy of www.mountvernonplace.com

MVT community walk recap

Last night's community walk was well attended by stakeholders in the community and MPD. By my rough census the following were in attendance:

• Councilmember Tommy Wells
  
• Two of Wells staffers including Charles Allen
  
• MVTCID Executive director Bill McLeod
  
• ANC commisioners Keith Silver, Mark Dixon, and Tom Hamilton
  
• Bob Holland (from The Arts at 5th and I)
  
• Tony Cheng
  
• Frank from Subway Liquors II
  
• Several MPD officers
  
• Residents from 555 Mass who attended last year's walk
  
• New residents to the neighborhood from City Vista and other buildings.

Many issues were discussed. I cannot give a comprehensive recap because I was in my own side conversations throughout the walk. But I can say that the prostitution of course was discussed, the ongoing blockage of the Mass Ave sidewalk in front of DuMont and Ledos, and squatters at the old Madrigal Lofts sales trailer. Charles Allen wrote a recap on Tommy's blog and asks for residents to chime in with other issues in their comments section.

The World Reacts and the Newseum captures it

Our reader Cozmot had a great idea to visit the outdoor display at the Newseum to see how newspaper front pages around the globe captured Obama's victory.


The Newseum also has the newspaper front pages online.


DCist had a similar post yesterday of the region's newspapers.

Mayhood presentation on Madrigal Lofts

This morning I attended the PQNA breakfast meeting that featured presentations on the Mount Vernon Triangle. The room at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre was packed with over 100 attendees. It was good to promote awareness of the Triangle to a wider base.

Much of the talked about planned development was redundant for me of course, but I am a data junkie and enjoyed David Mayhood's presentation. Here are some stats Mayhood presented regarding sales at the Madrigal Lofts.


Mayhood explained that the skew towards Male among singles is a likely by product of the area still being a transitional neighborhood. He suggested that if instead we examined a new condo smack in the middle of Penn Quarter the % females would likely be over 50%.

FHA Seminar at Yale Lofts

Yale Lofts is having a seminar on FHA loans tonight at 6pm.


Is there a reader who would be willing to give a high level explanation of FHA at Yale Lofts? I haven't had much exposure to FHA. In the past I've heard of FHA loans for the purpose of first time buyers rehabbing a dilapidated house. The idea of an FHA loan with a new construction hi-rise is new for me. Is this available at many condos or is Yale Lofts unique?

Triangle related events on Nov 6th

Pennsylvania Quarter Neighborhood Association

The next Pennsylvania Quarter Neighborhood Association breakfast meeting will be held on November 6 at 8:30am at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre (641 D St NW). This meeting is focused on Mount Vernon Triangle development, the current state and future plans. Guest speakers include MVTCID Executive director Bill McLeod as well as a representative from the Wilkes Company. Wilkes is associated with Mount Vernon Place, an eleven building mixed use development spanning 5 blocks of the Mount Vernon Triangle.

RSVP via email to joann (at) PennQuarter (dot) org. When responding, please include the first and last names and affiliations of all people attending.

Additionally, as we announced a month ago, Thursday is also the day for:

Mount Vernon Triangle Community Walk with Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells

D.C. Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells will join Mount Vernon Triangle residents for a Community Walk through at 6pm on Thursday November 6th. The walk starts at the 555 Mass condominium. This is a followup to last year's walk which is recapped on Tommy's blog.

Another one bites the dust

Columbo from PQLiving has a few snapshots of the 6th and K Automart sign being taken down this past Sunday.

The sign is rather iconic among local D.C. photographers on flickr. It was also popular among some residents like our friends at DistrictChatter.

I liked it as well. That said, perhaps I don't have a vivid enough imagination but I could not see how it could be preserved and integrated into a new project. I think it had to go, but would like to see in the long run it be replaced with some other art or community amenity rather than soley the big box we see in this photo.

Google Street View

In July we highlighted Google's new walking directions. Today we learned (via GGW) that Google's Street View is now available for Washington DC.

Intersection of 5th and K looking south

Based on the images around City Vista I would guess the Google trucks cruised by in early/mid spring. Trees are green, the Hancock movie banner is up, but 5th Street Hardware is still not open.

Quick poll on local voting habits

I am curious how people vote on local D.C. politics.



Ward 6 Sample Ballot taken from DCBOEE Voter's Guide:

Voting Precinct 143

Precinct 143, where most Triangle residents will vote, is located at the Chinese Community Church (500 I Street NW). This polling place was created this year and first used for the September 9th primaries.

Photo of the Chinese Community Church

Boundaries for Precinct 143 as defined on DCDNA.org

I believe that City Vista, Museum Square & Golden Rule residents need to head to the Walker Jones Elementary School (100 L Street NW, 20001). Use the DCBOEE Polling Place Locator if you are unsure.

Tony Cheng's 5th Street property

In a discussion last week a reader inquired about 925 5th Street NW.

Check out 925 5th Street NW. That is the building next to Fun Fair that has no roof and only a facade. Apparently it is allowed to stand because under the plywood at the top is an art deco era material (vitrolite). Apparently it is one of the remaining "examples" of this material's use in DC. Just because it is hiding under the plywood, do we have to keep a structurally unsound building and crack addict magnet? There is nothing special about that facade.

The property is owned by Tony Cheng and assessed at $1.6 million.

Exterior of 925 5th Street NW

"Interior" of 925 5th Street NW

The photos are part of a larger set taken by James "Jad" Donohoe and uploaded to flickr in May of this year. Donohoe Development ultimately was awarded the 5th and Eye RFP in September.

Click on image to view entire 25 photo set

Donohoe Development is interested in acquiring the properties on 5th Street to expand the Arts at 5th and I project towards K Street.

How to be less anonymous

Readership and comments have steadily increased on the Triangle over the past several months. While the blog will continue to allow Anonymous comments and not enable moderation unless trolling becomes an issue I encourage readers to consider being less Anonymous with their comments. It can be cumbersome to carry on discussions with 3 different people who posted as Anonymous.

I wanted to point out that it is not necessary to create a blogger identity to post with an quasi-identity. Just click on the Name/URL toggle button and provide a name. It doesn't have to be a revealing name. Perhaps just your first name, a nickname or a handle (i.e. 301MassGuy).

Like I said, I have no plans to make this required. I did want to encourage it as I feel it will aid discussions in individual postings and create more overall identity within this community blog on the whole.

Patrick Mara for DC Council At-Large seat

Patrick Mara is running for an At-Large position on the D.C. City Council. I don't have plans to highlight all local candidates on the blog but the Mara campaign headquarters fall within the Triangle at 1004 6th Street NW so I feel he's mention worthy.


Mara is a republican and defeated longtime incumbent Carol Schwartz in the primary. David Alpert, founder of Greater Greater Washington, had a chance to sit down with the various candidates and endorses Mara whom he says is the first Republican he will have ever voted for in his life.

Alpert writes:

Mara could have (and perhaps should have) run as an independent. After all, he's not much like today's national Republican leaders at all. Mara supports gay marriage and abortion rights, for example. Mara doesn't own a car, and hasn't since high school, in fact. He commuted by bicycle from his Columbia Heights home to his energy consulting gig before he started running full-time.

Mara believes DC's future rests on raising the population back to the 800,000 we had around 1950 (today, DC has only about 588,000 residents). Quite simply, there's no way we can fit 212,000 more cars (or even half that) in the city. There's not enough room to park them and no more road capacity to move them about. Instead, most of the new residents will have to get around by Metro, bus, walk, or bike.

Mara would like to see more bus service, streetcars, and an expanded Metro within the District. He believes in building more trails, and keeping Klingle Road shut. He supports measures to improve bicycle safety, like the three foot rule in Graham's recent bill. Education is Mara's top priority. He says he decided to run for Council after mentoring three young children, one east of the Anacostia River where dropout rates reach 50%, and seeing the way our education system is "letting kids down in a big way." Families who don't "win the lottery to go to a charter school" have to either pay huge sums for private school, move to Virginia or Maryland, or suffer under a bad system. He's a strong supporter of Fenty's education reform efforts (as are all the candidates I spoke to).

Alpert also sat down with Independent candidate Michael Brown who polls indicate to be the front runner for the at-large council position. In their discussion Brown seems to be for slowing down development of the city and favoring cars (wider streets, more municipal parking garages) over density and walkable urbanism. The Washingtonpost agrees and also supports Mara.

Brown has run for various city offices in the past including Mayor. It's likely some voters will cast for him simply because his last name is the same as another popular councilmember (Kwame Brown). But if you value walkable city living you should consider Patrick Mara. The Republican party affiliation matters little. Alpert sums that up succinctly:

To me, having one candidate with whom I disagree on some bread-and-butter Democratic issues matters little. The Council has eleven Democrats, the maximum number permitted by law. Even if Mara is on the opposite side from me on, say, health care or workplace safety (not that I know how Mara would vote on any particular such measure), if seven of those eleven can't agree on a bill, I'm not sure how good it really is. Besides, we've had a Republican in the past, and a much worse one for transportation, gay rights, and many other issues.

With my preferred presidential candidate likely to win DC in a landslide, the Ward-6 Council seat not on this election cycle, and my ANC6C01 candidate (Keith Silver) running unopposed, I consider the Council at-large votes to be the most meaningful I will cast.