Great wall of AIPAC

The parking lot between the Mitchell Mayer building (home to AIPAC) and the I-395 Air shaft has been an chain link blighted eye sore since I moved into the neighborhood. This week a masonry wall was erected to match the texture of the office building. While the chain link fence has not been removed yet - I have to imagine it will soon go.

First image is a before shot from Google Streetview and the subsequent images are snapshots from today.

Permitting for public sculpture at Madrigal Lofts

Tonight's ANC 6C meeting includes an item regarding an application by Madrigal Lofts to place a sculpture in public space.

The sculpture was in the original plans from Quadrangle Development Corporation for the Madrigal Lofts and measures 16’ x 8’ x7’ in size. It will placed on the Eye Street Side of the building in the area between and above the benches.

Rendering of proposed public art courtesy of Quadrangle

Pedestal and benches along Eye Street

Aerial of pedestal and benches along Eye Street

Quadrangle indicated to me that a preliminary meeting of the ANC appeared to agree that they would recommend to the DCRA that the permit be issued; however, a formal vote will be taken at the full commission meeting. Once Quadrangle earns the approval they plan to have a proper unveiling ceremony at the property.

Ready for Lift Off

The corner of 5th and K has been transformed from a sleepy asphalt lot into a bustling downtown destination. A steady stream of Safeway shoppers are now a constant on Fifth Street. Busboys and Poets, and soon Taylor Gourmet, attract an influx of loyal diners while Ace Hardware and Results Gym fill valuable neighborhood needs.

An area on the figurative ascent is now ready for Lift Off thanks to internationally recognized sculptor David Black. Lift Off is the latest of Black's open, walk-under structures that combine architectural elements with the energy and references of sculpture.

Side view of David Black's Lift Off.

Aerial view of David Black's Lift Off.

In a 2008 presentation to the Commission of Fine Arts, Black ascribed his inspiration for the sculpture to a Kite festival he saw on the National Mall. The design of his proposal is a transparent, canopy-like structure that spreads out while not interrupting pedestrian movement. The design features a small bench incorporated into the lower part of the sculpture. Lights are to be placed at the end of the four cross beams.

Three concrete pedestals have been stationed in the plaza area at 5th & K for over a year in anticipation of Lift Off's arrival. The wait is near an end as Mount Vernon Triangle CID Executive Director Bill McLeod says installation is nearly ready to be scheduled. More details will be forthcoming in the CID's fall newsletter.

Over the summer we previewed a future public art installation from Midnight Metal Works that will conceal an air intake louver along the 5th Street facade of City Vista. These two pieces share similar styles and should complement each other nicely.

Museum Square petrified forest

The Museum Square apartments (401 K Street NW) has EIGHT consecutive dead trees running along it's K Street frontage. Unless you live at Museum Square or regularly walk the interior sidewalk it may not have been apparent the quantity of dead trees as another row of healthy trees runs along K Street.


The aerial from Google maps was taken in summer 2008 so these trees have been dead over 12 months. Presumably this many consecutive dead trees is related to a disease of some kind. Do anyone of you know what kind of trees these are? Elms?

Through my inquiry on Monday I learned that the MVT CID is trying to work with Urban Forestry on the tree removal. However we will not see replacement trees planted until the K Street streetscaping occurs (possibly 2010).

Linked up: The Arch, Noise and Streetscapes

Chinatown: Restoration work on the Chinatown Arch will begin on June 1 and last approximately 8 weeks. [PQLiving]

Downtown: Word from DDOT is that Fourth Street and the Chinatown Park will be included in the CBD Streetscape upgrade project. [DCDNA]

Downtown: Miles Groves outlines the steps for working with DCRA on violations of the Trash Collection Noise Abatements Act. [DCDNA blog]

NoMA: A planned "virtual" traffic circle where Florida Ave, New York Ave and 1st Street NE meet is tongue-and-cheekily being coined "Dave Thomas" circle due to the presence of a Wendy's on the central parcel. [Washcycle]

425 Eye Construction fencing

Last week we witnessed the first clear sign that renovations at 425 Eye St had begun. A fence along the building's Eye street frontage has blocked off the entire ~20 foot wide sidewalk and a lane of roadway. Sigal construction placed their signs on the fencing and the building late in the week.


In early 2008 the district government announced a new pedestrian safety standard that requires either covered walkways or protected open walkways at most construction sites. While existing construction projects around the city were grandfathered out of the requirement new projects like 425 Eye street should be held to the standard.

The Bloomingdale (for now) blog had the same observation about construction fencing recently erected at the Watha T. Daniel library site. The issue there has been sorted out and pedestrian access restored. We'll have to watch over the coming weeks to see if Sigal construction boxed out this area on Eye Street as a precursor to building covered walkways or if they are simply in non-compliance.

Include Chinatown Park in streetscape upgrades

From Miles Groves of the DNA:

DDOT will be presenting their Downtown Streetscape (trees and streetlights) report, which will disclose whether they will include trees and streetlights in the area around the proposed Chinatown Park at 6th and Massachusetts Avenue. We need concerned residents who are concerned about the plight of Chinatown Park to attend the ANC 6C meeting which will be held at the Heritage Foundation at 214 Mass Ave NE starting at 7PM this Tuesday. As you can see from the agenda, several items are being covered.

We need to show DDOT that the neighborhood is concerned with the state of Chinatown Park and the delays to include the public space streetscape improvements that the National Park Service wants to see put into place before the renovation of the park begins.

Please try to come and bring neighbors. Some of us have spent exhaustive hours trying to get this work done and we need to show public support to the ANC and to DDOT.

Reservation 72, aka Chinatown park, bounded by 5th, 6th, Mass and I

Upgrading the park has long been discussed but continues to be postponed due to NPS control of the land and lack of funds. The streetscape money presents an opportunity to infuse life into the project. The Chinatown Revitalization Council would like to renovate the park in a way that incorporates Chinese Heritage. Triangle residents would like it to be a lively space and not just a worn patch of grass.

Jacked up tree guards

The photos below show the wake of destruction from WASA inflicted on the custom tree guards outside of 555 Mass during their late night jackhammering a couple weeks back.




Click images to enlarge.

K Street Streetscape Funding

On the heels of yesterday's posting that outlined the streetscape plans for K Street the natural questions are when will this happen and how will it be paid for?

The timeline is linked to the financing. The Mount Vernon Triangle Community Improvement District (MVT CID) has been lobbying heavily for this project over the last year with the Mayor's office and the DC Council to secure funding. Within the past two weeks the CID engaged new DDOT director Gabe Klein in discussions on this project.

The best opportunity to jumpstart these improvements is via the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), also known as stimulus money. The District has been allocated roughly ~$120 million dollars in FHWA ARRA money for roads and highways. Mayor Fenty recently signed and submitted an act to request the funds for Phase I spending of this money ($57.7MM). Blogger TSARCHITECT has a comprehensive recap regarding which projects were included in this first phase of spending.

Of note is that the shovel ready Fourth Street improvements applied for funding but were not included. I believe DDOT had funds for Fourth Street in the 2009 budget and the upgrades will proceed this summer without the ARRA money. K Street however does not yet have a budget and ARRA funding could truly accelerate the time table (2010?) for these transformations to our community's commercial corridor.

Let's show our support for K Street Streetscape improvements to Deputy Mayor Neil Albert when he speaks at the DNA meeting on April 14th.

Future of the K Street Streetscape

On two occasions I've recapped the planned upgrades to Fourth Street according to the Final Report for the Mount Vernon Triangle Transportation and Public Realm Design Project. The aim of this posting is to outline the plans for K Street between 7th Street NW and New Jersey Ave NW.

Running east-west through the center of the Triangle, K Street is the neighborhood’s major commercial and activity corridor. Verdant in character, K Street also functions as shared urban green space connecting the northern and southern halves of the Triangle. The generous proportions of the street allow for large public gatherings and events, while the development of ground-floor commerce reinforces the street’s function as a neighborhood economic artery. The variability of architectural form and function along the street is addressed by a consistent, unifying streetscape that is still flexible enough to respond to unique conditions.

The spatial configuration, material palette, and programming of the K Street landscape accommodate both commerce and daily neighborhood life. Along most of its length, the wide building setback is divided into three zones: a “promenade” sidewalk zone adjacent to the street, a wider “meander” sidewalk zone adjacent to the buildings, and a substantial “median” in between with canopy trees and lush understory planting. Distinct paving differentiates the two pedestrian zones, while a palette of contemporary streetlights, benches, and trash receptacles unifies the entire street and distinguishes it from most other streets within the Triangle.

Plans for K Street include the following:

• 50 foot wide streetscape divided into 3 zones: promenade sidewalk along street, landscaped median, and meander sidewalk adjacent to buildings.
  
• Meander sidewalks to use pressed concrete pavers while promenade sidewalks offer contrast with brick.
  
• 5th and K "neighborhood center" to have a four plaza configuration with special pavers.
  
• Public art should be integrated, at every opportunity, into the K Street streetscape in a manner appropriate to an active commercial corridor and a residential neighborhood.
  
• Alley and Parking lot curb cuts should be consolidated. Future curb cuts should be kept to a minimum.
  
• Typical K Street streetscape pattern will be modified to accommodate and preserve existing trees in front of Museum Square.
  
• Contemporary lighting, benches and trash cans installed on K Street to contrast the traditional offerings on surrounding streets.
  
• Installation of "pay and display" multi-space meters
  
• A mid block cross walk for the 400 block of K Street (which is a "double block").
  
• Bicycle lanes and racks will be added to K Street.
  
• All utility structures, including grill-covered area ways, should be located in alleys or on private property, not in the sidewalk or in public space areas.
  

Click any of the images below to enlarge:




All renderings taken from Final Report for the Mount Vernon Triangle Transportation and Public Realm Design Project

Salt stained brick sidewalks

In early January several local blogs picked up Rob Goodspeed's posting on how brick sidewalks are more slippery when wet than concrete pavers. I've also noticed that many of our area red brick sidewalks have lasting salt stains since the snow on January 27th.


Are these discolored bricks an issue of property management companies using a type of salt not suited for brick? Or is it just a lack of realization that the bricks must be cleaned after a salting?

DuMont's Mass Ave sidewalks reopened

Late last week (Saturday?) the Mass Ave sidewalks in front of The DuMont were reopened.


The DuMont's Mass Ave frontage features two small u-shaped driveways in front of the condo entrances. I'm not a big fan of senseless curb cuts. However if they were doing this for symmetry with 400 Mass perhaps one larger consolidated driveway featuring parking for Zipcars, as the Meridian does, would have been more appropriate?


The sidewalk in front of Ledos (433 Mass) is still not open. So pedestrians must walk into traffic for 10 feet to go around the fence. There does not appear to be any suitable reason for the entirety of the sidewalk in front of Ledos to be closed off. No work is currently underway at the property and the on-site dumpster could be barricaded without blocking all the sidewalk. The condo board at 555 Mass has sent correspondence to the MVT CID and Tommy Wells office about this needless obstruction. Hopefully the fencing is adjusted this week.

Positively Fourth Street

This post isn't about a Bob Dylan song or a World Series of Poker memoir. Instead it is a closer examination of the plans for a Two-Way Fourth Street NW within the Triangle. In past postings we have alluded to DDOT planned improvements for the street. With changes slated to begin in 2009 we felt it was time for a closer look.

click to enlarge; image from 2005 DDOT Studies

Fourth Street improvements include:

• Restore two-way traffic from L Street to Mass Ave
  
• New traffic light at Fourth and Eye
  
• Removal of a traffic island on the NW corner of Fourth and Mass
  
• Reconfiguration of the Fourth, Mass and H Street intersection
  
• Redesign slip intersection of Third and H Streets
  
• In long term, two way traffic restored between NY Ave and L Street

These improvements will promote safety for pedestrians by calming traffic speed and will reduce the appeal of the street as a I-395 alternate route. Additionally, because of the K Street and Fifth street overlays that prohibit/limit new curb cuts, the alley/garage traffic of new K Street Developments will funnel onto Fourth.

Dumont Update - Eye Street Facing

In August we discussed the "trenches" along the perimeter of the Dumont. The terraces and steps have now been installed.




Came out better than I envisioned except for the color of the stairs (maybe they still plan to paint them). I still can't imagine the quasi-basement units along the trench being very desirable until nearly all other 1BR inventory is worked off.

More Streetscape improvements plus bike racks on L Street

The streetscape on L Street NW in front of Safeway is close to being completed. The fencing and bike racks have been installed. We've had previous updates of the streetscapes on July 3rd and July 28.

fencing installed around the 120 year old oak tree

2 bike racks immediately in front of Safeway

4 bike racks installed close to entrance of City Vista L

I'm told K Street will also have bike racks later this year.

Landscaping along City Vista

There is recent landscaping progress along the streets of City Vista. My last update on the landscaping was July 3rd. The plants on K Street aren't new but had previously been behind the chain link construction perimeter fencing.

Plants along 400 block of K Street NW

Plants along 400 block of L Street NW; in front of Safeway

Triangle Park at New York Ave and L Street NW

Are they planning to chain off the grass areas of the park using those posts they installed? It may be for the best. Panhandlers setting up camp under the shade of the tree should be discouraged.

City Vista streetscapes

Back on June 22nd we cited a WBJ report that Lowe Enterprises (City Vista) incurred a $300,000 expense preserving the roots of a 120 year old oak tree at New York Ave and L Street NW. Below is a snapshot of the tree (right).



Also noteworthy is that the planter at the corner of 5th and K Street NW is taking shape.