Agenda Announced for December 5, 2012, Meeting of ANC2C

The agenda has been announced for the Wednesday, December 5, 2012, meeting of ANC 2C. The meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. at the Shaw Library, 1630 7th Street, NW.

Agenda items include the Commission's consideration of its recommendation to the District government regarding the proposals for the redevelopment of Parcel 42.

The full agenda is after the jump.

Mayor's Agent Rejects Church Request to Demolish Buildings at 1232, 1234, and 1236 New Jersey Avenue, NW

1232-1236 New Jersey Avenue, NW
and adjacent parking lot

The Mayor's Agent for Historic Preservation has rejected the request of the Third Street Church of God to demolish three rowhouses at 1232, 1234, and 1236 New Jersey Avenue, NW.  The church wanted to demolish the buildings, which are located in the Mount Vernon Square Historic District, as part of a project to expand its parking lot.
The church's request was initially brought to the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB), which supported partial demolition of the rear of the structures but rejected the church's proposal to demolish the structures entirely.

The church appealed the HPRB decision to the Mayor's Agent, claiming that failure to issue a permit to demolish the entire structures would result in unreasonable economic hardship to the church.  In a decision issued in early November, the Mayor's Agent rejected the church's argument, stating the following:

While the Church surely finds these rowhouses to be a burden, it cannot be said that their preservation imposes on it an unreasonable economic burden within the meaning of the [Historic Preservation] Act. ...  The cost of complying with the compromise to which it agreed in 2011, $77,420, which involves partial demolition and structurally securing the remainder of the buildings, does not seem prohibitive in light of the Church’s revenues and assets. The Church is engaged in an expensive expansion of its facilities, estimated at $1.8 million, but the cost of stabilizing these rowhouses, part of the expansion plan approved by the HPRB in 2011, is small in comparison to the cost of the overall project.

The Church can avoid even this expense ... by selling the rowhouses, which it does not wish to occupy. ... [W]hen an owner can sell protected property at a price that is not confiscatory, no unreasonable economic hardship can be shown....  Here, the Church can sell the buildings for at least four times as much as it paid for them....

The Church has been forthright that it does not want to sell these properties primarily because it wants to demolish the buildings and use the land for parking. ...  Of course, the Church’s desire to make its physical plant serve its mission deserves great respect; parking for urban religious communities is challenging. But like all property owners, the Church must pursue its facility goals within the constraints of the Historic Landmark and Historic District Protection Act, which benefits both the surrounding neighborhood and entire District of Columbia. The Mayor’s Agent does not have authority to simply prefer the Church’s plan to what the Act requires. That preservation of a contributing building makes carrying out worthwhile plans more inconvenient or more expensive does not constitute an unreasonable economic hardship within the meaning of the Act.

Parking lot adjacent to
1232-1236 New Jersey Avenue, NW

Third Street Church of God
(small portion of existing parking lot visible to right)

The full text of the Mayor's Agent's decision, a history of the raze permit request, and links to prior HPRB documents are after the jump.

Check Out the Six Proposals for Parcel 42's Redevelopment

The six proposals that the District government is considering for the redevelopment of Parcel 42 (located at the northeast corner of 7th and R Streets, NW) were presented to the community in a public meeting held on November 14, 2012. The proposals are described below, with a link to each of the developer's presentations.  More information on the parcel and the solicitation process is available here.


BAYWOOD HOTELS

Developer: Baywood Hotels (lead) and Dantes Partners

Architect: OPX

Proposal: 102-room hotel with residential and retail components

Hotel component: 102 rooms (floors 4 through 9)

Residential component: 22 affordable housing units (floors 2 and 3).  The units would be affordable to households at 50% of the area median income; of the 22 units, 3 would be efficiencies and 19 would be one-bedroom units.  No market rate units.

Retail component: 5,689 square feet (floor 1)

Retail tenant: Milk & Honey Market (Milk & Honey Market describes itself as "Your convenient neighborhood source for delicious locally produced foodstuffs, from farm fresh produce, dairy and sustainably raised meats to local and imported specialty cheeses and charcuterie. From artisanal baked goods to essential groceries.")

Parking: 74 spaces

Total square footage: 89,918 total square feet (including 54,492 square feet for the hotel and 5,689 square feet of retail),

Height: 9 stories (90 feet)

Small parcel component: Community playground [Note: Parcel 42 includes the main parcel at 7th and R Streets, NW, and a small (1,700 square feet) secondary parcel across an alley from the main parcel.]

Developer's presentation: Click here.

FOUR POINTS AND WARRENTON GROUP

Developer: Four Points + The Warrenton Group

Architect: studio upwall

Proposal: 109-unit residential building with two levels of retail

Residential component: 109 units; 10% of the units will be affordable (affordability level not specified).  The units would be affordable to households at 80% of the area median income (per  City Paper article).

Retail component: Two levels of retail.  (The City Paper article describes the retail component as follows: "[The developers] envision two levels of retail, with a public stair at the corner of 7th and R leading up to a second-floor courtyard with greenery, shops, and townhouses.")

Retail tenant: Not yet determined.

Parking: Number of spaces note specified.*

Total square footage: 109,960 square feet (comprised of 77,820 residential, 15,260 commercial, 15,280 square feet of parking, and 1,000 square feet of common space)

Height: 90 feet

Small parcel component: Three townhomes.

Developer's presentation: Click here.

* Not specified in developer's PowerPoint presentation and not described in the DC Urban Turf or City Paper article.

NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT COMPANY

Developer: Neighborhood Development Company

Architect: Wiencek + Associates

Proposal: 81 unit residential building with ground-floor retail

Residential component:  81 units (62 one-bedroom units and 19 two-bedroom units).  17 of the 81 units (20%) would be affordable dwelling units (ADUs).  Half of the ADUs would be affordable to households with incomes of 80% of the area median income (AMI) and half of the ADUs would be affordable to households with incomes of 30% or 60% of the AMI.

Retail component: 7,600 square feet (ground floor) with outdoor seating/dining

Retail tenant: Yes! Organic Market 

Parking: 33 spaces (27 for residential units and 6 for retail)

Total square footage: 91,902 total square feet (79,380 square feet for residential; 7,600 square feet retail; 4,020 square feet common space)

Height: 8 stories

Small parcel component: 2 townhouses [Note: Parcel 42 includes the main parcel at 7th and R Streets, NW, and a small (1,700 square feet) secondary parcel across an alley from the main parcel.]

Alternate proposal: Neighborhood Development Company also presented an alternate proposal under which they would combine the two lots that comprise Parcel 42 (the main lot and the small lot across the alley from the main lot) by realigning the alley.  Under this proposal, the project size would increase to 102,048 square feet, with 85,043 square feet of residential, 9,500 square feet of retail, and 7,500 square feet of retail space. The number of housing units would increase to 99, with 20 of the units being affordable dwelling units.  The number of parking spaces would increase to 68, with 55 spaces dedicated to residential units and 13 spaces dedicated to the retail component.

Developer's presentation: Click here.


POUNDS

Note: POUNDS' PowerPoint presentation provided limited information on the specific elements of the proposal.  Some of the information below is derived from articles in DC Urban Turf and the Washington City Paper.

Developer: POUNDS (lead) and Jubilee Housing

Architect: Sorg Architects

Proposal: 100-unit residential building with ground floor retail and several live-work spaces (per DC Urban Turf)

Residential component: 100 units including live-work units for entrepreneurs to live in and set up shop in. Units range from studios to three-bedrooms, and 40 percent will be affordable. (per DC Urban Turf)  Average affordability will be 40% of area median income.  (per City Paper article)

Retail component: 5,000 square feet, in addition to live-work units

Retail tenant: Not yet determined.

Parking: Number of parking spaces not specified.*

Total square footage: Not specified.*

Height: Not specified.*

Small parcel component: Community garden. [Note: Parcel 42 includes the main parcel at 7th and R Streets, NW, and a small (1,700 square feet) secondary parcel across an alley from the main parcel.]

District financial subsidy:  The City Paper article notes that this is the only proposal that requires a District subsidy.

Developer's presentation: Click here.

* Not specified in developer's PowerPoint presentation and not described in the DC Urban Turf or City Paper article.

TENSQUARE AND CHAPMAN DEVELOPMENT

Note: The TenSquare/Chapman PowerPoint presentation provided limited information on the specific elements of the proposal.  Some of the information below is derived from articles from DC Urban Turf and the Washington City Paper.

Developer: TenSquare and Chapman Development

Architect: R2L Architects

Proposal: 105-unit residential building with ground floor retail (per DC Urban Turf)

Residential component:  105 units, mix of studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom units (per DC Urban Turf).  Affordable housing component not specified.*

Retail component: 5,000 square feet.

Retail tenant: Not yet determined.

Parking: Amount not specified.*
Total square footage: Not specified.*

Height: Not specified.* 

Small parcel component: Park space and bike racks. [Note: Parcel 42 includes the main parcel at 7th and R Streets, NW, and a small (1,700 square feet) secondary parcel across an alley from the main parcel.]

Developer's presentation: Click here.

* Not specified in developer's PowerPoint presentation and not described in the DC Urban Turf or City Paper article.


UNITED HOUSE OF PRAYER FOR ALL PEOPLE

Developer: United House of Prayer for All People

Architect: Suzane Reatig Architects

Proposal:  50-unit residential building with ground floor retail

Residential component: 50 units (mix of studios, and one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and three-bedroom units), of which 20% will be affordable dwelling units (income level not specified*); average unit size is 1,000 square feet

Retail component: 6,000 square feet

Retail tenant: Not yet determined

Parking: 18 spaces

Total square footage: 68,927 square feet

Height: 6 stories (60 feet)

Small parcel component: Community park space/garden.  [Note: Parcel 42 includes the main parcel at 7th and R Streets, NW, and a small (1,700 square feet) secondary parcel across an alley from the main parcel.]

Developer's presentation: Click here.

* Not specified in developer's PowerPoint presentation and not described in the DC Urban Turf or City Paper article.

Mood Lounge Plans Major Changes

Mood Lounge has proposed major changes to its operations in an effort to have a "great working relationship with [its] neighbors" and to "survive in these hard economic times."   The proposed changes were outlined in a letter received by the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board in mid-October.  In that letter, Mood Lounge's owner sought approval for the following operational changes:

• Caribbean cuisine to be served on the first level from 5:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday
• Happy hour to be held from 5:00 p.m. to midnight, Tuesday through Sunday.  The happy hour would "include diversified food and competitive neighborhood prices"
• Community events, including block parties, live jazz, poetry reading, and book drives

The letter did not state whether any changes would be made to Mood Lounge's Friday and Saturday night events.

It's not clear whether any action is required by the Board.  The Board reviewed the letter at a meeting held on November 14, 2012, but its disposition of the request was to treat it as a "For Your Information" letter.

The letter also stated that the following changes would be made:

• A general manager would be hired to manage day-to-day operations
• Metropolitan Police Department reimbursable details would be employed on Friday and Saturday nights
• Soundproofing would be installed on the wall that Mood Lounge shares with 1316 9th Street, NW.

Mood Lounge's owner closed her letter with the following statement:

[A]fter careful thought and consideration, I have changed my ideas and views from sitting in many of the ANC board meetings and have learned from the board and the community.  We will have a new direction of what we want to achieve for this establishment, and have decided to be what this community needs me to be, an asset for the area.

Mood Lounge is located at 1318 9th Street, NW, and has been the subject of a number of neighborhood complaints and its license was recently suspended for ten days.

A copy of the letter is after the jump.

Agenda Announced for ANC2C Meeting on November 7, 2012

The agenda has been announced for the Wednesday, November 7, 2012, meeting of ANC 2C. The meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. at the Shaw Library, 1630 7th Street, NW.

Agenda items include a discussion of designating the Shaw East area as a historic district (discussed previously on this site); a request for support for leasing the open space in front of the vacant Shaw Junior High School to Old City Green; and a request for support for a small development project on the 400 block of Ridge Street, NW.

The full agenda is after the jump.