District Issues Solicitation for the Redevelopment of Parcel 42, at 7th and R Streets, NW

Parcel 42
[click image to enlarge]

The District government has issued a solicitation seeking proposals for the development of Parcel 42, a large, vacant, District-owned parcel at the northeast corner of 7th Street and R Streets, NW, diagonally across from the Shaw Library.

Site
Technically, Parcel 42 consists of two lots — the main development lot is an approximately 15,000 square foot vacant lot at the northeast corner of 7th and R Streets, NW (sometimes also referred to as 7th Street and Rhode Island Avenue, NW).  The second lot, which is also vacant, sits across the alley to the east of the main parcel and consists of approximately 1,700 square feet.  The image below shows the size and location of the parcels. 

Parcel 42 consists of the two lots outlined in red

Development Program
The solicitation provides developers with broad discretion in crafting the details of their development proposals, but it states that the District is seeking mixed-use development proposals with ground-floor retail and mixed-income residential units.  (The solicitation indicates that developers should "maximize" the number of housing units affordable to households at or below 80% of the area median income for the Washington metropolitan area, but no specific number or percentage of affordable units is required.)  The District is encouraging developers to submit development proposals that maximize development density through a planned unit development.

The solicitation also states that District is seeking "high quality architecture" for the project and proposals "are expected to have a signature design, which complements the neighborhood character, and creates a pedestrian friendly environment."

Timeline

• Responses to the solicitation are due by July 26, 2012
• A short list of developers (selected from the proposals that are submitted) will be announced in the summer of 2012
• A community presentation by the short-listed developers will be held in the fall of 2012
• A development team will be selected for the site in the late fall of 2012

The timeline is subject to future modifications.

Solicitation Document
The complete solicitation document is available after the jump.

Agenda Announced for ANC2C Meeting on May 2, 2012

The agenda has been announced for the Wednesday, May 2, 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 request for support of zoning relief (related to parking) for the proposed development project at 435 R Street, NW; a request for support for the use of the Shaw Junior High School parking garage by churches on Sundays; a presentation on options for improving the availability of parking for residents during Howard Theatre events; and consideration of grant requests from non-profits.

The full agenda is after the jump.

Bundy Field to Open May 12, 2012; Public Use Procedures Announced

Bundy Field will finally open for use by KIPP DC and the public on Saturday, May 12, 2012! 

Opening day events will be held from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m and will include a ribbon cutting and a give-away of over 500 professional soccer balls to local youth on a first-come, first-served basis. (The U.S. Soccer Foundation made the balls available for $5 each; over $1,000 was raised from local residents and Douglas Development donated $1,000 in order to make the balls available for free.)

In addition, more details have been released regarding the use of the field by the public. As previously reported, primary use of the field has been granted to KIPP DC, which will generally have use of the field from 8:00 a.m. to 6:45 p.m. on weekedays and from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Saturdays.   At other times, the field will be available for use by the public. The field may be reserved by the public for organized sports and recreational activites by filing an application with the District's Department of General Services (available here). When the field is not being used by either KIPP DC or an oragnized group, the field will be available to the public for unorganized sports and recreational acitivites.

View a flyer for the opening day events and a copy of the field use rules after the jump.

Should East Shaw Be a Historic District?

One of the stated goals of the District's Comprehensive Plan is to establish a historic district in the eastern portion of Shaw, which the Comprehensive Plan calls the Shaw East Survey Area.  The likely boundaries of the historic district are shown in the image to the left.  (Click on the image for a larger view.)

At this time, though, the District's historic preservation office is not actively pursuing this goal, and a community-driven effort would be needed to make East Shaw a historic district. In the early 2000s, just such an effort was begun; however, the Advisory Neighborhood Commission, after originally supporting the proposed historic district, voted to oppose the potential designation.

What are your thoughts on the historic district proposal?  Would becoming a historic district benefit East Shaw?

Read more about the proposal, view a 182-page report on the history of the East Shaw area (which includes detailed information on the history of East Shaw's commercial establishments, schools, churches, and individual residential buildings), and add your comments, after the jump.

District Rejects Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Proposed in Shaw

The D.C. Department of Health (DOH) this week rejected the two applications that had been submitted to the District proposing to locate medical marijuana dispensaries in Shaw.  Each of the applicants had proposed to locate a dispensary on the 1500 block of 7th Street, NW — one at 1537 7th Street and one at 1539 7th Street, NW. (See prior posts on the applications here, here, and here.) 

To review the applications, DOH established a 6-member panel consisting of one  representative each from DOH, the Department of the Environment, the D.C. Office of the Attorney General, the Department of General Services Protective Services Division, the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, and a public member selected by DOH.  Each application was scored based on factors set forth in the DOH application form, and only those applications scoring at least 150 points will be further considered.  Neither of the 7th Street applications met the 150-point threshhold.

The locations making the cut were the following:

• Herbal Alternatives, 1147 20th Street, NW
• Metropolitan Wellness Center Corporation, 409 8th Street, SE
• Takoma Wellness Center, Inc., 6925 Blair Road, NW
• VentureForth, LLC, d/b/a Center City Care, 1334 North Capitol Street, NW

The DOH notice announcing the results of the application review can be viewed here.

Shaw's Tavern to Start Serving Dinner and Drinks Tomorrow, April 13, 2012

Shaw's Tavern has announced that it will be open for dinner starting tomorrow night, Friday, April 13, 2012.   It will also start serving alcohol tomorrow, but will only serve beer and wine this weekend. 

The new hours are below:

Kitchen

• Monday thru Thursday:   Lunch, 10:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.; Dinner, 5:00 p.m.–10:00 p.m.
• Friday:  Lunch, 10:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.;  Dinner, 5:00 p.m.–11:00 p.m.
• Saturday: Brunch, 9:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.;  Dinner, 5:00 p.m.–11:00 p.m.
• Sunday:  Brunch, 9:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m.;  Dinner, 5:00 p.m.–10:00 p.m.

Bar

• Monday thru Thursday:  10:00 a.m.–12:30 a.m.
• Friday:  10:00 a.m.–2:30 a.m.
• Saturday:  9:00 a.m.–2:30 am
• Sunday:  9:00 a.m.–12:00 a.m.

Read a 1910 Article on the Original Opening Night of the Howard Theatre (via Ghosts of DC)

Via Ghosts of DC, read a 1910 article from the Baltimore Afro-American describing the original opening night of the Howard Theatre.  The article says that the building costs $100,000 (financed mostly by Baltimore capitalists) and that "All the colored shows that heretofore been compelled to play in third-rate theatres or stay away from this city, will be seen this winter at the Howard, and white actors of note will appear there."  The article also describes the building interior, the opening night entertainment, and opening night speakers.

Check out the Ghosts of DC post here.