The Express has a good article about the new restaurants coming to Columbia Heights as a part of the DC USA development. Honestly, I’m a bit envious that they (i.e., Columbia Heights) have a Potbelly Sandwich Works. Don’t ever let me hear they get a Chipotle! That would be like rubbing salt in the wounds. I know U Street is full of “unique” spots and all, but a Chipotle somewhere in the corridor couldn’t hurt…
Howard University Community:
Over a decade ago, Howard University made a conscious decision to use its assets and influence to try and revitalize one of the most racially diverse areas of the city. With the strong support of the Fannie Mae Foundation and the Government of the District of Columbia, and considerable community input, the University developed a plan for the 151-block area within a 1-mile radius of the University. The plan is called the LeDroit Park Initiative. The University saw the LeDroit Park Initiative as an opportunity to demonstrate in our nation’s capital that city neighborhoods can be turned around, and that sustainable, balanced, comprehensive revitalization can be effective.
Phase I of the LeDroit Park Initiative was designed to signal broadly that we intended to be a catalyst for reinvesting in the community; first by relocating those University facilities that were appropriate from their existing locations within the University to prominent new locations on the commercial corridor.
Phase II of the LeDroit Park Initiative was to convert 29 unoccupied boarded-up properties and 17 vacant lots in the area into homeownership opportunities, and to do so in a manner that would provide a catalyst for neighborhood-wide revitalization. Today, forty-five homes have been constructed and rehabilitated. Their owners are University employees, municipal firefighters and police officers, DC public school teachers, and area community members.
Infrastructure improvements were made in Phase III, including street resurfacing, installation of new street lighting, bricking of sidewalks, tree planting and traffic calming measures undertaken by the City with $5 million in federal grants awarded to the University.
Development of the Howard Town Center is Phase IV of The LeDroit Park Initiative. It will be a mixed-use project containing approximately 500,000 square feet, including 70,000 square feet of retail uses, with a 35,000 square foot grocery store; and over 300 market rate rental residential units and parking. The Exchange Agreement enacted with the City completes the land assemblage for the Town Center.
Sincerely,
H. Patrick Swygert
President
Well, there are once again some obstacles holding back the Howard Town Center project. For starters, after there seemed to be some progress at last concerning the embattled Howard Town Center located at Georgia Ave and V St NW, the Washington Business Journal reported, on Friday, that its lead developers, Trammell Crow and Fort Lincoln are no longer the lead developers of the Howard Town Center project due to Howard University considering “current market realities,” including competing development projects in Shaw, Chinatown, and the U Street Corridor. Howard issued a second request for bid proposals on May 6, with surprised many. Reportedly, Trammell Crow is still interested and committed to the obligations and terms it agreed to with Howard two years ago. Councilman Jim Graham surmises that the protracted litigation has probably affected the bottom line on the project, especially since real estate values have changed quite a bit in the interim. All I know is that this project better get started sooner rather than later and it better be good. Let’s move forward everyone and start building!
Now to the Lincoln Theatre. WaPo’s Marc Fisher wrote an interesting article on the new proposed Lincoln Theatre development. NotionsCapital blog writer Mike Licht has written that the solution to the Lincoln Theatre’s revenue problems was solved in 1927 with the Colonnades, an underground jazz nightclub. Licht has suggested to the DC government previously that they ought to consider recreating an underground spot like the Colonnades for the Lincoln Theatre’s backlot, but, surprise, nobody really listened. Fisher sounds like he’s in support of this underground Colonnades-type facility, but has concerns about how developers will meet the parking demands.
There is a really interesting WaPo article on how DC could remake its image from simply the seat of the government, the city with all the monuments, etc. into a real cosmopolitan city. Here’s an excerpt from Paul Schwartzman’s article:
If the city has purged much of the blight that helped make it a symbol of urban dysfunction, what is it aspiring to now?
The answer, voiced by a wide range of District officials, planners and developers, is nothing less than transcending Washington’s primary identity as the nation’s capital and ever-proper home to the federal government.
The Washington that they envision is far more cosmopolitan, in the spirit of Paris or London, national capitals better known for a wide variety of attractions: vibrant neighborhoods, scenic riverfronts, pedestrian-jammed sidewalks, art museums, shopping and fine cuisine.In the future Washington, they say, newly created waterfront neighborhoods, long established areas such as U Street and Georgetown, and a 24-hour downtown would be as defining as the White House and Capitol are today.
I would like to see hipness spread throughout DC and overtake its political, powerbroking, big government image, although that is a tough task, seeing as that realy is what DC is about for the most part. But, when all of DC is as cool as U Street, we will all rejoice. Glad to see that Anacostia, Deanwood, and Congress Heights might one day get to show their real potential, of course, I guess the po’ folk will have to go bye-bye, which is sad. Any thoughts on DC becoming more cosmopolitan?
When I was house hunting and ultimately decided to move to the U Street Corridor, on the end closer to Howard University, it was the promise of more development and revitalization that made me move here, as opposed to other areas. I did my research. One of the projects I read about was the Howard Town Center, which is supposed to be a 9-story mixed-use residential and retail project, including a grocery store, across from Howard University. Trammell Crow is the company that is supposed to develop the $56 million project that will be at Georgia Ave and V St NW. Well, of course, when it comes to construction, nothing moves quickly. And, this economic downturn, housing crisis and/or “recession” doesn’t help.
But, to make matters worse this some drama erupted over the Bond Bakery Building because the former tenant claimed it had been promised ownership of the building in the 1970s. This building was supposed to be ceded to Howard by the District for the project. But, due to litigation, the project was held up. But, recently, Mayor Fenty announced a land swap, which will now restart the project.
I’m happy, of course. I look forward to the further development of the Howard University area, 9th Street Corridor, and, of course, the U Street Corridor. And, I would be thrilled to have a nice grocery store that is within easy walking distance. But, none of this will pop up anytime soon, so let’s be patient and hope wise decisions are made.
To read what Council Member Jim Graham has to say click below. (more…)
With all the buzz about the grand opening of the Target and other stores at Columbia Heights’ new gleaming mall, DC USA, the Washington Post created a neat graphic showing all the changes to this once down and out neighborhood. I have read that there was a time that the city couldn’t even beg McDonald’s to come to Columbia Heights. Now, the city may not even want McDonald’s to come now and muck up its “luxurious” landscape. With all the upscale lofts, condos, and various stores and whatnot, that neighborhood is on the RISE! Hey, the U Street Corridor is just a hop, skip, and a jump away (one Metro stop), so I will be enjoying the fruits of Columbia Heights, too. Take a look-see:
My end of the U Street Corridor is not the über-über hip and happenin’ end (it does have its share of good stuff, though). Yet, it has so much potential to be just as über-über hip as the the rest of the corridor is. For one, we still have a few of these former auto repair, warehouse-type buildings around. A trip down to W and V Streets will reveal a few of these businesses, some of them operating, some of them not. I believe there’s even an alley that has a few of them behind condos between 9th and 10th Streets. For the shops that are still operating, I don’t have the heart to advocate them being shut down for the sake of not ruining someone’s livelihood. But, I also don’t care for this particular mix of zoning in this area. It might have worked during the “war zone”(post riot) days, but having an auto repair shop next door is a little odd.
I just read a Washington Post article about the Howard Theater revitalization project off of 7th Street NW and between S and T Streets in Shaw. When I lived in Bloomingdale and would walk to the Shaw/Howard Metro station, I used to walk right past the old theater without even really noticing that it used to be something, anything, let alone a historic theater with a proud past. But, I learned more about it from reading various reports and articles on what the DC government had planned for the city in that particular area when I started getting serious about buying a house in the U Street Corridor area close to Howard University.
