About a month ago we noticed some movement on this long vacant building. Passing by on Sunday, it is nearly completely demolished. Keep your eyes peeled for some cool new stained glass at places like Good Wood or Brass Knob:
You can see what it used to look like before demo here.
Stay tuned for renderings and updates as they become available.
From an email:
Today is “the signing and placing of the last piece of steel on our building at 3910 Georgia Avenue, NW. We are one step closer to completing this gold rated LEED for Neighborhood Development project. This innovative development will include a 130 unit mixed income apartment community, and a state-of-the-art neighborhood health center to be owned by Mary’s Center.”
What do you think of the rendering?
Photo by Flickr user Lone Primate
Yesterday word spread that Wal-Mart was considering a DC location. The Post reports:
“Wal-Mart is negotiating to open a store on New York Avenue NE near the intersection of Bladensburg Road, on a parcel owned by a family in the taxicab business, according to sources familiar with the negotiations.”
“Dear PoP,
The last few mornings, the door to the boarded-up space beside Republic Gardens on U Street, NW, has been open and there are workers in there. Any news on what’s going on in there?”
Hmm, back in June we learned that this space (the old State of the Union) located at 1357 U St, NW was slated to become Kindred Bar and Lounge. Their Web site says:
“Here’s where KINDRED Bar and Lounge comes in. My goal in launching this unique and inclusive tavern is to provide everyone with a great space and great prices. I’m not trying to get rich quick, or to open up a chain of KINDREDs across the country. What I am trying to do is simply to pool our resources to create a space that saves us money, brings us together (with inexpensive drinks!) and ultimately provides a unique space for the community — for us.”
Though the site says only 3% of donations needed have been registered so I’m not sure what the current story is. An email I sent has not been returned. There is definitely work going on in this space, has anyone else heard any details and/or rumors of what’s going on here?
“Dear PoP,
I was hoping you could do an update of the building at 11th and Harvard that once housed the Alliance of Concerned Men. As you probably remember, there was a fire in the building in January. Since then the windows have remained boarded up and it doesn’t appear there has been any work done to restore the damage from the fire. At various time the place has become a magnet for tagging and graffiti which the city thankfully removes. I thought it was interesting that the Alliance of Concerned Men sign that used to stand at the corner was taken down or removed not too long ago.
Does the group plan to return to building? Do they plan on making any repairs? Right now it’s bordering on a Horse’s Ass award since it’s stood boarded up for so long without any indication of repairs.
Any new info would be greatly appreciated by the residents of the neighborhood!”
According to Council Member Jim Graham: “it will be rehabbed as a seniors only building.” I’m trying to get confirmation from DC Housing Authority. Signs have recently gone up announcing trash removal (thanks to another reader for sending):
I’ll be sure to show new photos when/if it’s completed in August.
Looks like a nice new (or serious renovation) single family home is nearing completion the 4200 block of 7th St, NW. I’ll be sure to show the after pictures when it’s all finished.
And of particular interest to neighbors who live nearby is the old boarded up apartment building located at the corner of 7th and Varnum Streets, NW. This is the apartment building that was abruptly boarded up back in Oct. ’09. A source tells me that this property has been sold or is very close to selling. I’m not sure if the building will be demoed or renovated, so stay tuned for details/movement on that property in the future.
“Dear PoP,
I’m looking to buying a house in Columbia Heights, more specifically, the Pleasant Plains neighborhood (b/w Sherman and Georgia Avenues). Do you or any of your readers know if development in the area is non-existent or hurt by the recession? In particular, whether there has been any word on what will be built on the site of the now-demolished Old Bruce Monroe School, or if the proposed street car line up 7th/Georgia Avenue is still viewed as a possible route?”
You have asked the million dollar question. Yes that area like the city in general has been hurt by the recession. But I think Pleasant Plains will be a great neighborhood for a long term investment but my opinion is that you better like it a lot now too, because who knows how long it will take for the proposed projects to be completed. The old Bruce Monroe school will be a community space for the short term. The street car is still slated to come to Georgia Ave in the 2nd deployment but realistically that could be many years from now. Unfortunately there are many vacant storefronts along Georgia Ave at the moment.
What do you guys think about the prospects for development in Pleasant Plains over the short term and long term?
WBJ’s Michael Neibauer has a great report on 14th St development plans:
District planners are eyeing a 1.8-mile stretch of 14th Street NW for a makeover, one that may usher in a streetcar line, a redeveloped Metro bus garage and a more diverse commercial lineup along a corridor often overshadowed by Columbia Heights just to the south.
Running north from Spring Road to Madison Street, the Central 14th Street corridor drives through several middle-income communities, including Petworth, 16th Street Heights, Brightwood Park and Crestwood. Minority-owned storefronts, generally neighborhood-serving retail, dot the strip. A century-old Metro bus garage, which D.C. government planners deem “potentially historic,” comprises two blocks between 14th Street and Iowa Avenue.
Read the rest of the story here.
Map from DDOT via GGW
Holy cow, not sure how I missed this. Greater Greater Washington’s Kent Boese reports:
On May 17, 2010, work on the $7.9 million Middle Georgia Avenue Great Streets project began. The project is expected to last approximately 18 months and will include the area between Webster Street and Otis Place, NW, and include Upshur Street between 8th and 9th Streets.
The greatest changes will come to two triangular parks along Georgia, one at Upshur and 9th and the other at Varnum and Kansas Avenue. Both will get new landscaping and the sidewalks realigned.
Most significantly, 9th Street will be closed to traffic at the tip of the triangle, where it splits off Georgia at a narrow angle. That will become community greenspace, including one of several bio-retention ponds.
The project will consist of roughly three phases starting at Webster Street and working south.
Lots more great info and maps here. This community greenspace is gonna make for a great Petworth Farmer’s Market, hopefully, starting June 25th.
Update: Thanks to a reader comment, you can track progress on this project here.
WBJ’s Michael Neibauer reports:
“Gateway Georgia Avenue Main Street has quietly and quite suddenly disappeared, abandoning $150,000 in taxpayer funds and setting back the effort to revitalize the upper Northwest D.C. corridor.
The Main Street program, an arm of the Gateway-Georgia Avenue Revitalization Corp., assisted businesses and recruited companies along a corridor roughly from the Walter Reed Army Medical Center to the District-Maryland border. It was expected to play a role in the redevelopment of the medical center campus, scheduled to be closed next year.”