Monthly Archives: November 2017

Century Associates and Senior Cohousing is the Mayor’s Choice for the Hill East Boys and Girls Club

by Larry Janezich

Today, Ward Six Councilmember Charles Allen issued a statement regarding the Mayor’s announcement today of  the selection of Century Associates and their proposal for senior cohousing for the redevelopment of the former Boys and Girls Club in Hill East.

Allen said that the Century Associates project will bring dedicated senior co-housing and assisted living in partnership with Capitol Hill Village to the 11,000 square foot site. The site will offer 29 for-sale units and 10 affordable units at 50 and 80 percent area median income.

“When I first took office in 2015, I heard loud and clear from the nearby neighbors they weren’t satisfied with the proposals to redevelop the Boys & Girls Club Eastern Branch. I asked the city to stop their process and start over – with a focus on delivering a better plan to serve the communities’ needs,” said Councilmember Allen. “Working with Mayor Bowser and the ANC, the city launched a new effort that led to today’s announcement – a better outcome for all. This is a big win for Ward 6 and our neighbors. I’m proud to have helped lead this process to deliver better results, and am very grateful for the hard work and thoughtful additions from the community, in particular ANC 6B-09 Commissioner Daniel Ridge.”

The project will incorporate sustainable design features, as well as work with the community to program the use of nearly 2,000 square feet to serve the broader neighborhood.

David vs Goliath – The City Is Close to Announcing a Developer for the Hill East Boys and Girls Club

by Larry Janezich

An announcement of the city’s selection for the developer of the Boys and Girls Club in Hill East appears imminent.  In some respects, the dueling developers appear to be David vs Goliath, with local Capitol Hill entity Century Associates – clearly the favorite of the community and the ANC (see below) – pitted against the several development companies all of which appear to be owned by a holding company, of which Morningstar Development is a part.  Political contributions to the campaigns of numerous mayoral and city council campaigns by those developers associated with Morningstar far outstrip the handful of select contributions from Century Associates.

Here’s a review of where we are tonight regarding the redevelopment proposals:

The office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development held a public disposition hearing on Thursday, November 16, at St. Coletta’s, presided over by Gilles Stucker, Associate Director of Real Estate.  The purpose was to receive community comment regarding what use the Boys and Girls Club should be put when disposed of as surplus property by the city.

Sixteen residents of the some 30 attendees – many of them members of Capitol Hill Village – expressed a strong preference for the senior cohousing proposal offered by Century Associates over the conventional condo development put forward by Morningstar Development.  (See ANC6B action below for details)

ANC6B Commissioner Dan Ridge, speaking only for himself, said, “If this RFP is to issue an award, if we are to trade in our building for between 5% and 10% back in community space, then let me throw my personal weight behind the Century Associates plan. This plan is audacious. This plan is exciting. This plan, even though replicated elsewhere, will be designed here by the residents themselves. This is an experiment. In my mind, this tips the balance. This experimentation itself is a community service. I would encourage the city council to set aside the property taxes generated by this project to a Community Land Trust to, over time, preserve and deepen the affordability of the project by purchasing additional units in the building as they become available on the open market.”

Stucker said of the next steps forward, that DMPED’s Office of Real Estate will collect oral testimony and written comments and prepare a package that will be sent to the city council along with a recommendation to surplus the property and what use should be made of it after disposition.

Asked by a resident what criteria will be used in formulating the recommendation, Stucker said “the RFP criteria, public comments, and the great weight of the ANC”.  Regarding the time frame, Stucker said he hoped a decision would be made this year.

Stucker noted that the hearing that night was the first instance of the use of a Disposition Hearing under the “OurRFP” process which is intended to provide transparency and accountability for the RFP process.

Ridge, again speaking for himself, took issue with the OurRFP process used for the Boys and Girls Club:  “In my opinion, I think this RFP process is an almost pathological mismatch for this property.”  He said that the process did not need to be structured to produce a mostly residential outcome, but …“this specific RFP was rigged to steer this process towards residences.”

Ridge offered the following specifics: “It required CBE* participation, which excluded non-profits. It required respondents to have developed three similar projects, a near impossibility for a team rehabilitating a neighborhood community center. DMPED, … constrained the discussion to only those matter-of-right uses … [and] lumped most non-residential uses together into ‘institutional’. This is perhaps the scariest way to describe the purpose of this building over the last 70 years.”

“This liquidation of 40,000 square feet of community space into housing is especially jarring because this building is specifically enumerated in the Comprehensive Plan as a community facility and because it is perhaps the last, best hope for Hill East to have the kind of amenity that is supposed to flow from the density we are told to accept.  Mayor Bowser’s recent Amazon bombshell for Reservation 13 has only served to dim prospects of meaningful community support here. Most jarring is to have seen, since the Boys and Girls club closed, Eastern Market rebuilt from ashes and the Hill Center reclaimed from a state worse than the Boys and Girls club was when closed. These are jewels for the rest of the Hill and examples of what is possible.”

In addition to Stucker, other city official in attendance included DMPED Project Manager Miguel Garcia , Valacia Wilson, Planner, Office of Planning, and Ikenna Udeuioor, Realty Specialist, Department of General Services.

* The Certified Business Enterprise (“CBE”) Program provides preference to District-based firms pursuing District Government issued procurement opportunities, and expands the availability of business opportunities with District-sponsored development projects.

ANC Action

On November 14, ANC6B voted to recommend Century Associate’s senior co-housing proposal for development of the Hill East Boys and Girls Club.  The vote was 6 – 0, with three abstentions.

Century Associates proposed 29 one, two, and three bedroom age restricted co-housing units with a dozen below grade parking spaces and 1850 square feet of community space.  30% of the units would be “affordable” i.e., available at 50% – 80% of market rate.  The use of the community space would be determined by the community.  Century was not able to say what the market price of the non-affordable units would be, but did estimate that the average price of the units including the affordable ones would be $545,000.

A strong majority of the ANC agreed that senior co-housing was a better fit for the Comprehensive Plan for the District.  The support came with the request that use and management of the community space required by the city to be included in the project be clarified.

Morningstar Development’s competing proposal would provide 31 one, two, and three bedroom conventional condo units, a similar number of parking spaces, and 3000 square feet of community space.  The Morningstar representative announced at the meeting that the developer could increase the percentage of affordable housing from the required 30% to 40%, though it’s unclear whether such an offer is permitted after a response to a request for proposals has been submitted.  The developer anticipates that the market rate units will sell from $382,600 up to a large three-bedroom for $741,700..  The “affordable” units will be available below market at rates ranging from 50% to 80% of market value.  The developer also said the company would contribute startup costs of $155,000 for a café in part of the rent-free community space.

For ANC6B’s Planning and Zoning Committee consideration of and recommendation see here:  http://bit.ly/2zpSF6C

For more on the concept of senior cohousing, see here:  http://cohousing.org/node/4005

The Week Ahead…. & Construction Starts on 145 Unit Apartment Bldg. Near SE Safeway

by Larry Janezich

 

The Week Ahead….

Monday, November 27

ANC6A Community Outreach Committee (COC) meets at 7:00pm at Maury Elementary School, Multi-Purpose Room, 1250 Constitution Avenue, NE (Enter from 13th Street).

Among items on the draft agenda:

Committee Business

Community Comments

Tuesday, November 28

ANC6B Executive Committee meets at 7:00pm in Hill Center to set the agenda for the December 12^th meeting of the full ANC. 

Wednesday, November 29

Eastern Market Community Advisory Committee (EMCAC)  meets at 7:00pm, North Hall, Eastern Market.

Among items on the draft agenda:

Report from Marketing and Promotions: Chuck Burger

Market Managers Report

Lease negotiations status

Public safety

Parking

Eastern Market Main Street

Lighting of the Capitol Hill Holiday Tree on Saturday Night – Photo Essay

by Larry Janezich

Some 300 Capitol Hill residents showed up Saturday night for the 11^th annual lighting of the Capitol Hill Holiday tree in the SE quadrant of Eastern Market Metro Plaza.  The living tree was planted in 2007, in honor of founder of National Capitol Bank, Barrack Row Main Street, and Capitol Hill BID George Didden, III.  Members of his family have been asked to turn on the lights, and this year his daughter Amanda flipped the switch.

At Large Councilmember Elissa Silverman – a 12 year resident of Ward Six – showed up on behalf of herself as a resident of Ward Six but also standing in for Ward Six Councilmember Charles Allen who, she said, was travelling for the holiday with his family.

Entertainment was provided by “Joyous Voices”, Capitol Hill Arts Workshop’s “Suzuki Strings” and the “Washington Youth Choir”.  The ceremony was organized by founding president of the Capitol Hill BID, Patty Brosmer which began in 2003.

For more on what you need to know about Capitol Hill BID see CHC post here:  http://bit.ly/2lwSJq2

The Week Ahead…Community Engagement Winds Down as the Thanksgiving Holiday Nears

by Larry Janezich

Monday, November 20

ANC6A Transportation & Public Space Committee meets at Capitol Hill Towers, 900 G Street, 7:00pm.

Among items on the draft agenda:

Traffic safety on 400 Block of 10th Street NE

Tuesday, November 21

CANCELLED ANC6A Alcohol Beverage Licensing Committee meeting CANCELLED

Capitol Hill Towers, 900 G St. NE – Photo ID required

CM Silverman on Verge of Calling for Resignation of DC Consumer Regulation Chief Bolling

By Larry Janezich

Last Tuesday, Councilmember at Large Elissa Silverman met with ANC 6B in an outreach effort to “share what I’m working on”.  Dysfunctionality at the DC Department of Consumer Regulation (DCRA) was near the top of the list of her concerns.  Silverman related that just that day, in a public hearing, she heard the “most disheartening accusation against DCRA” and said that the agency’s response was “horrible”.  The case involved a contractor who had caused structural damage to an adjoining property and DCRA had failed to respond to the aggrieved party’s complaint.

Following up on the opening and citing her own constituents’ ongoing problems with the troubled agency, Hill East ANC 6B Commissioner Denise Krepp asked Silverman, “When are you going to ask for Director Bolling’s resignation … she needs to go”.

Silverman responded, “I’m really close”.  She said the wife of the couple who testified in the hearing earlier on Tuesday was in tears about what happened to their home, adding “There was no outreach or apology or offer to address the problem from Director Bolling.”  Silverman compared the callousness to that of the DC Fire Department Emergency Services who mishandled the case of NYT reporter David Rosenbaum in 2006.  Rosenbaum was the victim of a mugging, who the DCFD dismissed as being drunk.  The reporter died after medical treatment was delayed.  Silverman said, “DCRA is at the same point”.

Pressed by Krepp about when Silverman would act, the Councilmember replied, “Probably in the next few weeks”.

Silverman’s criticism was in line with Councilmember Charles Allen and widespread public opinion.  Earlier this year, Allen told a Capitol Hill community meeting that DCRA is the “one agency which has caused us the biggest problems and has the most improvements to make”, and “that the agency needs a top to bottom shakeup.”  (See CHC post here:  http://bit.ly/2uglX4e)

The question now, is whether Silverman and Allen follow through and whether Mayor Bowser listens to the Councilmembers and the community.  Bowser is currently on a tour of the city’s ANCs (most recently at ANC6D, report forthcoming).  Since DCRA issues seem prevalent throughout the city, the ANC’s should carry the issue of accountability directly to where the buck stops.  Given, however, Bowser’s shameful toleration of questionable ethics in contracting in the Department of General Services (See here:  http://bit.ly/2uUdcyv), the toleration of preferential treatment at the Department of Education and the indifference to community concerns shown by the Department of Transportation, it’s not clear exactly where that is.

Given those circumstances, what’s more likely to happen is that Bolling will profess enough departmental mea culpas and pledges to do better, allowing a general pardon for past grievances and the dysfunction to continue.

 

The Week Ahead…Mayor Bowser at ANC6D on Monday

By Larry Janezich

Monday, November 13

ANC6D meets at 7:00pm at Capitol Quarter Community Center, 1000 5^th Street, SE (Note temporary change in venue)

Among items on the draft agenda:

Presentation by Mayor Muriel Bowser, followed by questions from the commission and the community.

Public Safety Report- First District MPD (PSA 105 & PSA 106) Lt. Queen, Lt. Robinson.

2018 Rock N Roll Marathon and Half Marathon (Diane Romo Thomas).

Presentation:  DC Water – Sewer Rehabilitation in Navy Yard Neighborhood (Tanya Hedgepeth).

Friendly’s Food Market – 1399 Half Street, SW. – Class B Renewal + revised CA.

7-11 – 1101 S. Capitol Street, SW – Class B Renewal w/ ANC letter to ABRA/ABC Board.

Requin – 100 District Square, SW – Amend. to CA: addition of 40 seats in summer garden.

Officina – 1120 Maine Avenue, SW – New Class B + CR w/ entertainment endorsement & 3 summer gardens w/ entertainment endorsement.

Capitol Yacht Club – 800 Wharf Street, SW – ANC letter supporting request for stipulated license.

Cornercopia, Sal’s Café, Smiles – renewal of Class B Licenses.

Randall School Project – Community Engagement Efforts.

25 M Street, SE – Mixed use building. Modification of Consequence, digital signage design update.

Southwest Community Library Renovation Project.

1900 Half Street, SW – Modification of Significance.

Riverfront Phase II Modification – PUD Modification.

100 K Street, SE (GH Group, LLC) – Special Exception.

SW Waterfront Park Bus Prohibition.

Tuesday, November 14

ANC6B meets at 7:00pm at Hill Center, 921 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE.

Among items on the draft agenda:

Presentation:  Councilwoman Elissa Silverman.

L Street Market Inc., 7th L Street Market, 700 L Street, SE – Renewal Class B Retail Grocery License.

3rd & Pennsylvania, LLC, Roland’s Grocery, 333 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE – Renewal Class B Retail Grocery License.

Park & Song Inc., Congress Market, 421 East Capitol Street, SE – Renewal Class B Retail Grocery License.

Radici Uno (One Root), LLC, Radici, 301-303 7th Street, SE – Renewal Class B Retail Grocery License.

Trader Joe’s East Inc., Trader Joe’s  #622, 750 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE – Renewal Class B Retail Grocery License.

Midagra, LLC, DCanter, 545 8th Street, SE – Renewal Class B Retail Grocery License.

Lola’s LLC d/b/a Lola’s, 711 8th Street, SE – Amendments to correct Settlement Agreement to permit use of summer garden that was incorrectly designated as sidewalk cafe in last renewal conforming amendment to Settlement Agreement regarding total seating and capacity.

Wineandbutter, LLC, P & C Market, 1023 East Capitol Street, SE – Renewal Class B Retail Grocery License.

Cho’s Family Market Inc., Mott’s Market, 233 12th Street, SE – Renewal Class B Retail Grocery License.

Harris Teeter, LLC, Harris Teeter, 1350 Potomac Avenue, SE – Renewal Class B Retail Grocery License.

716-718 L Street SE, Concept: three-story rear addition and two-story rooftop addition.

421 Seward Square SE, Concept: rooftop addition.

Recap of Hill East Task Force Community Meeting on Eastern Branch Boys & Girls Club Building and discussion on ANC action.

DC Food Trucks Parking Regulations.

Feasibility and possibility of bike lanes on Pennsylvania Avenue, SE.

Letter to DGS in support of Councilmember Allen and EMCAC to request that DGS get a formal opinion from the Attorney General’s Office regarding the Eastern Market Special Use Area prior to mandating or initiating new requirements.

Letter to ANC7F requesting a speedy election.

Letter to the Mayor’s Office, DMPED and other city agencies stating that ANC 6B as an affected ANC with respect to Reservation 13.

Wednesday, November 15

ANC6A Economic Development and Zoning Committee meeting has been cancelled.  

Capitol Hill Restoration Society Preservation Café:  Shotgun House Revisited.  Ruth Trocolli,the DC Historic Preservation Office’s District Archaeologist, and her associates, will be the featured speakers at 6:30 p.m. at the Northeast Library is located at 330 7th Street, NE.  Dr. Trocolli directed the excavation of the site at 1229 E St. SE, a pre-civil war home which is often referred to as “the shotgun house” for its architectural style.  New information completes the story of this historic property.

Saturday, November 18

Free One-Day Paint Drop-off Event in DC:  PaintCare will host a special one-day paint drop-off event on Saturday, November 18th at the DC Armory. District households and businesses are invited to drop off leftover house paint in any amount without charge.  We’ll accept all brands of old house paint, stain and varnish. Proof of District residency required. Businesses are encouraged to call PaintCare for details on oil-based materials.  An electronic flyer with event details is available here: https://www.paintcare.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/dc-flyer-event-DC-Armory-111817.pdf. District households and businesses can find the nearest year-round drop-off location by using a site locator tool on PaintCare’s website (https://www.paintcare.org).

The Capitol Hill Art League’s reception for “Life off the Hill” – an Art Exhibit: 30 pieces of art (paintings, sculptures and photography) featuring local artists.  5:00pm – 7:00pm, Capitol Hill Arts Workshop, 545 7th Street, SE.  Free admission.

Kingman Park Historic District.  The Office of Planning will hold a public meeting on Saturday, November 18, 2017 from 10 am – 12:00 noon at the Mt. Moriah Baptist Church, 1636 East Capitol Street NW on the historic district designation process.  Consideration of the proposed Kingman Park Historic District (Case 16-19, all properties between East Capitol, 19th and M Streets, NE and Maryland Avenue, NE and the Anacostia River) has been deferred until the January 25, 2018 HPRB meeting.

Barracks Row Engine Co. 18 Open House, 10:00am – 2:00pm.  Engine 18 (and Truck Company 7) are housed in the Barracks Row Firehouse at 414 8th Street, SE.

Flea Markets at Eastern Market Set for Major Change This Weekend

By Larry Janezich

On Saturday and Sunday, November 11 and 12, the two weekend flea markets, currently operating on the 300 block of 7^th Street, SE, will expand their operations to the newly reopened C Street between 7^th and 8^th Streets, SE.

The flea markets were evicted from the Hine Jr. High playground 30 months ago and relocated to 7th Street during the construction of the Hine Jr. High School redevelopment project.  The city closed the 300 block of 7th Street to vehicular traffic on weekends to accommodate the flea markets, the plan being to relocate them on C Street once construction was complete.

The move was scheduled to happen September 30, but construction delays on C Street forced a postponement until the coming weekend.  Whether the 300 block of 7^th would remain closed to weekend vehicular traffic was uncertain until recently, when it became clear that it was the overwhelming desire of the community that it remain closed.  Bowing to public opinion, the city offered to extend the flea market managers’ licenses to operate on the 300 block of 7^th through the end of next May, at a 52% increase in rent while a strategic plan is developed for long term vending on the block.

The delayed move has been problematic for the flea market managers.  Many of their former vendors have already committed to other venues for the upcoming holiday season.  And the outdoor vending slowdown during the coldest months of the year means that it will be spring before the flea markets are back to being a full and healthy marketplace.

Sunday flea market manager Mike Berman told CHC, “We are going to open a market on the new C Street Plaza on Sunday.  We will not be filled, but we will start using it and working out the logistics.  We will play with configurations and layouts and try to accommodate our exhibitors as best we can into the space.”

Saturday flea market manager Carole Wright characterized the change as “bittersweet”, adding, “The many delays have thrown us into a soft opening in extremely cold temperatures.  Because we were unable to guarantee a move-back date to our vendors for the last four months, many are doing indoor shows and some are awaiting a guarantee of space for vending“.  On the other hand, she said, “Just standing on the new C Street and looking at the historic market from this angle is a great feeling. Convincing our vendors to come back this late in the year is our new focus and challenge.  It might take time, but after vending between cranes and construction mud, it will be a thrill.  Our vendors will be taking turns on 7^th and C Streets to see where they best fit in”.

The recent decision to keep 7^th Street between North Carolina and Pennsylvania Avenues closed to traffic on weekends has caused some grumbling among the South Hall food vendors in Eastern Market, who blame the loss of parking as responsible for a decline in business.  Eastern Market manager Barry Margeson is working on a plan to provide validated parking to address these concerns.

Senior Cohousing Gets ANC Committee Nod for Hill East Boys and Girls Club Development

by Larry Janezich

Tuesday night, ANC6B’s Planning and Zoning Committee, chaired by Commissioner Nick Burger, voted to approve a motion to recommend that the full ANC send a letter of support to the city for Century Associates’ proposal to turn the former Hill East Boys and Girls Club into senior cohousing*.  A competing proposal would have provided a more conventional multi-generational condo development.  (For more detail on the two proposals offered for development of the Boys and Girls Club, see the CHC post here: http://bit.ly/2ytuip2)

The vote was 6-0-1 with Commissioners Burger, Ridge, Oldenburg and Resident Members Danks (6B04) and Howard (6b09) voting for the motion.  Commissioner Krepp abstained**.

Commissioner Dan Ridge, in whose single member district the project lies, made the motion that the Committee endorse the cohousing option on the basis that it is more consistent with the District’s Comprehensive Plan, one of the goals of which is to further the city’s commitment to providing social services.

Ridge told CHC “I think (Century Associates’) model is a social service even when muted by private condo ownership. I think the active experimentation they will do is itself a social service.  I would have supported the senior cohousing at the density they want with the parking they want just about anywhere in ANC 6B.  I think we should demand a project like this on Reservation 13.”

Asked to comment on the Committee action, Burger said “The committee felt that of the two options on the table this one was most consistent with a community serving function … we will also voice our view to the city that every effort needs to be made during the selection process to increase affordable housing including affordable housing for older adults, and to require more detailed plans on how the proposed community space will be programmed and managed, including long-term sustainability and effectiveness.”

At the insistence of community members one of the city’s requirements for developing the Boys and Girls Cub was that community space be included, to address in part the loss of the social services formerly provided by the Boys and Girls Club.  Ridge reacted to the community space allowance in both of the submitted proposals, saying, “The basement community space offered by both teams is worth very little to the community without an operator. Neither team proposes an operator.”  Both developers told the Hill East Task Force meeting last week that use of the community space would be determined after assessing the desires and needs of the community.

The Committee recommendation now goes to the full ANC which meets next Tuesday, at 7:00pm in Hill Center.  The full Committee will discuss the recommendation and vote whether to accept the Committee’s recommendation or modify it.

On Thursday, November 16, the office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Development (DMPED) will hold a disposition hearing at 7:00pm at St. Coletta’s which will mark the end of the public comment period and provide an opportunity to provide final comments.  DMPED hopes to make a decision on awarding the project this year.

*“Cohousing is an intentional community of private homes clustered around shared space. Each attached or single family home has traditional amenities, including a private kitchen. Shared spaces typically feature a common house, which may include a large kitchen and dining area, laundry, and recreational spaces. Shared outdoor space may include parking, walkways, open space, and gardens.

Households have independent incomes and private lives, but neighbors collaboratively plan and manage community activities and shared spaces. Community activities feature regularly-scheduled shared meals, meetings, and workdays. Neighbors gather for parties, games, movies, or other events. Cohousing makes it easy to form clubs, organize child and elder care, and carpool.”  From The Cohousing Association of the United States – see here:  http://cohousing.org/node/4005

** Commissioner Krepp explained her vote to abstain:  “I abstained because I wasn’t satisfied with either presentation.  Neither developer could tell me what the market rate will be for their condo units and I’d like to know this information before I vote. I’ve asked that they be prepared to share this information at the full ANC meeting on Tuesday.”