The Eastern Market Community Advisory Committee met in Eastern Market’s North Hall Tuesday night.
Eastern Market Main Street Blasts DPR on Rumsey Design
by Larry Janezich
Posted, April 4, 2025
Wednesday night at the monthly meeting of the Eastern Market Community Advisory Committee (EMCAC), Chair Chuck Burger provided an update on plans to insist that DPR reconsider the design for the Rumsey Center. Burger said it was his understanding that CM Charles Allen would sit down with DGS for a “heart to heart” discussion to press for a design more closely aligned with the requirements listed in the Request for Proposals for the project.
Those requirements reflected the community desires which were subsequently detailed in a strongly worded letter to the city from Eastern Market Main Street (EMMS). Dated March 28, it took to task the DC Department of Recreation’s proposed concepts for the redevelopment of the Rumsey Center. The letter was addressed to Mayor Bowser and City Administrator Donahue with copies to DPR, DGS, Council Chair Mendelson, and CM’s Allen, George, and White.
The letter, appearing over the signature of Mary Quillian Helms, President of the EMMS Board of Directors, stated in part:
“The planned renovation of the William H. Rumsey Aquatic Center…is an exciting opportunity to rejuvenate an extremely valuable community asset…. In 2022, engaged community members and stakeholders convened to propose important community considerations to include in this rare, once in a generation redesign….Those included having a second floor and activating the C Street and/or alley-facing sides of the redeveloped building.
Some of the key suggestions from community members and stakeholders were to provide a second floor that would house space for multiple uses such as a community senior care facility and partnership with a nonprofit provider and to utilize the street level space for small business incubators to facilitate local, small business growth as well as address security and life safety concerns along those corridors.
Our engaged community was very disappointed to see that none of the three concepts proposed by DPR…contained a second floor or the activation of C Street SE. The presented concept plans barely contained multipurpose space at all, with a marginal expansion of the pool itself.
That the initial concepts acknowledged none of the community’s suggestions shows a disappointing lack of imagination and or understanding of the rare opportunity this redevelopment project offers the city, Capitol Hill, and the Eastern Market community. We at Eastern Market Main Street strongly urge that DPR/DGS reconsider the concept plans, for the good of the community’s economic health, public safety, and public recreation.”
In the ensuing discussion it became clear that the city can likely expect additional similar letters from the Eastern Market Community Advisory Committee, ANC6B, CHAMPS, and possibly, Capitol Hill Village.
CAPITOL HILL CORNER 
Nothing said in the letters and comments referenced above deals with what is I gather is the nut of the issue: Per DGS and DPR, the proposed second-floor addition presents a variety of arguably insurmountable environmental, historic preservation, architectural, and structural problems. That’s the impression I get from Elizabeth O’Gorek’s article, “DPR Says No Second Floor in Rumsey Rebuild,” in the just published April Hill Rag.
Capitol Hill, meet NIMBY, that is, a NIMBY now institutionalized by statute and regulation.
The letters and comments referenced above might best be described as “we want what we want,” but do not seem to engage the actual reasons why DGS and DPR axed the second floor.