Author Archives: ljjanezich

The NOVA Consort, a newly formed ensemble that includes some of the area’s finest early music performers, presented music from Renaissance Italy, reprising a program first heard at the opening of the Piero de Cosimo exhibition at the National Gallery of Art.  Members of the consort are Barbara Hollinshead, mezzo-soprano; Robert Petillo, tenor; Tina Chancey, viola da gamba; Amy Domingues, viola da gamba; and Howard Bass, lute.

The Week Ahead……

by Larry Janezich

Monday, April 13

ANC 6D meets at 7:00pm, DCRA 2^nd Floor Meeting Room, 1100 4^th Street, SW.

Among items on the tentative agenda:

Public Safety Report – First District MPD (PSA 105 and 106).

Alcohol Beverage License Renewals for Cap Liquors and Shulman Liquors.

Recommendations to Alcohol Beverage Regulation Administration regarding pub crawls.

Buzzard Point L’Enfant Plan regarding proposed street closings.

Public Space Permit for paving, bike rack fixture and landscaping for 222 M Street, SW.

Tuesday, April 14

(ANC6B Postponed until April 20)

Tuesday, April 14

Public meeting at 6:30pm, Pilgrim AME Church, 612 17^th Street, NE, to discuss the “under 25 year” lease negotiated by the Deputy Mayor of Education for the Monument Academy Public Charter School slated to open at the Gibbs Elementary School, 500 19^th Street, NE.  In attendance:  CM Charles Allen, Yvette Alexander, Anita Bonds, David Grosso, Deputy Mayor of Education, Jennifer Niles, and Monument Academy Public Charter School reps. 

Wednesday, April 15

ANC6A Economic Development Committee meets at 7:00pm at Sherwood Recreation Center (640 10th St, NE).

Among items on the agenda:

Historic Preservation recommendation regarding two story rear addition at 224 9^th Street, NE.

Board of Zoning Adjustment recommendation regarding two story addition at 242 10^th Street, NE.

Letter to advise the Zoning Administrator of the use of a portion of a lot at 20 14th Street, NE, as a parking lot without appropriate approval.

Thursday, April 16

DC EMANCIPATION DAY:  DC GOVERNMENT WILL BE CLOSED.  No trash pick-up and no parking enforcement except at National’s Park and on H Street, NE. 

Friday, April 17

Open Stage at the Corner Store, 7:00pm – 8:00pm, 9^th and South Carolina Avenue, SE.

Open Stage is a Washington, DC based open mic event for theatre artists – providing writers and performers a “casual, intimate setting” to present new one acts or excerpts from longer plays in 10 minute segments. Contact Openstagedc@gmail.com for info/rsvp.

Sunday, April 19

Capitol Hill Seventh Day Adventist Church will hold a “Community Shred It” event to celebrate Earth Day 2015.  Residents may bring up to five boxes (paper ream size) of documents for confidential shredding.  9:00am – 12:00pm, 914 Massachusetts Avenue, NE.  Free. 

Rose Jaffe:  Women in Color – Photo Essay from a Show at The Fridge

by Larry Janezich

The subject of the show is young women today – the women depicted are part of the artist’s creative community, her family, as well as Jaffe herself.   She says it’s important to her that all the women in the pieces in this show are part of her life.

The surface is wood and the medium is burned wood and paint.  The result is a synthesis of the synthetic and natural.  Jaffe imprints images of women on the wood instead of painting them on top of it.  She uses a wood burning tool for lining and then adds paint with a bold color palette evidently inspired by time spent in Latin America.  In some pieces she adds another layer of meaning and complexity with “sacred geometry.”

Jaffe says, “For these works, I want to explore color’s role in the mood, sensuality and purpose of a piece. I have changed a significant amount since moving home to Washington, DC, and these pieces reflect that transformation. This show aims to redefine color away from our skin tone. I look into our bodies, our energy, our movements, emotion and thoughts – to the potentially endless pulsing colors running in and around us – and bring those to the outside.”

On Saturday afternoon, The Fridge’s Director and the show’s curator Alex Goldstein, led a discussion of the artist’s work.

The show will continue through April 26.  There will be a closing reception Sunday, April 26, from 3:00pm until 6:00pm.  The Fridge is located at 516 ½ 8^th Street, SE (rear)

For more info, go here:   http://www.thefridgedc.com/about/

Bullfrog Bagels to Open Shop Near Eastern Market

by Larry Janezich

Capitol Hill Corner has confirmed that Jeremiah Cohen, owner of Bullfrog Bagels at 1341 H Street, NE, will open a second bagel outlet at 317 7th Street (the Sheehy House), near Eastern Market.  The location, a former frame shop now owned by a group comprised of developer Ken Golding and his two sons, will need renovation – likely to last several months – before it’s ready for a new occupant.

Cohen told Capitol Hill Corner that he hopes to open in September and that the menu will be largely the same but will feature some new bagel and cream cheese flavors.  Cohen, the former general manager of Tabard Inn, opened the H Street location in September, 2014, featuring the shop’s signature New York–style bagels.  The menu for that location can be found here:  http://www.bullfrogbagels.com/#!menu/c3x0  The hours of operation for the Bullfrog Bagels on H Street are Tuesday – Sunday: 7:00 am – 1:00pm. Closed Mondays.  Bullfrog Bagels are also available elsewhere in the city, including The Coupe, Tryst, Open City, The Little Red Fox, and Room 11.

317 7th Street, The Sheehy House, was formerly “The Frame Up” – the studio, shop, art gallery and home of prolific artist Richard Sheehy, who died in February, 2014.  For more on the Goldings’ plan for development of Sheehy House, go here:  http://bit.ly/1lOTKr5

Editor’s Note:  After an initial plan anticipating outdoor storage for trash, the Golding group subsequently modified their proposed renovation for 317 7^th Street, SE, to provide for indoor trash storage.  ANC6B Commissioner Ivan Frishberg had this to say about indoor trash storage in his September, 2014 newsletter to his constituents:

“Restaurant News

Two big developments have conspired to create what I view as the new standard in Capitol Hill restaurants for the future: No, I am not talking about the national acclaim for Rose’s Luxury, but I am talking “Indoor Trash Containment.”

It doesn’t sound glamorous, but the best way to stop restaurants from creating havens for the rat population is how they manage their trash. If you look at the back of 8th street behind Cava and other restaurants you see an alley filled with trash and grease containers that, creates a playground of opportunity for rodents. If you look at the trash facility from Montmartre and District Taco you notice not much at all. The difference is having an internal rodent-proof space with temperature control and drainage to manage and store trash until it is hauled away. The difference on the cleanliness of the neighborhood is significant.

Two recent cases have suggested that this approach is now the new standard being set.  317 7th Street is a new space being likely created for restaurant use.   It is a small space, but working with the ANCand a few neighbors, the owners agreed to a system of inside trash storage. Similarly, in the case of the ANC and neighbors required extensive physical changes and operating conditions that are centered around indoor trash handling. The success in both of these cases (in two very different spaces) suggests that there is no reason this cannot be applied for any restaurant doing business in the area. Indeed, this idea was brought up by 7th street neighbors to Mayoral candidate Muriel Bowser who offered tentative support for this kind of approach after hearing that it was being used in Philadelphia and New York City.

We know we are going to have more restaurants and we know we are going to have to make them up their game so that they doesn’t create noise, odor and rat problems that are an obvious problem for the neighborhood. These two recent cases are more than just good outcomes, I believe they set a new standard.”

H Street Concert Easter Weekend Sparks Outcry From Irate H Street Neighbors

Lack of Notice, Poor Judgment Fit Larger Pattern of City’s Indifference

by Larry Janezich

It probably seemed to be a good idea to all concerned in the planning:  a secret, free concert on H Street Easter weekend where recording artist Wale could promote his new album. The organizers behind the event included Events DC and the partly city-funded* (see below) Washington, DC Economic Partnership, H Street Main Street, and &pizza among others.  WestMill Capital Partners provided the venue:  the Auto Zone Parking Lot on H Street between 11th and 12th.

Whatever good publicity Wale generated among his fans – many of whom appeared to be out of state and brought in by tour bus – the brief afternoon concert on Saturday came at expense of the nearby residents of H Street, a dynamic that fits a larger, disconcerting pattern whereby the city prioritizes business over the quality of life of city residents.

Residents of Linden Place, the block backing up to the parking lot, already feel under siege by an ongoing battle with the city over enforcement of rodent control and sanitation and access regulations in the abutting alley behind H Street, which includes restaurants and ongoing construction. (See photos below)

But on the Saturday afternoon before Easter, the quality of life for these residents near H Street sunk to unprecedented levels.

With absolutely no notice given to nearby residents, several thousand concert goers gathered in the lot on H Street. According to ANC6A Commissioner and Chair Phil Toomajian, no notice of the event was given to the ANC.  In response to complaining constituents, Toomajian said, “I too was disappointed to hear the loud noise from this event inside my own home 5 blocks away when I brought my newborn son home from the hospital this afternoon.”

The noise was disruptive to many, but even more offensive was the character of some of the lyrics the neighborhood was subjected to, which one poster to a local listserv described as follows:  “I was walking by and heard some of it. A lot of “n word this, n word that. Eat that puxxy! Fxck that bitch!” Not once in awhile but nonstop – every other word…Not appropriate music to blast in public.”

Respectfully setting aside the fact that, for many, when used in the specific context of modern rap, the n* word does not carry the offensive character that it does elsewhere, the remaining lyrics still raise questions about the judgment used in scheduling this event.  Any woman, any child, any person close to this location in the middle of the day on a holiday weekend heard lyrics which they would be well within reason to regard as offensive.

The concert started at 2pm and went until nearly 5:00pm.  After the concert, a large crowd, which some neighbors characterized as intoxicated, remained on the site until three vans of Metropolitan Police, called by a resident, arrived to disperse them.

Residents who complained to Councilmember Charles Allen and to Mayor Bowser’s office received the following reply from Allen:

“Thank you for adding me to this email chain. After getting your notes, I contacted Greg O’Dell, head of Events DC, this afternoon to let him know about the issues and complaints, as well as the lack of notice to neighbors and the ANC. He committed to me that he will have his staff review their event and get back to me with how they’ll change moving forward. They do not have another pop-up concert scheduled at this site (although they do apparently have one scheduled for Yards Park – which is probably a more appropriate venue to begin with given the weekly concert series already taking place there).  Thanks again and I’ll work with neighbors and the ANC on more follow-up.”

Allen did not raise the possibility of a fine or penalty of any kind for the poor handling of this event.  The debacle poses serious questions about how community norms relate to issues that affect the character of public and private space and what is the process by which such a discussion should be undertaken.  Also, as has come up repeatedly on this blog, just how much of a burden must nearby residents be forced to bear as the city encourages the development of commercial corridors devoted to restaurants and bars while maintaining a stony indifference how this development affects the quality of life of neighboring residents.

From Wikipedia:  “Olubowale Victor Akintimehin (born September 21, 1984), better known by his stage name Wale (/ˈwɔː leɪ/ wah-lay), is an American rapper from Washington, D.C.. He rose to prominence in 2006, when his song “Dig Dug (Shake It)” became popular in his hometown. Wale became locally recognized and continued recording music for the regional audience. Producer Mark Ronson discovered Wale in 2006 and signed him to Allido Records in 2007. While signed to that label, Wale released several mixtapes and appeared in national media including MTV and various black magazines.”  Wale performed at an event celebrating Mayor Bowser’s inaugural.

The City has provided token response to neighbor’s complaints about trash, rodent, and access issues in the alley behind Linden Place to seemingly little effect.

* Washington, DC Economic Partnership, according to a representative, is in public/private partnership with the city. As a nonprofit organization, some of the initiatives are partially funded by city grants, but they are not wholly funded by this.

The Week Ahead….Tuesday: Ugly Mug Again (ANC6B) and Peter May, National Park Service (ANC6C)

by Larry Janezich

Monday, April 6

ANC6C Alcohol Beverage Licensing Committee meets at 7:00pm at Kaiser Permanente, 700 2nd Street, NE.

Among items on the agenda:

New class C tavern license for Wonder Garten, 150 M Street, NE.

Renewal for Schneider’s of Capitol Hill, 300 Massachusetts Ave, NE.

Entertainment endorsement for Po Boy Jim’s, 709 H Street NE.

Monday, April 6

Capitol Hill Restoration Society Historic Preservation Committee meets at 6:30pm, at Kirby House, 420 10^th Street, SE.

Tuesday, April 7

ANC6B Planning & Zoning Committee meets at 7:00pm at St. Coletta of Greater Washington, 1901 Independence Avenue SE.

Among items on the agenda:

1015 E Street SE, for variances from side yard requirements & nonconforming structure requirements to allow renovation & expansion of existing building to create five-unit apartment building.  BZA hearing – Tuesday, May 5, 2015.

254 15th Street SE, variance from the off-street parking requirements to allow conversion of existing one-family dwelling into five-unit apartment building.  BZA hearing – Tuesday, May 5, 2015.

148 11th Street SE, special exception for not meeting lot occupancy requirements & rear yard requirements to allow construction of two-story rear addition with accessory apartment connected to dwelling by covered walkway.  BZA hearing – Tuesday, May 12, 2015.

The Ugly Mug Dining Saloon, 723 8th Street SE, add fixture (trash receptacles), Public Space Committee hearing – Thursday, April 23, 2015.  More Barracks Row trash and booze drama. 

Letter regarding 2015 Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon & Half Marathon

Resolution regarding Pet Waste Removal Sign

Tuesday, April 7

ANC 6E Meets at 6:30pm at the Shaw Library, 7th and Rhode Island Avenue

Among items on the agenda:

Request for support for ABRA license, Bacaro

Request for Public Space Support 425 I Street,  outdoor café

Request for Public Space Support 450 K Street, outdoor café

Request for Public Space Support 601 Massachusetts Avenue, valet parking

Request for Zoning Relief Warren Group, O and 9th Streets

Presentation for HPRB in support of 479 Ridge Street

Art Project -MVTCID , fence along 5th Street

Tuesday, April 7

ANC 6C Parks and Events Committee meets at 7:00pm, Kaiser-Permanente Capitol Hill Medical Center (700 2nd St. NE)

Among items on the agenda:

First Street “Front Porch” park – Update on the NoMa BID project to place park amenities in the public space on the east side of 1st Street NE between L and M Streets NE and a dog park in the public space on the west side of 1st Street NE between Patterson and N Streets NE.

National Park Service informational session – Discussion with Peter May, Chairman, National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission, National Park Service, about the National Park Service and the process under which memorials are reviewed and approved in Washington, D.C.  Representative:  Peter May.  (From Wikipedia:  “In November 2014, the National Park Service recommended that the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) approve [a triangular site bounded by Louisiana Avenue NW, 1st Street NW, and C Street NW. This site is adjacent to Upper Senate Park] for the memorial.  The site was opposed by Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6C, which cited the loss of green space.”)

H Street Festival – Presentation concerning the H Street Festival scheduled for September 19, 2015, by Anwar Saleem, Executive Director, H Street Main Street, Inc.

Wednesday, April 8

ANC6C meets at 7:00pm at Heritage Foundation, 214 Massachusetts Avenue, NE.

Among items on the agenda:

First Street “Front Porch” park (see previous paragraph)

Wonder Garten, 150 M Street, NE, new license

Schneider’s of Capitol Hill, 300 Massachusetts Ave NE #000252, renewal

H Street Festival

Po Boy Jim, 709 H Street, NE, entertainment endorsement

Bike lanes at Stanton Park, 4th and 6th Streets

Alibi, 237 2nd St NW, sidewalk cafe

Michio’s, 500 H Street NE, sidewalk cafe

Wednesday, April 8

ANC6B Transportation Committee meets at 7:00pm, Hill Center

Among items on the agenda:

Letter to District Department of Transportation regarding lack of funding for ANC 6B’s 2014 Performance Parking Zone project awards

Presentation on parking policies by Cheryl Cort, Policy Director, Coalition for Smarter Growth

Thursday, April 9

ANC 6A meets at 7:00 pm, Miner Elementary, 601 15th Street, NE.

Among items on the agenda:

Kramer Street Proposal from Comstock Holding Companies, Inc.

License renewal of Touche , 1123 H Street NE.   ANC will insist on establishment agreeing to the rooftop deck will close at 11:00 pm on weeknights and 12:00 am on weekends; the rooftop capacity will be no more than 50 individuals, seated; the ANC’s standard language regarding noise mitigation; no music of any kind allowed on the rooftop deck; the establishment will not turn over its operations to third party promoters.

Letter to DDOT asking them to review the intersection of 15th Street NE and A Street NE for resolution of safety issues, including possible conversion of the current two-way stop to a four-way stop, restriping of lanes, realigning of bike lanes, a sign saying that cross-traffic does not stop, and any other methods that DDOT deems appropriate.

Letter of support for residents of the 1200 block of Florida Avenue NE (south side) to receive Residential Parking Protection.

Letter to DCRA to request guidance that can be provided to the community regarding DCRA’s policies with respect to Air BnB rentals.

Letter to DHCD expressing support for Manna, Inc.’s proposal for the redevelopment of the 1600 block of Kramer Street NE.

Letter to DHCD expressing support for Mi Casa, Inc.’s proposal for the redevelopment of the 1600 block of Kramer Street NE.

Letter to DCRA regarding necessity for zoning relief in connection with the establishment of a boarding charter school at the former Gibbs Elementary School

Thursday, April 9

(ANC6B’s Alcohol Beverage Control Committee meeting scheduled for Thursday, April 9, 2015, is cancelled.)

The Week Ahead…. And News from the Past Week

By Larry Janezich

Details Emerge on Development of 46 Units Near SE Safeway – Opal LLC Meets with Community

On Monday, March 23, developer Sean Ruppert, Opal LLC principal, held the first community meeting regarding the planned construction of 46 residential units at 1309-1323 E Street, SE, near the SE Safeway.

The purpose of the meeting was to get input from the community regarding community benefits and amenities Opal will provide to ameliorate the impact of the increased density for the site which will be sought through the Planned Unit Development (PUD) process.  The PUD process provides a way for a developer to change the zoning of a construction site to allow greater height and density for a project than would be allowed under the site’s current zoning.  The process provides that the developer gives something back to the community – in the form of “benefits and amenities.”

New details of the project emerged during the meeting.  The project anticipates 46 units – most will be three and four bedroom townhouses – which will be for sale, not rentals.  The developer said some of the units would be multi-family, two over two, and there could be 8 of those units.  Under inclusionary zoning, 10 percent of the units will have to be “affordable”– some at 80% of Average Median Income (AMI) and some at 50% AMI.  Since the plans have not been finalized, the developer could not give an exact number (for more on “affordable” see CHC posting here:  http://bit.ly/1FT5TCb).  There will be 46 below grade parking spaces, one per unit.

Former councilmember Sharon Ambrose, who attended, voiced the sentiments of many in the crowd, saying she was “so happy to see a development of other that micro units – the trend is for housing for the most transient members of the community.”

Time line:  Ruppert said they could break ground six months to a year after the PUD application is filed.  It appears that the project will go up in stages, with a final completion date depending on how fast the units sell.  According to the developer, if three units are sold per month, the project will be built out in two years.

Opal LLC will file a PUD application in the next few weeks.  Ruppert asked those attending Monday’s meeting for suggestions as to what benefits and amenities might be suitable.  A number of suggestions – including those Opal had received from Watkins School – concerned items that properly falls under the city government and the DC school system.  Some of these included:  A crossing guard for the school, bike racks, upgrade street lighting, upgrade street scape, trees, upgrade Watkin’s gardens, street striping, year round bathrooms for Watkin’s field, upgrade park near Peter Bug’s Shoe Academy, and making units senior friendly.

Ambrose urged residents and the developer to avoid recommending benefits that city agencies are responsible for before checking to see if items have been provided for in the city’s budget process.  There is a lengthy period between filing the PUD and the Zoning Commission’s “Set Down” hearing, where the plans are finalized; there is no urgency to compile a list of benefits and amenities in the next few weeks.

Once a list of benefits is compiled as the process continues to unfold, ANC6B will conduct the negotiations with the developer on behalf of the community.

Construction of CAG HQ at 15^th and Independence, SE, To Begin

Community Action Group (CAG)  planners held a community meeting on Thursday, March 26 to update residents on plans for construction of CAG HQ at 15^th and Independence, SE.  Bureaucratic issues have stalled the project and neighbors have complained that the neglected construction site and the huge empty pit on 15^th Street has been a nuisance.  The CAG flyer offering details on the construction plan and contact information, previously distributed by ANC Commissioner Denise Krepp is here: CAG+neighborhood+report+03272015-2

ANC6B Revamps Website with Useful Information for Residents of ANC6B

In 2010, a group of reformers challenged and took control of ANC6B which, to many observers, had become insular, secretive and opaque (ANC6D take note).  One of the campaign issues for reformers was increased transparency, and one of the remedies proposed was to make the ANC’s website a useful tool to bring information to the community.  That project, spearheaded by then-Commissioner Brian Pate and his Community Outreach Committee, and current Commissioner Brian Flahaven is becoming a reality.  Pate and his committee made the website functional.  Flahaven has undertaken the task of posting relevant information to the site.  For any resident

Among the information available on the site is the following:

Map of ANC6B, list of Commissioners and their contact info; ANC6B Bylaws, ANC6B Standing Rules, List of Committees and Taskforces, List of Resident Members of Committees and Taskforces, reports of committee meetings, details of settlement agreements with bars and restaurants, ANC6B letters and resolutions, financial statements, minutes of ANC6B meetings, and commissioner’s testimony before government agencies.  Also, one can find here the meeting materials for ANC6B meetings, which are posted prior to the monthly meeting.  The link to the website is here:  http://www.anc6b.org/

The Week Ahead…

ANC6B  Executive Committee Meets at 7:00pm in Hill Center to set the agenda for the April regular meeting of the ANC, on Monday, April 20 (note change in date).

Pound The Hill Reopens

by Larry Janezich

Pound the Hill reopened just after noon today.  John Karl of Pound told CHC:   “There was confusion with DC over taxes and we quickly resolved it. Unfortunate that they closed us without notice but fortunately it was only for half a day that we were closed!”

Pound Is Closed by DC Tax Office of Tax and Revenue

by Larry Janezich

Update:  Pound has posted a comment to this story, saying they will be open by mid day tomorrow.

An alert Hill resident forwarded the photo above and the information that Pound is closed.

DC Code provides that if a person is liable to DC for tax and doesn’t pay within 10 days after notice, the Mayor may collect the tax plus penalties by levy upon all property of the person who owes the tax.  If the person is a business entity, this supposedly would entail seizing the assets of the business.  Capitol Hill coffee shop patrons may recall that a similar fate befell Murky’s coffee shop – the last in the list of Peregrine predecessors.

The Week Ahead – Community Meeting on 45 Mixed Unit Project Near SE Safeway

by Larry Janezich

Monday, March 23

Opal LLC hosts community outreach meeting on 45 unit mixed residential project comprised of townhouses, condos, flats and a carriage house for the site at 1309-1323 E Street, SE, currently occupied by an Jerry’s Custom Automotive Center and its associated warehouse.  The meeting will be at 7:00pm in Hill Center.  See CHC posting here:  http://bit.ly/14qcnLZ

Wednesday, March 25

Eastern Market Community Advisory Committee meets at 7:00pm in Eastern Market’s North Hall.  Among items on the agenda:  Update on Hine Construction Planns

Friday, March 27

Councilmember Charles Allen Community Office Hours, 8:00am – 9:30am, Curbside Café, 257 15^th Street, SE

ANC Committee Says No to Shipping Container Housing in Rosedale

by Larry Janezich

Last night, ANC6A’s Zoning and Economic Development Committee said “no, thanks” to the Neighborhood Development Company and Architect Travis Price’s bid to construct 22 shipping container housing units in Rosedale.   The DC Housing Development Agency is making the site at 1600 Kramer Street available to developers who will construct mixed income residential units, 35% of which must be “affordable.”

Last night, three developers presented their ideas for the site to the Committee.

Price’s concept featured “high performance, low energy housing” – which was the subject of an article in the WaPo yesterday, see here:  http://wapo.st/1F8oYUi  His proposal, in association with The Neighborhood Development Company, would provide 12 affordable units, 8 at 50% Area Median Income (AMI) and 4 at 80% AMI.  (AMI in DC is $107,500 for a family of four) on the site in the Rosedale neighborhood adjacent to Miner Elementary School, just south of Hechinger Mall. The plan anticipates 8 parking spaces.

The Committee gave nods of approval to two other developers, Manna, Inc. and Mi Casa, both of whom put forth more traditional town house concepts.

Manna, Inc. proposes ten units – five 2 bedroom and five 3 bedroom.  One 2 bedroom and one 3 bedroom would be marketed at 60% AMI, and one 2 bedroom and one three bedroom would be marketed at 50% AMI.  Six units would be sold at market rate.  The proposal includes six parking spaces.

Mi Casa proposes 12 townhouses – eleven 3 bedroom units and one fully accessible 2 bedroom unit.  Five would be marketed at below 80%, five below 50 percent and two at market rate.  They propose 12 parking spaces.

Both of the latter proposals would be financed by a combination of private equity and city subsidy.  Both would be subsidized by DCHD providing the land at no cost.  Manna would be further subsidized by a city write down – essentially a city held second mortgage which is passed on to subsequent owners and ultimately returned to the city.

At the end, Committee Chair Dan Golden summed up the consensus of the Committee and the community:  Manna is the best architectural fit, Mi Casa the best commitment to affordability, and Neighborhood Development Company was “really cool but in terms of aesthetics and density” not the best fit for the neighborhood.

The committee voted 6 – 0 to send a letter in support of Manna, Inc. and Mi Casa to the full ANC which meets next Thursday at Miner Elementary School.  The full ANC is expected to endorse the committee recommendation and forward that to DCHD.