Category Archives: Uncategorized

First Lady Michelle Obama was one of a group of women who attended a birthday luncheon for an unnamed friend at Radici near Eastern Market Sunday afternoon.

A sign at Radici appeared this morning announcing an unusual mid-day private event on a busy Sunday morning.

After the arrival of the First Lady, the celebrity alert attracted a large crowd of Sunday market goers.Click to enlarge.

Security, as they say, was tight.

The pay-off for those standing in the chilly temperatures came at 3:30 pm, in the form of a glimpse of the First Lady – in the cream colored suit – exiting Radici’s

This was the scene inside just after the First Lady departed

Enrico Sasso, whose wife Bridget along with business partner Phil Friedman of Salsarita’s Fresh Cantina owns Radici, told CHC that Michelle Obama “had a good time.” Asked what was on the menu, he smiled and said, “Some things are confidential.”

Visit Radici’s website here:  http://www.radici-market.com/

The future home of & Pizza on Barracks Row remains boarded up after a stop work order, but construction may resume shortly.

& Pizza Caught Trying to Pull a Fast One on Barracks Row

by Larry Janezich

Capitol Hill residents who welcome & Pizza’s opening on Barracks Row – scheduled for last August – have been wondering at the lack of activity since a “Stop Work Order” was posted on the site last summer.

Michael Niebauer of Washington Business Journal raised some eyebrows on March 17 when he tweeted “some serious issues with the & pizza buildout of its barracks row building. Back before the BZA now.”

As it turns out, & Pizza had proceeded with construction on the site, not only without permits, but in disregard of the restrictions in the BZA order incorporating “best operating practices” reached after months of negotiations with ANC6B and nearby neighbors.  The ANC and neighbors were able to wrest those concessions from & Pizza in exchange for providing & Pizza with a 7 year exemption from the ban on additional fast food outlets on Barracks Row.  In its final form, the agreement was considered by ANC6B to be the gold standard for operating practices for future restaurants opening on Barracks Row, and a desired goal for existing restaurants.  See here:  http://bit.ly/1SpRDWE

The “Stop Work Order” took & Pizza back to the drawing board after neighbors and the ANC took a close look at what & Pizza was up to.  Over the next six months, ANC representatives and concerned neighbors met with CEO Michael Lassiter and & Pizza representatives to reach an agreement which satisfied the spirit of the BZA order and which would allow & Pizza to move forward.

On March 10, & Pizza requested a modification of the BZA order to reflect the new agreement. The request came apologetically:

“And pizza regrets the confusion and miscommunication that resulted in our beginning construction without the requisite permits and not in accordance with the terms of the original order. We have moved past working with those associated with that decision and have paid the fines related to the infraction.”

Calling the modification to the BZA order minor, & Pizza was apparently hoping for a quick administrative review and approval.  BZA scheduled a hearing on the matter, and since & Pizza had failed to notify ANC6B in a timely matter, the hearing was scheduled before ANC6B would have an opportunity to weigh in.

Commissioner Chander Jayaraman, unhappy with the lack of transparency, pushed for an ANC6B review prior to the BZA hearing.  He wanted & Pizza to explain to the ANC and the community why they began construction without permits, and why their construction differed from the BZA order.  At his prompting, ANC6B Chair Kirsten Oldenburg appeared in person before DCRA and pressed for a delay in the hearing date so that the ANC could publically review the process.  Jayaraman followed up with a letter of his own to BZA, which reads in part:

“I want to express my concern and dismay at the lack of transparency with respect to the pizza case. I strongly object to the BZA taking any action on this case before ANC 6B has had an opportunity to opine on the revisions to the BZA order.

We have not been notified of the latest request and have not been consulted nor provided the opportunity to comment on the changes they are seeking to the BZA order. In fact, the applicant has not contacted or met with current ANC commissioners on this case since a stop work order was placed on their establishment for illegally beginning construction without permits and without adhering to the specifics enumerated in the BZA order. I’m certain, however, the changes the applicant is proposing are not minor modifications but rather substantial changes to the existing order [g]iven their actions in violating district regulations and attempting to circumvent the regular process of the ANC.”

The hearing was postponed, and last Thursday night, ANC6B’s Executive Committee placed the case on the agenda for the April meeting scheduled for April 12.  Before that, however, the issue will come up for a preliminary review before ANC6B’s Planning and Zoning Committee which meets at 7:00pm, next Tuesday, April 5, at St. Coletta’s of Greater Washington.

So.  What is actually going on here?

Someone at & Pizza authorized proceeding with illegal construction which flouted the BZA order.  And while DCRA will issue a stop work order if prompted, the fact is, that once illegal commercial construction is complete, DCRA seldom requires that it be torn out.  The usual procedure is for the offender to pay a fine and then conduct business as usual.

Former ANC6B Planning and Zoning Chair, Francis Campbell, who was asked to help negotiate a new agreement, said regarding construction without a permit, “This was a mistake.  There is no excuse for that.”  He gives credit to & Pizza for admitting they were wrong and for working to come into compliance with the intent of the BZA order, even to the extent of agreeing to his suggestion that as a show of good faith they renew their exemption from the Barracks Row fast food ban after five years instead of the seven as stated in the original BZA order.

In support of & Pizza’s claim that the modifications are minor, the BZA’s on line case file shows two word-for-word identical letters of support for & Pizza.  Both letters – one from Pure Barre and one from Metro Mutts – who are the tenants of the building adjacent to & Pizza on the south side, contain the sentence: “I regard the &Pizza request as extremely minor and I commend them for agreeing to the new terms.”  One of Capitol Hill’s major commercial real estate holders – Maurice Kreidler – owns the building housing the two tenants, the & Pizza site, and the adjacent Barracks Row Starbucks.

Adding a layer of irony to the story, Jayaraman says he learned in talking to the Office of Planning (OP) that the agency uses the & Pizza case as a training example illustrating how ANCs can use a BZA order to mitigate the impact of restaurants on nearby neighbors.

Update:  Editor’s Note:  The previous version of this post contained some inaccuracies regarding BZA procedures.  CHC regrets the error.

The Safeway site at 415 14th Street, SE, rivals in size the currently-under-redevelopment Buchanan School site immediately behind it, but is unencumbered by historic structures.

Image from Google Maps shows the relative size of the space available for redevelopment on the right..  The left half of the block is the Buchanan School site, currently under redevelopment by Insight.  

Capitol Hill’s Southeast Safeway Slated for Redevelopment

by Larry Janezich

According to sources, Safeway Corporation has invited select developers to submit proposals for redevelopment of the Southeast Safeway at 14^th and D Streets, SE.  The project envisions a mixed use development not unlike the Georgetown Safeway or the Wisconsin Avenue Giant in NW DC.  A source tells CHC that a preferred developer has been selected, but it is uncertain who the developer is, or what they have proposed.

The request for proposals specified that a grocery store will remain on the site, along with additional ground level retail, and residential units on upper floors.  The huge site is zoned commercial C2-A and can be built to a height of 50 feet.  The plan is to develop the site “by-right”, meaning that no zoning changes or Planned Unit Development (PUD) process will be necessary, minimizing public review of the plan.

Ordinarily, there is no opportunity for community review of a “by right” project.  However, in the case of large developments, DC regulations require the Deputy Mayor for Economic Development and the Office of Planning (OP) to manage the overall process under its Large Tract Review (LTR) procedure. According to the OP website, “Reviews are coordinated with other city agencies, the ANC, and the impacted community and must be completed before a developer applies for a building permit. This is NOT a process resulting in an approval or denial by OP or any other entity. Rather, it is an administrative review by multiple District agencies and the affected community to identify issues and provide feedback to the developer prior to filing a building permit application.”  The process provides for at least one community meeting coordinated through the ANC.  The LTR must be completed within 60 days after an application for the review is received, though an extension may be granted.  See here:  http://1.usa.gov/1TisS3f

CHC asked ANC6B Commissioner Nick Burger, who chairs the ANC6b Planning and Zoning Committee to comment on the proposed redevelopment of the site.  Burger said, “There has been speculation for a long time regarding the potential redevelopment of the Safeway site and it’s not surprising if redevelopment is in progress. The site is not being used to the best of its ability.   I’m cautiously optimistic – the site has a lot of potential if it is being redeveloped.”

There are four residential or mixed use projects in the immediate area which, when complete, will add up to 1200 new residents to the neighborhood.  For more on these developments, see here:  http://bit.ly/1Zm9t60  How many more residents the Safeway site redevelopment will accommodate is uncertain.

Sean Ruppert of Opal LLC, hold depiction of aerial view of Watkins Alley looking Northeast. The large white structure at the top of the rendering is Safeway. The white structure just below it is Frager’s.

ANC6B Signs Off on Watkins Alley Development – Approves Community Benefits Package

by Larry Janezich

Last night, at a “Special Call” meeting, ANC6b voted 7-0 to support OPaL LLC’s Planned Unit Development (PUD) application for its residential “Watkins Alley” project near the SE Safeway after negotiating a community benefits and amenities package with developer Sean Ruppert.

The 43 unit project will include a total of 5 two and three bedroom affordable housing units, 4 of which will be available at 50% of Area Median Income (AMI), and one at 80% of AMI.  In addition, the project will include 1 one-level, universal design senior housing unit at the market rate.

In addition, the developer agreed to provide:

Tree boxes on the south side of E Street and the east side of 13th Street;

Alley resurfacing west of and adjacent to the property;

Security cameras, mirrors, and lighting;

Snow removal from adjacent alleys;

And a contribution to improvements at Potomac Avenue Metro Station.

The project will be built to the new Leeds Silver Standard.

Two new benefits which the developer agreed to were a $10,000 improvement to the D Street portion of the fence around Potomac Gardens (done at the request of the residents of Potomac Gardens) and support of the community “Safe Routes” programs which is organizing to improve safety around metro stations in ANC6B.  The total value of the benefits and amenities package was estimated by the developer’s architect to be around $250,000.

It seemed to be the consensus of the ANC to address concerns raised by nearby neighbors regarding traffic impact and traffic safety issues around the project by working with DDOT to slow traffic and possibly create pedestrian lanes in the alleys around the project.  Neighbors suggestion that relocating the garage to where it could be entered from the street was deemed impractical by both the developer and the ANC.

Stonework preservation begins on the Senate Wing of the U.S. Capitol Building’s East Front

The Week Ahead….Highlight: ANC Vote on Benefits Package from Watkins Alley Development

by Larry Janezich

Tuesday, March 29

1. ANC6B has scheduled a Special Call meeting for 7:00pm at Hill Center to consider and vote on benefits and amenities the community will receive in exchange for approving greater height and density for the Watkins Alley Project proposed for the 1300 block of E Street, SE.

Some items on the list of proposed benefits and amenities include:

Inclusion of one affordable unit at 50% Median Area Income;

Design of one townhouse as a seniors unit;

Tree boxes on the South side of E Street and the East side of 13th Street;

Contribution to improvements at Potomac Avenue Metro Station;

Alley resurfacing west of and adjacent to the property;

Addition of security cameras and mirrors;

Snow removal from adjacent alleys.

In addition, ANC6B is pressing for funding for a design concept (for planning purposes) for Lady Bird Park adjacent to the Peter Bug Academy at 13^th and E Streets, SE;

Improvement to the D Street portion of the fence around Potomac Gardens;

A plaque commemorating the community work of Will Hill and improvements for the park at 15^th and Kentucky Avenue, SE.

For images and previous post on Watkins Alley, go here:  http://bit.ly/1R951BT

2. ANC6B meets at 6:00pm in Hill Center to set the agenda for the April meeting of ANC6B.

Wednesday, March 30

1. Eastern Market Community Advisory Committee (EMCAC) will meet at 7:00pm in the North Hall of Eastern Market.

Among items on the agenda:

Presentation by Forest Hayes, the Associate Director of the Department of General Services

Market Managers Report

2. The Federal Railroad Administration invites the public to an Informational Forum on the Washington Union Station Expansion Project, 4:00 – 8:00 pm, Washington Union Station, 40 Massachusetts Avenue, NE. The meeting is an opportunity to review and discuss plans for rail, parking, bus and taxi facilities; public concourses, retail space, and public open spaces at Union Station.

Barracks Row City Bikes Closes Sunday at 6:00pm

Capitol Hill Bikes Remains as the Only Shop on The Hill South of H Street, NE

The Back Story on City Bikes’ Departure From Barracks Row

A “Less Retail-Friendly Block” and Collapse of Lease Negotiations

by Larry Janezich

After five years on Barracks Row, 6:00pm Sunday will mark the close of the last day of business for City Bikes at 709 8^th Street, SE. The bike shop is moving to 4810 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, in Tenleytown – a site that was intended to be the fourth outlet for the company.  Clients who are unable to pick up their bicycles and/or special orders on Sunday will be able to do so at the Adams Morgan location at 2501 Champlain Street, NW.

Saul Leiken, City Bikes’ General Manager, told Capitol Hill Corner, he had hoped to sign an extension of his lease which expires at the end of the month, but that negotiations fell through after an “agreement in principle” had been reached.  He said that he had sought more favorable terms for the lease because restaurants on the block had “made it less friendly to retail” and “foot traffic was not what it once was.”  He said he learned Monday night that he would have to vacate the building by Sunday night.

Leiken said the short notice left him no time to look for another location on Capitol Hill, but that he would love to come back.  He said he would look for another location after the bike season ends in the fall.

City Bikes has stores in Adams Morgan and Chevy Chase in addition to the new Tenleytown location.  For more information, go here:  http://citybikes.com/

The building owner, long-time Barracks Row real estate investor Margot Kelly, told CHC that negotiations on extending the lease for three months at a lower rent fell apart after Leiken requested additional concessions once a tentative agreement on a lease extension had been reached.  Asked what sort of tenant she was looking for to fill the space, Kelly said, “I’ve never rented to a restaurant.  I would prefer to rent to a furniture store or a boutique.”  She said she would “concentrate on finding a business that would be an asset to the block”.  The space comprises 2,500 square feet on the first floor plus another 900 square feet in the basement.

Given the rents which owners on Barracks Row have come to expect, it’s not clear that any retail shop such as Kelly mentioned can be a viable enterprise.  Award winning restaurant Rose’s Luxury and its adjacent $250 prix fixe sister restaurant – Pineapple and Pearls – are just a few doors away.  High rent may have been a factor in the closing last October of Zest, An American Bistro on the same block.  That location remains empty.  Meanwhile, Capitol Hill Sports at 727 8^th Street – which threatened closure in February of 2014 before receiving a reprieve – is again sporting a “Going Out of Business Sale”.

The move will leave Capitol Hill Bikes at 719 8th Street, Barracks Row, as the only bike shop south of H Street, NE.  Capitol Hill Bikes formerly occupied the building being vacated by City Bikes.  The shop, founded by co-owners Denise D’Amour and Laurie Morin in May of 2000, subsequently consolidated its operations in their current building at 709^th 8th Street in February of 2010 when the recession hit Barracks Row retail.  For more information, go here:  http://capitolhillbikes.com/

Demolition Begins on the Buchanan School Site Near Southeast Safeway, Making Way for Residences

81 High-end Town Home/Condos Slated for the Site

by Larry Janezich

This past week saw the beginning of demolition to make way for new residential units on the Buchanan School site between D and E Streets, on 13th Street, SE.  It is one of the three residential projects being built in close proximity to Southeast Safeway.  The Watkins Alley Project, up before ANC6B is one of those projects, and lies on the south side of E Street, across from the Buchanan School project.

This was the layout of the Buchanan site before demolition began this week. The newer structure on the lower left has been demolished, as seen in the photo below. The non-historic auditorium to the left of the center building will be demolished. The two remaining historic buildings will be converted to condos. Subscribers to the newhilleast listserv can find a post on the history of the Buchanan site by Hill East resident/activist, Jim Myers, posted there on Sunday, titled: “Our Land of Broken Dreams”. That piece is reprinted below.

Plans call for 81 residences for the site – 40 townhomes priced at around $1 million and 41 condos priced at $300,000 to $1 million. For more on how the project will look, see here: http://bit.ly/1pDUMeQ

Previously printed on the newhilleast listserv and reproduced here:

Our Land of Broken Dreams

by Jim Myers

Piles of rubble along 13th Street, SE, behind old Buchanan School now seem to be all that remains of a pair of  quixotic ventures that came to naught in Hill East — and also sometimes made our neighborhood seem cursed by the shadow of too many ideas that were never meant to be in the first place.

Years ago, DC started getting rid of unwanted school buildings that were a result of racial segregation, requiring two schools where one would do thereafter. The Buchanan School was sold and for more than a decade became an enterprise that called itself the International Graduate University.  But it wasn’t a “university” in the common definitions, and that fact eventually left it empty without seeming purpose at all, while the land it sat on quietly but massively increased in value.

In recent days they’ve demolished section of Buchanan School closest to the 13th and D corner that briefly claimed to be the important-sounding Democracy Hall of Fame.  In the early days, the Hall enshrined the likes of Lech Walensa, who came all the way from Poland to our neighborhood to be so honored.

So Hall of Fame is now gone, and next to the piles, heavy machines on have also knocked down the remains of quixotic efforts by Lady Bird Johnson and her New York socialite/ philanthropist friend Brooke Astor who in 1968 wanted to turn the block along 13th Street into an “open-air living room” for our neighborhood.

It eventually included a sunken basketball court with seating for spectators, chess and checkers tables, concrete art and more — all of which evolved into sad uselessness in relatively short order. But, maybe, the neighborhood didn’t want an open-air living room; what many people here eventually seemed to want was a real living room in PG County.

Still the ill-fated “living room” venture was very ceremoniously dedicated in 1968 only days after rioting in the city ended, and on the day Lady Bird and Brooke came to Hill East, DC newspapers were still reporting about bodies being found in the rubble of burnt-out buildings elsewhere in the city.

After that, the sunken court eventually became a chosen spot to consummate  open-air drug deals (among other things) out of sight of the cops, and the discovery of new dead bodies on the basketball court sadly followed.

Then, for years, the rest of what remained of the open-air living room just sat there, rousing the question, “What was that supposed to be?”

Another of Lady Bird’s efforts in the 1300 block of South Carolina Avenue, SE, was removed years ago to build the row houses that were part of the Bryan School redevelopment project. A similar vision – dozens of townhouses and condos – now apparently awaits at Buchanan and environs.

Jim Myers

The Week Ahead….ANC6A Considers Community Benefits from Watkins Alley Project

by Larry Janezich

Monday, March 21

Cancelled  ANC6A Transportation and Public Space Committee meets at 7:00pm, at Capitol Hill Towers (900 G Street, NE – Photo ID required

Agenda:

DDOT Director Leif Dormsjo update on Maryland Avenue redesign and other local concerns –

Update from DDOT officials on 17th Street and 19th Street redesign

Sidewalk café permit application for BAB Korean Fusion at 1387 H Street, NE

Support for new DC Bikeshare station at 8th and H Streets, NE

Request for truck and bus restrictions on 11th Street, NE

(Commissioner Mahmud, who chairs the committee, will be available to SMD01 constituents from 6:30-7:00 pm, preceding the meeting.

Cancelled  ANC6B Community Outreach Committee meets at 7:00pm in Maury Elementary School (multi-purpose room), 1250 Constitution Ave NE, (enter from 13th St. NE)

Agenda:

Review of grant request: Ludlow Taylor Elementary School PTO

Proposed ANC 6A Facebook Page

Tuesday, March 22

ANC6B Special Call meeting from 7:00pm to 9:00pm at the Hill Center (921 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE).   The ANC will hold final discussions and vote community benefits and amenities associated with the proposed Watkins Alley PUD project near the Southeast Safeway.  See here:  http://bit.ly/1R951BT and here http://bit.ly/1Zm9t60

The future home of Bullfrog Bagels. The balcony will hold two tables and four chairs – adjoining neighbors object to late night serving of alcohol a matter of feet from their second story apartments.

Board Hears Protest of Bullfrog Bagel’s Liquor License

May Opening Planned for Shop Near Eastern Market

by Larry Janezich

Last Wednesday, DC’s Alcohol Beverage Review Administration (ABRA) listened to more than 7 hours of arguments and testimony about the concerns of neighbors of 317 7th Street (steps from Eastern Market) – soon to be the home of Bullfrog Bagels.  Owner Jeremiah Cohen told the board that a liquor license is necessary because a bagel shop needs brunch, lunch, and dinner service to make the business viable.  He and partner Matt Frumin hope to open the shop in early May.

Nearby neighbors hired local attorney Ellen Opper-Weiner to press their case that 4:00am deliveries in the alley behind the bagel shop/restaurant and the noisy late night removal of trash from the second story dining area – down outside metal stairs to the indoor trash storage room – would impose an unacceptable burden on their quality of life.  Residents want alley deliveries limited to the same hours for trash pick-up, 7:00am to 7:00pm, and a limit on how late trash can be carried to the indoor storage.

In addition, the immediate neighbors to the right and left of Bullfrog Bagels – Fairy Godmother and Woven History – object to the serving alcohol after 10:00pm at the two tables and four chairs planned for the balcony over the building’s front porch – a distance measured in feet from the windows of second story apartments in those adjoining buildings.

Cohen cited concessions he had already made in the interests of the neighbors, including giving up a deep fryer, and screening mechanicals to reduce noise.  He pointed to the logistical difficulties in delivering carts laden with some 300 bagels up the stairs in the front of the building as opposed to up a ramp in the rear.  He said the second floor dining area would have 34 seats including the four on the balcony and that over time, the four seats on the balcony would amount to a significant portion of his business.

With respect to the hours of service, representatives from Bullfrog Bagels claimed that it was the ANC’s settlement agreement negotiators that encouraged them to extend their weekend operating hours beyond what they requested in their liquor license application.   That may have been a tradeoff for cutting back hours of operation during the week.  The application for a liquor license which Cohen originally filed requested operating hours of 10:00am to 11:00pm, seven days a week.  The settlement agreement negotiated with the ANC ended up specifying 10:00am to 10:30pm weekdays, and 10:00am to 11:30pm on Fridays and Saturdays.

Alex Golding, who with a brother and his father, Ken – the latter a partner in Stanton Development – who together comprise the entity which owns the 317 7^th Street, told the board that their company had spent $400,000 on renovations, essentially constructing a new building except for the façade.  Golding said, “Tons of restaurants wanted the space, but we wanted someone who would fit into the street a little better.”  Alex Golding, who also works for Stanton Development, told the board “we assembled four buildings and created 11 retail spaces on the block, as well as the Hine development across the street.”  Retail space in the Hine development, he said, would be occupied by “restaurants, shops, and a vibrant mix of retail.”

317 7th Street, was formerly “The Frame Up” – the studio, shop, art gallery and home of prolific artist Richard Sheehy, who died in February, 2014.  The Goldings bought it with the intention of leasing it to a restaurant.  Their initial plan of outdoor storage for trash was modified at the insistence of ANC6B to provide for indoor trash storage.  See here:  http://bit.ly/1XF8Tef

Although the ABC Board did deliberate after the hearing they did not communicate any decision to the parties.  The legal counsel to the board must write a final decision and issue it within 90 days, though it could come sooner.

This ATM in Eastern Market was the target of thieves who took an undetermined amount of money from the machine early Friday morning.

Thieves Target Eastern Market’s ATM Last Night

by Larry Janezich

According to sources, individuals entered Eastern Market last night somewhere around 3:00am and took an undetermined amount of cash from the ATM machine in the South Hall.  MPD was called in immediately upon discovery of the theft; it is believed that police are reviewing videotape for possible identification of suspects.  How the thieves entered the market is uncertain.  The suspects may have been crawling inside the market to avoid being captured on video.  If true, that could indicate a familiarity with the location of security cameras.

Security has been a concern at the market – the North Hall is a popular venue which is rented out to help support market operations and sometimes events last into the early hours of the morning.  In addition, vendors in the North Hall have pressed for and received from the Department of General Services (DGS), greater access to their stalls during off hours.

CHC reached out to DGS public relations some 12 hours after the alleged break-in and received the usual, “I’ll get back to you.”  The reply, when it came, read only:  “MPD was called and came out, conducted their standard procedure, and wrote a report.”