Category Archives: Uncategorized

Applicant Drops Bid to Expand “Residence” Near Capitol

by Larry Janezich

ANC6B Commissioner Jennifer Samolyk told ANC6B last night at its March meeting that a request to relax zoning regulations to allow expansion of a townhouse close to the Capitol which houses the offices of a non-profit, had been withdrawn by the applicant.  No reason  was given for the decision.  The house in question is in Samolyk’s single member district.

Neighbors had mounted a fierce campaign in opposition to the expansion, claiming that it was being done under the guise of providing more living space for a family, while the real reason was to expand the useable space for the office of the non-profit.  Neighbors claimed that the applicant was not using the townhouse as a primary residence.  An occupancy permit for running a business out of a home is contingent on the primary residence status.  For the original posting on this issue, see here:  http://bit.ly/1SjTeRY

Larry Johnston, who lives adjacent to the property, emerged as the spokesman for more than a dozen neighbors concerned about the issue who were in attendance last night.  He urged the ANC to pay attention to the blocks near the Capitol which are “suffering the inclusion” of businesses in residential neighborhoods.

Samolyk, who last night was elected Chair of the ANC6B Task Force on Outreach and Constituent Services, said she had determined that while it is possible to contest a Home Occupancy Permit from DCRA which allows businesses to operate out of residences, they are rarely overturned.  She also expressed disappointment that DCRA had not responded to calls she had made regarding the current case.

Samolyk said she would convene a meeting of the Task Force and invite a representative of DCRA to attend to discuss the issue.  She also said she would invite ANC6C Chair Karen Wirt to attend the meeting.  ANC6C has similar issues on blocks in residential areas close-in to the Capitol on the north side of East Capitol street.  Other areas where businesses encroach illegally on neighborhoods include New Jersey Avenue, F Street, NE, and on First Street behind the Supreme Court.

Commissioner Denise Krepp pointed out to residents interested in pursuing the issue that another avenue of would be to testify before the upcoming DCRA oversight hearings.

Also in attendance at last night’s meeting was the new Ward 6 representative of the Mayor’s Office, Rachel Mariman.  Mariman succeeds Seth Shapiro, who moved to the DC Department of Parks and Recreation in February.  Mariman offered her assistance to Samolyk in getting the attention of DCRA.

New Hill East Community Public Safety Organization Backs Safety Routes Proposal

by Larry Janezich

Last night, at its first public meeting, a fledgling community public safety coalition drew about 50 community members and stakeholders, including Councilmember Charles Allen and ANC6B Commissioners Chander Jayaraman, Daniel Chao, and Denise Krepp.  Also attending were Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Kevin Donahue, MPD First District Lt. Damion Taylor, and representatives of the Guardian Angels.

The DC Safety Network is a grassroots community effort co-chaired by Richard Lukas and the Rev. Kelly Jareaux.  According to their website, the group is a “diverse, nonpartisan coalition of concerned individuals working to enhance safety and reduce violent crime in the District.”  Their over-all goal is to establish partnerships with social justice organizations and the MPD, and local and federal public agencies to help “at risk” individuals and reduce violent crime in high crime areas, in hopes the effort will be adopted in other neighborhoods and communities in the city.

The coalition has arisen, in part, perhaps, because of the sense of some community members that the community policing efforts of the PSA’s (Police Service Areas) under the guidance of MPD First District police lieutenants are no longer effective.  In too many cases, the PSA meetings have devolved into the recitation of relatively meaningless crime statistics without context, and rote repetition of advice on how to avoid being a victim.  Such a program fails to encourage repeat attendance for those who venture to attend one.  Some PSA’s encourage greater engagement – PSA 108 and PSA 104 come to mind – but most do not.

The first public safety initiative the DC Safety Net is sponsoring is the “Safe Routes Program” – the brain child of ANC6B commissioner Chander Jayaraman.  His idea – which DC Safety Network has endorsed and adopted – involves community volunteers occupying corners on routes leading away from Capitol Hill Metro stops in the heavily trafficked 5:30pm – 7:30pm commuter time slot, Monday through Friday.  Jayaraman emphasizes that the message is, “I’m on watch.”  He says, “We don’t want to put people in jail, we are just saying, ‘Don’t [threaten] our neighborhood.’”  Jayaraman issued an appeal for additional volunteers willing to commit to an hour’s service as citizen sentinels to help make the neighborhood safer.

Initially, the effort is being coordinated by Jayaraman and Lukas, who will manage the logistics including distribution of yellow safety vests and battery powered hand held “shrieking” alarms to volunteers.  Jayaraman says he hopes to launch the initial Safe Routes pilot at the end of the month, focusing on 14^th Street starting at the Potomac Metro stop and extending to the 14^th Street’s  intersection with Maryland Avenue, NE.

Councilmember Allen addressed the group, saying them that MPD Chief Cathy Lanier told him she was sending “my best commander” to take over the First District in the wake of the retirement of Commander Brown last month.  Allen said he had talked to the new First District commander – Commander Robert Contee – and told him that the number one issue in Ward 6 was “robberies, robberies, robberies.  I think he got it.”  But, Allen said, “I need your help” in community building to address public safety issues.  Allen did not respond to an email asking whether the PSA’s have outlived their usefulness, leading to a grassroots public safety organization arising outside the PSA network.

For more information on DC Safety Network and to join DC SafetyNet, visit: http://bit.ly/1OZ8CN1 and follow them on Twitter @DCSafetyNet

 

The Week Ahead….

by Larry Janezich

Monday, March 7

1. Continuation of ANC 6B Planning & Zoning Meeting. ANC6B’s Planning & Zoning Committee was unable to get through its entire agenda during its scheduled meeting on Tuesday, March 1, and the meeting will continue at 7:00pm on Monday, March 7, at Hill Center.

Agenda:  Watkins Alley Planned Unit Development, 1309-1323 E Street, SE.

2. ANC 6C Alcoholic Beverage Licensing Committee will meet at 7:00pm at Northeast Library, 330 7^th Street, NE.

Agenda:

Bistro Italiano – 320 D Street, NE, Summer garden request.

Seoul Spice LLC, 145 N Street, NE, new restaurant license.

3. DC SafetyNet’s will hold its first community meeting, at 6:30pm, friendship Chamberlain School, 1345 Potomac Avenue, SE.

4. CHRS Historic Preservation Committee meets at 6:30pm, at Kirby House, 420 10^th Street, SE

Tuesday, March 8

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

Among items on the agenda:

Election of Outreach & Constituent Services Task Force Chair.

Presentations:

New Initiatives at CHAW: Jill Strachan, Executive Director.

EventsDC’s Planned Release of and Review Process for “RFK Study”: Pete Kirschner, Communications & Marketing Director and Caroline Jhingory, Community Engagement Coordinator.

Matchbox, 521 8th Street SE, Substantial change due expansion of 1,600 square feet resulting in an additional 45 interior dining seats, 14 bar/counter seats, and six exterior patio seats.

Support for Watkins Elementary School Modernization Project.

328 D Street SE, rear addition/concept.

1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE – add third story to existing restaurant.

160 North Carolina Avenue, SE – add third story to rear.

Hill East Design Review: Larry Clark, Donatelli Development.

Note: The following case will most likely be removed from the March 8 agenda so that it can be considered in full at a Special Call Meeting on March 22, 2016:

Watkins Alley, 1309-1323 E Street, SE, and 516 13th Street, SE.  PUD issues.

2. PSA 104 meets at 7:00pm, at Ludlow Taylor Elementary School, 659 7^th Street, NE.

Agenda:  Crime trends and statistics, Safety tips,  Meet your neighbors,  Partners in Problem Solving sessions,  Nuisance Properties complaints,  Crime Reporting and follow up, Neighborhood Watch,  Security Cameras, Open dialogue.

Wednesday, March 9

1. Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6C meets at 7:00pm, Heritage Foundation, 214 Massachusetts Avenue, NE.

Among items on the agenda:

Bistro Italiano, 320 D Street, NE, request for a summer garden.

Seoul Spice, 145 N Street, NE, new restaurant license.

Updates – Stuart Hobson field, Res. 84 improvements,

NoMa parks issues

KIPP D.C. College Preparatory campus, 1405 Brentwood Parkway NE – Outdoor facilities and community access.

Alley closure request, A Street between 7th and 8th Streets NE

170 M Street, NE, Department of Justice – parking garage entrance and sidewalk treatments

300 M Street, NE, – landscaping, sidewalk treatments, bike racks, etc.

518 6th Street, NE, concept approval to replace an existing one-story rear addition with a new two-story rear addition.

Thursday, March 10

1. ANC6A meets at 7:00 pm, Miner Elementary, 601 Fifteenth Street, NE.

Presentation:  Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen.

Grant application from the Ludlow-Taylor Elementary School PTO, pending the PTO provide a revised letter or supplementary email from the Ludlow-Taylor principal, explaining why there were no funds allocated (or) available for the art class during the 2015-2016 school year.

Letter to DDOT requesting the installation of a new Capital Bikeshare station at 8th & H Streets, NE.

Letter of support to HPRB for the proposed design at 1120 Park Street, NE.

2. CHRS Zoning Committee meets at 7:30pm, at Kirby House, 420 10^th Street, SE

Saturday, March 12

1. Book Sale at Southeast Library, 10am – 3:00pm.  Sponsored by Friends of Southeast Library

 

Daniel Ridge is  the Newest ANC6B Hill East Commissioner

Computer Scientist will finish the term of former Commissioner Brian Flahaven

by Larry Janezich

Daniel Ridge was sworn in as the new ANC6B09 Commissioner by Councilmember Charles Allen last Friday, February 26.  He was the only candidate to file a petition (which must be signed by 25 residents) with the DC Board of Elections and, thus, effectively became elected by default.  He succeeds Brian Flahaven as the commissioner for the single member district 6B09, which lies east of 15^th Street, SE, in the Southwest corner of ANC6B.  Flahaven resigned his seat in January because he and his wife are expecting their second child this spring.

Capitol Hill Corner asked Ridge how the election process played out.

Ridge:  “My oath says I was duly elected. [The Board of Elections] ‘deems the position to be filled’ (or something like that) in the case that only one qualified candidate turns in signed petitions.  My wife maintained for years that I was totally unelectable.  If I was, in fact, simply appointed then my wife is not yet wrong.  Unelected Bureaucrat at your service.”

Capitol Hill Corner:  “Why did you seek a seat on the ANC?”

Ridge:  “I decided to seek a seat on the ANC when a neighbor, a savvier politician than me, saw me shoveling the alley during snowzilla.  She told me that she heard a rumor that I was going to run for the empty seat.  I went down the block trying out the same ruse on other good candidates and found no takers.  I decided then only to complete the petitions.  I decided to turn the petitions in only when I saw that no other resident had even collected a set.”

Capitol Hill Corner:  “What are some of the issues or concerns in your SMD or ANC6B in general that motivated you to volunteer a major commitment of time and energy, especially when you have a family and a job both of which make significant demands on those personal resources?”

Ridge:  “Support for aging is a major theme. One of the major causes of poverty in my SMD is a lifetime of hard work for a fixed pension. Neglected and abandoned property has a root in our lack of support for aging. Neglect turns around and becomes a further barrier to my neighbors living in their homes for as long as they would like.

My first constituent issue is to help a fabulous retired federal employee who has lived in her house for 71 years.  She uses a wheelchair for mobility and uses a ramp to leave her property in the rear.  Before she can leave her yard, somebody has to unscrew boards at the ground that keep the rats out.

We have perhaps a dozen cars in the street in my SMD owned by residents unable to drive them. These cars can lead to thousands of dollars in fines for the owner – and worse. In some cases, these fines for aging can lead my neighbors into a DC ‘clean hands’ quagmire that can keep them from getting services they need.  I have neighbors who can’t even donate their car because they can’t find the title.

Another constituent meeting today took me to a house that is in the middle of a flip (or expedited home ownership lifecycle if we want to be judgement-neutral).  I see that homes that are maintained can be worthwhile to hold to or turn over without doubling or tripling in size.  Whatever neighbors think of construction or expansion, neglect is a precursor.  Lack of support for aging feeds that neglect.

I’m 41.  I’m aging in place.  Every trip on the Hill with a children’s stroller is a preview of reduced mobility in our neighborhood and homes.  Pay attention to those experiences.”

Asked for some personal background information, Ridge supplied the following:

“I was raised in Frederick, Maryland.  I wanted to live in DC and work for NASA since a boyhood (perhaps 12) visit to the Georgetown townhouse of a family friend who had done just that.

I moved to Southwest DC in 1998 for a job at NASA HQ and I lived just across the highway from that building. I moved to Potomac Avenue in 2003 when my wife was finishing graduate school in Berkeley, California and ready to move back to the area.

I have a wife, a seven year old daughter and a five year old son. I work as a computer scientist for a non-profit research institute.”

 

Art Openings Saturday Night – Conventional vs. New Wave

by Larry Janezich

Capitol Hill’s two chief art exhibit venues have openings Saturday night with artists’ receptions conveniently staggered, facilitating attendance at both events.

The Capitol Hill Art League sponsors a regional show: Appetite for Art.

Juried by Top Chef, Stephen Cheung, of Lavagana Restaurant on Capitol Hill and Art Curator, Deirdre Ehlen MacWilliams, awards will be presented at a reception from 5-7 PM on Saturday, March 5th, at the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop (CHAW), located at 545 Seventh Street, SE.

The 31 artists featured in the show represent a range of media including oil, acrylic, watercolor, mixed media, graphite, pencil, collage, sculpture, etching and photography.

Artists include: M’El Abrecht, David Alfuth, Jennifer Barlow, Stephanie Bianco,Diane Blackwell, Susan Bradley, Emily Canzoneri, Sally Canzoneri, Elizabeth Clark,Ron Colbroth, Vivian DeKosinsky, Elizabeth Eby, Jill Finsen, Kay Fuller, Cassidy Garbutt, Tara Hamilton, Robin Harris, Wan Ho Lee, Cindi Lewis, Robert Lipartito, Charles Martin, Michael McSorley, Meera Rao, BD Richardson, Carolyn Rondthaler, Lynne Mallonee Schlimm, Judy Searles, Ann Thomson, Alex Tolstoy, Gale Wallar, Nancy Williams

The Fridge unveils an exhibit featuring art that is a little more contemporary, “New Wave” – a solo exhibit by renowned stencil-artist SCOTCH!  The opening reception for the artist is from 7-11PM on Saturday, March 5.

Alex Goldstein, curator of The Fridge says, “SCOTCH! is back with ten fresh new pieces, created exclusively for ¡NEW WAVE! Continuing his unique method of combining multiple styles of stenciling, SCOTCH! pushes the boundaries and definition of stencil art, opening the medium to novel possibilities.”

The Fridge is located behind the Shakespeare Theater administrative office building which is across the street from Matchbox Pizza on 8th Street SE, at 516 1/2 8th Street, SE.

Bid to Expand “Residence” near Capitol Building Ensnarls ANC Zoning Committee

by Larry Janezich

Tuesday, night, ANC6B’s Planning and Zoning Committee found itself entangled in a contentious dispute over a request to set aside zoning regulations to allow a new third story on the rear of a townhouse which is the office of a non-profit business.  The building, at 160 North Carolina Avenue, SE, sits on a residential block a stone’s throw from the US Capitol Building.  Nearby neighbors, who live on the historic residential block, are vehemently opposed to the addition.

The facts of the matter are as follows:

1. Aaron Presnall has  applied to set aside zoning regulations for the new construction on an existing one family dwelling. The building is the office of The Jefferson Institute, an international nonprofit, which holds the deed to the property.  Presnall and his wife are the only employees, and claim the property as their primary residence – though they actually have lived in live in Chevy Chase, where their children attend school, since 2012.
2. The criteria for setting aside regulations include the requirement that the applicant demonstrate that existing regulations provide an “exceptional and undue hardship upon the owner of the property.” BZA may grant a request for relief, only if “the relief can be granted without substantial detriment to the public good…”
3. According to Presnall’s architect, if the request to relax the regulations is denied, there are other options to build by-right, but those ideas, he said, had not been “fleshed out.”

Neither Presnall nor his architect were prepared to discuss in detail the basis for the claim of “undue hardship.” Presnall’s stated reason for expansion of the residence is to accommodate his growing family – disregarding that they apparently do not live there now, and Presnall did not tell the Committee he intended to move them there.

Neighbor Lawrence Johnston, spoke in opposition to the application, on behalf of himself and the dozen or so neighbors in attendance.  Johnston pointed to numerous discrepancies in the application, emphasizing that it was the belief of the neighbors that the family had never lived there, and that it was actually and primarily the business office of The Jefferson Institute – as evidenced by the plaque on the front of the building.  He also pointed to the precedent setting nature of the request, claiming that approval of the requested variances would create an unacceptable precedent in a historic district.

Finally, Johnston asserted that the Presnall had not met the statutory test for a variance, citing the opinion of the Capitol Hill Restoration Society.  A report of the CHRS Zoning Committee which reflects the opinion of the CHRS states:  “The plan is to raise the existing rear sloping roof to 35 feet so it is not visible from the street.  The lot is large and contains 2425 square feet.  The house and garage already occupy 80% of the lot (1940 square feet).  The house currently has 4 bedrooms and one full bath.  When completed, there will be two full baths and three bedrooms.  The applicant is a family of two adults and two children.  The committee believed that the house was very large and that the applicant did not meet the test for a variance.  Refinishing the basement can provide for any amenities that applicant may want.”

The debate on the issue was heated. The Planning and Zoning Committee chair and former chair, Commissioners Nick Burger and Kirsten Oldenburg, supported approving the request for a variance.  Other commissioners on the committee including Chander Jarayman , Denice Krepp, Daniel Chao, and Diane Hoskins all expressed opposition to the application.

Burger moved to recommend that the full ANC support the request and to add language to a letter to BZA to express concern about the legitimacy of the occupancy permit for operating a business in the house (which is contingent on the building being the primary residence of the owner).  Burger told the committee that he was sympathetic to the neighbors’ concerns but, “My view is that this is a zoning case, and not a particularly exceptional one.  We have approved other requests that have had a lot more impact…I believe the applicant has passed the zoning test requirement.”  Oldenburg justified her support, saying, “I don’t want to go down the road that if we don’t live there you can’t change it.”  Resident member and former ANC6B Chair Ken Jarboe warned that the ANC had to consider the case “within the context of the regulations…we can’t be arbitrary and throw the regulations out the window.”  He said the other issues raised beyond interpreting the zoning regulations were irrelevant.

These remarks didn’t sit well with their fellow commissioners.  Jayaraman said the committee had to look at the entirety of the case, saying he did not think the applicant had met the requirements for relief.  He was joined by Krepp who said it would be a “disservice to our constituents if we do not take a broader view.”  Chao also disagreed with the notion “that we have to operate within the box.”

Commissioner Diane Hoskins said she thought the role of the ANC Burger was suggesting “is too narrow – it handcuffs us and makes the role of the ANC less relevant.”  Hoskins moved to recommend that the full ANC oppose the application pending receipt of additional information regarding the need for a variance.

The Hoskins amendment to the Burger motion was agreed to 7 – 4 – 1, with Commissioners Hoskins, Krepp, and Jayaraman, Chao, and Ridge supporting the amendment, and Commissioners Burger and Oldenburg opposed.  Commissioner Samolyk – in whose single member district the property resides – abstained.  (The other five votes in the total were cast by resident members.)  The matter now goes to the full ANC for consideration at its next meeting where only Commissioners may vote.

Capitol Hill corner spoke with Gary Peterson, chair of the Capitol Hill Restoration Society’s Zoning Committee regarding the Society’s opposition to the request for a variance.  Peterson is a former Department of Justice attorney specializing in eminent domain, and is an expert on DC zoning regulations. The CHRS generally takes a harder line about new construction in the Historic District.

Peterson said, “The problem is that the applicant has not shown the hardship. The house has a huge basement which the applicant actually uses as a bedroom.  It’s an immense house.  You can’t get increased space just because you want it.  It’s a four-bedroom house for two adults and two children, where’s the hardship?  What is the hardship preventing them from being able to use this house?”

ANC6B will meet on Tuesday, March 8, at 7:00pm in Hill Center.

For the BZA Rules of Practice and Procedure go here:   http://dcoz.dc.gov/bza/rules.shtm

 

The Week Ahead….

by Larry Janezich

Tuesday, March 1

1. ANC6B Planning and Zoning Committee meets at 7:00pm at St. Coletta of Greater Washington, 1901 Independence Avenue, SE. (The meeting may continue on Monday, March 7, 2016, if sufficient time is not available on March 1)

Among items on the agenda:

Request for support for Watkins Elementary School Modernization Project.

328 D Street, SE, rear addition/concept.

New Jersey Avenue, SE, new construction (National Democratic Club).

1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE.  Application of 1302 Pennsylvania Avenue SE, LLC, for variances to permit a third floor addition to an existing two-story, mixed-use building at 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE.

160 North Carolina Avenue, SE. Application for variances to permit the construction of a new third-story addition to an existing one-family dwelling.

Hill East Design Review: Larry Clark, Donatelli Development.

1401 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, letter to ZC on applicant’s supplemental filings of February 11 and February 25, 2016.

Watkins Alley, 1309-1323 E Street, SE and 516 13th Street, SE.  Sean Ruppert, Opal LLC.  Consolidated PUD & Related Map Amendment.

2. ANC6C Committee on Parks and Events meets at 7:00pm at Kaiser Permanente Capitol Hill Medical Center, 700 Second Street, NE.

Among items on the agenda:

Committee updates concerning new and pending issues (e.g., neighborhood use of Stuart Hobson Middle School field; Reservation 84 improvements; NoMa parks issues).

KIPP DC College Preparatory campus (possible voting item) – Presentation concerning the development of outdoor athletic facilities on the campus of the KIPP DC College Preparatory, 1405 Brentwood Parkway NE, and community access.

Capitol Hill Montessori PTSO movie night (voting item) – Presentation concerning CHM PTSO’s request for ANC6C support for a family movie night on the school’s Logan campus at 2nd and G Streets, NE, on April 30, 2016.

Wednesday, March 2

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

Among items on the agenda:

DDOT Traffic Calming Study Results: 12th & G Streets, SE,

Letter to DDOT on Curbs Needing Repairs after the Blizzard of 2013,

Implementation of DDOT’s 17th & 19th Streets, SE, Pedestrian Safety Study [tentative],

2. ANC6C Planning, Zoning and Economic Development Committee meets at 7:00pm at Kaiser Permanente Capitol Hill Medical Center, 700 Second Street, NE.

Among items on the agenda:

649 Constitution Avenue, NE.  Application for concept approval for a new deck atop an existing garage.

815 5th Street, NE.  (BZA 19238) – Application for a special exception to allow converting an existing two-story flat into a three-unit apartment house at 815 5th Street, NE.

631 Lexington Place, NE.  Revised application of Redux Properties LLC for concept approval for new basement entrance at front of 631 Lexington Place, NE.

518 6th Street, NE.  Application of Redux Properties LLC, for concept approval to remove an existing one-story rear addition and construct a new two-story rear addition.

Thursday, March 3

1. ANC6B Alcohol Beverage Control Committee meets at 7:00pm at Hill Center.

Among items on the agenda:

Discussion of ANC 6B Restaurant License Renewals Process.

Matchbox, 521 8th Street, SE. Substantial change in liquor license owing to expansion of restaurant by 1,600 square feet resulting in an additional 45 interior dining seats, 14 bar/counter seats, and six exterior patio seats.

2. ANC6C Transportation and Public Space Committee meets at 7:00pm at Kaiser Permanente Capitol Hill Medical Center, 700 Second Street, NE.

Agenda not available at press time.

3. Police Service Area (PSA) 107 meets at 7:00pm in Southeast Library, 403 7th Street, SE.

Citizens are invited to provide input to police on illegal activity in their neighborhoods

4. Friends of Southeast Library (FOSEL) meets at 5:30pm in Southeast Library, lower level.

Sunday, March 6

Call for actors/aspiring actors.  St. Mark’s Players’ holds auditions for 12 Angry Jurors.

St. Mark’s Episcopal on the corner of A & 3rd SE. We’d like to get word out to actors and aspiring actors in the area.

The auditions will be March 14 and 15, 6:30 PM-10 PM at St. Marks Episcopal Church, Baxter Hall, A & 3^rd Street, SE.

Callbacks will be held by invitation only on Wednesday, March 16 at 6:30. Show dates are May 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 19, 20, and 21. Casting will not be gender restricted; men and women are invited to audition.  Interested actors should prepare a 1 minute, contemporary monologue. Headshots/resumes encouraged but not required.  Auditions will be open, no reservation or appointment needed.

For additional information, contact Marshall Bradshaw at DavidMarshallBradshaw@gmail.com

 

First Images of the Frager’s Site Development – Hardware Store, Condos, and Retail

by Larry Janezich

Adam Peters, Executive VP of Development for Perseus Realty told more than 50 Capitol Hill Residents tonight, that Perseus would develop the burned out Frager’s site, constructing a four story (plus a penthouse)  mixed use retail/residential project.  The project will include 30 to 40 high-end one, two, and three bedroom condo units, weighted heavily to the larger units intended to accommodate families.  The plan anticipates that Frager’s Hardware will lease 8,500 square feet of retail space, plus some outside space for the gardening facility.  There will be an additional 7,600 square feet of first floor retail which Peter’s says will be filled by community-friendly retail, perhaps a “restaurant or two.”  The plan for 35 below grade parking spaces will be double what city regulations require, i.e., one space for every two units.  The developer will stay at or below the 50 foot height permitted by current zoning.

Peters stressed that Perseus is committed to using “fine materials and well done details” to make the building consistent with the historic character of the neighborhood.  The original façade will be maintained, and the first activity neighbors will see at the site is the bracing of the original walls.  The new construction on the site will employ brick, glass, metal and stone.

Since it is being build “by right” under existing height and density regulations the project will not be subject to the public unit development (PUD) process wherein public amenities are exchanged for increased height and density.  Since it lies in the Capitol Hill Historic District, the new structure will need HPRB approval, which will bring it before ANC6B.

Inclusionary Zoning regulations require a developer of a project this size to set aside 8 to 10 percent of the residential units for affordable housing.  That would mean pricing those units for households making 50 to 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI).

Perseus purchased the site last October.  Washington Business reported then the developer had paid $5.7 million for the site.  Construction could start in the spring of 2017, and will take two years, delivering the project in the spring of 2019.

Frager’s was destroyed by fire in June of 2013, as reported and photographed by CHC:  http://bit.ly/1QGbdTB and here: http://bit.ly/1R39h1D.  Despite hopes that they could rebuild within a year, in October of 2014, Frager’s owner John Weintraub told ANC6B that redeveloping Frager’s was “out of his comfort zone.”  He had said earlier, that the fire damaged the site so severely that, “even with insurance proceeds, we could not afford to rebuild the site alone,” leading him to seek other means to rebuild the store by partnering with a developer or selling the site.  A partnership with Roadside Development for redeveloping this site fell through in 2014 after parties failed to reach an agreement on the condition of the site before Roadside purchased the property.

Perseus has developed numerous mixed use projects in DC, VA, and MD.  Among them:  the Greyhound Bus Terminal mixed use project in NOMA and a hotel in the Ballpark District at 1^st and N Street, SE.  Perseus Realty was founded in 2004 by Robert L. Cohen, who remains the President and CEO.  Cohen has been an active participant in Washington area real estate since 1971.  For more information, go here:  http://www.perseusrealty.com/

 

The Week Ahead…Plans for the Rebuilding of Frager’s Hardware – Thursday

by Larry Janezich

Monday, February 22

ANC6A Community Outreach Committee meets at 7:00pm at Maury ES (multi-purpose room), 1250 Constitution Avenue, NE, (enter from 13th Street NE).

Tuesday, February 23

ANC6B Executive Committee meets at 7:00pm in Hill Center to set the agenda for the full ANC6B meeting on March 8.

Wednesday, February 24

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

Among items on the agenda:

Update on Hine construction plans

Status of leases

Snow storm operations

Market Manager’s report

Thursday, February 24

Community meeting to hear re-development plans for the Frager’s site, which will include  the rebuilding of Frager’s hardware stone and family oriented residential units.  The meeting will be hosted by Perseus Realty, a family owned development company which purchased the site last fall.  7:00pm, Hill Center.