2/15/02: The Corcoran is looking for a temporary home for the collection while the new wing is added and the old building is renovated, over a course of two years or more. The leading candidate is the abandoned Wonder Factory at 7th & S, right next to the Shaw Metro. To have the Corcoran temporarily here would electrify the neighborhood. Other potential sites include SW and MD. Other art and theatre groups are also eyeing the building, hoping to use it for artists' studios, a small theatre for dance and plays, and shops for arts and crafts à la Olde Town's Torpedo Arts Center. WBJ reports on "Columbia House" to be built this spring at 24th & M, a 9-story 335-unit luxury apartment building with two floors of retail and three levels of below-grade parking. See "Real Estate," http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2002/02/11/newscolumn7.html See also http://www.jbg.com/jbg_w/files/2440m.htm Café Asia (1134 19th St) is closed for a few weeks for a renovation. Owners will also open up a new upscale Asian restaurant at 1720 I St. See "Café Asia charts new territory with new D.C. concept," http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2002/02/11/newscolumn8.html Tom Sietsema reviews Penang Malaysian Cuisine at 19th & M. See http://eg.washingtonpost.com/profile/806168/ Meanwhile, Eve Zibart reviews Chipotle. See http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A9605-2002Feb14.html New Starbucks at 21st & P now open. Xando at Conn & R closed for conversion to Xando/Cosi. DCCA announced that Peppers' expansion plans have been halted by an ABC investigator. See [1] below. Concept drawings for health bar at Results to be hung in the windows in early March. Could open in July. U St Starbucks planning on adding a patio this April. Construction of project at P St Metro supermarket won't begin until around the end of the year. Expect 1st-floor retail with apartments above; space behind it on Church St will be added to Saxon Court condos. Hudson Apartments, now under construction across from Fresh Fields, will also have ground-floor retail. Logan Circle 7-11 has moved into their new location across the street, in the SW corner of 14th & RI Ave. Go Mama Go has expanded their inventory to include cards and wrapping paper, retro kitchen towels, stone and seashell fountains, and notebooks, lamps and coasters made from computer motherboards. And their stock of bead curtains now includes Michelangelo's David. As Noi says, "I do know who my customers are." Look for Noi to be profiled on NPR and AOL. Washington Flyer profiled Studio Theatre honcho Joy Zinoman. See "Passion Play: When visiting DC's most cutting-edge theater, it helps to understand the meaning of Joy," http://www.fly2dc.com/articles/2002/2002_01_in1.asp WBJ profiled former hotel at 13th & T. See "Whitelaw's rooms filled with African-American history," http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2002/02/11/focus12.html Residents have already begun moving into SoLo Piazza at 13th & N. As of 2/3/02 open house, only 20 of the 78 units remained available. A few doors north, an empty lot will soon see work start for The Icon, a 5-story building with 19 units. On SW corner of 13th & N, a 170-unit residential building is under construction. See drawing at http://www.jbg.com/jbg_w/files/1300_res.htm That same company also has plans for a 144-unit building at 1210 Mass Ave (now a parking lot). See http://www.jbg.com/jbg_w/files/1210_res.htm InTowner looks at luxury development on "Florida Mile" between Georgia and NY Ave. See "Development Boom Hits Eastern Edge of Shaw: New Residents Flocking to Buy and Rent," http://www.intowner.com/fr/issue/stories/story2.htm See also 8/31/01 WCP article "The Florida Mile," http://washingtoncitypaper.com/archives/cover/2001/cover0831.html Comings and goings in Adams Morgan include the closing of Flying Saucer Discs on 18th Street. "The Reef" will open soon in the old Star of Siam space, and will feature giant aquariums. "Soussi" is being built in the old Pearl spot at 18th & Kalorama; construction is looking quite chic. Red Sea, DC's oldest Ethiopian restaurant, will be replaced by an organic Mediterranean restaurant/arts space called Bossa. WP letter-writer bemoans parking problems in Adams Morgan, and proposes ditching cars. See "Cars, Cars and More Cars," http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A62110-2002Jan30.html WCP profiled Fio's, which is scheduled to leave The Woodner by the end of the year. Points out that The Woodner is DC's largest single-structure apartment building, and was the largest air-conditioned building in the world when it debuted in 1952. See "Pasta to Go," http://washingtoncitypaper.com/archives/cover/2002/cover0201.html Two of the winners of the 2001 Catalyst Awards, given out by the DC chapter of the American Institute of Architects last month, are the P St Fresh Fields and Levantes. Fresh Fields also got a 2001 Chapter merit award for architecture, as did The LeDroit Park Revitalization Initiative. The Thurgood Marshall Center got a merit award for historic preservation. See http://www.aiadc.com/awards2001.htm For more info on the LeDroit Park Revitalization Initiative, see http://www.ledroitpark.org/ See also http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/tcsp/00/dc1-a.html See also http://cassell.founders.howard.edu/LeDroitPark/ Next Art-O-Matic will take place this November in the old EPA HQ at 4th & M SW. WP reports on major project on 11 acres off of 3rd St. See "SE Site Picked for Transportation Dept: Some D.C. Officials Say $825 Million Deal Will Cut Off Access to Waterfront, Hurt Neighborhood," http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A14849-2002Feb2.html See "DC vies for rights to prime Union Station site," http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2002/02/11/story3.html WP profiles the new 150-seat H Street Playhouse at 1365 H St NE, home to the Theater Alliance and gay- focused Actors' Theatre of Washington. Also looks at potential of vacant Atlas Theater a half block away, which could house "two theaters and dance space, restaurant space and office space, and rehearsal space." See "H Is for High Hopes," middle of http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A60698-2002Feb11.html See also http://voiceofthehill.com/playhouse/ See "Trying to put life back into abandoned buildings: D.C. plan to offer neglected property to developers draws praise and concern," http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2002/02/11/focus1.html See "Seed Planted for a Living Sept. 11 Honor: Terrorism Areas To Be Marked With Memorial Groves," http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6219-2002Jan31.html WP reports on debut of new natural gas-powered buses with on-board cameras and fare boxes that will accept SmarTrip cards. First lines to use them are the U2, U5 and U6 in NE and SE. See "Metro Debuts Clean-Air Buses: Fuel Switch, Other Changes Modernize Fleet," http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A60314-2002Feb11.html After 18 months, a movie theatre in Alexandria has been converted into a stage. Grand opening was last night. See http://www.OldTownTheater.com/ WP reviews growth along Clarendon-Courthouse-Ballston. See "A Fast-Growing Metro Corridor: Boom in Retail Space and Residences Raises Some Concerns in Area," http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33994-2002Feb6.html WP reported on traffic design work planned for a 20- mile stretch of Route 50 around Middleburg VA. Traffic calming measures include traffic circles, plantings, and a cobblestone-like surface to keep drivers alert without resorting to rumble strips. See "Pace to Change On Part of Rte. 50," http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A58738-2002Jan29.html Montgomery County has proposed 6 new dog parks. They now have 1; DC has 4. Manhattan has 17 (and at least 6 private runs). See "Planners Consider Opening Dog Parks Across the County," http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33822-2002Feb6.html See also http://www.dogpark.com/prkdc.html See also http://www.nycdog.org/ See also http://www.urbanhound.com/ (for NYC) See "Silver Spring boosters see golden era for downtown," http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2002/02/11/focus7.html Tonight, February 15: Opening night of Doll at Metro Cafe, produced by Glamonstrosity, Inc. (Billed as a "pee-your-pants funny update of Ibsen's A Doll's House.") $10, through March 24. February 16 & 17: Home Rule has a big sale. Sunday, February 17: Historical Society sponsors a 2- hour walking tour of Logan Circle at 1:00. $12. See http://www.hswdc.org/Learn_About_DC/Calendar/Calendar.asp Sunday, February 17: Chinese new year celebration kicks off in the afternoon, at 5th & H. Tuesday, February 19: "Smart Growth, Dumb Growth, and Not-Quite-So-Dumb Growth" at the NBM, 12:30 - 1:30, free. See http://nbm.org/Calendar/Lectures.html Friday, February 22: Reel Xtra Monthly shows "Princesa" at DCJCC at 7:00 and 9:15. See http://www.reelaffirmations.org/xtra/schedule.cfm Monday, February 25: Lucrezia Blozia DJs an 80s dance party at Metro Cafe to benefit Phoenix Theatre, 6-12. Wednesday, February 27: "Breathing Life into the Wax Museum Site" panel discussion at the NBM, 6:30 - 8:00, $14. See http://nbm.org/Calendar/Lectures.html February 27: Washington Regional Network for Livable Communities holds talk on "The Future of Metro." See http://www.washingtonregion.net/metro%20flier.htm Friday, March 1: Open house/glass show at the MAC (an old school in SW being transformed into an arts center), along with opening of WPA/C's biennial. See http://www.wpaconline.org/pages/02_03_01.html See also http://www.millenniumartscenter.org/ Tuesday, March 5: Winter Open House at The Phillips Collection, free to members of the Dupont Circle neighborhood. 6:30 - 8:30; 7:00 presentation followed by a tour of the Corot to Picasso exhibit. Best regards, Michael ------------------------------------------------------ [1] --- DCCANEWS@aol.com wrote: Peppers Ordered to Halt Expansion We have been informed that an Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Investigator has determined that Peppers Bar & Restaurant has violated Alcoholic Beverage Control regulations by building out the second floor of its building for a second floor and rooftop bar/club without having ABC Board approval to do so. We understand that Peppers will be required to go before the ABC Board for a fact-finding hearing. In the meantime, Peppers has been directed not to use its second floor. Peppers is located on 17th Street, which has a moratorium on new liquor licenses. Last year, Councilmen David Catania and Jack Evans sponsored legislation that prohibits ABC establishments in the 17th Street and P Street moratorium zones from expanding into space for which they do not have a valid ABC license. This legislation was intended to prevent existing bars and restaurants from creating new or expanded ABC establishments in space that would, by virtue of the moratorium, be off limits to new establishments. DCCA has supported the ABC moratorium as the only practical way to keep a retail balance in neighborhood commercial zones such as 17th and P Streets, and to support non-ABC retail businesses. Councilman Evans has sent a letter to the ABC Board opposing Pepper's expansion. Councilman Cantania has not yet taken a position on the expansion. This email is a service of the Dupont Circle Citizens Association. To subscribe or to be removed from this list, send an email to DCCANEWS@aol.com. Visit our webpage at Dupont-Circle.com. |