DC Metrocentric

It has been a long time coming, but the National Museum of African American History is ready to start looking for an architect to design the landmark museum with an incredibly prominent location. Back in January 2006, the Smithsonian Board selected the five-acre site (pictured) adjacent to the Washington Monument, to serve as the location for the new Museum.  

We havn’t heard much since then and apparently the hold up was for the environmental impact study, which finished up last week. It shouldn’t be long now before we start to see some designs coming out of the proposals! 

Follow the jump to see a 3D rendering of how the building will sit in comparison to other buildings on the National Mall…

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If you have been down by Judiciary Square over the past year you have probably noticed all the construction going on around the Old District Courthouse building. Well all that construction and disruption is definitely going to be worth it, check out the model of what the new glass entrance pavilion on the north facade is going to look like when it’s finished!

The original building was designed in 1820 by George Hadfield and is designated a National Historic Landmark, so the current architect Beyer Blinder Belle had very strict rules to follow when designing the addition. We think the glass will actually look very nice once it’s finished and will match the metro pavilions on the other side of Judiciary Square. They will also be expanding the space to make more room for the current occupant, the Court of Appeals. [Model: Beyer Blinder Belle]

In 1918, the land pictured below was nothing but a swampy piece of land occupied by a few small structures. However a few years later, plans swung into action to build a new project where the arrow is pointing. Lets see if you can guess what Neoclassical structure currently occupies this land. We will give you a clue, it was designed by John Pope.

Follow the jump for the same picture taken 40 years latter, with one significant addition…

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The view looking NW from the Washington Monument sure has changed over the last 100 years! Really the only thing that is recognizable in the photo from 1911 on the left that is still around today is the Organization of American States building in the lower right corner. The shot really gives you a good idea of how far this city has come from sleepy swamp town… to Capitol of the free world! Amazing!

Follow the jump for a close up of the 1911 photo…

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It has been a long time coming, but it looks like the District has finally found a way to build some housing over the portion of I395 near Mass Ave NW between Second and Third Street.

The District is close to completing a deal to sell development rights to Louis Dreyfus Property Group for close for $63 million according to the Washington Business Journal. This is great news considering the District is still trying to figure out how to settle the last attempt at developing over the highway.

The project last stalled back in 2000 when the District sued Washington Development for back rent, and the company decided to sue back for $65 million in damages. A jury granted the developer $8.4 million plus interest, which has not been paid. The new deal will help pay off this settlement.

We are not going to get excited just yet considering all the other hurdles that could still get in this projects way. Approval is still needed from the DC Council, Federal Highways Administration, and the DC DOT… and we all know how quick and rational THEY are at making decisions about projects. [Photo: MV Jantzen]

Check out the colors in this shot of the Capitol grounds… just gorgeous. The shot uses the HDR technique to really bring out the natural colors and highlight the red brick. Makes you want to go outside and relax on a bench doesn’t it?

[Flickr Photo: rgb48]

As you may have heard from us in the past, we are obsessed with the old O Street Market in Shaw. Unfortunately progress has been slow to get the development underway which includes preserving the gorgeous facade while building new housing and retail space for the community. Well finally the District is getting behind the project fully and Mayor Fenty announced a $35 million tax increment financing package for the project.

Hopefully this will get things moving, as the property has sat vacant for years. According to Fenty’s office, ground could be broken as early as fall 2009 if the District Council gets around to approving the plans. Following this time line, the project could be completed by 2011. [Flickr Photo: DaveinShaw]

 New Communities Initiate - Three years since it’s inception, the initiative is largely intact and wider in scope, despite a flat-lining housing market. It remains the centerpiece of Mayor Adrian Fenty’s strategy to aid and upgrade the city’s poorest neighborhoods, however market conditions are skewing the mix of future residents which may push out the very people it intends to help. [WBJ]

As you may have heard, the old Walter Reed hospital in D.C. has been slated to move to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. As you can see from the rendering, the plan is to expand the grounds of the Naval Hospital around the older historic buildings. We especially like how two of the new buildings symmetrically frame the tall historic old Naval building in the center.

The relocation of facilities will include over half a million square feet of new medical office, emergency room, and patient care construction in addition to renovations of existing facilities. In addition to being the main facility for treating members of our military, the center will also become home to research and postgraduate education. The $100 million dollar project is expected to be completed by 2011. [Rendering: HKS Architects]

Mayor Fenty has been touting his school restructuring plan for a while, and now we finally got word on what the District’s going to do with some of the 23 schools that are being closed under the plan. The idea is to turn the buildings, which are no longer being used as schools, into offices for the various District agencies as well as nonprofits.

This is great news because the plan will not only find new uses for buildings the district already owns (thus reducing rents paid), but also makes the services more accessible and part of the community.

The D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation will move its headquarters into Young Elementary School in NE and Meyer Elementary School will get the parking enforcement division of the Department of Public Works and Keeley’s boxing program, a nonprofit youth development organization. Also included will be new homes for the DMV, Department of Corrections, the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services, and two charter schools among others.

We’re not sure how they grouped the Parking Enforcement with the Boxing program, but maybe they are training future parking police? Regardless, this is definitely a sign of improvement for the DC government and we are all for it!

Pictured is the old John Mercer Langston School which is not part of the plan but is being reused as you can see for the DC Service Corps. [Photo: M.V. Jantzen]

The New Communities Initiative is a comprehensive partnership between the District, neighborhoods and other public and private stakeholders which focuses on neighborhoods where older public housing developments are located and where high concentrations of poverty and crime exist. While areas like Lincoln Heights and Northwest One have been getting a lot of attention lately, there are other areas that haven’t.

One such project is the Park Morton. The District, in collaboration with the residents of Park Morton and the Park View and Petworth community, initiated a process to plan for and implement the revitalization of the Park Morton neighborhood, which is bound by Georgia Avenue on the west, Warder Street on the east, Lamont Street on the south and Park Road on the north.

Consistent with the New Communities Initiative, the goal of this effort is to transform the public housing property and its immediate neighborhood into a mixed-income, mixed-use community. In this new community, residents will have access to high-quality housing options affordable at all income levels and to the human services necessary to help prepare them to take advantage of the new economic opportunities and changes that are coming their way.

We spoke with the District’s Office for Planing and Economic Development and currently the project is awaiting the finalization of financing details with HUD, having already completed an Initiative Plan (warning it’s a big PDF) back in February. With all the activity going on for some of the more high profile developments, projects like Park Morton sometimes get forgotten about by everyone but the actual residence. Hopefully this one will be finalized soon so that a solicitation can get issued.

Looking out at the ATF Headquarters building from Capitol Plaza we noticed some green roof action happening on top of the “decorative” barrier that we had never seen before. While we have never been big fans of the architecture of the actual building, the green does make it look a bit nicer, it’s just too bad you can’t see it from the ground.  

[Photo: DCMetrocentric]

Most of the arguments you hear about Poplar Point in Anacostia revolve around whether to build a new MLS stadium on the site, but the Our Park Coalition is calling for no development at all. The Coalition wants to stop the $2.5 billion, 40-acre mixed-use project by Clark Realty and transform the 110 government owned acres along the Anacostia River into an urban public park.

The WBJ is reporting how difficult a task the environmentalists face in part because Congress established the land transfer with the expressed purpose of increasing the District’s tax base and shoring up its finances. Despite Clark being required to have 70 of the 110 acres developed as public park land, the Our Park Coalition still plans to kick off their efforts to save the entire property as one continuous public park. [Photo: WBJ]

Pictured below is the incredible futuristic new bike transit center designed by KGP Studios for the District DOT. Despite all the issues involved in making Union Station a true center of transportation, this is definitely a step in the right direction. The design includes both storage and rental facilities… precisely the type of infrastructure the city needs to make alternate forms of transportation attractive.

The project is being built on the west side of Union Station near the metro exit and should be finished by the end of this year. Also it goes without saying that the design looks really awesome… we got one more rendering for you after the jump…

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The construction of the Arlington Memorial Bridge was apparently authorized by Congress after then President Warren G. Harding was caught in a three-hour traffic jam. Built in 1931 as a connection to Arlington National Cemetery, the neo-classical bridge design included a draw bridge (picture) which has since been sealed shut. You can also see the temporary buildings built on the National Mall during World War I which served as barracks and offices all the way until after World War II.

We just love old timey photos!!! [Photo Credit: NPS]