CityMarket at O financing clears hurdle; construction still a ways off

Those in Shaw who have been waiting for an inkling of positivie news related to the long-awaited CityMarket at O development finally have something to celebrate. Developer Roadside Development announced yesterday on the project's website that the HUD loan deal, which had stalled the project for decades months, had finally been approved, meaning that the project can officially go forward.



But before you start getting excited about shopping at the new Giant store, Roadside also cautions that "there is a lot of work to get done before a CityMarket construction start" and that this is only "the beginning of getting construction funding in place."

In other words: don't hold your breath. The project, which was originally scheduled to break ground in 2008 with an anticipated late-2010/early-2011 completion date, is now likelu looking at a late 2013 delivery, and even that may be an optimistic projection.

Holiday Round-Up: Myths, Condos, and Sandwiches at a Gas Station?

As we head into the Christmas break, 14thandyou will be taking a little hiatus as well, mainly to catch up on sleep and sanity. In the meantime, here's a little reading material to get you through the cold (and snow filled?) days ahead:

U Street Girl writes about Fast Gourmet, a new sandwich shop (!) located at the gas station at 14th and W. All of y'all who've been clamoring for a decent sandwich shop in the area, head over there and let us know what you think. U Street Girl seems sold on the Chivito.

WeLoveDC has some fun busting some common DC-related myths. Did people in Georgetown really rise up to keep the underclass out of their neighborhood by scuttling plans for a Metro station there? Did Pierre L'Enfant and other early DC planners have it in for John Jay? Do we have more speakers of foreign tongues than comparable cities? Head over to WeLoveDC and find out.

Remember the Nehemiah Center--the strip mall along 14th Street between Belmont and Chapin that was bulldozed in 2008 to make way for a new mixed-use development? And has been nothing more than a vacant, rock-strewn lot ever since? Well, DCMud is reporting that they're pushing dirt around over there now. While stressing that this does not mean that construction is imminent, it is undoubtedly a positive sign for a long-stalled project.

DCMud also has another hot tip: construction equipment has finally arrived at the 7th and S site of Progression Place (formerly Broadcast Center One).

Further on the development front, DC Metrocentric takes a look at a potential new design for Cardozo High School.

The always-contentious issue of DC's height limit (a great topic for some mythbusting if ever there was one) gets some attention from the City Paper's Lydia DePillis. 30 story office towers in Chevy Chase? Frank Winstead would have a coronary.

Contradicting the notion that it's all doom-and-gloom for the 14th Street arts community, Borderstan profiles Loft Gallery, the latest addition to the neighborhood arts community. (Oh, and don't forget the lighting of the community holiday tree.)

On that note, here's hoping for a white Christmas for everyone (even though I'm hearing that's increasingly less likely).

O Street Market to Break Ground Wednesday

Holy mixed-use developments, Batman. One of the city's most long-awaited projects is set to break ground tomorrow.



Via DC Mud, "Citymarket at O" developer Roadside Development will officially break ground on the project, located at O and 9th streets NW in Shaw, tomorrow afternoon. This being election season and all, it seems that a number of city politicos--including mayor Adrian Fenty and mayoral candidate Vincent Gray will be in attendance, along with other neighborhood and community leaders. (Over-under that Fenty and Gray get in a shoving match over the rights to overturn the first spade of dirt?)

We've written in depth about this project before, but here's the quick recap:

Back in 2007, Roadside sought--and received--HPRB approval for their nearly 1 million sf project bounded by 7th, 9th, O and P streets. The project will feature a new 71,000 sf Giant store, over 600 residences, senior housing, a boutique hotel, and other commercial space.

The Giant store is scheduled to close in January 2011, and will reopen in early 2013.

In short, this project is immense and has the potential to be the single greatest catalyst for change in Shaw to date. In the meantime, expect to see a substantial amount of construction going on at the site for the forseeable future.

Weekend Shooting at 8th and R

Total crime may be down across DC so far this year, but that didn't stop a shooting at 8th and R Streets just outside of the Shaw Metro Station early Sunday morning.

According to PoP, a victim was taken to a hostpial in stable condition.

The shooting was one of several notable events in the central-NW part of the city this weekend, which included a CUA senior being murdered at Sherman Circle, and a carjacking on Sheridan Street.

Not saying the two are related, but perhaps we should be thankful that the first day of school is today?

EFN Lounge/Motley Bar Abruptly Closes

9th Street has lost one of its pioneering businesses.

The EFN Lounge and Motley Bar, two bar concepts under a single roof on 9th Street in Shaw, abruptly closed its doors Monday night after the loss of its manager and months of financial instability.

The Blade has the scoop, which apparently includes some tension between the bar's employees and its owners, Tom McGuire and Adrian Massiah, over the surprise announcement of the closing. From the Blade story:

"Employees were informed of the decision Monday night. Gay bartender Matt Bamford, who’d worked there four months and is Mr. Mid-Atlantic Leather 2010, said the news came as a shock...“Company standard there was always two weeks notice if we wanted to leave,” Bamford said. “What they did to not just the staff but to the community at large is just unconscionable.”

No word on what, if anything, might replace EFN. However, the bar's abrupt closure does not bode well for the immediate future of 9th Street retail and commercial activity. Business owners there and elsewhere clamor for so-called "critical mass" of businesses, which helps drive traffic to the neighborhood. Although several new businesses have opened along 9th Street in recent years, the corridor continues to encounter problems generating that critical mass--and EFN's closure won't aid matters.

EFN was formerly BeBar until being rebranded back in January 2009. BeBar opened in the space back in 2006.

Preparing For a Busy Summer in Shaw

The development pace in Shaw is about to pick up.

Several major projects are due to break ground this summer and fall, including the long-awaited O Street Market Project, Ellis Development Group's slightly downsized Renaissance Project (formerly Broadcast Center One), and the refurbishment of the Howard Theater.


Over on O Street, it looks like the earth may finally start moving there this September, when developer Roadside Development undertakes efforts to stabilize the structure. The Giant store located across the street from the market will be closed in January 2011, and the building will be razed a month later. And with that, one of the neighborhood's most intriguing--and hoped-for--projects will be off and running.

To recap, when completed the O Street Market will include over 600 residential units (including 86 subsidized by the city), a boutique hotel, senior housing, a 500+ space parking garage, and nearly 90,000 sf of retail, including 57,000 sf for the new Giant store. The development will also reopen 8th Street in that portion of Shaw. The new Giant is tentatively due to open in early 2013, with the hotel and rest of the development coming on board a year later. (Be forewarned: dates for projects of such magnitude are nearly always "fluid".) The development stands to be a transformative project in a long-neglected part of the city, and will also provide a much-needed boost to 9th Street, where the development of its commercial corridor continues.

Speaking of 9th Street, a much smaller project is set to land at 1501 9th Street, next door to the Queen of Sheba restaurant. The 6,000 sf, four-story building, will be built on a vacant lot that used to host a used car dealership. Moving into the new structure will be Burmese food purveyors Mandalay, currently located in Silver Spring. Current plans call for the restaurant to occupy the bottom two floors of the building (with the second floor being largely a bar/lounge space), and the restaurant owner's family inhabiting the upper floors.

An entire floor devoted to a bar/lounge? Gah! Cue Shiloh Church protest in 3, 2, 1...


Over at 7th and S Streets, Ellis Development Group appears set to break ground on its Renaissance Project in August. If that name is unfamiliar to you, that may be because for years it was known as Broadcast Center One, which was going to be the new home of Radio One, until Radio One decided they liked their Maryland digs a bit better. At the time, Radio One's decision to back out put the project in serious jeopardy. However, the city stepped in with a $3.6 million real estate tax abatement for the United Negro College Fund, who agreed to move in and fill much of the commercial space in the building, which will also feature 180 residential units and street level retail (albeit 25,000 fewer sf than had originally been proposed).

The rebirth of the Renaissance Project is excellent news in more ways than one: in addition to providing further development near the Shaw Metro Station, it will also bring an influx of daytime office workers to an area currently lacking them. The project will take up space within a block of the new Waltha T. Daniel library, set to open this summer.

A bit further north on 7th Street, Ellis is also set to break ground in August on the refurbishment of the long-closed Howard Theater. This project has been on the books for awhile, and in fact appeared close to dead earlier this year when Ward 1 council member Jim Graham made comments to the effect of "the project isn't close to happening".

Well, it appears now that it is. When completed, the refurbished theater will play host to performances that can accommodate between 500-600 spectators, "upscale" (Ellis's words, not mine) food and beverage services, and space for community meetings and events.


If you're wondering how this will mesh with the Lincoln Theater, which seems curiously quiet for much of the year, you aren't the only one. The release touting the groundbreaking took pains to note that the Howard would not compete with the Lincoln, and that it would aim to host primarily larger-draw musical acts and similar performances. Maybe, just maybe, the Howard's board of directors will be a bit more ambitious when it comes to filling the Theater's calendar of events than the Lincoln has been. But that's just a thought.

Regardless, having the Howard project back online is certainly good news for residents of northern Shaw and Ledroit Park, who have been waiting for some time for new development to reach their corner of the city.

Coupled with the announced transformation of the Kelsey Gardens projects into the Addison Square development, it's quite possible that the Shaw you see five years from now will be markedly different from what is there today.

Central Union Mission News; Convention Center Hotel Suit Dismissed

A couple of somewhat significant developments around the city that could have a significant impact on the Logan and Shaw neighborhoods:

First, those following the ongoing drama with the Gales School/Central Union Mission situation may be interested to learn that the District recently wrapped up its competitive RFP (Request For Proposal) process for the redevelopment of the school. I won't rehash all of the history of that building here (see my earlier post for that recap), but this does represent an important development in determining whether or not the Central Union Mission, currently located at 14th and R streets, will be able to relocate to the Gales School location.

The March 26 deadline represented the third such deadline in the process. The original deadline of February 16 was challenged by the ACLU, which contended that it was an "unreasonably short" timeframe designed to give an advantage to the respondent--the Mission--whom is believed to be the District's preference for taking over the property and renovating in order to operate a homeless shelter.

Ultimately, the District received three bids for the property, and aside from the Mission it is not known who the other two bidders are. A decision is expected within the coming 4-5 weeks. Should the Mission be selected as the winner, it will be up to them to raise the necessary capital to renovate the property and build a 5,000 sf addition it wants to add for classrooms and other services.

The project was initially challenged by the ACLU as an illegal government subsidy to a religious organization (the Mission, which is a Christian institution, requires shelter residents to attend a religious service before being given a bed, counseling, and other services.

Should the Mission be successful in its endeavor to relocate, it would pave the way for the redevelopment of the building into a mixed-use residential/retail structure. Such a move, coupled with the anticipated condo project across the street, would go a long ways towards transforming the somewhat-dilapidated 14th and R street intersection.

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One other big piece of news to pass along, relevant more for those in the Shaw/Mt. Vernon Square area:

A major step was taken towards the groundbreaking of the proposed Marriott Marquis Convention Center Hotel last week, when a judge dismissed developer JBG's lawsuit against the District over the awarding the Convention Center hotel development to Marriott.

The situation was an interesting one: late last year, JBG sued the city, claiming that the process used to select Marriott as the developer of the site was illegal. However, in February, the District countersued JGB, claiming interference and alleging that JBG's suit was little more than an attempt to gain leverage regarding another one of JBG's properties--Washington Marriott Wardman Park--since JBG had not even submitted an RFP for the development of the hotel site.

Although it's not clear whether JBG will appeal the dismissal, this does move the project one step closer to groundbreaking. When completed, the 1,167 room Marriott Marquis will offer the District a premier hotel for the Convention Center, as well as a host of amenities including several new restaurant locations, retail, and ballroom and meeting space.

A Blow to Shaw: Radio One Backs Out of Office Deal

Shaw residents pinning their hopes on neighborhood revitalization getting kicked up a notch with the Broadcast Center One may be waiting a while longer. It seems that Radio One--the tenant that was supposed to anchor the 100,000+ sf office project--is backing out of the deal to move from Lanham, MD into new digs at the corner of 7th and S streets NW.



Radio One hasn't yet provided a reason as to why they are backing out of the deal, but with a plummeting price in recent years it's reasonable to believe the decision had to do with profitability--or lack thereof. They might want to start thinking of an answer however, seeing as how the District ponied up nearly $30 million in incentives to bring them here.

The development team--Four Points LLC, Ellis Development Group and the Jarvis Co.--are insisting that the development will still move forward, but it's difficult to envision a project that has already been delayed moving forward without its most significant tenant. (Talks have been held to bring in the United Negro College Fund, but those are still preliminary.)

Broadcast Center One is a mixed-use development that, in addition to the aforementioned office space, will host over 25,000 sf of retail, 180 apartments and a massive underground parking garage. It is one of several projects in the Shaw/Mt. Vernon Square area to face significant delays. Roadside Development's Citymarket at O project remains on hold while financing concerns are resolved, while Marriott, JBG Cos. and the District government fight it out over the rights to develop the long-sought after Convention Center Hotel. Meanwhile, projects like the Warrenton Condominiums and Hartland Commons continue to exist more as pie-in-the-sky dreams than projects that have an actual chance at completion.

When/whether these projects ever get started is anyone's guess, but everyone can agree that these kinds of delays are frustrating.

Shaw Crime Meeting Yields More Finger Pointing Than Results

Howdy, folks. This is Mrs. 14th & You temporarily coming out of blogger retirement. (I’m on break from grad school and need something to do other than study for the two standardized tests I must take in the coming month.)

Last night Council member Phil Mendelson hosted a forum on crime in Shaw, which was attended by between 30 and 40 residents. Though Mendelson holds an at-large seat, he is concerned about Shaw because he chairs the Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary. Also present were representatives of the Metropolitan Police Department, Albert Herring of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Ward Two Council member Jack Evans, ANC 2C Commissioner Kevin Chapple, and ANC 2F Commissioner Mike Bernardo. In the scope of city events, it was a small gathering, but a reasonable cross-section of stakeholders was in attendance.

Here’s the really quick summary of some of the solutions proposed by Shaw residents:

• Anti-loitering laws
• Assurances that criminals once caught will stay locked up
• Accountability of public officials

And the really quick summary of Mendelson’s responses:

• Anti-loitering laws have not proven effective in other jurisdictions, such as Richmond. In both DC and CA, anti-loitering laws have been limited by the courts so as to not infringe on the constitutional right to assembly.
• The civil gang injunction legislation was poorly written and almost surely would have violated due process and individual liberties.
• Current laws and mandatory minimum sentencing have not proven to be deterrents to crime.
• Whether someone is convicted and incarcerated rests with the United States Attorney’s Office and judges. DC voters and elected officials have no say over U.S. Attorney or judge appointments.
• He would like Fenty to reinstate the position of Deputy Mayor for Public Safety. Mendelson believes that it is the executive branch that has the greatest power to “knock heads” and hold others accountable.
• A number of arrests do not result in indictments. Of the indictments that DC does get, a number of those suspects go free. Mendelson would like to study DC arrest, indictment, and conviction rates in order to determine why so many repeat offenders are free. He reports that he and Evans want to work to secure funding for such a statistical study.

Having now attended the meeting, I’m not sure why Mendelson would host it. Perhaps with an election year coming up he’s feeling pressure from Clark Ray, who this September announced his intent to challenge Mendelson. From statements made at the meeting, it also seems that some area residents and members of the blogosphere have been emailing him lately about their crime concerns. In any event, Phil Mendelson is known for having stated previously that there is no legislative solution to crime in Shaw. Yet, the City Council’s role in crime prevention is, by definition, legislative. This quandary did not miss residents. They wanted to hear that someone somewhere in the DC government could control the situation in Shaw and was going to try to do so. Residents requested that the Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary subpoena the USAO’s office. (For the record, Mr. Herring states that his office is asked to testify all the time on proposed legislation and someone always appears or provides written testimony.) Another resident also wanted the Committee to lobby the feds to ensure a greater rate of convictions.

As much ire as Mendelson attracted from residents, Jack Evans should have garnered more for his obnoxious behavior. He used this meeting as a chance to dig into Mendelson for not supporting civil gang injunctions, though it sounds like the legislation as introduced was really poorly written. Evans also shouted down USAO representative Herring, demanding answers for crime in Shaw. Well, Mr. Evans, you came to the meeting with no solutions to the problem. How is a non-elected official with no control over funding, departmental coordination, the MPD, social services, or any other factor other than prosecution supposed to come up with an innovative answer in under thirty seconds? It was unfair petty politicking.

Something that was mentioned twice in the meeting, once by Evans and once by Mendelson, is that, though statistics show drops in crime citywide, even in Shaw, residents perceive a higher crime environment. This was not raised to challenge residents’ assumptions about crime, but rather to validate concerned residents. In my next post, I’ll go ahead and critically examine those assumptions because I’m not an elected official.

TONIGHT: Councilmember Mendelson Holds Crime Summit

DC Councilmember Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large), who chairs the DC Council's Committee on Public Safety will be leading a forum discussion on crime in the Shaw and Mt. Vernon Square neighborhoods this evening. The event will take place from 7 - 9:30 PM at the New Community Church at 614 S Street.

According to Mendelson: "The purpose of the meeting will be to discuss what the Council has done/can do to improve public safety in the Shaw and Mt. Vernon Square neighborhoods. I have asked that the MPD and U.S. Attorney's office send representatives, and intend that the bulk of the meeting with me devoted to answering questions from those who attend."

This should be interesting, although the cynic in me doesn't think anything substantive will come from this ("Yes, we'll work to bring down gun crime...") and that this is only taking place because Mendelson has an honest-to-god challenger for his seat, in the form of Clark Ray.

Borderstan and Life in Mount Vernon Square have more.

ANC2F Notes: Contentious Liquor License for Estadio; Church to Lose Tax Break?

A bit late on the follow-up to last week's ANC2F meeting, I know, but better late than never I suppose. The most contentious issue of the evening dealt with the liquor license for the forthcoming Estadio at the corner of 14th and Church Streets. Estadio, you may recall, is the new restaurant from the team at Penn Quarter wine bar Proof.























Surprisingly (or not), the residents of the building in which Estadio will be located are not thrilled with the idea of a liquor-serving establishment opening beneath them--and they came to the ANC meeting to make this point. Now, I can understand the concern--this is, after all, the former location of the Garden District, which is about as benign a neighbor as you are going to find. So it's understandable that concerned residents would want to ensure that a strong voluntary agreement is put into place to address issues such as noise, operating hours, trash removal and so forth.

However, the aim of the residents was, apparently, to see to it that the ANC not "grant" the license to Estadio. Never mind that the ANC has no liquor license-granting authority. In the end, the issue was resolved in the way these issues typically are--both parties agreed to sign a voluntary agreement that will be negotiated by the ANC. So, wine lovers, never fear...Estadio will be coming. And residents of the neighborhood, plan to enjoy what will most likely be a fabulous establishment opening up near you, and be thankful that we've got paying tenants willing to lease all of this commercial space in this market.



Also on the docket was a liquor license for local chocolate confection purveyors ACKC. The ACKC team plans to introduce wine tastings and similar fare to their location near 14th and Q streets. The ANC also agreed to enter into a voluntary agreement with ACKC; hopefully amaretto-infused hot cocoa is on the way. Mmmmmm.....

Finally, we've received some inquiries regarding the status of the Vermont Avenue Baptist Church property issue; specifically, the revocation of the church's vacant property tax exemption status for the property they hold at Vermont and Q streets. The Church has owned the property for some time, and throughout that time the property has been a dilapidated eyesore. The District has a way of incentivizing owners of blighted properties to either improve the property or sell--the vacant property tax rate.

Basically, if your property gets hit with this tax rate--which is $10 per $100 of assessed value, or 10%--it's bad news for you, because you're going to be paying a lot of money to keep your property in crummy condition. The Vermont Avenue Baptist Church had received a vacant property tax rate exemption for its Q and Vermont property because, it claims, it had started work on rehabbing the structure. However, the Church has run into some economic difficulties, and thus renovating the property has been placed on the back burner. Which brought us to last Wednesday's meeting.

At the meeting, the ANC voted to send a letter to Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) withdrawing its support for the continuation of the vacant property tax exemption for the Church. This now places the matter in the hands of DCRA, which will need to determine whether the Church has met the criteria to obtain the exemption for another year, or whether it has forfeited it.

Without the ANC's support, the Church faces an uphill battle in maintaining its exemption. Then again, a certain church in nearby Shaw has managed to avoid the vacant property designation for numerous properties it owns, so maybe the guiding hand of the Lord will steer DCRA towards a favorable decision for the VABC.

Local ANCs Get Their 'Meet On

Typically, the first full week in any month means one thing: it's ANC meeting time. There are a number of interesting items on the agendas of the various ANCs whose activities play a role in defining the Logan/Dupont/U Street corridor. Among them:

ANC2F (Logan Circle/western Shaw) will meet this Wednesday evening at the Washington Plaza Hotel at Thomas Circle. The full agenda is available on the ANC's website. Among some of the highlights:

• City council member Jack Evans will be in attendance to address citizen's concerns. If you attend, you might want to ask Jack about the status of his commercial property tax-lowering bill, which has been discussed--but not yet formally introduced.


• Two liquor license-related issues will be addressed, including extended operating hours for trendy wine bar Cork and the issue of noise complaints surrounding the recently opened Cafe Salsa.


• The ANC will also address a proposed vacant property tax increase, which is meant to spur the redevelopment of properties held by landlords who do not see the financial incentive to raise their property from a current state of disrepair.


• Finally, a somewhat odd item to have on an ANC agenda, the commission will discuss the proposed marriage equality law, which is being address by the DC Council today. I'm not certain what the discussion will entail.

ANC1B (U Street, Shaw, LeDroit Park) will meet on Thursday, May 7 at the Reeves Center. Pertinent items for discussion include:

• The "U Street Mural" project and an introduction to a new restaurant coming to U Street, the "U Street Cafe".


• The ANC1B design review and committee will take a look at the proposed U Street Hotel project, whose developer, JBG, is looking for community support for the project.


• There are also a slew of ABRA matters, including the conversion of Nellie's liquor license from a "restaurant" class to a "tavern" class (see our recent post about this issue as it relates to SaintEx here) as well as a petition for a new license for an establishment called "Dixon".

ANC2B (Dupont Circle) will meet next Wednesday, May 13, and do not yet have an agenda posted.

Additionally, the Cardozo-Shaw Neighborhood Association will hold its May meeting on Thursday, May 14, where--among other things--JBG Cos. will be in attendance seeking support for their U Street Hotel project.

One Dead in Shooting at 11th and Q

Edit: The Washington Blade is reporting that the police are focusing on robbery as a motive in the shooting death of Durval Martins. Martins' body was found near the intersection of 11th and Q at 3:30 AM on Tuesday morning, and he was apparently clutching his wallet. Interestingly however his other personal effects--cell phone, watch, etc.--were found on him. It's possible that whoever shot Martins panicked and ran off before robbing him of his other items; alternately, it's possible that robbery was not the intent of the individual who committed this act.

Either way, what a complete tragedy this is. There is a sickening lack of respect for human life by some in this city.

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...and the violence continues. DCist chronicles two more murders that occured in northwest last night, including one which occured at around 3:30 AM near the skate park at 11th and Q streets. No details as far as motive are available at the moment. The other murder took place at 4th and V streets, just off the Howard University campus.

We're not thrilled about our blog being taken over by reports of shootings, knifings and murders...but sadly that's just where things are right now.

The two murders give the District 183 for the year, and if the pace of the last week continues unabated we'll be making a strong run at 200 before the end of the year.

News Flash: Convention Center area needs more development

It seems like something from the Dept. of the Obvious, but an article in today's Washington Post presents clearly the argument for an increase and focus on development around the Washington Convention Center. I wonder if Jack Evans, Adrian Fenty and the rest of District leadership are paying attention.

The article quotes various conventioneers remarking on the contrasts between the area sorrounding the convention centers in other major cities versus D.C. Not surprisingly, the article finds that the lack of a major hotel hurts the ability to lure large conventions, but that "a headquarters hotel is only part of the equation in turning the District into a destination for large conventions."

Now, perhaps there is a larger point I am missing here, but why is this case still being made years after the convention center has opened? Shouldn't we be past this point by now? If the impetus behind moving the convention center to Shaw wasn't to spur development in an under-utlized and under-developed area, what on earth was the purpose?

The piece points out what many area residents have been saying for years:

"If you go and see a beautiful city with a lot of cool things to do, a lot of times you will want to come back during a more leisurely visit when you don't have a lot of work," David White, 35, a delegate from Charleston, S.C., said last week. "D.C., it's a great town with a lot to offer, but I don't know if the convention center promotes that as well as it could."

To be fair, this article does come on the heels of the recent announcement that the long-proposed and nearly dead headquarters hotel was back online. And with plans for the redevelopment of the O St. Market and Kelsey Gardens the area sorrounding the convention center is showing signs of turning around. Let's hope it continues. But the failure of the city to effectively promote and facilitate development in the area (including Jack Evans' frustrating comments about the near-demise of the convention center hotel) and to effectively deal with the Shiloh properties situation is beyond aggravating. This article could have been written four years ago, and without a significant focus on the part of the District government in encouraging development near the convention center, it could easily be written again.

Queen of Sheba Gets a Decision...No, Wait...

The longer this drags on, the more ridiculous the District's alcohol licensing process looks. As many of you may (or may not) know, the Queen of Sheba restaurant had their ABRA hearing yesterday, which apparently went on and on and on and on. Campbell Johnson and Mary Sutherland and their henchmen, er, fellow protestants were there. 5th and Oh graciously showed up to support the Queen (thanks!), but aside from him and Alex Padro (who, apparently, also gave very supportive and positive testimony) it was simply the Mr. Misgina and his lawyers versus the muckrakers.

Fine, whatever. This decision should be a no-brainer anyway, because the issues the protestants are hanging their hats on are so absurd that you'd think the hearing would have been over before it began. Not so. The hearing went on until almost 5 PM, at which point ABRA declared the hearing over and notified all parties that a decision would be rendered...in two months. Which is patently ridiculous. Two months may seem to be a reasonable time frame for the ABRA folks, but it's two more months of the Queen hemmoraghing money due to their lack of a liquor license. It really gives one pause to think why *any* restaurant owner would want to come into a neighborhood such as Shaw and deal with the grief that has been flung towards Mr. Misgina et al.

Personally, I support continuing the eat-ins to support the Queen until this issue is finally, and mercifully, put to bed. If the various Shaw bloggers could propose a recurring weekly/bi-weekly time to go, I'm sure we could get people to clear their schedules, go enjoy a wonderful meal, and show Mr. Misgina and everyone at the Queen how much the neighborhood *truly* supports him.

Breakwell's Hit by Fire

Since I'd seen a few comments on the various blogs about this, I thought I'd make a quick post to update everyone as to the status of Breakwell's Coffee on 9th St. As you may (or may not) know, there was a fire at Breakwell's early on Sunday morning that at first looked to be quite extensive. However, it turns out that the fire was contained strictly to the outside of the building. According to Russell, the owner, the interior was essentially unscathed. I didn't get a chance to stop by there this morning, but from what I heard yesterday he hoped to have the place reopened as soon as he was able to get the electricity turned back on.

There have also been rumors that the fire was arson-related, due to the spate of fires that seemed to erupt in Shaw over the weekend. Near as I can tell, the Breakwell's fire appears to be electrical in nature, not arson. (Edit: Not true; apparently the fire was sparked by children playing with fireworks that ignited a Pepco fuse box.) At any rate, it's good to know that the fire didn't do any significant damage (although the exterior sure didn't look that great) and that Russell will have the place back open soon.

Stuff You Oughta Know About

In the past week, there have been quite a few news items that impact our neighborhood. Unfortunately, I’ve been a little slow to aggregate and post them all. Below is a summary of some stories you might want to read for yourselves.

Embassy Tour This Weekend
This coming Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. you may take a self-guided tour of some of the embassies and ambassadors’ residences in Kalorama. This event, the 23^rd Annual Kalorama House and Embassy Tour, is sponsored by the Woodrow Wilson House. If you would like to participate, tickets are available for $25 in advance. Visit link above or call 202-387-4062 x18 for information.

Convention Center Hotel
The planned 1,400 room convention center hotel at 9^th and Mass. may ever materialize. Though the developer RLJ states that they are still interested in the project if further investigation reveals it to be “economically viable,” Council member Jack Evans has already declared the hotel DOA. Steven Pearlstein also seems happy to ring the death knell. However, others such as OffSeventh are voicing their extreme displeasure at the near collapse of the hotel plans.

Streetcars
The September 5^th issue of the Dupont Current ran an article about DC’s streetcar plans. Unfortunately, the Current does not make articles available online. The gist is that the Sierra Club has written to Mayor Fenty to express their disappointment at the pace of the streetcar line construction. They characterize the DDOT schedule, which calls for construction in Anacostia to begin next year, as “too little, too late.” (H Street construction is to begin once the Anacostia test case is complete.)

The Sierra Club supported a 2004 proposal calling for 40 to 50 miles of streetcar lines. However, they were disappointed by a 2005 document which they believe sets a much longer timeline for the project. DDOT has a fairly sound response; they say that they have spent the past three years conducting environmental studies, obtaining federal funding, and soliciting construction bids. DDOT also says that streetcars are one of their top priorities right now. Though I do understand the government processes and I do not think that the current timeline is unreasonable, I am hopeful that the Sierra Club’s pressure can help nudge the streetcar construction along a little faster.

No Decision on Cab Meters
The taxicab commission voted yesterday to . . . punt the meter vs. zone issue to Mayor Fenty. Fenty must now act before the October 17 deadline for responding to U.S. Senator Carl Levin’s demand to create an official meter policy. Council Member Jim Graham, in typical style, has pledged his involvement by convening his own task force to review taxi regulations. The Post covers the story here.

Leroy Thorpe
In a September 5^th article, reporter Erik Wemple of the CityPaper enlightened Washington Post reporter Omar Fekeiki and editor Carol Morello on Leroy Thorpe. The Post had reported in glowing terms about Thorpe’s Muslim crime fighting group while neglecting to learn about all he has done to divide/harm/antagonize his neighborhood. The Post also skipped a key statistic: the number of violent crimes in the patrolled area over the past two months is equal to the number reported for the same period last year.

Veranda Issued "Stop Work Order"

As reported on Leslumhistorique, Veranda, the new Mediterranean/Italian restaurant set to open at the corner of 11th and P, was unfortunately tagged with a "Stop Work Order" last week due to some non-permitted work on its outdoor patio. I'm not certain what, specifically, the SWO pertains to, but seeing as how the restaurant will be located in the Shaw Historic District, it likely has something to do with that. Here's hoping the Duni brothers are able to quickly resolve whatever issue led to the SWO, and can get the opening of Veranda back on track, as we're both anxiously awaiting its opening.

You can visit Veranda's website here: http://www.verandaonp.com/ . Make certain that you suggest a beer!