I took the walking tour offered of the developments for Rhode Island Ave yesterday and did learn a few new things. The group for the Rhode Island Station development at the metro station have already started pre-construction as the parking lot closed on Saturday morning. The buses and the metro will stay open full service during the construction which is expected to take 27 months. So, we can expect the full project to be completed in July/August 2012 if my math is right. They are going to complete the metro parking garage first and I believe that will open back up when it is completed. They do not have any signed letters of intent for the retail but are in negotiations. They mentioned that they were trying to get at least two sit-down restaurants. Council member Thomas mentioned that they are attending the retail convention in Las Vegas at the end of this month and for all residents to let him know what kind of retail we would like to see here. If you want something email him (hthomas@dccouncil.us) - I know that I would love a Trader Joes in addition to as many sit-down restaurants as possible!
The second half of the tour walked down to the Metropolitan Branch Trail (MBT) and showed off the location for the pedestrian bridge to the metro. The bridge will have a ramp and a staircase entrance. All of the final paperwork for the bridge is being worked on with a hope of starting construction in the fall. Anyone who lives in this area knows it cannot be completed soon enough. The MBT is now open all the way to Union Station with only a few small items to be completed.
I had hoped there would be more about new and future developments coming to our area, but it was only about these two items. I do have to say that most the people on the tour did not know about these projects.
i was surprised at the number of people who came from outside of the nearby neighborhoods. a woman next to me said this was her first time ever in this part of the city.
ReplyDeleteI am hoping that the people new to this area were excited about the developments coming - It would be a great and unexpected outcome of the walking tour. I had assumed that it would only be nearby residents interested in the tour.
ReplyDeleteNow's the time to get the creative juices flowing about what should go in there. Definitely sit-down restaurants. But some stores - maybe something like a City Sports or a bike store to tie in with the MBT? A gym? A spa (I would love somewhere local to go for an after-run massage)? Much as I love TJ's, I don't know that they'd go in so close to the Giant. It'd be great if the people who run the other big farmer's markets in the city could go in there one evening (FreshFarm, I think?). I'd be selfish and want my bank (PNC).
ReplyDeleteThen if they just bring a Kohl's where the Safeway used to be, I think my life would be complete. :)