Rhode Island Station Update

The timeline for completion for Rhode Island Station keeps getting moved up which I love to hear. I have stated in the comments that they decided to work all on the buildings and the parking garage at once instead of in phases. The parking garage is supposed to be completed by June 2011 and now they are stating the retail is supposed to be completed in November 2011 which is much earlier than the June 2012 date we were told in the beginning. Of course everyone wants to know what retail and restaurants are coming to those 19 spaces in the development, but they are not releasing any names. Announcements will be coming closer to the time when they are opening up. I suggested sit-down restaurants and bars, a bike shop, a pet store/groomer and that they talk to Taylor Gourmet with all the interest that is currently going on and their building of a bakery further down Rhode Island Ave.

Home Sales in Edgewood

Here is this week's data on homes for sale in Edgewood. I am using Redfin because it allows you to search by neighborhood, but if you have any other ideas or ways to get listings or open houses please let me know!

Here is the link to the data in Redfin:

Edgewood DC Real Estate

Edgewood has a very diverse housing stock with a wide range of sizes and prices. Right now the most expensive places listed are the new homes being built in Chancellor's Row listed at $625,630 while the least expensive listing is a 1 bedroom condo listed at $99,000. It seems that there continues to be a steady number of houses selling across the price ranges and there are quite a few pending sales that have yet to be posted.

There are new sales posted:

223 Cromwell Street NE sold on December 30th for $133,000
106 V Street NE sold on January 7th for $373,250

Also, as of a few weeks ago 34 houses in the Chancellor's Row development have been sold.

There are no open houses listed for Edgewood. If you know of any please add the information to the comments section.

Edgewood Development Update

I am closing in on my one year anniversary of this blog and wanted to do an update on the developments coming to the Edgewood neighborhood that I posted about back in March 2010.

Chancellor's Row (3015 4th Street NE) - 10-acre residential development on St. Paul's campus which began construction Fall 2010 as promised and is scheduled to have its first residents move in March 2011. A couple of weeks ago I was told that they have sold 34 houses so far and only have 10 left to sell for occupancy this year. They are building a total of 237 new townhouses in this development and the speed at which they build will depend on sales. At the current rate of sale I imagine they will be building pretty fast, especially since there is usually a jump in sales after the first houses are finished.

CUA South Campus Development (7th Street and Michigan Ave NE) - mixed use development will include approximately 765 housing units and a public square with a college main street with 83,000 square feet of street-level retail, 15,000 square feet of artists' studio space and 850 below-grade parking spaces. They started demolition on the CUA buildings last year and plan for a groundbreaking in Fall 2011.

Brookland Artspace Lofts (3225 Eighth Street NE) - 41 live/work rental units directly adjacent to Dance Place's HQ and studio space for qualified DC artists making 60% or less of the area median income construction began Spring 2010 and is expected to be completed in June 2011.

Last year was a good one for development in the Edgewood neighborhood as all projects in our boundaries broke ground as scheduled and are moving along. The only sad thing is that they are all mislabeled as being in the Brookland neighborhood. Brookland has so many cool things of its own that I hope we can start to get recognition for all the projects that are in Edgewood.

Artspace Lofts: Information Sessions and Hard Hat Tours

The construction of the Artspace Lofts is moving along and they are offering tours and information sessions. Please see their information below and the contact information. I know they call them Brookland Artspace Lofts, but I leave off the Brookland because we all know they are in Edgewood!


Information Sessions:
Thursday, March 3, 2011 :: 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Dance Place / 3305 8th St. NE
link to location

Saturday, March 26, 2011 :: 10:00 a.m. - 12 noon
Flashpoint's Mead Theater / 916 G. Street NW

These information sessions will provide you with everything you need to know about the application and approval process, Artist Selection Committee and what life is like living in an Artspace project. Take this opportunity to meet with representatives from both Artspace Projects and Edgewood Management Company to answer your questions.

We hope to see you there!


Hard Hat Loft Tours:

We invite you to tour the new Brookland Artspace Lofts

3315 8th Street NE

Five tours available:

Monday, January 31st :: 12:15 p.m.
Monday, February 7th :: 12:15 p.m.
Saturday, February 12th :: 10 a.m.
Saturday, February 12th :: 10:45 a.m.
Saturday, February 12th :: 11:30 a.m.

Each tour is anticipated to last approximately 30 minutes. Sorry, late arrivals may not be accommodated.


Space is limited, early reservations are encouraged.

Please RSVP (email housing@culturaldc.org) and indicate your date/time preference.
All reservations will be confirmed within 2 business days.

Role of Civic Associations in DC

I just read the article on the DC Students Speak website which outlines the problems they have had in Georgetown with the local civic associations. The post addresses the issue of the role of the civic associations in DC and who they actually represent.

This hit me close to home because I often wonder about this in the Edgewood community. From attending community meetings and talking to some people in the community it seems while some are oblivious to the existence of Edgewood Civic Association (ECA) there are others that seem to think it is an important part of community. In concept I believe that civic associations are a great tool for a community if used and run correctly. The ECA last year had less than 40 members which is only 0.4% of the community that they claim to represent. (Full disclosure: I am a member and have been for 3 years although I do not agree with everything that they do and do not feel welcomed at all times.) The ECA has boundaries which include the neighborhoods of Edgewood and Eckington which is roughly 10,000 people (per 2000 US Census could be more now). The ANC frequently takes into account what the civic associations have to say on a matter before them and developers come to them for letters of support. I think that it would be just if when the associations present or offer support to a project they include a membership total number instead of stating they represent the entire community. What do you think?

History Lesson: Rhode Island Ave/Brentwood Metro Station Used to be a Cemetery

File this under things I learned on Twitter (h/t @fuzzface01) the Rhode Island Ave/Brentwood Metro Station used to be a cemetery. Apparently it was moved to build the metro station and a DDOT impound lot. Here is the information on the historical marker which I am going to grab a picture of next time I am up there. Here is another article about it.

Streetcars and Rhode Island Ave

As the construction of the H Street Streetcar infrastructure (tracks, pole foundations, conduits) is finishing up with a projected completion date of October 2011 and the Anacostia Streetcar line is starting with public meetings I was interested to see where Rhode Island Ave stands in the plans. DDOT has launched a website for the DC Streetcars.

What I learned is that the Rhode Island Ave Streetcar segment is part of Phase II and DDOT is still working on the initial segments which are not scheduled to be operational until March 2012. Once the initial segments are done then they will be doing Phase I and then us. So, it seems that we have quite awhile before we see the streetcars in our area. They have posted the full plan and proposed map which is exciting to look at even though realistically it will be awhile especially with our current budget situation. The Rhode Island Ave line will run from Eastern Ave all the way down Rhode Island Ave to Florida Ave where it will connect with the Florida Ave line. Proposed stops on Rhode Island Ave are at Eastern Ave NE, South Dakota Ave NE, 18th Street NE, 13th Street NE, Rhode Island Ave/Brentwood Metro Station, 3rd Street NE, North Capitol, and Florida Ave. For now we can be excited that come March 2012 we can take the Met Branch Trail from Edgewood down to Union Station and ride the streetcar down H Street.

Snow, Ice and Sidewalks

Please remember that it is your responsibility to clear the sidewalks around your house! Also, think about your neighbors that might not be able to clear theirs - out of town, elderly, disabled, etc. - and help them out as well. I tend to clear at least half if not my whole side of the block while I am out there. I already did it this morning and will be back out there again if we get more tonight. It's good exercise and I know that I and my neighbors can then walk safely down our block.

Emergency Public Safety Meeting For North Capitol Street Area

Emergency Public Safety Meeting For North Capitol Street Area

Councilmember Thomas, in partnership with the Fifth Police District and North Capitol Main Street, Inc. (NCMS), will hold an emergency public safety meeting at 7 pm on Tuesday, January 25, 2011 at the offices of NCMS. The meeting is in response to the shooting death of Bill Mitchell, Jr. on Wednesday, January 19th. A vigil at the site of the shooting will be held at 6 pm, prior to the community meeting.

Details are summarized below.

VIGIL...

Where:

Park at Florida Avenue and
North Capitol Street, NW

When:
Tuesday, January 25th
6:00 pm to 6:50 pm


EMERGENCY COMMUNITY
MEETING...

WHERE:
North Capitol Main Street Office,
1703 North Capitol Street, NE

WHEN:
Immediately Following Vigil
7:00 pm to 8:30 pm

Edgewood Civic Association Meeting Tonight

The Edgewood Civic Association (ECA) will hold its monthly meeting on Monday, January 24, 2011 from 7pm-9pm. The meeting will be held at the Summit at St. Martins 116 T Street NE.

ANC5C Meeting Tuesday

The first ANC5C meeting of the new year is next week.

Tuesday January 18
Trinity University
125 Michigan Avenue NE
7 PM

Home Save program for District Residents

Home Save program for District Residents

The Housing Finance Agency(HFA) received $20 million from the Treasury (left over TARP Bank bailout funds) and created a program that will pay 100% of the qualified homeowner's mortgage. This new program, which launches in Wards 5,7 and 8 on January 18, 2011 and citywide on April 12, 2011 and projected to end in 2015 will provide:

1) a one-time payment of up to three months for residents that are mortgage delinquent

2) Pay up to 15 months of mortgage payment including PITI, home owner dues

3) a one-time payment of up to six months of mortgage delinquency in order to allow the homeowner to catch up on their mortgage.

The funds will be paid directly to the mortgage service provider and not given to the homeowner.

The borrower must be a District resident on the deed and mortgage. If two people are on the deed and mortgage and one is unemployed, the family still qualifies for the program. The borrower must either be receiving unemployment through DOES or have recently drawn unemployment through DOES. The unemployment can be from DC, MD, VA or other states. The borrower must also be actively seeking employment. Currently unemployment is for 99 weeks and the payment from this program will assist during that period. If the unemployment benefits end during the 15 month period, the mortgage payments will continue. However, the homeowner cannot be in foreclosure or actively in bankruptcy.

The loan will be non-recourse and forgiven over five years. The loan amount will be reduced over the five year period at 20% per year. If during the five year period the property is either sold or refinanced, the loan must be repaid.

In order to apply, homeowners must go through one of five pre-selected housing counseling agencies that are funded through HFA. Please visit the HFA Website for further questions and more details.

For internal communication submissions, contact:

Turnesha Cook, Communications Specialist
(202)671-3491
Turnesha.Cook@dc.gov
ddotlife.com

Good New, Bad News

I am sure that many of you like me were not happy to see the Edgewood shooting on DC Alerts yesterday. However, I was happy to see the email this morning that an arrest was made the same day! The email from MPD is copied below:

On January 13, 2011, at approximately 2pm a 16 year old male subject was approached by another male subject in the 600 block of Edgewood Street NE. During their interaction the suspect produced a gun firing several times striking the victim twice. The victim sustained non-life threatening injuries and currently is in stable condition. Officers were able to respond directly to the scene and obtain critical information.

Detectives immediately began to follow up on the leads associated with this case and were able to close this case with an arrest within 10 hours of the incident!
Commander Lamar D. Greene

Big, Ugly Empty Lot on 4th Street NE

Last year I wrote about the development of the Rhode Island Avenue Shopping Center and its future. While writing that piece I was informed that the big, ugly fenced off empty lot on 4th Street is not part of the shopping center. I thought that was great news because the shopping center will not be redeveloped for 8-10 more years due to leases. Here is a large empty lot close to the metro station on 4th Street NE near Rhode Island Ave that is just waiting for a transformation.

From there I have spent many hours trying to figure out who owns the lot and what they are going to be doing with it. Finding out who owns it was easy with a few google searches and looking in the DC property database I had more than enough information. From the property database I learned that the address is 2321 4th Street NE and it is owned by the H Street Community Development Corporation. I thought that was weird since all their projects are in the H Street area and Edgewood is a bit out of their range. Also, when I first looked at their website the land was listed, but now it is not. Then if you look at the property record the sales price is not listed and the recordation date is 2/10/2004. The group has owned the land for almost seven years now and if you look at the amount of taxes paid each year it is an extremely different number from a couple thousand to a couple hundred thousand. I am not an expert on these matters so anyone who can help me make sense of it please do!

Now getting the property owners to talk to me was another issue. I was told that they would only talk to the ANC. So, I waited out the election and contacted the new ANC for that area, Jioni Palmer. He had to contact them multiple times before getting a response. He was told by the director that they are considering the site for ground floor retail and either offices or residences above them, but they have been having a hard time getting financing. He promised to send a formal letter to Jioni. Jioni stated that he will be setting up meeting about the property with the owner after he receives the letter. I am hoping with our new Edgewood ANC and the new attention the community gives to this empty lot we can fill it with something great for the community.