LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD!! Shaed and Edgewood Recreation Center

I ask for all of my neighbors to write to our Mayor and Councilmembers to ask them to support what we have been asking for for years for the Edgewood community.

Please feel free to use my email below to help you with yours!  The more voices they hear from the less likely the will continue to ignore us!

Send your email to these people:

kmcduffie@dccouncil.us; vorange@dccouncil.us,  abonds@dccouncil.us, dgrosso@dccouncil.us, apritchard@dccouncil.us, cwilson@dccouncil.us, jbrown@dccouncil.us, lmobley@dccouncil.us, eom@dc.gov,  one@dc.gov, marchim.williams@dc.gov, francisco.fimbres@dc.gov

Here is my email:

I wanted to write to you to ask for your help with two community concerns in my neighborhood. The Edgewood Recreation Center is a field house with little to no programming and inadequate facilities for the size of our community. For years community groups have advocated for improved facilities and programming at the Edgewood Recreation Center, but the closest we have come to funding was a few years ago when the money was added to the budget and then taken from us and given to another recreation center. A few years ago DCPS decided to shutter our neighborhood school, Shaed Elementary, during their reconciliation efforts. Since then it has remained an empty, neglected building in the middle of our neighborhood.


These two neighborhood issues can be used together to create a solution for both problems and enhance our neighborhood. By using the Shaed Elementary building to create a community and recreation center for the Edgewood neighborhood a true community amenity could be created ridding us of an abandoned building and fixing the lack of resources created by taking the money from the center in previous budgets. Working together with different DC government agencies and non-profits something truly special could be created in our neighborhood that could attract residents from throughout the city. Different programming for all ages and abilities would allow for the building of community and individual development at the same time which should be the goal of any One City venture. Exercise classes, dance classes, sports programming, after school tutoring, job training, community meeting space, computer classes, music classes, health clinics, cooking classes, art classes- I could go on and on with the options.,

Please consider adding funding to the budget to help make this vision a reality fixing the neglect that has occurred over the years and replacing it with something the whole city can enjoy and be a source of pride.

Development Update

Just a glance around Edgewood and you can see all the ongoing construction with developments completing and new neighbors and businesses moving into the neighborhood. I feel like a broken record trying to get these developments to acknowledge that they are in Edgewood! So below are the updates of the developments ongoing in the Edgewood neighborhood for your reading pleasure.

Chancellor's Row (3015 4th Street NE) - 10-acre residential development on St. Paul's campus which began construction Fall 2010 as promised and already has residents living there. They have sold all 100 houses in Phase I and they are all completed and occupied. Phase 2 started in April and is currently open for sales and has been selling fast. It is anticipated that all three phases will be completed ahead of schedule as sales are going so well and prices keep going up. They have already added a ZipCar to this location and they are supposed to be adding a Capital Bikeshare Station this Spring. The remodeling of the triangle park at 4th, Franklin and Lincoln NE has been completed from the community benefits of this project.

Monroe Street Market (formerly CUA South Campus Development) (7th Street and Michigan Ave NE) - mixed use development will include approximately 720 housing units, 45 townhouses, 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 in 2010 and broke ground on November 9, 2011. The first phase of 562 residential units is scheduled to be completed in Summer 2013. The construction is moving ahead as you can already see foundations poured and vertical structures have already been constructed. They have started working on the interiors of some parts of the project and a pre-leasing trailer has been added. There will also be improvements made to the sidewalks, crosswalks and Met Branch Trail connection in that area.

Developments Surrounding Edgewood

Rhode Island Row (919 Rhode Island Ave NE) - This project is well underway and already has residents moving in as the apartments are completed. They have posted the rents and they range from $1740 for a 1 bed/bath to $3465 for a 3 bed/bath. This place has already rented out over 95% of their apartments. The retail is still being kept quiet. I have heard that Five Guys, Dunkin Donuts, and Starbucks are going to open over there, but they have not been confirmed. I have also heard that some of the restaurants over on H Street have been checking out the space to open a second location. I really hope that rumor is true!!!The CVS is already open on the corner retail slot on Rhode Island Avenue NE. Opening First Quarter 2013: Chipotle, Sprint, T-Mobile, DC Dept. of Motor Vehicles.  Opening Summer 2013: Carolina Kitchen, CK Burger, D’Arte Nail & Spa Salon, and Sala Thai.  Both Carolina Kitchen and Sala Thai have applied for liquor licenses and will have live music entertainment on the weekends.  Carolina Kitchen will have outdoor seating as well.  This development is also supposed to add a Capital Bikeshare Station this Spring.

Mint Condos (329 Rhode Island Ave NE) - This project is completed and is across the street from Edgewood in Eckington. The burnt out shell of a building was converted into 21 luxury condos priced between mid $250,000 and mid $300,000s and have already sold out. The building also has 3000 square feet of retail space and is currently selling.

901 Monroe Street NE - This project was recently approved by the zoning commission across the street in Brookland and looks promising. The plans are to demolish the current buildings and build 212 Apartments, 16 units at below market rents, and 13,000 sq. ft. of neighborhood-serving retail including a restaurant.  Groundbreaking occurred the end of 2012, but there have not been many updates since then.  It was supposed to be done by Fall of 2013, but seems to be a bit behind schedule. 

Washington Gateway (Intersection of New York Ave and Florida Ave NE) - This project which has been recently revived and modified to include more residential instead of a hotel will connect NoMa with the Eckington neighborhood. A huge empty 3 acre lot will be transformed into office space and residential with a 15,000 sq. ft. retail component. There will be improvements made to the Met Branch Trail which will connect to this development. The groundbreaking happened the end of last year for Phase One which is a building with 400 residential units and 5,200 sq. ft. of retail.

Trilogy NoMa (Formerly NoMa West) (Eckington Place and Q Street NE) - This development broke ground in March 2011 and looks to be pretty much completed. There are three buildings and a small amount of retail. There is an extension of Q street, a pedestrian walkway and connection with the Met Branch Trail included in the project. Apartments are renting for the studios from $1673 to 2 bedrooms with den at $3323.

McMillan Sand Filtration (North Capitol Street, Michigan Ave, 1 Street NW) - This huge 25 acre site has been the focus of many meetings and plans over the years and I'll put its timeline as I'll believe it when I see it. The site is now being used to storm excess storm water to help reduce flooding in the area. There are many sites and posts about this development as everyone seems to have an opinion as to what should happen with this piece of land. They have recently filed a draft PUD and there have been more meetings so I am sticking to my last update that I will believe it when I see it.

REMINDER: Edgewood Neighborhood Cleanup TOMORROW!

Just wanted to send out a reminder that tomorrow is the Edgewood Neighborhood monthly cleanup. The group meets in front of the Edgewood Rec Center at the corner of 3rd and Evarts NE at 10:30 a.m. The cleanup is sponsored by the Friends of Edgewood Recreation Center and occurs the first Saturday of every month same time and location. The group picks up trash around the neighborhood including the rec center and has a cookout afterwards.

This is a great way to meet your neighbors and show pride in our neighborhood!

If you cannot come try and cleanup around your block today or tomorrow morning so we can cover more areas!!!