H Street Constituents:
I am having posted a pictorial update of most H Street development to the ANC 6A and 6C yahoogroups sites and asking that it is posted to the Old City Capitol Hill site and others as well. The update is a five year overview of most of the changes that have happened over the last five years (2002-2007) since we began the discussions and planning for reviving H Street until today- from plan to progress. The document could be longer, but it should also get the point across that a great deal of our collective work is showing results. What the overview also shows is where more work needs to be done.
The great news is that H Street NE is definitely on the investment map by the private sector now! Larger development projects are planned or newly completed within the Urban Living section of the plan and some properties are being improved. At the east end, new businesses have opened around the H Street Playhouse and the Atlas Performing Arts Center and an Arts and Entertainment experience can be had on H Street. These things did not exist five years ago.
But within all of this there is still a need to really assist the folk who have been on H Street for some time and need help and a need to attract more entrepreneurs to fill vacancies. In Fiscal Year 2008 (FY08) which begins October 1, 2007, the focus on Great Streets within the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development will be on the following:
Launch H STREET NE - Great Streets Neighborhood Retail Priority Area.
In July 2007, DC Council approved the establishment of six neighborhood retail priority areas and the potential spending limits for Tax Increment Finance bonds. Up to $25 million in bond issuance was approved for H Street NE. DMPED is working with Councilmember Wells' office to determine the process by which these potential resources can leverage amenities for the businesses and residents of H Street NE. In earlier meetings with property and business owners and neighborhood constituents, it was requested that priority be given to building rehabilitation grants and loans, mix income/mixed use projects, anchor retail tenants, strategic public parking and some potential transit enhancements. In conjunction with Councilmember Wells, DMPED anticipates using available resources to support key, anchoring development projects on the corridor as well as to augment resources targete d toward smaller property and business owners.
At the moment, DMPED is working with the Office of the Chief Financial Officer and the Office of Tax and Revenue to iron out some issues related to this important resource, but we are confident that we will reach a resolution.
Actively Target Building Improvements - Corridor Wide.
Despite all of our work, the corridor still looks and feels underinvested. In partnership with other District agencies, DMPED plans to launch a building improvement campaign targeting vacant, unattractive and potential unsafe structures on H Street NE. The Retail Priority Area resources married with Great Streets resources may be used to begin this process.
DMPED has been coordinating with and through Councilmember Wells' office to address the issues of vacant and abandoned properties on H Street NE. This collaboration will continue moving forward.
Select a Development Team to Build a Mixed Use / Mixed Income Project on the 1100 Block South Side.
In order to encourage reinvestments by private land owners, the District needs to address how it uses its own vacant or underutilized land. A Request for Proposals was issued for 1113-1117 H Street NE. Two responses were received. They are being evaluated now. A selection will be made in early FY 2008.
Find a Mixed Use Development Partner to Build a Bigger and Better R. L. Christian Library in a Mixed Use Building.
Here again is another opportunity to leverage public land to produce a number of public benefits, i.e. new library, new housing or offices.
There has been some community concerns about a mixed use library site development on H Street-some for and some against, but at the core of it, everyone wants a new facility for all residents to take pride in and patronize.
DMPED plans to competitively offer the R. L. Christian Library site for mixed use development in early FY 2008. The new building will contain a larger library facility on the ground floor and housing and/or office uses above. $510,000 has been set aside to temporarily relocate the library to another facility on the 1300 block of H Street NE northside until the construction period is completed.
Work More Closely and Strategically with the H Street Community Development Corporation.
DMPED recently met with William "Bill" Barrow and Eric Jones of H Street Community Development Corporation. We are excited about future opportunities to partner with the HSCDC to bring about certain improvements on H Street NE.
Coordinate even more so with DDOT during the Streetscape and Transportation Improvement Process.
The H Street NE streetscape and transportation improvements are slated to begin in either late fall or early spring according to DDOT. The Improvements will be phased in nine phases over a 30 month period. DMPED and other agencies will be actively working to assist as needed and where possible to mitigate impacts on local businesses. It is important that all of us continue to remind business owners now that the improvements are coming and to plan accordingly. DDOT staff can provide more detail information on the scope and the timeline. Call 202.671.2542 or email karina.ricks@dc.gov
CONCLUSION:
H Street is well underway to becoming a greater street! There is a lot more work for all of us to do. DMPED is open to new and innovative ideas and thinking about addressing some of the challenges and opportunities ahead. We welcome your input. Please feel free to contact me via email at derrick.woody@dc.gov
NOTE:
Burnham Place and Station Place final phase will be included in future iterations of this document. If any of you have images of other new investments on H Street that are not include here, please share with me via email. You will be credited.
Thanks! See you soon.
Derrick Lanardo Woody
Coordinator - Great Streets Initiative
Office of the Deputy Mayor for
Planning & Economic Development
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Suite 317
Washington, DC 20004-3001
202.727.2981 phone
The pictorial update to which the author refers is not yet posted.
12 comments:
Note the release pushes the start date for DDOT's Streetscape improvements to late fall OR EARLY SPRING.
This is something like the 3rd time they've pushed the start date for the street improvement back. For all the happy talk in this release, they are taking their sweet time to start a project that has already received full funding. Is it me, or does DDOT just seem to be issuing endless 'happy talk' releases without actually starting work?
I have to agree with the above post. We need action from DDOT and the Office of Planning.
that 'release' was crap.
inked, check out stuff before you put it on frozentropics, please.
please!
Maybe related (but hopefully not) to the eventual start of the Streetscaping, is anything going to be done about the sorry state of H Street since the underground utility work? The road is so horribly bumpy and uncomfortable to drive on-- especially the inner-most East-bound lane of H. It is horrible and nearly impossible to drive, but we shouldn't have to wait til they coordinate the streetscaping for this to get fixed.
It is a bit disheartening to be given specific start/completion dates for projects that are so enthusiastically presented by those who administer them and then have the dates sink into history with no visible progress.
For example: if you look at the 'Final' Action Plan that is currently being presented for the work on the H Street Corridor (see: p. 28), you might believe the following to be true:
1. The construction on the Starburst Plaza was finished last March.
2. Streetscaping on H Street began over a year ago and is nearing completion.
This follows the general trend of obsolescence in the official reporting of developments in the area.
See, for example:
The Starburst Plaza Website
The DC Govt. Office of Planning - H St. Corridor Revitalization
H ST. Main St. Business Directory
...to name a few.
I'm glad we have Elise.
Poo,
What's wrong with FT posting information received about H Street, street improvement projects, developments, etc.? Maybe FT thinks the announcement is crap too, but that shouldn't stop her from making the information available to a wider audience. I don't think she's endorsing the announcement by putting it up on her blog. Rather, she's just letting you know it's out there so you can draw your own conclusions and discuss it.
What about some sort of protest to call attention to the fact that DDOT isn't moving on an already-funded project? Could we get some media attention?
I'm not endorsing the announcement, but people constantly seem to be asking eAch other when this will get done, or that will get done regarding the streetscape stuff. I was intially going to wait to post it until after the other stuff was uploaded (but there is some delay with that apparently).
I think it's useful to look at communications like this bk the tone can help you figure out what a particular office may be thinking. Plus, you can generally tease out some interesting info. For instance, I didn't know that the District owned those vacant lots in the 1100 block of H. I was also dismayed to see the committment to work more closely with the H Street CDC, which is not my favorite organization.
Thanks for the post Inked. At the very least, posts like this one keep us apprised of how much coordinating, collaborating, team-building, partnering, planning, approving, determining, ironing-out, and working more closely with others is being done in the name of actually doing a lick of work on H St.
Big thanks to "Woody" too for giving us another example of our hard earned tax dollars at work with this ridiculous release. More Kool-Aid anyone?
"Select a Development Team to Build a Mixed Use / Mixed Income Project on the 1100 Block South Side.
In order to encourage reinvestments by private land owners, the District needs to address how it uses its own vacant or underutilized land. A Request for Proposals was issued for 1113-1117 H Street NE."
District owned and Mixed used/Mixed income referring to the same block troubles me.
Looks like a Pentacle II in the making to me.
You know Poo Poo, you can always set up your own blog and post information.
It doesn't help the fact that the Streetscape project has been delayed again & again, but it's worth noting that this release is from the office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development--not DDOT.
I've posted the most recent & up-to-date information from DDOT on my blog (hope the link is okay, Inked): anc6c05.blogspot.com
The information I posted came directly from the person who is now in charge of overseeing the project. I don't know how long it's been since the change, but she has not been in charge of it from the beginning.
The post also details some changes from the original understanding of how the work would proceed (once it does actually start).
Best,
Alan Kimber
ANC Commissioner, 6C05
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