ANC Refuses to Pick Favorite Hine School Development Proposal
Last night, Capitol Hillers testified before ANC 6B about the various development proposals—promoting hotels, retail, housing, and subsidized non-profit office space—for the Hine Junior High School site, an important parcel between Pennsylvania Avenue and Eastern Market on Capitol Hill.
The ANC had planned to pick out a favorite and pass their choice onto the city. That didn’t happen though.
Two clear front-runners emerged, according to Ken Jarboe, ANC vice chair. Those testifying seemed divided into three groups:
“One third was in favor of Stanton, the other in StreetSense, and the other didn’t specify a preference but had specific concerns and criteria,” says Jarboe.
Ultimately, the ANC decided to just write up a list of twelve criteria—regarding building heights, the size of proposed hotels, etc.—that would be submitted to the city.
(I’ll post that when I receive it.)
“From my point of view, I can’t support any of the proposals at this point. There are a number of good things…I think all the proposals are going to have to juggle to stay within what we want,” says Jarboe.
The city will be inviting some of the developers to submit revised plans, according to ANC chair Dave Garrison, though he didn’t think they’d be presented to the public for comment.
Here’s more information on all the plans:
Plan 2:The Plan Without a Plan:National Leadership Campus/Western Development Group
Plan 3:The Fancy Stuff Plan: StreetSense/DSF/Menkiti Group
Plan 4: The All-Knowing Plan: Stanton Development Corporation/Eastbanc Inc./Autopark Inc./The Jarvis Companies/Dantes Partners
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2:25 pm
Wow. That’s quite an upset!
I thought the “All-Knowing” Plan, Stanton, “was all about reminding Capitol Hillers that the developers already knew them. Architect Amy Weinstein showed off all her past buildings and projects in the area…” I guess to be known by them is not necessarily to love them.
If Stanton was not able to earn an endorsement from their local ANC, maybe the fix is not in for Stanton. To me, that’s a big win for the visiting team from Street Sense. The message: Time for new blood and new ideas on Capitol Hill.
Ten people spoke in favor of Stanton, 7 of them tenants or partners or would-be tenants of the developer.
Ten people spoke in favor of Street Sense, 0 of them with any connection to Street Sense.
The Street Sense supporters were civilian residents in the neighborhood who each did a lot of homework, met with all the developers, and then presented strong reasons to support Street Sense.
The most humorous testimony came right off the bat, from Gary Peterson, head of the Capitol Hill Restoration Society zoning committee, who arrogated to his organization pride of place by going first in a room jammed with 60 people waiting to speak.
Peterson of the CHRS endeared himself to residents, such as those from the Eyes on Hine residents’ group, who had been promised by Councilmember Wells that he would personally see to it that criteria they wrote as the “most affected residents” (across 8th Street from Hine) would be included in the RFP the city sent out.
Wells welched on that promise, because, as Peterson pointed out last night, criteria written by CHRS were stapled to the city’s RFP, and I guess if CHRS has written criteria and ordered the city to staple it to an RFP, no other group’s criteria may be attached to that same RFP.
Peterson read some of the Greatest Hits from CHRS’s 11 criteria, but left out the most important part, which reads: “CHRS supports the closing and then demolition of Hine School and development of the site in coordination with the Town Center development of the Eastern Market Metro Plaza…[m]aking Eastern Market Metro the town square…” He left it out because even CHRS finally understands that among Hill residents, there is almost nothing less popular than the “Town Square scheme” (the neighbors think re-routing Pennsylvania Avenue SE is stoooopid). One group that knows that for sure: Stanton, whose principal is on the Town Square Task Force and whose designer, Amy Weinstein, is also designer for the Town Square scheme.
Peterson understood that reading the Harumph! Preamble to the Criteria, Harumph! would further cinch the rope that ties the albatross of Town Square to Stanton’s proposal for Hine.
Instead of the Preamble, Peterson read a CHRS endorsement of Stanton, then left. Maybe in the past that would have been enough to get the ANC to endorse Stanton. Tonight, it was not, as the ANC declined to endorse any of the proposals.
Tonight, July 1, anyone interested in an early fireworks display should definitely come to St. Peter’s Church, 2nd and C Street SE, at 7 pm, where for a sixth (and it is to be hoped, final) time, the Town Square Task Force will once again try to convince an angry group of residents to support re-routing Pennsylvania Avenue SE.
Dick Wolf, No-Longer President of CHRS, has already helped win over the hearts and minds of residents by stating, regarding opposition to Town Square Scheme plans that re-route Pennsylvania Avenue, “Some residents like this area the way it is, but the issue is larger than them.”
So c’mon out tonight, all you tiny little residents. The Town Square Task Force will explain that what you think is wrong.
1:29 pm
you did a nice job in coming up with short hand descriptions for each proposal…
7:09 pm
I want to correct one thing I wrote. In making fun of CHRS’s zoning committee Chairman Gary Peterson, I mentioned that he left some of our friends in the excellent residents’ group Eyes on Hine feeling disgruntled.
Peterson boasted about the influential importance of CHRS by saying the city appended CHRS “criteria” to the RFP for Hine. Eyes on Hine residents had tried to do the same, as “the most affected” residents, and Councilmember Wells personally interceded on their behalf in seeking to have an Eyes on Hine appendix to the RFP as well.
Alas, no such Eyes on Hine appendix was included, but just to be clear, it was not Wells who left the Eyes on Hine criteria off the RFP, but rather the Deputy Mayor for Economic Development who decided not to include it. Their loss. The Eyes on Hine criteria were better-researched, more thoughtful and insightful than the silly CHRS criteria, anyway.
12:07 pm
As long as they don’t select that crapper of an idea. Plan 2:The Plan Without a Plan:National Leadership Campus/Western Development Group