Fresh organic fruit from Whole Foods–you know you want it.

(1) New Friendship Heights Whole Foods Opening in 2010

(2) Inaugural Edition: ASK HOUSING COMPLEX!

(3) Punches Thrown When “Metropolitan Money Store” Heads Appear in Court!

(4) Towering Accomplishment: Developers Battle Comcast, Actually Win

(5) Meet Real World DC Cast Member Ashley

(6) Streetcars Coming to Alexandria Too?

(7) Check Out the New 15th Street Bike Lane

(8) David Franco on the $5.7 Million Question…

(9) Meet Real World DC Cast Member Mike

Image by ParisLemon Creative Commons Attribution License 2.0

Dunbar Senior High School in Shaw has always been one of the best examples of the worst in D.C. public school architecture.

Built in 1977, it has that geometric, jailhouse-type look, much like the recently destroyed Bruce Monroe Elementary on Georgia Ave. This morning, the D.C. Office of Public Education Facilities Modernization (OPEFM) announced a meeting for the first phase of a competition for Dunbar’s new design.

Earlier this year,  OPEFM finished off a similar competition for Wilson Senior High School. It drew 21 proposals for the first round; that group was narrowed down to a “short list” of six firms. Each firm was given $25,000 to prepare preliminary design concepts. Ultimately, Cox Graae + Spack Architects (GCS) of Washington won.

“That’s exactly the plan [again],” says Tony Robinson, spokesperson for OPEFM.

Before it was known for its hideousness, Dunbar–its former, earlier building–was known for its grandeur. (It looks a lot like Eastern Senior High School on Capitol Hill, according to Robinson.) Dunbar is also known for being the first “municipally financed” high school in the U.S. constructed for African-American students. Hopefully, the new design will stir up some of the old nostalgia and pride, says Robinson.

“We heard from so many alumni about what the building used to mean to the students,” he says. “We don’t we want to recreate the building brick by brick,” but firms should strive for the same sensation.

Mayor Adrian Fenty by 15th Street’s contra-flow bike lane yesterday—no police escort in sight!

Yesterday, I did a little reporting on D.C.’s brand new, contra-flow bike lane, which is protected by a lane for parked cars (look closely above.) It’s a pilot project on 15th Street NW, and the District Department of Transportation plans to carefully study how riders are responding.

“We want to see how it works. We know it’s not perfect. There are things we can probably tweak,” says John Lisle, spokesperson for DDOT.

Back before the lane was installed, DDOT gathered information about how many bikers were using 15th Street, how many were going with the flow of traffic or against it, and other observations about bikers’ behavior. Now, the Department is planning on sending out employees again to do the same counts and pull bikers aside to gather feedback.

One problem has already been recognized: Although the contra-flow lane is meant for southbound bikers going against the northbound flow of traffic, “it’s obvious people will use this lane in both directions,” says Lisle.

Go ahead and break the rules, says Lisle. Just watch where you’re going and don’t pedal into anyone.

For the next project, “we’re talking about a protective lane on both sides [of the road],” says Lisle.

The first lane on 15th Street, which took about two weeks to construct (but was in the planning phase for roughly a year), cost $100,000. DDOT is hoping to “roll out” several more protected lanes by Spring 2010, according to department transportation planner Jim Sebastian.

Photo from DDOT Facebook page.

In the last year or so, Logan Circle’s 14th Street corridor has continued its gentrification thanks to hot chocolates named after Bette Davis and Doris Day (ACKC Cocoa Bar); $24 charcuterie plates (Cork Wine Bar); and some Hijiki seaweed-jicama salad and other latin/asian fusion dishes (Masa 14).

Recession be damned, the new restaurants kept coming! Condo buildings, not so much.

In the last few years, as financial chaos ensued, land deals and development in this area slowed. Case in point: The Axiom, a 32-unit condo building with two ground level retail spaces, to be located at the southwest corner of 14th and R Streets NW.

Back in 2006 and 2007, the project was ushered before various city review panels. On its website, DC-based Dan Scott Development advertised that preview sales would start during the Spring of 2007, proclaiming “You Can Have It All…Comfortable Living. Modern Style. Choice Location. Great Value.”

…But when can you have it all? Unfortunately for interested buyers, the development never took off. To this day, the lot remains just that–an empty space, next to a bright green and pink-painted building that houses an auto repair shop, a new coffeehouse, and Miss Pixie’s Furnishings and Whatnot, a showroom stocked with retro, used sofas and tables.

In early 2008, listing agents Ari Firoozabadi and Ali Javad made the land available through a competitive bidding process. By that April, the owners entered into a sales contract with developer Habte Sequar, of Sequar Development, who built condo project Renaissance@Logan nearby on 11th Street. And then, well, nothing else happened for a very, long time—until November 5, 2009 to be specific. On that day, Sequar finally closed on the deal, purchasing the lot for $3.8 million, well above the District’s $1.9 million 2009 assessed land value.

So is the Axiom dead? Not in the slightest. In a separate deal, Sequar negotiated for the rights to plans for the building, designed by D.C.-based firm Bonstra Haresign. Sequar says he plans to break ground in early 2010, either January or February and construction will take 12 to 15 months. The units will range from $350,000 to $1.2 million, he says.

He’s made some slight tweaks to the interior floor plans of the building, but the original design remains mostly intact. Some things have changed since the condo boom though. Sequar’s not clamoring to prove to potential buyers that “You Can Have It All” just yet.

“Back in the day, people were happy to buy from plans. I don’t think people think that way these days. The construction is not going to hinge on pre-sales,” says Sequar.

Image by Bonstra Haresign

Check that out above: Whole Foods is adding its third location on Wisconsin Avenue, and its third in the same little Bethesda/upper Northwest area.  The central one, located in Friendship Heights,  has not opened yet, though it has been in the works for a long, long time. DCmud is now reporting that we can expect a ribbon-cutting during the first half of 2010, according to a company spokesperson.

What, no love for Capitol Hill, Foggy Bottom, U Street/Columbia Heights, Penn Quarter? It seems strange that there’s only one location—P Street—east of Subarubia’s main corridor!

The lane has been installed on 15th Street between U St. and Massachusetts Ave. in Northwest. The southward bike lane is separated from traffic by an 8-foot parking lane.

The District Department of Transportation’s Gabe Klein, Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans attended an official ribbon-cutting for the lane this morning.

Greater, Greater Washington recently posted a review of the bike lane, suggesting seven future improvements for it and other similar projects going forward. (They say, for example, “striping the line bright green, as has been done in the Pacific Northwest, New York, and other locations, will make the lane that much more visible to turning drivers.”)

Graphic from the District Department of Transportation

Coming to a D.C. street near you: Washington’s streetcars are on their way from the Czech Republic.

Everyone’s jumping on the bandwagon now. D.C.’s getting streetcar lines, as are Arlington and Fairfax, and now a group of Alexandria residents is hoping the idea will catch on there too.

Last night, an Alexandrian group promoting smart growth launched a new initiative called the Northern Virginia Streetcar Coalition. They envision the Arlington streetcar extending into Alexandria and would like the city to order a feasibility study.

“There are three possibilities for extending the streetcar line into Alexandria: just into Potomac Yard, both at Potomac Yard and into NOVA and Mark Center, or all of the above connecting east and west with an extension down Duke Street along the designated rapid transit lane. This last alternative would create a loop facilitating the operation of the streetcar line as the cars would not have to turn around,” the group writes on their website.

This particular coalition is part of a larger umbrella organization called ADAM: Alexandrians Delivering smart growth Around Metro stations, which has been around for a couple of years. According to the Washington Business Journal, the streetcar group formed in August. ”[Northern Virginia Community College] is a sponsor of the group and obviously wants to be a stop along a future line. Other sponsors include The JBG Companies and architectural and engineering firm HDR Inc,” the Business Journal writes.

Photo from District Department of Transportation Facebook page.

For last week’s column, I wrote about the first-time homebuyer credit and provided some tips for people interested in taking advantage of the “free money,” as we wrote on our cover.

Well now, the Wall Street Journal-–bunch of copy cats!—has a similar story on their website. I think we covered most of the same bases: the new income limitations; deadlines to be mindful of; communicating with your lender.

But the WSJ has some fresh material. Anyway, here are their added tips:

• Be mindful of interest rates

Interest rates are low right now, but will likely rise next year, Ms. Warren says. Higher rates will affect your monthly mortgage payments, thus the affordability of the house you are buying.

“It’s pretty universally accepted that rates will be higher next year,” she says. “What is unknown is how fast and by how much.”

Average rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages have been hovering around 5%. But when the Federal Reserve stops buying large amounts of mortgage-backed securities next year, interest rates could rise, Ms. Warren points out. The Fed plans to end its purchase program in March.

• Don’t count on another extension*

*Yeah, no extra detail necessary for this one. Members of Congress have already pronounced this extension as the last.

Image by Keeping it real, Flickr Creative Commons Attribution License

Well, the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) Director Gabe Klein will take questions from an online audience during a live chat this Friday, November 20, 2009, at 12:30 pm, the department announced today.

You can find the  discussion at ddot.dc.gov/livechat.  You can also submit questions in advance to ddotpublicaffairs@dc.gov.