Posts Tagged ‘Capitol Hill’
New Friendship Heights Whole Foods Opening in 2010
View Whole Foods Triangle in a larger map
…Or as an alternative albeit too lengthy headline, I could have written “New Whole Foods to Create Upper Northwest Whole Foods Triumvirate.”
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.
Read More “New Friendship Heights Whole Foods Opening in 2010″ »
Another Acker Place/Street Update!
A reader either noticed my column about a woman that lives on Acker Street/Place NE. Or he noticed a subsequent blog post about my nearly 15-day search—still not entirely conclusive—to determine the exact name of this one-block road.
Anyway, here’s his contribution to the debate:
By the way, I actually live on Acker Place/Street for 10 years and I have been wondering and doing research about the true name of the block as well.
A Missing Sense of “Place” on Acker
Behind every article, there are a few—sometimes many—fact-checking dramas you’ll never catch wind of in the final draft.
You think your story’s done. Then, you spend two hours selecting one word. Seriously.
Case in point: This week’s column provided a mystery so perplexing, and soooo unending, we ultimately employed four City Paper staff members and spoke to three DC Preservation Review Board employees to gather information.
The mystery?
Whether a certain road was named “Acker Place” or “Acker Street.”
Allow me to provide a roughly 15-day timeline:
Late July: I start working on this story, which is about a woman who is the victim of a mortgage foreclosure rescue scheme. She tells me she lives on Acker Place NE. I confirm this on Google Maps.
Later July: I look up the house on DC Citizen Atlas Real Property Search. Again, it’s on Acker Place NE.
Even later July: I print out a bunch of deeds, foreclosure notices and other public real estate documents. They curiously name the address as “Acker Street.”
National Leadership Campus Loses Hine Opportunity
Late yesterday afternoon, the city announced it had once again narrowed its list of developers competing to redevelop Hine Junior High School’s site near Eastern Market.
From four finalists, only one group got the axe: The National Leadership Campus, a non-profit concept, backed by billionaire Peter B. Lewis, chairman of the Progressive Corporation.
Read More “National Leadership Campus Loses Hine Opportunity” »
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.
Read More “ANC Refuses to Pick Favorite Hine School Development Proposal” »
Speak Out on Hine School Development Tomorrow
Tomorrow, the public is invited to comment on 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 the shiny, new Eastern Market on Capitol Hill.
It’s so important, in fact, that nine development teams originally competed for the land, 200 people showed up to see the finalists, and I’ve written about the Hine site, oh, 10 or so times in the last few months.
What Goes on at Capitol Hill’s International Graduate University?
“Democracy Hall of Fame International” part of the International Graduate University
Roughly a decade ago, the city sold off a bunch of school buildings. One became a gym. Others became condo buildings. Here’s one of the more mysterious cases.
An institution named the “International Graduate University” should have a grand entrance. Perhaps a wrought iron archway with a Latin inscription atop some granite steps where students sit and chat between classes.
Yet the front of this Capitol Hill school of higher learning has no such archway. It hosts no impromptu student gatherings, or much other activity to speak of. Instead of strolling through the International Graduate University’s doors on 13th Street SE, students walk around the corner, past some thick hedges, into a nondescript entry on D Street. There’s an American flag dangling overhead.
Nor is this path particularly well-trodden. Sightings of students—hell, of anyone—coming in and out of the International Graduate University are episodic. The blocklong building generally just sits there, in a gentrified section of Capitol Hill where neighbors know what other neighbors are up to. No amount of dog-walking and sidewalk gossiping, though, has unraveled the mystery of this institution, which has been there for a decade.
“Walking into it is almost a la-la land,” says neighbor Peter Theil, 64. “It’s kind of an odd place. I just don’t understand. None of us understand.” Read More “What Goes on at Capitol Hill’s International Graduate University?” »
How to Protect the Not-So-Special Historic Buildings
After a day of phone tag, I finally caught up with Tim Dennee, a staff reviewer for the Historic Preservation Review Board.
Yesterday, I wrote about Dennee’s decision to not recommend a set of H Street Rowhouses for a historic landmark designation.
His reasoning (in an extremely itty, bitty nutshell): They weren’t that special. For more, see the original post. And for even more, see Dennee’s recommendation.
Despite his decision, Dennee was impressed with the nomination from the Capitol Hill Restoration Society and Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6A, and all the effort behind it. He had some thoughts about how the building could be preserved, in the end. Read More “How to Protect the Not-So-Special Historic Buildings” »
Capitol Hill Restoration Society’s Annual Home Tour This Weekend
The Capitol Hill Restoration Society’s Annual House and Garden Tour takes place this weekend. The event begins with a “twilight tour of homes” from 4pm-8pm on Saturday, May 9 and continues from 11am-5pm on Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 10. Read More “Capitol Hill Restoration Society’s Annual Home Tour This Weekend” »
Off the Market: 116 5th St. NE
What sold in the District this week…
116 5th St. NE (Capitol Hill)
Four bedrooms; Four and a half bathrooms
Original Listing Price: $1,195,000
Original Listing Date: Sept. 15, 2008
Final Price:$1,100,000
Close Date: March 27, 2009
Analysis: In February, this house dropped from its original listing price, $1,195,000, down to $1,149,000. Read More “Off the Market: 116 5th St. NE” »
