Booze coming here.

I got pretty excited about the idea of a biodiesel plant and medical marijuana cultivation centers coming to the city's dwindling industrial areas. Much has also been made about the brewing now underway at Chocolate City Beer and D.C. Brau. Now, another use for an old industrial building: A District-based team is about to start work on a new gin and whiskey distillery at 1832 Fenwick Street NE, right behind the Crummell School and Love Nightclub.

Originally, John Uselton actually wanted to start a brewery as well. A beer buyer for Schneider's on Capitol Hill, he'd kicked around the idea for years—but then saw the other companies launch, and decided to go in a different direction with Michael Lowe, his retired father-in-law. They'd been getting into cocktails, and learned the ropes of gin and whiskey production through an internship in Washington state (it's apparently all the rage these days). Finally, they leased their warehouse—currently occupied by a wine distributor that's relocating within the District—and got their interior demolition permit last month.

There are a few more steps in the process. According to Uselton, although his distillery will be the first in the District in 100 years, liquor production has always been legal (other than, you know, the whole Prohibition thing). But he'd also like to host tastings and sell the product on-site, which will require a quick legislative fix, just like the beer breweries accomplished last year. They hope to have gin for sale by this summer, while aging whiskey for later.

Contra Matt Yglesias, I think this illustrates the benefit of protecting these kinds of industrial spaces through zoning. Business diversity is valuable, and so is buying locally, and understanding how things are made. Plus, many businesses in the retail core need distribution facilities. You might say that those benefits should be able to compete in the real estate market against other uses, like housing. But small startups would have a hard time beating out big housing developers, if both wanted the same piece of land. Sure, it would be lovely to have acres of warehouses we don't need anymore that could be converted into beautiful loft apartments. But we don't, and it looks like new industries are now coming forward up to fill them.

A full house at Bethesda Baptist Church. (Lydia DePillis)

It's been a rough ride for Ivy City, the neighborhood just north of Gallaudet University. It used to be known for open air drug markets, and the population decreased by a third in the 1990s, before investment started trickling in during the real estate boom. In the early 2000s, the Department of Housing and Economic Development started buying up land, and working with local nonprofit housing developers to turn blighted homes into attractive new residences.

Finally, the first phase has hit the market, with a total of 58 units to be completed over the next year and a half. The city and federal government–along with private donors–have piled the project high with subsidies. $70,000 zero-interest loans are available to all who qualify, bringing already reduced-price houses (starting at $95,000) within reach of the lowest income earners.

But that doesn't mean serious buyers are banging down the doors. Unlike affordable rentals, houses represent a huge commitment for people who've been hard hit by the recession, and seen friends and relatives lose their homes to foreclosure. The city might have to do some convincing to convince them that Ivy City is a safe bet.

That dynamic was on display at an information session at Bethesda Baptist Church on Saturday. It drew a couple hundred people, all of whom listened very attentively as Manna Inc., Habitat for Humanity, and Mi Casa described their parts of the project, and the array of financing options available.

“Don’t count yourself out,” says Parisa Narouzi of Empower DC, which has been helping to get the word out. “This is a very concentrated, focused development that has gotten some extra assistance.”

When it came to the question and answer session, though, audience members wondered: What happens if I qualify for a loan and then lose my job? Do unemployment benefits count as an income stream? How much will my interest and condo fees and taxes increase after I buy?

Ramon Jacobson, a senior program officer with the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, observes that while affordable housing opportunities do exist, those who would be eligible for them are perhaps the most anxious about laying out cash. "They read the business pages and it spills over into what they are doing," he says.

Manna President George Rothman, though, thought turnout could have been a lot worse, considering financial instability and the neighborhood's lingering reputation. “I’ve never seen this kind of interest before," he said. "I think  people feel better now.”

The presentation may have won over one person, at least. Tereguebode Goungou has been renting for 11 years, and thinks Ward 5 would be a great place to buy; her son goes to school in Brookland. It's just going to take a little longer, on her salary working at a non-profit language access program for new immigrants.

"I would love to be here, but I’m not ready," she said.

Manna's condos, about to begin construction.

(Matt Bevilacqua)

Two of the District’s busiest fire companies are back in their old home, and everyone in Trinidad and Ivy City should feel safer for it.

The D.C. Fire Department's Engine 10 and Truck 13 returned this month to the historic firehouse they share on Florida Avenue NE after a 2.5-year absence, during which the century-old building underwent renovations. The companies had separated in the interim, with Engine 10 temporarily housed on the western side of the Gallaudet University campus, and Truck 13 stationed a whole 12 blocks south on C Street SE.

Both still took calls from their original Northeast neighborhoods, but being that much farther away noticeably extended response times, said Truck 13 driver Mike Fulcher.

A department veteran for 19 years, Fulcher credited the move back to the old station – now outfitted with some novel perks – for bringing the companies back to their old efficiency. He couldn’t give a precise measurement, but he said he can easily tell how much faster his unit can handle emergencies since the return to Trinidad.

Nicknamed the “House of Pain” (insanely aggressive website here), the firehouse that sees more action than any other in the city had been falling behind the times. And before restoration, it failed to meet several of the District’s structural regulations.

For instance, an outdated drainage system in the garage made the floors uneven, so that firefighters had to anticipate slopes and dips as they walked to and from their vehicles. The old doors were barely wide enough for a fully outfitted engine to pass through. In a touch of irony, the building lacked what fire safety officials largely call the best defense against blazes: a sprinkler system.

Now, in addition to remedying these issues, the remodeled station boasts an updated watch system where firefighters can see their runs on the computer even before a dispatch comes through, said deputy fire chief Chris Jordan, who oversees DCFD renovations. A new ventilation system filters fumes from the trucks’ exhausts out of the building, whereas before they were just released into the garage. Contractors built a fence around the property, replaced rotting wood floors with concrete, and adjusted the windows to allow more light through.

Truck 13 backs in after a call. (Matt Bevilacqua)

Adhering to the city’s standards hasn’t made everything easier, however. A stairwell used to run from the second floor, where there are bunks for firefighters working night shifts, directly to the garage, or “apparatus room.” But since the personnel’s living quarters must stay separate from the apparatuses, the stairs have become more roundabout (though I did see four fire poles, which appealed to the 6-year-old inside me).

Also, mandatory lockers have made things more cramped in the garage. In past years, Fulcher said, firefighters would leave their suits on open hooks, since “nobody fucked with anybody’s shit.” But now they must secure their equipment in an island of lockers that takes up a lot of room between the two trucks–space where, Fulcher said, he and his colleagues could play wiffle ball and football in their downtime.

Not that the 56 firefighters at the station have much of it. Calls come in constantly–I saw at least three during my tour alone–and despite the all the clean, newfound niceties, the members of Engine 10/Truck 13 still bust their asses more than most.

Webb Elementary School, where the architecture is not exactly beckoning.

Oh well, I guess I missed this: Aside from the eleven schools that the District is already trying to redevelop, three new schools have been offered up for re-use. 

Those schools are Birney Elementary School in Anacostia next to Barry Farm, Rabaut Junior High School in Lamond-Riggs,  and Webb Elementary School in Ivy City.

They're are being offered almost exclusively to charter schools, who are competing with developers for choice locations downtown, on Capitol Hill, and in other places. 

Poor condo builders, they must be fuming at that missed opportunity in Ivy City. After all, there's a great view of cemetery across the street!  

According to the request for offers (RFO), Rabaut is currently occupied, the other two don't appear to be. The only eligible applicants for this RFO are charter schools and existing tenants. Site visits occurred last week. But applications are due in early July.

Fenty Announces New Housing Initiative to Revitalize Ivy City
Aims to Double Neighborhood’s Homeownership Rate

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Mayor Adrian M. Fenty on Tuesday announced a new initiative that will transform 37 long-vacant and blighted properties in Ivy City into market-rate and affordable housing and double the Northeast neighborhood’s homeownership rate.

“For far too long these vacant properties have been an endless source of problems for this community serving as places to deal drugs and dump trash,” said Mayor Fenty. “But that is going to change. We are making a highly concentrated investment here to transform this six-block area into a safer and healthier community where twice as many residents will own their own homes and have a real stake in the success of this community.”

After a competitive solicitation process, the District, through the Department of Housing and Community Development, awarded these properties to the following four developers: Mi Casa, Inc., Manna, Inc., DC Habitat for Humanity, and MissionFirst. They will build 58 units of housing, including single family, condominium, and limited-equity cooperatives on the vacant sites. Twenty-nine of those units are to be affordable to households at or below 50 percent of the Area Median Income. An additional 23 units are planned to be affordable to households between 50 percent of the Area Median Income and 80 percent of the Area Median Income. The remaining 6 units will be market rate.

The District is combining the value of the land – about $1 million – with about $3 million in funding predominantly from the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program to offset the cost of the $15 million project.

During phase one of project, Mi Casa, Inc. will rehabilitate three buildings located at 1302 Gallaudet, NE, 1304 Gallaudet, NE, and 1917 Capitol Avenue, NE creating eight housing units. During its second phase, Mi Casa, will complete an additional seven units located on Capitol Avenue, NE, Kendall Street, NE, and Corcoran Street, NE.

In subsequent phases, Manna, Inc. will build 20 units; MissionFirst will build 15 units; and DC Habitat for Humanity will build eight units.

With just more than 12 percent of its residents owning their own homes, Ivy City has one of the lowest rates of homeownership of any District neighborhood. Once this initiative is complete, the homeownership rate is expected to double.

Providence Street Northeast in Ivy City

Eight years ago, City Paper published a story about Ivy City, a long forgotten Northeast neighborhood bordered mostly by train tracks and Mt. Olivet Cemetery. The story's headline is "Ghost Town." Look at the above image, and tell me that wasn't appropriate.

The article described a block with seven of 17 houses abandoned—So much vacant real estate in fact, "that a prostitute known as Country is able to use one semioccupied house as her residence and another fully empty house as her place of business."

Another fittingly depressing line: "This is what it looks like when a neighborhood gets ready to die."

But that was 2000. Perhaps 2009 will be a year of rebirth for Ivy City. Check out what just landed in my mailbox:

"[Tomorrow], Mayor Fenty will announce details of a new initiative aimed at redeveloping 37 vacant properties in a six-block stretch of Ivy City into market-rate and affordable housing...

These long-vacant properties have blighted the Ivy City community for years, serving as a backdrop for disinvestment, drug dealing and illegal dumping. The District is using a combination of land subsidies and federal stabilization funds to partner with community-based housing developers and transform this section of the city into a safer, healthier neighborhood."

The meeting will take place at 3:45 p.m. at the Trinity Baptist Church (1814 Central Pl NE, Washington, DC)

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