Construction Coming to Fillmore School, Domino’s Pizza Sites
• February 26, 2015

Keep an eye out for construction crews at 3255-59 Prospect St. NW, a Domino’s Pizza location, and 1801 35th St. NW, formerly the Corcoran’s Georgetown campus in the historic Fillmore School building. According to the agenda for the March 2 meeting of the Georgetown-Burleith Advisory Neighborhood Commission, the Domino’s site will undergo new construction for a future mixed use.

At the old Fillmore School property (although purchase offers to TTR Sotheby’s International Realty still have a deadline of March 31 and are not final), there will be alterations to the school and new townhouse construction. Both projects are in the concept stage and will also be presented to the Old Georgetown Board.

The Fillmore School property was up for sale five years ago and looked ready to go to condo developer EastBanc, which re-did the Georgetown Post Office, among other buildings. The Fillmore parking lot – it is large and extends to 34th Street– will likely follow the example of the Phillips School on the east side and the Wormley School on the west side: townhouses will likely occupy those spaces. Stay tuned.

Panel Created to Celebrate Rock Creek Park’s 125th
• February 19, 2015

“Find Yourself in Rock Creek Park” is the new theme of Washington’s urban park, founded in September 1890. To help celebrate Rock Creek Park’s 125th birthday, a green-ribbon, 22-member panel of advisors has been formed, coordinated by Rock Creek Conservancy. On the panel are representatives of environmental organizations, such as Audubon Naturalist Society, Casey Trees and the Dumbarton Oaks Parks Conservancy; Tommy Wells of the D.C. Department of the Environment; and local politicians Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) and Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett.

Rock Creek Park is one of the largest urban forested areas in the world, twice the size of New York’s Central Park and the third oldest national park. Rock Creek itself runs 33 miles from Laytonville, Md., to Georgetown, D.C., and the Potomac River. Information on upcoming events will be available at RockCreekPark125.org, soon to go live. There is a mobile app, too.

Dorm Rooms Coming to Georgetown University Hotel
• February 11, 2015

Georgetown University will begin converting the second and third floors of the Georgetown University Hotel and Conference Center, 3800 Reservoir Rd. NW, into student dorms in May. Almost half the rooms in the hotel will be converted. The renovation will provide housing for 140 students.

At the same time, the reconstruction of the former Jesuit Residence on the university’s historic Quadrangle will accommodate 148 students.

Student Kristen Sullivan told the student newspaper, the Hoya, that the rooms, although useful for providing space, may create a fractured campus. “Not only would the hotel be an isolated living space, but more people would filter through the hotel area and the food court, and I’m not entirely sure how that would impact the hospital crowd,” she said.

According to Vice President for Planning and Facilities Management Robin Morey, the renovation will have minimal impact on the layout and architecture of the hotel. For student safety, they want to minimize the amount of interaction between the hotel guests and their students, he told the Hoya.

Under Armour Reconditioning Old Nathans Space
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At the Feb. 2 Advisory Neighborhood Commission meeting, Anthony Barnes of Barnes Vance Architects showed plans for a rebirth of the building at the intersection of Wisconsin Avenue and M Street – 3150 M St. NW and 1083 Wisconsin Ave. NW – most famous for housing Nathans Restaurant.

The building dates to 1860. Plans call for it to be renovated to its 1920s heyday with its box windows, Juliet balconies, re-done corner entry and other historic details. “This was when the building was at its most handsome,” Barnes said.

The Heon family owned the place, where family members lived and worked, for 100 years. It was sold to Under Armour founder and CEO Kevin Plank a year ago for just over $12 million.

The design, which includes center stairs for three levels of retail and a top-floor condo with a roof deck, won approval from the commission. As for Under Armour definitely occupying the space, Barnes said it had not yet been decided.

The Georgetown to Embark on Major Renovation
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The Georgetown, a 92-unit assisted-living facility at 2512 Q St. NW, will undergo a multi-million-dollar building renovation, expected to begin in May and take about a year to complete.

According to the facility’s owners, Twenty-Five Twelve Q Street Associates, LP, to protect the safety of its residents and to expedite the renovation, The Georgetown will temporarily close and will assist residents and their families in relocation.

Originally an apartment building built in the 1920s, The Georgetown opened as a retirement home in 1978. It was one of the city’s first facilities to address the growing needs of its elderly population, offering both housing and an array of social services.

The renovation will completely transform the interior of the building. Improvements to the common areas include enlarged first-floor amenity spaces, a new fitness center, theater and salon and all new furnishings and fixtures. In addition, individual apartments will be renovated to include enlarged bathrooms with showers instead of tubs, new kitchenettes and new flooring, lighting and electrical upgrades. Major building systems will also be overhauled, with new heating and ventilation systems and replacement of the boiler and chiller, as well as an elevator modernization.

The Georgetown’s owners have engaged Hord Coplan Macht, a Baltimore-based architectural firm that specializes in housing for seniors.

Crime Report
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There was a spate of vehicle break-ins on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 1, in Georgetown, according to the Second District of the Metropolitan Police Department. Most notably, there were at least 15 smash-and-grabs on the east side of Georgetown. Lt. John Knutsen of MPD presented the crime report at the Feb. 2 ANC meeting (the officer said that even his car had been broken into recently). Commissioner Ed Solomon said of the thieves: “They are there, constantly roaming.”

? 3600 block, S Street NW: sexual assault, Jan. 21.
? 3000 block, Dent Place NW: theft, Jan. 20.
? 2900 block, Dumbarton Street NW: theft from vehicle, Jan. 26.
? 3000 block, M Street NW: theft, Jan. 22, Jan. 27.
? 3100 block, M Street NW: theft, Jan. 21.
? 3200 block, M Street NW: theft, Jan. 22, Jan. ? 23, Jan. 24, Jan. 25, Jan. 26, Jan. 27.
? 2900 block, N Street NW: theft, Jan. 21.
? 3100 block, N Street NW: theft, Jan. 26.
? 3600 block, O Street: theft, Jan. 21, Jan. 23.
? 3207 O St. NW (sidewalk): assault with dangerous weapon, 10:30 p.m., Jan. 22. Suspect arrested; complainant refused medical treatment.
? 1738 to 1899 block of Wisconsin Avenue NW (grocery, supermarket): shoplifting, 9 a.m., Jan. 23.
? 1000 to 1003 block of Thomas Jefferson Street NW (customer area): theft 2nd degree, overnight, Jan. 23.
? 3200 to 3277 block of M Street NW (customer area): theft 2nd degree, 7:29 p.m., Jan. 23.
Potomac and Prospect Streets NW: robbery, Jan. 24.

Taxicab Commissioner Steps Down
• January 29, 2015

D.C. Taxicab Commissioner Ron Linton resigned from his post after three years of work on updating outdated regulations. Under his post, taxis were mandated to install credit card readers and, in March, the city will test its own app for hailing cabs. Mayor Muriel Bowser has appointed former administrator for the D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs Eric Rogers to fill the position.

Ellington School Construction Over Budget
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The $139-million Duke Ellington School for the Arts Modernization Project is running over budget, according to the Department of General Services, and may also miss its deadline: the start of the historic high school’s 2016-17 academic year.

Ellington students have moved to Eugene Meyer Elementary School on 11th Street NW.

The construction will expand the 1898 school building at 3500 R St. NW – originally known as Western High School – to 294,900 square feet. The plans include a new atrium, an 850-seat theater and a classroom and limited-use space on the roof.

The school’s main portico will be preserved. Plans for exterior changes to the school still face scrutiny by the Historic Preservation Review Board.

The formal groundbreaking for the modernization project, by then mayor Vincent Gray, D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson, other local politicians and school officials, took place Dec. 19. [gallery ids="101967,135687" nav="thumbs"]

May Start for 2-Year, $21-Million Key Bridge Rehab
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A two-year rehabilitation of Key Bridge is set to begin in May, the D.C. Department of Transportation announced. Corrosive deterioration of the underside of the concrete deck has prompted this round of repairs to the oldest existing bridge across the Potomac River.

Most of the work will occur under the bridge. Other improvements include: new streetlights, strengthened guardrails and painting. According to DDOT, drivers should expect non-rush hour, single-lane closures and pedestrians should expect temporary sidewalk closings. The federal government will pay 90 percent of the cost.

The arched structure is termed “structurally deficient” and has been the backdrop for two speeches by President Barack Obama on the nation’s deteriorating infrastructure. It is named for Georgetowner Francis Scott Key, who wrote “The Star-Spangled Banner” and whose home, now demolished, was on M Street.

Tudor Place’s Buhler to Retire
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Leslie Buhler has announced she will retire at the end of June after 15 years as executive director of Tudor Place.

Since 2000, Buhler has overseen an expansion and updating of the museum’s educational programs, bringing more visitors to Tudor Place from around the District and the suburbs. While mindful of the need for historic preservation, she has directed archaeological investigation on the property and made the house and lawn available for selected events. She also coordinated a master plan.

“I’ve experienced great professional and personal satisfaction in advancing one of the greatest house museums in the nation’s capital, bringing attention to the extraordinary collection and archive it holds, and engaging the public with wonderful historic and cultural resources unique to Tudor Place,” Buhler said.

A national historic landmark on five-and-a-half acres, on Q Street between 31st and 32nd Streets, Tudor Place was completed in 1816 by Thomas Peter and his wife Martha Custis Peter, a granddaughter of Martha Washington. It is noted for its architecture, garden and historic collections, including more than 200 items owned by Martha and George Washington. The estate had only been open to the public for 12 years when Buhler became executive editor.