Learn about a Famous Georgetowner: E.D.E.N. Southworth
• July 17, 2013

“Mrs. E.D.E.N. Southworth: Teacher with a Golden Pen” will be presented by Rose A. Neal at the Peabody Room of the Georgetown Public Library on 7 p.m., Thursday, July 25. Neal, a Swansea University doctoral candidate, will discuss the life of this author and Georgetown resident who was the most popular female writer in the 19th century. Her home, “Prospect Cottage,” was located on the southwest corner of Prospect & 36th Streets. The library is at 3230 R St., NW, and the event is free.

MacArthur Boulevard Safeway Expansion Plans Prompt Citizens’ Task Force
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There are plans to redevelop the land around as well as the Safeway on MacArthurBoulevard. It is a big project and has residents in the Palisades neighborhood concerned about its impact.

The following report is an excerpt from the latest Palisades Citizens Association newsletter and outlines the proposed changes:

Outgoing Palisades Citizens Association President Bill Slover announced that, following last month’s contentious meeting at which Safeway and its proposed development partner, Duball LLC, announced plans for a five-story combined retail outlet and condominium on the site of the current grocery store, the PCA would establish a task force to review the proposal and formulate a neighbor- hood response.

More than 140 members of the Palisades community attended the PCA’s May general membership meeting, where developer Marc Dubick of Duball LLC and representatives of Safeway outlined their plans for more than tripling the size of the current Safeway store, in the process digging out two levels of underground parking and building about 100 condominiums over the new store. Dubick explained that the resulting structure would occupy almost all of the current Safeway and parking lot and would be five stories or approximately 65 feet tall.

Dubick and Safeway representatives added the following details:

•The redeveloped Safeway store will be below grade, but shoppers won’t really notice because the property is on a slight hill. Shoppers will not need to go down an escalator or stairs.
•Four single family homes will be built on 48th Place (literally on top of the store) to hide the view of Safeway for people living on V St.
•The development will not include the CVS parking lot.
•There will be four stories of housing units (around 100) built on top of the store for a total of five stories. No other retail or other functions for the development are contemplated.
•Dubick pointed out that they seek a “European” or “Dutch” look to the development. • All vehicular traffic will use a single entrance on U St. That is where the entrance to the parking garage will be, as well as the loading dock for Safeway’s deliveries.
•There will be two levels of parking. The first level will be for Safeway shoppers and will have approx. 150 spaces. (There are currently less than 90 in the surface parking lot.) The second level will be resident parking.
•The building will be LEED certified; Safeway will compost its biodegradable refuse.
The project will take approximately 18 months to build. This will include 12 months of outside disruptions followed by six months of interior work.

Safeway and the developer seek to get D.C. approval for this massive structure through a provision of the D.C. Zoning Code for “Planned Unit Developments.”

If they built the project “matter of right” based on actual zoning rules, there would be no required discussion with the community, and they would be limited to the actual zoning for the real estate the store and parking lot sit on. A PUD basically means that the benefits are so compelling that the D.C. government is prepared to waive regular zoning limitations. This gives a developer an incredible amount of flexibility, in exchange for a significant public benefit. This is how hospitals, for example, are some- times zoned. Securing a PUD zoning decision will take a “minimum of eight months,” according to D.C.’s Office of Planning. A PUD allows for “high quality developments that provide public benefits” for the immediate neighborhood, our ward or the District. These benefits and amenities must be developed following “comprehensive public review.”

Obama Speaks on Climate Change at Georgetown
• July 4, 2013

President Barack Obama outlined his administration’s comprehensive action plan to deal with climate change in a landmark speech at Georgetown University June 25. Obama addressed a small crowd and media from the steps of the Old North Building where George Washington and other presidents as recently as Bill Clinton have spoken.

Obama thanked supporters, government leaders and “the Hoyas in the house” and launched into a vigorous defense of his view on global warming — outside in the humid heat of a Washington, D.C., summer afternoon. He outlined specifics on the Keystone pipeline question and sought to curb carbon pollution from power plants.

ANC Seeks More Time to Review Halcyon House Proposals
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The Georgetown-Burleith Advisory Neighborhood Commission met July 1 with a more-than-full agenda, especially for Old Georgetown Board project reviews.

Owners of Halcyon House at 3400 Prospect St., NW, sought ANC approval on a zoning exception for the building to be used by the S&R Foundation. (Sachiko Kuno and Ryuji Ueno also own Evermay on 28th Street, NW, and are founders of the S&R Foundation.) Foundation attorney Alice Haase listed the programs and along with time constraints and limited attendance, especially those associated with the International Institute of Global Resilience, a think tank dedicated to improving the readiness of the emergency management community, and Illuminate which will present “enlightening lectures and discussions on a variety of topics that celebrate the ingenuity of the human spirit …” ANC chair Ron Lewis said he had “serious concerns about the intensity of use” of Halcyon House — considering it is on a residential street and in a high-traffic area — and wanted more time to review details of S&R’s proposals. Halcyon Georgetown LLC along with the S&R Foundation is scheduled to meet with the Board of Zoning Sept. 10.

Georgetown University Promises New Dorm By Fall 2015
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Georgetown University representatives presented concept plans to the ANC July 1, describing a new 251-bed dormitory to be ready for occupancy by August 2015. The Northeast Triangle Residence Hall will be tucked between Reiss Science Building, Henle Village and the western walls of Visitation Prep. Along a main campus walkway, the seven-floor triangular building will be near the Leavey Center.

Fillmore School Funds Restored
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The Fillmore Center for the Arts has had its full funding restored, saving jobs from being cut and preserving the chance for District students to deeply engage in the arts for another year. D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson announced the restoration of funding last week given the “recent, positive changes [to the] budget outlook for Fiscal Year 2014.” Parents were alarmed at the possibility of budget cuts, and there was even an online petition started from the Friends of Fillmore to urge Henderson to change her mind about funding.

Robbery on C&O Canal, Assault on Wisconsin Ave.
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Around 5:15 p.m., June 26, a woman near Thomas Jefferson Street and C&O Canal had her cell phone taken from her. According to a report from the Metropolitan Police Department: “She was approached by three male subjects. One male proceeded to snatch the iPhone. All subjects then fled on foot, last seen heading east along the towpath. The suspect that obtained the phone is described as a black male, 16 to 18 years old, wearing a bright blue T-shirt with blue jeans.”

Both the MPD and U.S. Park Police responded after a 911 call. Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to call the Park Police Investigative Section, 202-610-7505, or the Metropolitan Police Department, 202-727-9099.

Also, MPD reports an assault by four suspects, June 30, around 3 a.m., 1200 block of Wisconsin Avenue. “During the assault property was removed from his pocket. The lookout was only described as four black males.” If anyone has information, call 202-727-9099.

Woman Raped Near Waterfront Park, June 18
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The Park Police arrested an adult male for an alleged sex abuse, reported on June 18 at 9 p.m. in the 1000 block of Wisconsin Ave., NW, according to the Metropolitan Police Department’s Second District listserv, and first reported by Georgetown Patch.
“The reported offense occurred in an area under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service. United States Park Police arrested an adult male regarding this reported offense. … Due to the sensitive nature of this offense, no information will be divulged regarding the identity, age or any relationship between the arrested suspect and the victim,” according to MPD.

Volta Park to Get $450,000 Rehab
• June 25, 2013

The District government is paying $400,000 for the cost of the upgrades for Volta Park on 34th Street, while the community fundraiser will take care of the remaining $50,000. Throughout the construction process, the tot lot will be closed and later rebuilt.

Mayor Vincent Gray, D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation Director Jesús Aguirre and Department of General Services Director Brian Hanlon announced in October that the District government would be undertaking the largest playground renovation project in its history. “Improving every resident’s quality of life is one of the main goals of my One City Action Plan, and every child in the District should have a safe and inviting place to play,” said Mayor Gray. “Renovating these playgrounds is an investment in the well-being of our children that will pay dividends for years to come.”

As part of his Playground Improvement Project, Gray tasked the parks department with identifying the playgrounds across the city most in need of renovations. Initially, this project was to be a multi-year endeavor as the District worked to improve all of the playgrounds in the city’s inventory. However, Gray pushed this initiative to the front of the line and worked with his budget team to identify additional end-of-year capital funds to both add additional playgrounds to the project and accelerate the pace of renovations. As a result, a total of 32 playgrounds will now be renovated in Fiscal Year 2013.

Ground Gives Way at Work Site, Overturns Trailer
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A construction trailer at 1045 Wisconsin Ave., NW, next to the C&O Canal was found overturned June 7, when the ground beneath it gave way. A residential condominium by EastBanc, Inc., is planned for the site.

Workers from McCullough Construction said they did not know exactly when the trailer fall from street level down toward the canal but added that no one had been in the trailer and no one was hurt. The trailer, along with concrete sections from the sidewalk and fence railing, was pulled from the collapse zone toward the more level parking lot, next to the construction site.

Whether the rain storm contributed to the earthen collapse is unclear. McCullough Construction Co., also built out the Ritz-Carlton Residences, a half block away on South Street. The Ritz-Carlton condos were a EastBanc and Millennium Partners project.