New French Bistro in Mount Vernon Triangle Gets Liquor License Endorsement

At its regularly scheduled meeting February 3, Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 6E/Shaw endorsed the request for a liquor license by restauranteur Hakan Ilhan, who plans to open a French Bistro named "L'Hommage" at 450 K Street NW, across the street from the mixed-use City Vista building.

450 K Street in June 2014 (Google Street View)

Attorney Stephen J. O'Brien of the law firm Mallios & O'Brien introduced Ilhan as a person well known to the ANC and the community. Ilhan is the owner of the nearby Alba Osteria (425 I Street NW). ANC6E Chair Marge Maceda (Commissioner for district 05) suggested at the meeting that there might be a third restaurant from Illhan in the area soon.

L'Hommage will be in Maceda's ANC district.

The liquor license request had been examined by ANC6E's liquor-licensing affairs committee before the meeting. The parties had negotiated a settlement agreement, which was signed at the meeting and will become part of L'Hommage's liquor license. At the meeting, liquor-licensing committee chair Alexander Padro (Commissioner for district 01) said the applicants had agreed as part of the settlement agreement to close the 80-seat outdoor patio at midnight and also to limit the number of evenings in a year with live entertainment. This, Padro said, is to make it more difficult for L'Hommage to convert or evolve into a nightclub, as sometimes happens with restaurant-category liquor licensees in the downtown business district.

See an September 2014 from the Washington Business Journal about L'Hommage here.

Of the seven Commissioners, four voted in favor of the liquor license. There was one abstention and two Commissioners were absent.

ANC6E videos its meetings in their entirety and posts them on its YouTube channel. The discussion of the liquor license for L'Hommage can be seen by following this link to the first part of the February 3 meeting, starting at time 24:30.

New "Hyatt Place" Hotel on K Street: "Plain Vanilla" liquor license

1522 K Street, between Archibald's Gentlemen's Club and Fast Eddie's Sports & Billiards on one side and by the St. Regis Washington Hotel on the other, is presently a gutted shell, but some day the former office building will be a Hyatt Place Hotel. So Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont Circle heard about plans to get a liquor license for the day when the space is habitable.

Not yet fit for habitation

"What we have here is a plain vanilla Class C license," said Michael Fonseca, attorney for future operators of the Hyatt Place. See an explanation of liquor license categories here.

Fonseca told the ANC the hotel would have 164 rooms. Like all hotels, it will be open 24 hours a day, but it would only be authorized to see alcohol between 8am and midnight. There will be five bar stools and 30 seats in the lobby where people might drink, plus there will be a 28-seat roof garden "for guests and private functions". The hotel will not seek an entertainment endorsement, so there will no music coming from the roof deck.

Previous reporting on the Internet says Alexandria architects Cooper Carry are helping Atlanta-based Songy Highroads LLC convert the former 91,000-square-foot office building into a hotel. Songy Highroads LLC bought the property in 2013 for an estimated $23.5 million dollars.

The protest period for the liquor license will continue until September 2, and the hearing on the liquor license will take place on November 5. See page 5 of 7 pages of liquor-license announcements here.

Since there are no residential neighbors, the liquor license application will probably experience little resistance. The ANC decided to take no action on the liquor license application.

"We've done our due diligence," said Commissioner Abigail Nichols (district 05). The hotel will be in Nichols' district.

Claudia's Steakhouse Liquor License Moves Forward

Eden Brown Gaines of Brown Gaines LLC came before Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont Circle on August 13 to speak about the proposed liquor license for Claudia's Steakhouse. The legal address for Claudia's Steakhouse is 1501 K Street NW, but it will actually be located on the 15th Street side of the building, in a space which formally held an American Express office.

Future entrance of Claudia's on 15th Street

Brown Gaines told ANC2B there would be 300 seats in the restaurant and it would seek an entertainment license. The restaurant would feature music, including "latin jazz".

About the liquor license for Claudia's Steakhouse, Brown Gaines said the owners had "started the process early". The restaurant will not open soon.

"The architect has just started the plans," she said.

The restaurant will appear before the ANC again because it wishes to serve in the public space on the sidewalk along 15th Street. Since public space use will not be happening during winter, it was estimated they would be back with this request in early 2015.

Claudia's Steakhouse will be in the district of Commissioner Abigail Nichols (district 05). Nichols recommended the ANC take no action on the request, meaning, neither endorse nor protest. Other members of the ANC agreed. In absence of an ANC protest, the liquor license will probably be issued. There seem to be no residential building nearby to generate protesting neighbors.

Claudia's Steakhouse will see regular (i.e., maximum) hours of operating, staying open until 2am Sunday through Thursday and 3am Fridays and Saturdays.

An DC government document here indicates objections to the application can be raised before September 8, and Claudia's Steakhouse will have a final hearing on their liquor license request on November 12.

Read a short report about Claudia's Steakhouse from DC City Paper's Young and Hungry blog here.

Claudia's Steakhouse will be operated by the Adams Restaurant Group,

New Freshfarm Market to Open Saturday -- If the Paperwork Comes Through

Freshfarm Markets is set to open up this Saturday, June 6, in Mount Vernon Triangle, if it can get a public space permit in time.

At its regular monthly meeting last night (June 3), Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 6E/Shaw heard the testimony of Reg Godin, Director for Markets and Programs at Freshfarm. He explained Freshfarm Markets had to request last-minute inclusion on the meeting's agenda after it was determined the proposed site of the farmers market was on public land.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia/AgnosticPreachersKid)

The management of the adjoining City Vista building (K and 5th Streets NW) had believed that the land in question was City Vista's property, and therefore the farmers market required no special permit to operate there. After a surveyor corrected the mistaken impression, Freshfarm Markets has had to scramble to get the necessary public space use permits.

"No one knew who was responsible," Godin said.

The market will cover about 2000 square feet and have five tents. It will take place under and around the yellow sculpture (see bottom center of photo above). There will be activities for children and unamplied music.

The ANC voted unanimously to endorse the request for a public space use permit and promised to produce a letter of support promptly. Public space use permits are obtained from the District Department of Transportation (DDOT).

"All of your constituents are looking forward to this," said ANC6E Chair Alexander Padro (Commissioner for district 01)

"Yes, they are," said Commissioner Marge Maceda (district 05)

Once open, the market will be open on Saturday from 10am to 1pm until October 25. According to their website, Freshfarms has ten other farmers markets operating inside the Beltway.

The new market has been developed in cooperation with the Mount Vernon Triangle Community Improvement District.

Collapsed Building Strip Club Gets ANC6E Valet Parking Endorsement

Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 6E/Shaw took a request by The Cloakroom (476 K Street NW) off of the agenda for its May 6 meeting. It seemed a reasonable move, since the the strip club's building had suffered a spectacular mid-day collapse only four days before. It is unlikely they will be doing business anytime soon.

From D.C. Fire Department web site

However, The Cloakroom is apparently moving forward under the assumption they might be back in business someday.

"They don't know if they will be there or not," an ANC6E Commissioner said.

Before the collapse, the club requested ANC6E consider endorsing a request to operate valet parking on K Street, at the corner of 5th Street. The request, if approved, will take one public parking space, next to a fire hydrant, out of use.

The club and the parking space are in the ANC district 6E05. The Commissioner is Marge Maceda. Maceda told ANC6E she was in favor of granting the valet parking endorsement to the Cloakroom. She also said people in the area had no objection to the request.

ANC6E voted unanimously to endorse the request. It will now to the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) for final approval.

No one at the meeting identified themselves as working for or connected to The Cloakroom. No commissioner asked if representatives of The Cloakroom were present. However, as soon as the endorsement passed, three or four people in the back of the room got up and left. I don't know if they were connected to The Cloakroom.

Neighbor to Protest Liquor License Renewal of Lotus Lounge

Lotus Lounge (1420 K Street NW) will have its liquor license renewal protested by an abutting property owner, according to information was made public at the November 20 meeting of the liquor-licensing affairs committee of Advisory Neighborhood Committee (ANC) 2F/Logan Circle.

The protest will be brought by 1400 K Co., LLC, owners of the office building on the southwest corner of 14th and K Streets. 1400 K Co. seeks to have Lotus Lounge enter into a settlement agreement similar to the one 1400 K Co. has with another neighbor, The Park at 14th nightclub (920 14th Street).

The ongoing three-cornered struggle between ANC2F, 1400 K Co., and The Park at 14th nightclub has been the subject of previous SALM blog posts, most recently on November 14.

However, ANC2F will not join in the protest against Lotus Lounge. The deadline to petition D.C.'s Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA) for standing in this case is December 2, but ANC2F would not have an opportunity to vote until its meeting of December 4. The liquor-licensing affairs committee decided to take no action on the case, and it will not seek to enter into a settlement agreement with Lotus Lounge.

Attorney wants agreements with two nightclubs

Attorney John Patrick Brown of the law firm of Greenstein DeLorme & Luchs is representing 1400 K Co. in both cases. At the November 20 meeting, he told the liquor-licensing affairs committee his client would sign the letter of protest against Lotus Lounge the following day. A protest will provide leverage in agreement negotiations.

"I have not communicated with Lotus," Brown said of the letter of protest.

Brown said Lotus Lounge, like The Park at 14th, had a "rich investigative history". In the case of the Lotus Lounge, this included brawling, shootings, and assaults on police officers.

Public documents indicate the Lotus Lounge was fined $4000 and required to suspend business for six days in June 2012 for "failure to have police detail".

A WUSA9 report (video available here) details a history of violent activity connected to the club, including the June 2011 case where a District Heights man was so severely beaten by off-duty D.C. police officers working as security for the nightclub that he lost an eye. Four D.C. police officers were indicted in June 2012 for assault, conspiracy, and perjury in connection with this incident, according to a Washington Post report.

Brown also noted that, although Lotus Lounge's official capacity is 239, its web site says the club's capacity is 400.

Brown said his client wouldn't mind if ANC2F delayed the process in order to join in. But when the committee did not express enthusiasm, Brown did not pursue the matter. 

"At the end of the day, the goal for my client is a voluntary agreement like The Park at 14th," Brown said.

A settlement agreement is sometimes entered into by liquor-serving establishments, ANCs, and third parties to codify arrangement concerning opening hours, trash pickup, valet parking, and other matters which may impact the public.

Liquor License Endorsements, Protests from ANC2F

Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2F/Logan Circle voted on a handful of liquor-license-related matters at its last regular monthly meeting on November 6. ANC2F voted to protest one liquor license application, and approve four others. It also voted to endorse a new settlement agreement with a "The American (soon to open in Blagden Alley), and against a request by The Park at 14th to terminate a settlement agreement.
A "settlement agreement" is often reached between an ANC and a liquor-serving establishment and codifies the establishment's operating hours and other details which effect the community.

The American

The roll-up garage door (right) was a bone of contention

ANC2F unanimously voted to support a settlement agreement negotiated between the ANC and Blagden Alley Entertainment, LLC., which will operate "The American" restaurant. The official address will be 1209 - 1213 10th Street NW, but the restaurant will actually be located in Blagden Alley, a historic district inside the block bordered by 9th, 10th, M, and N Streets. 

There was much community interest and some community opposition to the opening of The American. It was the subject of the September 24 SALM blog post.

Among the provisions of the settlement agreements are:

• The restaurant will close at 1 a.m. Monday - Thursday and 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.
• The outdoor consumption of food and drink will cease at 11 p.m. Sunday - Thursday and 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
• Outside music will cease at 11 p.m. Sunday - Thursday and 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
• Deliveries will be made by hand truck -- no trucks in Blagden Alley.
• The American will discourage smoking outside the restaurant.

The text of the entire settlement agreement is available here.

There were still a few neighborhood voices protesting the restaurant up until the very last minute. One attendee accused The American of hiding a mandatory public notice on a roll-up door, so that it was not visible to the public most of the time. The notice contained information about The American's liquor license application, including times and places when members of the public could attend hearings on the matter.

I took the picture accompanying this article (above) in September. The notices can be seen on the metal garage door in the right of the picture.

Commissioner John Fanning (district 04) would look into the allegation, which would be a violation of liquor-license regulations if proved true. Fanning is chair of ANC2F's liquor-licensing affairs committee.

The Park at 14th

ANC2F voted 7 - 1 to oppose the termination of the settlement agreement between The Park at 14th nightclub (920 14th Street), an abutting neighbor, and the ANC. The lone vote against was by ANC2F Chair Matt Raymond (Commissioner for district 07).

The Park at 14th's operators appeared before the full ANC at its last meeting on October 2nd to say they wished to terminate the agreement, comparing the agreement to handcuffs. This was reported in the October 9 SALM blog post.

The Park at 14th's operators also said the agreement was unfair because many of their competitors were not compelled to have a settlement agreement. It has been informal ANC2F policy for many years not to require settlement agreements for establishments south of Massachusetts Avenue, because the area is largely non-residential. It is not clear why The Park at 14th (which is in this area) became an exception to this policy. However, this anomaly led to accusations of bias against The Park at 14th's operators at the October ANC2F meeting.

The commissioner voted to make formal policy stating that all new and existing liquor licensees, no matter where in ANC2F they were, should come before the ANC to acquire, renew, or change the conditions of their liquor license. The vote was 7 - 1, with Commissioner Raymond once again the sole "no" vote.

Vita Lounge

ANC2F voted to protest the liquor license renewal request for Vita Lounge (1318 9th Street). It was reported the establishment had 28 violations of liquor-licensing rules. The manager had been called by the ANC and told the ANC she would not come to the ANC meeting.

ANC2F's liquor-licensing affairs committee had unanimously recommended the full ANC protest Vita Lounge's application. 

Sherri Kimbel, Director of Constituent Services for D.C. Councilmember Jack Evans, suggested ANC vote to make two separate protests against the Vita Lounge. One protest would concern its liquor license, the other protest would concern its cover charge, dancing, and entertainment endorsement. ANC2F followed her advice and passed two separate protest motions. 

Commissioner Greg Melcher (district 06) promised to contact the operator of the Vita Lounge about the protest. The Vita Lounge is in Melcher's ANC district.

Records show Vita Lounge was fined $750 in April for a violation of its settlement agreement. Another document shows Vita Lounge failed to pay this $750 file within 30 days as ordered. The same document indicates Vita Lounge had a further outstanding fine from January.

Separate records show Vita Lounge has an appointment to appear before D.C.'s Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Board on December 4 because it "failed to comply with the terms of its offer of compromise dated October 24, 2012".

Routine approvals

The full ANC followed the recommendation of its liquor-licensing affairs committee to approve liquor license renewals for the following establishment: Capitale (1301 K Street), Ghibellina (1610 14th Street), Number Nine (1435 P Street), and Vegas Lounge (1415 P Street). There was no debate or discussion about these applications.

ANC2F's summary of the entire meeting of November 6 is available here.

Four Proposals Aired for Franklin School Renovation

Four radically different proposals for redevelopment of the Franklin School (13th and K Streets NW) were presented at a public hearing on the evening of October 30. The hearing was aimed at community residents, and sought public comment. Only a handful of community members came out. These spectators were far outnumbered by the four teams of presenters on hand.

Alexander Graham Bell worked here

The hearing was sponsored by the Office of Deputy Mayor for Planning and Development (DMPED) and took place in the basement of Thomson Elementary School (1200 L Street). Project Manager Reyna Alorro of Hoskins's office emceed the proceedings.

Presentation 1: Abdo Development

Abdo Development hopes to turn the Franklin School into office space for the CoStar Group, a commercial real estate information company. Andrew Florance, President and CEO of CoStar Group, said CoStar was the largest company (in market capitalization) headquartered in the district and run by a DC resident.

"CoStar seeks to utilize the Franklin School as our primary global technology research and development center," Florance said.

Florance also said CoStar will self-fund the estimated $35 million renovation with cash. It requires no financing.

Florance and architect Diana Horvat of Perkins-Will outlined the project's commitment to a green building, including a green roof and a winter garden.

Presentation 2: Douglas Development

Douglas Development and Chicago-based architects Autunovitch Associates presented a proposal to turn the Franklin School into a boutique hotel. The hotel would have 40 rooms plus a rooftop bar and restaurant. It would be called "the Benjamin", and would create 90-100 new jobs via an estimated $10-15 million in annual sales.

The presenters said they do not operate hotels. They plan to develop the building first and get an operator second. They have contacted many big-name hotel operators, and recently got a letter of intent from the Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group.

The presenters noted a hotel/restaurant would keep the building accessible to the general public. The proposal would develop the building's back alley as an outdoor restaurant and bar area, and "bring back the attic as a fabulous restaurant."

Presentation 3: ICE-DC

ICE stands for Institute for Contemporary Expression. It is the brainchild of Georgetown art collector and businessman Dani Levinas, a 30-year resident of Washington.

Once renovated, Levinas said, the building would host travelling collections and art installations in gallery space. There would be no permanent collection, but would host "something new" every four or five months, featuring "cutting-edge artists who are on the forefront of the art world". It would become "a major vibrant cultural hub" on the model of PS-1 in New York or the Tate Modern in London.

"We want to repurpose the Franklin School as an international cultural destination," Levinas said. 

There would be a ground level restaurant by Jose Andres plus a cafe and an art  bookstore. In addition, education programs, interships, and mentoring programs are planned, as well as a contemporary art biennale.

Presentation 4: Lowe Enterprises

Lowe Enterprises and Bundy Development Corporation seek to create a "tech incubator" which would "make D.C. a technology hub".

The goal, the presenter said, was "to create a digital economy ecosystem in the heart of Washington, D.C., that is authentic, readily identifiable, and serves as a central node and catalyst for future growth in the district."

The proposed renovation would include flexible exhibit space, office and meeting space, and a tech cafe. There would be a retail component on the ground floor and affordable living space for entrepreneurs who wish to be near their offices. 

The project was "innovative, inclusive, and will create economic opportunites". It was projected that between 2,700 and 4,000 jobs would be created in the first five years.

Questions

There were a few questions from the community for the presenters.

Two of the questions were directed at Douglas Developers. The first asked if Douglas Developers had an intention to evict nearby food trucks if their proposal was selected. Paul Millstein of Douglas Developers said no.

"They have permits to be there," he said.

The second question noted Douglas Developers' 2010 problems owing real estate taxes to DC. Did Douglas Developers owe any real estate taxes to DC presently? Millstein said no. The previous tax problems, Millstein said, were a result of the 2008 downturn in the real estate market and were not a factor now.

"We did what we had to do to honor our obligations," Millstein said.

Public comment period still open

Reyna Alorro said the public comment period on the project will remain open until November 29. Comments can be emailed to dcbiz@dc.gov.

The slideshow presentations of the four groups, plus questions and answers from the hearing, will be available on the DMPED website after November sixth, Alorro said.