Church Joins Exodus from Future Historic District

Augustana Lutheran Church (2100 New Hampshire Avenue NW) has successfully pleaded with Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 1B/U Street to be, in effect, excluded from the soon-to-be-created Meridian Hill Historic District. The Church will be designated as "non-contributing" to the future historic district.

Historic district approved -- with exclusions

At V and New Hampshire NW

The last-minute plea came just before ANC1B voted to endorse the historic district overall, including the designation of certain buildings within the district as non-contributing. The vote took place at ANC1B's regular monthly meeting on November 7.

Property owners of most buildings within a historic district must obtain the permission of D.C.'s Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) before taking on a wide variety of renovations, including nearly any to the exterior of a property. If a property is designated as non-contributing within a historic district, however, the owner has a much greater variety of activity which can be carried out without HPRB approval.

Of the 65 buildings in the proposed district, there will be fifteen other properties proposed to be designated as non-contributing within the future Meridian Hill Historic District, according to Kim Williams of D.C.'s Historic Preservation Office (HPO), who testified at the meeting.

These may include four single-family homes along on the 2300 block of 15th Street, facing Meridian Hill Park. Representatives of the single-family homes got the support of ANC1B's Design Review Committee for exclusion at its meeting of October 28. This was the subject of the October 30 SALM blog post.

The full ANC's endorsement of the historic district followed the Design Review Committee's recommendation to exclude the four single-family homes.

Testimony from Augustana

The Reverend John Kidd, Pastor of the Augustana Lutheran Church, and counsel Meghan Meier appeared before ANC1B to ask for the exclusion. They gave two reasons. The first reason: the church was not part of the vision of Mary Henderson, the driving force behind the creation of the Meridian Hill district more than 100 years ago. This statement is difficult to evaluate, but the church seems to date from 1915, according to documents presented at the Design Review committee meeting. This was a time when Henderson was intensely involved in the creation and improvement of every aspect of the Meridian Hill district.

The second reason: the church is not visible from Meridian Hill Park, nor is it visible from 16th Street.

"We are sandwiched between two apartment buildings," Reverend Kidd said.

One of Augstana Lutheran's neighbors is Meridian Towers Apartments (2112 New Hampshire Avenue). This multi-story apartment building, built in 1964, is also designated as non-contributing.

In addition, Kidd and Meier indicated being part of a historic district would burden the church with additional responsibilities that it could not afford to carry out.

The vote

Commissioner Ricardo Reinoso (district 05) made the motion to support the Meridian Hill Historic District with the exclusion of the non-contributing properties, including the four single-family houses and the Lutheran church. Both the homes and the church are in Reinoso's district.

Of the twelve ANC1B Commissioners, the vote was five votes in favor of endorsing the proposed new historic district with exclusions, and two opposed. One of the "no" votes came from Commissioner Dyana Forester (district 06), who said she felt local residents had not been adequately notified about the district.

Three Commissioners were completely absent from the meeting, and a fourth arrived over 45 minutes late, after the vote was taken.

ANC1B Vice-chair E. Gail Anderson-Holness (district 11), who was presiding, did not vote. She explained at another point in the meeting that her practice was not to vote when she is presiding, except in the case of a tie vote.

In addition to ANC district 1B, the proposed historic district will also fall in part into three other ANC districts. Reinoso reported the other three districts -- ANC 1A/Columbia Heights, 1C/Adams Morgan, and 1D/Mount Pleasant -- have all voted to support the district.

The four endorsements will now go to HPRB, which is expected to approve the new historic district in general. The fate of individual buildings is not so easy to predict.

ANC Crime Statements on the Increase?

Following the apparent success of a initiative by Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont Circle, the use of ANC-drafted community impact statements may be on the rise, with the US Attorney's office asking another ANC this week to make statements on three other cases.

Community impact statements are filed by ANCs and detail the effects of a convicted criminal's activity on the community and urge that the criminal receive a stringent sentence.

Dupont smash-and-grab man gets three years with ANC help

A report on the website of ANC2B Commissioner Kishan Putta (district 04) states that Gregory Teal, a man arrested over 40 times for theft from automobiles, has been sentenced to three years in prison. The sentencing occurred after ANC2B filed a community impact statement requesting Teal receive a sentence of 2 - 3 years. Previously, Teal had never received prison sentences of more than 90 days.

Lanier addresses ANC2F October 2

Putta reports he received thanks from DC Police Chief Cathy Lanier.

"This is a prime example how well we do when we work as a team," Lanier wrote.

Assistant Chief of Police Cathy Diane Groomes wrote to credit the ANC's statement for the unusually long sentence.

"[W]e are so happy that community came out to support this effort … truly it resulted in the sentence issued," Groomes wrote in an email.

See the October 21 SALM blog post for more on the Teal case and the ANC statement.

Logan Circle ANC asked to weigh in on three cases

At its regular monthly meeting November 6, ANC 2F/Logan Circle voted unanimously to file community impact statements in three separate cases of local crime. The statements were requested by Roger Kemp, a community prosector at the US Attorney's office. Kemp sat through a long meeting about other matters before he had the opportunity to request the ANC's assistance.

The first case Kemp mentioned is that of Jahlani Brown, 21, who pled guilty to first-degree sexual abuse on October 25. The incident took place at the Lincoln Westmoreland Apartments (1730 7th Street NW), just north of the Shaw metro station.

According to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice:

According to the government’s evidence, on Sept. 17, 2013, at about 9 a.m., the victim reported to her office in the Shaw area of Northwest Washington and began preparing for her workday.  Brown, who was captured on video surveillance, entered the office and locked the door. He sexually assaulted, threatened, and robbed the victim before leaving the office.

Following the attack, the police released screenshots of Brown from the video surveillance footage. He was arrested two days later and was not released.

Brown will be sentenced on January 10, 2014, and will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

The second case involves Carlito Bailey and Rickey Watkins, both 22, who were convicted on October 11 of aggravated assault, assault with a dangerous weapon, and related firearms offenses, after a jury trial in D.C. Superior Court.
From a U.S. Department of Justice press release:

Johnson Avenue and R Street (photo credit below)

According to the government’s evidence, on the night of May 5, 2012, Bailey, Watkins, and a third unidentified shooter traveled to Northwest Washington armed with firearms.  The three men approached the intersection of Johnson Avenue and R Street NW, where they opened fire, shooting at least ten bullets into a block crowded with adults and children gathered to celebrate a birthday party.  One of the adults was shot several times in the legs. After firing the shots, the men fled on Johnson Avenue.

Bailey and Watkins were apprehended approximately 24 minutes after the shooting in a car with two firearms. One of the firearms was a ballistics match to six shell casings and a bullet from the crime scene, and a swab from the slide of that weapon yielded DNA that matched the DNA profile of Bailey.  Cell site data placed Watkins at the scene of the shooting.

Read another report about the incident here.

Bailey and Watkins are scheduled to be sentenced on December 10, 2013, by D.C. Superior Court Judge Robert I. Ritcher.

The third case is that of Gregory A. Cole. ANC2F Commissioner Peter Lallas (district 01) said at the meeting he had specificially requested this case be put on the agenda. Lallas described Cole as a crack dealer who operated on 14th Street, especially around R Street. This area is in Lallas's ANC district.

ANC2F's Crime and Public Safety Committee will draft the statements.

The full ANC is next scheduled to meet on December 4, 7pm, at the Washington Plaza Hotel (10 Thomas Circle).

There is a good explanation of community impact statements about half-way down this page from the US Attorney's Office.

(Photo credit: Borderstan, used by permission)

Embassy of Georgia to Move to R Street

Staff from the Embassy of Georgia appeared November 5 before a committee of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont Circle to request support for a planned move of the Chancery to 1824-1826 R Street NW. The Embassy of Georgia asked for endorsement by ANC2B's Zoning, Preservation and Development (ZPD) Committee because the proposed new chancery location is not zoned for this type of use. It is zoned for residential use.

1824 R Street (left) was built in 1911 for $15,000

Even though it is zoned residential, it has been decades since the either of the two adjacent buildings have been anybody's home. The building has been on the market for several years. Before that, it was the Artists Inn Residence, a bed-and-breakfast, for more than five years. The Artists Inn Residence closed in 2009.

Before that, the building housed the Embassy of Singapore. A document from DC's Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) indicates the Embassy of Singapore first moved into the 1824 R Street property in 1971. In 1981, the Embassy of Singapore acquired the adjoining property and successfully petitioned the DC government to expand and use both properties as a chancery.

Georgian diplomats and a representative told the ZPD Committee sixteen employees would work at the sight. Most carpool together to work from their residences in suburban Maryland. There are at least five parking spaces associated with the property, possibly more if compact cars were used. The diplomats said they might request two spaces on the street be reserved for diplomatic cars during business hours. When told that the chancery's future neighbors might object to that, the Georgians said the request was "not necessarily mandatory".

It was reported the Embassy Singapore had ten reserved parking spaces on the street in the period they used the property.

The Embassy of Georgia currently rents its chancery building and wishes to buy a property, according to testimony at the meeting. The chancery is currently located at 2209 Massachusetts Avenue.

According to the presentation at the meeting, the combined structure is about 12,000 square feet. The asking price for the property in 2011 was over $15 million.

Although no vote was taken at the meeting, the committee members seemed inclined to recommend that the full ANC support the request of the Embassy of Georgia. The ANC recommendation will accompany the Embassy of Georgia's request for zoning relief when it is processed by the Foreign Mission Board of Zoning Adjustment (FMBZA). The FMBZA is an agency which provides foreign embassies and missions with a "one-stop shop" for all legal aspect of local property ownership and use.

At the same meeting, the ZPD committee also considered a request from the Embassy of Oman to endorse a handful of zoning variances. This was reported in the SALM blog post of yesterday, November 6.

Oman Embassy Seeks Cultural Center at 16th and L

Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont Circle was asked last night (November 5) to endorse a handful of zoning variances which will allow the Embassy of Oman to open the Sultan Qaboos Cultural Center in a building on the northwest corner of 16th and L Streets NW. The request was heard by ANC2B's Zoning, Preservation and Development (ZPD) Committee.

1100 16th Street as seen from across L Street

Attorney Chris Collins of Holland & Knight told the committee that Oman plans to purchase and occupy 1100 16th Street as a diplomatic property. The building is located on a 5,725 square foot parcel at 16th and L. It is zoned in a category which allows use by diplomatic missions.

The building will be occupied Monday - Friday, 9am - 5pm. The cultural center will start with three employees but may eventually employ as many as 25 in office, exhibition, and classroom space, according to documents filed with the DC government by the Embassy of Oman.

However, at the ZPD committee hearing, Collins said there will probably be no more than 10 employees in the space. Collins also reported the building would have a lecture hall with a capacity of 50 - 75, which may host up to four events per month.

The presentation to the committee indicated the cultural center intends to put signage over its entrances and the crest of Oman above a third-floor window. In addition, there will be public art, specifically, a sculpture of a ship in the yard facing the building's 16th Street side. The sculpture will recall Oman's heritage as a seafaring nation.

The new owners will also replace the doors and improve the quality of the windows.

Starting in late 2014 or early 2015, the cultural center will offer Arabic classes from 6 until 9:30 on Monday to Thursday evenings, according to its zoning application.

Although no vote was taken at the ZPD Committee meeting, the atmosphere was very cordial. The committee will likely report favorably to the full ANC at the next meeting (November 13). Then, the full ANC will probably vote to support the Embassy of Oman in its request before the Foreign Missions Board of Zoning Adjustment (FMBZA) for the zoning variances necessary to allow the Embassy of Oman to purchase and occupy the building.

FMBZA is a DC government agency which exists to make it simpler for foreign missions to obtain and occupy buildings. It functions as a "one-stop shop" for getting necessary permissions. This relieves the Embassy of Oman of the obligations of making separate applications to the Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) or Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB).

Under normal circumstances, the owner of 1100 16th Street would have to consult with HPRB because the building is part of the Sixteenth Street Historic District.

The previous tenant in the building was the charter elementary School for Arts in Learning (SAIL), which vacated the building in July 2011. SAIL was the subject of investigative journalism by the Washington Times in May 2010, which showed "a history of unaccountability and shoddy oversight" at the school, as well as many years of poor math and reading scores. The Washington Times said SAIL had paid $2.8 million for the building.

Popup Endorsed for Historic U Street District Home

The Design Review Committee of Advisory Neighborhood Committee (ANC) 1B/U Street voted unanimously to endorse a planned renovation to 1837 12th Street NW. The vote took place at the committee's meeting of October 28.

1837 12th Street NW

1837 12th Street is a two-story single-family home less than two blocks from U Street. Significant renovations changing the exterior of house must be approved by D.C.'s Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) because the house is in the Greater U Street Historic District.

The renovation will include the addition of a third floor popup to the rear of the property, the renovation of the exterior (including refurbishing of windows and of dentil molding as well as replacing a stairway), and basement excavation.

The third floor addition will be two feet nine inches higher than the highest point of the existing roof and will be set back 16 feet from the front. There is no plan for a roof deck.

Normally, it is required that roof addition not be visible from the street. To test this, applicants seeking HPRB approval often construct rooftop mockups of the planned height of the final construction, and take photos to show that it will not be visible from the street.

In this case, however, a neighbor testified before the committee that the mockup was visible from across the street. The neighbor produced a photograph taken from the parking lot across the street from the house, in which the top of the mockup could clearly be seen.

The committee determined that, even if the third story addition would be visible from the parking lot, it would actually be considered not visible from across the street, according to the standard method of determining visibility. Rooftop additions are considered not visible if they cannot be seen from the farthest point on the sidewalk across the street from the house. The picture taken from behind a fence separating the sidewalk from the parking lot, that is, farther away than the normal definition of "across the street". Therefore, the proposed addition was compliant, even if the mockup could be seen in the neighbor's photograph.

The neighbor was also concerned about the flow of water off the roof of 1837 12th Street after the proposed renovation was finished. The roof of 1837 12th Street slopes to the rear. The fear was that the addition of a popup would cause rainwater to pool in mid-roof, with no place to drain except the roofs of adjoining properties.

The project contractor told the committee the water would drain via a downspout through the house. It would then be dumped into a gutter in the back.

It was also reported that a structural engineer was working on the project to make sure the planned excavation of the basement did not have any unforeseen consequences.

The project will proceed with committee endorsement to the full ANC for final approval. The next scheduled meeting of ANC1B is on November 7, at 7pm, at the Reeves Center (14th and U Streets).

Funeral Home Parking Lot to Rowhouse

Developer Thomas Swarm told the Design Review Committee of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 1B/U Street he wishes to put up a rowhouse on a 1,262-square-foot lot at 1801 4th Street in LeDroit Park. The site was formerly the parking lot for the adjoining property, Frazier's Funeral Home. Frazier's went out of business in 2008, and the former funeral home is being developed into a 4 - 5 unit residential building.

1801 4th Street is now a vacant lot (center)

Before the building was a parking lot, there was a rowhouse on the site. The new rowhouse attempts to duplicate the footprint of the long-demolished rowhouse. Its height will be the same as the neighboring rowhouse.

According to documents presented at the meeting, the new rowhouse will have two apartments. One will be a two-bedroom, two-bathroom, 844-square-foot basement apartment. The other will be a two-story, three-bedroom, three-and-a-half bathroom, 1,688-square-foot apartment. There will be one enclosed parking space in the rear.

Swarm told the Design Review Committee on October 28 he wished to get support for his request to D.C.'s Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) for zoning variances. However, Design Review Committee chair Tony Norman told Swarm the committee would not consider his request until Swarm officially filed for zoning variances with the BZA, because only then would the committee know for certain the number and nature of the zoning variances Swarm required.

Norman is also chair of ANC1B as a whole and Commissioner for district 10.

Swarm told the committee he would need a zoning variance for the side yard next to the proposed building. Zoning requires side yards to be at least 10 feet wide. Due to the unusual shape of the lot, the side yard would have to be only three feet wide in order to replicate the original building's footprint.

In addition, Swarm said, the rear yard would require a zoning variance for setback.

Documents presented at the meeting show that the proposed lot occupancy will be 61.9%. Since lot occupancy allowed is 60%, Swarm may have to seek BZA approval for this as well. 

The property is located in the LeDroit Park Historic District, so Swarm had to appear before D.C.'s Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB). The HPRB advised Swarm to make his new construction match the neighboring white building (see photo) as much as possible, he said at the meeting.

The 2012 HPRB application, made by architect Michael Vallen of Vallen Design Studio on Swarm's behalf, is a .pdf document available here.

According to a 2012 article in the Washington Post, Frazier's Funeral Home operated in the LeDroit Park location from 1929 until its closing. Swarm bought the property in 2011 for $850,000, the Post said. A separate report indicates that the September 2011 sale included both 5,500-square-foot parcel which held Frazier's funeral home plus the parking lot.

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.