Grimke School Redevelopment Recommendations Throw Out by ANC1B

Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 1B/U Street voted last night (May 1) to throw out recommendations developed by a community group to guide the redevelopment of the Grimke School (1923 Vermont Avenue NW) and an adjoining property (912 U Street). The ANC then substituted less specific language of its own making.

The Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED) had asked for community input on a Request for Proposal (RFP) to develop the two properties. An ad hoc group of local residents, the Grimke Redevelopment Working Group, formulated a set of desired outcomes for the redevelopment. The Design Review Committee of ANC1B met on April 21 and voted to endorse the working group's recommendations -- see SALM blog post of April 23 -- and proposed they be adopted by the full ANC. Specifically, the committee voted to recommend the inclusion of three main points from the working group's document to the main body of the RFP, and the entire working group document be attached to the RFP as a guideline for potential bidders.

The discussion of the Grimke School redevelopment came at the bitter end of last night's meeting. The discussion started with the ANC praising the working group's efforts on the final document. Jeffrey Willis of Grimke Redevelopment Working Group spoke briefly in support of the proposals.

Dr. Frank Smith, Director of the African-American Civil War Museum, then addressed the committee. The African-American Civil War Museum currently operates in the Grimke School. As it stands now, the museum may receive a free-of-charge renovation and rent-free use of the land as a condition of the RFP. Smith seemed to be concerned that the RFP would create conditions that might ultimately mean his museum might have to pay $4 million to use the space -- money the museum did not have. He asked the full ANC to reject the recommendation of the Design Review Committee, that is, to exclude the recommendations in any form of the Grimke Redevelopment Working Group from the RFP.

The Grimke Redevelopment Working Group was not given a chance to reply. Willis raised his hand but was not acknowledged by the ANC. Willis was too polite to interrupt.

Commissioner E. Gail Anderson Holness (district 11) made a motion to exclude the recommendations of the working group. It passed by a vote of five to one, with three abstentions.

Commissioners voting to exclude the working group proposal: Marc Morgan (district 01), Deborah Thomas (district 04), Juan Lopez (district 07), James Turner (ANC Chair, district 09), and Holness.

Commissioner voting against: Zahra Jilani (district 12)

Abstentions: Sedrick Muhammed (district 03), Ricardo Reinoso (district 05), Mark Ranslem (district 08).

Absent: Jeremy Leffler (district 02), Dyana Forester (district 06)

ANC1B district 10 is currently vacant.

ANC Chair Turner made a motion to substitute language that made references to taking community concerns into account. I think the language sounded weaker and less specific than the working group proposal, but I cannot characterize it any further because it was read quickly and not very clearly by Turner. Community comment was not solicited on Turner's proposal -- it went quickly to a vote.

The motion to adopt the substitute language was passed unanimously with one abstention (Ranslem).

CORRECTED: Recommendations for Grimke School Development from ANC1B

CORRECTION: Grimke Development Working Group calls for any daytime use, specifically including office use, not only retail use as previously reported.

Jeffrey Willis emails: "Goals call for any daytime use, specifically including OFFICE.  We already have two developers interested in this market, which remains strong, according to our research."

Apologies for the error.

The Design Review Committee of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 1B/U Street voted April 21 in favor of a set of community recommendations for the redevelopment of the Grimke School (1923 Vermont Avenue NW) and an adjoining property (912 U Street).

Three main points

If the full ANC approves the committee's recommendation, the full ANC will ask for three points from the proposal of the Grimke Redevelopment Working Group be included into D.C.'s future Request for Proposal (RFP) on the site. The recommendations are

The Grimke School (photo credit below)

• to limit the development of the Grimke School and associated buildings to the current "envelope"
• to mandate development on the property be mixed use.
• to develop daytime retail uses on the property

In addition, the committee voted to recommend that the entire working group document be attached to D.C.'s future RFP.

How the RFP will work

Reyna Alorro, Project Manager at the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED), appeared at the meeting to brief on the state of project and to solicit community comment. She said the city will be sending out one RFP solicitation for the development of the two sites. DMPED will then make a short list of acceptable proposals and make them public. There will be a 30-day written comment period on the proposals. There will also be a community meeting. At the meeting, developers will present their proposals and members of the public will be able to question the developers. Members of the public will also be allowed to give their opinions, written and verbal, at the meeting. DMPED will select one proposal by the end of 2014.

The main school building is considered historic. It will be a requirement of the RFP that this building be renovated.

The neighboring building is former gym of the Grimke School. It is not a historic building, and is now home to the African-American Civil War Museum. The museum will continue to be located at the Grimke site. A significant part in the renovated buildings will be set aside for re-occupation by the museum. One member of the committee called the promise of a renovated home to the museum a de facto subsidy which had been granted without proper oversight.

The working group presents

Jeffrey Willis presented to the committee for the ad hoc Grimke Redevelopment Working Group.

"We had a lot of participants," he said. "We are asking you to embrace this statement of community goals. I hope you'll push your authority."

Willis advocated that the working group's proposals should be incorporated into the RFP, and articulated the three points that formed the basis of the Design Review committee's recommendations above.

During the discussion of the working group's document, it was made clear that "the envelope" did not only refer to the footprint of the current buildings on the ground, but also to the height of the buildings, which are shorter than what might be otherwise allowed according to zoning regulations.

Members of the community came out to voice their support for the working group's conclusions. During the meeting, it was asked how many members of the audience came to express their support of the working group document. Ten people raised their hands.

The motion to make the recommendations passed by a vote of 7-1.

ANC1B will probably vote on this recommendation at its next regular monthly meeting, scheduled for Thursday, May 1, at 7pm, at the Reeves Center (14th and U Streets).

The development of an RFP for the Grimke School was the subject of a March 17 report from the blog District Source.

(Photo credit: AgnosticPreachersKid/Wikipedia)

ANC2F Weighs in on Franklin School Proposals

Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2F/Logan Circle voted to endorse two proposals to convert the long-vacant Franklin School (13th and K Streets NW) to other use. One endorsed proposal is for an art gallery space called the Institute of Contemporary Expression (ICE). The other is for a boutique hotel to be called "the Benjamin".

The Franklin School was built in 1869.

There are four proposals total -- see November 1 SALM blog post. ANC2F's input was solicited by the Office of Deputy Mayor for Planning and Development (DMPED) without guidelines, so the ANC could endorse all, some, or none of the proposals.


The motion to endorse the gallery and hotel proposals was put forward by Commissioner Matt Connolly (district 08). The Franklin School is in Connolly's district.

The two proposals favored by Connolly are the two proposals that would result in the Franklin School continuing to be open to the public in some form. ANC2F Commissioners agreed it was important that the community have access to the building, and their letter to the DMPED will emphasize the importance of public access.

However, according to ANC2F's web site: "The letter will commend all four redevelopment proposals and express the Commission’s support for whatever decision DMPED makes."

Some of the other Commissioners expressed preferences that did not exactly match Connolly's. Commissioner Walt Cain (district 02) was partial to the hotel proposal over the others, while Commissioner Chris Linn (district 03) thought there might not be a market for more boutique hotel rooms.

During the discussion that followed, between the Commissioners and later Commissioners and the public, there was some fear aired that "we might end up with another white elephant" if the project were not properly financed. Connolly said he had looked at the proposal and was satisfied that the funding plans for the projects were sound.

In the end, the other Commissioners deferred to Connolly's analysis and voted for his proposal without modification.

The unanimous decision occurred at ANC2F's monthly meeting of December 4.

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.