Sherman Avenue & Barry Place: Howard University Changes Its Master Plan

A team developing a 60,000-square-foot plot of land at the northeast corner of Sherman Avenue and Barry Place NW into a six-story mixed-use building appeared before the Design Review Committee of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 1B/U Street on January 20. Its aim was to get the first of many endorsements necessary to move the project forward.

From publicly-available zoning documents

The development cobbles together land owned by Howard University and two
other land owners. As a whole, the project will require a long and laborious trip through the DC bureaucracy, including a request to rezone the property from residential to commercial and a request to declare the project a
Planned Unit Development (PUD). In addition, Howard University has to jump through extra hoops to engage in development on its share of the land because it has a campus master plan on file with the DC Office of Zoning. The ANC vote was only to endorse the proposed amendment to the campus master plan. The developers will surely have to appear again before the Design Review Committee, mostly likely more than once.

The team presenting was led by Maybelle Bennett, Director of the Howard University Community Association. Other team members who spoke at the meeting were Leila Batties of the law firm of Hollard & Knight, and Steve Gresham from the Alexandria office of Atlanta-based architecture firm Niles Bolton.

"This is not a Howard University project," Bennett said. "Howard is a partner. A private corporation is the primary."

The company's name on official documents is Barry Place Partners LLC, with an address in Valdosta, Georgia. The Georgia address is the same as that of the Corporate Office of Ambling University Development Group, a self-described provider of "campus development solutions". Ambling University Development Group is also described as "lead developer" on official documents for this project.

The committee's discussion ranged over many different aspects of the project, including the width of the sidewalks (with a member of the committee calling the effect of the design "claustrophobic" for pedestrians), and the fate of a colorful mural on the side of an existing building (it will not be preserved, but it will be memorialized in a "digital representation" in the lobby of the proposed building), Other topics touched on included: the loading dock, curb cuts, green roofs, green walls, parking (both car and bicycle), and the plans for nearby Howard University property.

The presenters indicated that the building will add much-needed affordable housing. According to DC law, a development of this type must allot eight percent of its floor space to "affordable housing", renting below market rate.
At the meeting, the presenters said they planned to have "at least" 27 of the proposed 319 rental units designated as affordable housing, of which four units would be two-bedroom apartments. These would be designed as "affordable" by people making 80% of Area Median Income (AMI) -- about $87,000 annual salary for a family of four. A one-bedroom apartment in this case would rent for a maximum of $1,611 a month.

The four two-bedroom apartments would be affordable at 60% AMI (about $66,000 annual salary), the presenters said. This two-bedroom apartments might rent for a maximum of about $1,450 per month.

This amount of affordable housing is less than the amount promised a December 31, 2014, DC government document about the project, which said that ten percent, or 32 rental units, would be affordable housing, five of which would be two-bedroom.

There will be 59 further units priced at "affordable housing" prices, but these units would be set aside for Howard University faculty and staff. There would be nine two-bedroom units that would be affordable at 60% AMI. The rest would be smaller units affordable at 80% AMI.

The committee voted in favor of supporting the amendment to the Howard University Master Plan contingent on the provision of the promised benefits. Five committee members were in favor, none opposed. There were two abstentions.

Documents related to this project can be viewed by the Interactive Zoning Information System of the DC Office of Zoning. Put case number 14-21 into the search bar.

Articles about this development also appeared in the Washington Business Journal in November 2014 and the blog Urban Turf in September 2014.

Rat Summit II: East Side of 14th between N and Rhode Island

Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANF) 2F/Logan Circle held its "rat summit" last night (Thursday, October 17). It formed a plan of action which will include block-by-block meetings between businesses, residents, and DC government to address the rat problem. The first block to be targeted will the east side of 14th Street NW between N Street and Rhode Island Avenue.

"We're going to take the city back from them one block at a time," said Gerard Brown, Program Manager at DC's Department of Health (DOH).

ANC Commissioners Linn and Fanning, plus media coverage

The first block we'll take back

Residents of the 1300 block of Rhode Island Avenue showed up to lobby to be the first block.

"Are there inspectors for rivers of sludge?" one of the residents asked DC officials. The questioner then reported a particular river of sludge, flowing out behind Barrellhouse Liquors (1341 14th Street) onto Rhode Island Avenue.

After the meeting, I looked at the alley in question. The river of sludge exists. It does NOT originate at Barrellhouse Liquors. It flows underneath a dumpster further up the alley, but it is not clear where it comes from.

The food-related establishments on this block of 14th Street, moving from Rhode Island Avenue south to N Street, are: Birch and Barley, W. Millar and Company (a caterer), Teak Wood, La Villa, and Popeye's.

ANC Commissioner John Fanning (district 04) said he would work together with DOH's Gerard Brown and other officials to get the businesses in the same room with the residents. Brown asked the residents to help the process by remaining polite at all times.

"When we get together, can we be cool?" he asked.

Another speaker, Pamela Washington of DC's Department of Public Works, cautioned there were limits to what officials could force a business owner to do.

"It is up to the restaurant owner to decide that it is better to take meaningful steps than getting citations," Washington said. "I can't make that restaurant comply with the law."

Reporting rat-attracting conditions

At the beginning of the meeting, Brown talked about what citizens can do if they see conditions likely to attract rats. If the possible offender is a commercial property, defined as having four units or more (residential, commercial, or mixed), you can call Brown's office. The main number is 202-536-2636. Brown's office is 202-535-1954.

For smaller properties, residents are advised to call 311 or DC's Solid Waste Education and Enforcement Program (SWEEP) at 202-645-7190.

ANC2F residents who wish their blocks to be on the list for a rat summit with businesses and DC government officials may contact Commissioner Fanning through the ANC2F web site.

No food-related local businesses identified themselves or spoke at the meeting. However, Fanning reported that representatives of Eat Well DC (operator of nearby restaurants The Pig, Logan Tavern, and Commissary) and Whole Foods had attended.

The meeting attracted mainstream media coverage, including a reporter from WTOP.

ANC2F Commissioner Chris Linn also attended the meeting, which was held at the Washington Plaza Hotel (10 Thomas Circle).
 

Rat Summit for 14th Street in October

Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2F/Logan will host a summit in October to address the rat problem on the 1300 block of 14th Street NW. This block is the home of Birch and Barley, B Too, and The Pig, among other restaurants.

(Wikipedia)

The initiative was announced last night (Monday, September 9) at the ANC's regular monthly meeting at the Washington Plaza Hotel (10 Thomas Circle).

Commissioner John Fanning (district 04) said that the rat problem on this block deserved special attention. He hoped to get restaurant owners on the block "in the same room" with the relevant parts of the DC government, including the Department of Public Works, the sanitation department, the District Department of the Environment, DC Water, and the Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration, among others. ANC2F is working on coordinating with these agencies.

One of the reported problems was cooking grease overflowing from the disposal area of a popular upscale restaurant to storm drains on Rhode Island Avenue. Fanning noted that this was, in effect, dumping oil into a waterway, which is an environmental crime.

Fanning said the restaurant B Too (1324 14th Street) has already offered to be part of the presentation, showing its state-of-the-art waste disposal techniques.

Fanning is the chair of ANC2F alcoholic beverage licensing committee. Liquor licenses often provide crucial leverage for ANCs when they wish restaurants to pay greater attention to public sanitation issues.

Commissioner Chris Linn is a co-sponsor of the initiative. This area of 14th Street falls into his district, which is number 03.

The "Sanitation, Education, & Enforcement" Summit will take place on Thursday, October 17, at 7pm, at the Washington Plaza Hotel.