Were my mind not on roughly 800 tulips that will soon call Ninth Street home, I would surely be devoting more time to the following juicy news items:
1. DDOT announces funding for the Carter G. Woodson Memorial Park - My second blog post ever pertained to the stalled triangle park redevelopment at 9th and Q Streets and Rhode Island Avenue. Finally, after several years of anxiously waiting the new green space, the park project has received funding to proceed. The Department of Parks and Recreation is working on a design now (this is not their park design and is not likely what the park will ultimately look like). Rumor is that we should have a new park at this notable intersection next year!
2. Bonstra Haresign ARCHITECTS is Designing Warrenton Group's New Headquarters at 1547 Seventh Street - In response to some discussion on the neighborhood Yahoo! Group, I did some internet searching and found that in August of this year, the Warrenton Group awarded to Bonstra Haresign ARCHITECTS a project to provide design services to assist the Warrenton Group with the renovation and modern addition to historic 1547 7th Street, NW. The architects state that "One of the few remaining Arts and Crafts style buildings in DC, 1547 7th Street formerly housed the developer's father's business and rental apartments. The renovated building will house Warrrenton's corporate offices and a corporate apartment."
3. United Negro College Fund May Be a Co-Tenant in Media Center One - The Business Journal reports on the probable identity of Radio One's co-tenant in its new headquarters on Seventh Street. This should help the awesome mixed use project break ground soon!
5 comments:
oh man not to throw poop on #1, but ive been glued to the council hearing regarding this banneker - parks MESS and they are super pissed. pissed enough to grind all park improvements to a halt & i cant say i blame em.
That sucks!
At least funding it is on someones priority radar.... Right?
What's your feeling on whether or not 2. is for real? I'm almost willing to put money on this never happening.
Not to be a "doubting Thomas," but smells like this could be...
a) let's pretend we're renovating so we can duck the nuisance property tax for awhile and/or
b) let's pretend we're renovating so we can use the building as our corporate headquarters address, just so we can look like a HUBZone business or minority owned business headquartered in the District, so we can land sweet contracts we otherwise wouldn't be qualified or eligible for.
And less than a year ago that building was for sale for $1.3 million dollars - an absurd amount of money for a ramshackle shell in Shaw that is falling apart. At that point Warren Williams was clearly just ducking the now defunct vacant property tax by having the property on the market. Now that there are mega-$-contracts on the line, it's suddenly to be his corporate headquarters... Seems suspicious, no?
ML -- I'm certainly curious to see how/if it plays out. It seems like it would be weird for the architecture firm to post a press release if it's not sincerely in the works (contract signed, money changing hands) but who knows.
DPR reps will discuss current plans at the Nov. 24 Convention Center Community Association (CCCA-online.org) meeting.
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