Washington D.C. Development News

[NovaWolverine]

State shares plans for new District Court in Rockville
Noelle Barton
Rockville Gazette
May 4, 2005

State officials last week shared plans for a six-story, nine-courtroom district courthouse to be built from 2006 to 2008 on the site of the current Rockville Library.

Judiciary proceedings now handled in the old gray District Court building at Courthouse Square in downtown Rockville will be moved to the new building, making space for the juvenile and family court to be located in the gray courthouse.

The new $50 million courthouse will handle civil complaints up to $25,000, traffic tickets and some felony arrests -- the same cases it handles today. The court currently processes about 10,000 cases per month, said Barry Miller, capital projects team leader for the Maryland Department of General Services.

The idea to move District Court to the library site came about after the facilities administrator for the District Court of Maryland requested a new court about seven years ago. Three years ago the state bought the library site from Montgomery County for $5 million.

The move will fit with the county's plans to build a new library in the Town Square redevelopment project. That library is expected to be completed by next summer, when the old library, located at the corner of Maryland Avenue and East Jefferson Street, will be torn down.

City leaders do not have approval power over the project because it is state-owned property. For that reason, the building's 95- to 100-foot height can violate the city zoning maximum of 75 feet, city officials said at the April 26 information session at City Hall.

For comparison, the Foulger-Pratt office building at the corner of Middle Lane and Hungerford Drive is about 100 feet tall.

A handful of residents attended the meeting to voice concerns about the building, from the safety of the West End neighborhood to questions about how the prisoners will be transported. The city mailed notices of the meeting to some 3,000 residents.

The new courthouse will be a few steps closer to the neighborhood than the current building. The current courthouse is located at the corner of East Jefferson Street and North Washington Street; the new courthouse will be across Jefferson Street and abut properties along South Washington Street.

Wini E. Herrmann remembered an incident from years back when a prisoner escaped from a transport van and ran through her neighborhood.

"I'll never forget that," she said.

Miller explained that the prisoner vans would park completely inside the building before any prisoners are taken into the basement and put in holding cells. Separate elevators to be used for prisoner transport will keep prisoners from any contact with the public.

The building would have one point of entry -- at the corner of Maryland Avenue and East Jefferson Street. Its face would curve along East Jefferson, where a grand hall would allow visitors to enter the building and go through security.

Miller said some 2,000 people a day would enter the building.

Clerks would be located on the second floor, with the public defender's offices on the third floor. The courtrooms would be located on floors four, five and six.

The parole, probation and monitoring section would no longer be in District Court, Miller said.

Parking for judges and access for prisoner loading and other deliveries would be located off of Vinson Street, directly across from City Hall. As is the custom today, jurors and the public will have to find parking downtown and walk to the court, Miller said.

The driveway would slant down to the building entrance at the basement level and a retaining wall would buffer the rear of the facility from four homes, used as lawyers' offices, that face South Washington Street.

State officials refused to provide a picture of the new courthouse for publication in The Gazette, although they displayed images of the proposed building at the session last week.

Councilwoman Susan R. Hoffmann suggested the use of landscaping as another buffer between the building and the historic district along South Washington Street.

Councilmen Robert E. Dorsey and John F. Hall Jr. also attended last week's meeting, as did Planning Commissioner Kate Ostell.

Sally Stinner, another resident at the meeting, wanted to know what the traffic flow would be in and out of the building. Traffic will move in and out of the facility at Vinson Street to and from Maryland Avenue primarily, and stay away from the use of South Washington Street, Miller said.

Gaithersburg resident Terry Lachin, who works in Rockville, asked whether more space would be added onto the new court in the future if need for space increases.

Miller said plans for expansion of any District Court in Montgomery County would happen at the courthouse in Silver Spring before would happen in Rockville. It is unlikely that any expansion would happen for the next four to five decades, he said.

Laura Berthiaume, a South Adams Street resident, worried about the impact of the imposing building on the nearby neighborhood.

"The height of the building is enormous compared to the neighboring structures," she said.

Susan Arthur, the daughter of the late Stanley H. Arthur, architect who designed the library, voiced frustration over the plans to demolish her father's building. Walking out of City Hall after the meeting, she looked across the street to the library parking lot.

"I'm trying to imagine that big building sitting right there," Arthur said. "It's huge."

Miller and his team of planners will present the project proposal to the City Council on May 9.

[NovaWolverine]

Does anyone have any thoughts on the recent developments with the Whitehurst Elevated Freeway in G'town, I'm personally happy that it may come down, as long as there is some sort of alternative trafic route that would make for a good transition despite the large number of cars traveling on it. I think the waterfront development would be great, and really creative, I think it would be fantastic. And the streetcar for G'town would be great too.

[NovaWolverine]

Area has US's 3rd-worst traffic; would be 1 if not for Metro
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Area Has Nation's Third-Worst Traffic, Study Says
Washingtonians Spend an Average of 69 Hours in Traffic Jams Yearly
Steven Ginsberg
Washington Post
Monday, May 9, 2005

Washingtonians spend an average of 69 hours a year in traffic jams, according to a national study released today that once again found that the region has the third-worst traffic in the nation.

The study, done by the Texas Transportation Institute and based on 2003 statistics, also found that congestion is worsening in cities across the country both small and large mainly because too few new roads and rail lines are being built.

The report concludes that "the current pace of transportation improvement . . . is not sufficient to keep pace with even a slow growth in travel demands in most major urban areas."

The study also said poor highway management and land-use planning contribute to the deteriorating state of travel.

Ronald F. Kirby, transportation planning director of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, said that "vehicle miles of travel are growing faster than capacity in almost every metro area in the country. Nationally, we're not adding road capacity at the rate we used to."

Kirby added that the rankings are as much a reflection of population growth as traffic-solving measures. "When you rank areas, those that have been growing the fastest, like ourselves, are going to be higher on the list -- and getting worse."

Only the Los Angeles and San Francisco areas have worse traffic than Washington. This year's big mover was Atlanta, which debuted in the "very large" city category at number four, just a notch below Washington.

There is hope for those inclined to see things in a perverse sort of way: Washington cut in half the lead San Francisco holds on the claim to second worst.

Overall, the report offered little solace for congestion-beleaguered Washingtonians. It found that in 2003, the average commuter spent three hours more per year in congestion; collectively, Washingtonians sat in traffic for 145.5 million hours; tie-ups cost area drivers an estimated $2.46 billion, or $577 per commuter, and "rush hour" lasts for fully a third of the day.

The report showed that the Washington area would have the worst congestion in the nation if not for its public transportation systems. Without Metro and other services, the average Washingtonian would have spent 28 more hours per year stuck in traffic, down slightly from the previous year, and the region would have spent nearly $1 billion more in congestion costs.

The study is sponsored by the American Road and Transportation Builders Association and the American Public Transportation Association and is based on data compiled by state and federal traffic agencies for 85 cities. Its results are based on comparing traffic counts and miles of road lanes to estimate congestion levels.

© 2005 The Washington Post Company

[NovaWolverine]

Maritime museum could anchor Anacostia effort
Group pitches $50M project as 'other focus' besides new Nationals stadium in SE
Tim Lemke
Washington Business Journal
April 29, 2005

The National Maritime Heritage Foundation wants to bring a new museum to the Anacostia waterfront.

The foundation is floating a plan that calls for a 120,000-square-foot maritime museum surrounded by a retail and office development and possibly even a hotel. It would secure funds for the museum and hope that developers then put in money for the chance to be close the tourist attraction.

Foundation officials say they are talking with retail and hotel developers but won't name them.

The museum would cost $50.7 million to develop, not including the land price -- which could be significant. An additional $6.5 million would be needed to build a replica of a 19th century tall ship, the Spirit of Enterprize, which would be docked on the Anacostia River.

Foundation officials see the ship and museum as integral to the city's Anacostia River redevelopment plans, which include projects near a new baseball stadium on South Capitol Street.

Baseball "can't be the one thing and the only focus of the redevelopment," says Kevin Traver, executive director of the foundation. "We'd like to offer ourselves as that other focus."

The Spirit of Enterprize would bring in $96.7 million to the city over a 10-year period, according to the Howard University Center for Urban Progress, which the foundation hired to do an economic impact study. A study to determine the combined impact of the tall ship and the museum is due out by the end of May.

Economic development officials, while excited about the role the museum and ship could play as an amenity, are less convinced they will be a catalyst for redevelopment.

"We're not sure what the development program is, so we can't comment on whether it's going to be a driver," says Uwe Brandes, a project manager with the Anacostia Waterfront Corp. "It's a base of uses like this that collectively are going to make the Anacostia a major destination in the city. It's just such a morale-booster. We're definitely in favor of it."

The foundation says it could build the ship and museum through fund raising and some possible government money. The group has asked federal lawmakers for $5 million a year over three years to cover operating costs for the projects.

Federal money has been set aside for maritime museums elsewhere, though in smaller amounts. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., for instance, obtained $175,000 for the Cape Cod Maritime Museum in 2003.

The foundation says it believes it can begin construction on the Spirit of Enterprize at a temporary site by October 2006. Completion of the museum would not be expected until 2012.

The National Capital Planning Commission says the foundation's plans appear to mesh with its own recommendations for redevelopment of the South Capitol Street corridor.

"This is becoming more of a reality as developers start to go down there and they want someone to partner with," Traver says. "I think we're in the running."

[Molo]

Nova, as you can clearly see, no one cares.
Go post on the southeast forum for Richmond or something.

[Evangelion]

someone should post the proposal for the tysons corner, it looks amazing!

i think nova for being technically a suburb is one of the best in the usa

[ECoastTransplant]

Originally Posted by geraldmd15

ALSO: Can someone let me know HOW to post pictures on these threads? I have literally hundreds of pictures of Washington proper and its suburbs that I'd love to post, but I can't figure out for the life of me how to do it. It took a long time to take those pictures, LOL. SOMEONE is going to see them!

Gerald- you need it hosted and then you insert the images into your thread. Try http://www.imageshack.us/. Then you can do this:

[waj0527]

is the purple line still being considered or has that idea been scrapped? I know the U of M didnt like the idea of Cole Field House being a proposed Purple LIne stop.

[Furiine]

I don't really agree with making CFH a station either. It holds sentimental value for many people, being the place the 2001-02 Maryland team played in, the same season they won the NCAA basketball tournament. My dad, who graduated from Maryland in '68 also remembers CFH as the place one would take final exams. It would just seem really strange having it be a station. I'm curious about the purple line, nonetheless.

[urbane]

Excellent thread !! Good job Nova Wolverine !! Now that I am done with finals I will try to post some information as well.

[urbane]

Ok, I will start with this:

Anacostia Waterfront Development

"NCRC and RLARC have reached a deal, in principle, to transfer its holdings at the Southwest Waterfront to the City. The Boards of both NCRC and RLARC authorized the negotiation of a Memorandum of Understanding with the District of Columbia."

View entire news release here: http://www.ncrcdc.com/docs/pressrele...er.release.pdf

Also, the NCRC can be an overview of the project:

http://www.ncrcdc.com/main/news/PressRelease.php?id=107

http://www.anacostiawaterfront.net/

[StevenW]

Please forgive my ignorance, but where is this?


Thanks...

[Furiine]

^That's Buffalo.

[stax]

Originally Posted by Molo

Nova, as you can clearly see, no one cares.
Go post on the southeast forum for Richmond or something.

Actually, Molo, I care. I think that Nova is doing a hell of a thing, considering that he set up a space where we could do some DC posting. My schedule is a little less hectic, so I'll post some stuff too...

[Molo]

Fair enough!

[StevenW]

Originally Posted by Furiine

^That's Buffalo.

Thanks.
Nice, BTW.

[urbane]

Does anybody know how this idea is faring ?


By Krissah Williams
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, May 26, 2005; Page PG09

"Lofts for Artists Open
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Mount Rainier Artist Lofts opened last week. The residences are part of the Gateway Arts District, where county officials and other groups are trying to attract artists, hoping they will act as a catalyst for economic growth.

The development cost $11.7 million to build and has 44 units that will be used as living and studio space.

The arts district is centered on Route 1 and extends through Hyattsville, Mount Rainier, Brentwood and North Brentwood. The lofts are one of several projects intended to attract artists, who have been offered subsidized rents.

The project partners include Prince George's County, the Prince George's County Redevelopment Authority, the state Department of Housing and Community Development, Artspace Projects Inc., Gateway CDC, the City of Mount Rainier and Apollo Housing Capital LLC."

[urbane]

"Private Financing For Ballpark Stalls

By David Nakamura
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, May 28, 2005; Page B05

A plan to provide private financing for a new baseball stadium has stalled because the D.C. Council does not support any of the proposals for the $535 million project.

A $246 million offer from Deutsche Bank has failed to garner majority support on the 13-member council, members said. That has prompted Jack Evans (D-Ward 2), chairman of the council's Committee on Finance and Revenue, to cancel a markup of private financing legislation that had been scheduled for next week.


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"Nothing's completely dead yet," Evans said yesterday of the search for private financing. "But right now, there's nothing to mark up."

The meeting's cancellation was first reported in this week's Washington City Paper.

Evans said he intends to confer next week with council Chairman Linda W. Cropp (D), who pushed for private financing during the stadium financing debate last fall.

Cropp was out of the city yesterday and could not be reached for comment. Her spokesman, Mark F. Johnson, said that "it looks like the game might be over for private financing."

Johnson added: "The chairman, when she sought the idea of private financing, listened to the constituents, the will of what people in city thought was best. If that ends up not being the best deal, she does not want to see baseball die, so she probably won't be committed to private financing. But she put up a good fight."

Council sources said Cropp may give up the push for private financing because she fears that with no single plan gaining majority support, a council vote could open the door for legislation to move the stadium site from the Anacostia waterfront in Southeast. Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) and others want the stadium built next to Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, which would be cheaper because the city would not have to obtain land.

If no private plan is approved, the Anacostia waterfront would be funded through a combination of gross receipts tax on large businesses, a utility tax on businesses and federal buildings, an annual rent payment by the Washington Nationals and a ballpark concessions tax.

In December, after months of debate, the council narrowly approved the financing package with the condition that Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D) find at least $140 million in private money.

Eight companies submitted offers, but only two were certified by Natwar M. Gandhi, the city's chief financial officer. After further analysis, Gandhi recommended the Deutsche Bank proposal.

Under that proposal, the stadium would be financed with $313 million in publicly financed bonds and the $246 million from the bank. In exchange, Deutsche would control the revenue stream from taxes on ballpark concessions.

But some mayoral advisers and council members fear the bank's plan would make the ultimate cost of the stadium project more expensive, up to $607 million. Also, the city would have to make up the difference if the concessions taxes failed to reach $18 million a year.

Gandhi endorsed the deal largely because it reduced the city's borrowing debt, but Evans said yesterday that two Wall Street bond rating agencies told him recently that the stadium bonds would not diminish the city's credit rating.

Council member Vincent B. Orange Sr. (D-Ward 5) said that the public financing plan approved in December has always been the cheapest way to build the stadium.

"We had the best plan in place," Orange said. "We've lost a lot of time, but sometimes you have to go through the process and let the best plan emerge."

Council member Kwame R. Brown (D-At Large) said he hoped the council would continue to examine some of the private offers that Gandhi did not certify."

[urbane]

"Washington Business Journal - 1:52 PM EDT Thursday
Preservation group names endangered D.C. sites
Tim Mazzucca
Staff Reporter

Some of Washington's most desirable sites for redevelopment are also some of the most historic, according to the D.C. Preservation League. The group has released its ninth annual list of the city's most endangered places -- 13 sites where development may destroy historic landmarks of architecture and culture.




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This year's list includes St. Elizabeths Hospital, Mount Vernon Triangle, Martin Luther King Jr. Public Library and the South Capitol Street corridor. Today, St. Elizabeths is being surveyed as the home for the U.S. Coast Guard; Mount Vernon Triangle has seven projects slated to break ground this year; and the Anacostia Waterfront Corp. held another public meeting May 25 to show residents what will be developing along the main street while a new baseball stadium is built.

The Preservation League says there's no immediate threat to the 33-year-old Martin Luther King Jr. Library at 901 F St. NW, but the league is afraid the D.C. government might sell the building before it could get a landmark designation.

Also making the list was the National Capital Revitalization Corp.'s McMillan Reservoir Sand Filtration site near North Capitol and M streets NW. It also made the list in 2000 when the D.C. Office of Planning last tried to sell the land.

Other endangered places included on the list this year are:

Anacostia Historic District, near the Frederick Douglass Home in Southeast;
Battleground National Cemetery, at 6625 Georgia Ave. NW;
The interior of the Franklin School, at 13th and K streets NW;
Holt House, near the National Zoo off Adams Mill Road;
A causeway at 3100 Macomb St. NW;
Open space within the National Mall;
Uline Arena, at 1140 Third St. NW; and
Western Union Telegraph Co. Building, at 4623 41st St. NW. "

[NovaWolverine]

Older Story, but it's still a good topic IMO

Metro Studies Ft. Belvoir Extension
Rail Could Follow Pentagon Transfers

By Leef Smith
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, May 20, 2005; Page B01

Metro officials said yesterday that they are preparing for what will happen to the region's transit system if the Pentagon carries out its plan to move 18,400 jobs to Fort Belvoir in southeastern Fairfax County.

"Intuition tells us there will be an impact, and it could be significant," Chief Executive Richard A. White told the Metro board. "We're trying to get a sense of what that could be."



Metro's Richard White called the Pentagon plan "significant." (Bill O'leary - Twp)

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Fort Belvoir, already Fairfax's largest employer, is not served by Metro, and legislators have said they will push for a federally funded rail extension in the event of such a massive relocation.

Officials estimate the cost of extending light rail from the Blue line to the Main Post at Fort Belvoir at $700 million to $800 million. Metro studied such an extension in 1999 at the behest of Fairfax County Supervisor T. Dana Kauffman (D-Lee), chairman of the Metro board.

"At the time, I figured Belvoir would be boom or bust, and I wanted to be prepared for the boom," Kauffman said after yesterday's meeting. "Little did I know it was going to be the big bang."

Kauffman said Metro is pulling together senior staff to examine previous studies -- which include an analysis of extending both Blue and Yellow lines to Belvoir-- as well as calculating cost estimates to help Fairfax officials as they consult with congressional leaders.

What remains unclear, officials said, is where most of these 18,400 employees live. That more than anything, they said, will determine what the proposed relocation would do to the transit system.

"Right now, no one is able to tell us," Kauffman said.

Also yesterday, the Metro board voted to impose tighter controls on public access to information, including data generated by SmarTrip cards, the electronic fare cards carried by an increasing number of Metro riders.

The privacy policy will allow Metro to release SmarTrip data only when presented with a court order or written permission from the cardholder, or for law enforcement purposes. The changes bring its Public Access to Records Policy in closer alignment with the Federal Freedom of Information Act. The policy will take effect Oct. 1.

Board member Chris Zimmerman, who represents Arlington County, said the policy will go a long way toward "making public information public while keeping private information private."

Yesterday's agenda addressed several proposals for improving service. Metro officials said they are doing a better job of keeping escalators and elevators in service but said they don't seem to be conveying that progress to riders. So the staff is developing brochures and signs to alert riders to scheduled maintenance work and advice on alternative station exits.

Some of the proposed signs met with heavy criticism from Montgomery County representative Robert J. Smith, who denounced it as too wordy for commuters to digest as they speed in and out of stations.

"People don't have time to read 'War and Peace' " Smith chided. "Who's going to read all this? . . . We have to find a better way."

Officials said a town hall meeting last month in Fairfax has prompted significant changes. Among them:

· The cheerful sayings that adorn Metro buses -- "Have a nice day," for example -- soon will be replaced with information such as route numbers and destinations.

· Ninety-eight machines that accept SmarTrip transactions will be added in the next year to handle increased demand for vending machines that can consolidate or refund fare cards.

· A policy is being drafted that would allow Segways, the motorized devices used on sidewalks, aboard the Metrorail system. The policy was described as similar to the one that governs bicycles on the subway, which allows them to be walked, not ridden. But they would be forbidden on escalators and in the Metro system during peak hours. Disabled riders would be exempt from the policy if they are registered by the agency to use the device.

Unlike bicycles, Segways will not be allowed on Metro buses. The policy is expected to go into effect in August.