Dp 08 03 2016

Page 1

The Dupont Current

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

Preservation board nixes P Street plan

Park Service releases boathouse sites study

making a splash

■ Recreation: Waterfront

plan draws mixed reactions

By MARK LIEBERMAN Current Staff Writer

The new development planned for 2147-2149 P St. NW failed to win immediate approval from the Board of Zoning Adjustment three weeks ago. But the obstacles weren’t over for the mixed-use project: On Thursday, the Historic Preservation Review Board also declined to approve the concept. Valor Development has been in dialogue with the community since last fall about its plan to transform the existing three-story Marrakech nightclub buildings — previously a pair of row houses — into a five-story, eight-unit apartment building with a restaurant on the ground floor. But many residents and neighborhood leaders think the project would compromise the aesthetics of the surrounding historic district. At the July 28 historic preservation hearing, board chair Gretchen Pfaehler concurred, and the board voted unanimously that the project needs significant revisions. See Addition/Page 5

By MARK LIEBERMAN Current Staff Writer

The National Park Service has narrowed its proposed options for new Georgetown boathouses, with only one development scenario remaining under consideration for the 1,500-foot stretch of riverfront from 34th Street NW to west of the Key Bridge. In an environmental assessment released Thursday, the Park Service studied a proposal for two

Brian Kapur/The Current

■ Transportation: Rolling

Over the weekend the Norwood Cooperative celebrated the $3 million renovation of the 1417 N St. NW building after its residents bought the property under the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act. Saturday’s “SoulFiesta del barrio” block party featured free food, various games and live music.

By CUNEYT DIL

Current Correspondent

Brian Kapur/The Current

The city will study bus bunching on often-congested I Street NW.

that traffic prevents the buses from being spaced out properly. Meanwhile, the Transportation Department is also looking at Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House to Washington Circle, where planners are examining

or three new boathouses and other improvements, as well as an option that would make no change to the status quo. The new study is the latest step in an effort spanning nearly 30 years to increase the area’s existing boathouse capacity, which is used by Georgetown and George Washington universities, as well as high school crew teams and members of the public. “This is the final public comment period, so barring something unforeseen it is unlikely anything that hasn’t been addressed over the many years this planning effort has been See Boathouses/Page 14

Plans detailed for coming Beach Drive rehabilitation road closures to last for years

By MARK LIEBERMAN Current Staff Writer

City to review western downtown traffic A newly launched study of downtown roadways could yield a dedicated H Street NW bus lane and a westward extension of the Pennsylvania Avenue NW central cycle track. The D.C. Department of Transportation is also looking at I Street NW, which runs eastbound one block north of westbound H, as part of the new Downtown West Transportation Planning Study. According to a 2013 report, a quarter of the region’s Metrobus lines slog through these two parallel streets between Pennsylvania and New York avenues. The result has been bus bunching, meaning

Vol. XV, No. 10

Serving Dupont Circle, Kalorama, Adams Morgan & Logan Circle

ways to improve the streetscape’s aesthetics and facilities for pedestrians and bicyclists. “It’s a little bit of a two-headed monster,” project manager Megan Kanagy said. “But because the corridors do intersect, we want to make sure they work well.” One solution under review for the bus issue — which Kanagy said tends to peak during the evening commute — is to shift a portion of I Street bus traffic to H via an eastbound contraflow bus lane. Such a configuration would be the first in the District, a city where there are few bus lanes at all. If successful in easing gridlock, the dedicated lane could benefit car drivers and the 60,000 people who See Downtown/Page 5

The long-awaited rehabilitation of Beach Drive NW and the Rock Creek Trail is nearing its start date, as community members cheer on federal and city agencies despite lingering concerns. The entire effort, scheduled to take at least two or three years, covers 6.5 miles from the Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway north to the Maryland border. Throughout all or most of that time, at least one stretch of Beach Drive will face an extended closure in both directions, though pedestrians and bicyclists will retain access. The National Park Service presented detailed plans on the first of four segments of the project at a community meeting Thursday. Scheduled to commence after Labor Day, this first phase covers the roadway and trail from the parkway to Tilden Street NW. Construction during the first segment will begin on the roadway and later move to the trail, at

Brian Kapur/The Current

The first phase of construction runs south from Tilden Street.

which point pedestrians and bicycles will be directed to a dedicated lane on the newly finished roadway. The first segment itself is split into two parts, with the second part adding the closure of Piney Branch Parkway from Beach Drive to 17th Street NW. The first segment is expected to take six to eight months in all, project officials said, but the exact schedule of this first segment’s two parts hasn’t yet been finalized. “We will have a better estimate of time in the next few weeks, and will provide that information to the public so everyone can plan for that closure,” the Park See Beach/Page 5

NEWS

NORTHWEST PASSAGES

EVENTS

INDEX

Banking on history

Coloring stress away

Jazz legends

Calendar/16 Classifieds/22 District Digest/4 Dupont Circle Citizen/9 Exhibits/17 In Your Neighborhood/12

Preservation board poised to expand downtown’s Financial Historic District / Page 3

D.C. Public Library branches get on board with burgeoning trend of adult coloring programs / Page 10

Exhibition at National Portrait Gallery set to open Friday with images of musical icons / Page 17

Northwest Passages/10 Opinion/6 Police Report/8 Real Estate/13 Service Directory/20 Week Ahead/3

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