Serving Dupont Circle, Kalorama, Adams Morgan & Logan Circle
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
The Dupont Current
Zoo neighbors bemoan later opening hours
Vol. XIV, No. 24
GWU may sell empty dorm on Virginia Ave.
fun with scissors
■ Foggy Bottom: Planned
By KELSEY KNORP
renovations had been delayed
Current Correspondent
Some early risers in neighborhoods bordering the National Zoo will have to adjust their morning routines this winter, as the Zoo establishes new hours of operation. Beginning in January, the Zoo grounds will open two hours later each day, at 8 a.m., and close an hour earlier, at 5 p.m. Exhibit building hours will also be adjusted slightly, to open at 9 a.m. rather than 10 a.m. and close a half-hour earlier than usual, at 4 p.m. The later grounds opening times are intended as a permanent change. However, the earlier close times are in part designed to accommodate daylight saving time, as the earlier darkness can pose safety risks to both visitors and staff, according to National Zoo director Dennis Kelly. When the Zoo shifts to summer hours in mid-March, closing times for the grounds and exhibits will be extended by two hours. For neighbors in areas like Woodley Park, the Zoo is a popular spot for a morning walks or runs. Many commuters also cut through the grounds on foot to save time and avoid rush-hour traffic. Due to the influx of people so early in the morning, Kelly said, it is often difficult to manage the daily flow of 2,000 to 3,000 vehicles needed to provide food and veterinary care to the animals, and to perform services like maintenance and restocking the gift shops and vending machines before the Zoo opens. The director noted the routine occurrence of “near-misses and confrontations” between staff and early visitors when both parties use the grounds in the morning. “I don’t want to see a tragic accident here because of a conflict between people trying to do their jobs and people trying to use the Zoo for recreation,” Kelly said. Because staff will have more breathing room to conduct morning preparations, the Zoo will be able to See Zoo/Page 2
NEWS
By MARK LIEBERMAN Current Staff Writer
Brian Kapur/The Current
Mayor Muriel Bowser and Ward 2 D.C. Council member Jack Evans celebrated Uber’s growth in D.C. with a ribbon-cutting Friday as part of the mayor’s “Scissors & Shovels Day.” The ride-hailing firm recently moved into a newly expanded office at 1717 Rhode Island Ave. NW that can fit 500 employees.
George Washington University announced Monday that it’s seeking a broker for a possible sale of its Hall on Virginia Avenue, or HOVA, building, long a target of complaints from graduate student residents and other members of the Foggy Bottom community. The graduate student dormitory, a former Howard Johnson’s hotel, closed in 2014 and continues to await major renovations after years of criticisms about subpar living conditions from the university community. George Washington spokesperson Alicia Knight said in an email that the decision to explore a potential sale came about after several brokers expressed interest in the property at 2601 Virginia Ave. NW. But it’s far from a done deal, Knight said. “Whether the university sells HOVA, which is vacant and has undergone some interior demolition, will depend on the offers received,”
Current file photo
The graduate student dorm is the former Howard Johnson’s hotel used by the Watergate burglars.
Knight said. “The university is seeking a broker with relevant experience as well as a marketing strategy that will help maximize the value of the property.” Foggy Bottom advisory neighborhood commissioner William Kennedy Smith said the possibility of a sale took him by surprise. “It’s obviously exploratory in nature,” Smith said. “We’ve had a pretty consistent signal from the university that they were planning on developing this.” Commission chair Patrick Kennedy was less surprised, noting that numerous delays to the renovations were a red flag to him that the uniSee Dorm/Page 2
ANC debates historical merits of Kalorama Rec Center By KELSEY KNORP Current Correspondent
The question of whether a landmark nomination for Kalorama Park should include the site’s recreation center sparked considerable debate at the Adams Morgan advisory neighborhood commission last Wednesday. Although commissioners generally agreed that the park at 1875 Columbia Road NW is worthy of historic designation, some worried that the nomination could impede a future effort to improve the small, aging center. They ultimately voted 5-3 to ask the Historic Preservation Review Board to consider the building historically relevant to the park and to request that any alteration or new construction respect its context within the park. The structure in question was built along with the original park in 1947 as a shelter, then renovated in 1993 to become the recreation center.
EVENTS
Brian Kapur/Current file photo
A community group has nominated Kalorama Park as a historic landmark, sparking debate over whether to include the 1947 building.
Commission chair Billy Simpson wanted to ask the board to “not treat the existing shelter/recreation building as a contributing historic resource in the park” because of the 1993 alterations. Commissioner JonMarc Buffa agreed, adding
SHERWOOD
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that it might be useful to someday demolish the rec center outright to build a better facility. “This structure, to me, doesn’t meet the definition of historic, so therefore to make something historic that isn’t historic, in my opinion would denigrate things that really are historic,” Buffa said. Opponents argued that Simpson and Buffa were overstating the scale of the 1993 renovation, in which a porch was walled in and a triple-window bay added to the southern portion of the building’s east elevation. Denis James, president of the Kalorama Citizens Association — which filed the landmark application — said the 1947 design remains largely intact. James urged commissioners not to “hold our nomination hostage because something might happen in the future,” in part because if the park becomes a landmark, any future renovations would have to first gain approval from the preserSee Kalorama/Page 2
INDEX Calendar/14 Classifieds/21 District Digest/5 Dupont Circle Citizen/9 Exhibits/15 In Your Neighborhood/12
Opinion/6 Police Report/4 Real Estate/13 School Dispatches/8 Service Directory/19 Week Ahead/3
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