Serving Foggy Bottom & the West End
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
Vol. VIII, No. 37
The Foggy BoTTom CurrenT
Zoning panel to mull rules on penthouses
14th and U area eyed for proposed new BID
pUppY LOVE
property owners agree to pay extra
■ Business: Backers say plan taxes to fund capital improvements
would bolster revitalization
By BRADY HOLT Current Staff Writer
After Congress tweaked its rules for maximum building heights in D.C. this spring, the city’s Zoning Commission is examining how to let developers take advantage of new rooftop uses while stimulating affordable housing production. The revised Height of Buildings Act hasn’t changed the formula for calculating a maximum height: the width of the adjacent street plus 10 feet (up to 90 feet) in most residential areas and width plus 20 feet (up to 130) in commercial areas. But Congress did grant D.C. officials more say in how to measure height. Specifically, it authorized city zoning authorities to exclude up to 20 feet of a rooftop penthouse from a building’s official height in certain circumstances, and many are enthusiastic about the new flexibility. Local zoning regulations can be stricter than the federal restrictions — and are, in much of the city — but can’t allow greater heights than the Height Act stipulates. Not to be confused with a luxury See penthouses/Page 22
By KAT LUCERO Current Staff Writer
As commercial development around 14th and U streets proliferates, a group of stakeholders is seeking a uniform, sustainable approach to enhancing and connecting the business community. Specifically, they’re exploring a “business improvement district,” or BID, for the area known as MidCity between downtown and upper Northwest. In a BID, commercial
Owners working to revive popular tavern Crowbar By KAT LUCERO Brian Kapur/The Current
The Lawrence family of Columbia Heights adopted this puppy from the Washington Animal Rescue League on Saturday. The group held a “Hot Dogs and Cool Cats” adoption event at its facility with reduced fees. Over 35 animals found new homes.
Campers’ new mural honors Jelleff history By GRAHAM VYSE Current Staff Writer
Jelleff Recreation Center in Georgetown has a new outdoor mural this month thanks to a group of summer campers from the Fillmore Arts Center. With the help of Fillmore instructor Ria Lopez, a dozen campers between the ages of 10 and 14 spent three weeks last month completing artwork on the side of the building that faces Jelleff’s soccer field. The mural features large letters spelling out the rec center’s name, with each letter drawn as a graphic to represent an athletic sport. Above the “J” shown as a swimming pool and the “E” depicted as a
NEWS
and additional services within their boundaries, such as sidewalk cleaning, public safety support and marketing. “It’s in the very beginning stages. We’re trying to embark on an exploratory effort to see if a BID can be put together,” said Cork Wine Bar’s Diane Gross, who is part of the effort’s working group. This area has “seen the most hyper development anywhere in the city, and there’s not really a guiding force. Business owners are excited about the development but also concerned that we See BID/Page 22
Brian Kapur/The Current
This year’s mural is one of many done by Fillmore campers.
basketball, campers painted the words “Bringing People Together Since 1953” underneath a giant rainbow. The mural also includes a likeness of Bob Stowers, who for 20 years has run Jelleff’s operations for
the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington. In an interview, Stowers said Fillmore reached out to him earlier this year about putting up a mural, but it was only recently that he realized he would be depicted. “It’s definitely an honor,” he said, even as he acknowledged feeling a little embarrassed by the attention. Fillmore camp director Sara Friendly told The Current she pushed for including Stowers as a way to recognize his service to the young people from across D.C. who have visited the rec center in the past two decades. “He’s just been such a fixture at Jelleff,” she said in an interview. “He knows everybody, and See Mural/Page 12
EVENTS
Current Staff Writer
Two D.C. bar veterans are working to resurrect Crowbar, a popular tavern that operated in the 1990s near Farragut North. One potential spot eyed by Steve Zarpas and Jamie Hess is 1336 14th St., the past home of the controversial Ghana Cafe. Although no lease has been finalized and negotiations continue, the two introduced their concept to the community at this month’s meeting of the Logan Circle advisory neighborhood commission. Without a signed lease, the location is far from certain, though. “Crowbar will reopen but I can’t at this point confirm whether it will be 14th St or another location — because quite simply we don’t know,” Hess wrote in an email to The Current. The owners said they came to the Aug. 6 meeting so “people know us and realize that they can communicate,” according to Zarpas. “The last thing we want is any kind of confrontation.” Crowbar had been successful at 20th and K streets for eight years until the spot was redeveloped into
SHERWOOD
Dance studio set to open on 14th Street in old movie theater
‘Dirty Dancing’ set to visit the National as tour kicks off
Ferguson points to troubling issues with police militarization
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Brian Kapur/Current file photo
Ghana Cafe closed at 1336 14th St. citing a restrictive agreement with neighbors. Crowbar has discussed opening there, but there’s no signed lease.
an office building in 1998, according to Zarpas. He’s been looking for a new space for the tavern ever since. Zarpas and his new business partner Hess see Crowbar filling a void on the 14th Street, offering a casual inexpensive alternative to the corridor’s swanky lounges and sit-down restaurants. “One of the things I noticed in See Tavern/Page 7
INDEX Calendar/14 Classifieds/21 District Digest/4 Exhibits/15 Foggy Bottom News/11 In Your Neighborhood/10
Opinion/8 Police Report/6 Real Estate/13 Service Directory/19 Theater/17 Week Ahead/3
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