Serving Foggy Bottom & the West End
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Vol. IX, No. 1
The Foggy BoTTom CurrenT
Board rejects plans for I St. roof addition
Lanier Heights zoning change gets ANC nod
H A P P Y H O L I D AY S
■ Development: New zone
would restrict height, density
By ELIZABETH WIENER Current Staff Writer
With “pop-up” additions raising ire around the city, the D.C. Historic Preservation Review Board is setting tighter rules for rooftop additions in the tiny historic district of Foggy Bottom. Two distinct architectural elements are driving this protective urge: the almost-uniform two-story height of row houses on I Street, and the area’s iconic rear alleys. The preservation board last week unanimously rebuffed a homeowner’s request to put a third story on his 1881 home at 2431 I St. “It is not a radical idea to conclude that, in some places at least, two-story buildings should remain two stories. … Their heights and proportions are important to their historic character,” wrote city architectural historian Tim Dennée in his report on the case. The two-block Foggy Bottom Historic District, just west of George Washington University, has only 135 contributing buildings and, according to Dennée, only four of See Addition/Page 5
By BRADY HOLT Current Staff Writer
An effort by a group of Lanier Heights residents to limit development in their neighborhood won unanimous support from the Adams Morgan advisory neighborhood commission last week. The community, located just north of the 18th Street nightlife area and southeast of the National Zoo, has about 165 single-family row houses mixed in with apartment buildings of all sizes. But unusually, the entire area, including the row houses, is zoned R-5-B, a designa-
Brian Kapur/The Current
The Fairmont Washington, D.C., Georgetown hosted its 11th annual tree lighting ceremony last Wednesday. The event at the West End hotel included a performance by the Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School’s Madrigals, visits from Santa Claus and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and other activities.
Current Staff Writer
Brian Kapur/The Current
Vice President Joe Biden spoke at the Kennedy Center event.
as it was part of original architect Edward Durell Stone’s vision. Commissioners asked the Kennedy Center to analyze the pavilion’s potential impacts on boat traffic on the Potomac River and to
submit the results before the next review stage, which is expected to come in February or March, according to a report from the commission’s executive director. Spokesperson John Dow said in a statement that “the Kennedy Center is happy the National Capital Planning Commission granted preliminary approval for the expansion and we look forward to presenting the project again in the near future.” Commissioners also made a few other requests. They asked center officials to refine the design for proposed public walkways that would lead in and out of the center’s southern section, and to identify bicycle parking along the Rock Creek Park See Expansion/Page 16
EVENTS
Agency aims to add DC Circulator bus service across city — Page 3
■ Education: New building,
renovation are possibilities Current Staff Writer
By KAT LUCERO
NEWS
Decision expected soon on scope of Garrison upgrade By KATIE PEARCE
Kennedy Center expansion breaks ground The Kennedy Center pulled out all the stops last Thursday — including bringing in Vice President Joe Biden — at a groundbreaking ceremony for its first major expansion since the institution was built 50 years ago. But according to the National Capital Planning Commission, the performing arts center’s project still needs fine-tuning. At a hearing later that afternoon, the commission approved the preliminary site and building plans for much of the expansion, but not a proposed river pavilion — which center officials are keen on keeping
tion that allows for tall multi-unit buildings — which has led to a series of “pop-up” expansions in which bulky additions transform homes into apartment buildings. “One of the reasons we have so many developers circling around us is that we are in the R-5-B aisle of shopping,” neighborhood commissioner Wilson Reynolds said at last Wednesday’s meeting. “To close that gate is a good move.” The neighborhood commission’s strong endorsement will be critical for “downzoning” proponents, who want the tighter caps on height and density found in the R-4 zone. Denis Suski, who is helping lead the effort, told The Current he hopes to have a formal Zoning CommisSee Zoning/Page 5
Freer Gallery will host two exhibits spotlighting tea — Page 23
Does it make more sense to modernize the building of Garrison Elementary School, or to tear it down and start from scratch? That’s the latest question tossed into the mix of uncertainties for Garrison, located at 1200 S St. NW. While community members have always assumed the $40 million renovation plan would upgrade the existing 1960s facility, they were surprised to learn recently that the city was weighing the more extensive option of a full replacement. A public meeting last week apparently failed to provide clarity on that issue. According to attendees, the D.C. Department of General Services has indicated that a decision will come in mid-January, with input from Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson and new Mayor Muriel Bowser.
HOLIDAYS
Georgetown GLOW event features new holiday light show — Page 18
Brian Kapur/Current file photo
The city has allocated $40 million to modernize the 1960s school.
“There was definitely some concern in the room that it was going to wait until January for a decision,” said Tom Lipinsky, spokesperson for Ward 2 D.C. Council member Jack Evans. Advocacy for Garrison has spiked in recent years, as the fastdeveloping Logan Circle and Shaw neighborhoods have shown growing interest in their in-boundary public school options. Garrison’s first PTA formed in 2011, snagging a pro bono team of consultants to create new designs for the school’s grounds and playground. When the city recomSee Garrison/Page 16
INDEX Calendar/22 Classifieds/30 District Digest/4 Exhibits/23 Foggy Bottom News/11 In Your Neighborhood/16
Opinion/8 Police Report/6 Real Estate/15 School Dispatches/10 Service Directory/27 Week Ahead/3
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