The GeorGeTown CurrenT
Wednesday, April 26, 2017
Vol. XXVI, No. 38
Serving Burleith, Foxhall, Georgetown, Georgetown Reservoir & Glover Park
Stevens project facing uncertainty
A ROSY CELEBRATION
■ West End: City may drop
long-planned school partner
By MARK LIEBERMAN Current Staff Writer
The long-gestating Stevens School rehabilitation and development project in the West End remains in turmoil, as the specialneeds education program Ivymount is now unsure whether the
city will continue to fund its involvement. Three developers, led by Akridge, have been working since 2012 on plans to renovate the three-story Stevens School building at 1050 21st St. NW for use by the Ivymount School, a Rockvillebased nonprofit that plans to serve around 50 students with autism. The project also includes construction of a 10-story office and retail building on the property’s
open space and at the adjacent former headquarters of the Humane Society of the United States, 2100 L St. NW. But the school portion of that project might be in jeopardy, officials from Ivymount and the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Education said during a meeting of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2A (Foggy Bottom, West End) last Wednesday. While IvySee Stevens/Page 5
Canoe Club building slated for upgrades By MARK LIEBERMAN Current Staff Writer
Susann Shin/The Current
Friends of Rose Park hosted its spring festival on Sunday, featuring a petting zoo, pony rides, an ice cream truck, a pizza oven and live music. Attendees were asked to bring a jar of peanut butter for the Humane Rescue Alliance.
The Washington Canoe Club has stood at 3700 Water St. NW in Georgetown since 1905, with several additions expanding its footprint over the decades. In 1991, the National Park Service-owned site earned distinction as a historic landmark. But since 2010, the club has been forced to make do largely outside the historic boathouse building — the majority of the two-story, 11,240-square-foot facility is unsafe for occupation, according to the Park Service. Now the club’s robust selection of canoes and other watercraft sit outside, and users endure portable toilets and outdoor rinse showers in lieu of indoor facilities. Members are enthusiastic, however, about a plan to restore and even upgrade the boathouse. Earlier this year, the club announced a partnership with See Waterfront/Page 16
Susann Shin/The Current
The historic Washington Canoe Club building has deteriorated badly and is mostly unusable without repairs, needing at least $5 million in renovations.
Bowser discusses plans for education disputes
Pepco to upgrade substation serving Friendship Heights
By MARK LIEBERMAN
■ Utilities: Long-delayed
Current Staff Writer
Mayor Muriel Bowser is likely to spend much of the next two months wrangling with the D.C. Council over her proposed fiscal year 2018 budget. But other pursuits will occupy her time as well — including a long-sought agreement between her office and the Washington Teachers’ Union. In a wide-ranging interview with The Current on Monday, the mayor discussed various education issues that included funding levels, the future of the old Hardy School site in Foxhall, and the lack of a contract with the teachers union. The union has been without a contract since September 2012, and members contend that teacher salaries have stagnated and that tiered increases associated with promotions have lagged behind current
project will boost capacity By CUNEYT DIL Susann Shin/The Current
In an interview with The Current, Mayor Muriel Bowser defended several contentious positions on education, including the school funding formula.
standards. In her State of the District address, Bowser vowed to finalize a deal. She expanded on that commitment in Monday’s interview, praising the city’s teachers and arguing that a new contract is overdue. “The time has come. The teachers need a predictable rate in place, and we want to get that done,” said See Mayor/Page 13
Current Correspondent
Pepco will begin a long-delayed project next month to modernize a 1940s-era substation on Wisconsin Avenue NW in order to address an increased demand for electricity around Friendship Heights. The $137.5 million project would gut the interior of the old substation building at 5210 Wisconsin, across from Harrison Street NW, to upgrade its equip-
ment. The finished substation will run more quietly and efficiently, according to Pepco. The exterior of the building, which currently features two murals dedicated to President John F. Kennedy, will see new landscaping added and more window space for artwork. During construction, the electricity load will be transferred to a temporary facility at 5220 Wisconsin Ave., the former Classic Motors car dealership. Pepco purchased that site in 2011 and has spent the past two years on preparation work, including extending underground transmission lines See Substation/Page 3
SHERWOOD
SPORTS
GETTING AROUND
INDEX
Sidewalk security
Ultimate champs
Metro changes
Calendar/20 Classifieds/29 District Digest/4 Exhibits/21 In Your Neighborhood/17 Opinion/8
Secret Service responds to grave threat of pedestrians south of White House / Page 8
Wilson three-peats as DCSAA Ultimate Frisbee winner as sport’s popularity soars/ Page 11
Service adjustments, modest fare increases due to come early this summer on bus, rail / Page 19
Police Report/6 Real Estate/15 School Dispatches/10 Service Directory/27 Sports/11 Week Ahead/3
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