The GeorGeTown CurrenT
Wednesday, June 14, 2017
Vol. XXVI, No. 45
Serving Burleith, Foxhall, Georgetown, Georgetown Reservoir & Glover Park
Whole Foods renovations delayed
DIGGING TUDOR PLACE
■ Glover Park: Grocer faces
lease dispute, stop-work order By BRADY HOLT Current Staff Writer
A recent lawsuit and “stop work” order have raised further questions about Whole Foods Market’s Glover Park store, which closed abruptly in March after the D.C. Department of Health found
repeated evidence of rodents. Although the 2323 Wisconsin Ave. NW supermarket was cleared to reopen, the company took the opportunity to remain closed and carry out a complete renovation — much to the chagrin of customers, who blasted the lack of notice and scarcity of details about when the store might reopen. Whole Foods’ effort to move quickly may have backfired in other ways as well. Last month,
the store was ordered to cease interior demolition without a permit. Separately, Whole Foods last week sued its landlord, Wical Limited Partnership, alleging that Wical improperly threatened to terminate its lease and continues to obstruct the renovation. The first public sign of discord appeared May 21, when the D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs posted an See Lawsuit/Page 3
Bridge hazard still forcing trail closure By MARK LIEBERMAN Current Staff Writer
Photo by Chris Thompkins
Tudor Place Historic House and Garden in Georgetown hosted an “Archaeologist Show-and-Tell” event last Thursday where Joe Blondino from Dovetail Resources Group discussed findings from an ongoing dig near the estate’s smokehouse arbor, kitchen arbor and gazebo. Another such event will take place on Thursday at 3 p.m.
The trail beneath the Foundry Branch Bridge in Glover Archbold Park near Foxhall has been closed for the past 10 months, as plans have stalled to resolve safety concerns by repairing the deteriorating structure. Meanwhile, the agencies involved in the site appear to differ on its future. The National Park Service — which controls Glover Archbold as part of its Rock Creek Park portfolio — closed a quarter-mile portion of the northsouth trail last August, from the intersection of Foxhall and Canal roads NW north to where a side trail connects to P Street. Since then, signs posted at the trail entrance near Foxhall Road continue to warn that the increasing instability of a long-abandoned trolley bridge that crosses above part of the trail “poses a safety hazard to park visitors.” See Bridge/Page 12
Mark Lieberman/The Current
Although pedestrians can easily access the closed trail, the National Park Service says it’s dangerous to pass under the deteriorating trolley bridge.
Downspout disconnection program picks up its pace
Eaton parents wary over shelter’s impact By CUNEYT DIL
■ Environment: Some areas
Current Correspondent
Parents at Eaton Elementary remain concerned that a new family homeless shelter will overwhelm their already crowded school, but Eaton’s principal said the school can handle it. The city is planning to construct short-term housing at 3320 Idaho Ave. NW, part of a citywide effort to replace the dilapidated D.C. General, and schoolaged children there would be within Eaton’s boundary during the school year of their stay. City officials attended a community meeting on the issue last Tuesday, where many parents expressed fears that the school would not be able to provide adequate special services to children of homeless families. Others worried it might be difficult to mesh residents experiencing homelessness with the school community.
eligible for free rain barrels
By GRACE BIRD
Current Correspondent
Brian Kapur/Current file photo
Eaton Elementary, located at 3301 Lowell St., is the in-boundary school for the planned family shelter. Eaton principal Dale Mann said the school could use additional support staff or training from D.C. Public Schools to address any special needs, such as mental or financial, of students from homeless families. He also echoed concerns of overcrowding, saying that some classes currently reach 27 students, See Eaton/Page 15
In an effort to reduce storminduced combined sewer overflows, the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority is accelerating its Downspout Disconnection Program this month for portions of Glover Park, Burleith and Georgetown. The work is free and voluntary for single-family as well as multiunit residential buildings in the
designated areas, and involves extending downspouts away from buildings or connecting them to rain barrels. Both efforts are intended to increase the stormwater that evaporates or is absorbed into the earth, rather than ending up in storm sewers. “We’re trying to make this as easy and simple as possible for residents to participate,” DC Water’s green infrastructure project manager Bethany Bezak said in an interview. Residents participating in DC Water’s downspout initiative receive discounts on their water See Downspout/Page 15
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Specials at local restaurants to precede this year’s annual cooking competition / Page 17
With St. John’s boys basketball coach headed elsewhere, former assistant takes the reins/ Page 9
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