The Northwest Current
Wednesday, July 5, 2017
Long-delayed bench honors civil rights icon
Debate continues over planned Tenley project
ART OF DIPLOMACY
■ Development: Amenities,
height still face controversy
By KATHLEEN J. BRYAN Current Correspondent
Nearly two years after Chevy Chase community leaders began pushing for a bench to honor the passing of neighborhood resident Julian Bond, the civil rights icon and former NAACP chairman has his memorial at last. More than 60 of Bond’s friends, family, neighbors and civil rights colleagues joined Mayor Muriel Bowser and other D.C. officials for a ceremony last week to dedicate the bench and a memorial plaque outside the Chevy Chase Community Center on Connecticut Avenue NW. Bowser said attendees were paying tribute to a “great man” who, she said, exuded bravery alongside others from the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in “hostile areas,” where riding a bus or sitting at a lunch counter could spell danger. Bond, who died in August 2015 at age 75, was known locally for his presence in the D.C. neighborhood where he lived with his wife of 25 years, Pam Horowitz. At the See Bond/Page 2
By MARK LIEBERMAN Current Staff Writer
Tenleytown could get a new sit-down restaurant as part of an upcoming development at 4620 Wisconsin Ave. NW, but after considerable back-and-forth with developers, some community members remain unsatisfied with the proposed building height and community benefits package. Urban Investment Partners hopes to transform and expand the
former American University office space into an eight-story mixeduse building with 11,000 feet of ground-level retail and 100-plus apartments. The developer is pursuing the project through the city’s planned unit development process, which allows for greater density in exchange for additional neighborhood amenities. The project has come before Advisory Neighborhood Commission 3E (American University Park, Friendship Heights, Tenleytown) on numerous occasions since February 2016 — each time to a mixed reception. Some comSee Tenley/Page 5
Cleveland Park streetscape proposals facing pushback ■ Transportation: ANC
Brian Kapur/The Current
South Korea’s first lady, Kim Jung-sook, visited Iona Senior Services on Friday morning. She observed an art therapy session and painted with participants in Iona’s adult day center for people with chronic conditions.
fears repercussions for traffic
By GRACE BIRD
Current Correspondent
Evans pushes extended lease for art center By CUNEYT DIL
Current Correspondent
Jackson Art Center has support from Ward 2 D.C. Council member Jack Evans in hopes of staying at its Georgetown building long past next year, when its lease with the city is set to expire. On March 2, Evans introduced a bill to renew the lease for up to 20 years — moving ahead of Mayor Muriel Bowser’s office, which hasn’t yet begun negotiations with the nonprofit. The art center has occupied the historic Jackson School building at 3050 R St. NW since 1980 and currently pays $145,000 in annual rent. The center has signed two short-term lease extensions in
Vol. L, No. 27
Serving Communities in Northwest Washington Since 1967
Photo courtesy of Jackson Art Center
Jackson Art Center is located at 3050 R St. NW in Georgetown.
recent years, most recently in 2015. The large Georgetown building has been eyed at times by developers, making users and neighbors anxious at the possible loss of a community arts space. The mayor supports a long-
term extension of the lease, D.C. Department of General Services general counsel Camille Sabbakhan told the council’s Committee on Business and Economic Development at a hearing last Wednesday. She asked the committee to hold off on moving the bill because the mayor is prepared to submit her own legislation that is “very similar to the bill currently presented” after discussions with Jackson Art Center. But Evans said he wants faster progress. “I am anxious to get this done,” Evans told Sabbakhan. “It’s very important. I think we can just do it, knock it off.” Sabbakhan said the rental fee is See Jackson/Page 2
Long-discussed plans to upgrade the run-down yet historic streetscape in Cleveland Park are now facing more delays after two recent rejections from the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts. The project aims to improve aesthetics, traffic safety and stormwater runoff in the Connecticut Avenue commercial corridor. It’s now expected to break ground in August of next year, two months later than the original start date, according to Paul Hoffman, program manager at the D.C. Department of Transportation. The federal arts commission opposed designs on March 16 and again on May 18, with another review expected this month. While the panel has supported the intent to improve the commercial streetscape, members criticized the designs for “poor conceptual clarity,” according to a May 25 letter by commission secretary Thomas Luebke to the Transporta-
Brian Kapur/Current file photo
The project includes mitigation measures to prevent flooding at the Cleveland Park Metro entry.
tion Department. In an earlier letter in March, Luebke called for plans to commit to one theme: “Either draw upon design precedents in the corridor’s strong architectural context, or it could establish a modern design expressive of its own time.” The project covers Connecticut Avenue from Porter Street NW to south of Macomb Street. Plans include drainage modifications — propelled in part by last year’s Cleveland Park Metro flood — as well as reconfiguring traffic and installing new street furnishings, gathering areas and green infrastructure. One of the most promiSee Streetscape/Page 23
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