Serving Communities in Northwest Washington Since 1967
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Vol. XLVIII, No. 39
The NorThwesT CurreNT
D.C. celebrates Rock Creek Park’s 125th
Plans advance to shift farmhouse on Foxhall
P O N T I F F PA R A D E
■ Preservation: Owners
By MARK LIEBERMAN
seeking space for new house
Current Staff Writer
Rock Creek Park reached its 125th anniversary on Sunday — but the birthday party was as much a preview of the next 125 years as a celebration of the ones that came before. Remarks by park superintendent Tara Morrison set the scene early in the event, held at the park’s nature center at 5200 Glover Road NW. “Today is not only a big party, but it’s about making sure that the park is here for the next 125 years,” Morrison said. “We can’t do it alone.” That theme popped up throughout the day’s events, which included two panel discussions, tent displays from organizations like the Rock Creek Conservancy and the D.C. Water and Sewer Authority, a rockclimbing wall, guided hikes, crash courses in photography and other hobbies, poetry readings and more. It culminated in a closing ceremony featuring Ward 4 D.C. Council member Brandon Todd, followed by a display of enthusiastically received birthday cakes. And the anniversary also brought the possibility of a new name for the country’s first urban national reserve. D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton introduced a bill Friday to rename it “Rock Creek National Park” in order to “highlight the significance of the park for the nation,” according to a news release. National Park Service spokesperson Emily Linroth said in an email that the agency hasn’t yet taken a position on the House bill, but the park appreciates Norton’s interest. Whatever the name, the goal of Sunday’s events was to attract people who might not otherwise have been familiar with the park, according to Morrison. Having activities for all age groups was an important part of that effort, she said. Morrison also said she hopes the anniversary will energize neighbors and tourists alike about the role they can play in the park, either taking See Rock Creek/Page 4
NEWS
By KELSEY KNORP Current Correspondent
Brian Kapur/The Current
Pope Francis visited Washington last week, drawing frenzied crowds to events throughout the city. Last Wednesday the pontiff met with President Barack Obama before a parade around the White House and along Constitution Avenue.
— Page 3
Brian Kapur/Current file photo
A new home and garage will go behind the 1865 Scheele-Brown farmhouse on Foxhall Road.
add space in a way that avoids detracting from the building’s original character, particularly in light of a pending application to designate the home as a historic landmark. The family’s plan represents the second time the farmhouse will shift positions: In 1903, it was moved about 150 feet from the spot where farmer Augustus Daniel Scheele originally built it in 1865. Attias and Kotzur have proposed moving the home an additional 12 feet west and 40 feet north, which would require demolition of the pantry shed addition, kitchen chimney, second-story bathroom and enclosed rear porches that were added after See Foxhall/Page 3
Washington Home, Sidwell aim to reap benefits of land deal By BRADY HOLT Current Staff Writer
The deal came about almost by accident. Sidwell Friends School was checking — somewhat dubiously — whether a small office building beside its upper-school campus could be converted to house its elementary grades. The nearby Washington Home & Community Hospices, meanwhile, was mulling how to most efficiently spend its money on elderly care. Both institutions date to the 1880s, and both have been located for decades in the Tenleytown block bordered by Wisconsin Avenue and 37th, Quebec and Upton streets NW. Also on the block are the office building that piqued Sidwell’s interest — slated to be vacated by Fannie Mae as it consolidates downtown — and a building owned by Washington Home and leased to the U.S. Postal Service.
SPOR TS
District’s attorney general joins probe into Volkswagen
The owners of a 19th-century farmhouse at 2207 Foxhall Road NW will be able to relocate the structure elsewhere on their property to make room for a new two-story home and detached garage behind it, following a decision by the Historic Preservation Review Board last Thursday. Board members, however, recommended the farmhouse be farther from the street than originally proposed and objected to a planned fence around the property, on the grounds that these conditions failed to “fit the context” of the setting. The complex plan from owners Chantal Attias and Andreas Kotzur came after an earlier scheme — relocating the house to the Field School next door — fell through after school officials evaluated the long-term costs of annexing the building. Attias and Kotzur found the farmhouse too cramped for their family of five, which includes two toddlers and Attias’ mother. They’re seeking to
Wilson girls soccer hopes for DCSAA championship run — Page 9
Brian Kapur/The Current
The Washington Home says its nursing home has become unsustainable and the sale will help it transition to more in-home care.
Ellis Turner, Sidwell’s associate head of school, says officials have repeatedly looked into acquiring that Fannie Mae building next door to campus, despite concerns about putting young children on a property with limited open space.
SHERWOOD
After high hopes, Nats turn out lights in dramatic fashion — Page 6
Because that building shares a driveway with the post office, he said, they also asked the Washington Home to see if the Postal Service still held a long lease on the Friendship Station property. But when a Washington Home representative got back in touch the next day, Turner said, it was to ask if Sidwell would instead be interested in purchasing its entire 5.7-acre nursing home property. School officials saw the campus — with its low-scale building and graceful open space — as a great fit for an elementary school. Tim Cox, executive director of the Washington Home, tells it a little differently, saying that the school was directly inquiring about buying property from the home: “What I’m aware of is getting an unsolicited offer from Sidwell.” Regardless, the institutions each concluded they’d hit a stroke of luck, and reached agreement on the planned $32.5 million sale on Sept. 15. The See Sale/Page 5
INDEX Calendar/14 Classifieds/21 District Digest/2 Exhibits/15 In Your Neighborhood/12 Opinion/6
Police Report/4 Real Estate/13 School Dispatches/8 Service Directory/19 Sports/9 Week Ahead/3
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