Serving Communities in Northwest Washington Since 1967
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Vol. XLVIII, No. 43
The Northwest Current
Spring Valley projects face city scrutiny
High school exam yields low, but expected, scores
mini j edi
■ Education: PARCC finds
By BRADY HOLT
weak English, geometry skills
Current Staff Writer
Adapting a historically protected Spring Valley gas station into a large modern restaurant remained an elusive goal at last Thursday’s hearing before the D.C. Historic Preservation Review Board. But Bo Blair, the prominent restaurateur behind the planned Millie’s at 4866 Massachusetts Ave. NW, is optimistic that he can reach accord with preservation authorities and open for business in the summer. Blair is hoping to construct a large front addition on the former gas station, replacing a smaller glass addition built in the 1990s to accommodate a Chicken Out restaurant. But because the station is part of the landmarked Spring Valley Shopping Center — singled out as an example of 1930s suburban-style services in the District’s outer neighborhoods — members of the preservation board are wary of major changes. Member Graham Davidson praised Blair’s progress since the board rejected a larger addition in April — notably, the latest proposal is shorter and doesn’t connect to the gas station’s canopy. But Davidson and his colleagues said the new version still isn’t ready. Board members asked Blair to make the new addition smaller and more translucent, and they said plans to convert the station’s driveway into steps and seating need to better respect the appearance of a vehicular entrance. “In these elevations, it no longer looks like a gas station, and that’s really kind of a critical element here,” said Davidson. On a 3-2 vote, board members approved the rough idea of the Millie’s plan, telling Blair to work with Historic Preservation Office staff on implementing the details of their recommendations. The dissenters said no addition would be appropriate on the front of the building. The board’s split vote follows more than a year of community debate about the project. The local See Spring Valley/Page 22
NEWS
By MARK LIEBERMAN Current Staff Writer
Brian Kapur/The Current
The National Zoo’s annual “Boo at the Zoo” activities over the weekend featured animal encounters and festive decorations along with candy and snack foods from 40 treat stations.
The scores for last school year’s first iteration of the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) exams have arrived, and D.C. officials say the overall numbers aren’t encouraging. Citywide, slightly more than a quarter of the 3,000-plus high school students who took the exams this past spring are considered proficient and college-ready in English, and only 10 percent of test takers earned the same distinction in math, according to new data provided by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education. The new standardized test replaces the D.C. Comprehensive Assessment System for high school grades, evaluating students’ math performance after they take geometry and English upon completion of English II. A student with a score of at least 4 out of 5 is considered “proficient” and “college-ready.” “I think generally these results
Brian Kapur/Current file photo
School Without Walls posted the city’s best performance on the new high school PARCC exams.
are about what I would have expected when considering the far more rigorous bar that PARCC holds our students to, and also when looking at the data from other students,” D.C. state superintendent of education Hanseul Kang told reporters Monday. “While these results are not easy to see, and certainly we have a lot of work to do, they are roughly what I expected.” School Without Walls, a magnet school, was by far the best-performing D.C. high school, with 97 percent of English test-takers and 76 percent of geometry test-takers scoring proficient. Benjamin Banneker Academic See Scores/Page 5
Proposed design for Cleveland Park Library sparks debate By KELSEY KNORP Current Correspondent
A concept design released earlier this month for the new Cleveland Park Library building has drawn mixed reviews from local residents. The project is slated to begin in February, when the original 60-year-old library building at 3310 Connecticut Ave. NW will be largely demolished and replaced by a larger “net zero” facility — a building that produces as much energy as it consumes — to open by summer 2017. A temporary facility will provide resources to library users in the interim. The latest design would include about 27,500 square feet of space, almost 9,000 more than the current structure. The proposal would afford about 2,000 more square feet for adult sections and a little more than that for children’s areas. All adult collections and reading areas would
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Rendering courtesy of D.C. Public Library
A larger, more modern structure — rendered here from Connecticut Avenue — is proposed to replace the aging Cleveland Park Library.
be moved to the second floor, while the children’s sections and a new teen area would be located on the first. Meeting rooms would be installed between those two main-level sections, with significant additional space for assembly on the
SHERWOOD
Marine Corps runs marathon expo out of District next year — Page 6
lower level as well. Other features include a children’s garden extending off the first floor and a roof garden on the second. A number of residents told The Current they support a new library building, but there remains some debate about the aesthetics and features incorporated in the design. Some have worried the concrete exterior and tall glass windows would be too modern for the historic neighborhood, and there has also been disagreement about whether the architects should include underground parking in the design. The only parking currently available on the property is confined to a small lot at the rear end of the building, off Macomb Street NW, and additional parking has not been included in the new construction plan. Resident Megan Draheim, one of many who commented on the design in posts on the Cleveland Park neighborhood listserv, said she supports See Library/Page 10
INDEX Calendar/14 Classifieds/21 District Digest/2 Exhibits/15 In Your Neighborhood/12 Opinion/6
Police Report/4 Real Estate/11 School Dispatches/8 Service Directory/19 Sports/9 Week Ahead/3
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