
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Streetcar Investment May Spur Development in Buzzard Point

Monday, October 26, 2009
MLK Memorial About Ready to Start Construction

The memorial is planned for a four-acre crescent-shaped site amid the cherry blossoms on the northwest shore of the Tidal Basin. The centerpiece is to be a 2 1/2 -story granite sculpture of the slain civil rights leader. Called the Stone of Hope, it depicts King standing with his arms folded as if emerging from the stone. At 28 feet, it will be eight feet taller than the statue of Abraham Lincoln in the memorial to the 16th president and will rest on pilings driven as far as 50 feet down to bedrock.
Construction should be complete in late summer of 2011. Above is a rendering of the planned memorial, from the MLK Memorial website.
Update: The WBJ reports that Department of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar signed a construction permit on Thursday at a ceremony on the National Mall, which means the memorial can now be built!
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Weekend Events
Marine Corps Marathon: The Marine Corps Marathon will be held on Sunday morning and as a result, several streets will be closed between 4am to 1:30pm according to DDOT, including the following:
- Francis Scott Key Bridge
- Canal Road, NW from M Street to Reservoir Road
- Reservoir Road, NW from MacArthur Blvd. to Canal Road
- MacArthur Blvd., NW from Foxhall Road to Reservoir Road
- Foxhall Road, NW from Canal Road to MacArthur Blvd.
- M Street, NW from Canal Road to Wisconsin Avenue
- Wisconsin Ave, NW from M Street to K Street
- K Street, NW from Wisconsin Avenue to Rock Creek and Potomac Pkwy.
- Rock Creek and Potomac Pkwy., NW from K Street to Independence Ave.
- Memorial Bridge
- West Potomac Park
- East Potomac Park (Access to Golf Course and Tennis Courts will be Available)
- Maine Avenue, SW from East Basin Drive to Independence Avenue
- Independence Avenue, SW from Maine Avenue to Ohio Drive
- Ohio Drive, SW between Independence Avenue and Lincoln Circle
- Lincoln Circle from Ohio Drive, SW to Henry Bacon Drive, NW
- 23rd Street, NW from Lincoln Circle to Constitution Avenue
- Constitution Avenue, NW from Henry Bacon Drive to 15th Street
- 15th Street from Constitution Avenue, NW to Independence Avenue, SW
- 17th Street from Constitution Avenue, NW to Independence Avenue, SW
- Madison Drive, NW from 15th Street to 3rd Street
- 3rd Street, NW from Pennsylvania Ave, NW to Maryland Ave., SW
- Pennsylvania Avenue, NW from 3rd Street to E. Capitol Circle
- 1st Street from Pennsylvania Ave., NW to Maryland Ave., SW
- Maryland Avenue, SW from S. Capitol Circle to 3rd Street
- Jefferson Drive, SW from 3rd Street to 15th Street
- 14th Street, SW from Jefferson Drive to northbound HOV lanes
- HOV lanes from 14th Street, SW to HOV ramp at S. Eads Street
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Scenes from Southwest: Starbucks

Clockwise (from upper left): (1) Ground level of the U.S. Small Business Administration building at the corner of 3rd & D Street. (2) Inside the Capital Gallery building on the 600 block of Maryland Avenue. (3) Ground level of the Phase III building at the Portals on Maryland Avenue. (4) Ground level of the Holiday Inn at the corner of 6th & C Street. A fifth Starbucks will open next year inside Safeway at Waterfront Station.
Museum Momentum

Tuesday, October 20, 2009
A Couple Quick Items
Friday, October 16, 2009
Exterior of Arena Stage Two Weeks From Completion
Thursday, October 15, 2009
9th Street Bridge Reopens
The project will make the bridge safer and more aesthetically pleasing. The concrete bridge deck on the 9th Street Bridge will be replaced, including a new walkway and staircase to Frontage Road at L’Enfant Plaza. The work will also include the replacement of the bridge bearings…new roadway lighting, milling and resurfacing of the approach pavement and re-painting the exterior girders on the bridges. DDOT will also repair the roof slab of a DC Water and Sewer Authority (WASA) pumping station that is beneath 9th Street.
I’m sure Southwesters will be happy that one of the major entryways to the neighborhood has reopened, and our cars will be happy that the road surface is no longer so bumpy! Above is a photo of the recently reopened bridge. The sidewalk on the bridge is still closed to pedestrians.
Update: The ramp off the 9th Street Tunnel towards northbound I-395 is closed.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Madison Courts Restauranteurs
Jennifer Price, a broker with Madison Retail Group, tells Southwest...TLQTC that they are looking to bring a sushi restaurant to the ground floor of the Capitol View office building and a Cactus Cantina or matchbox-like establishment to The Portals. I think any of these restaurants would be a welcome addition to the food scene here, since an overwhelming majority of readers voted in our September survey that what they liked least about Southwest was the lack of retail/restaurants. What types of restaurants would you like to see in Southwest? Feel free to opine in the comments section and/or participate in the survey on the sidebar.
Michael Vick Preaches About Dog Fighting
Thanks to reader Marc for the tip about Philadelphia quarterback Michael Vick's appearance at Covenant Baptist Church in Bellevue back on September 29th. According to The Washington Post, Vick was in town as a part of an arrangement he made with the Humane Society to make public appearances twice a month to speak out against dog fighting. His compliance with the request to make these appearances was one of the reasons why Vick's suspension from the NFL was ended last month. Vick previously spoke in Chicago, Philadelphia, and Atlanta.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Waterfront Station Residential on Tap

But with the housing market being what it is, we are probably going to be a little patient on this one and not put it out on the street for bids until conditions improve.
In the meantime, their parcel, along with the other undeveloped parcels, will be grassed over until these sites get built, as David Smith from Waterfront Associates mentioned at last month's Safeway town hall meeting. Three other residential towers will be built by the developers in later phases, including the adaptive reuse of the two old EPA buildings.
Shooting in the Neighborhood
DCist reported today that there was a shooting today around 1:15pm at the 1300 block of 1st Street. Two victims were shot and transported to area hospitals where they are in critical condition. The shooter was still at large as of this afternoon, but a weapon was recovered. Today's shooting occurred less than two blocks south of the new First District headquarters.
Update: One of the victims, an 18-year old male named Chicquelo Abeny, a resident of SW, died from his wounds, according to The Washington Post.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Engine 13 Land Deal Delayed Again by Council

Wednesday, October 7, 2009
A Peek Inside First District Headquarters
(Right) The holding cells are located on the ground level. There are separate holding cell area for men and women.
(Left) Here is a photo of the toilet and sink in the "bullpen," a larger holding cell where groups of prisoners are kept. There were no prisoners held at the First District station during the open house.
Monday, October 5, 2009
October Issue of The Southwester is Available
The October issue of The Southwester is now available online and the paper should be distributed throughout the neighborhood this week. One of the new features of the monthly paper is a column called Real Estate Notes, which is written by me and is my debut in print journalism. Most of the real estate tidbits in the column come from this blog, while news about Near SE is adapted from fellow neighborhood blogger JDLand (with JD's permission, of course). Other new features of the paper include a column by Ward 6 Council member Tommy Wells called Tommy's Beat, as well as a column written by lawyer Essita Duncan called Reality Checks, which covers law-related topics.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Signage at Constitution Center
(Left) Legacy sculpture by Richard Deutsch.
(Right) Part of the Transformation light painting by Stephen Knapp.
Open House at 1D HQ
There will be an open house at the new MPD District 1 Headquarters this Tuesday from 5pm - 8pm. There will be refreshments, music, interactive crime prevention presentations, raffles, door prizes, and guided tours of 1D’s station house. The new headquarters, located at the former Bowen School at 101 M Street, opened in April. The old headquarters building at 4th & E Street will be demolished and replaced by the Consolidated Forensics Laboratory.
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