Park View, D.C.

The Vue, proposed for the southeast corner of Georgia and Morton, among new developments planned Georgia Avenue

While there was no official ANC 1A meeting in December, 2010 — due to a failure to have a quorum — several agenda items were allowed to proceed as informal information opportunities (understanding that official presentations and votes would need to occur at a future ANC meeting).

Among the more interesting items was additional information on the Neighborhood Development Company’s The Vue development. Adrian Washington, founder and COE of NDC, had come before the Commission to specifically address their Planned Urban Development (PUD) to be located on the southeast corner of Morton and Georgia Ave. NDC is hoping to break ground by December, 2011, but in order to do so, they need to request and receive a zoning change for their planned 114 unit plus ground floor retail structure.

Currently, the property is zoned C2A which only permits a building to rise to 7o feet. NDC hopes to erect a 90 foot structure, requiring a zoning change to C2B. Other than the change in zoning for the allowable height, Washington stated that NDC would not be seeking any other government support for this project.

Since this project will create a denser footprint than a smaller building, NDC will be providing a public amenities package for the community to offset the development on Georgia Avenue. Washington, in addressing this, admitted that providing public amenities is something that is relatively new to the company and that they are seeking advice, and comments from area residents, community groups, and the ANC to better understand what improvements are most needed in Park View. Improvements could total anywhere from $50,000 to $100,000.

Washington noted four key suggestions to date where amenities could be made: 1) The Bruce-Monroe site; 2) Park Morton; 3) Park View Elementary; and 4) the Park View Recreation Center. NDC is eagerly seeking other suggestions and will be attending local meetings to get more input.

However, in looking at just these four suggestions — though all worthy and in need of improvement — the only logical choice is the Park View Recreation Center. It has wide community interest and support for improvement, yet no funding outside of the $2M set aside for a new playing field.

The other three fail for the following reasons:

1. NDC currently has the only bid on the Bruce-Monroe site, and as such, should their bid be successful they should develop that site to its fullest as part of that project. If anything, the redevelopment of Bruce-Monroe should include its own amenities package.
2. The future of the Park View School is completely dependent on the outcome of the Bruce-Monroe site. Before any long-term amenities can be dedicated to Park View Elementary, the issue of whether or not a new school will be located at Georgia and Columbia Road needs to be settled. If NDC ultimately develops Bruce-Monroe without a school, that is to generate funds for modernizing Park View.
3. It is too early to think about long-term amenities for Park Morton. The Warrenton Group was awarded the right to develop Park Morton, and as the redevelopment of that site plans to raze everything and start over, any money spent there in the next year would ultimately not benefit the community in the long-term.

Thinking outside these initial suggestions, other ideas that come to mind as possible community amenities are public sculpture, art, or improved public space — all things that residents have indicated are important to them.

For members of the community interested in having their say in neighborhood improvements, please watch for this topic at a future community meeting or ANC 1A meeting in early 2011. You can also reach out to your ANC commissioner to provide comment.

This entry was posted on December 13, 2010 at 7:01 am and is filed under Housing, Retail. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments.

Tags: Development, Georgia Avenue corridor, Neighborhood Development Company, Park View