Highlights from the meeting include an announcement by Kael Anderson, President of the Southwest Neighborhood Assembly (SWNA) of the creation of a SWNA Retail Taskforce to address retail issues in the Southwest community.
Commissioner Litsky and Kael Anderson then presented a request for Tiber Island to receive historical landmark designation as part of the nation’s largest assembly of mid-century modern buildings. Both the Tiber Island Cooperative Homes and Tiber Island Condominiums would be part of the designation. Some questions were raised as to why only Tiber Island was being considered for designation; Commissioner Listky noted that the plan is to expand the designation over time, block by block. The presidents of Tiber Island Condominiums and Tiber Island Cooperative Homes both spoke in support of the historical designation.
The development at 880 New Jersey Ave., SE was next on the agenda. This project began in 1999 when William C. Smith + Co (WCS) bought the site from The Washington Post. The planned design includes 1200 residential units in four buildings with street-level retail. Konrad Schlater, Vice-President at WCS, attended the meeting and reported that they are planning to start the infrastructure for the first phase of 430 Class A housing units in fall 2011. There will also be 1500 square feet of retail on the I (Eye) Street side for neighborhood conveniences. The new extensions of H and I streets from Second Street to New Jersey Avenue have already been approved by city council. The housing units will be all rentals, however 30 public housing units will be moved from the Arthur Capper development. The extensions of H and I streets will be
constructed at the expense of WCS.
The much awaited final item, the Southwest Waterfront Stage 1 PUD, began with a presentation by lead developer Monty Hoffman of Hoffman Madison Waterfront (HMW) and sparked nearly two hours of discussion. ANC 6D voted unanimously to support the application with 27 conditions presented by Commissioner Litsky to be addressed by HMW. The conditions ranged from transportation concerns to height restrictions and community benefits, including open space and a community center.
During the community concerns portion of the meeting, a resident expressed his concern with the Southwest waterfront redevelopment and Christopher Fitzgerald from the D.C. Mayor’s office noted that the north side of Maine Avenue’s homeless encampment would be cleared July 20.
Please note that there is no August ANC meeting. The next meeting will be Monday, Sept. 12, 7 p.m. at the District Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) office, 1100 Fourth St, SW. For an agenda, visit the ANC 6D website at http://www.anc6d.org.