What's left of the Brightwood car barn

These photos were taken on Saturday, March 3. I expect that the part of the building's facade that remains standing will be down by the end of the day.

Walmart signs lease on Curtis Chevrolet land; community benefits advocates spurred to further action

Report from the Washington Post's Jonathan O'Connell:

Of the four sites in the District where Wal-Mart announced that it would like to open its first stores in the city, the one on Georgia Avenue has generated more controversy than the other three combined.

Opponents of the store have held rallies, gathered petition signatures, put up yard signs, made T-shirts, written letters to elected officials and filed a request for part of the site to be declared historic.

Which is why some Wal-Mart watchers were surprised to learn that the chain has signed its first lease in the city for the Georgia Avenue store, where it plans to open in a former Chevrolet dealership at the corner of Georgia and Missouri Avenues in Northwest.

Local opposition to Wal-Mart, generally led by organized labor and anti-poverty advocates, has centered around the Georgia Avenue store for good reason. Of the four sites it is the only one in the midst of a deeply rooted residential neighborhood. The location is also adjacent to many small businesses — prompting concerns that some local shops could suffer — and it is at an intersection that is already wracked by traffic.

But as a development, the Ward 4 store is easiest. There is no public land involved and no apartments or other stores being built above or below it. It’s really just a Wal-Mart.

Where is the city government on all this? District officials and Wal-Mart representatives have been discussing a “community benefits agreement,” but no announcement has been made.

“We haven’t heard anything from the mayor about how the negotiations are going,” said Mackenzie Baris, lead organizer for DC Jobs With Justice.

She said with the Georgia Avenue lease in place, she was done waiting and had begun asking members of the D.C. Council to hold hearings on legislation that would make the chain’s entrance into the city much more difficult.

“The mayor is clearly not moving quickly enough to make sure that community benefits are in place before these stores are finalized,” she said.

Yet another hole appears in the Brightwood Car Barn wall

I took the above photo this morning. Work is clearly continuing, despite the fact that the building is pending historic landmark status and no raze work is supposed to be done before the October 27 hearing with the Historic Preservation Review Board.

Walmart assured me via Twitter that work had, in fact, stopped. I replied that that's not the case. The rep has yet to respond:

Work seems to be continuing on Brightwood Car Barn, despite pending landmark status

I noticed late last week that a garage door and part of a wall have been removed from the Brightwood Car Barn, despite the fact that the structure is pending historic landmark status and therefore is not supposed to be razed prior to the Historic Preservation Review Board's hearing on October 27. For comparison, this is what the wall looked like before last week:

Historic Preservation Review Board files application to designate Brightwood Car Barn as historic landmark

From an email from Tim Dennee of the Historic Preservation Office:

This is to inform you that today the Historic Preservation Review Board has received and filed an application to designate the following property
as a historic landmark pursuant to the Historic Landmark and Historic
District Protection Act of 1978 (D.C. Official Code § 6-1101 et seq.):

Brightwood Street Railroad Company Car Barn
5917-5929 Georgia Avenue, NW
Square 2986, Lot 38

Pursuant to D.C. Official Code § 6-1102(6)(B), the properties are
considered historic landmarks temporarily, effective the date of filing
(i.e., immediately).

Permit applications related to these properties cannot be issued without
historic preservation review pursuant to D.C. Official Code § 6-1104
through 6-1108. ...

We are aware there is a pending application to raze this property. It
cannot be issued without the necessary review and clearances as stated
above. Please notify your staff of this matter.

We are scheduling a hearing on the matter for Thursday, October 27, 2011.

Thanks to Richard for the tip.


Brightwood Car Barn HPRB app

DCRA issues stop-work order to Foulger-Pratt

Word from DCRA is that a stop-work order and citation have been issued to the developer Foulger-Pratt for beginning to demolish the Brightwood Car Barn without obtaining the appropriate permits.

UPDATE: DCRA has apparently done the research and discovered that Foulger-Pratt actually did apply for the necessary permits, but the address of the building was off by a few numbers (!), hence the confusion. The stop-work order has been lifted.

Message from DCRA director Nicholas Majett regarding the Brightwood Car Barn

The Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) sent its chief building inspector to the Curtis Chevrolet site last night after being alerted that the demolition of the car barn had begun, even though the owner did not have a permit to do so. DCRA director Nicholas Majett followed up today:

"The inspection revealed that a section of the roof was removed. While questionable it did not rise to the level of demolition or raze. The owner has not applied for a permit. We intend to question the owner and then make a decision on whether or not any enforcement action is warranted."

Photos: Demolition of Brightwood Car Barn begins

Roof partially removed.




Interior of the Car Barn...look up, you can see sky where the roof used to be.

The Brightwood Car Barn, one of the few standing car barns from the era of DC's first streetcars, is now in the first stages of demolition, despite past efforts of the DC Preservation League and other preservationists to save it. Walmart and Foulger-Pratt have said that they intend to use the bricks from the car barn to construct part of the Walmart store that is planned to be built on the site.

UPDATE: I spoke with ANC Doug Smith and he confirmed what I suspected; the ANC was not informed that the demolition was moving ahead. This has taken everyone by surprise.

ANOTHER UPDATE: CM Bowser said that DCRA is sending an inspector over.

AND ANOTHER UPDATE: DCRA's chief building inspector visited the site last night (Tuesday, 9/6); here is what DCRA director Nicholas Majett had to say following the inspection.

UPDATE 09/08/11 12pm DCRA has issued a citation and a stop-work order to Foulger-Pratt.

Office of Planning releases Large Tract Review for proposed Georgia Avenue Walmart location

Final Large Tract Review Square 2986

ANC4B Large Tract Review committee releases recommendations for the development of Square 2986

Here is the final report from ANC4B's Large Tract Review committee. The committee (of which I am a member) has been tasked with reading and responding to the Large Tract Review for Square 2986 (aka the Curtis Chevrolet site), which developer Foulger-Pratt submitted to the DC Office of Planning, a necessary step in their current plans to build a 102,000 square foot Walmart on the site. The report contains recommendations from the committee. Note that because this is a matter of right project, the committee refrained from critiquing the planned tenant, as this is something the ANC (or the city, for that matter) has no control over.

The full report:

LTR Report Final 2011-5-23

And the summary:

LTR Report Summary Recommendations 2011-5-23


Here's a summary-of-the-summary, in case you don't feel like poring over the PDF (but at the same time I must tell you that it's well worth at least skimming the report, particularly to see the images used to illustrate our points).

• The project should be mixed-use, but the current plans call for single-use. Foulger-Pratt isn’t entertaining the idea of making it mixed-use, despite repeated urging from planners and the Upper Georgia Avenue Great Streets Redevelopment Plan, and despite the fact that Walmart has demonstrated with their proposals for their stores in Ward 6 and in Tysons Corner that they are more than willing to locate their stores within mixed-use projects. The single-use nature of the plan is not the result of Walmart insisting on it, it’s the result of Foulger-Pratt’s reluctance to build mixed-use.
  
  Therefore, a phased mixed-use development that would allow for the addition of upper-story housing at a later date should be explored. If Foulger-Pratt is not willing to agree to a phased project, the committee asserts that the proposed 75 year lease for this project is not in the public interest, and that a shorter lease term is more appropriate.
  
  
• The transportation impacts of the project are significant. Considering plans for streetcar service on Georgia Avenue, as well as the future redevelopment of Walter Reed, the failing intersection of Georgia and Missouri Avenues should be reconstructed in order to increase capacity and relieve congestion. Doing so would be a major undertaking, however it’s an important long-term investment for the growth of Georgia Avenue. At the same time, none of the land surrounding the intersection is city-owned, which gives DDOT few opportunities to reconfigure the streets there.
  
  Construction of the Georgia Avenue streetcar line should be prioritized before this project commences, in order to reduce traffic that would occur as a result of Georgia Avenue’s limited public transportation options.
  
  
• The city should do an economic impact analysis of the store and prepare a mitigation strategy.
  

Urban planners tell Foulger-Pratt exactly what they think of the Curtis Chevrolet site plan

On Wednesday, ANC 4B commissioners Sara Green and Faith Wheeler held a public meeting at the Shepherd Park library to discuss the current Walmart proposal. Representatives from Walmart and Foulger-Pratt were present, along with Stephen Mordfin of the Office of Planning, who is overseeing the Large Tract Review process. Three urban planners who live in Ward 4 were also on the panel: David Hamilton, Richard Layman, and Tanya Topolewski.

The planners had the most insightful comments of the evening. All three expressed opposition to the development in its current form (unsurprisingly, since the development in its current form fails badly from a planning perspective). Richard Layman, noting that the Office of Planning’s Comprehensive Plan for Upper Georgia Avenue calls for a mixed-use development at the Curtis Chevrolet site, told the attendees that Foulger-Pratt is to blame for the single-use status of the current plan, as Walmart has proven that they are willing to locate their stores within mixed-use projects (an example is the Ward 6 Walmart location). The addition of housing to the development would help the surrounding corridor to become a lively node. He implored Foulger-Pratt to consider the future plans for Georgia Avenue (i.e. the streetcar, the redevelopment of the Walter Reed site). Concerned citizens should put pressure on Foulger-Pratt to create a development that enhances the Georgia/Missouri corridor, rather than taking away from it.

Tanya Topolewski made a good point that I haven't heard anyone make before: that the current plan basically forsakes Missouri Avenue. If spaces for smaller retail wrapped around the corner at Missouri and Georgia, the corner would be brought to life (under the current plan, two spaces for small retail will be located at the corner of Georgia and Peabody; both spaces are between 1,500 and 2,000 square feet). As the current plan calls for Missouri Avenue to be used as an entry/exit point for trucks, this means that Missouri Avenue will essentially be wasted for the next 75 years. She admonished Foulger-Pratt for its shoddy plan, and for taking the easy way out at the community’s expense.

David Hamilton, a Takoma resident and retired senior urban designer for the National Capital Planning Commission, expressed concern for the impact on extant small businesses, and on future small business development. Sacrificing Missouri Avenue is a quality-of-life issue, he said, especially since it will cause traffic to spill onto the surrounding residential streets. He said that since the site will have a 75-year lease, it is imperative to get the development right. In response to an attendee who brought forth the argument that the Curtis Chevrolet site has been vacant for long enough, Hamilton cited the Takoma Village Cohousing development on Fourth Street NW as an example of a project that was worth the wait. The community had fought several inferior development plans for many years before Takoma Village was constructed. Hamilton convincingly maintained that it's important to develop the site wisely, rather than just building something for the sake of taking up the empty lot.

ANC 4A commissioner David Wilson asked if the project will be able to go forward even if DDOT determines that there will me a major adverse effect on traffic. Stephen Mordfin said that in that case the Office of Planning and DDOT will continue to work with the applicant until acceptable traffic solutions are devised. This means that the applicants have quite a bit of work to do, as DDOT said that not enough information was provided to them to adequately analyze the plans, and that the metrics used in the traffic study aren't appropriate for an urban setting.

Keeping Mordfin’s statement in mind, it’s important for neighborhood residents to make their feelings about the Large Tract Review known, in writing. The deadline for comments on the Large Tract Review is May 25. Send your comments to Stephen Mordfin or call him at 202-442-8810.

ANC 4A unanimously opposes Walmart LTR as currently submitted

Here are 4A resident Michele Baskin's notes from Tuesday night's ANC 4A meeting, during which 4A's commissioners moved to oppose Walmart's current Large Tract Review.

I made it out to the ANC 4A mtg at Fort Stevens Rec Center on Tuesday night where Walmart's LTR submission was on the agenda. It was really unclear what the commissioners would choose to do since DDOT released their letter earlier in the day noting problems with the LTR and requesting a hold on approval.

All commissioners were present but very few community members. About 3/4 the way through the meeting, Muriel Bowser made an appearance.

The commissioners were originally going to vote on the comments from the ANC either in support of or opposition to the LTR plan. It was suggested that they postpone the vote in light of DDOT's letter. Dave Wilson, the commissioner tasked with creating the ANC's comments, suggested that they go ahead and vote on the LTR as is, in case the window for submitting comments did close as scheduled on May 30th. He also stated that the concerns brought up by DDOT were the same concerns he was bringing up in comments, making the DDOT letter in support of the ANC's proposed comments. After much wrangling around process, a very lengthy motion was crafted (I am still trying to get the exact working from Wilson or Whatley) that stated that ANC 4A was in opposition to Walmart's LTR as written but that this would be suspended if Walmart submitted a new LTR in response to DDOT's letter or if the comment period was extended to June 30th at the earliest, at which point any new submissions by Walmart would be reviewed and a new motion submitted. There was a lot more legalese, but basically this was a vote to oppose the LTR as currently submitted. The vote was 8-0 to oppose the LTR by Walmart.

So let me repeat, ANC4A is on the record as opposing the current Walmart LTR in a unanimous fashion.

The commissioners also took up a separate motion concerning a community benefits agreement. There was much discussion about the reality of enforceability and the fact that Wal-Mart has never signed one of these. There was also concern that it would be problematic to have each ANC in the city craft their own CBA or list of demands. I suggested that the ANC take a look at the draft from Respect DC, and it was agreed that they would table any CBA motions until Respect DC's proposal was read.

Bowser suggested that the ANC need not worry about a CBA because she and her fellow councilmembers would take care of it. She seems to think that she can leverage LTR approval and building permit issuance to get favorable terms and a binding agreement on a CBA.

There was much mention of the upcoming ANC4B meetings and people were directed to next week's meeting to receive more information around the Walmart issue.

The next ANC 4B meeting regarding Walmart will be held on Thursday, May 12, at Emory Methodist Church, 7100 Georgia Avenue NW, 7-9 pm.

ANC requests community concerns regarding Wal-Mart; Foulger-Pratt to present initial design plans on Dec. 2

Representatives from Foulger-Pratt, the developer of the Curtis Chevrolet site, will present a first look at the plans for the proposed Wal-Mart store at a meeting with 4B Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners and other community representatives on December 2.

Commissioner James Sydnor, who represents 4B04, the district in which the Curtis Chevrolet site is located, has asked for community members to send their concerns to him before the December 2 meeting.

(At last week's ANC 4B meeting, a neighbor stated that it was appalling that our commissioners learned about Wal-Mart's intentions the same way the majority of District residents did: on the evening news and on the Internet. I agree wholeheartedly. The news was particularly jarring having participated in the very intense community involvement process of the Walter Reed redevelopment team. Hearing that Wal-Mart plans to drop itself into our laps, without requesting community input first, felt invasive after all of the discourse at the Walter Reed planning meetings.)

Please post your concerns here, or e-mail them to thebrightwoodian at gmail.com, and I will forward them to Commissioner Sydnor before the December 2 meeting. Concerns can be anything from "I'd prefer to not have a Wal-Mart at the Curtis Chevrolet site" to questions about the aesthetics of the building's design to concerns about traffic issues that the project will cause in the neighborhood. Those of you who are unable to attend the larger meeting for the community on December 7 at 7pm at the Fourth District Police station, 6001 Georgia Avenue NW are especially encouraged to respond now.

How well would Wal-Mart assuage the complications it will bring to the neighborhood?

Check out the Georgia Avenue Community Development Task Force website and read Faraji Whalen's concerns about Wal-Mart's nascent plans for Brightwood. He raises a lot of good points, particularly with regard to how roads and traffic patterns in the immediate area would have to change drastically in order to accommodate a store the size Wal-Mart is planning. What about the loading dock entrance? None of the abutting streets (Georgia, Missouri, 9th, or Peabody) are particularly 18-wheeler-friendly.

Incidentally, the Georgia Avenue Community Development Task Force is a great organization, composed of concerned citizens and stakeholders, that aims to ensure that the new development along the Georgia Avenue Corridor meets the needs of its residents. The group meets biweekly at different locations along the corridor; meetings are announced via a yahoogroup listserv that I encourage you to join.

"This is not your father's Wal-Mart": GGW talks to Foulger-Pratt

Dan Malouff has further info on Wal-Mart's plans for Brightwood over at Greater Greater Washington.

He points out that the Curtis Chevy site is fewer than four acres, significantly smaller than the suburban plots of land that Wal-Mart typically occupies, which are 20 acres on average. The store itself will be 102,000 square feet, and it will be vertically built. (For comparison, the bilevel Target store in Columbia Heights is 173,000 square feet.)

The store's entrance will be set back 20-30 feet from the curb, and parking will be below-ground.

Also, he notes:

Unfortunately, the development won't be mixed-use. If Foulger-Pratt would stick a few floors of apartments above the retail uses, that would add new customers for the surrounding businesses and help revitalize central Brightwood as a place to live, not only to shop. It's regrettable that the plan misses such an opportunity.

I personally agree that the lack of mixed-use is indeed regrettable, but that's partially the fault of Brightwoodians themselves, who so strongly opposed the residential aspect of Foulger-Pratt's original plans for the site, that the plans were scrapped. (This was before my time in the neighborhood, so I wasn't around for that whole fiasco, but from what I've heard things got pretty heated.)

Foulger-Pratt will meet with the community on December 7 at 7pm in the Community Room of MPD's Fourth District headquarters, 6001 Georgia Avenue NW, to discuss the building plans.

Even more news regarding Wal-Mart's impending domination of the District

Apparently, the Wal-Mart planned for Georgia and Missouri isn't a small-scale version of the megastore, as the initial report led me to believe. No, the first four stores, including the one bound for the Curtis Chevrolet site, are going to be pretty typical of your average Wal-Mart's size. But wait, there's more! Wal-Mart intends to expand even further into the District by opening the aforementioned small-scale stores, in addition to the four mega-emporiums. Wal-Mart is about to become as ubiquitous as CVS. More here.

More thoughts on Wal-Mart plans

First, Councilmember Muriel Bowser has released a statement:

Today, Councilmember Bowser responded to news that Walmart intends to locate a retail outlet along an important Ward 4 corridor. “I am very interested to learn more from Walmart executives about their interest in Ward 4,” said Bowser. “The intersection at Georgia and Missouri Avenues represents a huge piece of the Georgia Avenue revitalization puzzle. Any redevelopment at this highly visible, dynamic location must be done thoughtfully and with community outreach.” A previous plan to build a mixed use —housing and retail—project at the former Curtis Chevrolet site was endorsed by Bowser contingent on concessions to the community and to the site’s significance. But, a sluggish economy and a varied neighborhood reaction slowed progress. With the plan aborted, Bowser consistently urged the property owner to keep all options on the table and to move as quickly as possible to develop the property to its most productive, best use. “ It’s important that this vacant lot be put to use, sooner rather than later,” she said. “But more importantly, we have to ensure that Ward 4 residents understand and are comfortable with the effect the store will have on their neighborhoods and local businesses; that residents are informed about traffic flow and parking details, and that they are given the opportunity to learn more about the company’s labor practices,” Bowser said. “And most importantly, the company must make clear its commitment to improving the Brightwood community and all of Ward 4. We look forward to starting that conversation with the company, Ward 4 residents, and our local leaders.”/

It makes me feel a bit better to know that the Wal-Martians will be subject to community input. The news came yesterday in such a hurry that I had envisioned a big box just being plunked down on the site.

There are so many issues to take into consideration. What will be done about that horribly awkward intersection at Georgia/Missouri/Military to facilitate traffic flow? What about the car barn on the site; it's been designated as a historic structure and Foulger-Pratt's plan for its mixed-use development incorporated the car barn's facade; how will Wal-Mart deal with the car barn issue? Is the company amenable to designing a building that won't be a total eyesore?

Wal-Mart has its eye on the Curtis Chevrolet site

...for one of its "urban format" stores, according to Mike DeBonis.

The good side to this is that the "urban format" stores sell groceries, which would help to alleviate Ward 4's food desert problem, as Aaron Morrissey points out.

The bad side is that...the site would be taken up by Wal-Mart. Certainly not what I was hoping for (actually, just about the furthest thing I was hoping for).

Fighting off a Wal-Mart was certainly not an issue I was expecting to face when I moved to DC! And we all know that communities that have tried to fight Wal-Mart have been largely unsuccessful. I'll be keeping a close watch on how this plan progresses.

***UPDATE 8:40 pm***
At this point it looks like it's all but confirmed.

Foulger-Pratt artistic rendering of Curtis Chevy site project

DC Metrocentric posted the above artistic rendering of the proposed structure at Georgia and Missouri, on the site of the old Curtis Chevrolet dealership. Still no word on whether plans are actually moving forward.

Stalled Curtis Chevy development put to interim use

Just as I was wondering if the plans to develop the old Curtis Chevrolet dealership at Georgia and Missouri are ever going to get off the ground, DC Wire reports that Fenty's reelection campaign has claimed part of the space as its headquarters.