because my wife has great ideas.....

my gal and i were walking past Metro Ice and she commented on the sale sign...."you know what would be great there ?", she asked.
"Crazy expensive upscale condos", i replied sarcastically.

"no, a garden center"
"it gets so much light right there and its so much open space."

as she was saying "garden" i was imagining a beer garden....


hmmm. maybe a beer garden store.........

Please support this proposal for an Arts Space along the North Capitol Corridor.

here is a proposal that i fully support for the reutilization of Cook Elementary at 30 P street NW.
(kinda like my hope for Swampoodle Art's, a couple years back)
please provide input, if you have any.


A collaborative arts center located at J.F. Cooke Elementary School

DESCRIPTION
FLUX is a collaborative arts center partnering the visual and performing arts, arts
administration, community arts programming, artist studio space, and a design workshop
under one roof. The mission of the FLUX partners, the Washington Project for the Arts,
The Warehouse Theater & Gallery, and Artomatic, is to create a synergetic hub for the
arts that meets the needs of area artists, designers, performers, residents and arts
administrators by creating a multi-purpose flexible venue which is deeply used to further
the mission of the individual partners and provide unique, exciting and culturally rich
community benefits.

PARTNERS
The Washington Project for the Arts, founded in 1975, has a rich 31-year history as an
artist member organization, with over 1200 members, and a provider of engaging, highprofile,
well-attended arts programming in the DC metropolitan region. The WPA has
implemented and supported programs that include exhibitions, panel discussions,
printed catalogues, a digital artfile, ArtFile Online and a comprehensive artist directory
that benefits local residents.
The Warehouse Theater & Gallery is Washington’s leading alternative art space.
Currently located in three historic buildings on 7th Street NW, the Warehouse presents
independent and experimental theater, music, art, film, dance and happenings
Artomatic began in 1999 when three hundred and fifty artists cleaned, lit, painted and
colonized the Manhattan Laundry building for a 6 week art show. Over 50,000 visitors
attended the most recent Artomatic 2008, held in the NoMa area of downtown
Washington.

OVERVIEW
Given the substantial lack of studio, gallery, performance and arts administration office
space, this facility could potentially fill critical needs in the city’s arts-space continuum.
The property requires little alterations to be repurposed for artist studios, exhibit space,
classrooms, performance and rehearsal space, office space, and the required
administrative, storage and other support space. FLUX will be developed and managed in
a collaborative model with complimentary partners whose use of the space would
provide a dynamic and synergetic presence in the community and create affordable
workspace and venues appropriate to house artist studios, galleries, theatre space, a
community arts workshop space, a design workshop and arts administration offices.
Professional artists require particular physical characteristics – high ceilings, natural
light and ventilation. The lack of an industrial base, compounded by the limited
development envelope, has always made finding affordable studio space a particular
challenge for District artist residents.

IMPACT
Creating FLUX addresses three critical needs facing the artists of the District of
Columbia: 1) viable, affordable work/studio space; 2) effective facility management of a
visual arts center and community facility; and 3) professional yet nurturing arts
environments that encourage innovation and the creative process. FLUX will adapt the
space to provide low-cost studio, exhibit, design, and theatre and support space to
District artists and visual arts organizations, allowing their focus to remain on the
artistic process and community service.

FLUX SPACE USAGE
• Cultural Experiences Monthly open studios will invite area residents to engage
artists, purchase their work, and engage in community arts programming.
Residents will also have the opportunity to attend gallery openings, rotating
exhibitions and artist talks. The gallery and theatre will host events featuring well
known local artists, performances, art workshops, discussion groups and artist
salons.
• Performing Arts A regular program of theatre performances will be planned,
along with music and spoken word events, workshops and special theatrical
events, affording area residents the opportunity to access high quality theatre in
their neighborhood.
• Festivals/Markets The land surrounding the building would be used for weekly
artist’s markets, outdoor sculpture and other outdoor community events.
• Arts Education and Salons The Washington Project for the Arts and Artomatic
will hold regular workshops and classes covering best practices for professional
artists and will also engage outside speakers to lecture to the local arts
community. Regular salons for WPA member and studio artists will take place in
the workshop, along with classes led by artists for area teens interested in careers
in arts and design.
• Arts and Design Administration Office space for Artomatic and a separate
design workshop for resident designers, the fastest growing component of artists
living in DC, provides a hub for individual and area culture groups to work
together in creating and designing websites, print materials, theatre sets,
exhibitions, and other special events, both internally at FLUX, and for outside
clients where there is high demand for design services.
• Community Meetings FLUX will be an accessible space for community residents.
The classrooms, gallery and conference room will be available for ANC and
community meetings, plus other civic associations or neighborhood groups.

CONFIGURATION OF USES
Space allocation of the 43,500 feet would be as follows:
􀂉 1st floor: Box office, Theatre manager, Warehouse office space, Design
Workshop and rehearsal, set storage space, community workshop space,
cafe
􀂉 2nd floor: Artist Studios, and studio manager office space
􀂉 3rd floor: Large gallery in former library, artist studio space, kitchen,
workshop, community space, WPA Office, Artomatic Office space
􀂉 The parking lot and adjacent area could be used for festivals, artist
markets, weekend outdoor events and outdoor sculpture space.
Washington Project for the Arts, The Warehouse Theater & Gallery, and Artomatic
propose to manage and use J.F. Cook Elementary School at 30 P Street, NW as a
collaborative visual, performing arts, design, and arts administration center that serves
multiple constituencies and attracts a broad audience. This use incorporates a variety of
culture and community needs which could create a neighborhood asset and a prominent
regional destination. The reuse of the property as a visual and performing arts center,
arts administration offices, and a design workshop will allow it to provide a haven for
some of our city’s hardest working residents – our artists – and a cultural haven for area
residents and their families.

MORE INFO
Paul Ruppert - pwr@warehousetheater.com
Adam Griffiths – agriffiths@wpadc.org

Important meeting tonight

On the agenda for the Bloomingdale Civic Association

- the nomination of candidates for the Civic Association's upcoming election of officers, and

- an Association resolution about the liquor license application for the proposed tavern at 84-86 T St, NW. Under discussion will be the proposed hours of operation, parking, trash disposal, and the noise that may accompany operation of this business. We will issue an invitation to the owners to address the community on behalf of their business.


Neighbors with any other business to bring before the Civic Association should contact us at bloomingdaleca @ gmail.com to ask for a place on our agenda.

The meeting will be held at St. George's Episcopal Church, located at 160 U St, NW. It will begin promptly at 7:00 p.m. and refreshments will be served.

Artomatic 2008 Opening Night!

Artomatic opens Friday night

Noon- 2 AM!


This is the biggest art event DC has to offer and really shouldn't be missed.



10 Floors of Art, Music, Poetry, Film, Theatre!
Big Bear Cafe will have a cafe set up. Red Bull and Flying Fish Brewery will have a bar.

Seriously, if you enjoy art and community, come to this event. you will in all likelihood need to come a few times in order to see it all.


Friday, May 9 – Sunday, June 15, 2008

Wednesday 5 pm – 10 pm
Thursday 5 pm – 10 pm
Friday noon – 2 am
Saturday noon – 2 am
Sunday noon – 10 pm
Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays

May 9 – June 15, 2008
Capitol Plaza I
1200 First Street, NE
(corner of First and M Streets NE)
Washington, DC 20002
Metro: Red Line, New York Ave., M St exit

My work is on the 7th Floor. When you get off the elevator, turn toward the metro station. you'll see my brand new never before seen concrete and glass panels and new concrete installation!

what could be more fun!

If you are also a neighbor and exhibiting at this event, please mention where your work is in the comment section!

what do you think of this place?

what do you think of THIS place for bloomingdale?

a comment HERE sparked this post.

big important meeting tonight concerning old sand filtration plant.

This development will impact Bloomingdale more than any other.


The Neighborhoods of EYA
Jair Lynch Development Partners

WARD 5 COUNCILMEMBER HARRY "TOMMY" THOMAS, JR., THE DEPUTY MAYOR FOR PLANNING & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & VISION MCMILLAN PARTNERS

Invite you to a

Community Visioning
Session on the
Development of the
McMillan Sand Filtration Site

Tuesday April 22, 2008
6:30 pm to 9 pm
O'Connor Auditorium, Trinity University
125 Michigan Avenue, NE
Washington, DC 20017



THE GOAL OF THIS MEETING IS TO HEAR THE COMMUNITY'S THOUGHTS AND IDEAS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SITE.

WE ENCOURAGE STRONG ATTENDANCE AND WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!


Discussion Topics will include:

* Existing Condition of the Site

* Potential Uses & Opportunities - Open Space, Historic Preservation, Mixed-Income & Multi-Generational Housing, Community Serving Retail, Job Creating Office Space, Hospitality, and Community, Education, and Cultural Space

* Key Community Issues - Traffic/Smart Growth, Infrastructure, Community Benefits, LSDBE Participation, Job Creation, Sustainable/Green Development, and Other Issues


Light Food and Parking Provided.

For More Information, Contact
Vicky Chambers, Office of CM Thomas, at 202-727-8204
John Basile, EYA, at 301-634-8600


Vision McMillan Partners, the development team for the site, includes:

* EYA
* Jair Lynch Development Partners
* StreetSense
* The Alexander Company
* MacFarlane Partners
* Smoot & Urban Service Systems Corporation


due to a family obligation i can't make the meeting. if anyone goes and can send me pictures or thoughts, please do so.

wheresymycoffee @ gmail.com

old engine company 12 to become 2020 Martini

The city last month finalized the sale of Old Engine Co. 12 at 1626 N. Capitol St. to Brian Brown, managing partner of NC Firehouse LLC, which is led by his company, NextGen Development. Brown purchased the building for $600,000, the value at which the city assessed it, and plans to put another $2.4 million into renovations.

The three-story, 10,000-square-foot space will become home of 2020 Martini at Engine Co. 12, a restaurant concept by Twyla Garrett of Cleveland-based Garrett Entertainment Corp.





full article here
Washington Business Journal - by Gillian Gaynair Staff Reporter



other highlights include:

-XM radio is in on the deal and will be doing live broadcastings from the location
-Twyla Garrett of Cleveland-based Garrett Entertainment Corp will be the developer
-the will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner
-first floor will serve brick-oven pizzas.
-a small pasta bar and a sushi bar.
-2nd floor will have live music performances
-third floor will have an espresso bar
-a rooftop deck will offer tapas.
-Harry Thomas introduced a bill seeking 10 years of property tax relief for NC Firehouse LLC

here is the website for 2020 Martini in Columbus, Ohio, owned by Twyla Garrett
warning: music starts playing when the page loads.

apparently work has already started on the building.......

here was my first post about the firehouse

the obligatory negativity about the project can be found here.

Survey about the Future of the Gage-Eckington Elementary School

See this 4/15/2008 message from ANC 5C04 Commissioner John Salatti:


Many people in the area know, but just as many do not know, that, as part of the District's school closure program, one of our neighborhood schools, Gage-Eckington Elementary School at 3rd and Elm Streets NW will be closing at the end of this school year. The LeDroit Park Civic Association has taken the lead on coming up with a plan for the short- and long-term future uses of the building and grounds. Along with my ANC colleagues, Myla Moss and Margot Hoerrner, I am a part of a LDPCA working group. We have been discussing a number of great and exciting ideas, but to really create the best plan that reflects the needs of this area and that best serves the entire community, we need to hear from you.

To facilitate getting that feedback, we have drafted a survey and are circulating it widely. For example, in LeDroit Park, Howard University students who live at Slowe Hall on 3rd Street NW are collaborating with residents and going door-to-door with the survey. In another example, I attended one of Commissioner Hoerrner's monthly meetings at Kelly Miller homes this week where as part of the meeting, she distributed copies of the survey and assisted residents there in filling it out. In addition, I have given a copy of the survey to the Bloomingdale Civic Association and the BCA may be distributing paper copies of it as well. But we are also using electronic means to give you easy access to the survey.

Here is a link to the survey on-line:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=E6RKz0TmHxz8uQmKiXJgRA_3d_3d

Please go to the link and fill out the survey. We need to hear from you and need to hear soon, preferably this week. Within the next 30 days, the city will likely be making decisions about the future of many of the closing schools. Having a clear plan ready to present to the Mayor and other District officials will increase the likelihood that we as residents can determine what will happen at Gage-Eckington.

Together, we can transform the unfortunate closing of this neighborhood institution into the opening of needed new services and opportunities for this area. So make your views known!

I look forward to hearing from you. If you have any questions about this process, please drop me an e-mail, and I will get you an answer.

Have a great day,
John

John T. Salatti
Commissioner, ANC 5C04
Recording Secretary, ANC 5C
(202) 986-2592
jsalatti@earthlink.net
"Together, Building a Better Bloomingdale"

Our own secret park.

Crispus Attucks Park

I havent been to Crispus Attucks in a while and most happily surprised by the state of the park. Some people have been really busy making this space beautiful! great job. the planting, the landscaping, the paths. wow. you guys deserve an award!




more photos HERE

dont forget about the gigantic yard sale coming up!

art spaces and developers in brooklyn

one can easily say that brooklyn, is a much hotter real estate market and a more dynamic area than DC. Sure Brooklyn is way bigger than DC and part of one of the larges economic city-states in the world, so that type of market is expected.

Whats not expected is that artists can find studios at $6.82 per square foot a year.
$6.82!!!! thats amazing. i had moved my studio out to Mount Rainier, Maryland for the allure of 10.00.

Last i checked that ground floor store front at 3rd and Rhode Island was going for 30-ish.
The difference is staggering.

So why did i bring up brooklyn and this rent? read here to see why these artists are getting that deal
.
Imagine a developer in DC savvy enough to pull that off. Imagine people with means that truly embrave the Arts as Catalyst model.

Target

am i the only one thats not that excited about Target in Columbia Heights?

i've hit the one in Potomac Yards, the one in College Park, the one in Hyattsville. i dont avoid target, but i'm also happy to go the few blocks to national wholesale liquidators. i'm just a bit non plussed by Target. i've got plenty of plastic stuff as it is.


thats not to say i'm not happy that DC is on the radar of stores, i just figure theres lots of stuff nearby, and i'd much prefer different things than more of the same, but slighty closer. hopefully it'll keep buckets of tax money in the district and that money will fix the schools, and add to transit infrastructure. and get more police coverage.

and maybe a city funded arts center.



anyway, i'm not meaning to be down on target, i'm sure i'll go there eventually, but i'm just a bit tired of reading about how people dont have to go to the "suburbs" to buy affordable t-shirts. there are places, they just don't have Michael Graves toasters.

zaatar w zeit, is DC ready for a 24 hour man'oushe place?

man'oushe is one of my favorite foods in the universe. sadly there is no place i know of to get them hot and fresh in dc. i keep encouraging my brother in law to open up a franchise of Zaatar w Zeit, my favorite place to eat in Beirut. Its a really terrific 24 hour restaurant when you can get great man'oushe.
here is a good description of Man'oushe
or the wikipedia page






I really cant imagine a better lunch place for all those NPR, XM, ATF and DOJ workers, or an afterhours grub place after Ibiza or Fur. Its far better than Jumbo Slice.
Surely someone wants to open up a place on North Capitol.

its a gold mine waiting to happen.


*sigh*
i know someone, somewhere in dc clicked on this page, all excited they could get their fix locally. maybe hundreds of thousands. its just that good. Not yet, man, but someday.








i'd take a Barbar too, but its not as cozy.

Meet Bloomingdale!

Ever wonder what it would take to change the direction of North Capital Street? Specifically the area between Rhode Island Avenue and New York Avenue. In the past few weeks I have found neighbors with an interest/curiosity about how we, as Bloomingdale neighbors, can help North Capital Street regain it’s footing as a great street. Imagine, the power of a group of neighbors to buy one vacant building on North Capital Street. Daunting and exciting.

Let’s meet.

My agenda is to meet you. ....and,

• Talk about what is needed to form an LLC. How is an LLC different/better than a 503c. Is there a better option?


• How would we start? Would we have an initial investment amount per person? $1000, $10,000. More, less?
  


• Do we organize the seed money first, and then find the property....that seems to make sense.


• What is our mission? Is it solely to clean up North Capital? Is it to entice more businesses? Is it to make money? Are we only considering those buildings for sale, or do we approach other businesses....would SAVEMORE be interested in a new facade? Would that be something we would want to think about.
  

So let’s meet Bloomingdale! Tuesday, March 25th, 7:00pm at Nellie’s Sports Bar (9th and U Street). Please email me if you would like to be included: Karen_and_Howard at verizon dot net.

Think. Think. Think about it.

luciana cafe

See Kris Hammonds Post about a new restaurant on North Capitol.

Brown Line?

Richard Layman has a post about Michael Shade's proposed Brown Line



I'd love to see more lines catering to intracity travel.

rumors of north capitol

posted on the eckington listserve was mention of Luciana Cafe coming to the corner of North Capitol and P NW.
i remember reading about "J. Bells" which was supposed to open in the very same spot quite a while ago.

so, we'll see.


Anyone been in the video store yet?

friday night at the Bobby Fisher Memorial Building

At The Borf Mansion (Bobby Fisher Memorial Building)
1644 North Capital ST NW
$5 to enter. Smoke Free Alcohol Free
Bombs Away
8:30 PM Live Local Hip Hop - All Ages Show
Flex Mathews
Eurok (Peace Justice Universal) w Orbit 122
E-One
Resination
with Scratch Master K on the wheels of Steel
Plus: Special Debut of WBL Urban Arts Academy DJs Tre Pound and 40

Bloomingdale Holiday Art Market at the Big Bear Cafe!

Bloomingdale Holiday Art Market at the Big Bear Cafe!
Saturday, December 1, 3-9pm
Arts, crafts, hot cider, fun!



DC artists, designers, and craftspeople will be selling their creations at the Big Bear Cafe on December 1st.
Please come and check it out.



Please Help Us Spread the Word!

mark your calendars! Saturday December 1. 3-9 PM at the Big Bear

for bloomingdales first holiday art's market.
DC artists and crafts people and designers.

keep an eye out for more info!

groceries

you know, i loves me the whole foods and the trader joes, but what i'd really like to have close by is Grand Mart. Its by far my favorite grocery store in the metro area. And i can actually afford to shop there.