Archive for December, 2009

15
Dec
09

Street Cars Arrive in DC

By rhodeislandinsider 6 Comments
Categories: Redevelopment
Tags: , , , ,

WTOP recently reported that the street cars that I posted about several weeks ago have started to arrive in the US from the Czech Republic.

Exciting! Rhode Island Ave NE is part of the second phase of development for this street car program. Benning Road/H Street and Anacostia will be the first to have the tracks laid and begin using the cars no later than 2012 (although as the article says, they are trying to accelerate that timeline).

Adding street cars to the Rhode Island Ave NE corridor will bring badly needed accessibility and transportation needs to our area of the City. I hope that they can accelerate the timeline and help bring it sooner! We will need it with a new Target and Costco coming to the area!

10
Dec
09

Costco and Target coming to the area

By rhodeislandinsider 5 Comments
Categories: Redevelopment
Tags: , , , ,

That’s right! According to the Washington Business Journal article Costco is moving forward with plans to build a store at the corner of New York Ave and South Dakota Ave NE.

It isn’t on Rhode Island Ave NE, but the commercial development is ideal to promote better and bigger development near all of us!

I think this is good news, but let’s see if Target will follow them up here!

08
Dec
09

Is our ANC really on our side?

By rhodeislandinsider 7 Comments
Categories: Redevelopment
Tags: , , , , , , ,

Since I moved to Ward 5, I have always wondered where the ANC for this area is. I had not heard from my ANC Commissioner about meetings, what is going on, etc etc, until I called her out on this blog. Then Rayseen Woodland responded to the blog posting attempting to defend her absence by claiming she never really disappeared. She was quickly refuted by several residents. Now, as one of the biggest things to happen to this area, the redevelopment of Rhode Island Ave NE, several of the ANC Commissioners have not actively participated in moving it along.

According to Councilmember Thomas’ office, the ANC as a whole said they support the redevelopment but after expressing a need for written support from each ANC member, the Councilmember’s office has only received 5 letters (with one being signed this Wednesday). From Derrick Woody, Office of the Deputy Mayor:

At present, the ANCs have indicated a willingness to advance the plan to Council, but the majority have not provided written support to CM Thomas’ office.

At present, the office of Councilmember Harry Thomas, Jr. has NOT received written support to help with approving funding for Rhode Island Ave NE redevelopment from:

ANC 5A Chair Angel Alston
5C Chair Anita Bonds
5B04 Rayseen Woodland
5B10 Phil Blair

Again, this goes to show that our ANC is constantly denying their responsibilities and taking their roles seriously.

07
Dec
09

The money is coming…

By rhodeislandinsider 10 Comments
Categories: Redevelopment
Tags: , , , ,

…by means of tax increment financing (TIF). Before the Council is a proposed revision of the 2004 Retail Incentive Act which will designate Rhode Island Avenue NE, along with various other areas in the City, as Priority Retail Areas.

YES! Rhode Island Avenue is part of this. It is slated to get no more than $15 million in TIF monies to aid in redevelopment. The Act is in its 3rd reading before the Council. Here is the Wikipedia definition of TIF:

Tax Increment Financing, or TIF, is a public financing method which has been used for redevelopment and community improvement projects in many countries including the United States for more than 50 years. With federal and state sources for redevelopment generally less available, TIF has become an often-used financing mechanism for municipalities. Similar or related approaches are used elsewhere in the world.

Here are the areas mapped out that will receive the funding for Rhode Island Avenue NE.

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