Archive for May, 2010

27
May
10

Rhode Island Station ***UPDATE

By rhodeislandinsider 8 Comments
Categories: Redevelopment

After speaking with the developers of the Rhode Island Station today, they have indicated that the retailers listed in the leasing materials are not confirmed tenants for the development. The retailers that they have listed in the leasing materials are the type of retailers that they want in the development.

The developer did confirm that they are trying to locate a drug store to take the larger footprint and to fill at least 50% of the pads as cafes/restaurants. Usually when developers release leasing materials with retailers listed in them, those retailers are confirmed tenants. The developer apologized about the confusion and is updating their website to clarify their tenants.

26
May
10

Street Car’s Future?

By rhodeislandinsider 1 Comment
Categories: Redevelopment
Tags: , , , , , ,

***UPDATE: Thanks to blog reader, Stephanie, it seems that Vince Gray worked to find the funding. See this article here. Thanks Stephanie!

This article from the Washington Business Journal has to scare some people about the future of the Street Cars in DC. Although most of the Council decided not to touch the Anacostia street car (which I assume is a positive thing), they did decide to cut the budget to bring the Street Cars to H Street by 2012. This is disappointing as how that will affect the entire time line for the rest of the City slated for Street Cars — such as Rhode Island Ave NE.

Vince Gray’s reasons for the cuts are suspect and not a clear reason for the delay. He claims that there are many questions to be answered but cutting the budget back to just $3million to further plan is ludicrous. Moving ahead with a full budget would allow questions to be answered at the same time the project moves forward. This will seriously hurt the redevelopment of H Street, while small businesses have invested in….which could further discourage investment in areas slated for Street Cars and redevelopment.

Let’s hope this isn’t the case.

23
May
10

Rhode Island Station

By rhodeislandinsider 17 Comments
Categories: Redevelopment
Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

At long last, the redevelopment at the Rhode Island Metro station is finally underway, evidenced by all of the fences, signs, and media around the redevelopment. We now also have a website to track its progress.

According to the developer’s website, the Rhode Island Station will have nearly 300 apartments, sidewalk cafes, funky bars, and tons of retail opportunities. The largest retail pad according to their plans for the ground level retail is 14,700 sqft. So, what stores are coming? Well, according to their leasing documents, there is a Starbucks, CVS, FedEx Express, BCBG, Pizza Pizza, Blockbuster Total Access, and a wine store. There are all types of smaller pads that could accomodate coffee shops, dry cleaners, etc. The total square footage for retail pads is 70,000 sqft. Also part of this center will be a new DMV, which is expected to draw nearly 600 visitors daily.

Other good news about this area. The Giant Food Stores is already considering expanding, the AJ Wright is the top one in the nation, and the Home Depot is among the top 3. Pretty exciting if you think about the potential for this area!

The residential pads will total 274 upscale luxury apartments. The 1, 2, and 3 bedroom apartments will be in two separate buildings with private parking and a rooftop terrace.

It is encouraging for all of us along RIA that this is becoming a reality. Hopefully, we will move forward with the entire Avenue and get our area on the map.

23
May
10

Life on RIA series part 1

By rhodeislandinsider Leave a Comment
Categories: Life on RIA and Redevelopment
Tags: , , , , , ,

This is the first of our Life on RIA series that will be small essays from contributing bloggers from all of the areas along Rhode Island Ave NE. I felt we should begin this series with a foreword from Councilman Harry Thomas Jr. who represents Ward 5 and has been a supporter of redevelopment. Please check back on a weekly basis for more and more contributors’ views and reflection on living along Rhode Island Ave NE. Also, if you would like to participate, please send me an email.

and now…on to the series:

Delivering Change to Rhode Island Avenue

By The Honorable Harry “Tommy” Thomas, Jr., Ward 5 Councilmember

The end of my first term in office is fast-approaching, presenting an ideal time to reflect on what we have achieved for Rhode Island Avenue since I was sworn into office in January 2007.

Keeping true to my word, one of my first priorities as your Ward 5 representative on the Council of the District of Columbia was to add Rhode Island Avenue to the Great Streets initiative. And we succeeded.

Securing the Great Streets designation was important because it elevates the level of city resources the corridor can receive, from infrastructure improvements to TIF financing to bring economic revitalization. Since adding Rhode Island Avenue to the initiative in 2007, we have moved on to complete the land use study, which this summer the executive will submit to the Council for approval. Once approved, the plan will provide the road map for future development along Rhode Island Avenue.

Improving the cleanliness of Rhode Island Avenue to attract potential businesses was another priority of mine, so I ensured the District’s budget has included funding for a Green Team that cleans the street daily. The members of this team are recruited from Ward 5, so that we are creating jobs for residents as well with this program.

And just this week, we broke ground for the Rhode Island Station project, which will bring 70,000 square feet of much-needed retailed to Ward 5, as well as 274 new units of housing. I helped ensure the viability of this project by championing the legislation authorizing the tax revenue bonds used to finance this project.

Without doubt, we have made great strides in delivering resources to Rhode Island Avenue. I am confident that more will follow in the years to come, and I look forward to doing my part to ensure that happens.

14
May
10

SPOTLIGHT: MGM Roast Beef

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

I had the opportunity to eat lunch at MGM Roast Beef today. Although this is not directly on RIA, it is just off of the Avenue, next to the auto auction and on the other side of the Giant/Home Depot shopping center. In fact, the eatery is owned by Mark Loesberg, President of the Capital Auto and Truck Auction, Inc. The building it is in use to be a liquor store and when the lease came up for renewal a little over a year and a half ago, Mr. Loesberg decided not to renew the liquor license and instead, open his family owned sandwich shop.

The menu at the location includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner (although it closes at 6:00pm M-F and 3pm on Saturday). It has a counter you can cozy up to, grab the quick order form for a sandwich, mark what you want on your sandwich, and the waiter picks it up. You can order off of the menu but you have to let the waiter know (not a big deal). There is no alcohol in the place which is fine. It doesn’t seem like the kind of place that needs it. They have some great roast beef, ham, turkey, brisket, etc sandwiches and fries. They also offer a variety of other foods (breakfast sounds yummy). Click here to check out their website!

I strongly urge residents to frequent it! The fact that Mr. Loesberg decided to take a liquor store out of our area and replace it with a good eatery, we should applaud and frequent the place to ensure that it sticks around. But don’t take my word that it is a great place to grab a sandwich or breakfast, Yelp! has rating of 4.5 out of 5 for the place, so you know that it is a good place!

Oh, another reason I like this place: they deliver. If you are wondering why they close at 6pm on weekdays, 3pm on Saturday, and closed on Sunday, well, it is because the area directly around it is an industrial park (Post Office is across the street and BET is down the road a little). Maybe if we can get enough demand to this place, we can get them to stay open longer!

10
May
10

Life on RIA….New Series

By rhodeislandinsider 4 Comments
Categories: Redevelopment

Thanks to the suggestion of a blog reader, I would like to start a new series on this blog that will be entirely from contributing bloggers called “Life on RIA”. This decision is based on the fact that redevelopment isn’t the only thing that will improve Rhode Island Avenue, but also the people and happenings that occur everyday.

The series will focus on the compliments and complaints of living along RIA, including all neighborhoods, developers, associations, ordinary residents, etc….this list can go on and on. I hope that we can get a wide range of articles from readers that I will post online over time. It will be an interesting twist to read how our neighbors view their area.

If you would like to be a contributer to this series, please email me at pyramus12 (at) yahoo.com. I am excited about this new series….and for those that are constant commenters, I am sure you will hear from me!

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