The Arts at 5th & I - Now with More Arts

It's been mentioned by the Mayor and the blogosphere, and we're happy to confirm it. We'd like to announce the inclusion of a new member of the Arts at 5th & I team - D.C.'s Zenith Gallery.

The award-winning Zenith Gallery has been a D.C. institution since 1978. Zenith represents dozens of artists, many D.C. locals. The new Zenith location will occupy storefront retail on I St., opposite the triangle park.

Also coming to 5th & I will be Zenith's non-profit arm, the Zenith Community Arts Foundation. The Zenith Community Arts Foundation advances social causes through art, and works in fundraising collaborations with non-profits such as the Capital Area Food Bank.

Photo courtesy Zenith Gallery

Coming Soon!

Everyone, we're happy to announce that the Arts at 5th & I team has been selected by the District to redevelop the corner of 5th & I!

Most importantly, we appreciate all the support we've gotten from the neighborhood. We've listened to the community, and we're looking forward to turning the vision of a better Mount Vernon Triangle into a reality.

Update 9/22/08: Coverage of the announcement:
Washington Business Journal
Washington Post
MVSNA's blog
The Triangle Blog
PQ Living
DC MUD
DC Metrocentric
The Triangle Blog rounds up these and other mentions here.

Countdown

The Best and Final Offers for 5th & I were turned in August 18th. The Arts at 5th & I team is counting the hours until the announcement by the District.

Every indication is that the District will move quickly to announce their winning team, and we expect an announcement within the next week or two. We thank our neighbors for their continued support. And we look forward to a revived 5th St., a livelier, friendlier streetscape, and a development in keeping with community wants and needs.

Photo credit: laffy4k

Madrid - Cabo - Cancun - Barcelona - D.C.

Congratulations to our partner, Sol Melia, on their fourth hotel under the ME flag, the ME Barcelona. The new ME opens in Barcelona's Innovation District, an area of the city with a high-tech focus. And yes, that actually is a photograph.

Press Announcement - New York Times article - ME by Melia website.

Rainbow Over MVT

Courtesy Thais Austin, 555 Mass

Click for a larger version. From the rooftop of 555 Mass looking east across Mount Vernon Triangle.

U.S. Immigration (425 I St.) and Penzance's office building are in the foreground, with the Capitol dome in the distance. This being DC, there's also 5 tower cranes in the background.

Voice of the Hill on MVT

Voice of the Hill reports on the recent ANC 6C decision in favor of the Arts at 5th & I:

The commission... praised Donohoe/Holland for meeting nearly all the criteria the commission hoped would be included -- "much needed neighborhood retail, a neighborhood gathering spot at its café and an entertainment venue well-suited, both in scale and theme, to the area."

It's good to see Voice of the Hill covering the process in Mount Vernon Triangle. I took the opportunity to ask Davis Kennedy, publisher of Voice of the Hill and the Current family of newspapers, whether we could expect a version of the Current tailored to the growing population of Penn Quarter/MVT. The Current already has versions tailored to Georgetown, Upper Northwest, Dupont, and Foggy Bottom. He says he's been thinking about it, but the more economical approach, at least for awhile, will probably be to expand the reach of Voice of the Hill. It's good to hear that they're thinking about moving in that direction.

ANC 6C Endorses The Arts at 5th & I

We're happy to announce that ANC 6C has endorsed The Arts at 5th & I! At tonight's meeting, ANC 6C endorsed the vision that the Donohoe/ Holland/ Harris/ Spectrum team is working to bring to the MVT community.

We were equally pleased by the unanimous support of the members of the local community that made their voices heard this evening. Thanks to ANC 6C and everyone who attended for taking the time out of their own schedules to participate in the process. We will continue to work to earn your support.

Update 5/30/08: The Triangle blog reports on the meeting and excerpts the ANC endorsement here.

Downtown Neighborhood Association Supports the Arts at 5th & I

We're happy to announce that the Downtown Neighborhood Association supports the Arts at 5th & I!

Miles Grove, on behalf of the Downtown Neighborhood Association, says:

... we favor Donohoe/Holland because they are actively working to acquire the lots north of the 5th and Eye development lot to K Street and are gathering great local retail commitments.... We ask that you give great weight to their effort and if selected, work expeditiously to resolve any zoning /HPRB issues that might exist so that development of the full block can begin.

If our team is selected, we look forward to working with the Downtown Neighborhood Association (DNA), as well as ANC6C, the MVSNA, and the CID. We'll also work with the residents of 555 Mass and and all our neighbors to limit the issues that construction brings. And we will work to maximize the potential for a safe, vibrant MVT.

The Bike Shop for Mount Vernon Triangle

We're happy to announce the newest member of our team - District Hardware/The Bike Shop! Neil Conway, President of District Hardware/The Bike Shop signed a Letter of Interest with The Arts at 5th & I team earlier today.

Neil notes:

When we opened in Dupont Circle in 1971, our neighborhood was much like Mount Vernon Triangle is today. We would be excited to bring a new location to Mount Vernon Triangle and be a part of the improvement of another District neighborhood.

District Hardware/The Bike Shop has been a local institution in D.C. for 37 years. They were the first True Value hardware store in Washington, D.C.

Neil Conway, the second generation of this D.C. family business, incorporated The Bike Shop into the business, offering bicycle and bicycle accessory sales, as well as full bike repair services.

The new location is planned to include the store's signature mix of neighborhood hardware store and full-service bike shop. District Hardware/The Bike Shop joins our ME by Meliá hotel, Cappuccinos Café and Boisdale Jazz.

Traffic, Part 2

This is a follow up to an earlier post. Read part 1 here.

The Mount Vernon Triangle doesn’t have just one traffic problem, it has several.

Many non-local drivers use these streets as cut-throughs during rush hour. Others (on Verizon Center nights) drive in circles, faster and faster, looking for on-street parking. Late-night drivers seem to accelerate as fast as possible between intersections. And still other drivers, confused by all the turning options at 5th, I, and Massachusetts, forget to look for cars and people at all.

All of this makes for an unsafe environment for pedestrians. The public realm should be more than a space for moving the maximum number of cars at the maximum speed.

A combination of improvements – all working together - could transform 5th and I Streets:

• Traffic Light with Pedestrian “Countdown Timer”
• “Bulb-outs” or Curb Extensions
• Changing Parking Restrictions
• Raised Crosswalks
• Lighting Improvements
• Quality Street Trees
• Strong Retail Options

Bulb-outs or curb extensions, like the intersection above, decrease pedestrian crossing distances.

Stoplights are important, but creating a quality streetscape is just as important. Drivers naturally hurry through areas with abandoned storefronts and vacant lots. By contrast, interesting retail and visual interest encourages drivers to slow down.

Some of these might seem like minor improvements, or things that aren’t related to traffic safety at all. We think they are all important, because they change the behavior of drivers. Street trees, bulb-outs and appropriate lighting help define the street and visually narrow it, which drivers process as natural reasons to go slower. And when 5th & I Streets have good, interesting neighborhood retail, we’ll have more pedestrians, and that will help create a friendlier, safer neighborhood. We’ve thought about these issues with regard to 5th & I extensively, and we want to be a part of the solution.

Traffic, Part 1

Like our mayor, Germany’s Ampelmannchen (“little street-light man”) sports a stylish hat

Traffic – and dealing with it - is always a concern downtown. We’re already thinking about it for The Arts at 5th & I. Our project also plans for meeting or exceeding all parking requirements onsite, with four underground levels of parking to handle demand created by new shoppers, residents, workers, and guests.

Our team leader, Donohoe, has programs at its DC headquarters for providing employees Metro SmarTrip cards, providing subsidies for employees who bike or ride Metro to work, and providing onsite lockers and showers for employees who bike to work. These programs can be extended to the site as well. We also are thinking ahead to providing remote parking with courtesy shuttles for workers to limit traffic and parking woes during construction.

Hiring local helps in this way as well, both for construction and for the completed project. Hiring from D.C. and Ward 6 first increases the chance that workers will use Metro – and that will further limit our carbon footprint, as well as our “traffic footprint.”

Thanks to All...

...Who came out tonight to the public meeting at the Carnegie Library in Mount Vernon Square. The four development teams presented their plans for 5th & I, and members of the community got to ask questions about those plans. We'll explore more about those questions here on this blog and in future public meetings. Didn't get to attend but have questions? We'd love to hear your comments. Email us your comments, or post a comment here on the blog.

The Future of 5th & I - Now Online

Our companion website, 5th-and-i.com, goes live today. Check it out for more info on our team and our vision for the corner of 5th & I Streets NW. You'll find video on our hotel partner, ME by Melia, and music from Boisdale, our neighborhood jazz club and restaurant.

Why ME by Melia? Part 2

This is a follow up to an earlier post. Read part 1 here.


Above: the ME Madrid at night


Besides delivering more tourist dollars to DC than most other hotels, the ME by Melia will also create more jobs.

Jobs. A good rule of thumb is that a luxury full-service hotel employs one worker for every hotel room. A lesser hotel employs slightly fewer, and a limited-service or "extended stay" hotel (like Residence Inn or Element) only employs one worker for every 3.5 hotel rooms. So ME will create more jobs than many other hotels - in fact, more than 155! And that doesn't include managing the new residences, the jazz club & restaurant, or the cafe.

In addition, full-service high-end hotels generally pay better as well. They need to train employees better - and that means they also need to pay them better to keep them.

Our Plan for 5th & I

Our team wants to bring hotel rooms, retail, and residential housing to the city-owned vacant lot at 5th & I Streets NW. That basic outline isn't unique, but our final product will be:

• The Arts Residences at 5th & I: Residences offering city views. 96 units
  
• ME by Meliá: A four-star+ hotel with a young, international edge. 174 rooms
• International Photography Space: A curated exhibition space incorporated into the hotel, exploring world themes in art photography
• Café Cappuccino: A unique urban coffee house offering full-service breakfast and lunch for the neighborhood, with take away options and a pet-friendly sidewalk terrace
  
• Boisdale of Washington: A London-based cultural dining experience and live jazz club featuring contemporary and historic jazz styles, a diverse menu and a renowned selection of scotch whiskies. A neighborhood destination, Boisdale will bring entertainment options to Mount Vernon Triangle while offsetting noise concerns by locating the jazz club below grade level. Estimated 150 seats
  
• Parking: Underground parking with valet service

There's a lot more to tell - we'll be bringing you more updates over the coming days and weeks. Stop by the public presentation on Thursday to hear about what could be in store for 5th & I.

Why ME by Melia? Part 1

Why ME by Melia? Two reasons: Spending and Jobs. But how is that different from any other hotel?

Spending. ME by Melia caters to an international demographic that often skips DC entirely when visiting the United States. ME's current research shows those travelers preferring to go to New York, L.A., and Miami. The people who are loyal to Melia hotels and the ME brand aren't coming to D.C., but we think they should be. Those are travel dollars that could be spent here in D.C., and right now they aren't.

More familiar hotel brands are, well, more familiar, but to a great degree they are splitting up existing demand: usually, a new Marriott caters in large part to existing Marriott travelers, a Hilton brand caters to Hilton customers, etc. A brand that isn't already here in D.C. will bring new travelers to D.C., rather than splitting up an existing pie of travelers. That brings new revenues to the D.C. treasury and new spending to city businesses.

Next post: Jobs.

You are Cordially...

All are invited to the next step for Mount Vernon Triangle. You'll see the four short-listed development teams present their visions for the City's property at the corner of 5th & I Streets, NW. The presentations begin at 6:30 pm, this Thursday, May 1, at The Carnegie Library, 801 K Street NW (right at the center of Mount Vernon Square, across from the new Convention Center). We're looking forward to sharing our ideas with you, and learning more about what you want the corner of 5th & I to be.

(Photo courtesy Keegie in DC, Flickr).

Welcome

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