Weekend Market Coming to 5th & I

The future location of The Arts at 5th & I will play host to a new open-air weekend market for the 2011 season. Liberty North Community Market opens April 2, 2011. It will be open every Saturday and Sunday at the corner of 5th & I Streets. Ken Acker of Chef Kenac Productions is the organizer. Ken is planning a wide array of vendors, including food, crafts, and art sales.

Lead sponsors are ANC 6C, the MVT Citizens Improvement District, and Arts co-developer The Donohoe Companies.

Newsworthy

A couple of recent articles have detailed our forward progress on 5th & I.

From DCMUD:
The Arts at 5th & I: Closer Than They Were

A great idea we're supporting is a temporary market on the 5th & I site.

From the Washington Business Journal:
Donohoe property waits for hotel, nails food
market

The concept is being led by the Mount Vernon CID, who also organized the recent "5 EYE" Asian Film Series, which we helped to underwrite.

Revenue Generator

As noted in the Triangle blog, the Deputy Mayor’s office has decided to allow a temporary parking lot use at 5th & I in order to produce short term revenue for the city. A parking lot RFP was issued for this site and 2-3 other government properties approximately one year ago. While the Arts team is not a part of this temporary use, we understand the city's need to search out new revenue sources. This provisional use won't interfere with our timeline, and we continue to work toward delivering MVT's next great landmark.

We're Fine, How Are You?

We've been working with the District Government to create a world-class development for 5th & I. The Arts Team has been meeting with the Deputy Mayor's office to work out the details of the development plan, including agreements for hiring DC residents, schedules for construction, etc. We've had more than 50 meetings so far. In the coming weeks, we're looking to the Deputy Mayor's office to finalize our LOI (Letter of Intent) and to forward The Arts project to the DC Council for review and approval.

In the meantime, Commissioner Karen Wirt and ANC 6C have invited us to appear at their December meeting. Maybe we'll see you there?

Zenith Gallery Announces its Move to The Arts at 5th & I

Zenith Gallery has officially announced that it will leave its current home in Penn Quarter and will join The Arts at 5th & I.

From the release:

...founder and proprietor Margery E. Goldberg said, “Mind you, we are not closing. We’re just changing the way we do business. We will continue to sell art and remain active in Washington’s cultural arena.”

The new move to The Arts will allow a fundamental rethinking of how Zenith approaches its gallery, consulting and non-profit activities:

For Goldberg, Zenith’s future holds opportunities and promise as she begins to explore options and plan how she wants to present, provide and promote art in her next phase as a Washington impresario and activist. In the next few years, she’s also slated to move Zenith Gallery to a luxury hotel at Mt. Vernon Triangle, which is part of a multi-use project (The Arts at 5th & I, awarded by Mayor Fenty) that will include a residential complex, jazz club, restaurant and more.

We're excited to welcome Margery Goldberg and Zenith to the MVT neighborhood.

Shown: Artist Donna McCullough's Team Gulf (Blue), tin cans w/ steel base, from Zenith Gallery's current show Zenith for Real.

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.