Ft. Totten Square/Walmart Construction Begins

So now that things have began progressing, we thought we'd provide a construction update on what is happening over at the Ft. Totten Square site.  The new year has come and gone, and the site of the District's newest Walmart has begun buzzing with workers and machinery.  JGB Group sent out a press release detailing the project, which can be found here.  As the initial dig kicks off, the sound of pile driving equipment can be heard throughout the surrounding neighborhood.  The low hum of excavators, bulldozers, and other heavy equipment fills the air.  Finally some real progress at the MUCH anticipated and LONG awaited Ft. Totten Square.

Looking SW From the Corner of 3rd & Chillum NE

Looking along the Chillum PL NE side of the site towards SD Ave.

View along the 3rd St NE Side of the Site,
South Towards the Riggs and SD Ave Intersection

View 1 Along Riggs Rd => North

View 2 Along Riggs Rd => North

View 3 Along Riggs Rd => North

Cafritz Foundation Power Ups Art Place Project

  

Rendering on new "Building B"
facing South Dakota Ave

  As many members of the community have found out, the Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation has begun advertising Stage 1 of the Art Place project at the intersection of Galloway and South Dakota.  For many in the neighborhood this is a welcome sight of progress for a project thought by many to be dead (although if you remember correctly we have been letting you know of the accurate status of this project from day one...horray us).  With this new jolt of life, there has been some additional information coming from the DC Office of Zoning (DCOZ) and Cafritz on the other portions of this project as well. 

 

Side Elevation of Bldg B with Detail

    
Earlier this month DCOZ released the Cafritz Foundations application for modification of approved planned unit development.  In this application the Foundation sought to modify it's Phase 1 (Building A) and modify Phase 2 (Building B).   With a still sluggish economy, all would expect Cafritz to decrease the size and scope of such a large project.  However, Cafrtiz shocked everyone by increasing the size of the Phase 2, rather than decreasing it, and asking for some leeway with regards to the full service grocery planned for Building 1.  In total the requested changes featured one major (and in this life long hockey playing bloggers point of view amazingly awesome) addition, the swap out of a senior center with all age accessible ICE RINKS and recreation spaces.  Yes, you read that correctly...up to 3 sheets of ice/indoor recreation space for the community to utilize year round.  This combined recreation facility would be a major boost to the neighborhood and city in general.  Also detailed in the release were design plans for the exterior, detailed height and easement measurements, parking garage details, as well as information regarding the children's museum.  

Street level

Level 2

 "The Foundation has refined the design of Building B in terms of its mixture of uses, the functionality and efficiency of the building's layout and pedestrian and vehicular circulation, and the architectural vocabulary and materials of the building. This refinement has resulted in the addition of an exciting new use to the building - a state of the art multi-purpose recreation facility with mezzanine capable of accommodating multiple ice rinks as well as other sports playing surface - to compliment already-significant retail offerings and an innovative cultural component in the form of a children's museum."

 (Statement of the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation in Support of Second Stage Application, and Modification of Approved First Stage of a Planned  Unit Development - 01/17/12)



Facade of Retail Entrance

 

Facade of Children's Museum and
Rink Entrance

"The requested modification of the First Stage PUD approval includes ( 1) an increase in building height from 60 feet to 80 feet for a portion of Building B to accommodate a mezzanine level and additional clearance for the recreation component, (2) an increase in gross floor area by approximately 49,000 square feet to 505,238 square feet of gross floor area, (3) elimination of the 15,000 square foot senior center and inclusion of that floor area within the multi-purpose recreation space available to all age groups; and ( 4) flexibility to delete the grocery store if a grocery store operator cannot be secured." 

(Application for PUD Modification DCOZ Case 06-10B)

Side Elevation of Building B With Changes

     Not called out specifically in the latest Cafritz announcement is the slight change in the Second Phase layout.  Not only will the addition of the rec space/ice rinks change the layout of the building, we can now see where the children's museum will be located as well as potential location and sizes for retail.  The children's museum was moved from its previous location, consisting of one floor, on Kennedy to having it's own dedicated entrnace on Ingraham and being multi level.   Also in the latest release is the addition of a third floor roof garden, which is assumed to be accessible through the children's museum.  Cafritz has also provided renderings of potnetial exterior sidewalk and plaza elements not initially submitted.  The exterior walkways will feature green areas and whimsical mosaic pieces, inviting neighborhood members into the various offerings the development has to offer. 



 

Exterior Front Detail



Children's Museum and Ice Rink Entrance Detail



Ft. Totten in the News

Alot of peoiple have been worried about grim outlook of Ft. Totten in DCMud post a few weeks ago.  The post viewed Ft. Totten as a lost cause and floundering.  However, we were contacted by Andrew Siddons of Urban Turf right before the DCMud article ran, and had began talking with him on his neighborhood profile piece.  His article has finally ran, and it paints a much different picture of our quiet corner of the city.  Regardless of which position you side with, it is always interesting to see our neighborhood garnish a little attention.

The Art Place Cometh: Bring on the Drills

In case you missed it, the early phases of the Cafritz Foundation's proposed construction of a 2 million square foot transit oriented development on 16.67 acres of land between the Ft. Totten Metro station and South Dakota Avenue has begun. Earlier this week several mobile drilling units showed up on the property and began work on establishing the level of the water table in the area. Several holes were drilled in and around the sparsely habitated Riggs Plaza Apts. A quick run down of what will go on the proposed site when all phases are completed are:

• Demolition of the 15, mostly vacant, walk-up apartment buildings on the site
• Construction of 4 buildings between 3 and 8 stories high; An overall floor area ratio (FAR) of 3.1 excluding roadways, and 2.9 including roadways
• Provision of 1,180,844 gross square feet (GSF) of residences, comprising approximately 929 one to three bedroom units
• Approximately 870,051 GSF of non-residential space including:
  - Approximately 305,000 GSF of retail uses, of which 102,000 GSF is projected for a grocery store and in-line retail, and approximately 203,000 GSF of anchor retail use;
  - A 47,000 GSF children’s museum
  - 170,000 GSF of cultural and arts spaces
  - A possible 6,500 GSF daycare facility and a seniors’ center, for which space has been reserved
  - A possible replacement branch library for which the applicant would be willing to reserve space

For those not familiar with construction practices, it is common to establish the water table level whenever you begin construction of a major complex...especially when it would lie adjacent to an area designated as Protected Wetlands. Yes that is right the small strip of marshy soil running between Ingraham and Hamilton St's is a registered WETLAND!!! "The District Department of the Environment (DDOE) lists the 0.46 acres of the site as wetlands area No. 46. This is located at the eastern border of the site, adjacent and parallel to South Dakota Avenue. DDOE has jurisdiction over this area"as stated in DC's Final Report – Revised Application for Zoning Commission Case No.06-10
Consolidated and Preliminary Planned Unit Development and Map Amendment for the proposed Art Place and Shops at Fort Totten. If this is what environmental protection gets you in DC, I would love to see what no protection would do...oh wait i think we already do. Hopefully the new Art Place will make good clean use of the area. Maybe they'll turn it into a little nature center for kids to learn about our impact on the environment, or at the very least a real nice parking lot!!!

New and Hot: The Art Place at Fort Totten

For the past few years the development buzz that had been steadily growing around Ft. Totten, is now becoming a dull roar. Previous projects in the neighborhood, including K. Hovnanians continually growing townhouse develpoment and The Fort Totten Station apartment and retail complex, pale in comparison to the The Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation's newly approved project.
The Cafritz Foundation is a private non-profit development organization whose efforts are focused solely in the District of Columbia. Of the more than $314 million dollars in grants since 1970, a majority of their disbursements have been focused on one of 4 areas: Arts and Humanities, Community Services, Education and Health. None of their previous projects may meld these four areas together into one the way that the planned Art Place at Ft. Totten will.
The proposed and recently approved Art Place will reside on a 17 acre plot between Galloway and Ingraham St. NE along South Dakota Ave. The entire complex (once completed) will be comprised of an estimated 929 housing units, a 60,000-square-foot grocery store and a 47,000-square-foot museum. This monumental feat of construction would not be completed until 2017. In the near term, the first phase of construction is slated to start in a few months. Currently the land is occupied by the 1950's era Riggs Plaza apartments, an unassuming conglomeration of six to eight brick three level apartments. Some area and Riggs Plaza residents feel that the proposed plan is too grand and modern for the quiet neighborhood. These are the same residents who are controversially being forced to relocate to other properties in the city for the two years construction will take (the displaced residents have, however, been guaranteed residence in the new apartment complex at the same rate they currently pay). Others are welcoming to project with open arms, citing the added access to amenities and cultural attractions as benefits. "I think that the project will give a much needed boost to the local area's economy. The proposed children's museum and art center will give the community a much needed cultural center" said one local resident.
Combine the Art Place Development with the proposed conversion of Bertie Backus Middle School into the University of the District of Columbia's new Community College and you would have quite a complex residing at the corners of Riggs Rd. and Galloway St NE. No matter which way you slice it, the Ft. Totten Metro Re-Imagination is on the march. The one thing for sure is that you can either get in line or get out of the way.

**The Washington Post article about proposed Art PlaceProject