CUA Community and Youth Night

  Looking for a something to do tomorrow night with the kids, or not?  Well CUA might have just the thing for you.  Tomorrow night CUA will be hosting their first annual Community and Youth Night.  Youth and Community Night is open to all of the surrounding neighbood residents.  Any youth athlete wearing their jersey or league t-shirt will receive a snack, drink, and be able to participate in a half-time activity weather permitting.  Best of all it is free to residents of Brookland, Edgewood, Michigan park, North Michigan Park, and Ft. Totten (with ID)!

CUA Fireworks Show This Friday

From CUA Campus Ministry "On behalf of the Office of Campus Ministry at The Catholic University of America, I would like to invite you for a firework show that is being held on our campus on Friday, April 27, 2012. This is the finale to our end of the year celebration that has been organized by our students at CUA. The firework show will begin at 9:45pm and can be viewed best from the west side of campus, nearest the Basilica of the National Shrine of Immaculate Conception. This event has been coordinated with the Office of General Counsel, Department of Public Safety, Metropolitan Fire Department and Zambelli Firework Company. We hope that you will be able to join us in this celebration." This surely seems like a can't miss for tomorrow night, especially considering the the First Family of Fireworks are producing it! Hopefully those of us neighboring the CUA Campus will take full advantage of the event being in our own back yards! Hopefully some of you readers will take some great pictures to share with us here at the Blog as well!

Want to Get Away From It All...Try Being a Hermit in NE DC

  Architect Magazine has run an interesting piece on a hermitage (yes for hermits) to be built on the gorounds of Mount St. Sepulchre (aka the Franciscian Monestary in Brookland), designed by CUA's Architecture Students.  The full article can be found here.
"The process began in 2010. Fourteen students were charged with designing a 350-square-foot cabin to house not just monks, but anybody who wanted to withdraw from this world of perpetual connectedness. (Eventually, the Fransciscans want to build as many as four modern hermitages on their grounds to rent out, for one week at a time.) As a preliminary exercise, instructor Bill Jelen asked the students to turn off their various electronic implements for an hour and just sit by themselves. 'It’s amazing how many people couldn’t do that,' Jelen says."

It's seems like a very interesting idea, and one that many of us could potentially benifit from. Especially considering the hyperconnected, stress magnified, perpetual motion world we live in inside the beltway.  More information on the hermitage can be found below:
http://www.myfranciscan.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=158&Itemid=62
http://publicaffairs.cua.edu/releases/2012/franciscan-hermitage.cfm

Broadway Comes to CUA: Presenting "Nine"

Catholic University’s Benjamin T. Rome School of Music presents the musical, “Nine”, based on Federico Fellini's semi-autobiographical film, “8½”. The 200 square foot back drop depicting the Grand Canal and the Rialto Bridge is painted by local artist Jeff Wilson. The show is directed by Kurt Boehm, with musical direction by Denise Puricelli -- straight from Broadway! The show is loaded with energy -- superb costuming -- stunning vocals-- great dancing -- ALL PLAYED BEFORE A LIVE ORCHESTRA!
  Tickets are $15 for general admission and $10 for students, seniors and CUA alumni, faculty and staff.  Performances are Nov 12, 13, 14, and 19, 20, 21; Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30, Sundays at 2:00. Presented in Ward Recital Hall, just north of the Basilica on Harewood Road, next to the Hartke Theatre. Ward Recital Hall is an intimate space with real charm -- exposed old brick, heavey construction beams, chandeliers, and nice accoustics. A perfect period location for a period Venetian piece. Call to get your tickets because some shows have been selling out! For more information, contact the Benjamin T. Rome School of Music at  202-319-5414.

Dog Found...Are you missing a Yorkshire Terrier???

Reader S.R. sent us the below message this morning regarding a Yorkshire Terrier she found this morning.  If you, or some one you know are missing a dog, please read below and help this little guy out.
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Hello There,  
I'm hoping you can post something for me. I was out running at about 7:30 this morning on Puerto Rico Ave NE and I found a little stray dog who kept wandering into traffic. He (or she?) looks like he may be a Yorkshire Terrier. He has a pink harness on but no collar. I got him to follow me home and now Animal Control is on their way to pick him up. Unfortunately I can't keep him here because I have my own dog and a cat. Animal Control will only keep him for five days, so I'm really hoping that if you can post this information and some pictures on your blog, whoever lost him can go pick him up before it's too late. AC's phone number is: 202-576-6664.

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CUA South Campus Redevelopment Advances

As we continue working our way through the twist and turns or ANC5A redevelopment, next on the list is Abdo Development's Brookland/CUA project.  Interestingly enough, as we began to dig in and get updates, CUA must have read out minds and made a release via their website on the projects status.  So rather then duplicate work, and mostly out of sheer laziness, here is the article for you reading pleasure.
"The redevelopment of Catholic University’s South Campus into a vibrant mixed-use, transit-oriented community advances with today’s announcement that Abdo Development has teamed with The Bozzuto Group, a Washington D.C. area-based residential real estate company, and Pritzker Realty Group, a Chicago-based real estate investment company, to finance the project.
“I am so pleased to welcome The Bozzuto Group and Pritzker Realty Group to the partnership that The Catholic University of America initiated earlier with Abdo Development,” said CUA President John H. Garvey.
“The redevelopment of the university’s South Campus — so important to CUA’s long-held goal of transforming the gateway to the heart of our university — has moved another step closer to fruition. These two new partners will bring an added dimension of expertise and resources to the effort, making us even more confident about the positive changes that await CUA and its neighbors.”
Jim Abdo, president and CEO of Abdo Development, said, “We are thrilled to have secured financing for our Catholic University redevelopment project. Through this partnership, we will achieve our vision of creating a new community made up of vibrant residential housing, artist studios and community space, as well as a main street with eclectic, local retail — all just minutes from the emerging 12th Street retail district and three Metro stops from Union Station.”

The multi-phase development is located on five city blocks in Washington, D.C.’s Brookland neighborhood, adjacent to the Brookland-CUA Metrorail station and just three miles north of the U.S. Capitol. The community will ultimately consist of a progressive mix of uses: approximately 720 residential units, 45 townhomes, 83,000 square feet of street-level retail, 15,000 square feet of artist studio space, a 3,000 square-foot community arts center, and 850 parking spaces.
Approved plans also include streetscape and hardscape improvements that will greatly improve the South Campus’s walkability, creating a lively, pedestrian-friendly atmosphere and significantly improving traffic patterns and pedestrian crossings along Michigan Avenue.
“We couldn’t be more delighted to be a part of the team working with Abdo Development and Catholic University to move this tremendous project forward,” said Tom Bozzuto, CEO of The Bozzuto Group. “Jim has created a great project, in a terrific location, and we are honored that he’s asked us to co-develop, build, and ultimately manage the community.”
Penny Pritzker, CEO of Pritzker Realty Group, noted that “The Catholic University South Campus redevelopment project is a prime example of mixed-use, transit-oriented, urban infill development. Coupled with Washington, D.C.’s favorable supply/demand outlook and the nation’s lowest unemployment rate, we are confident that this is a remarkably sound investment. We very much look forward to working with Catholic University, Abdo and Bozzuto to create a dynamic new community for the Brookland neighborhood.”
The development, scheduled to break ground by the end of next year, represents the first equity commitment by the recently-formed $75 million Bozzuto/Pritzker Realty Group joint venture."

Courtesy of  CUA Public Affairs (http://publicaffairs.cua.edu/releases/2010/10SouthCampusDevelTeam.cfm)

CUA's Columbus Community Legal Services Receives Largest Single Donation in its History

From Columbus School of Law Press Release:
"  By any measure, it’s one heck of a birthday present. The Columbus School of Law’s legal clinic, which is celebrating 40 years of existence in 2010, received a gift of more than $222,000 on May 7th, the most magnanimous donation in its history.
   The clinic is one of 13 charitable legal programs, most of them in Maryland, to benefit from more than $2 million in unclaimed money left over from a successful large class-action lawsuit that was brought against Cellular One (now a division of AT&T) in 1999.  The suit claimed the wireless carrier overcharged late fees to customers in violation of Maryland law.  Lead attorney's for the plaintiffs’ class, John Beins, Seth Goldberg and Paul Gleiberman, litigated..."

Congrats to the Columbus School of Law or their success.  Got to The Columbus Shcool of Law's Article  for the full story.

Yes They Can: The CUA Presedential Search Continues

CUA has released it's March update on their search to find a new University President (Click Me!).  The current CUA President, Reverend David M. O'Connell, is the 14th president for the institution and has been in the position since 1998.  Announcing his resignation in October of 2009, O'Connell has increased enrollment an amazing 23 percent, to 6,768 students. The Brookland campus has expanded from 127 to 193 acres through the addition of a state of the art athletic complex, new dorms and Legal College expansion.  The Universities relationship with the surrounding community was also strengthened under O'Connell.  The search is expected to end in the comming months, as the candidate pool continues to be withered down.