Ft. Totten Square In The News

  The Washington Informer had a piece this week on the New Ft. Totten Square groundbreaking and some a few notes from community emebers and some of our local representatives in the City Council.  It's a quick and easy read that can be found here:
http://washingtoninformer.com/index.php/local/item/13084-groundbreaking-for-fort-totten-square

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

Walmart Neighborghood Partnership Initiative

  In response to public pressure, city council concerns or whatever the reasons may be, Walmart announced it's Neighborhood Partnership Initiative on their DC Website this morning.  In this announcement, Walmart announced it's intention to not only provide the District with some 1,800 permanent jobs city wide, but also increasing the District's tax revenue by some $15 million while they also "identify and create charitable partnerships during this timeline worth $21 million in critical areas of unmet needs such as hunger relief, health and wellness, education and workforce development." The major construction projects they plan to start will also utilize DC based contractors and distributors for at least 35% of work, implement transportation demand management measures for each new store (Capital Bikeshare, bus shelters, bike racks, Smart Trip, electric car charging stations), as well as "create and fund a city wide workforce development program that provides training services for DC residents, with emphasis on programs that assist low income families, minorities, veterans, at-risk yourh and formerly incarcerated residents."  Along with the proposed workforce development program, Walmart plans to focus even more keenly on creating jobs in the communities surrounding their developments through the use of hiring centers located near each site, as well as job fairs and cooperation with CCDC and Community Groups.  Several of these items address many of the major concerns people have with the Mega Box Store, however they extent to which these are carried out and how much leverage the District has to ensure these happen will not be realized until much of the planned development in near or has been copmpleted,

An Unexpected Tenant: Walmart Surprise in Ft. Totten

  The quiet community is an often sought after, seldom attained dynamic in any major city...and the District is no different.  The communities surrounding Ft. Totten have been one of these rare species, and are now facing extinction straight in the face.  The announcement that Wamart is moving ahead with a bold plan to open six locations in the District, one of which will anchor the Ft. Totten Square Development, will certainly usher in a new community dynamic.  The often controversial box store giant's plan will add some 1,600 jobs in the district and create almost 600 construction jobs in the process.  The Ft. Totten location will occupy most of the first floor of the Ft. Totten Square project and sit below some 350 apartments along Riggs Rd, NE. 
  Much of the community seems split regarding the planned development, and this will surely fuel the  fire for both sides.  While the neighborhood will surely be faced with all manner of city planning and public safety issues, this announcement will surely add a turbo booster to the stagnent Ft. Totten Square project and help bloster not only jobs but also increase property values.  Regardless of the stance, this unexpected announcement  looks to be moving ahead...at what speed and where the speed bumps lie are still unknown.

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.

Ft. Totten Square: Finally Getting Squared Away

 The Ft. Totten Square (FTS) project has gone through many phases since it's announcement in 2006.  The once proud and highly anticipated community changing project had lost it's financial and community support, and saw a project site sit and decay for over three years.  Just when things couldn't look worse for the FTS project, the clouds parted and the sun began to shine.  Cassidy Turley Commercial Real Estate Services took on the major task of finding investors who have capitol available to refinance the project, and within months of coming on board they were able to close the refinancing deal for Lowe Enterprises.   
  For those of you that have been distracted by the massive road construction project at the intersection of Riggs and South Dakota in NE, or who haven't ventured up into this quiet section of the city, the demolition has finally begun on the former strip mall that sat on the project site. In a city feeling the economic strains shared with most of the country, the project will give a much needed economic boost to the City and Ward 5 economy.  This project will not simply create a temporary boost for blue collar jobs, but more importantly will create long term sustainable jobs in the massive mixed use project.  When we sat down with Ward 5 City Council Representative Harry Thomas last month, he noted the fact that Ward 5 job set asides are always at the top of his priority list when it comes to discussions with new commercial establishments.  Second on his list would be assisting locally owned business, especially restaurants, acquire the funding they need to gain a foothold in the new neighborhood markets. 
   While the new time line has not yet been revealed (both Lowe and Cassidy Turley had been contacted serveal times but provided no response), the future surely looks bright for the FTS project.  The coming retail and culinary additions to the neighborhood landscape will be closely followed, and hotly debated (most exciting of which could be the new full service grocery slated to anchor the retail side of the development). But only time will tell how the project pans out, and what direction the project ultimately takes.  One thing for sure is that the project is moving forward at a brisk pace, and regardless of the final product it has removed a growing eyesore from the neighborhood.

Artist's rendition of the finished Ft. Totten Square project
(Ft. Totten Metro and S.D. Ave at top right of image)

Ft. Totten Square: Back to Square One

Fort Totten Square...what was supposed to be the first of the major redevelopment projects completed in ANC 5A, now looks to be in a permanent holding pattern.  The proposed redevelopment project was planned for the10+ acre site at the intersection of Riggs and South Dakota, at the former location of the Tiger Market Shopping Center.  The once promising, and grand, plan was going to convert the quite community into a new metro centered hot spot.  In fact, the current traffic pattern redesign for the Riggs Rd. and South Dakota Ave. intersection was conceived in response to the needs of the potential development. 
  In summer of 2007 the property was vacated, fences went up and the new advertisements proclaiming the arrival of the monstrous mixed-use facility were up and running.  Throughout 2009, several local news outlets reported on the acquisition of several city owned parcels adjacent to the lot, an old apartment complex was demolished...things were moving along quickly.  However, just as fast as the project seemed to be moving forward it suddenly came to a screeching halt.  As the economic state of the country became more uncertain, so did the economic future of the Ft. Totten Square project.
  Enter today, almost a full year since planned ground breaking and the massive lot sits vacant...ignored.  After speaking with Ward 5 Neighborhood Planner Deborah Kemp regarding the construction near the site, it was revealed that "The developers (Lowe Enterprises) have had difficulty getting financing during this challenging economic times.  The equipment and activity that you see is related to the reconfiguration of the intersection at Riggs Road and South Dakota Avenue."  Further evidence was recently made available online through real estate broker Cassidy Turley's website, where the following is stated:

"Cassidy & Pinkard Colliers is seeking an equity recapitalization for the Fort Totten Square project located at the intersection of Riggs Road and South Dakota Avenue in Northeast Washington. The Fort Totten Square project represents a unique and rare opportunity to develop a successful large scale residential and retail development at a strategic Metro station location in Washington, DC. The 10-acre urban mixed-use development will include 850 residential units and 100,000sf of service retail, including a full-size grocery store. The much needed grocery and other service retail which will accompany the residential project will also serve new and pending developments by Clark, Cafritz, K. Hovnanian, and others in the immediate neighborhood. As the largest mixed-use development in the area, Fort Totten Square is a landmark project in a high-growth market that is quickly attracting large scale residential and retail development due to the significant paths of development progressing along the Red, Yellow, and Green Metro lines as well as North Capitol Street."

  So as the investment group seeks to find new sources of capitol, the site sits ignored...decaying...becoming an eyesore.  Rather then being the centerpiece of the new community, it is a blight that reflects poorly on the hard working and proud residents of this neighborhood.

Riggs Rd and South Dakota Intersection Update

Finally some information from the District regarding the road construction at the intersection of Riggs and South Dakota!  Deborah Crain Kemp, the Ward 5 Neighborhood Planner for the District's Office of Planning, was nice enough to give us a breakdown of the major roadway reconstruction.
  Originally slated to coincide with the construction of the Ft. Totten Square Site, the plan is to transform the unique intersection into that of a standard 4-way style.  Currently the intersection utilizes highway-eseque entrance and exit lanes to get traffic on and off of South Dakota and Riggs.  This combined with the extremely large footprint of the intersection, leads to some very unique rounds of Frogger that pedestrians need to play.  There is also an issue with poor signage and lack of crosswalks allowing safe traversing by pedestrians.  The other major issue seems to be poor traffic light timing leading to some major backups down Riggs and into Maryland in the mornings, and a complete lack of overhead street lamps.
  DDOT's plan will initially relocate utilities, and then focus on road widening and reconstructions.  The new curb and utility pole locatoins have already been determined, and indicate much wider streets heading into and out of the intersection. Not only will the new plan create a much more commuter friendly intersection, it is also attempting to modernize and beautify the area as well.  All new crosswalks, crossing and traffic signals, granite curbs, handicap accessible sidewalks (finally) and street lamps (similar to the ones found on 12st. in Brookland) will be installed.  The plan also expands the green space of the area, and plans are in place to increase the number of trees and also allow for bike racks and actual multi-space parking meters (similar to the green boxes found throughout the city).
  This ten million dollar, eighteen month project currently underway is already causing major traffic issues at the intersection.  DDOT's plan to keep one lane of traffic open on each street at all times, however, does not allow for the timely passage of this volume of traffic.  Combine this with the temporary, but necessary, total closure of the intersection for logistic reasons and you have a real nightmare.  The best advice to anyone having to take this route is...stay away for at least one year.  Take either New Hampshire down to Military, or cut through Brookland...the added travel will not only save you some time, but aggravation as well.

“This isn’t a high speed highway interchange, it’s the intersection of two neighborhood streets.  That will be reflected in the improvements DDOT is making, and those improvements will complement the exciting mixed-use development that is taking place in this community.”

-Mayor Adrian Fenty-

Ft. Totten Square Awakens: Welcome to Gridlock Central

Signs of the times...literally. Driving down South Dakota Ave. approaching the Riggs Rd. intersection, commuters are now greeted with a new and dreaded sight. That of large mobile rust orange construction signs, with their flashing messages touting "CAUTION! CAUTION! CAUTION! Road Construction Beginning On Or About 3/8/2010." Proceed a little further down the street and on the triangle parcel of land (recently sold by the District Govt) separating the intersection, sits what appears to be some kind of modern art display. In reality it is a massive collection of "Road Work Ahead" "Detour" and "Caution" signs piled high, ready and waiting to be deployed across the intersection.
Not to be confused with the recently announced Art Place at Ft. Totten, the Ft. Totten Square project is possibly the most publicized and long awaited addition to the Ft. Totten landscape. The massive Lowe/Jacksophie project, initially announced in 2006 as "The Dakotas," is a three phase project that will reside on three separate parcels of land surrounding the Riggs Rd./South Dakota Ave. intersection. The first being Ft. Totten Square, will be on the largest lot which is currently occupied by the a vacant strip mall once housing the "Tiger Market" on Riggs Rd. The second phase, named Dakota Pointe, will reside on the (currently vacant) parcel of land on South Dakota which abuts to the Exxon station and previously had a small three level apartment complex residing on it. Finally the third phase would be on the triangle parcel of land recently sold to t he investment group by the City for $80M dollars this past year. The total plan currently calls for 898 residential units, along with 94,000 square feet of retail space, including a grocery store. The grocery store specification should be especially interesting considering the Cafritz Foundation's Art Place at Ft. Totten also calls for a grocery store to anchor their retail space. It seems to be a real life version of the Game Show Network's "Supermarket Sweep!"
Considering that the Tiger Market lot has been unoccupied for two-plus years, and the phase two lot (next to the Exxon Station) has been completely vacant for over a year and a half, the construction should pick up fairly quickly. A warning not to be taken lightly, particularly considering that the Art Place project seems to be gearing up for a start date in the coming months (don't forget about the UDC Conversion plan of Bertie Backus either). This could make for an interesting pedestrian and motor vehicle traffic pattern in the coming months, err...years.

"Signs, signs, everywhere there's signs
Blockin' up the scenery, breakin' my mind
Do this, don't do that, can't you read the sign"
-Five Man Electrical Band