City Awards Unoccupied Brightwood School to Washington Latin Charter School

The Rudolph School building in Brightwood / Fort Totten

One of four empty school buildings in DC that the District's Department of General Services put up for public charter school bidding in April has been awarded to Washington Latin Charter School.  This week, DGS and the Deputy Mayor for Education recommended that the city award the Rudolph School, located at 5200 2nd Street, NW, in the Brightwood / Fort Totten neighborhood of Northwest DC, to Washington Latin.

Washington Latin, which is going into its sixth year, features a classical curriculum and Latin language education starting in the 5th grade. The school also has a full athletic program, and also teaches the modern languages Arabic, French, and Chinese.  Washington Latin currently occupies three buildings on 16th Street, but plans to spend $15 million to occupy the 84,000 square foot former Rudolph School facility in Brightwood by August, 2013.  Mark Lerner, president of the Washington Latin board of governors, said Washington Latin would finance the restoration with a commercial loan, and then repay it with the facility allotment that charter schools receive from the District.

Future home of Washington Latin, which has an athletic program

While the Rudolph School closed in 2008 because of low occupancy, DC's public charter schools often face a different problem: space limitations and growing student bodies.  "Every charter school gradually adds grades per year, and many charter schools close because they can't grow because they can't solve this facility problem," said Lerner.

Lerner said Washington Latin started in 2006 with 179 but that the school now served 600 students from all eight wards of the District in grades 5-12.  The school offers bus pickups for students in Ward 3, where the school first began in 2006, and at Union Station.

The Rudolph School closed in 2008 due to low enrollment

Most charter schools, Lerner said, open in temporary locations because they don't have full enrollment when they open.  "Parents and staff become eventually dissatisfied if you don't have appropriate facilities," he told DCMud.  "Our being awarded Rudolph is a major milestone for the school," Lerner said.  "It gives us a permanent space."

Deputy Mayor for Education De'Shawn Wright wrote in a press release, "Ultimately, the panel recommended Washington Latin based on a strong performance record and an exciting proposal for reusing the building."

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Brightwood's Beacon Center Retooling with New Architect

Emory Beacon of Light Inc. requested a two-year zoning variance extension Tuesday morning for development of the Beacon Center, the mixed-use project planned on Georgia Avenue in Brightwood.

The group, a community development organization tied to Emory United Methodist Church, first received government approval in early 2010. But construction has not yet started on the $36 million project that will include church, residential, retail and community development space.

Hazel Broadnax, President of Emory Beacon of Light, said the group "had to change architects." Torti Gallas and Partners took over design duties started by PGN Architects.The project website states: "We have new architects with a strong history of affordable housing and community transformation projects across the country and in Washington, DC."

Changing architecture firms contributed to the delay and need for an extension of the approved zoning variance.

"When they were getting the plans ready for the next phase of the project, there were some things that had to be done that were not completed by the prior architects," Broadnax said. "Plus, our zoning variance was scheduled to expire this year. So we needed a two-year extension to get everything done and get plans to the contractor."

Despite the new architecture firm, exterior plans for the building remain the same. New construction will surround the existing church as previously planned. But the interior changed a bit.

Initial plans called for a 2-story gymnasium, but Broadnax said funding shortfalls scrapped those plans, making way for additional housing and services to better serve the veteran community.

Emory Beacon of Light still is working to secure $2 million for the project. The group has struggled with funding along the way, but Broadnax said the group now just has a $2 million "funding gap."

According to the project website, the group “will be simplifying the project and building in two phases.” It now comprises 5,700 s.f. of retail space; 10,600 s.f. of office, meeting and classroom space; and 96 parking spaces. Both buildings contain housing for a total of 15 transitional family housing units, 45 affordable family housing units, 32 permanent supportive housing for veterans, and 17 transitional housing units for single men.

Plans in 2010 called for 24 units of transitional space to help the homeless work toward permanent residency, 34 units reserved for senior citizens, 17 units for veterans and 16 affordable rentals.

Broadnax said the project now is in the design development phase, and everyone is working to get the plans to construction contractor Bozzuto. Emory Beacon of Light also partnered with development consultant Northern Real Estate Urban Ventures (NREUV) for the project.

Broadnax said she hopes for a groundbreaking this year with completion 18 to 24 months later.

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Georgia Avenue's Beacon Center Gets its Wings

Tally another mixed-use development for the Almighty, as religious groups around the District seem to have a leg up in building these days (Bethesda church, Clarendon church). Following a long and contentious Zoning review process, and following several trying meetings with the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) and the National Park Service (NPS) concerning the project's potential effects upon the neighboring Fort Stevens, the Emory United Methodist Church Beacon of Light in Brightwood received Board approval in the early Spring, and are finally ready to move forward with their Beacon Center project.

Granted a raze permit for 6120 Georgia Ave, NW late last week, neighbors can expect demolition and construction to begin shortly.

The $30 million development, designed by PGN Architects, will offer 180,000 s.f. of multipurpose housing and various congregational and community facilities. The Beacon Center will supply transitional spaces (24 units) in an effort to aid the homeless work toward permanent residency. Also in the works are 34 units for seniors citizens, 17 units reserved for veterans, and 16 affordable rentals. A college-sized indoor multi-sport gymnasium (basketball and soccer) and rec center will be available to the surrounding community. The aggressive expansion will also feature a full service banquet facility, office space for the church and for lease, senior citizens services (such as optometrist, podiatrist, etc.) and ground-floor retail. Additionally the current sanctuary (doubling as a community theater) will be renovated and expanded to 500 seats. Patrons will have access to roughly 100 underground parking spaces and several rows of bike spaces.

Sean Pichon, a Partner at PGN Architects, said his firm has been especially challenged by the need to adjust their designs to the steep grade of the property. Other difficulties included maintaining the "view corridors" and balancing the affordability of the project with the goal of an attractive and congruous facade. Working hard to best the obstacles, designers created features like "curved green roofs" over the retail space to create and "continue the imagery of the hillside." To allow for views from Georgia Avenue his team situated the main entrance on the side road, Quackenbos; this maneuver also enabled multiple access points and preserved the historic stairs leading up to the old church.

Not all were satisfied, however, as the NPS and Civil War Preservation Trust wrote strong letters of opposition, contending that "the proposed five-story wall along Old Piney Branch Road would create a significant visual intrusion on the fort." Opponents also voiced concern that "the Beacon Center’s overall size and floor plan [read too big]...would have an adverse impact on Fort Stevens and subsequently the other remaining Circle Forts." But the representatives of the Church, including the Pastor, convinced Zoning Board members that they had made significant and genuine efforts at compromise, with the Board ultimately deciding that the overall positives of the project outweighed what little impact the building might have on its neighbors. Instead of a reduction in height and massing, NPS will have to settle for 359 square feet in the new building, reserved for their use as a welcome center/gift shop to "educate and promote the history of Fort Stevens." Reenactors and Fort Stevens staff can imagine the impending sounds of the Bozzuto-lead demolition and construction as the distant rumblings of the long ago battles.

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La Vida VIDA: New Affordable Senior Housing in Brightwood

La vida living is about to get easier in Washington D.C. District-based VIDA will break ground tomorrow on a new residential project in Brightwood, adding 36 residential units in a new building structured for affordable senior housing.

Formerly known as Educational Organization for United Latin Americans, the newly renamed 501(c)(3) that serves over 600 DC-area seniors annually is getting ready to add another 36 units to its stock. Located on Missouri Avenue on a now vacant lot, VIDA will build affordable senior housing in Ward 4, where the largest concentration of the District's seniors live. This is the first time VIDA is developing housing, with financing that got creative. The development team - comprised of VIDA Senior Centers, Dantes Partners as the Development Consultant, Zavos Architecture and Design, NDC Real Estate for property management, and Hamel Builders as General Contractor - used a multilayer financing approach. Tapping into federal stimulus programs (Section 1602 Tax Credit Exchange), Neighborhood Investment Funds (NIF), private bank debt and an Enterprise Green Communities grant, the development secured financing for an area that has seen little new residential development since the financing bust several years ago. "We were fortunate to have been selected as an innovative project that served a unique need. We were lucky enough to have partners who believed in our vision," said Jordan Bishop of Dantes Partners.

With four stories of new affordable and accessible rental units, the five-story independent-living senior center will provide services that include meals, music, presentations, dancing, minor checkups, medication management, "spiritual activities," and private van transportation, and of course bingo and chess. The project is being billed as "transit-oriented development," despite the lack of a nearby Metro station, which makes it easier to get the zoning variance of 4 parking spots rather than the required 6.

Zavos Architecture and Design, a firm with experience in non-profit, affordable and sustainable community-oriented development, designed into the project a number of "quality of life improving" and energy reducing features. Those include a vegetated roof with walk-on terrace space to manage storm water, reduce heating and cooling loads on the building and provide outdoor green space for residents; permeable parking and other drive areas to allow storm water to filter naturally into the ground and reallocate infrastructural funds to services; high-emissive roofing rather than traditional EPDM to deflect the sun's heat and reduce associated cooling costs; privately metered electricity and hot water to encourage reduced consumption (for a generation always yelling at you to wear a sweater and turn down the heat, that shouldn't be an issue); improved indoor air quality through the installation of non-toxic and non-allergenic flooring; and the maximization of daylight in all units to minimize the use of artificial lighting and improve indoor environmental quality.

"I am most proud of having been able to fit so many services in such a small building. Envisioning people spending the latter part of their lives in this building is something we took seriously. We have designed a quality place for them," remarked Tim Daniel, the project architect for the VIDA-developed housing.

While the elderly account for 12% of the District’s population, retirement age individuals make up over 18% of the population of Ward 4. VIDA has traditionally served the District’s Latino senior citizens, but it is expanding its target demographic to meet growing needs in other populations, specifically identifying African-Americans and immigrants of Caribbean and Brazilian backgrounds, among others.

"The initial goal was always to provide high quality senior housing at affordable rental rates (50% AMI - Area Median Income) and to combine this with space on the ground floor to provide services specifically targeted to seniors. With the recent closing and groundbreaking, we are well on track to achieving these desirable goals," said Jordan Bishop of Dantes Partners. The groundbreaking will take place at 10:30am.

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