October 02, 2015 - 9:44 am

JBG will extend W Street as a woonerf

945 Florida Avenue NW

JBG revealed more plans for the residential development it plans to build at 945 Florida Avenue NW. This is the site abutting the 965 Florida Avenue, which is slated for a Whole Foods. 945 is slated to be a multifamily building, which is not surprising, but the developer has opted to extend W Street one block from its current terminus at Florida Avenue NW to Ninth Street NW.

The W Street extension has been a long-standing goal of neighborhood planning efforts as there are currently few east-west connections between that section of Florida Avenue and Georgia Avenue. Smaller street grids make walking easier as there are fewer “superblocks” to walk around.

The new one-block extension will be privately built, owned, and maintained. It will be constructed as a woonerf, a street where automobile and pedestrian traffic share the same space.  The best example of a woonerf in the area is Cady’s Alley in Georgetown.

Cady's Alley NW

The developer is building the project matter-of-right.

Be the first to comment »
June 25, 2015 - 12:00 am

Two businesses open this week

IMG_4863.JPG

Two restaurants open this week on Florida Avenue, continuing the transformation of intermittently vacant properties into food establishments.

The first is the LeDroit Royal (501 Florida Ave NW), which opens today (Thursday) at 7 am.  The Royal has been under construction for months and I was able to attend its soft opening on Tuesday night.  The interior renovations are remarkable and the menu provides a wide array of cocktails, on-tap vermouth, and Colombian and Guatemalan food.  Like Bistro Bohem, the Royal opens as a coffee shop during the day and transforms into a bar at night.

Read the Post’s review for more details.

IMG_4862.JPG

Just up the street, Rito Loco (606 Florida Ave NW) opens on Friday at 11 am.  Like the Royal, Rito Loco has been under construction for several months.  Rito Loco is the brick-and-mortar incarnation of the popular burrito food truck.

The shop is more of a fast-food operation with limited seating, but it may expand. I talked with the owner two weeks ago and he said he would eventually like to add a roof deck once he gets financing for it.

Be the first to comment »
March 20, 2015 - 6:55 pm

Tuesday forum will discuss all residents’ concerns

IMG_6905

What concerns you about the neighborhood? Are you afraid of car break-ins? Are there not enough gyms nearby? Are you having trouble finding street parking? Are you dissatisfied with the park?

The LeDroit Park Civic Association is hosting an open forum on all neighborhood issues at the next meeting. Join us on Tuesday, March 24 at 7 pm in the basement of the Florida Avenue Baptist Church (623 Florida Avenue, enter at the back) to discuss any issue you are facing in the neighborhood.

Be the first to comment »
October 28, 2013 - 8:04 am

Golda Philip elected as the new president of the civic association

This is How We Live

The LeDroit Park Civic Association held officer elections at Tuesday’s meeting.  The members at the meeting voted unanimously to elect the following officers:

  • Golda Philip, President
  • Eric Fidler, Vice President
  • Marc Morgan, Secretary
  • Donna Morris, Treasurer

Mr. Morgan, the association’s president for the past two years, was looking for a new person to fill the role of president.  Mr. Morgan, you may recall, is also our ANC commissioner and will remain involved in neighborhood affairs.

1 Comment »
July 23, 2013 - 3:53 pm

What a year

Crape myrtle

It has been nearly 10 months since my last post.  In early 2012, I started a new job and started graduate school at night. The time commitment has been tremendous and there were weeks during which I never saw my house in the daylight.  A neighbor even thought I had moved away!

I have four courses left in my program and various other changes in my life have given me a little more breathing room lately. Look for posts in the coming days summarizing changes big and small that have happened in and around LeDroit Park in the past year.

I also fixed the contact form on the site, which had not been working for nearly a year or so.

2 Comments »
July 31, 2012 - 9:37 pm

August 8 – LeDroit Park Happy Hour

Nellie's at Night by M.V. Jantzen, on Flickr

Photo by M.V. Jantzen on Flickr

It’s that time again! Come for drinks, free appetizers, and chat with your neighbors Monday, August 6 from 6 to 8 at Nellie’s (9th & U Streets NW).  Nellie’s owner, a LeDroit Park resident, has kindly donated appetizers for the event.

Your favorite neighborhood blogger will be there, too!

Be the first to comment »
March 15, 2012 - 9:01 am

Come to the LeDroit Park happy hour on Monday

Nellie's at Night by M.V. Jantzen, on Flickr

Photo by M.V. Jantzen on Flickr

Come for drinks, free appetizers, and chat with your neighbors Monday, March 19 from 5:30 to 7 at Nellie’s (9th & U Streets NW).  The LeDroit Park Civic Association organizes occasional happy hours at Nellie’s, whose owner is a LeDroit Park resident.

Your favorite neighborhood blogger will be there, too!

Be the first to comment »
March 07, 2012 - 8:58 am

Where have you been?

View from a circular window in 1873 3rd St NW

The blog has been quiet for the past few months and that will change. Since September, your author took up a four-month research fellowship in transportation technology and started a masters program in real estate development. In addition, the blog work on Greater Greater Washington kept your author busy, too, until he had to give it up to focus on school and work.

Now things are freeing up a little bit. During a stroll through the neighborhood this weekend, we saw the features that make LeDroit Park such a wonderful place to live: the friendly neighbors, beautiful historic architecture, and new businesses opening nearby. What great topics to write about!

Expect some more posts in the coming days and hopefully we can keep this going regularly.

2 Comments »
June 26, 2011 - 7:37 am

Neighborhood meeting Tuesday

Swing

Mark your calendars. The LeDroit Park Civic Association’s final meeting before the summer recess is Tuesday at 7pm at the Florida Avenue Baptist Church (enter at the rear on U St).

This month’s agenda:

  • Ward 1 School Board member Patrick Mara
  • Representatives from Metro. Police and Fire to discuss safety/crime
  • A discussion on the Howard University project, and how it will benefit our neighborhood
  • A discussion about the living conditions at Kelly Miller and our call for action to DCHA
  • An update on the new Park
Be the first to comment »
May 19, 2011 - 7:12 pm

Civic Association elections on Tuesday

The LeDroit Park Civic Association will hold its annual officer elections on Tuesday, May 24 at 7pm in the basement of the Florida Avenue Baptist Church, 623 Florida Ave (enter on U street).

Officer Candidates

President: Marc Morgan and Richard Myers
Vice President: Maria Fyodorova
Secretary: Eric Fidler (that’s me)
Treasurer: Donna Morris

The Association will accept nominations from the floor.

The five candidates above have submitted short biographies about themselves.

Read the rest of this entry »

Be the first to comment »