The Georgetown Metropolitan

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Film about the man memorialized playing chess on a Georgetown University bench.
• Demolition to resume at old Latham Hotel.
• Cybersecurity expert Chris Krebs at the next Q&A Cafe.

It’s time again for an update from Georgetown’s Hyde-Addison school:

It’s time for the monthly update for neighbors of Hyde Addison Elementary School!  2023 is off to a great start at Hyde.  My children were so excited to return to school after winter break and continue on with the great learning and friendships they’ve developed.  This past weekend my daughter the kindergartner authored her first “book” (a total of three sentences about a log my wife sat on that was actually a crocodile—a work of fiction fyi) and though it had several spelling mistakes, I was so proud of her.  Back in the 80s, I didn’t reach her literacy level until near the end of 1^st grade; she (and her classmates in kindergarten) impress me.

Last week there was a special event held at Hyde (open to parents of current students, teachers etc), the Student Success Showcase, which was a celebration to honor the “Standing Ovation Award” Hyde received from the DC Education Fund this past fall.  In addition to good food and fun, Hyde’s PTA ran a silent auction and raised thousands of additional dollars for Hyde. 

There are some current and upcoming opportunities for Georgetown and Burleith neighbors to support Georgetown’s only public elementary school!

1)      Through Monday February, 6, buy comfort food through Hyde Addison PTA’s Pot-Pie-athon (courtesy of Georgetown’s 1310 Kitchen & Bar chef Jenn Crovato)! 25% of all sales go to Hyde and thousands of dollars have already been raised (sales are brisk!). 

2)      On Wed February 8, Hyde PTA has lined up a fundraiser through In Bocca Al Lupo (2400 Wisconsin Ave), an amazing new pizzeria in Glover Park. 25% of all sales go to Hyde.  More details to come.

PK3 and PK4 Lottery and Prospective Family Open Houses

As a reminder, the lottery for PK3 and PK4 (and grades K-5) at Hyde has opened. You can apply now for PK3 and PK4 at Hyde at myschooldc.org (the deadline to apply is March 1; results will be posted on March 31).  Hyde has one PK3 class (16 students) and two PK4 classes (19 students in each class). Please message me if you are interested in learning more about the school! I have one child in PK3 and one in K and we love it.

Hyde Addison has two upcoming Prospective Family Open Houses this winter (a virtual on on Feb 15, an in-person one on March 10).  Please RSVP at: bit.ly/haeopenhouses; it will begin with a presentation, so plan to be on time!

Hyde’s PTA is now on Instagram! Follow it to keep in touch about all the goings on at Hyde!

instagram.com/hydeaddisonpta

Here’s your February Northwest Georgetown ANC update:

Leaf Collection

The city’s leaf collection continues to disappoint as much as the snow gods have. Residents dutifully piled leaves in tree-boxes or packed them into garden waste bags, but the DPW crews came weeks late. In the meantime the leaves scattered and the paper bags disintegrated in the weather. The ANC sent a letter to DPW in response that stated in part:

It was extremely frustrating for our residents to rush to have leaves neatly raked into tree boxes only to wait for weeks for them to be collected with no updates from your agency. Furthermore, the deteriorating situation became dangerous at a certain point when leaves became wet and froze in clumps causing dangerous conditions for pedestrians. As you may or may not be aware, Georgetown has very old infrastructure and older/narrower pipes can become clogged from uncollected leaves.

Lastly, many of our neighbors have bagged their leaves into paper bags (as required by the District of Columbia) and called 3-1-1 for pick up only to have the paper bags sit for weeks and ultimately break down with leaves scattering the sidewalks and roads. For the remaining weeks left, we request DPW pick up the paper bags with Christmas trees.

Moving forward, DPW needs to roll out an entirely new communications and collection plan for Fall 2023 based on experience to date.

The focus going forward will be not on expecting DPW to perfectly predict months in advance how the collection will pan out, but rather on getting alerts much closer to the actual pick-up days. This will allow residents to wait to collect or put out leaves until just before they get collected, thus maximizing how many leaves actually get into their trucks and off our sidewalks and streets.

Quick Bites

Before I get to a somewhat lengthy summary of our ANC meetings, here are a couple quick bites of information you might like to know:

• The Volta Park field restoration is set to commence this fall. I am scheduling a meeting soon in the park with DPR officials and members of the Friends of Volta Park. I will pressure the city to keep to the schedule and ensure that the scope of the project is as broad as possible, given the budget.
• Parking tickets happen, but sometimes you don’t realized they happened to you until it’s too late. To avoid this, you can sign up for the DMV’s ticker alert system. This way you’ll get an email when you get a ticket, and you can pay it on-time (or contest it if you’re feeling lucky) and not get hit with the fine doubling after 30 days.
• No turn on red signs were added to Reservoir and Wisconsin, helping protect pedestrians from drivers who often don’t come to a stop or look to the right before turning.
• If you are interest in enrolling your children at Hyde-Addison for Pre-k next year, you’ll have to sign up at My School DC by March 1st.
• 🍩District Donuts🍩 are coming back to M St.!
• New Açai bowl shop opens in our district!
• Volunteers painted new pickleball court lines in the Volta Park basketball court.
• Georgetown is cool again!!

Up and Running

Since my last update, we’ve actually squeezed in two ANC meetings. The first was our January session, which was dominated by administrative matters. Most notably, we elected Elizabeth Miller to serve as chair, with Gwen Lhose serving as vice-chair, John DiPierri as secretary and Joe Massaua as treasurer. Elizabeth is dedicated to running a tight ship, so anyone speaking before the ANC better get their “elevator pitches” down pat!

On the substantive side, we took several actions we hope will lead to improvements around the neighborhood. This includes deciding to send the letter regarding leaves discussed above. Additionally we supported a proposal to remove several parking meters on N St. along the north side of Foxtrot Market. This stretch often gets gridlocked due to the fact it’s a bit too narrow for two-way traffic and the parking lanes. Removing those metered spaces should help ease the flow without limiting residential parking on the block.

Further we voted to send a letter to the city asking it to address crosswalks that are in disrepair around the neighborhood. We want the city to ensure that all crosswalks are high-visibility with the “ladder” style paint jobs. I walked throughout our district and found only one crosswalk that lacked some high-visibility crossings (34th and Q) and added it to our list of deficient crosswalks. Hopefully the city will address all the deficient crossings and pedestrian safety will be suitably improved.

Since the Old Georgetown Board didn’t meet in January, we had no OGB projects to review and the meeting ended at a reasonable hour. The February meeting was a horse of a different color however.

But before we got to the OGB calendar we had several notable items to discuss. One is the arrival of a new high-end sushi restaurant in the former L2 space across from Kafe Leopold. It will be called Kyojin Sushi and it will be the sister restaurant to Yume Sushi in Arlington. The proprietors are asking for late hours, but they say they are aiming for less of a club vibe than L2. And physically speaking, this is a location that is unlikely to cause many issues with late hours. So I believe they will open with the hours they ask for.

Continue reading →

Reminder, tonight is the February ANC meeting. It begins at 6:30 pm. Access it via Zoom.

Tonight I anticipate proposing my first resolution, which I hope is the first of many. The topic is actually a bit of an unusual one for the ANC, but a very important one nonetheless. Residents on Q St. are proposing to purchase part of their neighbor’s back yard to add to their own. And part of their plans is to construct a swimming pool.

It will be my recommendation not to object to the subdivision (the legal term for changing the property lines) nor the pool. But I am very concerned that any construction for the pool be done with extreme care and respect for the fact that these properties once made up a graveyard that was primarily used by Georgetown’s black community. The applicant has expressed a willingness to commit to that goal, and I hope the resolution will help hold them to it. There will be more in the resolution itself, and I will share it here once it has been finalized and adopted.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Georgetown developer Anthony Lanier on the challenges that downtown DC faces.
• Meeting this Wednesday night sponsored by CAG on the African American history of the C&O Canal.

Last week Washingtonian magazine asked whether Georgetown was actually cool again. There are lots of conflicting opinions on that question, but I thought it fitting that for today’s Georgetown Time Machine we visit an era when there wasn’t really any question that Georgetown was just about the only place to be. The time is the 1960s (or about) and the place is Rive Gauche.

Rive Gauche was an elegant French restaurant that stood at the corner of Wisconsin and M (the recently vacated Banana Republic building). And it set the standard for fine dining in the nation’s capital during the Kennedy years (and beyond). For generations of Washingtonians, Rive Gauche was often their first experience with an elevated “white linen cloth” restaurant. As Washingtonian wrote in 2020:

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The ANC is meeting for its February meeting next Monday night starting at 6:30 pm (zoom link here). This will be my second meeting on the commission and the first with a (quite substantive) Old Georgetown Board agenda. So I’m getting ready for a long one!

But you don’t have to suffer through the whole meeting with us. The most interesting stuff is always on the front end. And to that end, we have some good stuff lined up. Of course we have our typical update from MPD, and CM Pinto’s office. Our featured business of the month will be Veronica Beard, who had the misfortune of opening right near the start of Covid, yet has thrived through that adversity. Additionally we will have an update from Georgetown’s own Allister Chang, the Ward 2 State Board of Ed rep.

As for project review, there are plenty. One that could lead to an interesting discussion is the proposal for an addition to 3210 Q St. The application has generated an unusual disagreement between the Old Georgetown Board and the DC Historic Preservation Office, with the OGB favoring the third floor addition and the HPO opposed (the HPO is ok with the additions to the first and second story). Typically the HPO (and the Historic Preservation Review Board) defers to the OGB on matters concerning Georgetown, but on this project they simply disagree. Come and hear the substantive and procedurally novel case!

Here is the rest of the agenda:

Page 1
GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E
ANC 2E Public Meeting
Monday, January 30th, 2023
at 6:30 p.m.
Online at: bit.ly/ANC2EFebruary2023
This meeting will be held online via Zoom and can be accessed at the link above (there is no
fee or account needed to use Zoom).
If you do not have a computer or access to the internet, you may join the meeting via phone
at (301) 715-8592 or (646) 558-8656 with meeting ID 886 7476 8843 #.
Approval of the Agenda – 6:30 pm

• Approval of the ANC’s January 30th, 2023 Meeting Agenda
• Approval of the ANC’s January 9th, 2023 Meeting Minutes
  Administrative – 6:35 pm
• Public Safety and Police Report
  Community Comment – 6:45 pm
• Update from the Mayor’s Office
• Update from Councilmember Brooke Pinto’s Office
• Update from Allister Chang, the Ward 2 Member of the State Board of Education
• Update from Veronica Beard Regarding the Company’s Vision for Georgetown
• Update from Georgetown University Students
• Update Regarding MacArthur High School
  New Business – 7:35 pm
• Special Event Application for the Marine Corps Marathon on Sunday, October 29th,
  2023
  Alcoholic Beverage Control Board – 7:45 pm
• Application by Kyojin Sushi for a New Retailer’s Class “C” Restaurant License at 3315
  Cady’s Alley NW, Suite B (ABRA-123635)
  Page 2
  Historic Preservation Review Board – 7:55 pm
• Historic Preservation Review Board Concept Application for a Third-Floor Addition and
  Rear Addition to Two-Story House at 3210 Q Street NW (HPRB #22-287)
  Zoning – 8:05 pm
• Board of Zoning Adjustment Application for a Special Exception from the Rear Yard
  Requirements to Construct a Third Story Addition with Roof Deck, and a Three-Story
  with Cellar Rear Addition, to an Existing, Semi-Detached, Two-Story with Cellar,
  Principal Dwelling Unit at 3636 T Street NW (BZA #20865)
• Board of Zoning Adjustment Application for Special Exceptions from the Lot Occupancy
  Requirements and Rear Yard Requirements and a Use Variance from the Matter-of-Right
  Uses to Construct a Third Story Addition with Roof Deck, to an Existing, SemiDetached, Two-Story Flat at 1934 35th Place NW (BZA #20867)
  Old Georgetown Board – 8:25 pm
  Full Review at This Time by ANC 2E: The ANC proposes to adopt a resolution regarding the
  following projects, which are on the upcoming February 2nd, 2023 agenda of the Old Georgetown
  Board (OGB).
  Multiple Single Member District Projects

1. OG 23-086 (HPA 23-149)
   Curb Lane of M Street and Wisconsin Avenue, NW (Square Various, Lot Various)
   Public Right of Way
   Sidewalk extensions in curb lane on M and Wisconsin
   Permit
   Individual Single Member District Projects
2. SMD 2E02 – OG 23-099 (HPA 23-162)
   3321 and 3323 Q Street, NW (Square 1278, Lot 252)
   Residence
   Subdivision to construct pool in rear yard
   Concept
3. SMD 2E03 – OG 23-036 (HPA 23-964)
   1669-1671 Wisconsin Avenue, NW (Square 1280, Lot 101/924)
   Commercial
   Rear addition
   Concept
4. SMD 2E03 – OG 23-071 (HPA 23-134)
   1310 33rd Street, NW (Square 1229, Lot 801)
   Commercial
   Rear addition at basement level
   Concept
5. SMD 2E03 – OG 23-007 (HPA 23-011)
   Page 3
   3319 P Street, NW (Square 1254, Lot 208)
   Residence
   New fence and paving
   Permit
6. SMD 2E03 – OG 23-070 (HPA 23-133)
   3303 Prospect Street, NW (Square 1220, Lot 839)
   Residence
   Fenestration alterations, new light fixtures, fence replacement
   Permit
7. SMD 2E03 – OG 23-097 (HPA 23-160)
   1659 Wisconsin Avenue, NW (Square 1280, Lot 90)
   Commercial
   Temporary structure at front – Existing alterations without review
   Concept
8. SMD 2E05 – OG 23-101 (HPA 23-164)
   1030 & 1034 31st Street, NW (Square 1189, Lot 77, 79)
   Commercial
   Alterations for use by Rosewood Hotel
   Permit
9. SMD 2E05 – OG 22-177 (HPA 22-308)
   3299 K (Water) Street, NW (Square 1187, Lot 84)
   Commercial
   Signage plan and new door opening
   Concept
10. SMD 2E05 – OG 23-107 (HPA 23-170)
    3000 M Street, NW (Square 1197, Lot 7003)
    Commercial
    Demolition of existing structure
    Permit
11. SMD 2E05 – OG 22-286 (HPA 22-483)
    3601 M Street, NW (Square 1202, Lot 64)
    Commercial
    New Construction
    Concept
12. SMD 2E05 – OG 23-052 (HPA 23-080)
    1025 Thomas Jefferson Street, NW (Square 1191, Lot 72)
    Commercial
    Convert two windows to doors, relocation of storefront at courtyard
    Concept
13. SMD 2E05 – OG 23-061 (HPA HPA 23-124)
    1301 Wisconsin Avenue, NW and 3145 N Street, NW (Square 1232, Lot 831 & 823)
    Commercial
    Rooftop mechanical, signage, and outdoor seating – Dig
    Revised permit
    Page 4
14. SMD 2E06 – OG 23-074 (HPA 23-137)
    1216 28th Street, NW (Square 1212, Lot 841)
    Residence
    Rear addition
    Concept
15. SMD 2E06 – OG 23-087 (HPA 23-150)
    1408 28th Street, NW (Square 1259, Lot 818)
    Residence
    Addition and alterations
    Concept
16. SMD 2E06 – OG 23-089 (HPA 23-152)
    2715 M Street, NW (Square 1214, Lot 29)
    Commercial
    Alterations related to residential conversion
    Concept
17. SMD 2E06 – OG 23-033 (HPA 23-061)
    2801 M Street, NW (Square 1212, Lot 201)
    Commercial
    New fabric awnings
    Concept
18. SMD 2E07 – OG 23-066 (HPA 23-129)
    1523 26th Street, NW (Square 1264, Lot 93)
    Residence
    Rear addition
    Concept
19. SMD 2E07 – OG 23-084 (HPA 23-147)
    3114 R Street, NW (Square 1281, Lot 36)
    Residence
    New front porch, alterations
    Concept
    No Comment at This Time by ANC 2E: The following projects, which are on the upcoming
    February 2nd, 2023 agenda of the Old Georgetown Board (OGB), have not been added to the ANC
    meeting agenda for OGB-related design review and we do not propose to adopt a resolution
    regarding them at this time. If there are concerns about any of these projects, please contact the ANC
    office by Friday, January 27th, 2023.
20. SMD 2E01 – OG 22-214 (HPA 22-387)
    1819 35th Street, NW (Square 1297, Lot 853)
    Hardy Middle School
    New rooftop antennas, T-Mobile
    Concept
21. SMD 2E02 – OG 23-006 (HPA 23-010)
    1678 32nd Street, NW (Square 1280, Lot 943)
    Residence
    Page 5
    Replace windows
    Permit
22. SMD 2E02 – OG 23-103 (HPA 23-166)
    1656 33rd Street, NW (Square 1290, Lot 238)
    Residence
    Remove existing addition, site work
    Permit
23. SMD 2E02 – OG 23-098 (HPA 23-161)
    3238 and 3232 R Street, NW (Square 1280, Lot 1015)
    Residence
    Restoration and renovation of 5 structures
    Permit
24. SMD 2E02 – OG 22-232 (HPA 22-405)
    3342 Dent Place, NW (Square 1278, Lot 847)
    Residence
    New air-conditioner units
    Permit
25. SMD 2E02 – OG 23-050 (HPA 23-078)
    3343 Dent Place, NW (Square 1290, Lot 287)
    Residence
    Window replacement
    Permit
26. SMD 2E02 – OG 22-264 (HPA 22-461)
    1624 Wisconsin Avenue, NW (Square 1279, Lot 226)
    Commercial
    New blade sign – Article 15 Gallery
    Concept
27. SMD 2E03 – OG 23-105 (HPA 23-168)
    3235 P Street, NW (Square 1255, Lot 188)
    Commercial
    Door replacement
    Permit
28. SMD 2E03 – OG 22-243 (HPA 22-416)
    3251 Prospect Street, NW (Square unknown, Lot unknown)
    Multi-family residence
    Replace windows on 17 condo units
    Concept
29. SMD 2E03 – OG 23-065 (HPA 23-128)
    1357 Wisconsin Avenue, NW (Square 1243, Lot 70)
    Commercial
    Sign for Taichi
    Permit
30. SMD 2E03 – OG 23-067 (HPA 23-130)
    Page 6
    1359 Wisconsin Avenue, NW (Square 1243, Lot 70)
    Commercial
    Sign for Luigi Parasmo – Existing alterations without review
    Permit
31. SMD 2E03 – OG 23-064 (HPA 23-127)
    1631 Wisconsin Avenue, NW (Square 1280, Lot 891)
    Commercial
    Signage – Build Design Center Kitchen & Bath
    Permit
32. SMD 2E03 – OG 23-082 (HPA 23-145)
    1675 Wisconsin Avenue, NW (Square 1280, Lot 1006)
    Commercial
    Sign for Washington Printmakers Gallery
    Permit
33. SMD 2E05 – OG 23-035 (HPA 23-063)
    3237 M Street, NW (Square 1207, Lot 809)
    Commercial
    Storefront alterations, new sign reading Away
    Concept
34. SMD 2E05 – OG 23-069 (HPA 23-132)
    3273 M Street, NW (Square 1207, Lot 814)
    Commercial
    Sign for Diptyque, storefront alterations
    Permit
35. SMD 2E05 – OG 23-073 (HPA 23-136)
    3288 M Street, NW (Square 1186, Lot 819)
    Commercial
    Sign reading “STUDS”
    Permit
36. SMD 2E05 – OG 23-090 (HPA 23-153)
    3320 M Street, NW (Square 1184, Lot 57)
    Commercial
    New signage reading “Boffi” and “e DePadova”
    Concept
37. SMD 2E05 – OG 23-060 (HPA 23-123)
    3140 Dumbarton Street, NW (Square 1232, Lot 812)
    Residence
    Install five bollards in public alley
    Revised permit
38. SMD 2E05 – OG 23-094 (HPA 23-156)
    1079 Wisconsin Avenue, NW (Square 1199, Lot 836)
    Commercial
    Awning and signage – Pacers Running
    Concept
    Page 7
39. SMD 2E05 – OG 23-083 (HPA 23-146)
    1214 Wisconsin Avenue, NW (Square 1207, Lot 849)
    Commercial
    Signage for Scotch & Soda
    Permit
40. SMD 2E05 – OG 23-063 (HPA 23-126)
    1239 Wisconsin Avenue, NW (Square 1208, Lot 40)
    Commercial
    Signage – Sleep Number
    Permit
41. SMD 2E05 – OG 22-262 (HPA 22-459)
    1267 Wisconsin Avenue, NW (Square 1208, Lot 881)
    Commercial
    Signage for Foxtrot
    Permit
42. SMD 2E06 – OG 23-096 (HPA 23-159)
    1406 27th Street, NW (Square 1260, Lot 837)
    Residence
    Replace front basement door
    Permit
43. SMD 2E06 – OG 23-106 (HPA 23-169)
    1524 29th Street, NW (Square 1268, Lot 820)
    Residence
    Addition and interior renovation
    Permit
44. SMD 2E06 – OG 23-102 (HPA 23-165)
    1212 30th Street, NW (Square 1209, Lot 848)
    Residence
    Fenestration alterations and replacement of rear balcony
    Permit
45. SMD 2E06 – OG 23-092 (HPA 23-155)
    1224 30th Street, NW (Square 1209, Lot 41)
    Residence
    Fenestration alterations to rear elevation and accessory structure
    Permit
46. SMD 2E06 – OG 23-100 (HPA 23-163)
    1239 31st Street, NW (Square 1209, Lot 874)
    Residence
    Two new oriel windows on rear elevation, front lantern, and siding replacement
    Permit
47. SMD 2E06 – OG 23-093 (HPA 23-156)
    3101 P Street, NW (Square 1270, Lot 2004)
    Residence
    Page 8
    Replace existing roof deck railing
    Permit
48. SMD 2E06 – OG 23-062 (HPA 23-125)
    3106 Q Street, NW (Square 1270, Lot 80)
    Residence
    Replace brick hardscape in front yard
    Concept
49. SMD 2E06 – OG 23-091 (HPA 23-154)
    3140 Q Street, NW (Square 1270, Lot 53)
    Residence
    New retaining walls and parking pad
    Revised permit
50. SMD 2E06 – OG 23-088 (HPA 23-151)
    2709 Dumbarton Street, NW (Square 1239, Lot 147)
    Residence
    Two-story addition and renovation
    Permit
51. SMD 2E06 – OG 23-095 (HPA 23-157)
    2715 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW (Square 1194, Lot 15)
    Commercial
    Fence alterations
    Permit
52. SMD 2E07 – OG 23-072 (HPA 23-135)
    2527-2531 Q Street, NW (Square 1287, Lot 2003)
    Multi-family residence
    Window replacement
    Permit
53. SMD 2E07 – OG 23-104 (HPA 23-167)
    2750 Q Street, NW (Square 1266, Lot 311)
    Residence
    Window replacement
    Permit
54. SMD 2E07 – OG 23-085 (HPA 23-148)
    2915 Q Street, NW (Square 1283, Lot 8)
    Residence
    Rear yard landscape changes and demolition of existing pergola
    Concept
55. SMD 2E08 – OG 23-079 (HPA 23-142)
    1316 36th Street, NW (Square 1226, Lot 806)
    Residence
    Replace roof, stucco, and siding
    Concept
56. SMD 2E08 – OG 23-078 (HPA 23-141)
    Page 9
    3609 O Street, NW (Square 1248, Lot 801)
    Residence
    Replace siding, stucco, and roof
    Concept
57. SMD 2E08 – OG 23-077 (HPA 23-140)
    3610 O Street, NW (Square 1226, Lot 806)
    Residence
    Repair stucco and replace roof
    Concept
58. SMD 2E08 – OG 23-076 (HPA 23-139)
    3612 O Street, NW (Square 1226, Lot 803)
    Residence
    Repair stucco and replace roof
    Concept
59. SMD 2E08 – OG 23-075 (HPA 23-138)
    3619 O Street, NW (Square 1248, Lot 806)
    Residence
    Replace roof, stucco, and siding
    Concept
60. SMD 2E08 – OG 23-081 (HPA 23-144)
    3615 Prospect Street, NW (Square 1223, Lot 73)
    Georgetown University
    Roof, siding, and window replacement, stucco removal
    Concept
61. SMD 2E08 – OG 23-080 (HPA 23-143)
    3623 Prospect Street, NW (Square 1223, Lot 74)
    Georgetown University
    Roof, siding, and window replacement
    Permit

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Large protest on M St. over the weekend.
• Anti-semitic graffiti found at GU dorm.

Last weekend the massive Nike Store closed its location at Thomas Jefferson and M St. It will be moving down the street to a smaller location. But it will leave a huge vacancy on a street that is not lacking in them. I wrote last March about how this glut of large spaces actually should be viewed as an opportunity.

Coincidentally, last week Washingtonian wrote an article expressing bemused surprise that Georgetown is “cool” again. The writer attributed the increase in activity in the neighborhood to the fact that the pandemic cleared out a lot of retail spaces and forced landlords to lower the rent. This caused some restaurants like the new Yellow to reconsider Georgetown as a destination.

That was essentially what I was predicting last March. And for what it’s worth, here is that article again:

Last month, WBJ reported that the Nike Store may be on the way out. And GM is hearing rumors that the Amazon Books store next door is also on the way out. These closures, if they come to pass, would add to several other large spaces that have also recently become vacant.

Nike took over the space at 30th and M in 2012. Previously the space was used for many years by Barnes and Nobles (offering one of the more popular third places in the neighborhood). Prior to the Barnes and Nobles, the building hosted the Cerberus 1-2-3 movie theater since 1970. Its unusual size and large windows owe to the fact it was originally built as a car dealership.

From the moment Nike moved in it felt like perhaps they bit off more than they could chew. The three vast floors felt empty, particularly to patrons who once roamed the Barnes and Noble’s bookshelves. And the fact that it appears that Nike is bowing out with years left on the lease would suggest they agree with that assessment.

Continue reading →

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Is Georgetown…cool again?
• Details on a new development alongside the British School on Whitehaven