The Georgetown Metropolitan

It’s been quite the saga for the West Heating Plant. When GM first reported on it, he was arguably not middle aged (or even a father yet). GM will spare you the long history of all the twists and turns that brought us here. But now ensconced in his mid 40s with a ten year old daughter, GM can share with you the final approved plans for this massive project.

The overall picture is that the plans call for the preservation of the bulky west facade of the existing building. This surely will divide opinions. GM thinks it’s a beautiful example of muscular mid-century industrial design. Others see a massive eye-sore. In either event, it is staying.

But the entire rest of the building is going to be demolished. GM wished it all could be saved and possibly incorporated into a new modern art museum a la the Tate Modern. But the developers claim the building is too far gone, and besides, it’s not like there’s a museum with a massive pile of money looking to move in. So pricey condos it shall be.

While the old building will be wiped away, its shape will mostly be maintained with the new building. Here is what it will look like from the south:

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• If you live on the 1600 or 1700 block of 34th St., your water will shut off at about 10pm tonight and not turn back on until the morning. So plan accordingly!
• Interesting map showing where in the city (including Georgetown) where the number of residential parking spaces are exceeded by the number of nearby residential parking permits.

Starting this month, the overall cap on tavern licenses in Georgetown has doubled from six to twelve.

This change was part of a larger ABC law that became effective on June 30th. This change was something GM wrote about last February. Specifically he asked “will the change even matter?” It was the sharp decline in rowdy bars that made the increase even possible. But with that drop, has the entire market for non-restaurant bars in Georgetown disappeared completely? Time will tell.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Gallery L’Enfant featuring Ukraining artists.
• The new hostage mural will (by design) slowly fade away.

Last December, a fancy French bon bon shop opened at 1332 Wisconsin Ave. called Petite Soeur. The promising little shop took over a space that has a seen a succession of not-terribly long lived sweet shops (including The Cookie Jar, Beard Poppa’s and a frozen yogurt shop that went through a bunch of different names). Petite Soeur seemed far more promising as it came from a pastry chef with an impressive record. As DCist wrote:

Petite Soeur’s shoppers have a tough choice as soon as they leave the shop: Painstakingly photograph all their picturesque treats, or devour them all as soon as they can. Located in a well-lit space with modern minimalist design on Wisconsin Avenue in Georgetown, the chic confectionary specializes in hand-painted bonbons, gold accented chocolate bars, buttery sablé cookies, and dainty one-bite treats, like dark chocolate fudge and mango-passion fruit caramels. The newly opened shop is helmed by Ashleigh Pearson, a veteran of Thomas Keller’s Michelin 3-star Per Se in New York and Marcel’s by Robert Wiedmaier in D.C.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• How to have a Georgetown staycation.
• West Heating Plant development begins at last.

GM was fiddling with Photoshop the other day, trying to make some vintage NPS-style travel posters for Georgetown. (GM does weird things for fun). Anyhow, this is what he came up with. Hope you like them.

(If you’re a PBC member like GM, you might like this variation:)

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Interview with Georgetown’s “top cop”.
• Chaia going national.