Movies & Music this Summer at the St. E's Pavilion

Wow, St. E's East Campus is going to be Awesome!

Art of War Concept: As water has no constant form, there are in war no constant conditions.
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Last Saturday, I took a drive over to the St. Elizabeth’s East Campus in Congress Heights for the unveiling of the Gateway Pavilion development plan. When I first heard about this project, I thought it was going to be something like the temporary tent structure used by the City to house vendors during the Eastern Market renovation. Boy, I was wrong! What I learned was this will be an awesome $5 million structure that will serve as a cultural and market center. It will have cafeteria spaces to allow for more eating options for residents and government workers along with an open-air theater/pavillion on top.

Normally, when I hear about these types of projects they are always light-years away, but I was excited to learn that the City will break ground in January and plan to be complete by late summer. Additionally, "if this goes according to plan,"  Microsoft and other technology company anchors will begin to move in within 3-5 years. The City is serious folks! 

As I understand more about the St. Elizabeth’s project, I get excited! As Mayor Gray said, this development will be the center of City activity and that soon the District will be considered a City of 8 Wards and not  6 Wards and the other 2.

And here is a not so bold prediction. Though Ward 8 has been known as a place to avoid, it will soon be considered a place where people will be tripping over themselves to get in. With the development of St E's, soon to be Poplar Point and possibly the 11^th Street Recreational Bridge, East of the River will be pride of the City! Mayor Gray promises that Ward 8 Residents and Businesses will have a seat at the table, but it is going to be up to us to position ourselves and take advantage of the changes to come! There is going to be tremendous amount of business opportunity...stay tuned, I'm sure the River East Emerging Leaders and other community organizations will keep you posted on how you can get involved.

A food court on the bottom, and open-air theatre on top!

Can't forget about the food trucks...

Can you imagine seeing this structure on MLK Ave!?

Another view from MLK Ave

I think that is an iPhone 5?

Imagine the possibilities of the theatre venue!

After the event, I took my own tour of the campus. It has so much potential!

This is a one shot deal, so I hope the City puts a great plan together.

I am sure there will be some serious community convo regarding this chapel.

It was built in 1955 so it is not considered historic. It would be

great if some architects could incorporate the building into the design of

the grocery store...hint, hint...Wegmans!

Big Changes Coming to the Neighborhood!

Microsoft, 2 other firms are D.C.’s picks for tech centers on St. Elizabeths campus

Mayor Vincent C. Gray’s economic-development team has selected Microsoft and two other technology companies as preferred candidates to open facilities on the east campus of St. Elizabeths Hospital as part of a plan to develop the 170-acre campus into a center of innovation.

D.C. officials chose the companies from among 10 proposals the city received after issuing a search for concepts in July. French lighting firm Citelum and Atlanta-based SmartBIM, an architectural modeling company, round out the trio that Gray hopes will jump-start the transformation of the area, according to Ethan Warsh, who manages the city’s project for Victor L. Hoskins, deputy mayor for planning and economic development.

 

The mayor aims to turn the east campus into a job generator for one of the poorest parts of the city as well as into a center for the development and commercialization of new technology. The grassy, tree-lined campus, in Southeast between Anacostia and Congress Heights, is across the street from the 176-acre west campus that is slated to become the consolidated headquarters for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

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St. Elizabeth Summer Celebration

Not So Good News Regarding St E.

Washington real estate developers Jeff Epperson and Rick Powell began snapping up land on Howard Road in Anacostia in 2004. It was an aggressive move in the downtrodden neighborhood.

The potential, after all, was great.

A new headquarters for Homeland Security — the biggest federal construction project in the country since the Pentagon in the 1940s — was on the way. The $3.4 billion project was expected to transform the sweeping grounds of St. Elizabeths Hospital into a national security campus and bring 16,000 jobs to the very poorest of Washington neighborhoods.

Federal and District officials have promoted the project as a savior that would finally bring jobs and prosperity to surrounding Southeast neighborhoods — Anacostia, Buena Vista, Barry Farm, Congress Heights. The work-a-day crowd with cash to spend also has signalled opportunity to commercial real estate developers whose business was kicked sideways in the recession.

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