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!

Orr Elementary Hip Hop Video - "School is Awesome"

I just when I lost faith in today's Hip Hop music, I recently came across Ward 8's own Orr Elementary music video called "School is Awesome." I think these kids can teach these millionaire artist about producing music that is positive for the community. Enjoy!

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.

CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING....

Voting on Budget Autonomy

D.C. residents could vote on budget autonomy proposal

District residents could soon vote to free the city from some congressional spending restrictions if the D.C. Council passes legislation to be introduced Tuesday by Chairman Phil Mendelson.
The proposal represents a sharp turn in the District’s march toward budget autonomy, a key goal of voting rights activists and city officials that has been embraced by some congressional Republicans but complicated by threats of amendments targeting District affairs. CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING

The New Ballou Senior High School

Wow, check out the plans for the new Ballou Senior High School. This is going to be amazing...almost makes me want to be in highschool again!

r.e.e.l. CBC Networking Reception

"We Are Anacostia" Campaign!!!

Art of War Concept: He whose ranks are united in purpose will be victorious.
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The residents of Historic Anacostia launched the “We Are Anacostia” Campaign last week. On a recent Sunday afternoon an email went out to our neighborhood listserv to meet up on Martin Luther King Jr. Ave next to the Old Furniture Warehouse for a photo shoot.

The purpose of the photo shoot was to launch our “We Are Anacostia” campaign  in an effort to encourage Busboys & Poets to open their 5^th location in our neighborhood. As some may know, there has been a rumor circling that Andy Shallal from Busboys & Poets has been considering Anacostia to open a new location. This rumor was confirmed at “Breaking into the Restaurant Business” seminar hosted by the River East Emerging Leaders earlier this summer.

The goal was to promote Busboys, but it was also done in an effort to present the Anacostia community as a great place to live, raise your family and to open businesses.

Besides taking photos, it was a great way to catch up with folks and talk about life. That is the great thing about living in our neighborhood – it is truly a community – where we are all about working together to find unique ways to improve the quality of life in our neighborhood.

I am so proud of this effort by my neighbors on so many different levels. I am working on an article to dig a little deeper into the meaning of this campaign.

I know it is exciting to hear that Busboys may be locating to Anacostia and yes we should continue to promote our neighborhood to attract even more retail and restaurants. But I know there is a lot of talent East of the River -- we also should consider partnering up to open businesses. We don’t have to wait on the city or others to invest in our community. We can do it ourselves. I know there are other restaurant and retail entrepreneurs out there and if given the chance and mentored that you can open up your own Busboys style restaurant. Stay tuned to a follow up blog post on “We Are Anacostia” Campaign!

We are asking everyone to drop off a postcard at any Busboys & Poets Restaurant you visit.

You can pick up your postcards at the HABA meeting this Thursday at 7pm.

The meeting will be held at the Anacostia UPO Center - 1649 Good Hope Rd.

I can't wait to see a
"We Are Congress Heights, Bellevue, Washington Highlands and Fairlawn" Campaign!