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On June 27, 2007, the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (ODMPED) sponsored a very early community input meeting to hear what residents in Cardozo Shaw envisioned as potential uses on a 63,418 SF parcel the District is negotiating to receive from Howard University in exchange for the District’s Bond Bread Building at 2114 Georgia Avenue NW. The Sherman Avenue site is immediately south of the westernmost Howard University dorm at Sherman Avenue and Barry Place.

The District does not yet have title ownership of the Sherman Avenue site and does not anticipate having ownership until later this year. The parcel must be subdivided out from the larger HU owned parcel.

Later in the year (unscheduled at this time), the District plans to schedule follow up meetings with Councilmember Graham (Ward 1 - D) and with community stakeholders to discuss what was heard at the first meeting, other ideas, the basic intentions or programmatic targets within a draft Solicitation of Offers, and the Solicitation schedule. Again, these meetings have not been scheduled, but will be convened after the Council recess and closer to District ownership of the site. 

This meeting was coordinated with Councilmember Graham’s schedule and convened at the request of ANC 1B who felt DMPED should sponsor a meeting specifically about the redevelopment on the Sherman Avenue site.

Approximately 20 residents attended the meeting.

The agenda for the meeting was as follows:

• Welcome & Introductions
• The “DUKE” Plan
• Howard Town Center Phase I
• The Exchange Site
• Ideal and Alternative Uses – “Your Input”
• Follow Up & Conclusions

In the discussion at the meeting, Derrick Woody, ODMPED’s Coordinator – Great Streets Initiative, explained the proposed program that Howard and its development partner would build on the Bond Bread and immediately adjacent site: over 300 units of market rate housing; 70,000+ SF retail; and over 400 parking spaces.

Given the District policy of a targeted minimum requirement of 20% mixed income/affordable housing units in property dispositions/exchanges and since the HU project would be 100% market rate, the District had expected to increase the required minimum number of mixed income/affordable units on the Sherman site to a minimum of 30%--assuming housing is the preferred use.

Legislative submissions to DC Council in late 2006 to approve the exchange correspond with this. This direction also responded significantly to the priority needs expressed by a diverse cross section of participants in the “DUKE” / Uptown Destination District planning process.  You can read more about the DUKE Plan from ODMPED's website.

Community Input on Alternative Uses largely favored upper level housing with a ground level of very neighborhood serving retail and services, i.e. coffee shop, drycleaners, bank, travel agents, and similar uses.  Those uses were envisioned as having a low impact on the retail development of Georgia Avenue. There was also discussion about a portion of the proposed Sherman Ave development being set aside for small business incubation.

There were concerns raised about and a recommendation to provide housing for at-risk artists in the area and the District and for providing some green space. It was pointed out that Banneker Field was literally two blocks away and that the larger Howard Town Center project anticipates an open space component as well. Some green space elements can be explored on the Sherman Avenue site.

Programmatically, the attendees asked that the number of parking spaces is significantly reduced on the site and/or are priced at market to encourage a more pedestrian oriented environment. 

Alternative modes of transportation like car sharing (FlexCar or Zipcar) and others were also recommended for consideration.

The District asked for clarification in reaching some level of consensus on the parking issue as a limited number of attendees were stressing reduced parking on the site but a number of attendees had and still continues to express a need for publicly accessible parking spaces on all potential development sites near the U Street NW corridor. Providing the publicly accessible parking spaces and market pricing of those spaces may not be exclusive of each other and will be explored by DMPED.

DDOT’s proposed extension of Bryant Street was an issue raised. Attendees saw the need to provide easy and friendly access for vehicles and pedestrians across the Sherman Avenue site between Georgia and Sherman Avenue.

ODMPED expressed major concerns about the proposed reduction of the Sherman Avenue site by approximately 20,000 SF of land area (NOT including the developable air rights above) and the ability to maximize the development of mixed income housing above in an area where little to no affordable housing is being produced. DMPED and DDOT will continue to discuss and explore alternatives to address the access and development concerns to reach a workable solution which will be confirmed with the CM and others.

Community comments and questions should be sent to:

Derrick Lanardo Woody
Coordinator - Great Streets Initiative
Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning & Economic Development
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 317
Washington, DC 20004-3001

Phone: 202-727-2981; Fax: 202-727-6703; Email:  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

More information about this and other projects are available online at : www.greatstreets.dc.gov orwww.dcbiz.dc.gov