Friday, January 30, 2009

Department of Housing and Community Development

The Department of Housing and Community Development is moving today from 801 North Capitol St. NE to the Anacostia Gateway Government Center at 1800 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SE (at Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue and Good Hope Road SE, near the Anacostia Metro station). Divisions at 941 North Capitol St. NE will also move to the new location. All offices will be open tomorrow.

The new offices will open at 8:15 a.m. Monday. All phone numbers and e-mail addresses will remain the same. The Housing Service Center will be on the second floor of the government center until a first-floor customer service area is completed.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Anacostia Cherry Blossom Festival

Plans are underway for the annual Anacostia Cherry Blossom Festival. Stay tuned for further info.

Anacostia on the Rise

Anacostia is an emerging center for economic growth and development: the trend of resurgence surrounding the renovation of Fredrick Douglass House; the redevelopment of Martin Luther King Jr., Avenue; the building of suburban style single family homes on Good Hope Road S.E.; the much anticipated development of 75 new homes and marketplace style Giant Food Store on Camp Simms grounds, the building of a new condo/retail/office located on the corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and Prout St. SE, the upcoming full-service realty company, Anacostia River Realty, LLC and the development slated around the construction of the Washington National’s stadium makes this southeastern corner of the nation’s capitol primed for community renewal and commercial success.

Anacostia Art Museum

Anacostia Art Gallery and Boutique Presents An One Day Blowout Sale on Wednesday,December 24,2008, at Anacostia Art Gallery and Boutique,2806 Bruce Place SE in Washington DC.

The Anacostia Art Gallery and Boutique is a uniquely decorated house located just up the hill up from the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum. The Gallery celebrated its grand opening and dedication of the Kwame Nkrumah Ancestral Garden on September 23-25, 2005.The Co-Directors are Juanita “Busy Bee” Britton and Georgiann Austin. It features the best selection of fine art & crafts, African artifacts, ethnic home accessories and collectibles East of the River. The Gallery displays the works of approximately 75 artisans from 23 countries and highlights the multi-talents of Resident Master Artist, Imaniah Shinar. The Gallery is also the home of two boutiques on its 2nd floor: Bae’s Place, featuring designer collections of wearable art & accessories and Furaha’s Lotus Room, specializing in unique products for the mind, body and soul.

Located next door to the Smithsonian Institution’s Anacostia Museum, the Anacostia Art Gallery continues to build cultural synergy between the Museum, the new Town Hall Education Arts and Recreation Campus (THE ARC), and the community by hosting free art & health workshops and other interesting & unique programs. “The goal of the Anacostia Art Gallery is to foster opportunities for greater appreciation of African American and African centered history cultural products and activities including fine art, crafts throughout all the East of the River communities.” says Ms. Britton.

The Anacostia Art Gallery and Boutique have been featured in the Washington Post, Washington Informer, Capitol Community Newspaper (East of The River), and The Urban Flavor E-Newsletter.

Ms. Britton, a Detroit native and long time resident of Washington’s historic Anacostia neighborhood, is passionate about elevating the interest and image of Anacostia. “I love Anacostia; it has so much beauty and a lot of potential. I’ve heard some developers refer to this community as ‘the last holdout,’ but as a resident, I believe that we have to take immediate charge of Anacostia’s economic future while we still can.” says Ms. Britton.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

DC Department of Housing & Community Development moves to Anacostia and Main Street Anacostia

The DC Department of Housing and Community Development will finally move into their new space in the Anacostia Gateway next weekend.




Main Street Anacostia is in the process of revitalizing storefronts in the Anacostia area. The organization has just completed a promotional video as part of a business recruitment package. They have just published, The History of Anacosta, a coloring book available for $5. Contact Main Street Anacostia at 1800 Martin Luther King Jr Ave SE, (202)266-2989 or vistit their website at www.mainstreetanacostia.org.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Anacostia Waterfront Update

From the Anacostia Waterfront briefing there are some dates of note about projects in the area.

  • The Anacostia Riverwalk Trail will continue to expand, with construction of bridges and trails over the railroad tracks on both sides of the river to begin this spring. Design of segment E (Kenilworth-Parkside) will begin this year as well.
  • The new 11th Street Bridge is to be finished by January 1, 2014 with the contract executed this summer.
  • Work on the MLK Great Streets will start in Spring 2010.
  • Removal of the 11th Street Bridge access ramps to RFK stadium (which go over the ART) will begin this summer.
  • A final design of the new pedestrian bridge over the Anacostia Freeway/CSX tracks in the area of the Minnesota Avenue Metro will be chosen this year. This should make for an easier bike connection too. Project will complete in 2011.

Friday, January 9, 2009

Renewing the Anacostia River

Retired Gen. Colin Powell, in conjunction with the presidential inaugural committee, today unveiled a program -- dubbed "Renew America Together" -- to spark a national wave of community service.
One planned event touted on the site is a project to "Renew the Anacostia" scheduled for 1/19 and sponsored by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and the No Child Left Inside Coalition. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and former Sen. Paul Sarbanes are expected to attend. Students will clean up trash along the river and plant trees.

Department of Homeland Security moving to Anacostia

According to the Washington Post, the Department of Homeland Security is moving to Anacostia: “After years of battling historic preservationists, the federal government won approval yesterday to build a massive headquarters for the Department of Homeland Security on a 176-acre hilltop site east of the Anacostia River.”

Metro SE Inauguration Bus Routes

Florida Avenue Bus

Metrobus Route 90 will begin at Anacostia Metrorail station and end at Calvert Street, NW, at Duke Ellington Bridge. Buses will service stops along Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, SE, W Street, SE, 13th Street, SE, 12th Street, SE, M Street, SE, 8th Street, NE, Florida Avenue, U Street, NW, 18th Street, NW, and Calvert Street.

Pennsylvania Avenue, SE

Metrobus Routes 32, 34 and 36 will begin at Southern Ave and Naylor Road Metrorail stations and end at Eastern Market Metrorail station on Pennsylvania Avenue. Buses will service stops as follows:
Route 32: Southern Avenue, 22nd Street, Savannah, 23rd Street, Alabama Avenue, Naylor Road, 23rd Street and Pennsylvania Avenue.
Route 34: Naylor Road, Southern Avenue, 30th Street, Naylor Road, 23rd Street and Pennsylvania Avenue.
Route 36: Naylor Road, 30th Street, SE, Erie Street, 33rd Street, SE, Camden Street, Branch Avenue and Pennsylvania Avenue.



Welcome to my new blog. The purpose of this blog is to educate and enlighten readers about the many positive things going on in the Anacostia area.