Excess Schools - Grimke

The Grimke School, located on Vermont Avenue NW near U St., is one of the most desirable locations for potential arts use in decommissioned schools. The school is right across the street from the METRO stop at 10th and U and is currently used by Fire/EMS and the Department of Corrections.

Several years ago the DC Office of Planning crafted the DUKE Plan, a framework for a Cultural Destination for Greater Shaw/U Street. The full report can be found HERE and the pages specific to the Grimke area, labeled the African American Civil War Memorial Sub-district, can be found HERE.

I was able to tour the space back in the summer and found an intact gymnasium space that could easily house a large performance space. The gym floor has substantial water damage, so the roof might need replacement, but otherwise its in good shape. The rest of the school has been carved up into offices for the Fire Department, etc. Artist studios would be an easy retrofit.

The African American Civial War Museum, headed by Frank Smith, is also a potential tenant.

DC Gov. Orders Auction

On January 30th Alex Cooper Auctioneers are auctioning over 30 vacant residential buildings located throughout DC. Buildings are located in all four quadrants and most look like they need a lot of work.
More information at the Cooper web site HERE.

Buyer's Seminar is scheduled for Thursday, January 22 at noon at One Judiciary Square - 441 4th Street NW.

Schools - Pre-Offer Conference - January 9

A Pre-Offer Conference will be held on:

Friday, January 9, 2009
1 pm-2:30 pm EST
Frank D. Reeves Center
Community Room, 2nd Floor
2000 14th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20009

Please RSVP to dcbiz@dc.gov

I will be there, so look for me if you have any questions.

In the first go-round, the Warehouse Theater joined with the Washington Project for the Arts to submit a proposal for the Cook School. We are currently planning our re-submission.

Excess Schools Solicitation for Offers

More information about the Solicitation for Schools -

The Government of the District of Columbia (“District”), through the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (“ODMPED”), invites qualified development teams (“Offerors”) to respond to this Solicitation for Offers (“Solicitation”) for the development, redevelopment, or adaptive reuse of the following sites (each individually, a “Development Site”):

Backus Middle School
Grimke Elementary School
Hine Junior High School
Langston School
M.M. Washington High School
Randle Highlands Elementary School (historic 1911 school building only)
Rudolph Elementary School
Slater School
Slowe Elementary School (unoccupied portion)
Stevens Elementary School
Young Elementary School

Find the rest of the information HERE.

Schools on the Block - Post Article

From the 12/23 edition of the Washington Post -

The administration of D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty said yesterday that it is seeking to redevelop 11 now-shuttered public schools, inviting developers to submit proposals that can include retail space, offices and high-priced and affordable housing.

Read the rest of the article HERE.

Shared Space - The Soundry in Vienna, VA

There is a new shared artist space in Vienna, VA called The Soundry. Located in a former auto body shop that is being converted into a shared space for artists and musicians, The Soundry is all about sharing and cultivating creativity across their membership. Its an interesting concept, with a monthly membership fee ($99) and access to the entire building. There is no dedicated studio space but secure storage is available. They envision a broad range of users, from visual artists to musicians to actors, etc.

For more info, check out their web site - The Soundry.

Grimke School - A new RFEI coming soon?

Rumor has it that the DC Office of Property Management is going to release another round of "Requests for Expressions of Interest" for a few schools, including the Grimke School on Vermont Ave. NW, just off U St.

Back in the summer, OP put out an RFEI for about 8 schools (including Grimke) but then narrowed the process to exclude all proposals except charter schools.

Artist Studios - 52 O

OCCUPYING 28,000 SQUARE FEET, over four floors, 52 O Street Studios is one of the largest and oldest buildings dedicated to the practice of Fine Arts in DC. Located just off North Capitol Street, the building is occupied by painters, sculptors, photographers, jewelers, woodworkers, and video artists who seek to continue and advance the guiding principle behind its opening in 1979, "to create an affordable working space for artists in Washington DC." More information, including contact information for the owner Marty Youmans, can be found at 52ostreetstudios.org. The website lists these resident artists:

Stevens Jay Carter
Betsy Damos
Matthew Scott Davis
Adam Eig
Cianne Fragione
Andrea Haffner
Peter E. Harper
Matt Hollis
Micheline Klagsbrun
Raye Leith
Kendall Nordin
Holly & Ashlee Temple
Lisa Marie Thalhammer
Gabriel Thy
Ben Tolman

Church for Sale - 13th St. NW

The church at the corner of 13th and Irving NW is for sale - $2.5M. The sales price includes the 3 story annex on Irving.
The Sanctuary seats 175. Zoning is R-4, so most commercial uses would probably require a special exception.

Shared Office Space - H Street NE

The H Street Greenhouse Incubator is a 1,500 sq. ft. facility that houses 12-16 business suites / desk spaces. Suites range in size from 70 – 170 sq ft., and are individual private offices with doors, or are single desks in an open flexible floor plan. The small business tenants share a wide range of office facilities and services as part of their lease, including landlines, voicemail, fax, high-speed Internet access, conference room, kitchen space, cleaning services, on-site recycling and storage space. Furnished or unfurnished spaces are available, as well as paid use of copiers, scanners, printers and the like.

Rates are reasonably priced at approximately $500 / month for a flexible open floor plan work space (100 sf), to $1200 / month for an Executive Office Suite of approximately 170 sf. With 24-hour 7 day a week access, this could be the hottest new “green” spot in town.

For more information on the H Street Greenhouse, or to arrange a tour, visit www.hstreetgreenhouse.com