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The Washington Center (TWC) recently broke ground on a 140,000 square foot, 95-unit housing facility in NoMa at 3rd and K Streets, NE. TWC is a nonprofit organization that brings students from across the country and around the world to Washington, D.C. for the chance to test-drive their careers and learn applied skills through TWC's internship programs. Slated for completion in August of 2010, this $38 million project will serve as a centralized mini-campus for college students participating in TWC's prestigious college student internship programs. Paradigm Development Company of Arlington, Virginia has been selected by TWC to develop the project. The 345-bed building will house 80 percent of TWC's students each semester – some 1,200 per year.

The National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board recently awarded the NoMa BID a technical assistance grant valued at $50,000 as part of its 2009 Transportation/Land-Use Connections (TLC) Program. The BID applied for the grant in partnership with the D.C. Office of Planning and with support from the District Department of Transportation (DDOT). The shared objective of the NoMa Gateway Project is to recommend design strategies that will transform this intimidating intersection into a signature gateway to downtown Washington and the NoMa neighborhood. The redesigned intersection should offer enhanced pedestrian and bicycle connectivity, improved safety and wayfinding, and a green, landscaped environment. The NoMa Gateway Project is one of eight technical assistance grants announced last week and the only one in the District.

The NoMa BID recently issued a request for qualifications for an individual artist or design team to design, fabricate, and install permanent artwork in the public realm space in front of the of the Capitol Plaza building at 1200 First Street, NE (1st and M, NE) in Washington, D.C. The primary objective of this new initiative, NoMa Artscapes: Transforming Public Space, is to beautify and enhance the vibrancy of the streetscape, while creating a landmark that contributes to the sense of place. Applicants’ qualifications will be reviewed by a Selection Committee that will consider a wide range of media including sculpture, mosaic, sidewalk insets, street furniture, stationary planters, landscaping, lighting, and painting treatments. Applicants can submit qualifications individually or as teams, and include artists, landscape architects, architects, lighting designers, engineers, and other design professionals. The NoMa BID is managing and funding this project with matching funds provided by the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities’ (DCCAH) Public Art Building Communities Program. DCCAH is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. Applications are due on March 16, 2009; detailed information can be obtained on the NoMa BID Website or by contacting Dana Chieco, dchieco@nomabid.org, phone (202) 997-3846.

Despite the sluggish economy, NoMa’s first new renovated office building, One NoMa Station, is now about 80 percent leased. The Department of Homeland Security, which announced a 59,000 square foot lease in December, has taken an additional 25,000 square feet on the building’s top floor. The General Services Administration (GSA) negotiated the lease for DHS and David Alperstein of Jones Lang Lasalle represented the building owner, Bristol Group Inc. Other tenants in the former warehouse for the Woodward and Lothrop department store chain include the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Workers enjoy across-the-street access to Metro and a new, onsite convenience store and deli, as well as a short walk to NoMa’s newest restaurants.

Point/Line/Plane: Transit-Oriented Development in the Nation’s Capital, is the fourth in the annual Case Studies in Urban Development series at Cornell University’s College of Architecture, Art, and Planning and will examine the sustainable and green revitalization of the NoMa neighborhood in Washington, DC . Several major participants in NoMa’s ongoing redevelopment effort are speaking at the conference, including James Curtis, Managing Partner, Bristol Group; Liz Price, President of the NoMa Business Improvement District; Harriet Tregoning, Director of the DC Office of Planning; and Rustom Cowasjee ’80, Managing Director of Design and Construction for Tishman Speyer's Washington, DC Office. The keynote address will be given by Michael Sorkin, Distinguished Professor of Architecture and Director of the Graduate Program in Urban Design at the City College of New York. The conference is free and open to the public. Seating is limited. Please contact Beth Kunz at 607.255.7324 or egk7@cornell.edu to reserve a space.

Two Rivers Public Charter School has begun construction on a second facility across from their current facility at 4th and Florida Avenue, N.E. Two Rivers, a highly acclaimed charter school serving Pre-K through 8th Grade, uses Expeditionary Learning Outward Bound, an educational model that emphasizes interactive, hands-on, project-based learning. The new building will give them room to grow and will be complete this Fall. Two Rivers students will be able to enjoy their newly expanded school campus with exciting amenities including a brand new gymnasium and an outdoor rooftop area which will be used for class projects and recreation. Having a strong and growing local school like Two Rivers is a great amenity for future NoMa residents and workers.

District residents, businesses, nonprofits and private schools may now apply for up to $33,000 in assistance to install renewable energy systems on their buildings. The Green Energy DC Incentive Program is the first of a series of upcoming initiatives to support clean energy technology. Up to $2 million for each of the next four years will be available, beginning immediately with solar photovoltaic and wind turbine systems. Incentive payments are based on the amount of electricity the renewable energy system generates. Projects must be completed within six months. DDOE expects to be able to offer incentives for solar thermal, geothermal, biomass and methane recovery systems in the next several months. For more information and a downloadable packet of application materials, visit the Green Energy DC website or email greenenergy@dc.gov.

With close to 2 million people descending on Washington, DC for the historic inauguration of our 44th President, 18 members of the BID’s clean team and ambassador division were on hand to provide support to residents and visitors. With shifts beginning at 4 AM, the BID greeted and assisted over 100 buses who parked in the area as well as approximately 25,000 pedestrians walking from the Metro, Greyhound and adjacent neighborhoods to festivities on the Mall. The BID distributed 5,000 maps (provided by WMATA) and 1,000 American flags. NoMa was clean, safe and welcoming to all as Washington took center stage.

Following are some upcoming events at the National Postal Museum, located at 2 Massachusetts Ave., NE, across from Union Station:

Lincoln, Slavery, and the Civil War
7th Annual Maynard Sundman Lecture and Exhibition
Exhibition: March 6-8, 2009
Lecture: Saturday, March 7, 2009 at 1:00 p.m.

Women’s History Family Celebration
Saturday, March 7, 2009
1:00-5:00 p.m.

Green Ways to Move the Mail Teen Workshop
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Noon-4:00 p.m.

Green Ways to Move the Mail Family Day
Saturday, April 4, 2009
1:00-4:00 p.m.

Victory Mail, Victory Music Family Day
Saturday, April 25, 2008
1:00-4:00 p.m.

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