New Video on Beautiful McMillan Park

Check out this lovely new video tour of McMillan Park on YouTube --

click here:  McMillan Park on YouTube

you can find it here --

http://www.youtube.com/vidiot9000#p/a/u/0/WeOwqFyh5-8

FENTY STRIKES AGAIN: McMillan at Risk on WPFW's SPECTRUM TODAY

Thursday, June 3, 2010

More Back-Door Dealings in 

D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty's Office

Pete Tucker Interviews Tony Norman on WPFW's SPECTRUM TODAY 

LISTEN by clicking the radio mike: 

 

Show synopsis:   FENTY STRIKES AGAIN 

McMillan Park consists of 25 acres of beautiful land near downtown DC.  Mayor Fenty wants to turn McMillan over to a development team, led by his friends at EYA.  EYA plans to build two million square feet of development on the historic site. The community is overwhelmingly opposed to EYA's plan and leading the push back is Tony Norman and the McMillan Park Committee.  The mayor has refused to disclose the amount of public dollars promised to EYA and the McMillan Park Committee has filed a FOIA lawsuit.

Also of note:  DC's Zoning Commission plays a significant role in determining which development projects move forward and which do not.  Many civic activists, including Tony Norman, are alarmed at Mayor Fenty's decision last week to nominate two developers to this all-important commission.

McMillan Featured in Gallery Show! 6/5-7/24

NATURE TRANSFORMS:  

Opening Reception Saturday, June 5th

Opening Reception

Saturday, June 5, from 4:00pm to  8:00pm

A unique tasting menu and beverages will be paired with selected works. 

 

 The Evolve Urban Arts Project is pleased to announce the second of two exhibitions exploring the intersection between visual arts, architecture and nature.  Nature Transforms features the work of painter Jessica Van Brakle, photographer Wess Brown and a site-specific installation by mixed-media artist Alex Zealand.

With a nod to print and television media (Life After People, The World Without Us), Nature Transforms will examine the unique ways in which three DC-based artists explore the oppositional forces of the natural world and manmade architecture.   Van Brakle's paintings explore these opposing forces through slick use of geometric architectural patterns overlaid with undulating vines.  Brown gives us proof of these forces at work in his documentary coverage of the DC's old McMillan reservoir site.  Zealand's work is a study in the transformational use of found materials into "natural" forms which seek to overrun their borders and infest the gallery space.

Gallery Hours
Nature Transforms runs through July 24th, 2010.  Gallery hours are:

 Monday, Wednesday and Friday: 1-7pm

Tuesday and Thursday: 1-4pm

Saturday: 11am-2pm
Other times are always available by appointment.

McMillan on WAMU with Kojo Nnamdi

May 27, 2010

DC's unique underground development opportunities discussed on

"Shaping the City" 

       with Roger Lewis

An underground trolley tunnel may not sound like a coveted piece of property for developers. But in the District, officials are hoping the development community will come up with a new use for a series of long, dark tunnels under Dupont Circle. We'll learn more about this and other potentially creative uses of odd spaces -- from elevated subway lines to a sand filtration plant.


Listen the the archived broadcast here:

http://thekojonnamdishow.org/shows/2010-05-27/shaping-city-roger-lewis


GUESTS:
Roger K. Lewis:  Architect; Columnist, "Shaping the City," Washington Post; and Professor Emeritus of Architecture, University of Maryland College Park
Julian Hunt:  Architect and co-founder of the firm Hunt/Laudi Studio in Washington, D.C.


HIGHLIGHTS:

Miriam Gusevich a professor of architecture at Catholic University called in and spoke eloquently of McMillan alternatives, importance of site, opportunities.  
Larry Chang of EcolocityDC emailed some excellent comments -- which Kojo read on the show.


Larry Chang of EcolocityDC's comments:
The largest underground space in DC is the 20 acres of vaults under the McMillan Sand Filtration Site. These could be used for artists studios including glass works using the sand to make bottles for filtered Potomac water, agro-processing such as cheese-making, winery, brewery, mushroom-growing, cafes and boutique shops. The 25 acre green roof would provide the grapes, hops, vegetables, milk, bee-hives, as fresh produce and raw material for processing. Rain-harvesting, solar panels and wind turbines would complete this sustainable approach, while preserving the architectural and historical features.

McMillan on WPFW!

TONITE at 7PM [FM 89.3]

Tony Norman, McMillan historian and advocate extraordinaire, and Robin Buck, McMillan Community Coordinator, will be interviewed this evening on WPFW FM 89.3 at 7:00 PM.

Tune in on your radio, or click the link below to listen live on your computer!

http://www.wpfw.org/index.php?db=content/WPFW_Radio&tbl=WPFW_Radio&id=1

Community VISION

Reclaiming DC's Unique History

...and FUTURE

Through preservation, conservation, and innovation, to reclaim the McMillan Sand Filtration site and create a vibrant community and economic asset -– transforming a sustainable past into a sustainable future.

• Creating over 14 ACRES of much needed, publicly accessible parkland for Wards 5, 1 & 4

• Utilizing the underground filter cells for retail & economic development

• Preserving & showcasing McMillan’s unique architecture & technology as a turn-of-the-century Public Health Landmark

• Including public services such as library, senior center, recreation center

• Uncovering the stream under the site (the Tiber River) for community recreation and effective stormwater & aquifer management

• Factoring in the impact of other development in this area of DC

• Proposing necessary improvements to the currently inadequate transportation network surrounding McMillan

Through…

COMMUNITY PROCESS

Engaging all stakeholders through an open, democratic, and participatory process

SUSTAINABLE DESIGN

Creatively transforming the site's unique above- and below-ground features using future-friendly building methods and materials

MUNICIPAL, FEDERAL & PRIVATE COLLABORATION

Forming public-private partnerships to develop and maintain the new McMillan. Possible partners include the DC Department of Parks & Recreation, US Departments of Energy and Agriculture, the Smithsonian, the National Arboretum, the National Park Service, NASA, and other partners potentially interested in using the site

ECONOMIC VIABILITY

Creating a DESTINATION offering unique, site-realted amenities, retail, dining, entertainment

Generating jobs for LOCAL residents

Incorporating a new National Center for Sustainable Technology to inspire scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs

Community CONCERNS

Density, Traffic and Quality-of-Life

The 25-acre McMillan site is located at the center of numerous planned development projects. How will the combined structural density and increased congestion impact our neighborhoods?

To date:

• No comprehensive or credible traffic or transportation study has been completed &/or made public.

• No environmental impact or stormwater & aquifer management studies have been completed &/or made public.

• No historic preservation study has been submitted for review. Although the study has apparently been completed, EYA has refused to release the results.

• No land value assessment of this prime 25-acre parcel has been made available.

• No definitive total of what this will cost DC taxpayers (most recent estimates were $60-80 million dollars for initial site preparation)

• No answers as to if & how EYA will secure financing for a project of this magnitude.

• No response regarding the profit that EYA stands to make from the private development of this PUBLIC land.

• Despite numerous requests, EYA has yet to provide ANY documentation regarding the above issues.

• Repeated community requests for needed public services have gone unheeded in "new" plan iterations.

• Plans proposed by EYA offer less than 2 acres of public park

• EYA proposes to destroy all historic underground filter cells

NEARBY PLANNED DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY
LOCATION	ACRES	OWNER
McMillan Sand Filtration Site	25	District
Soldiers Home - East Campus	49	Federal
Soldiers Home - West Campus	65	Federal
Rhode Island Ave / Brentwood Metro	27	WMATA
Marriott Hotel & Conference Center	6	District
Catholic University	9	private
Georgia Avenue / HU Town Center	2	multiple
Brookland / CUA Metro	7	WMATA
New York Avenue Metro	n/a	multiple
North Capitol Street Retail	n/a	multiple
Fort Totten Metro	n/a	WMATA
… and others