SE Church Bringing Affordable Housing to Barry Farm

Prominent Ward 8 church Matthews Memorial Baptist has partnered with developer Community Builders (TCB) to expand their community servicing mandate into the realm of affordable housing. The Church – which has served the Barry Farm/Anacostia community for 85 years, boasts 1300 members, operates 60 different ministries and frequently hosts speaking engagements for local politicians such as Marion Barry - is now looking to bring a new housing project and community center to a large parcel adjoining their location at 2616 Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue, SE.

According to the Office of Planning, the 79,900 square foot site currently holds five houses and an asphalt parking lot, all of which would demolished to make way for the Matthews Memorial Terrace – a 100% affordable housing development consisting of a four-story apartment building with 100 residential units, roughly of a third of which would be reserved for seniors. Next door, a three-story community center would include a health clinic (possibly an extension of the United Medical Center – itself slated for a large-scale expansion), a community room, a bookstore/café and “a dinner room/restaurant” that, according to Bishop C. Matthew Hudson, Jr., would be “Ward 8’s second full-service sit-down restaurant.” The project is being designed by PGN Architects.

“Upon learning of my desire for the Church to provide affordable housing, Community Builders contacted me and we discussed the possibility of building…on the Matthews Memorial Baptist campus,” said Hudson at a March 5^th Zoning Commission hearing. “The partnership between the Church and TCB is represented a good match to obtain our mutual goals of creating a vibrant, mixed-use affordable rental community.”

Though still in the planning stages, organizations and individuals, including the ANC 8A, the ANC 8C, the Ward 8 Business Council, the Anacostia Coordinating Council and DC City Council members Marion Barry and Kwame Brown, have all voiced their support for the project. The next step in the approval process for the Matthews Memorial Terrace lies with the National Capital Planning Commission, which will review the development team’s proposal at their May 7^th meeting. And it looks be a straight shot, given the altruistic nature of the project.

“[The Church] continuously works to revitalize and rehabilitate the Anacostia community,” said Hudson. “The Church’s goal in pursuing this project is to allow it to further serve the community which we love and are an integral part of…I’m very proud of the many ways in which the new Matthews Memorial Terrace will be able to assist Anacostia…as it continues to grow, revitalize, [and] redevelop itself for the future.”

MLK Ave Gets Reconstructive Surgery (Minus the Botox)

Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, SE had been eyeballed as an upgrade- needy thorough- fare long ago; but since late 2006 the Great Streets Initiative, a partnership between the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) and a slew of other government agencies, held design charrettes and open forums for Ward 8 residents to design and create an enticing MLK corridor for the future. The conceptual design process, headed by RTKL, was completed in November of 2007. Now, DDOT has chosen a consultant, Volkert and Associates, Inc., who will take RTKL's vision to the table for final design and construction drawings. The beginning of the final design phase was estimated to begin in late February until put on hold by DDOT due to a DC Water And Sewer Authority (WASA) storm sewer separation and water main expansion project in the same area.

The MLK Jr Revitalization Plan has involved a mix of processes, requiring transportation and pedestrian traffic research, urban aesthetics and contextual meshing, streetscape analysis and (probably most challenging) public involvement and approval. The Ward 8 Business Council, Fairlawn Citizens Associates and ANC 8A, among others, were all given the opportunity to offer their two cents throughout each of the three public meetings.

RTKL's concept plan is comprehensive (see picture below), involving the revitalization of a big chunk of MLK Ave. from the 11th Street Bridge to Suitland Parkway, transportation improvements to ease traffic circulation and an overall attempt to enhance the streetscape image with "respect [for] the area's historic nature," according to the concept plan. As if the task weren't large enough, concept designs call for the modification of four branching streets: Howard Road, W street, Good Hope Road and 16th street. Some of the technical details involve the reconstruction of all roads but 16th Street. Changes would include the reduction of one northbound lane on MLK Jr., and the removal of curbside parking along Good Hope Road to alleviate congestion during peak-time commuting. Metrobus' U2 and B2 are also planned to be re-routed to use MLK Jr. from the Anacostia Metro Station to Good Hope Road; the current routes follow W and 16th streets. To increase pedestrian activity, architects have also proposed a new bike route along Shannon Place.

As for beautification, sidewalks will be reconstructed throughout the corridor and will feature decorative brick patterns, public art and curbside foliage in order to to "introduce visual interest," according to RTKL's design. Two types of streetscape furnishings were suggested; traditional benches and the like for MLK Jr. Ave, Good Hope Road and W Street, and contemporary furnishings (ever heard of an avante-garde trash can?) for Howard Road.

The current timeline, provided by Great Streets, indicates that final design drawings could last as long as ten months, which would put the start into Spring of 2009, with completion sometime in 2011.