RSS FeedWater Balloon Fight Today At Penn Quarter Farmer’s Market!
Today, at the Penn Quarter Famer’s Market (at 8th St between D & E St NW), Jaleo will be hosting their water balloon version of La Tomatina from 7pm – 7:30. Participation in La Tomatina will cost $10 per person, and includes a tee-shirt and water balloons (the fee benefits the market).
- La Tomatina!!
La Tomatina is a festival held in Buñol, Valencia, Spain. Thousands of participants come from all over the world to fight in a harmless battle where more than a hundred tons of tomatoes are thrown! Join us for our water balloon version!!
7:00 PM to 7:30 PM
Join the Chefs of Jaleo at Market!
Before you join La Tomatina, watch the chefs prepare & sample Gazpacho
5:00 PM to 6:00 PM
VIDA Fitness Opens Today!
VIDA Fitness (corner of 7th and F St NW) opens today – anyone have any first impressions?
Also with the fitness center opening, residents get a new Bang salon just steps from our homes.
Northwest One: Planned Development To Our Northeast
It doesn’t get a whole lot of press, but the District has some plans moving forward to redevelop a certain area northeast of Gallery Place/Penn Quarter and east of Mount Vernon Triangle. Many may know that it is the site of deeply subsidized gov’t housing and is currently a crime focus area for the Police Service Area 101. Some attribute the high crime to the fact that the layout of the housing is unmanageable by police patrols. One thing is certain: the experimental 1960’s housing design isn’t working out. Here is the official blurb on the redevelopment plans:
- In January 2005, the District of Columbia, in collaboration with the Northwest One Council, initiated a public planning process to revitalize a large portion of the Northwest One neighborhood.
The project’s goal was straightforward – to create a vibrant mixed-income community where residents have quality housing options, real economic opportunities and access to appropriate human services for adults and children. The plan recognizes the need to address four critical issues – a high concentration of violent crime, poverty, distressed housing and strong development pressures in the neighborhood. It was also based on the immediate need to address the physical and financial distress of three deeply subsidized housing developments – Sursum Corda Cooperative, Temple Court Apartments and the Golden Rule Center.
Link to the Northwest One Redevelopment Plan and a pdf of the masterplan.
Second pic is courtesy of the WaPo.
Downtown BID Includes Penn Quarter/Gallery Place/Chinatown
The subject of how to define the Penn Quarter or Gallery Place or Chinatown geographically comes up from time to time. At GP Living we thought we’d reintroduce the Downtown DC BID as a starting point for a discussion on the matter. Are our three neighborhoods simply a single neighborhood – the new, the hip, and the vibrant East End?
The About section of the BID website says the following:
“The Downtown Business Improvement District (BID) is a tax-funded nonprofit that works to revitalize the city’s urban core. The District covers a 138-block neighborhood near the U.S. Capitol to the White House where property owners tax themselves to make their community cleaner, safer and more vibrant. The tax is used by the BID to purchase services and capital improvements that supplement those provided by the city.
The Downtown BID consists of approximately 825 properties within the area bounded by the National Mall on the south, Massachusetts Avenue and K Street NE on the north, Louisiana Avenue to the east and the White House to the west. The Downtown BID encompasses the Penn Quarter, Gallery Place, Chinatown, McPherson Square, Federal Triangle, Midtown and Franklin Square neighborhoods.
The BID promotes Downtown DC as a world-class commercial, cultural and residential destination. The result is a vibrant, inviting and beautiful experience for residents, visitors and merchants, property owners and investors.”
Map: Downtown DC BID Website