District Selects Park Designer for Bruce Monroe Permanent Park

BELL Architects has been selected to lead the design of the acre park that will front Georgia Avenue and Columbia Road NW. The chosen team also includes the Landscape Architecture Bureau and Wiles Mensch Corporation. A key factor in BELL’s selection was their experience and qualifications leading comprehensive community design.  Accordingly, BELL believes that community engagement is the key to a successful project and community satisfaction. Their project team has experience leading interactive community meetings to gain feedback to incorporate into the design. The first community-wide meeting is being planned for March 2018 and will be announced broadly.

The Community Builders — Community Life Staff Coming on Site at Park Morton 

New faces will be seen at Park Morton as The Community Builders’ Community Life team (TCB-CL) begins outreach efforts. TCB-CL, whose office will be at 611 Morton Street, Apartment #11, will focus initially on surveying residents to determine their relocation preference and to assess what support individuals and families may need in order to have a successful transition. Residents have the option to relocate to the new Bruce Monroe homes, utilize transportable vouchers, relocate to other public housing properties, explore homeownership options, or move into the incoming Park Morton redeveloped units. An introductory meeting is being planned for residents and will be announced by flyer and email so stay tuned!

NCI Neighbors Up

Last year, NCI launched Neighbor Up to focus more purposefully on community building and engagement to encourage successful neighborhoods that go beyond the development of physical spaces. So far, we have launched Neighbor Up DC (a citywide network) as well as Neighbor Up Park View (around the Park Morton development) and Neighbor Up Marvin Gaye (around the Lincoln Heights/Richardson Dwellings development). The citywide network also often convenes in the Northwest One area, and many residents from Northwest One participate. Click below for to watch a video from  the monthly events that residents and community members have been leading called “parties with a purpose.”

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I Belong Here…

On Jan 11th, the New Communities Initiative (NCI) debuted the “I Belong Here” photo series at the Office of Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development’s annual Cluster Open House. The series highlights the diversity of the Park View neighborhood that neighbors value and are working to maintain, even as their neighborhood changes. Check out photos from the series below.

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DCHA Board Approves Major Step for Park Morton

During their December 13th meeting, the DC Housing Authority (DCHA) Board approved the agency to submit an application to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for the demolition and disposition of Park Morton. This application is a major step in the redevelopment process. Once submitted, it can take HUD as long as a year to approve, which is why the application must be submitted well in advance of any actual development activity at the property. Park Morton will be developed in phases, with “build first” housing at Bruce Monroe serving as the first phase. Park Morton residents will have an opportunity to move to Bruce Monroe, or wait for the new units at Park Morton. Residents who lived at Park Morton on or after November 1, 2014 have a right to return to one of these new units.

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