Earlier this week, we had a chance to ask Barracks Row Main Street executive director, Martin Smith, questions that you submitted to us on Twitter and via our blog.
Your office hour questions — from where to find a trusty dentist, to which businesses and storefronts will soon open on Barracks Row — brought back some interesting answers…
Q: [from Twitter] What are some of the public works/streetscape projects that BRMS is currently involved with?
A: Right now, we are in the middle of a very large public art project that is bringing a collection of murals to the underpass along 8th Street below the freeway and to the northern façade of the freeway between 7th and 8th Streets SE, funded through a grant from D.C. Department of Transportation. A portion of this exciting project is already installed, and the rest should be installed shortly.
Barracks Row Main Street is also working to stabilize the historic Senart’s mural on the side of Senart’s Oyster and Chop House so it can continue to be enjoyed by future generations.
Our work with the Eastern Market Metro Plaza is ongoing, and of course, the Men in Blue that keep Barracks Row clean and green are 100 percent funded by BRMS on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays (Monday-Thursday the funding for the clean team comes from the Capitol Hill BID) thanks to a generous grant from the D.C. Department of Small and Local Business Development and our fundraising efforts.
The most well-known streetscape project BRMS has worked with was the complete rebuild of the street, which was finished in 2005. This project brought in new brick sidewalks, granite curbs, Washington Globe-style lighting, a new roadbed, angled parking, and a now-mature row of beautiful disease-resistant American Elm trees. BRMS worked side by side with the DDOT for the duration of this project to minimize disruptions to our businesses and maximize the final benefit to the community.
Q: [From the THIH Blog thread] What is happening with the Nooshi sushi and kabob place? Are they still opening? It does not look like much progress has been made on the building.
A: Yes! Nooshi Sushi and Tash House of Kabob are both still coming to 524 8th Street SE. These two businesses are actually owned by a couple, who also own Spices in Cleveland Park, Nooshi Sushi in Dupont, and the Moby Dick’s House of Kebab chain throughout the area, [and] who purchased the building in November of 2010. Given the extensive renovation the building needs and the sometimes slow pace of permitting in the District, the build-out for both has taken a lot longer than everyone had initially hoped that it would. Rest assured, however, that the construction crews are out and hard at work, and Vanessa Lim of Nooshi has told us that a mid-summer opening is still the target. So keep your eyes peeled!
Q: [From the THIH Blog thread] There is a lot of new development, restaurants and others shops opening north of the freeway, but what about the Barracks Row corridor to the south of the freeway, toward the Navy Yard? Any news on development there?
A: South of the freeway on Barracks Row is going to be an exciting place to be in the next few years. Wagtime, a dog day care facility with a flagship store in Shaw, is about to expand to a second location at 9th and M Streets. National Community Church, [which owns] the Miles Glass parcel at 8th and Virginia Avenue and the Capitol Auto Works parcel next to it at 7th and Virginia Avenue, is about to go to demolition on those two buildings to clear the lot for a great new mixed-use development in the next few years that they hope will house a second location of their famous Ebenezer’s Coffee House, currently next to Union Station. Madison Marquette, the owner of the “blue castle” at 8th and M Streets SE, also has plans to redevelop that site into an exciting retail center.
These projects, and more that have not yet been formally announced, will all be connected to upper Barracks Row with a beautiful mural project that is halfway installed in the freeway underpass, and soon, on the north side of the freeway as well. While many of these projects are waiting to find out more about the CSX Tunnel project to time construction to work with that project’s needs, we are expecting a steady stream of development over the coming years.
Q: [From the THIH Blog thread] Any reliable dentists in the area?
A: Barracks Row is lucky enough to have not one, but two dentists on the street. Lake Arbor Dental Associates can be found on the first floor of 411 8th Street, SE, and Washington Dental Health Care Center is in 729 8th Street SE, right next door to the BRMS office. Both accept many health plans and specialize in general dentistry. You can reach Dr. Stubbs with Lake Arbor Dental Associates at 202-547-0900 and Dr. Greaves with Washington Dental Health at 202-546-2202.
THIH would like to thank Barracks Row Main Street for taking the time to answer our office hour questions, and to you, our readers, for participating.