01 Jul 2013

Mark Your Calendar: Upcoming Community Meetings on Future of Eastern Market Plaza

IMG_01701-225x300Remember way back in 2009 when the neighborhood was presented with three design options for a “Capitol Hill Town Square”? The designs all sought to redesign the Eastern Market Metro Plaza, making it a more welcoming and functional center to that section of our neighborhood.

Two out of the three designs included plans to re-route Pennsylvania Avenue, which was not exactly well received. Then the project just completely stalled.

But now it looks like there is a new push to get this moving again, starting with a community meeting on July 8, from 7 to 9 p.m. There will be a second meeting on Saturday morning, July 13, from 10 to 12 noon. Both meetings will take place  the Lincoln Room at Hill Center, 921 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE.

The objective of these meetings is to gather community ideas on the types of changes Hill residents would like to see in the Metro park/plaza area. Further input efforts may be planned for later in the month.

One thing that jumped out at me when I heard this news — and when I heard that new studies will be conducted — is that a lot of money was spent only a few short years ago for studies that seem to do the exact same thing. Barracks Row Main Street explained that this next set of studies will be built off those and will take into account what has changed in the neighborhood since then. Those changes include the finalized design plan for the Hine School project; the loss of play equipment at The Maples; the creation of the Hill Center; and the rapid development around Barracks Row and Pennsylvania Avenue SE, which has brought increased foot traffic.

My understanding  is that the community feedback and the new studies — which are made possible thanks to federal funds — will result in more detailed plans for revitalizing the plaza into something that will not only be more aesthetically pleasing but which will also serve the neighborhood and our visitors better. And in case you were wondering, the plans to reroute Pennsylvania Avenue are off the table. This next set of studies and recommendations will look at beautifying the existing sections of the Eastern Market Plaza.

If you have been around here for a few years, you might also remember talk of an information hub being designed for the plaza. These studies will take the hub’s location into consideration as well, but that is the extent of it. The design process is a separate project and we have not heard updates on it in some time; however, we’ll see what we can find out to share.

Until then, add the upcoming meetings to your calendar if you want to be able to share your ideas for how the plaza can be improved.

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