Construction of the O Street Market is moving fast. (Luis Gomez Photos)

From Rachel Nania. Check out her blog, Sear, Simmer & Stir. Follow Nania on Twitter @rnania, email her at rachel[AT]borderstan.com. 

Shaw’s latest — and biggest — addition, O Street Market, is coming along. The soon-to-be bustling site even has its own website.

Here’s where things currently stand and where things are headed:

• Bozzuto, the development company on the site, will open the CityMarket at O Street leasing office in the spring.
• The East Tower of the site is days away from being complete.
• The Giant will open in a few months, according to the website.
• The site plans to have residents move into the East Residential Tower in November 2013.

O Street Market will include 80-plus affordable senior rental units, 395 market rate apartments, 145 condos, 189 hotel rooms, 10,000 square feet of retail, 6,000 square foot restaurant and 500 parking spaces. It is located at the 1400 block of 7th Street NW.

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Crime news from Dupont-Logan-U Street.

DC Police reported a robbery with the use of force and violence around 7 pm, Wednesday, January 9, on the 600 block of T Street NW. The two suspects were wearing black ski masks, according to the DC Police Twitter feed and Police Alert.

From DC Police Alerts: “3082 CONFIRMED A Robbery Force & Violence in the 600 Blk of P St NW LOF: 2B/M’s, wearing blk ski-masks  DO NOT TAKE ACTION CALL 911 W/EVENT #I20130012731, Sent on: 01/09 19:03″

From the DC Police Twitter feed: “Robbery Force & Violence in the 600 Blk of P St NW LOF: 2B/M’s, wearing blk ski-masks/ 5760″

Police Alerts, More Information

You can sign up for alerts through Alert DC and get alerts  by e-mail, cell phone, pager or wireless PDA. When signing up, you can select alerts on crime, transportation, utility outages/issues, government closings, breaking news, DC-sponsored events and Amber Alerts. You can follow the DC Police on Twitter @DCPoliceDept.

You can get more information about crime in the Borderstan area through the MPD listservs for the Second and Third Districts on Yahoo! Groups.

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From Rachel Nania. Check out her blog, Sear, Simmer & Stir. Follow Nania on Twitter @rnania, email her at rachel[AT]borderstan.com. 

9th & Beats opens this Thursday, December 13. (Courtesy of 9th & Beats)

The founder of Sweet Tea Pumpkin Pie Festival Dave Mann and photographer Rachel Eisley have teamed up to bring an all-ages music venue to 9th Street NW, just a few blocks from the Convention Center.

The new venue, called 9th & Beats (1219 9th Street NW), is scheduled to open to the public on Thursday, December 13 within the Old Dominion Brewhouse. Mann and Eisley transformed a 2,000-square-foot room into a performing arts stage ready to hold music (both live and spun) and comedy events. Rotating art exhibits will also adorn the walls of the room, which can hold roughly 240 guests.

For opening night, 9th & Beats will host “Rebels With a Cause” music series, featuring The Black Sparks with Ladle Fight at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased online or at the door.

Mann and Eisley aim to bring live music for the younger crowd, while simultaneously booking comedians for the 18-and-over patrons.

For now, 9th & Beats will be open Thursday through Saturday, but the venue eventually plans to expand its hours to seven days a week. On its Facebook wall, 9th & Beats said, “I think that we won’t have slow weeknights. Actually, once the venue goes to seven days a week, we will be hosting theater, burlesque, etc. on weeknights.”

Mann and Eisley also have plans for using the space during the day.

“That is the big news we will be sharing in February, so stay tuned!”

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A&D at 1314 9th Street NW, is the area’s newest neighborhood bar. (Laetitia Brock)

From Laetitia Brock. Email her at laetitia[AT]borderstan.com. You can follow her at @FrenchTwistDC and on her own blog, French twist DC.

Cheers to A&D, Shaw’s Newest Neighborhood Bar, at 1314 9th Street NW!

Can you think of a more perfect day to open a new bar than repeal day? Me neither! Since the Passenger always gets so crowded on weekends and there aren’t many good watering holes (yet) around the convention center, I was thrilled when I heard that Daniel O’Brien and Ali Bagheri were expanding their domination of the corner of 9th Street and Naylor Court NW with a new bar.

The pair that brought us some of the city’s best sandwiches and one of DC’s most popular supper club is branching into bar food and craft cocktails with A&D Neighborhood Bar. During the soft opening on Wednesday, December 5 General Manager and mixologist Evan Cablayan came around to each table to welcome us and ask for our patience as they fix some of the kinks inherent in any new business.  I was too busy sipping on a very generously poured and potent 54th cocktail to notice anything.

The craft cocktail menu is fun and original. Daniel O’Brien’s commitment to locally sourced ingredients is evident here too, with DC’s own Green Hat Gin and Loudoun County’s Catoctin Creek Distilling Company rye making an appearance in two cocktails: the A&D and the Winter Julep respectively. My choice of libation for the evening, a potent combination of 1776 rye, dark rum, Angostura cherry syrup and orange bitters, came in a rather large mason jar and was a perfect accompaniment to the beef tongue reuben.

I’ll have to go back a few times to eat and drink my way through the menu of locally source small plates (I’m especially intrigued by the poutine chips but so far I like what I tasted! And what I saw as well.)

DC-based creative agency Design Operative did a great job updating the former Lamont Bishop Gallery, integrating the ornate ceiling and hardwood floors into just what a neighborhood hang out should be: a modern, inviting space, where everybody will probably very soon know my name!

A&D Neighborhood Bar is located at 1314 9th Street NW, near the Convention Center metro station (and very close to the future Market at O Street development). It’s open from 5 pm to 1 am Sunday through Thursday and 5 pm to 2 am Friday and Saturday.

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Sunday December 2: Shaw Dog Park Cleanup on 11th Street NW. (Luis Gomez Photos)

From Luis Gomez. Catch his photos at One Photograph A Day. Follow him on Twitter @LuisGomezPhotos.

The winter Shaw Dog Park Cleanup Day is this Sunday, December 2, from 11 am to 12 noon. Shaw Dogs asks that you bring garden tools, wheelbarrows and rakes (and remember to wear gloves). Tasks will include picking up litter in and around the park, raking gravel, filing holes, tending the tree boxes and performing some basic repair work.

Caribou Coffee will provide hot cider and treats for all volunteers.

The park is on 11th Street NW between Rhode Island Avenue and R Street and is run by the Shaw Dog Park Association, a non-profit organization, which holds monthly meetings.

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Six new possible developments for parcel 42. (Courtesy of developers)

From Rachel Nania. Check out her blog, Sear, Simmer & Stir. Follow Nania on Twitter @rnania, email her at rachel[AT]borderstan.com. 

Proposed plans for a Parcel 42, a plot of land in Shaw at 7th Street NW and Rhode Island Avenue NW and a rectangular lot at 7th and R Street, were revealed Wednesday night at a DC Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED) meeting.

Six bidders met the qualifications of the previously solicited Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI). Urban Turf lists the details of the six proposed projects.

The proposed projects for Parcel 42 include:

• 105-unit residential building with retail
• 102-room hotel, 22 affordable units and 74-space underground parking
• 50-unit apartment building with community garden and 60 underground parking spaces
• 100-unit residential project with retail, community garden and live-work spaces
• 81-unit or a 99-unit project with a Yes! Organic Market
• 96-unit residential project with two levels of retail, rooftop garden and a public courtyard

DMPED will select the winning development among the list in the next few months. Community members are also encouraged to give feedback; the local ANC will meet on Dec. 5 to assess the plans for the 17,000-square-foot plot of space.

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Jefferson at Market Place on 7th Street NW. (Luis Gomez Photos)

From Rachel Nania. Check out her blog, Sear, Simmer & Stir. Follow Nania on Twitter @rnania, email her at rachel[AT]borderstan.com. 

Development along 7th Street NW, just east of Logan Circle is bringing major changes to the area. And among new office spaces, the highly-anticipated O Street Market and other local restaurants and shops will be a new apartment building.

Mixed-use development, called Jefferson at Market Place, is planned for the corner of 7th and P Streets NW. The project will include 281 luxury apartments, 230 below-grade parking spaces and 13,400 square feet of retail space. Construction began in August, 2012 and is planned to be compete in March, 2014.

Jefferson at Market Place will feature modern amenities, including a boutique-style lobby with a 24-hour concierge, a state-of-the-art fitness center, resident business center, a community lounge with bar and gaming areas, a landscaped roof deck and a large pool deck on the 8th floor roof.

Jefferson at Market Place is located less than three blocks north of the Washington Convention Center Metro Station and two blocks south of the Shaw-Howard Metro Station. The project will be located adjacent to the future City Market at O.

For more information on the development, stay tuned to Borderstan.com.

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The 9th Street Corridor NW is getting more condos and retail. (Luis Gomez Photos)

From Rachel Nania. Check out her blog, Sear, Simmer & Stir. Follow Nania on Twitter @rnania, email her at rachel[AT]borderstan.com.

The Shaw neighborhood will take on another development project beginning early next year, this time along the 9th Street NW area. CAS Riegler, Douglas Development and CityInterests are partnering up to build a 64,500 square foot mixed-use building at 1250 9th Street NW.

The project will contain a total of 70 residential units and approximately 8,200 square feet of ground floor retail one block away from the Mount Vernon/7th Street Convention Center Metro station. Additionally, the ground level retail will be able to accommodate two full-service restaurants.

Rendering of 1250 9th Street. (Courtesy CAS Riegler)

According to an article published on DC Mud, the development site includes a lot at the corner of 9th and N Streets (the current location for Old City Green) and a Blagden Alley building which used to be Fight Club DC. The corner lot is owned by Douglas Development, while CAS Riegler and CityInterests own the property around it.

The site is also partially occupied by a three-story building constructed in the 1920’s. According to CAS’s website, since the structure is considered to be a contributing historic building, it will be incorporated into the design of the new development.

Just one block north, is the site of the future CityMarket at 7th and O, which will include residential spaces and a flagship Giant grocery store.

Construction on 9th and N is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2013, with a projected project delivery in the second quarter of 2014.

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Plant some flowers this weekend with City Blossoms. (Luis Gomez Photos)

From Rachel Nania. Check out her blog, Sear, Simmer & Stir. Follow Nania on Twitter @rnania, email her at rachel[AT]borderstan.com. 

On Saturday, October 27, City Blossoms — a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating green spaces — will plant more than 1,000 tulip, daffodil, crocus, allium, and garlic bulbs in the Marion Street Intergenerational Garden and around the Shaw neighborhood. And all are welcome to join in on the flower-filled activity.

D.J. MESS will be on-hand to provide entertainment and pot-luck treats will be available for bulb planters. Have extra bulbs? BULB BASH is accepting donations.

The BULB BASH will take place from 11 am until 1 pm. The Marion Street Intergenerational Garden is at 1519 Marion Street NW. For more information contact lola[AT]cityblossoms.org or 202-870-8158.

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From Rachel Nania. Check out her blog, Sear, Simmer & Stir. Follow Nania on Twitter @rnania, email her at rachel[AT]borderstan.com. 

OLD CITY green extends its lease to offer fall produce and festivities. (Borderstan)

OLD CITY green, an urban garden center in the heart of Shaw, extended its 9th and N Streets NW lease through the end of the year, meaning the co-op garden retailer will be selling fall vegetables, pumpkins, perennials and even Christmas trees.

OLD CITY green also offers a variety of events, classes and tips for seasonal gardening. For more information, visit the website or the Facebook page.

OLD CITY green is located at 902 N Street NW and is open Tuesday through Friday from 10 am until 5 pm, and on Saturday and Sunday from 9 am until 3 pm.

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