Progress on Dupont Underground; a Possible Urban Winery
Could there be a winery below DC’s Dupont Circle? (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 possibility of having a 75,000 square foot space for art and other cultural exhibits is close to becoming a reality.
The Dupont Underground is a vision/project spearheaded by a group called the Arts Coalition for the Dupont Underground. Since the group originally submitted a proposal in response to an RFP from the D.C. Deputy Mayor for Planning & Economic Development in 2010, it’s worked with the city and with area residents to push the proposal to the next steps.
A recent article in Urban Turf detailed that the Dupont Underground might even include an urban winery.
The article says that ACDU founder and chairman Julian Hunt spoke at the District Architecture Center about the potential winery and other creative venues that could be a part of the space.
Plans Not Final
However, board member Braulio Agnese explains to Borderstan that programming plans for the space are still taking shape.
“The notion of an ‘urban winery’ seems to have sparked quite a bit of interest in the DC blogosphere and beyond,” Agnese says. “However, I suspect this is a result of the city’s red-hot restaurant/bar scene more than an interest in the Dupont Underground, itself.”
Angese says if the project does consider something as unique as an underground winery, the endeavor must line-up with the overall idea of the Dupont Underground.
“Although we do consider the idea of such a commercial venture as one that might be a good fit for the peculiarities of the space and also in line with our overall long-term goals, and although we have, over time, talked with businesses and people intrigued by the possibility, no such venture is currently being planned. Which is not to say that it couldn’t happen, just that there’s nothing imminent, and we continue to explore many options.”
As for a date on when the project will get started, Angese says he can’t say anything yet, but the group is “very close” to getting the ball rolling.
“The Dupont Underground is working with the city and other entities on several fronts, and while progress has been excellent, unfortunately there’s nothing official I can share right now,” he says. “However, we hope to have good news to announce sometime later this year.”
Get an RSS Feed for all Borderstan stories or subscribe to Borderstan’s daily email newsletter.
