The X2

Going, going, gone. Metro's current HQ building. The Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority is moving. The iconic(?) Jackson Graham Building in Judiciary Square has been the Metro HQ since 1974. However, the agency has been looking to move into a space that better fits its future: the consolidation of office spaces. They decided to sell the Judiciary Square building, a process that should begin early next year. The new HQ will be in a currently empty, c.1965 office building at 300 7th St SW in L'Enfant Plaza. This is across the street from a Metro rail entrance, near several Metro bus lines, and across the train tracks from a VRE station. The building was previously the longtime home of the USDA. It will eventually become the work home for 1,300 WMATA employees & contractors when renovations are completed, likely sometime in late 2020 or early 2021. Renderings of 300 7th St SW post-renovation. Source: WMATA. The Jackson Graham Building is in a **prime** s...

Conrad from the southwest corner of 10th and I (Eye) Sts NW. City Center is mostly known for its retail components; a collection of stores selling everything from $2 cups of coffee to $140,000 electric cars. Apartments, condos, and thousands of square feet of office space fill out the rest of the spaces. One thing missing though is a hotel. Not that the area is lacking; the Grand Hyatt, Marriott Renaissance, and Marriott Metro Center are less than a block's walk. But soon the development will have its own. The Conrad will be a 360 room hotel run by Hilton and located at the corner of New York Ave and 10th St NW.. The name is inspired by Conrad Hilton, founder of the franchise. Conrad is one of the top Hilton Brands, behind only Waldorf Astoria. And it will join several other Hilton brands already in DC including Canopy, Garden Inn, DoubleTree, Hampton Inn, and Homewood Suites. The new hotel will be the 38th Conrad worldwide. Bryan Voltaggio (Range, Lunch Box, Volt) ...

A Paris-based boulangerie is planned for the old Blackboard building in Penn Quarter.  Maison Kayser looks to open a shop inside of 640 Massachusetts Ave NW, specifically on the high traffic corner spot fronting both 7th Street and Mass Ave. Maison Kayser opened in Paris in the late 90s and has 100+ locations worldwide including 12 in New York City, the only U.S. outposts. They have proper breakfast  (PDF), brunch, lunch, and dinner menus. And of course they offer plenty of breads, pastries, and baked goods. Not much in the vegan friendly category, at first glance. 640 Massachusetts Ave undergone a major overhaul over the past few years. The new main tenant is now Georgetown's School of Continuing Studies. The circa 1990 building had a major renovation in 2013 and is quite large at 419,000 square feet, including 25,000 sq feet or retail. Maison Kayser should add even more activity to this corner, which is in the line of sight of the Convention Center and adjacent ...

Kiehl's , a skin care and cosmetics store, has opened inside of Union Station. Kiehl's is adjacent to similar stores MAC and Blue Mercury; on the first floor near H & M. This will be the second stand-alone DC location joining a Kiehl's at 3110 M St NW in Georgetown. Other area stores exist in Bethseda and Tysons. The company began as an apothecary and pharmacy in late 1800s New York. Once slated for a Modell's Sporting Goods Store , it appears that 715 7th St NW in Penn Quarter will soon be home to a "Studio Xfinity." Xfinity is the brand name for a line of telecommunications products offered by Comcast. Comcast owns NBC, Telemundo, multiple cable channels, and by revenue, is the largest media corporation in the world. Their 2015 revenues were $74,510,000,000. Whoa. Anyway, Xfinity is a brand under which they deliver cable television, internet, and telephone services. The Studio appears to be a retail center in which customers can interact w...

Although they decry "fast casual," that's exactly how I would describe this place. Another Philadelphia grown, fast casual restaurant is coming to Penn Quarter/Chinatown. Honeygrow is a small chain of restaurants that has a menu focused on stir-fry, salads, and smoothies. Check out the menu here . There aren't many stand-alone vegan dishes, but it looks like you could make you own version of each dish with some variety, which is cool. Honeygrow will be located at 716 7th St NW, just doors down from another recent Phila transplant, HipCity Veg. 716 7th was previously occupied by Comfort One Shoes. The PQ Honeygrow will likely open before the end of 2016. It appears that they are looking to expand and grow a footprint rather quickly, mostly in the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic. This recent news article mentions the ubiquitous "next Chipotle" vision of some investors, but I say they should be careful about growing too big, too fast. On that note, the op...

Mary Eliza Church Terrell's lifespan bridged several important chapters in American history; the Civil War (born in 1863), Reconstruction, Women's Suffrage, double World Wars, the Great Depression, and the modern Civil Rights era (died in 1954). Terrell was a teacher and principal in DC (at a school that eventually become Dunbar), served on the school board here, founded the National Association of Colored Women, helped found the NAACP, fought segregation as a member of the AAUW , and became one of the most important voices and strategists for the women's suffrage movement, especially for black women.  Part of Terrell's work in DC was her push to desegregate a Hecht's store lunch counter at 7th and F NW (and Murphy's, and actually all retail stores). Her work eventually paid off. Hecht's changed their discriminatory practices and the District later outlawed the racial segregation of public spaces. In the broader scheme, the U.S. Supreme court issued t...

If there was a flagship HipCity sandwich, it would be the Crispy Chick'n Ranch Phila-based HipCity Veg opens in Penn Quarter/Chinatown today. The all-vegan, fast casual restaurant is located at 712 7th St NW between G and H Streets. HipCity comes just months after the demise of another all-vegan, fast casual style restaurant, Native Foods Cafe. They are alike on the surface, but not really. Native Foods may be becoming a cautionary tale of expanding too fast, and too vast. HipCity has just three stores, with two in Philadelphia and, now, one in DC. Their approach appears to be a bit more focused and measured. 712 7th Street NW was most recently a FroZenYo shop. The menu is simple and that's a plus. The dishes are distinctive enough to provide variety, but the limited nature --just nine "main" dishes, mostly sandwiches-- means the focus can be on execution, consistency, and moving customers through the line during the busy Penn Quarter lunch block. That...

Location of the NLEO Museum in Judiciary Square A new museum is coming to downtown DC, and it's going underground. The National Law Enforcement Officers Museum will be located adjacent to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Judiciary Square (400 block of E St NW). The Memorial opened in 1991 atop a park that also serves as the northern entrance of the Judiciary Sq Metro station. The creation of the Museum portion was authorized by Congress and President Clinton in 2000. The new museum will be located across the street from the memorial, directly in front of the DC Court of Appeals building; the side with the snazzy glass-enclosed security checkpoint. Planned glass entrance pavilions on each side of the museum appear to compliment the DC Court of Appeals building, but also seem to be set off to the east and west sides, as to not block the view from E St NW. Organizers secured financing this January and construction has begun. The initial excavation will l...

The Pod Hotel project has finally risen above ground level in Chinatown. The New York based hotel operator is bringing its signature tiny rooms to the Chinatown section of Penn Quarter at 627 H St NW. The hotel will eventually be 11 floors tall, with 245 keys. The rooms will be about 150 square feet, which doesn't seem that small to me? But, you can decide:  Have a look at a singles pod at the Pod Hotel on 39th in Manhattan. The DC hotel is scheduled to open before the end of 2016.