The X2

Carver Langston has a new mural! The narrative features an abstract sort of geometric nature theme, switches to a sunglasses-decked woman representing Northeast DC, transitions to a male historical figure, then to a montage of pencils, an image of hands on a typewriter, then finally returning to the geometric nature theme to cap it all off. It's lovely, bold, colorful, and we deserve more murals like this in Carver Langston. But there's just one thing about this one... As you may know, on paper, Carver Langston is really two neighborhoods. Carver is the triangular shaped part of the neighborhood north of Maryland Ave NE, going up to the Arboretum. Langston is the part of the neighborhood south of Maryland, going down to Benning Road. Carver's namesake is a person most of us learned about in elementary school, George Washington Carver . Carver was one of America's top intellectuals and inventors of the early 20th century. Langston takes its name from the ...

Carver Langston now has a second Capital Bikeshare station. A new station opened yesterday at the corner of 17th Street and Maryland Avenue Northeast. This is the second station for Carver, with the first being a highly trafficked 14 dock station at Starburst Plaza. The new station has 19 docks and is closer to the residential center of the neighborhood. It's adjacent to Aldi Food Market and near Hechinger Mall (Safeway, Ross, Modell's, Payless, etc). Thank you Capital Bikeshare!

If you live in Atlas, Trinidad, or Carver Langston, you won't need to go far for holiday shopping. This amazing pop-up shop just opened at 417 H Street NE. This is a v cute space on the second floor above Sidamo Coffee.  The Pop-Up Collaborative  features about 20 women and minority owned brands. Products range from candles, to kid & adult clothes, shoes, body & skin care, jewelry, artwork, , handbags, and a whole bunch more. Please support this place! The pop-up is open Wednesday to Sunday, 12pm to 7pm, every week until December 24th.  In addition, one of the vendors (and the organizer of the pop-up) -- Shea Yeleen -- is hosting an ugly sweater party this Saturday at 7pm in the space. I've been waiting to debut a sweater (really a sweatshirt) I got last year, so.... yeah. It may make an appearance.  Support this pop-up! 

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...

Hempburger / 408 H St NE Hempburger has signage up at 408 H Street NE. The restaurant looks to be a derivative of Khepra's Raw Food Juice Bar which is currently just a few doors down at 402 H Street NE. About a year ago, we noted signage at this address indicating Khepra's was actually relocating (link) . So, it's not exactly clear if Khepra's is moving or if they are just opening the Hempburger location and keeping the current resto open. We'll see.  Here's the menu for Khepra's . They're all raw, all vegan, all the time. And yes, they serve a hempburger! Updates as they come. 1350-1352 H Street NE ABRA placards (111354) are up for 1350-1352 H Street NE. They're requesting a Class C Tavern licence under the trade name O2. The request is specifically for: "A tavern that will be open for private events for specific occasions such as weddings, art exhibits, banquets, and other events. The tavern is requesting an Entertainment En...

The first retail tenant for the Constellation on H condo building will be a liquor store. ABRA placards (111599) are up for a Class A liquor store that is listed under the trade name "Cheers DC!." Constellation on H is a triangular shaped, 28 unit condo building bordered by H Street NE, Florida Ave, and 14th Street. The address is 1402 H Street NE. It's not clear if the liquor store will comprise the entire retail space which, at 4,900 sq ft, takes up most of the first floor. The builders of Constellation took care to add concrete pads to the north side of the building and the retail pitch materials showed outdoor seating as an option, so you have to wonder if they were looking to score a restaurant or cafe. As long as they carry Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum, I'm good! Good luck Cheers DC.

Rendering courtesy of KGD Architecture . Delta Towers --located at the Starburst intersection of Florida Ave, H Street, Bladensburg Rd, and Benning Road, NE-- is gearing up for a major expansion. Fences are already up around the perimeter of the property, presaging a significant transformation and addition of residential units to the H Street corridor.  There are 179 new units slated for "Fortitude at Delta Towers" as part of a nearly $1 billion bond issue via DCHFA (PDF) All units in Fortitude will be for seniors and all units will be affordable as each will leased at a maximum of 30% AMI. From the DCHFA press release  (PDF): "The redevelopment of Delta Towers is $96 million project. Delta Towers is a 100 percent affordable senior community with all units leased at a maximum of 30 percent AMI. Thirty of the apartments will receive LRSP subsidy and 18 will be designated as permanent supportive housing with housing assistance payments via the DC Housing Autho...