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The BID’s Safety/Hospitality and Maintenance employees (SAMs) will be responsible for maintaining the bins and serving as on-the-street liaisons who educate people about public recycling and the Dream Machine program. For all the bottles and cans recycled in a Dream Machine bin or kiosk in DC and across the country, PepsiCo will make a contribution to the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV), a national program offering free training in entrepreneurship and small business management to post-9/11 veterans with disabilities.

“This effort gives people a chance to recycle their lives,” said Bradley, who added the BID has diverted 40 tons of recyclable materials annually from the original 25 cans placed in Downtown.

A map of the recycling bin locations and the installation schedule are available at www.downtowndc.org/cans.

Maximizing Priorities
The DowntownDC BID will release a condensed 2010 Annual Report this month that is more reader-friendly and reflects recent operational changes within the organization’s program areas.  Overall, the report shows that the year underscored the promise still ahead as Downtown DC regained ground stifled by the most recent global financial and economic downturn and the BID continued to establish vital collaborations with public and private sector partners to provide premier services to the business community.

“This period of renewal and consolidation was not lost on the DowntownDC BID,” said Richard H. Bradley, executive director of the DowntownDC BID. “We took time to restructure our operations to maximize priorities and focus in greater detail on improving Downtown’s physical environment with an eye toward placemaking and the quality of experience in public places and spaces.”

The Annual Report will be available online later this month at www.downtowndc.org/annual.

Got Something to Say?
The DowntownDC BID is blogging! The first entry, an introductory message and welcome to visitors, was displayed on February 21. Another on the DC Circulator followed. The blog provides a convenient and quick way to keep the Downtown community informed and engaged in issues of relevance to the organization and the DowntownDC BID area. But because we often take a larger citywide view and strategic approach to ensuring that DC is seen as the premier regional destination, we also will take a look at regional competition, economic development, Metro’s importance to maintaining Downtown’s vitality, sustainable programs and infrastructure and transportation demands. To facilitate discussions, we welcome feedback and comments to our postings at www.downtowndcbid.com. Our new blog follows the opening in January of our new Twitter account at www.twitter.com/DowntownDCBID. Check us out!

Pink Invasion
Ah, with spring in the air, you know the National Cherry Blossom Festival can’t be far away. The nation’s greatest springtime event kicks off on Saturday, March 26, and ends on Sunday, April 10.  More than a million visitors turn out annually for the celebration, which continues to demonstrate global appeal and draw large community support. This year’s event will once again feature citywide activities filled with cultural shows, performances, art exhibits, fireworks, international cuisine and, of course, the National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade, taking place on Saturday, April 9, along Constitution Avenue between 7th and 17th Streets. Child actor Atticus Shaffer will be this year’s grand marshal, and Sheryl Lee Ralph, an original cast member of the 1982 Tony Award-winning musical Dreamgirls, will perform.

Of particular note: the Petal Fest & Performance Stage located on Woodrow Wilson Plaza at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center (1300 Pennsylvania Avenue). The stage and entertainment area will be open on Friday, April 8, and on Saturday, April 9.  “DC Day” will be featured on April 8 and will showcase such local stars as Chuck Brown, revered as the Godfather of Go-Go. In addition, the Blossom Kite Festival, produced by the Festival for the first time and presented by Eastern National’s The Passport to Your National Parks Program, will take place on Sunday, March 27, from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, on the grounds of the Washington Monument.

The festivities really get underway at the fifth annual Pink Tie Party dinner and fundraiser on Wednesday, March 23, at the Mayflower Renaissance Washington, DC. Celebrity chef and restaurateur Richard Sandoval, who owns Downtown’s Zengo restaurant (781 7th Street), is hosting the gala, featuring a sneak preview of Washington’s top chefs and their cherry-inspired dishes and cocktails. Tickets are $150 per person. Proceeds from this event will help underwrite Festival programs. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.nationalcherryblossomfestival.org.

The National Cherry Blossom Festival contracts with the DowntownDC BID for management, staffing and administrative services. Safeway will present this year’s Festival, which has more than 60 participating sponsors and supporters, including Daiichi Sankyo, OpenSkies Airlines, State Farm, and media sponsors The Washington Examiner, ABC 7 and NewsChannel8.

In the Loop
Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers recently schooled Downtown’s Safety/Hospitality and Maintenance employees (SAMs) on DC’s Disorderly Conduct Amendment Act of 2010, which went into effect on February 1. The SAMs were joined by their counterparts from the Golden Triangle, Georgetown and NoMa BIDs at BID headquarters, where Commander Charnette Robinson of the School Safety Division’s Patrol Service and School Safety Bureau, Sergeant Sonja Flipping and Officer Sabir Saleem conducted two separate information sessions for 70 participants.

The change to DC law expands the specificity of banned conduct related to “the preservation of the public peace and the protection of property,” and imposes hefty fines (up to $1,000 for each and every offense), imprisonment or both on convicted violators. As the ears, eyes and caretakers of Downtown, SAMs are in part roving concierges and goodwill ambassadors who create a safe and welcoming environment seven days a week, 362 days a year. They’re instrumental to reducing and eliminating crime and disorder and alerting the police should trouble arise.

The information sessions were sponsored by the DC BID Council and organized by its executive director Anne-Marie Bairstow. The Council consists of the city’s seven BIDs and its only community improvement district (CID)—the DowntownDC BID, Adams Morgan, Capitol Hill, Capitol Riverfront, Georgetown, Golden Triangle, NoMa and the Mount Vernon Triangle CID.

Gracious Acknowledgment
The February SAM of the Month meeting convened at the Warner Theatre (513 13th St), a venue to live stage entertainment, including plays, musicals, dance and music performances. Angie M. Gates, the Warner’s general manager, hosted the ceremony along with marketing director Rob Muller. She described how the theater began as a movie palace in the 1920s and has gone on to showcase such top performers as Jay Z and Beyonce and host the BET Honors.
 

	José Marquez receives a SAM of the Month Award from Warner Theatre General Manager Angie M. Gates.

Gates, who presented the SAM of the Month awards, noted that as a Louisiana native, she has depended heavily on the SAMs to help her navigate Downtown streets. Their presence has meant the difference between getting lost and heading to a destination with confidence and ease.

The SAM of the Month meetings recognize individual SAMs for their stellar performance and informs all SAMs of new developments in the DowntownDC BID area by enhancing their understanding of Downtown institutions, which enables them to better assist visitors, workers and residents.

During the meeting, Safety/Hospitality Team Member Jose Marquez and Maintenance Team Member Lorine Simon were recognized as the January SAMs of the Month.

Jose Marquez has been a member of the Safety/Hospitality team since February 2005. When asked what he enjoys most about being a SAM, Jose doesn’t hesitate to say, “I like to make people smile and make their day easier.”

In February, Lorine Simon added another SAM of the Month Award to her collection.

A sports enthusiast who adores the Redskins and likes baseball, he can be counted on to perform tasks responsibly and admirably. Jose’s excellent attendance, pride in his appearance and voluntary role as a Spanish translator, sets him apart from others. His supervisor says the native Washingtonian continuously seeks to improve his performance and relishes interacting with Downtown patrons.

Lorine Simon joined the Maintenance team in 2002. As a hardworking member of the 7:30 am team, she has been recognized as a SAM of the Month before. Lorine is very family oriented and much of her life is centered around her three honor roll daughters—aged 13, 17 and 19. When she’s not working to keep Downtown streets clean and litter free, Lorine enjoys reading novels and watching movies and basketball in her spare time. Says she: “I’m just a family person.” We could tell. Lorine certainly makes Downtown workers and visitors feel at home.

As SAMs of the Month, both Jose and Lorine received free tickets from Gates to attend upcoming Warner Theatre performances. Jose will attend the March 11 Sinbad concert; Lorine will attend David Talbert’s new play, What My Husband Doesn’t Know, running through March 6. Talk about motivating factors! 

Change on Pennsylvania Avenue?
All eyes are on the Old Post Office Pavilion (1100 Pennsylvania Avenue), the 112-year-old historic landmark that soon could see a new use in the days ahead. The General Services Administration (GSA) is seeking a private partner to restore the 400,000 square foot (SF) property and the adjacent vacant pavilion. GSA plans to issue a request for information soon. Several possible uses have been discussed over the past few years, including turning the seven-story building into a hotel. The building currently houses the National Endowment for the Arts , the National Park Service (NPS), the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and several hundred office workers. In addition, there is 15,000 SF to 20,000 SF of food outlets and tourist retail. The NPS runs the observation facility that provides programming for, and access to, the bell tower, a great place to take in excellent views of Downtown Washington, DC, and the National Mall.

A more active use than an office building could help reinvigorate Pennsylvania Avenue, much as the Newseum (555 Pennsylvania Avenue), Central Michel Richard restaurant (1001 Pennsylvania Avenue) and Café du Parc (1401 Pennsylvania Avenue) have. Several members of Congress, including DC Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton—a longtime champion of the project’s redevelopment—are anxious to push the project forward. And with good reason: it is reported that the property loses more than $5 million annually due to underutilized space, low retail rents and high operating costs.

A New Game Plan
The DC Zoning Commission has requested that the proposed $425 million mixed-use development project over I-395 undergo design changes that meet the Commission’s concerns. New York-based Dreyfus Property Group plans to build 2.2 million SF of office, residential and retail space over three blocks, stretching from Massachusetts Avenue to E Street and from 2nd Street to 3rd Street. The Commission is primarily concerned about the development’s Massachusetts Avenue side, where pedestrians would enter retail outlets.  Dreyfus will appear before the Commission again on April 11, when it will present a revised plan. If successful, the project will cover an unsightly area in Downtown and also create approximately 200 housing units, 30 to 40 of which will be affordable housing units.

1331 H St

Recovery in High Gear
CoStar Group sold its headquarters building at 1331 L Street to GLL Real Estate Partners of Germany for $101 million—a whopping $60 million profit. No small change by any measure, considering that the real estate data firm announced it was putting the property back on the market less than a year after purchasing it from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) for $41.25 million. The deal is the most profitable “flip” of DC commercial property since the economic downturn. Andrew Florance, CoStar’s chief executive, was quoted in the Washington Post as saying, “I think that having 1,000 researchers and technicians probably helped a little bit in timing the market.” It is important to note that CoStar bought an almost empty building, and it sold a building with a high quality tenant (itself) committed to a long-term lease.

Meanwhile, Tecumseh Properties sold 1331 H Street to Rothenium LLC for $23 million, or $310 per SF. Café Mozart, the New Republic, the Legal Aid Society and the National Association for Gifted Children all reside in the 74,290 SF building, which is 85% leased. Tecumseh purchased the 47-year-old property for $21 million in 2006.

Advance Notice
DC’s vacant property registration and tax system has undergone three major changes in the past three years. To eliminate errors before first half 2011 tax bills are mailed, the Office of Tax and Revenue (OTR) notified some DC property owners that their property might be subject to vacant property (Class 3) and blighted vacant property (Class 4) tax rates. Property owners falling into these two categories should note that Class 3 is now taxed at $5 per $100 of assessed value and Class 4 is taxed at $10 per $100 assessed value. Some exceptions apply that might allow a vacant property to receive the lower Class 1 (85-cents per $100) or Class 2 ($1.65 per $100 up to $3 million and $1.85 per $100 on the balance) tax rates. Think you qualify for an exception, or believe your vacant or blighted classification is in error? Contact the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) at vacantproperty@dc.gov or 202.442.4332.

Wood, Heat, Fire … Let’s Eat!
Get ready to chow down at Hill Country, the Texas-style barbecue restaurant opening at 410 7th Street this month. If you savor dry-rub BBQ smoked slow and low over Texas post oak, don’t mind counter-style service, and fancy live music featuring rock, country or blues bands, then this is the place for you, and maybe yours. With décor inspired by the classic meat-markets-turned-barbecue-joints of Central Texas and seats for 250 folks, the restaurant copies the look, feel and flavor of its New York City counterpart. In addition to BBQ, the menu will include pit-smoked brisket, beer can game hen, Kreuz market sausage and, of course, baked beans and Longhorn Cheddar mac and cheese. For more information, visit www.hillcountryny.com.

A Belly Full of Choices
Potbelly is expanding its sandwich shops in Downtown. In late spring, expect to see new locations at 1015 15th Street, the former site of Sizzling Express, and 1050 K Street. The restaurant chain has five locations in the BID. For more information, visit www.potbelly.com.

Dough-licious?
A new pizza concept’s coming our way. Fuel Pizza will open in more than 2,000 SF of space at 600 F Street this summer. Based out of Charlotte, North Carolina, Fuel Pizza serves New York-style pizza—wide, thin and foldable. Go figure! It will join other new pizza restaurants—Z Pizza (806 H Street), Pizza Bistro Med (736 6th Street), Pizza Autentica (1331 L Street) and, opening this spring, District of Pi (914 F Street). Information about Fuel Pizza is available at www.fuelpizza.com.

Use Your Noodle
Farewell to Mazu, the Pan-Asian restaurant, and its next door neighbor, Sushi AOI. Formerly located at 1100 New York Avenue and managed by the same owner, both were replaced with Noodles on 11, a Vietnamese, Thai and Chinese noodle palace. Among some of its many dishes: pork broth with sweet roast pork or lemon grass broth over a choice of egg, rice or cellophane noodles. Good news for penny pinchers—customers paying cash receive a 5% discount. For more information, visit www.noodleson11.com.

Change in the Air
Occidental Grill & Seafood (1475 Pennsylvania Avenue) launched two Washington favorites last month, Sunday brunch and Sunday night dinner. Brunch runs from 11:00 am to 2:30 pm and dinner is served from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm. The restaurant previously served brunch only during holidays. The three-course prix-fixe menu offers multiple choices per course—including steamed Blue Bay mussels, Belgian style waffles, jumbo lump crab meat and asparagus frittata, jumbo gulf coast shrimp and grits and a chocolate caramel pyramid, an all-time guest favorite. More change is coming. Occidental plans to offer a tasting menu in a new 20-seat wine room, replete with leather walls, dark mahogany and its award-winning wine list in mid- to late March. For more information, visit www.occidentaldc.com.

Toasting the Best
Scouting for a hip bar to hang your hat and let loose? Well, 11 Downtown bars have made Washingtonian magazine’s 75 Great Bars list, which highlights “cool cocktail dens, cozy date spots, old classics, late-night dance parties, and gritty dives.”

Branching Out
Austin Grill (750 E Street) is taking to the streets. This month, the Tex-Mex restaurant joins the throng of food trucks selling everything from lobster rolls to cupcakes that have streamed into Downtown in recent years. Sabor’a Street is another newbie. It serves up Latin-inspired dishes such as arepas and fritas and accepts Visa and Mastercard. And, for all the foodies out there, Chef Jorge Pimentel, formerly of Masa 14, Mark & Orlando’s and CommonWealth Gastropub fame, is behind the tasty morsels.

Street Art Rendezvous
They’re back! Those whimsical and colorful sculptures that adorned the New York Avenue median from 12th to 13th Streets last year will make an encore appearance on March 26, barring any inclement weather. The National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) will reinstall the Niki de Saint Phalle artwork which first bedazzled Downtown workers, visitors and residents when the sculptures were mounted along one of Downtown’s major boulevards. The larger than life figurines are part of the New York Avenue Sculpture Project, a private-public partnership between the NMWA, the DowntownDC BID and the DC Office of Planning. They were removed for safekeeping last November, before the winter weather set in. For more information about the Sculpture Project, visit www.nmwa.org/sculptureproject.


Theatrical Exploration
The sixth annual Capital Fringe Festival doesn’t begin until July 7, but notices to all 140 groups asked to participate this year have been sent, and tickets to the independent performing arts festival go on sale June 20. Now that you’ve marked your calendar, take note of the Festival’s annual new play series, Wattage, which begins next month. The DowntownDC BID is a huge sponsor of Capital Fringe, which will co-host Wattage: Illuminating Tradition and Survival, along with the National Museum of the American Indian. The show lineup will explore issues of culture, tradition, environment and identity and take place at The Shop at Fort Fringe (607 New York Avenue) and at the Museum. Tickets go on sale March 8. For more information, visit www.capitalfringe.org.



How Do You Like Me Now?
The 505 9th Street art gallery adopted a new name, The Heurich Gallery, in honor of the original site landowners. The three-year-old gallery exhibits the work of local artists who live and work in the DC region and showcases their photography, paintings and sculptures in 1,024 SF of space. Last month, Landscapes in Transition II, artworks by Eve Stockton, was the first exhibit to open under the Heurich name. Gallery exhibits continue to open quarterly with a lively discussion led by the featured artist. For more information, visit www.efronart.com, or call 202.223.1626.

High-Tech Connection
Your live entertainment experience at the Verizon Center (601 F Street) just got better. A new mobile app, dubbed the Verizon Center Mobile, for Android, iPhone and iPod Touch provides detailed, searchable maps and locations of all concession food items and drinks, guest services, bathrooms, ATM machines, stairs, elevators, entrances and exits. Also cool: features that include a schedule of all upcoming games, concerts and events and a customer feedback section for fans. Eventually, a QR Code Reader will provide exclusive digital media content via QR Codes placed throughout the arena. A QR Code is a barcode readabe by dedicated QR barcode readers and camera phones. Stay tuned. A Blackberry version of the mobile app is being developed. For more information, visit www.verizoncenter.com.

Shoppers’ Delight
People looking to save money and the environment have more options today than ever before. No shortage of websites that track eco-friendly products, particularly deal-of-the-day sites, exists. Go Green Deals (www.gogreendeals.com) offers daily and deeply discounted products, including clothing, toys and furniture. Green Deals (www.greendeals.org), launched by Green America, the national non-profit consumer group, features daily deals—you can’t beat a 50% off, five-day Belize vacation to a notable hotspot—as well as tips on everyday green living, coupons and other offers. Ecobunga (www.ecobunga.com) is a guide to daily green deals and giveaways and Treehugger (www.treehugger.com) bills itself as a one-stop shop for green news, solutions and product information and also offers daily coupons and discounts. Who said going green was too expensive?

Come Along for the Ride
Interested in making your organization or building more bike-friendly? goDCgo, an initiative of the District Department of Transportation (DDOT), is hosting a free bicycle seminar at the DowntownDC BID office in late March. Learn about Capital Bikeshare corporate memberships and the BikeBrand Your Biz program. Get information on how to gain national recognition for your organization through the League of American Bicyclists' Bicycle Friendly Business program.  And find out how to take advantage of DDOT’s free bicycle rack installation service, pick up DC bike maps and other transit resources from goDCgo and get some positive PR for your company by having its name appear on the Capital Bikeshare website. Capital Bikeshare is DC and Arlington County’s new regional bikesharing program. To register for the seminar, email Tarryn Lee at Tarryn.Lee@goDCgo.com, or call 202.299.2186.

Telecommuting Pacesetters
Know of an organization with a winning telework program, or a government executive who really drives the telework agenda? If so, the Telework Exchange wants to hear from you. The public-private partnership is seeking nominations for its Sixth Annual Tele-Vision Awards, which recognize excellence in government telework programs in six categories, including Best New Telework Initiative and Innovative Application of Technology to Support Telework. Only government programs, higher education institutions and employees qualify for nomination. More information and nomination forms can be found at www.teleworkexchange.com/2011awards.

Clean Bill of Health
DC’s finances are as clean as a whistle. That’s the verdict of a KPMG audit, which gives the city an unqualified “clean” audit opinion, confirming that DC’s budget is balanced for the 14th consecutive year. The audit, tax and advisory firm conducted DC’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) for Fiscal Year 2010. The CAFR shows $5.916 billion in local revenues and $5.858 billion in local fund expenditures, for a budgetary surplus of $58 million. What’s behind the good showing? DC’s Chief Financial Officer Natwar M. Gandhi says the Mayor and Council’s disciplined financial management practices helped it weather tough economic times.  The rating agencies, however, warn that the city’s financial position will weaken if it continues to use reserves to balance its budget.  DC continues to enjoy strong ratings on its general obligation bonds (AA- by Fitch Ratings; Aa2 by Moody’s Investors Service; and A+ by Standard and Poor’s Rating Service), and its income tax bonds (AA+ by Fitch Ratings; Aa1 by Moody’s Investors Service; and AAA by Standard & Poor's Rating Service).

Get With the Program
Taxicab drivers beware. DC is on the lookout for drivers who fail to give passengers metered receipts. Handing out blank receipts just won’t cut it because they’re illegal—and have been since meters were first installed in taxicabs in June 2008.  Failure to provide a metered receipt can lead to a $150 fine. A $1,000 fine can be levied against drivers who avoid using meters altogether.

Home Sweet Home
If you’re facing the risk of foreclosure, help is now here. The DC Housing Finance Agency (DCHFA) has received more than $20 million in foreclosure prevention assistance for unemployed DC residents struggling to pay their mortgages. The HomeSaver Program is part of the US Treasury's Hardest-Hit Initiative, which assists states with above average unemployment. The city hopes to help up to 1,000 homeowners. The HomeSaver Program pilot began in January in Wards 5, 7 and 8. The citywide launch date is April 12. For more information or to apply for assistance, visit www.HomeSaverDC.org or www.dchfa.org.

The Spic-and-Span Team
Can’t tolerate a filthy street or alley? Call the District Department of Public Works (DPW). The city is looking for citizen volunteers to conduct its quarterly Clean City Evaluations Ratings to ensure an objective assessment of cleanliness and safety levels on DC’s streets and alleys. Volunteers who travel the city’s eight wards get to ride in vehicles provided by the DPW. For more information or to volunteer, email marlene.pheney@dc.gov or keithd.jones@dc.gov, or call 202.724.8967.

Wednesday, March 9, 9:00 am - 1:00 pm
Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments
Community Energy Strategy Meeting
Arnold & Porter
555 12th Street NW

The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG) and the Chesapeake Crescent Initiative (CCI) invite you to attend a workshop on community-based approaches to energy. Topic discussions will be centered around CCI's recent report on linking, leveraging and aligning community efforts and approaches to energy. Space is limited and registration is required. For more information, or to register, email ccievents@thechesapeakecrescent.org. 

Friday, March 18, 2:00 pm - 5:30 pm
DC Chamber of Commerce
2011 Policy Forum and Legislative Reception
Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center
1300 Pennsylvania Avenue

Join the DC Chamber of Commerce for an engaging and provocative discussion on how to make DC a healthy place to do business, where both businesses and employees thrive.  Panelists include Suzanne Desmarais, 2011 President, Washington DC Association of Realtors; Chester Burrell, president and chief executive officer, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield; and Curtis Etherly, Jr., vice president, public affairs and communications, Mid-Atlantic Coca-Cola Bottling Company. Mayor Vincent Gray will moderate. The cost is $75 for members; $125 for non-members. For additional information, visit www.dcchamber.org.
 

Thursday, March 24, 7:30 am - 10:30 am
District of Columbia Building Industry Association
Repositioning Older Assets-Strategies That Add Value
National Press Club
529 14th Street

Join the District of Columbia Building Industry Association (DCBIA) for an insider's look into a variety of cost-effective tools for renovating from the design, legal and business perspective and other options that create value. Panelists Rod Garrett, managing director for the DC office of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill; Gregory Knoop, executive managing director for Somerset Partners; Kinley Bray, real estate practice associate for Arent Fox, LLP; Mitchell Roschelle, national practice leader for PricewaterhouseCoopers; and Sean McDermott, vice president, capital markets for Jones Lang LaSalle, will discuss the transformation of 1801 K Street from an underperforming office building to a property that now commands one of the highest rental rates in the city. Ellen McCarthy, director of planning and land use with Arent Fox will moderate. Registration is $60 for members; $75 non-members. For more information, visit www.dcbia.org.