 Yards Park Grand Opening Weekend Celebration
There's only a few weeks until the Grand Opening of the Yards Park on Sept 10th-12th! The weekend festivities include a variety of live bands on the Boardwalk Stage, Trapeze School demonstrations, face painters, balloon hat and henna tattoo artists, free Vida fitness classes, ArtWhino art showcase, children's arts & crafts, silk screening, food trucks and vendors, beer gardens, fireworks and much more! Events begin Friday, Sept. 10th at 3:30 pm with live jazz bands and the opening of ArtWhino's Beautiful Minds exhibit in the lumbershed. Friday night bands include Ursula 1000, Second City and Federico, all under the Eighteenth Street Lounge label. Festivities continue on Saturday with Vida fitness classes, children's activities and more live performances on the Boardwalk Stage. The schedule is posted on our website here. See the final flyer here. If interested in volunteering or sponsorship opportunities, please email info@capitolriverfront.org.
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 Canal Park Groundbreaking
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Construction to Restart on Foundry Lofts
The DC Housing Finance Agency in partnership with the Federal HUD department have closed on bond financing with Forest City Washington that will enable the $59 million Foundry Loft development to restart construction. The building, when completed, will have 170 residential units, 34 of which are reserved for tenants earning less than 50% of the median income in the area. The historic Navy Yard building will have 10,000 SF of ground-floor retail, will be adjacent to the Yards Park opening this September, and is part of Forest City's 42-acre development known as The Yards. Construction to complete the project will take 12-14 months. Read the article here. |
 Tell Us What You Think!
2010 Events Survey
What night works best for you for evening concerts? What new events would you like to see in the neighborhood? How do you usually find out about what's going on in the Front? Share your opinions on our short events survey here as we plan for 2011! Take the survey HERE. |
 Barracks Row Fall FestivalBarracks Row Fall Festival (formerly Oktoberfest) will be held on Saturday, September 25th from 11 am - 5 pm on 8th St, SE. A Military Chefs Cook Off will kick off the day, pitting teams of armed forces chefs against each other for the title of Top Chef. The Home of the Commandants and the Marine Barracks will be open for tours all day. Clowns, magicians, face painters, and contests for kids will line the midway, as well as booths selling wares from around the world. Stay tuned for more information. |
 Faces of the Front
The Capitol Riverfront BID is highlighting people who live and/or work in the neighborhood as part of "Faces of the Front." Each newsletter will feature a different person and their story. All the profiles can be found on our website here. If you would like to be considered or would like to nominate someone else as a future Face of the Front, let us know here.
 Ericka Chapman
Employee, Lockheed Martin
Working for Lockheed Martin at 300 M Street for nine years, Ericka Chapman has seen firsthand the tremendous changes take place in the neighborhood. From what used to be a "dreary and unsafe" area, the Capitol Riverfront is now a place to enjoy lunch outdoors and bring families to for outdoor movies and ballgames.
"I first noticed the big changes about five years ago when new office buildings and residential towers were being built," she says, adding that changes seemed to start taking place overnight.
Although she once wouldn't leave her office for lunch, Chapman now enjoys walking to the several lunch options nearby, taking the shuttle to Barracks Row or enjoying a picnic at Tingey Plaza listening to the summertime concerts. Being able to sit outside and eat lunch helps "relieve the office stress" and offers a chance to meet other people who work and live in the neighborhood.
"This area is turning into the place to be," Chapman says, seeing how the colorful townhomes, upscale apartments/condos, and local events would attract people to live down here. Although she lives in another neighborhood in DC, she frequently brings her 3 boys to the Front to participate in movie nights, baseball games and other events. She's seen more families move into the area in the past few years and considers the area very "family friendly and easy to get to and from."
Chapman knows this is only the beginning of the transformation of the neighborhood and looks forward to retail locations opening in the area.
"The change to this area has been phenomenal and I am happy to say that this is my work location," Chapman says.
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