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lumber shedProgress on Lumber Shed at The Yards Park
The salmon color tin siding on the historic Lumber Shed has been completely removed and repairs are being made to create an open air pavilion for the 5.5 acre Yards Park that opens this summer 2010.  The pavilion will be available for event rental beginning September 1, 2010.  In the second phase of Forest City's The Yards Project, the pavilion will become a glass-enclosed structure with retail shops and restaurants.  The riverfront park is part of the overall Yards development that will feature over 2,800 new residential units, 1.8 million square feet of office space, 400,000 square feet of retail space and the world-class riverfront park.
movie picLast Chance to Vote For Your Favorite Underdog Movies!
The Capitol Riverfront BID is excited to announce its 2010 outdoor movie theme - Ultimate Underdogs!  We need your help in selecting the top 10 underdog movies.  Please take our survey HERE.  The survey closes Monday, March 15th.  Current standings: 1. Finding Nemo  2. Forrest Gump  3. Cool Runnings. 

Enjoy the movies you voted for every Thursday night beginning June 3rd on the giant 35 foot screen at the future site of Canal Park, located at 2nd Street, SE and M Street, SE.

Last year, over 300 people attended the Best of the 80s outdoor movies each week at Tingey Plaza behind USDOT.  This year we've moved locations to Canal Park to be closer to the Metro and accommodate more people.  See photos from last year's movies on our flickr page.
Mental MappingMental Mapping Results
Last October, a group of neighborhood residents participated in a "Mental Mapping" night to aid in a study by Social Compact to identify resident shopping patterns, retail use and retail needs.  The data is used to help determine which retailers residents are most likely to visit, the location of these retailers, modes of transportation residents use, the frequency of trips to retailers and the amount of dollars residents spend on goods and services.  Data will serve existing businesses as well as future business development by providing a means to measure and characterize unmet demand in neighborhood services.  See the full report here.   
barracks rowMusical Instrument Petting Zoo
On Saturday, March 20th and Sunday, March 21st, Barracks Row Main Street will be transformed into a musical instrument petting zoo.  Musicians will be in front of various restaurants and retail shops along 8th Street, SE.  Parents and children are encouraged to meet both the instruments and musicians, ask questions about the instruments and hold, or "pet," the instruments themselves.  The Zoo opens at 1:00 and musicians will play until 4 or 5 pm.  More details will be announced in the coming week on the Barracks Row Main Street's facebook page here.
11thstbridge11th Street Bridge Update
Construction of the 11th Street Bridge is underway to replace the two existing bridges with three new bridges, and improve the related interchanges.  To date, 24 of 61 concrete piles have been driven into the Anacostia River for the three new bridges - two for freeway, one for local traffic.  Landside pile driving and excavation work continues along DC-295/I-295 to widen the highway and construct connecting ramps to the new bridges.  When completed in mid-2013, the project will improve mobility by providing a separate freeway and local traffic connections to both directions of DC-295, the Southeast-Southwest Freeway and local streets on both sides of the Anacostia River; provide a shared path for pedestrians and bicycles, as well as rails to allow future streetcar connections; and include new riverfront trail connections, improved drainage and environmental investments.
ss2Spring Street Smart Campaign
Spring Street Smart Safety month begins on March 14th and runs through April 14th.  The annual public safety campaign emphasizes the education of motorists, cyclists and pedestrians on safe street behavior such as car and bike road sharing, bus safety, and law enforcement.  With the weather getting warmer and more people out walking and biking, the campaign hopes to decrease accidents by promoting safe practices.  Learn more on the Street Smart website here or view the brochure with safety tips here.      
Faces of the FrontFaces 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.

Bonita Holbrookholbrook
Resident, Capitol Hill Quarter

Bonita Holbrook and her family have waited a long time to move into their townhouse in Capitol Quarter.  Holbrook had been living with her three children and her mother in the Arthur Capper Carollsburg public housing project since the early 1990s.

As part of the redevelopment of the Capitol Riverfront, Arthur Capper Carollsburg received a Hope VI federal grant to demolish and rebuild all 700 public housing units as a new mixed-income community.  The rebuilding of the area as Capitol Quarter includes a combination of Section 8, affordable, workforce and market rate houses.

But getting to a new home meant leaving the neighborhood for awhile. 

"We went to the meetings about change.  We knew we would have a choice to come back if we wanted to and that it wasn't a permanent move," she recalls, adding that she had some hesitation about leaving because she liked the neighborhood's location and convenient access to Metro and transportation.

Holbrook and her family moved to Kenilworth Avenue where Holbrook did not feel comfortable letting her children play outside.  She had to drive them out of the neighborhood to find them places to ride their bikes safely.  So when the word finally came five years later that her new townhouse in Capitol Quarter was ready, she was ecstatic.  They moved back to the Front in May 2009 and haven't looked back. 

She is amazed at the transformation of the Front and says sometimes she doesn't recognize the streets because so much is new. 

"I love the neighborhood.  It's quiet and safe. I can let my babies go outside without having to watch them constantly.  And the neighbors are so nice," she says.
spring aheadSpring Ahead!
On Sunday, March 12th, 2010 at 2 am, Daylight Savings Time begins in the United States.  Each Spring we move our clocks one hour forward and "LOSE" an hour during the night.  Don't forget to set your clocks FORWARD an hour before going to bed on Saturday, March 13th!
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Capitol Riverfront BID | 1100 New Jersey Avenue, SE | Suite 1010 | Washington | DC | 20003