Development Update: 55 M St. Wins Best Urban Office

55 M 55 M Street has received the "Best Urban Office" award at the NAIOP Maryland/DC 9th Annual Awards of Excellence.

55 M Street, a 275,000 SF Class A office building was designed by Davis, Carter, Scott Ltd. and is located directly above the Navy Yard Metro at Half and M Streets, SE, one block north of Nationals Park in the Capitol Riverfront. The LEED® Gold certified office building is the first phase of Monument's Half Street project, the dynamic mixed-use development that also includes 332 residential units, 50,000 SF of retail and a 200-room boutique hotel. The building is 85% leased with tenants including District of Columbia's Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration. More information can be found at www.halfstreet.com.

Bike to Work Day Pit-stop in the Yards Park

This Friday, May 20th from 7 am to 9 am, come by the Capitol Riverfront Bike to Work Day Pit Stop at the Yards Park. Enjoy Raffles and giveaways! Staff from Capitol Hill Bikes will be on site as well to tune-up bikes. Registration for the event is free at www.waba.org.

Be sure to get your photos taken with celebrities at the Yards Park Pit Stop (Madame Tussand's will be bringing wax figures), and we may even get a visit from the Nationals' Abe Lincoln.

Around 7:45 we will hear from:

Amy Scarton, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, US Department of Transportation
Tommy Wells, Ward 6 Council Member
Gregory McCarthy, Vice President, Washington Nationals
Michael Stevens, Executive Director, Capitol Riverfront Business Improvement District

Last year more than 9,000 commuters participated in the annual event and left their cars behind to promote bicycling to work as a fun, healthy, environmentally friendly, and low cost alternative to drive alone commuting. This year, cyclists can pedal to 49 pit stops across the Washington Metro Region, the most ever for this annual event. Each pit stop will offer food and beverages, lively speakers and chances to win terrific prizes. During registration, cyclists are reminded to select which pit stop they will attend to pick up their Bike to Work Day T-Shirt. Gear Up for Bike to Work Day!

Food Trucks Circle the Wagons at Truckeroo

truckaroo Friday June 3, 2011 from 11:00 AM to 9:00 PM, the Food Truckeroo will bring all of your favorite food trucks to one spot in the Capitol Riverfront. Over 18 trucks will be located in the parking lots between Das Bullpen and the Bullpen at Half Street SE and both venues will be serving beer and other beverages and providing live music. This monthly event will showcase mobile restaurants such as Eat Wonky, Fojol Bros., the Lobster Truck, and Big Cheese. Check out the Truckeroo website to learn more.

Capitol Riverfront Concerts at the Yards Park

concert2 The Capitol Riverfront Concert Series have kicked off continued with great success. Despite springtime rain and cloudy weather, large crowds have attended The Jewels, The Kelly Bell Band, and 8 Ohms and this Friday's evening concert will feature Monster Band's high-energy dance tunes.

Evening Concerts occur every Friday, until August 19th. Friday evening concerts take place from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm on the Boardwalk Stage. Spend your Friday evenings on the river, relaxing on the terraced lawn steps with family and friends while listening to live music from the Yards Park's boardwalk stage. Concerts will feature a wide range of live musical performances including jazz, salsa, reggae, and more. This week Smokin Somethin BBQ will join Devine Foods and the beer/sangria garden run by Mie N Yu, and the CSX Kids Activity Zone will entertain the whole family. The Yards Park Friday Concerts have something for everyone to wind down their week. The event is free and open to the public. Be sure to check out the full line-up with our online calendar! Keep your eyes on our website during bad weather, and we will let you know if rain arrangements have been made.

Don't forget our weekly Lunchtime Concerts occur every Wednesday throughout the summer. The lunchtime concerts are at 11:30 am -1:30 pm in the Yards Park Lumbershed building. Food trucks will rotate each week. Check the BID's website Wednesday morning to see the line-up of food trucks.

Special thanks to our sponsors:

CSX, How Tomorrow Moves

Courtyard by Marriott

Forest City Washington

JBG/Federal Center

Stella Artois

Velocity Capitol Riverfront

Yards Park

Friday Jazz Nights at the Courtyard Marriott

jazz Get ready for the smooth sounds of Jazz on Fridays from 5:30 till Midnight, at the Courtyard by Marriott on 140 L Street SE. Host DJ Donnie and special guest comedians will bring Jt Groove and Modern Day to the stage. Put on your sophisticated attire for 'Jazz at the Yard' and head to the second floor of the Courtyard Marriott. For more information, call 202.345.4380 or 240.752.4477.

Faces of the Front: John Dillow & Conal O'Keefe of Living Classrooms

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Living Classroom Executive Director John Dillow, and Lead Educator Conal O'Keefe, teach 17,000 children and young adults about the environment along the Anacostia River. John said that Living Classrooms "utilizes education in a 'hands-on' manner to help lift up communities." Conal brings the students aboard the Mildred Belle and encourages interaction with aquatic life.

Operating since October 2000 out of the Diamond Teague's former federal pumphouse, John and Conal's shipboard program has hands-on activities centered on applied science and math, history, language arts, and the physical environment. Living Classrooms customizes each program so that it fits with the curriculum covered in the classroom.

John said, "Part of our effort is to get kids to understand that the river is getting better in a lot of ways." Conal added that they are seeing more wildlife, including geese, fish and Red Winged Blackbirds which are strongly associated with healthy local marshes.

Living Classrooms selected Diamond Teague as a home base in DC because the neighborhood is similar to locations they have worked in in Baltimore. They look for communities along the edge of urban rivers, and the Capitol Riverfront's work is "vital to the community as a whole, because Michael Stevens' team takes steps to build the economy of a true community built right on the water."

"We are excited to invite people to have their first experience on the Anacostia River - a hidden gem that might not be hidden for much longer," said John.

Green Feature: Diamond Teague Floating Wetlands

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Floating Islands are back in bloom! Take the time to go to Diamond Teague Park, just south of the Nationals Ballpark, and you will notice various environmental reclamation projects. One such project, the floating wetlands, was perfected by Living Classroom's effort in Baltimore's Inner Harbor and they brought them to the Capitol Riverfront.

Floating wetlands are made from recycled materials, and seed the river's edge. As new islands are added, established islands grow and act as a natural barrier against litter and pollution. Reviving this natural barrier to pollution with wetland areas helps add a last line of defense for trash as well as microscopic pollutants. This is critical to the cleanup of the Anacostia. Plants in the floating wetlands naturally absorb nitrogen, which they need to grow, and break down organic pollutants while reducing bacteria such as E. coli and salmonella in the water. Even more impressive than the plants themselves are microbes that live on the roots of these plants and remove 10 times the amount of nitrates.

Ultimately, the only long -term solution is to reduce pollutants and nutrient loads from our watershed. This will take a collective effort from each resident, the City and the Federal Government. But there are small steps we can take to improve the water, such as the use of floating wetlands.

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