News Archive

NoMa Parks Foundation Seeks Community Input to Name Two Parks

August 11, 2017

 

You’ve supported the efforts to bring parks to NoMa — now it’s time to name two of the forthcoming parks!

The NoMa Parks Foundation is seeking community input to name the 2.5-acre green space north of New York Avenue (known as “NoMa Green”), and a smaller park at the corner of 3rd and L streets NE (known as 3rd and L Park). Neighbors and community members are encouraged to propose names at ImagineNoMaParks.org through August 25. At the website, you’ll find helpful documents for each park, including images of the designs, neighborhood history, and some questions to consider as you brainstorm names.

Suggested names will be narrowed to four or five options, then released again for a community vote. The final selections will be recommended to the D.C. Council and Mayor Muriel Bowser, who will make the ultimate decision on the name for these new public parks that will serve all District residents and visitors.

Get your creative juices flowing and help identify a welcoming name that will stand the test of time!

NoMa Parks Launches New Planning and Community Engagement Website

March 17, 2016

The NoMa Parks Foundation, an affiliate of the NoMa Business Improvement District, announced today the launch of a new planning and community engagement website, ImagineNoMaParks.org. The website, a site on the mySidewalk platform, will enable the Foundation to both share and solicit more information from residents as design on two park sites, the NoMa Green and the 3rd and L Street NE park, begins in earnest this spring and summer. Read More

NoMa Adds Second Public Park Space with Acquisition of Two-Acre Parcel

January 04, 2016

The NoMa Parks Foundation, an affiliate of the NoMa Business Improvement District, announced today that it has acquired for $14 million a two-acre parcel from Pepco. Bounded by Harry Thomas Way NE, the popular Metropolitan Branch Trail and New York Avenue NE, this acquisition is the culmination of two years of effort by the Foundation. It is the second acquisition by the Foundation since being awarded $50 million from the District of Columbia Government for the purpose of developing new public parks and civic spaces in the NoMa neighborhood. The District passed the NoMa Parks Grant Authorization Act in 2013. The Act provides the plan and funding for the creation of parks to serve the residents of NoMa and near northeast.

“With more than 36,000 people living in greater NoMa today and more than 7,000 new homes in the near-term pipeline, a diverse collection of parks and open space is essential,” said Robin-Eve Jasper, president of the NoMa Parks Foundation. “This park will be a fantastic space. It will provide the fast-growing NoMa community with a wonderful place to gather, play and enjoy being outdoors; all things NoMa residents have dreamt about throughout the parks planning we’ve done over the last few years.”

Charles (Sandy) Wilkes, chairman of the NoMa Parks Foundation, stated, “We have a lot to be thankful for. The acquisition of two acres of land for a park in NoMa means we have made good on our priority commitment to create a park, adequately-sized and suitable for a variety of recreational activities – and do so before the opportunity might be foreclosed forever.”

Since its formation in 2012, the Foundation’s mission has been to provide welcoming, sustainable and beautiful public spaces where people can play, refresh and connect in NoMa. The Foundation has worked with the District of Columbia Government, private property owners in NoMa and NoMa residents on this public-private partnership to create attractive public spaces where none previously existed. The two-acre parcel acquired from Pepco will serve as the backyard for the neighborhood and has the working name of “NoMa Green.”

“We were pleased to partner with the NoMa Parks Foundation to turn this two-acre site into a welcoming and attractive park that will benefit countless District residents,” said Pepco Vice President of Asset Management Mike Maxwell. “The creation of additional green spaces and finding new ways to invest in the environment is consistent with Pepco’s core values and we are eager to see this fast-growing corner of the city benefit from a great new park.”

Great parks and public spaces make great neighborhoods. The residents, workers, and visitors of NoMa have long desired parks and green spaces, and this acquisition is a major step forward in achieving that goal. NoMa is succeeding against difficult odds in acquiring land for parks and in persuading private property owners to create unique and wonderful public spaces on privately-owned land such as the NoMa Meander, a four-block long pedestrian promenade. In the very near future, a full complement of terrific new parks will be part of the remarkable list of amenities that NoMa offers as the premier neighborhood in which to work and live in the District.

About NoMa

NoMa is a vibrant, growing mixed-use neighborhood nestled among Union Station, the U.S. Capitol, Shaw, Union Market and the H Street, NE corridor in Washington, D.C. Already, NoMa has more than 17.6 million SF of office, hotel, retail, and residential space. Each day, 111,000 people are out and about in the commercial core of NoMa. More than 38 percent of NoMa’s office space is home to private sector tenants, including a concentration of media, tech, and think tanks such as NPR, Google, XM Sirius, and Mathematica. Through a public-private partnership with the District Government and a capital investment of $50 million, NoMa will soon have great new parks and public spaces as well. This is especially important since NoMa is now home to 3,836 new apartments, and more than 54,000 people work here each day. NoMa is the most connected neighborhood in Washington, D.C. With its unparalleled transportation access by way of Amtrak, VRE, MARC, two Red Line Metro stops, and vehicular access to Interstate 395, visitors, workers, and residents can easily travel throughout the region as well as get to New York or anywhere on the East Coast. NoMa has an enviable WalkScore of 92 and offers stellar biking facilities, including the 8-mile Metropolitan Branch Trail. The NoMa BID organizes more than 50 free award-winning community events each year, connecting more than 20,000 friends and neighbors. For more information about NoMa, visit www.nomabid.org and sign up for our bimonthly newsletter. Follow us on Twitter @NoMaBID and like us on Facebook.

Media Contact:
Sarah Mars Bowie
(202) 974-5081
sarah.marsbowie@finnpartners.com

NoMa Adds To Its Allure with a New Public Park

October 29, 2015

The NoMa Parks Foundation, recently acquired a parcel at Third and L Streets, NE that will be developed into NoMa’s first park. The acquisition adds to the great community amenities in NoMa and makes good on the promise of beautiful public spaces for the neighborhood. The lot is the first acquisition for the NoMa Parks Foundation and will enable the creation of a roughly 8,000 square foot park. The land is titled to the District of Columbia government.

The acquisition coincides with the launch of NoMa’s City. Smarter. campaign which illustrates the great changes and unique benefits of living and working in NoMa. The park acquisition is one of several parks and public space projects highlighted in the campaign. Other projects include the NoMa Meander, a four block long pedestrian promenade unique in the District; Underpass Art Parks to beautify and create delightful connections between the areas east and west of the train tracks; and NoMa Green, a two acre space intended to serve as the “backyard” for the neighborhood.

Residents, workers and visitors to NoMa will all be able to enjoy a thoughtfully designed system of parks and public spaces as envisioned based on input from residents and stakeholders. NoMa, with its free outdoor Wi-Fi, beautiful streets, incredible transit assets, great retail and pop-ups and parks underway provides the experiences and environment that people want in a 21st century mixed-use neighborhood.

“We’re excited to have the first of several acquisitions under our belt,” said Robin-Eve Jasper, president of the NoMa Business Improvement District. “The addition of public park space is an integral component in our efforts to transform the neighborhood and buying this land for the neighborhood is another milestone in creating this smart urban environment for people in NoMa.”

The NoMa Parks Foundation invites community members and park enthusiasts to the second NoMa Parks Community Conversation to discuss plans for NoMa Parks and public spaces. This community meeting will take place on November 19, 2015 at 6:30 pm at the Hilton Garden Inn located at 1225 First Street, NE. Representatives from D.C.’s Department of Parks and Recreation and other government partners will attend. A community meeting to discuss the Third and L Street, NE lot will be held soon thereafter. For more information and to RSVP for the November 19th Community Conversation, please visit nomaparks.org.

 

About The NoMa Parks Foundation

The NoMa Parks Foundation was formed in 2012 to establish welcoming, sustainable, beautiful spaces where people can play, refresh and connect in NoMa, now and for generations to come.

The rapid transformation of NoMa into a true mixed-use, urban neighborhood has highlighted the importance of creating great parks and public spaces. More than 36,000 people live within 4/5 of a mile of First and M Streets, NE, and the population is projected to double in the next 10 years. However, publicly accessible parks, playgrounds, and plazas in the area are severely limited. Parks are urgently needed and undeveloped land is becoming scarcer each year. The creation of refreshing, inviting parks and public spaces — before it is too late — will improve the lives of people in NoMa today and in the future. More about the NoMa Parks Foundation and its current activities and initiatives can be found at nomaparks.org.  You can sign up for the NoMa Parks Foundation newsletter as well. Follow us on Twitter @NoMaParksDC and like us on Facebook. 

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Media Contact:
Sarah Mars Bowie
(202) 974-5081
sarah.marsbowie@finnpartners.com

 

NoMa Parks Foundation Announces Second Underpass Art Park Finalist on L Street

June 23, 2015

WASHINGTON, DC, June 23, 2015 — The NoMa Parks Foundation has selected the design concept for L Street, NE, the second underpass to be transformed with light and art in the NoMa neighborhood. Future Cities Lab will create an undulating light structure, ‘Lightweave,’ that will appear to float from the ceiling of the underpass. The installation will “peek out” onto L Street outside the underpass and beckon visitors to explore and linger in the beautifully transformed space. M.C. Dean will serve as contractor, and construction is expected to begin in late 2015.

A community meeting to introduce the design team and contractor, and to garner additional feedback on the concept and design, will be held July 13 (details below). 

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Charles (Sandy) Wilkes, Chairman of the NoMa Parks Foundation, noted, “The jury made its decision to select ‘Lightweave’ based on excellence and innovation of its design but also its remarkable complementarity with the L Street Plaza, planned for the west side of the underpass. It’s a great choice.” 

The announcement was made at a well-attended community meeting about NoMa parks last week. The Foundation started the underpass project in April 2014, with an international design competition that received 248 responses. The goal of the project is to fill NoMa’s four rail underpasses, at L, M, K Streets and Florida Ave, NE, with light and art, making them enjoyable east-west connections for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers. 

Future Cities Lab, based in San Francisco, is a prominent design studio, workshop, and architectural think tank that explores the intersection of art and design with advanced fabrication techniques, robotics, responsive building systems and public space. They recently opened the interactive installations ‘Murmur Wall’ and ‘Lightswarm’ at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco. ‘Lightweave’ will translate ambient sounds from passing trains and other sounds of the neighborhood into dynamic auroras of patterned light. ‘Lightweave’ will animate the underpass with variable intensities of illumination while creating a meditative and interactive experience. Similar to dropping a single pebble into an undisturbed pond, waves of light will slowly oscillate through the space. Multiple sounds will create dynamic visual overlaps. The quality and placement of lighting elements will dramatically improve the experience of the underpass for pedestrians and bicyclists, but will not interfere with or distract vehicular traffic. 

M.C. Dean, which will serve as construction manager on both the L Street and M Street underpass projects, is the nation’s premier electrical design-build and systems integration firm for complex, mission-critical installations. 

Community members are invited to meet the designers and construction team, learn more about the conceptual design and share their thoughts at a community meeting on Monday, July 13, from 6:30 to 8 PM in the Lobby Project, 1200 First Street, NE. This event is free and open to the public; RSVP here. 

A prototype of the M Street installation, “Rain,” by NIO architects and Thurlow Small Architecture, will be installed this summer for community input. Stay tuned for updates on all the NoMa Parks Foundation efforts at www.NoMaParks.org. 

About the Underpass Competition
The NoMa Parks Foundation launched an international design competition in April 2014 to find artists to reimagine the four underpasses at Florida Avenue, L, M and K Streets, NE, and fill them with light and art. A distinguished jury narrowed 248 submissions from around the world into 10 finalist teams.  A community outreach process gathered important feedback, including more than 370 survey responses from community meetings and an online survey. The M Street Underpass Art Park will be the first project to start construction, followed by the L Street underpass.   

The NoMa Underpass Art Parks are funded by a grant from the District of Columbia government to create parks and improve public spaces in NoMa. The NoMa Parks Foundation has been working in conjunction with the D.C. Department of General Services, the D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation, the District Department of the Environment, the District Department of Transportation, the Commission on Arts and Humanities, Amtrak, and WMATA on the NoMa Underpass Art Parks initiative. Construction on the M Street underpass is expected to start in fall 2015. Please look for future announcements in connection with the K Street and Florida Avenue underpasses, which were also included in the 2014 underpass design competition. 

About The NoMa Parks Foundation
The NoMa Parks Foundation was formed in 2012 to establish welcoming, sustainable, beautiful spaces where people can play, refresh and connect in NoMa, now and for generations to come. 

The rapid transformation of NoMa into a true mixed-use, urban neighborhood has highlighted the importance of creating great parks and public spaces. More than 36,000 people live within 4/5 of a mile of First and M Streets, NE, and the population is projected to double in the next 10 years. However, publicly accessible parks, playgrounds, and plazas in the area are severely limited. Parks are urgently needed to serve the neighborhood’s residents, office workers, and visitors, while undeveloped land is becoming more scarce each year as development occurs on the remaining empty lots. The creation of refreshing, inviting parks and public spaces — before it is too late — will improve the lives of people in NoMa today and in the future. More about the NoMa Parks Foundation and its current activities and initiatives can be found at nomaparks.org.  You can sign up for the NoMa Parks Foundation newsletter as well. Follow us on Twitter @NoMaParksDC and like us on Facebook.  

About NoMa
NoMa is a vibrant, growing mixed-use neighborhood nestled among Union Station, the U.S. Capitol, Shaw, and the H Street, NE corridor in Washington, D.C. Already, NoMa contains more than 17.6 million SF of office, hotel, retail and residential space. With 22 LEED certified buildings, including 17 platinum and gold, NoMa offers the best work environments in the city. Each day, more than 92,000 people are out and about in the commercial core of NoMa. NoMa is home to 4,803 new apartments, and 44,000 people work here each day. NoMa is the most connected neighborhood in Washington, D.C., with unparalleled transportation access on Amtrak, VRE, MARC, two Red Line Metro stops, and easy vehicular access to Interstate 395 and Route 50. NoMa has a WalkScore of 92 and offers stellar biking opportunities, including the 8-mile Metropolitan Branch Trail. The NoMa BID organizes more than 50 free, award-winning community events each year, connecting more than 20,000 friends and neighbors. For more information about NoMa, visit www.nomabid.org and sign up for our bimonthly newsletter. Follow us on Twitter @NoMaBID and like us on Facebook.

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For immediate release
News media contact:
Rachel Davis
202-997-3846
rdavis@nomabid.org