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HELP NAME NOMA’S NEWEST PARK: Finalists for Swampoodle II Community Naming Process to be Announced on Twosday, February 22, 2022

January 28, 2022

For Immediate Release
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HELP NAME NOMA’S NEWEST PARK

Finalists for Swampoodle II Community Naming Process to be Announced on Twosday, February 22, 2022

January 28, 2022 (Washington, DC) – The NoMa Parks Foundation (NPF), an affiliate of the NoMa Business Improvement District (BID), is seeking community input to help officially name NoMa’s newest park, which has been going by the working name “Swampoodle II.”

Located at the northwest corner of 3rd and L Streets NE, the 5,800 square foot parcel of land was purchased in September 2020 by NPF with funds from the grant provided by the DC Government in 2014 to address the absence of parks and green spaces in the NoMa neighborhood.

“This new park, together with the other parks and public spaces that the NoMa Parks Foundation has delivered while working with our DC government partners and the community is proof positive of the effectiveness of strong public-private partnerships,” said Sandy Wilkes, Board Chair, NoMa Parks Foundation. “Now, once again, we are turning to the community to help us identify a compelling name that is meaningful and connects this important new public space to its current, former, and future neighbors.”

Community members are encouraged to propose permanent names for “Swampoodle II” by visiting the website, ImagineNoMaParks.org, where neighborhood background and design renderings can be reviewed. Those without Internet access can also call (202) 289-0111 to request a form be sent in the mail. Proposed names are subject to DC Government review and approval.

Round One of the “Swampoodle II” community naming process will be open until February 14, 2022 at 11:59 PM for the public to submit their first-round suggestions, which will be reviewed and narrowed down for a round of community voting.

Round Two of the “Swampoodle II” community naming process begins on February 22, 2022, which just happens to be a “Twosday” and closes on Tuesday, March 8, 2022 at 11:59 PM. Shortly thereafter, the final Round Two selections will be recommended to the DC Council and Mayor Muriel Bowser, who will make the final decision on the name for this delightful new park that will serve all District residents and visitors.

Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen has graciously agreed to sponsor the legislation to establish the official name for the park.

“Our Ward 6 community has been actively involved in advocating and caring for our treasured parks and welcoming public spaces in NoMa,” said Charles Allen, Ward 6 Councilmember. “As we build a community for the future, it is absolutely critical we are creating outdoor spaces that are welcoming and beautiful as an essential part of great quality of life. I thank the NoMa Parks Foundation for bringing another beautiful new park to the neighborhood and look forward to seeing the creative naming ideas our Ward 6 community will come up with again this time.”

The community’s enthusiasm and work in providing suggestions to the NoMa Parks Foundation for public park names led directly to the adoption of the name “Swampoodle Park” for the park on the southwest corner of 3rd and L NE, as well as the selection of “Alethia Tanner Park” for the large park that incorporates the Metropolitan Branch Trail further north in Ward 5.

“Naming NoMa parks has become a fun tradition, and community engagement in park naming has produced great results,“ said Robin-Eve Jasper, NoMa Parks Foundation President. “We are delighted that the DC Government has seen the benefit of this process. Get your creative juices flowing again and help us identify a name that will be just right and stand the test of time!”

The NoMa Parks Foundation looks forward to working with the community and the DC Government to activate and maintain this future park, as it has with all its previous projects, and will share updates and opportunities for continuing community engagement at www.nomaparks.org.

For more information about the NoMa Parks Foundation, visit nomaparks.org and sign up for our newsletter. Follow the NoMa Parks Foundation on Twitter (@NoMaParksDC) and Facebook.

Land Acquired for Yet Another New Park in NoMa

September 30, 2020

For Immediate Release
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Land Acquired for Yet Another New Park in NoMa 

Intersection at Third and L Streets NE Will Soon Feature Bookend Public Parks 

September 30, 2020 (Washington, DC) – The NoMa Parks Foundation, an affiliate of the NoMa Business Improvement District (BID), announced today that it has acquired the parcel at 1100 Third Street NE, at the corner of Third and L Streets NE. The now-vacant property, which consists of 5,800 square feet of land, will be turned into a public park owned by the District of Columbia government. 

“This parcel is the long lost twin sister to the adjacent, award-winning Swampoodle Park, which opened in 2018, and has become a neighborhood favorite for both people and pets,” said Robin-Eve Jasper, President of the NoMa Parks Foundation. “We look forward to working with the community and our DC government agency partners to deliver the perfect bookend to complement Swampoodle Park and bring yet another remarkable new park to NoMa for the community to share and enjoy for years to come.” 

The NoMa Parks Foundation purchased the property at 1100 Third Street NE from Jemal’s 1100 3rd LLC for $3.4 million. The acquisition is the fourth such land acquisition by the NoMa Parks Foundation since the D.C. Council in 2014 provided it with $50 million to identify opportunities to acquire land, design and create parks for the formerly park- deficient NoMa neighborhood. 

The NoMa neighborhood had no publicly accessible park spaces in 2012, leading to the public-private partnership between the NoMa Parks Foundation and the DC government to address the absence of parks and remedy this deficiency. Over the last eight years, the NoMa Parks Foundation has delivered four parks – Alethia Tanner Park (March 2020); Lightweave Underpass Art Park (2019); Rain Underpass Art Park (2018); and Swampoodle Park (2018). Additionally, the NoMa Parks Foundation has partnered with the District government to design three new open space parcels at the intersection of New York and Florida Avenues NE (“Virtual Circle”), worked with developers to assure the availability of publicly accessible private spaces like the NoMa Meander, and established public space design guidelines to assure that private owners provide park-like public spaces when developing new projects. Additional public space improvements are coming to the K Street underpass, the NoMa Meander, and at several other small sites throughout NoMa. 

“The purchase of this parcel marks the final acquisition in the remarkable story of the NoMa Parks Foundation’s success in fulfilling its mission to establish welcoming, sustainable, beautiful spaces where people can play, refresh and connect in NoMa,” said Sandy Wilkes, NoMa Parks Foundation Board Chair. “The progress made in establishing much needed green and public spaces throughout the NoMa neighborhood has only been possible through collaboration with our committed and visionary partners including Mayor Bowser, the Department of General Services, the Department of Parks and Recreation, the District Department of Transportation, the Commission on Arts and Humanities, and the DC Office of Planning.” 

“It is extremely rewarding to know that more greenspace will be coming to this area of NoMa that will help residents and visitors thrive, said Keith A. Anderson, Director of the Department of General Services. “DGS is excited to be able to deliver again on this network of parks to the NoMa community and the District on behalf of Mayor Bowser. We are proud to be part of this public-private partnership with the NoMa Parks Foundation, the Department of Parks and Recreation and the community.” 

American Way: Sign of the Times — Washington D.C.’s NoMa is a pioneering neighborhood for the deaf community

December 27, 2019

… Along with outdoor outfitter REI, Red Bear is housed in a renovated 1940s ice arena. Outside the building, sidewalks provide “signing space”—room to walk and sign—and benches that face each other, allowing for “conversation circles,” both ASL design terms. A block away, the recently opened Swampoodle Park has “open sight lines,” says its designer Jeff Lee. The benches around the park are curved, another nod to the deaf community. READ MORE

Curbed DC: In NoMa, Another Train Underpass Lights Up as Public Art

April 05, 2019

On Tuesday, a new visual experience opens in NoMa’s L Street NE underpass, one of several passageways beneath elevated rail tracks that run through the neighborhood. “Lightweave,” a responsive lighting display designed by San Francisco-based design studio Futureforms, is the NoMa Parks Foundation’s latest installation in the neighborhood and part of a $50 million grant. The display consists of six formations of cloud-like, lattice LED tubes suspended below the ceiling of the underpass between First and Second streets NE. With three formations on either side of the underpass, the tubes react to ambient noise, such as trains passing on the tracks above or cars driving along L Street NE. Read more.

NoMa Parks Foundation to Illuminate Lightweave Installation in L Street NE Underpass on April 9

April 03, 2019

For Immediate Release
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NoMa Parks Foundation to Illuminate Lightweave Installation in L Street NE Underpass on April 9

Six suspended lattices of steel and polycarbonate LED tubing will glow 24 hours a day, shifting colors in response to nearby ambient sounds.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — On the evening of Tuesday, April 9, the NoMa Parks Foundation will turn on the power for Lightweave, a dynamic and compelling light installation in the L Street NE railway underpass. Comprising six spiraling lattices of stainless steel and bent LED tubing suspended above the underpass sidewalks — three above each passageway, hung from freestanding armatures — the artwork will light up the space 24 hours a day, with LED colors changing and moving in response to sound waves from the sidewalk spaces and vibrations from trains passing overhead. Lightweave is the second of the NoMa Parks Foundation’s planned underpass “art parks” to open and was designed by interdisciplinary San Francisco art and design firm FUTUREFORMS. The first art park — Rain, in the M Street NE underpass — opened in October 2018. Read More