Elevation DC: Parks in NoMa

There are two new parks popping up in the city.

Developer JBG built a funky community space, a pop-up park at N Street NE, adjacent to the Hyatt Place hotel, reports the NoMa BID. Read more. 

Plans are moving forward for the dramatic transformation of the M Street underpass in NoMa into an illuminated passageway with light raining down from its ceiling. The NoMa Parks Foundation announced last week that Thurlow Small Architecture + NIO architects have been selected to design the installation for the M Street underpass. M.C. Dean will serve as contractor, and construction is expected to begin in fall of 2015.

A community meeting to introduce the design team and contractor, and to garner additional feedback on the concept and design, will be held April 27. All are invited to come and meet the designers and construction team, learn more about the conceptual design and share your thoughts! The meeting will take place on Monday, April 27 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. An American Sign Language interpreter will be available.

NIO architects hails from the Netherlands and Thurlow Small Architecture is based in Rhode Island. NIO architects has completed more than 10 underpasses in the last 14 years. Thurlow Small Architecture is an architecture and urban design services firm that has worked locally and internationally on the planning and development of parks, downtown placemaking, and public infrastructure. “Rain,” the M Street installation, is still in the conceptual design phase. The cascading drops of rain will be LED lights hung inside hundreds of polycarbonate tubes. Learn more about this project at nomaparks.org.

The District Department of Transportation Saturday presented preliminary design plans for parts of the Metropolitan Branch Trail that will link existing off-road segments in Northeast DC with the Maryland border. Read more.

Washington, D.C., April 3, 2015 – Stacie West has joined the team at the NoMa BID to oversee NoMa Parks Foundation initiatives. As Director of Parks Projects, Stacie will engage the neighborhood and lead the Foundation’s efforts to acquire sites, design parks, and build a network of public spaces for this rapidly growing neighborhood.

“Stacie’s passion is creating great parks and beautiful spaces,” said Robin-Eve Jasper, President of the NoMa BID. “Her experience with public agencies, community engagement, and shepherding large projects to completion makes her a great fit for the NoMa Parks Foundation efforts.”

Stacie was formerly a community planner and a Capital City Fellow with the D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation, where she led development of the comprehensive Play DC Parks and Recreation Master Plan and orchestrated an improvement initiative to renovate all city-owned playgrounds. She managed over a dozen capital projects and was involved in all aspects of the projects, including design charrettes and construction management. She also previously worked for the District Department of the Environment creating a public outreach strategy for the 20-year Sustainable DC plan. At the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, she focused on community impacts related to cycling, pedestrian and transportation projects. Stacie has a Masters of Community Planning from the University of Maryland, College Park. 

With the recent investment of $50 million from the District government, NoMa is moving ahead with the development of parks and community open spaces. To learn more about NoMa’s proposed parks, click here to view the NoMa Public Realm Design Plan, the framework for parks and public space improvements in NoMa. The plan was created after months of thoughtful analysis and with input from a cross-section of community stakeholders. Private developers have partnered with the District and the NoMa Parks Foundation by providing space and foregoing construction in certain areas to make sure that NoMa parks projects are successful. More information about this public-private partnership and descriptions of specific parks projects can be found at nomaparks.org. You can stay up to date on NoMa Parks projects by visiting nomaparks.org, signing up for the NoMa Parks Foundation newsletter, or contacting Stacie West at [email protected] or 202-810-0091.

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 in the future.

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, the publicly accessible parks, playgrounds, and plazas in the area are few and far between. Parks are urgently needed to serve the residents, office workers, and visitors to NoMa. Undeveloped land is becoming scarcer 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 for generations to come. More about the NoMa Parks Foundation and current parks efforts 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 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. Each day, more than 92,000 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, think tanks, and associations such as NPR, Google, Mathematica, and the American Medical Association. 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. NoMa is home to 3,386 terrific 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 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 a 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.

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For immediate release
News media contact:
Rachel Davis
202-997-3846
[email protected]

WASHINGTON, DC, February 11, 2015 – Yesterday, the NoMa Parks Foundation officially unveiled The NoMa Parks Foundation website. The website includes a vast amount of information about the innovative public–private partnership between the District of Columbia and the NoMa Parks Foundation, including grant terms and other governing documents, the Foundation’s continuing commitment to public engagement, the overall planning framework that guides the Foundation’s activities, and specific project updates.

“We want the NoMa Parks Foundation and its initiatives to be as transparent as possible,” said NPF President Robin-Eve Jasper. “We are committed to assuring that we deliver great value to the District government and its citizens while, at the same time, taking advantage of the knowledge and unique relationships of the NoMa BID and its ability to encourage private property owners to commit value to the cause of NoMa parks. NoMa parks are going to be fantastic, and will embody the aspirations of the NoMa community for great spaces to gather, play, and enjoy the great, urban outdoors.”

Charles (Sandy) Wilkes, Chairman of the NoMa Parks Foundation, said “We have recruited a remarkable board of directors that includes outstanding professionals in the areas of landscape architecture, urban planning, and finance to support this effort. The amount of information included on the website and the extraordinary commitment to multiple avenues for ongoing outreach are unique among public-private initiatives.”

The NoMa Parks Foundation website will be continuously updated to highlight park project statuses, ongoing community engagement, park events and more. The NoMa Parks Foundation will also be providing a monthly newsletter and an annual report. Read more about the NoMa Parks Foundation public engagement process. 

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 in the future.

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 20,000 people live in greater NoMa, and the population is projected to double in the next 10 years; but currently NoMa contains no publicly accessible parks, playgrounds, or plazas. While the District of Columbia averages 12.9 acres of open space per 1,000 residents, none of these spaces exist in the NoMa neighborhood. They are urgently needed to serve the residents and more than 44,000 daytime employees and visitors to the neighborhood. Undeveloped land is becoming scarcer 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 for generations to come. More about the NoMa Parks Foundation can be found at nomaparks.org. You can sign up for the NoMa Parks Foundation newsletter as well.

About NoMa
NoMa is a vibrant, growing neighborhood nestled among Union Station, the U.S. Capitol, Shaw, and the H Street, NE corridor in Washington, D.C. The 35-block area within the NoMa BID boundaries is home to more than 16 million square feet of Class A office, residential, hotel, and retail space. NoMa has more than 3,800 new apartments, and more than 44,000 people work in NoMa each day. With unparalleled transportation access via Amtrak, VRE, MARC, and two Red Line Metro stops, and with vehicular access to Interstate 395, and Route 50, visitors, workers and residents can easily travel throughout the region as well as to New York or anywhere on the East Coast. For more information about NoMa, visit www.nomabid.org and sign up for our bimonthly newsletter.

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For immediate release

News media contact:
Ali Newman
202-810-0088
[email protected]