37th and Tunlaw revamp to begin May 28

The problematic X intersection at 37th and Tunlaw will be rebuilt into two T intersections starting May 28, according to the District Department of Transportation. The construction will take approximately four weeks, DDOT predicts.

Bus traffic through the intersection will continue during construction, but northbound traffic will be detoured for about two weeks, according to a letter delivered to households near the intersection. Preliminary design drawings for the job can be found here.

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JP’s opening slides to June

From the May 2013 edition of the Glover Park Gazette:

Construction delays have pushed the reopening of JP’s Night Club (2412 Wisconsin Ave.) into June, says managing partner Phil Mathew. “Things happen, minor things, like the lead time for a light fixture could be a little longer than expected,” Mathew says. “I’m not settling for mediocrity when it comes to our build-out. I want it to look exactly like the architect’s rendering.”

The decades-old strip club is being rebuilt after a January, 2008 fire destroyed its original building. The new interior will look like “more of a high-end lounge than a gentleman’s club,” Mathew says. “It’s well-lit, it’s not anything seedy.” The space will feature black walls with TVs in light oak frames, with a dark custom-made wood bar, he adds. The club’s staff will total about 30 people, including dancers, servers, and security personnel.

The club’s liquor license is currently in a dormant status called “safekeeping”; it must be reactivated before the club can operate. Once that happens, Advisory Neighborhood Commission 3B and near neighbors will be allowed to lodge formal protests of the license with the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, as they are certain to do.

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High-end condos coming to Romeo’s block

From the May 2013 edition of the Glover Park Gazette:

The vacant lot at 2140 Wisconsin Ave. (a few doors up from Café
Romeo’s) will become a “very nice, top-of-the-line” condominium
building within a year, according to local developer Zak
Elyasi. The lot—hidden for years behind a construction fence—was
recently purchased by Elyasi’s parents, Abdul and Ramzia Elyasi of
Greensboro, North Carolina. Son Zak, managing member of Raz Development,
says plans are in the works to construct a residential building
that may include ground-floor commercial space. The development
group hopes to begin foundation work within the next month or two
and complete the building in the spring of 2014.

The family recently completed a project in Columbia Heights that
yielded two spacious luxury condo units, Zak says. Asked whether the
Glover Park building’s façade would be as close to the sidewalk as its
blocky beige neighbor at 2136 Wisconsin Ave., he replied that while
final plans have not yet been drawn, “it’s going to look nicer than that
beige building.”

The lot’s previous owner, Davar Ashgrizzadeh—who also owns
Café Romeo’s—bought the property in 2008 for $995,000 and sold it on
March 22 for $1,250,000, according to city land records.

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Whole Foods renovation debated

From the April 2013 edition of the Glover Park Gazette:

In late March, a brouhaha erupted on the Glover Park Yahoo newsgroup over renovations at Whole Foods (2323 Wisconsin Ave.). The work has reconfigured the express checkout lanes, causing confusion and, some say, longer waits. “Is anyone feeling like ‘What the heck happened to our store?’” asked one listserv member. According to marketing team leader Katie Wolffe, the changes are part of a major renovation that is still in process. Future developments include a refreshed café area that serves wine and beer. Wolffe expects the renovations to be complete by the fall, and says that shoppers should see shorter waits as the store fills 10 vacant cashier positions. “Sometimes change is a little hard, but we are committed to making this work.”

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Hardware store and gym to stay put during construction (Updated)

Glover Park Hardware and Washington Sports Club will remain open during a major revamp of their home at 2251 Wisconsin Ave., according to Gordon Nielsen of Summit Commercial Real Estate. Nielsen and business partner Guy d’Amecourt recently brokered the complex’s sale to a joint venture of Altus Realty Partners, Chesapeake Realty Partners, and Ellisdale Construction for $20.1 million.

The buyers plan to install a new glass facade and renovate the retail space, which includes a vacant storefront formerly leased by MyerEmco. In addition, they will construct an 81-unit apartment building with two levels of underground parking on land now covered by a rear parking lot. “The apartments will average 635 square feet with a mix of studios, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units looking to target young professionals,” states a press release provided by Nielsen. “The property overlooks the parkland of the Naval Observatory and Vice President’s residence.” The garage will include 97 parking spaces, Nielsen said, but he did not know how many of these would be reserved for tenants.

The image above, provided by Summit, shows the rear of the planned apartment complex; here’s another Summit image showing a side view:

The website of Brown Craig Turner architectural firm has more images of the planned apartment complex:

And Chesapeake Realty Partners posted its own rendering:

UPDATE: Construction on the facade is to begin this July, with the residential units in the rear completed by July 2014, the Georgetown Patch reports.

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Glover Park Hardware, WSC site slated to gain 81 dwelling units

The home of Glover Park Hardware and the Washington Sports Club will be renovated, and an additional building with 81 dwelling units will be constructed on the property, according to a report in the Washington Business Journal. The project at 2251 Wisconsin Ave. has garnered $39 million in financing. More details as they develop.

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JP’s building permit approved

JP’s strip club is one step closer to reopening. Yesterday, the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs issued a permit to construct walls and stages inside 2412 Wisconsin Ave. The building shell is a replacement for the club’s original home, which was destroyed in a January 2008 fire.

According to notes on the building permit, the new interior will include two performance stages; three tabletop platforms upon which dancers may also perform; and two “cubicle-style” booths, each of which will accommodate one or two “VIP customers” plus a dancer on the table. “There is under no circumstances to be ANY lap dances, touching of customers, or the allowing of customers to touch you,” the building permit notes specify. “You are expressly prohibited from ‘MASSAGING’ a customer, and are expressly prohibited from ‘SITTING ON A CUSTOMER’S LAP.’”

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Guy Mason dog park nearing completion, Patch reports

Renovations to the Guy Mason dog park should be complete and the park reopened by early December, the Georgetown Patch reports. The park, adjacent to the recreation center parking lot at 3600 Calvert St., closed in mid-October for construction after its designation as an official D.C. government dog park.

Quoting an email from Adriana Cordero and Amanda MacKaye, coordinators of the all-volunteer Dogs of Guy Mason Alliance (DOGMA), the Patch states:

“The ground has been leveled, the trees and shrubs carefully marked so as not to be disturbed, and the five-foot-tall fence is up. The infrastructure and foundation for the water fountain is in place. When all is done we will have a nice, updated dog park, with four benches, two trashcans, and two poop bag dispensers. [The Department of Parks and Recreation] has ok’d for the use of mulch as ground cover as we had before, instead of gravel.”

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Liquor board transfers JP’s license to Daniel and Mathew

On October 3, the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board OK’d a controversial license transfer, approving the application of Jason K. Daniel and Philip M. Mathew to take over the liquor license for JP’s Night Club (2412 Wisconsin Ave.), an ABRA spokesman tells us. Last month, Advisory Neighborhood Commission 3B had requested that the ABC Board make no transfer until they held a public hearing to assess the fitness of the two young men to revive the strip club, which has been closed since a January 2008 fire. No such hearing was held, but the board has already committed to scheduling a public protest hearing before after allowing the new owners to begin operating the club. Building permit applications to construct interior walls, bars, and stages are pending.

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Old Europe spruces up

In late August, Old Europe (2434 Wisconsin Ave.) underwent a complete remodel—its first since the 1980s, according to owner Alex Herold. Along with fresh paint and new wood paneling, the dining room received some much-needed repairs. “All in all, things are going to reappear as they were before, just with a new look, cleaner and fresh,” Herold told us during construction. “It’s high time.” The German restaurant reopened for business on August 28.

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