CHASE Update: G8Way DC is so cool!

ESLA was at the ribbon cutting ceremony for the new G8Tway DC pavillion on the Saint Elizabeths East campus in Congress Heights and we fell in love! The new structure is simply beautiful. This a great addition to the CHASE (Congress Heights Anacostia Saint Elizabeth) master plan.

We are looking forward to attending events at this new venue.

Including pictures from the ribbon cutting ceremony. Is this place awesome or what?!

CHASE Update | G8WAY DC Ribbon Cutting Ceremony this Wednesday

It's here! It's here! It's here! After months of planning, construction, and more planning the gateway pavilion at Saint Elizabeths East in Congress Heights is finally ready for its debut! Part of the ongoing CHASE (Congress Heights Anacostia Saint Elizabeths) Master Plan the new arts pavilion will provide a much needed "venue for dining, markets, entertainment, community and cultural events."

Please join Mayor Vincent C. Gray, community leaders, and agency representatives this Wednesday, October 23rd at 10:00am as we celebrate this special occasion! This event is free and open to the public. For access, please enter the gate at 2700 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave SE.

For more information on the Saint Elizabeths East project including partnership and vending opportunities visit www.stelizabethseast.com!

CHASE | Sept 21 - Open House & Community Resource Fair

CHASE | Vendor opportunities available at Arts Pavilion

Another update from Saint Elizabeths East. For more information, visit their website www.stelizabethseast.com.

Vendors wanted for new Arts Pavilion @ Saint Elizabeths East
(photo courtesy of www.stelizabethseast.com)

The St. Elizabeths East Gateway Pavilion will include over 40 vendor areas in the open-air portion of the Gateway Pavilion. Vendor space will generally be available for fresh food vendors, small-business retail sales, sellers of arts and crafts, personal products and the like. Vendor spaces are ideal for sole proprietorships and small businesses without an established place of business. 

St. Elizabeth’s East is committed to encouraging creative and vibrant trade concepts by supporting entrepreneurs and will begin the process of collecting vendor applications in the Summer of 2013. Vendor space will available in the Gateway Pavilion starting September 2013. 

Interested vendors should email StElizabethsEast.dc@dc.gov and provide the name, type of business, and background/history. Please title the email “VENDOR”.  

Vendor applications will be released late Summer 2013.

CHASE | Gateway Pavilion

Gateway Pavilion @ Saint Elizabeths East

For more information on the redevelopment of the Saint Elizabeths East Campus in Congress Heights visit www.stelizabethseast.com!

You can also learn more about the CHASE (Congress Heights Anacostia Saint Elizabeths) project by visiting the CHASE Resource Center at The HIVE 2.0 located at 1231-B Good Hope Rd SE. Pick up information about the redevelopment and research information on solicitations, job opportunities, and events.  Free and open to the public. For more information call (202) 507-8072.

Gateway Pavilion 

In a bold step that opens the gates toward transforming St Elizabeths East into a birthplace for new and profitable commerce, the design and construction of the St Elizabeths East Gateway Pavilion has been awarded to Davis Brody Bond, KADCON, and Robert Silman Associates. The design team was selected to create an interim structure that will complement the first phase of redevelopment and set a significant milestone toward new and profitable innovation and commerce. The Gateway Pavilion will be an innovative, flexible, and aesthetically unique structure serving a range of interim uses and letting visitors to experience the site as the redevelopment goes underway Envisioned as a destination for casual dining, as well as a venue for hosting a farmers market and other weekend and afterhours, community, cultural and arts events, the Gateway Pavilion sets the stage for a once-in-a-generation development that will cultivate globally significant economic opportunities in a truly unique and historic place.

CHASE Action Agenda : Connecting People to Economic Opportunity

Sept 14 | Grand Opening of Nubian Hueman boutique

Invitation to participate in the CHASE Open House and Community Resource Fair on Sept 21

Dear Ward 8 Community-Based Organizations,

My name is Evelyn Kasongo and I am the Ward 8 Neighborhood Planner with the DC Office of Planning. This message serves as an invitation to participate at the CHASE Open House and Community Resource Fair on September 21, 2013 from 9:00am-12:00pm at Savoy Elementary School (2400 Shannon Pl. SE). We would like offer your group the opportunity to occupy a booth/table at the Fair to present your organization’s information and resources to community members. As way of background, the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) was awarded a $3 million community Challenge Planning grant in late 2010 from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. The grant has supported a number of initiatives and builds on existing city and federal investment in the area of Congress Heights, Anacostia, and St. Elizabeths (hence the acronym, CHASE). For the current effort, the CHASE Action Agenda, OP and DHCD are working jointly together to foster the implementation of community priorities as outlined at the Ward 8 Community Summits. Attached is a one-page summary of the CHASE Action Agenda effort.

The goal of the CHASE Action Agenda is to prioritize implementation and develop community resources to ensure that area residents and businesses realize the benefits of renewed growth and development. Our team, consisting of representatives from the Office of Planning and the Department of Housing and Community Development, has identified a number of Community Based Organizations in Ward 8 that provide resources in the areas of Jobs, Affordable Housing, Retail and Entrepreneurship/Small Business development. The purpose of the Community Resource Fair is to link residents and businesses in the CHASE area to existing programs, funding, technical assistance, training and job-placement services. While OP and DHCD will be organizing, convening and providing outreach for this event, we will be relying on the contributions of several City Agencies and your community-based organizations to provide valuable on-site expertise and information at the Resource Fair. Please see attached event outreach flyer.

WCP | Slideshow: St. Elizabeths Gateway Pavilion Nears Completion

Construction continues on new arts pavilion at Saint Elizabeths East
(photo courtesy of Aaron Wiener)

Go HERE to read the full article and slideshow by Aaron Wiener.

Excerpt:

The development of the St. Elizabeths West Campus is already well underway, with the Coast Guard completing its move to its new headquarters there. But the East Campus is the one where mixed-use development is supposed to give a boost to neighboring Anacostia and Congress Heights, and it's lagging behind. The city initially put out a solicitation to developers for projects along the southern edge of the site, but later rescinded that solicitation. Instead, it's hoping to kick things off with an academic anchor institution; 12 colleges and universities are interested in coming, and the city will choose one or more by next summer.

Coming Soon: CHASE project updates and opportunities!

(photo courtesy of www.stelizabethseast.com)

What's CHASE you ask? Why it stands for Congress Heights Anacostia Saint Elizabeths. The CHASE project is a combination of government and private projects designed to bring much needed economic and employment relief to these Ward 8 communities and beyond. Most of you are probably aware of the plans to redevelop the Saint Elizabeths East Campus. There are also plans in the works for new projects for Congress Heights and Anacostia.  Even before completion, the CHASE projects will present many opportunities for local residents, small businesses, and organizations.

Here at ESLA, with support from the DC Department of Housing and Community Development and DC Office of Planning we will be bringing you vital information on these developing projects and will be connecting you will opportunities and community events.

Stay tuned for a new look on ESLA, new resources, and new updates!

Until then, we will be getting you ready for this next chapter with information on CHASE projects and events.

Onward and upward!

C.H.A.S.E. Resource Center

C.H.A.S.E. Resource Center

@The The HIVE 2.0

1231-B Good Hope Rd SE, Suite 101

Open to the public, the C.H.A.S.E. Resource Center is available for for residents, stakeholders, community organizations, and small business owners to learn more about the plans and opportunities that are underway for the Congress Heights Anacostia Saint Elizabeths (C.H.A.S.E) corridor.

Come and learn more about the plans to redevelop the Saint Elizabeths East Campus into a cultural, technological, and educational hub. Visitors to the C.H.A.S.E. Resource Center may use its resources to review the Saint Elizabeths East website for solicitations, job opportunities, and project updates. The resource center is also available to be reserved for meetings by small business owners, project officials and contacts.

Contact The HIVE 2.0 at (202) 735.5985 or membership@thedchive.com for operating hours and to schedule a visit. Walk-ins are also welcome!

Brought to you the The HIVE 2.0 and the DC Department of Housing and Community Development.