Pt. 2: Updates on DPR Renovation and Construction Projects

Here’s an update on big DC Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) construction projects in the District. We offer it in two parts. The first was published Wednesday, July 31 and the second Thursday, Aug. 1. That’s because there are 12 DPR capital projects that impact our readers on the Hill and adjacent neighborhoods –too many to scroll through at once.

In late July, of the DPR planning and design team, led by DPR Community Planner Nick Kushner and Capital Projects and Design Manager Brent Sisco, provided an update on projects of interest to residents at two meetings last week.

The meetings were organized by ward. The meeting concerning Ward 7 Capital Projects took place July 23, and the Ward 6 Capital Projects Update took place July 29.

Capital projects are long term, larger scale investments that improve, add to or create a property. They have a higher budget and are managed in the District by the Department of General Services (DGS) the District’s construction and maintenance arm.

There are 10 projects specific to Ward 6 and two more in Ward 7 on the Hill. Here updates on the six that are complete or are furthest along. Yesterday, we looked at the status of improvements to Spielberg Park, the Eighth Street Triangle Park, Cobb Park, Garfield Park, the exterior of Sherwood Recreation Center and at the Kingsman Field and Dog Park.

Today we turn to updates on work that is a bit less progressed on their timelines. But many of these are bigger projects that could see the properties rebuilt.

Below, we look at Watkins Field and playground, the fields at Jefferson Middle School Academy, the Southwest Town Center Park, and the status of planned renovations to Rosedale Pool, Randell Recreation Center and at Rumsey Aquatic Center.

1. Watkins Playground and Park Upgrades (420 12 Street SE). At a community meeting a few months ago, Kushner said community wanted an update to the Watkins playground, with more swings and updated equipment. A playground renovation will be part of the project, Kushner said along with a milling and resurfacing of the basketball courts and work on the rink. Any additional upgrades will be dependent on the budget, Kushner said, acknowledging concerns with lighting and seating around the field. Construction is expected to be complete during Summer 2025.

   

2. Jefferson Field. $1.5 million has been allocated to conversion of the athletic field to turf, to allow for wider use. The turf has not yet been selected but Kusner said ti would be an environmentally friendly product, either wood chip- or olive cork based, something like the Brockfield material used at The Fields at RFK, keeping the field about 25 degrees cooler that regular turf. Those substances give off less heat; the District has banned chrome rubber or anything that can release toxic substances. Kushner said that the team has been in communication with the school to ensure renovation will not impact their use. They are working on a federal grant to resurface the tennis and two pickle ball courts on site, and potentially to refigure fencing to add additional courts. The project is in the early design phase; construction is anticipated to begin in early 2025. The project does not yet have a website.

   

3. January 2024 Hill Rag story here]

   Kushner said DPR would be deg the space so that it can accommodate closure, but hastened to add that DPR was not the agency that will make that determination whether it will be a market space. “One thing that’s really cool about this project which I really like is that we’re going to be able to incorporate a lot of art into it,” Kushner said, noting the team would use their art budget for works but also for artistically designed furniture and fixtures, including the shade cover on the pavilion. Additional commissions include a mosaic, medallions that will create an “artwalk” along the southern corridor south of both of the churches.

   After multiple meetings, the project is in the final stage of design and about to go into permitting. Construction is tentatively scheduled to start in winter 2024 with completion in fall winter of 2025 so about six months to a year of construction on parcel B which is just the area in front of Christ Church United. “We’re viewing this as a phase to construction,” Kushner noted. “Right now our budget is only enough to cover the one side of the renovation and so we’re hopeful that um by the time we’re completing that construction we’ll have the funding to roll over to do the portion in front of Westminster as well to create this cohesive park space.”

   

4. Rosedale Outdoor Pool Renovation. $6.831 million has been allocated to a complete replacement of the Rosedale pool to allow for greater capacity. The pool is suffering from overcrowding issues, leading to residents being turned away. The goal is to expand Rosedale pool to the greatest possible site on the footprint. A community meeting is expected to happe, likely in September. Sicso said the community will discuss options, including the potential for a splash park in the pool area. Construction is not anticipated to begin until after pool season 2025. “What we would really like to do as you know the the last day the pool closes we’re starting construction and we are doing that quickly after the end of pool season,” Sisco said, “so that we can get the pool redone [and] all the construction work completed in order to open on time for Memorial Day pool opening in the late spring of 2026.” DPR did not discuss the impact of the Rosedale Library renovation, although DGS and DC Public Libraries held an inaugural meeting on the topic last spring. Chief of External Affairs Tommie Jones acknowledged concerns, but reminded attendees at the ward 7 meeting that DPR project funding is only for the pool, not for the adjacent buildings, which include the recreation center and library. Sisco said that funding in the budget is spelled out in such a way that this nearly $7 million budget must strictly be spent on the outdoor pool facility.

   

5. Randall Recreation Center (South Capitol at I Street SW). “This has been a long time coming,” Sisco said of the work to renovate Randall Recreation Center, noting he worked on the playground renovation at the same site almost ten years ago when he started with DPR. A feasibility study is currently underway to determine the best use of the campus, Sisco said, centered on pool and recreation center expansion and the addition of other amentities. “[That’s] “essentially you know does it make sense to have a 50-meter pool here? Does it make sense to tear down the pool house? What can we do with existing Fieldhouse” that’s historic and that used to be I think a dog pound at one time.” Sisco said that DPR is gathering information to present to the community so that they could dictate what it will become.

   However, he said that the decision had all but been made that there would not be a 50-meter pool at Randall. The feasibility study, Siscos said, “came back that it would really blow our budget out of the water,”requiring a much larger mechanical and engineering room, limiting finances and space for the recreation center and pool house. The starting point for the concept is therefore a renovation of the existing 25 meter pool. Sisco said that thus far indicates that a 50-meter pool does not work at Randall, largely because it draws so many s to a site that cannot facilitate parking. DPR would like to replace the pool house, renovate the historic building and make upgrades to both the courts and field. The project is still in the design phase; next, DPR will select a construction manager, at which point additional timelines will crystalize together with other decisions.

   

6. Rumsey Aquatic Center (635 North Carolina Ave. SE) is a project that has been in the books for some time, Sisco said, but a few changes to the budget have affected the project. There is not yet a website, but there is a budget and an RFP for design build services. Currently, $2 5million is allotted; in Oct. 1 another $12 million will be added, after Councilmember Charles Allen (D) and DGS Director Delano Hunter worked with neighbors to add a senior wellness component with fitness, classroom and community hub. The pool is in the very early design phases, the team cautioned. A typical design process takes a year, but given that Rumsey is a historic building adjacent to historic Eastern Market, Sisco said this process will take longer.

   Design is expected to begin in Fall of this year and extend through next summer; the pool is expected to remain open throughout the planning process. The community will be engaged throughout the process, Sisco said, and decisions about matters such as non-aquatic services will be made in collaboration with the community. In response to a question about whether Rumsey would be renovated or replaced, Sisco said that decision has not yet been made, but added, “think the overall goal is that we understand this facility is is so old at this point just from a customer service standpoint, from an amenity standpoint, from an energy use standpoint, you know what we would love to see here is a brand new facility.”

DPR Director Thennie Freeman reminded attendees at the Ward 6 meeting that budgets are usually created at the outset of a project. But three to five years can elapse from the design stage to when shovels hit the ground on a project. “There’s a saying that says yesterday’s prices are not today’s prices,” she said, explaining that allocated budgets may not retain the purchasing power expected.

These meetings are expected to take place quarterly, Sisco said, meaning if information changes DPR will be able to give updates at the next meeting. “his is really an effort on on dpr’s part to be proactive and and to meet folks in the communities or at least give you proactive updates on what’s going on in projects in your community,” Sisco said. Freeman was appointed Interim Director of Parks and Recreation in April 2023, coming from the DC Department of Employment Services (DOES). The quarterly updates by ward are an innovation since she was confirmed in December.

You can watch the ward-by-ward construction updates online at https://https://wardupdates.splashthat.com/

Information for all DC Capital projects can be found at https://dgs.dc.gov/page/dgs-capital-constructionprojects.