No really, it’s finally happening. Plastic park is going to be replaced with new playground equipment this July.
“DGS can confirm that installation work for the temporary playground on Parcel 1 of the Eastern Market Metro Park (EMMP) playground is set to start on July 22nd,” said DGS representative Donna Harris.
The temporary playground will be located near the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and Ninth Street SE, about 45 to 50 feet from Ninth Street. That’s slightly further west than the current location of the ad-hoc play space at the site. The new equipment will be placed inside a four-foot-high perimeter fence in the copse of trees along Pennsylvania Avenue. The equipment will include two major play pieces and three benches.
“Again, this playground is part of a community benefit package from Hine Development that ultimately will be incorporated into a larger playground once the metro park project is completed overall,” Harris said.
Installation of the playground uses funds provided by the construction agreement with Stanton-EastBanc made prior to the start of work on the Hine Project, including 700 Penn, the Residences at Eastern Market, and the C Street SE Plaza.
Work on the renovation of a newly-imagined Eastern Market Metro Plaza (EMMP) Park was kick-started with meetings last January. The renovation will include work on the area around Eastern Market Metro Station (Parcel 4), the area around the George Didden II Holiday Tree (Parcel 1, also containing ‘Plastic Park’) and smaller parcels of land in front of Trader Joe’s, Dunkin Donuts and in the cener of Pennsylvania Avenue SE. Construction on the full project is expected to begin this winter.
In a letter to DGS Director Keith A. Anderson dated June 27, the Commission on Fine Arts (CFA), the federal agency required to approve the plans, requested the DGS design team ‘coordinate the delegated review of the final design with the [CFA] staff,’ effectively giving the project design the go-ahead.
Plans for the temporary playground have been presented to the community by both the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) and DGS during community meetings and at Eastern Market Metro Park Advisory Team meetings.
Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner (ANC) Steve Holtzman (6B05), in whose Single Member District (SMD) the park is located, said in an email to constituents that he understood that construction would take about two weeks and that the playground could be in place for up to year.
DGS is expected to begin construction on the larger renovation to EMMP this winter, likely in December or January.
The plan will be reviewed at next week’s ANC Planning & Zoning Committee meeting, taking place 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 2 at St. Coletta of Greater Washington (1901 Independence Ave. SE) and then by the full ANC 6B when it meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 9th at the Hill Center (921 Pennsylvania Ave. SE).
Comments or questions regarding the temporary playground plan can be made to the ANC at the meetings, or by emailing Commissioner Holtzman at 6B05@anc.dc.gov.
Questions about the overall EMMP project may be submitted via email to emmp@dc.gov. For more information on the EMMP project, visit the DGS EMMP Project Page.
