Breakfast links: Disruptions plague first day of planned downtown Red Line shutdown
Close up of Red Line Shuttle bus by Adam Fagen licensed under Creative Commons.
WMATA GM apologizes for bad first day of Red Line shutdown
WMATA GM/General Manager Randy Clarke apologized for the shuttle bus delays, exacerbated by an unexpected issue that arose at the Dupont Circle Metro station that caused the planned shuttle route to be extended and the station to be closed unexpectedly during the morning rush. The Red Line shutdown will continue in stages through the end of the calendar year. (Joseph Olmo / NBC 4 Washington)
Barcroft Apartments will have more deeply affordable units than any other property in Arlington
Arlington County has approved a revised financing plan for Barcroft Apartments at George Mason Drive and Four Mile Run. The new plan would set aside 134 units for housholds making 30% of area median income (AMI), with the remainder for those making up to 60% AMI. The redeveloped property will have the largest number of homes affordable at 30% AMI out of all of Arlington County’s income-restricted affordable properties. (Jo DeVoe / ARLNow)
WMATA GM floats idea of regional tax for transit
WMATA General Manager Randy Clarke was interviewed on NBC 4 Washington over the weekend about WMATA’s $750 million budget shortfall, and he stated that it is time to start a serious conversation about instituting a regional tax. He did not identify specific tax types or amounts, but emphasized the importance of having a reliable source of funding year after year, instead of asking each jurisdiction to make a new commitment annually. (Adam Tuss / NBC 4 Washington)
Maryland’s new UPLIFT program attempts to reduce financing hurdles in formerly redlined neighborhoods
UPLIFT, a new program launched by the Moore-Miller Administration via the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, will help with financing for properties in historically redlined neighborhoods where appraisals are less than the cost of needed renovations, as well as help developers rehab rundown homes or build new ones. The program, which is currently funded at $10 million, is expected to finance approximately 200 homes in its first phase. (Megan Sales / Afro)
Fairfax County dashboard sees you when you’re teleworking and knows when you’re driving alone
Fairfax County launched a new Transportation & Mobility Dashboard that shows how the county is doing on telework, transportation choices, and traffic fatalities, as well as infrastructure, environment, and equity. For example, the dashboard reveals that in 2022, approximately 90% of Fairfax residents drove to work, 80% of those residents drove alone, and there were 60 fatal crashes. (Fatima Waseem / FFXNow)
Baltimore Peninsula development signs leases with Ravens, other major office, retail, and sports entities
Baltimore developers have announced seven office and eight retail leases for the new 200+ acre site between the Chesapeake Bay waterfront and I-95. The leases include an NFL Ravens “preview center” as well as a distillery headquarters, a sports league, and several well-known retail stores. (This article may require an email address to read). (Adam Bednar / BisNow)
FEMA moving to L’Enfant Plaza rather than St. Elizabeths campus
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has notified its employees that the agency will not be moving to the St. Elizabeths campus where many other agencies in the Department of Homeland Security are putting down roots. Instead, it will renovate and then occupy an Art Deco-style building at 301 7th Street SW, across the street from HUD headquarters. FEMA plans to move into the renovated space in 2027. (Jory Heckman / Federal News Network)
Arlington Cemetery Confederate memorial removal on hold
The planned removal of a Confederate memorial at Arlington National Cemetery, which George Leventhal recently wrote about for GGWash, is now in limbo. A group filed a federal lawsuit over the weekend to try to prevent its removal; a similar lawsuit was previously dismissed. (Anna Spiegel / Axios)
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