ANC Wrap Up: Nike's 10-foot Swoosh Sign, GU Athletic Facility and More

The merits of a 10-foot Nike Swoosh and a pre-fabricated juice shed that will abut were among the issues debated by the Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) at its Monday night meeting.

Zoning

Georgetown Training Facility: The ANC chided the university for shrinking their proposed athletic facility and for not maximizing the density of the structure, especially given the demand for housing.

The University said financing issues necessitated a smaller structure.

Citizens Association of Georgetown President Jennifer Altemus told university officials "it doesn’t sound like you should be scaling back" .

The ANC passed a resolution asking future reviewers to note the building "does not fully utilize the space" and also that the university is not limited by historic preservation review from pursuing a denser project.

ABC Review

Blue Gin, a Paul Cohen concept, received approval for a voluntary agreement with the ANC for a rooftop "summer garden." The restaurant, at 1206 Wisconsin Ave., will install eight-foot sound barrier walls around the garden so “no noise will be heard” from Prospect Street, M Street or Wisconsin Avenue. They also agreed to limit their hours to midnight Sunday through Thursday and 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.

Curb Cut Request

The owner of 3029 Q St. N.W. requested a permanent curb cut to allow a parking space and handicapped ramp access from the front to back of the house. The ANC had for the home because of the medical conditions of one of the residents.

But the commissioners on Monday night were unwilling to grant a permanent curb cut and driveway, in part because the owner already has access to the property from the rear of her home. In their comments the ANC said the presence of several other curb cuts on that street is "not sufficient for approval of a new one," as curb cuts do not fit within the historic context of the neighborhood.

Old Georgetown Board (OGB)

Nike Store 3040 M St. N.W.: Plans for , which will fill the , propose moving the entrance from its current location at the Thomas Jefferson Street corner to a more central location on M Street. Nike's desired blade signs did not garner any support from the ANC.

The commissioners were mainly focused on the proposed signage on M Street and Thomas Jefferson Street, namely the back-lit (or halo-lit) orange Nike Swoosh logo. The swooshes, proposed to be 10 feet wide and 42 inches high, would be applied in the same location as the current Barnes and Noble signage.

The ANC asked the OGB to "lend its expertise to determine if the size of the logo is appropriate or if it is too big."

3333 M St., NW: The salad and yogurt shop is launching a new product line and sought approval for a pre-fabricated shed that will fill in the space between Sweet Green and North Face, currently occupied by a few outside tables.

The 48-square-foot shed will have a Dutch door and an employee would serve the new product "Sweet Press," a bottled pressed juice product, from a shed window.

Though the ANC was unclear on the need for an additional structure for the business concept, the proposal received no opposition.

3212 (3240) Grace Street: The condo project was after the architect made several changes to the design in response to earlier comments from both the ANC and the OGB.

The design still includes seven condo units, but now offers three parking spaces instead of four. There is no longer a rooftop deck area, but there are significant balconies on several of the units.

Neighbors remain unhappy with the size of the project and its lack of a setback from the street.

The ANC objected to the sign, citing the neighbors concerns over scale, density, parking and the lack of a setback on the north and west sides.