NoMa Celebrates New First Street & Sculpture with Mayor Gray
Mayor and Other Dignitaries to Attend Neighborhood Celebration Friday, May 30
Washington, D.C., May 29, 2014 – Get your scissors out, because NoMa is cutting ribbons on two exciting new projects: the completion of the beautiful First Street, NE streetscape, and the unveiling of a three-story public art sculpture at First and M Streets, NE.
When: Friday, May 30, 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM
Where: Grassy lot at Pierce and First Streets, NE, adjacent to 1100 First Street, NE
What: Ribbon-cutting, cake, champagne, brief ceremony, and NoMa giveaways
Who: Mayor Vincent Gray will be joined by DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Executive Director Lionell Thomas, Sam Zimbabwe from the District Department of Transportation, ANC Commissioner Tony Goodman, WABA Executive Director Shane Farthing, Robin-Eve Jasper from the NoMa Business Improvement District, and other DDOT leaders
Schedule: First Street Program starts at noon; Sculpture ribbon-cutting and program will start at 12:30 PM
Please see below for details about each project.
First Street, NE Gets Complete Makeover
First Street, NE opened to two-way traffic just two weeks ago after a year-long rejuvenation project led by the District Department of Transportation. The reconstruction created a protected cycle track on First Street, NE, upgraded underground infrastructure, added stormwater catch basins, installed bio-retention stormwater swales, realigned sidewalks, enlarged tree boxes, added new crosswalks, installed new traffic lights and street lamps, and landscaped the public space adjacent to unfinished parcels.
Sculpture Adorns First & M Intersection
A new sculpture now adorns the First and M intersection, thanks to generous support from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, the NoMa Business Improvement District, and Principal Real Estate Investors. The structure was selected through a public design competition and awarded to NADAAA, a Boston-based multidisciplinary design firm. The piece, entitled “Torqued Tensility,” activates the street, engages pedestrians and creates a strong reference point for the neighborhood.
The 31-foot-tall installation is comprised of four steel tubes held in compression by cables, and anchored in three locations on a raised concrete plinth. The plinth acts as seating, and also contains up-lighting for the sculpture. Thin stainless steel wires are laced between the compressive tubes, bypassing each other so no two wires intersect. NoMa BID oversaw fabrication and installation.
About NoMa
NoMa is a vibrant, growing neighborhood nestled between Union Station, the U.S. Capitol, Shaw, and the H Street, NE corridor in Washington, D.C. Over the last several years, private developers have invested more than $5 billion in the 35-block area within the NoMa BID boundary, and have plans to develop more than 16 million square feet of additional office, residential, hotel, and retail space. With a capital investment of $50 million from the District government in 2013, NoMa will soon have great new parks and public spaces as well. NoMa is home to more than 3,800 terrific new apartments, and more than 40,000 people work here each day. NoMa is the most connected neighborhood in Washington, D.C. With unparalleled transportation access on Amtrak, VRE, MARC, two Red Line Metro stops, and vehicular access to Interstate 395, visitors, workers and residents can easily travel throughout the region as well as get to New York or anywhere on the East Coast. NoMa has a WalkScore of 92 and offers great biking facilities, including free outdoor air pumps, the East Coast’s only Bikestation, the 8-mile Metropolitan Branch Trail, and seven Capital Bikeshare stations. The NoMa BID organizes more than 50 free award-winning community events each year, connecting more than 20,000 friends and neighbors. For more information about NoMa, visit nomabid.wpengine.com and sign up for our bimonthly newsletter. Follow us on Twitter @NoMaBID and like us on Facebook.
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For immediate release
News media contact:
Rachel Davis
202-997-3846
[email protected]