Georgetown Current
Mall Bowling Alley Wins Approval
January 16, 2013By Elizabeth Wiener
Current Staff Writer
A hastily drawn agreement between Pinstripes Bowling and residents of Georgetown Park Condominiums cleared the way yesterday for zoning approval of a 12-lane bowling alley and bocce ball courts at the redeveloping Shops at Georgetown Park mall.
The Board of Zoning Adjustment unanimously endorsed the plan after viewing a detailed — and legally binding — set of operating conditions for the bowling alley and its various eating and drinking facilities. The agreement was being finalized right as the zoning hearing began.
The upscale bowling alley, complete with bars, an Italian bistro and upstairs banquet facility, is a key part of Vornado Realty Trust’s effort to transform the underused mall at Wisconsin Avenue and M Street into a more attractive shopping and entertainment destination.
Pinstripes, which already has four venues in the Midwest, envisions using 28,000 square feet of space on two levels of Georgetown Park, sandwiched between a parking garage below and condos above, for its first East Coast location. Dale Schwartz, Pinstripes’ founder and chief executive officer, said the concept “redefines entertainment and dining,” and said more than 80 percent of the business is “beverage and dining,” with bowling only offered as one option.
“Bowling alleys historically attracted the Harley-Davidson crowd,” he told the board. “That’s clearly not what we do.”
But the plan initially ran into significant resistance from the condominium association, which feared a bowling alley would create disturbing levels of noise and vibration. Already frayed by the noise of construction elsewhere in the mall, the condo owners united in opposition to a venue they feared might make the disruption permanent.
Their opposition swayed the Georgetown advisory neighborhood commission to vote unanimously on Jan. 2 to oppose Pinstripe’s zoning application. Normally, that would merit “great weight” in the zoning board’s deliberations, but the commission also indicated it would withdraw its opposition if Pinstripes and the condo owners reached a mutually acceptable operating agreement.
There was a bit of drama inside and outside the hearing room Tuesday as Pinstripes attorney Allison Prince and condo association attorney Marty Sullivan scrambled to finish the long agreement — and an attached set of conditions — before the zoning board could act.
“We’re very close to agreement, 98 percent there,” said Sullivan as the day opened. When the case was called about an hour later, Prince said: “We have crossed that 2 percent threshold.”
Sullivan told the zoning board that his clients had formally withdrawn their opposition. And with the agreement in hand, board chair Lloyd Jordan noted, “the ANC moves to the support column.”
Among the agreement’s conditions, Pinstripes is pledging to:
• allow the condo association’s own sound engineer complete access during construction, to make sure all soundproofing specifications are met.
• limit the number of people who can use outdoor patios on both levels, and end outdoor operations at 10 p.m. on weekends and 9 p.m. on weekdays. None of the facilities, indoors or out, would open before 8 a.m.
• put screening around the patios to protect “the privacy of neighbors” on both sides of the C&O Canal, which flanks Georgetown Park. Movable walls will be used to prevent noise from escaping whenever amplified music is used inside.
In addition, as Prince pointed out, the entire operation will be bound by D.C. code requiring any establishment serving alcohol in Georgetown’s waterfront zone to limit noise escaping its doors to essentially “the level of the human voice.”
And even though only the bowling alley requires zoning approval, Prince said the agreement covers much more. “We took a global approach with conditions that address the totality.”
Even so, board members had some doubts about the noise controls, and whether they would work at Georgetown Park. Despite a lengthy report by Pinstripes’ sound engineer, Jordan noted, “I don’t see any actual readings from this facility.”
But members seemed reassured when Vornado official Scott Milsom described the 12-inch concrete slab between the bowling alley and floor above, and another thick slab between the banquet level and condos. “Any vibration and noise will be completely eliminated,” Schwartz said. “The goal is this is essentially inaudible in the residential space,” his sound engineer said.
After the board granted approval, Schwartz said Pinstripes hopes to begin construction in the next few months, and to open by the end of 2013.
This article appears in the Jan. 16 issue of The Georgetown Current newspaper.
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Bowling, Banquet Plan Brings Noisy Objections
January 9, 2013By Deirdre Bannon
Current Staff Writer
Plans to bring an upscale bowling alley to the Shops at Georgetown Park mall are facing opposition from neighbors concerned about noise.
The Georgetown advisory neighborhood commission voted unanimously on Jan. 2 to oppose an application for a zoning exception that would allow the bowling alley project to proceed. Commissioners said they might reverse that decision, however, if bowling company Pinstripes can reach an “enforceable agreement” with condo owners who live above the mall.
The proposed 12-lane bowling alley would include an Italian restaurant on one level with bowling lanes and bocce ball courts underneath, using 28,000 square feet of the mall. The residential units are located directly above the planned restaurant and a banquet hall space.
Because bowling is not a “matter-of-right” use for the commercial property at 3222 M St., Pinstripes needs a special exception from the D.C. Board of Zoning Adjustment to open at the mall. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for Jan. 15.
Georgetown Park Condominiums owners showed up in droves at last week’s neighborhood commission meeting to object to the project, voicing concerns that sound and vibrations from the bowling alley would travel up to their units. Residents said their nerves are already frayed from excessive noise due to the mall’s construction project that has so far lasted eight months.
Condo owner Diane Miller said at the meeting that she has lived with “deafening noise” from the construction, hearing “every hammer strike all day long.” She called mall owner Vornado Realty Trust “a horrible community partner” in the project.
The building’s steel-beam structure causes noise to resonate inside the residential units no matter how far away the construction work is, Miller said — which gives her every reason to believe that sound and vibrations from the bowling alley would be equally disruptive.
Pinstripes founder and chief executive officer Dale Schwartz said at the meeting that the Chicago-based company would use advanced engineering practices to “attenuate and eliminate all bowling noise,” and said that the company has had no complaints from neighbors of its four Midwest locations.
But the condo owners weren’t convinced. Miller told Schwartz she wouldn’t back the project “unless you can give me a 100 percent guarantee that I won’t hear noise from bowling” — adding that no sound engineer or business owner “in his right mind” could give that assurance.
Andrew Peak, another condo owner, said noise from the construction project has been “absolute hell,” adding that “the last six months have been worse than sleeping in Afghanistan,” where he recently served in the Army.
He said residents are looking forward to the work ending in eight or 10 months — but they’re worried the bowling will then create a never-ending noise problem. Peak told commissioners that he and fellow residents are “throwing ourselves on your mercy” to stop the project.
Residents became equally concerned about plans to include a banquet hall, located directly below the condo units, that could accommodate more than 300 people for special events such as weddings, birthdays and corporate functions. Pinstripes also plans to have live music at the venue on weekends and would provide outdoor areas for clients. Schwartz outlined the plan with The Current and other media outlets last fall, but residents said no one had shared these details with them.
Commissioner Tom Birch said that prior to the meeting he wasn’t worried about the project because he thought the bowling alley “would be buried in the depths of the property, and now I find out that it’s not, which is concerning.”
The banquet operation “is just as much of a concern if not more,” Birch said, later adding that it was an untested model — no other Pinstripes locations have residences located above the bowling alley.
The restaurant and banquet hall would not need special zoning exceptions to operate. However, commissioners are asking the zoning board to consider the “objectionable impacts” of those operations in their decision. If the board approves the exception but declines to rule on the banquet hall, the commission and residents would have another opportunity to address concerns during the liquor license application process.
Condo owners said they want a binding agreement with Pinstripes that if noise from the bowling alley is heard inside their residences, the business will agree to cease operations until the problem is fixed.
“The devil is in the details,” said condo owner Rebecca Xia. “If we don’t have practical enforcement, I don’t see how this will work.”
Commissioners agreed that noise enforcement is a problem.
“The only way this could possibly fly is if we have Vornado agree to legally binding letters of understanding,” said commissioner Bill Starrels.
Vornado vice president Scott Milsom said at the meeting that the company would work with residents, paying for a sound engineer of the condo board’s choosing to evaluate the building and the proposed bowling alley. Schwartz said he has alleviated similar concerns at other Pinstripes locations, and vowed to do the same in Georgetown.
Commission chair Ron Lewis noted that he’s also concerned about the impact on visitors to the abutting C&O Canal Towpath. “I really do hope [all parties] can get together on this,” he said.
This article appears in the Jan. 9 issue of The Georgetown Current newspaper.
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Jack’s Boathouse Fights Possible Eviction
January 1, 2013By Alix Pianin
Current Staff Writer
The fate of Jack’s Boathouse, a Georgetown mainstay that has rented kayaks, canoes and rowboats on the Potomac River for nearly 70 years, is still up in the air after a series of run-ins with the National Park Service over the holidays.
On Dec. 18, Jack’s Canoes and Kayaks LLC learned it was being evicted from its long-running rental facility. The Park Service informed the company it would need to leave by Jan. 31, with officials later explaining that the manager of Jack’s technically held no lease for the space.
After receiving hundreds of letters in protest, Park Service director Jon Jarvis announced on Christmas Eve that the eviction would be put on hold until he gets a chance to review the case. But in the meantime, Jack’s Boathouse owner Paul Simkin is left to wonder whether his business will remain intact by the end of the month.
The boathouse, located at 3500 K St. by the Key Bridge, has provided boat rentals and storage since its opening in 1945 by former D.C. police officer Jack Baxter. In 1984, the District government transferred jurisdiction of certain Georgetown waterfront property — including the site of Jack’s Boathouse — to the National Park Service.
Jack Baxter’s son, Frank Baxter, took over after his father died in 1999, and ran it with Simkin, his friend and business partner. Simkin stepped in as manager and owner after Frank Baxter died about four years ago.
Since then, pricey renovations and canny marketing have put Jack’s Boathouse on the map as a destination spot for outdoorsy residents and visitors. Business was booming — which is why Simkin was shocked to receive the letter from the National Park Service last month informing him of the pending eviction.
Park Service regional director Stephen Whitesell wrote to Simkin that the business was to “terminate its occupancy of the leased premises” and vacate by the end of January. Simkin would then be offered a chance to join other vendors in bidding for a new contract for the space.
Park Service spokesperson Carol Johnson described the measure as “strictly a procedural thing” that came about as part of the agency’s attempts to standardize vendors and contracting on its land.
Officials found in a review of the business that Simkin did not hold a formal lease with the Park Service, she said. After Frank Baxter’s death, the lease did not automatically transfer in name over to Simkin. “Whether it was legal was questionable,” said Johnson.
But Simkin said he “absolutely” believes that he has a proper lease.
He said he has made consistent monthly payments to the National Park Foundation, the charitable nonprofit that directly supports the National Park Service. “I know that I’ve been paying — without ever a break in payment — to [the foundation] and the checks have been cashed,” he said.
According to Johnson, until this year the contract for Jack’s Boathouse contract had not been formally reviewed in more than 30 years. The business pays about $4,200 a year to the National Park Foundation, Johnson said — the same amount agreed upon in 1982.
It is unusual to have an independent business paying rent on National Park Service land, Johnson said; most vendors have concession contracts with the agency. And since the Park Service, as a government agency, isn’t permitted to collect money from leases, all payments from Jack’s Boathouse have gone to the parks foundation.
Simkin agreed that the model isn’t ideal. He said he began working with Park Service representatives about a year ago toward an agreement that would trade in the current lease for a three-year temporary concession contract. Under that arrangement, the Park Service would regulate Jack’s, and the business would turn over a percentage of its profits to the agency.
Simkin said that he was eager to formalize that agreement this summer — only to find that his Park Service contacts stopped returning his calls and letters.
Johnson confirmed that the Park Service had discussed developing a concession contract with Jack’s Boathouse several months ago, but said no clear conclusion was ever reached.
News of the eviction notice, first reported by The Georgetowner on its website, prompted an outcry from the boathouse’s supporters, who quickly took to the Internet to rally around Simkin. Jesse Rauch — executive director of the D.C. State Board of Education, and the force behind 2009’s campaign to save the annual Screen on the Green film festival at the National Mall — started a petition on change.org to lobby for Jack’s Boathouse. Within the first 36 hours, the petition was receiving about a hundred signatures an hour, Rauch said — and with each of these, the National Park Service director received an automated email in support of Jack’s.
Director Jarvis said in a statement that in light of the hundreds of letters he received, he would put a temporary hold on the eviction; he also reaffirmed his enthusiasm for having boating access in the area.
According to spokesperson Johnson, “the Park Service is committed to having boating operations there.” But, she allowed, “it may not necessarily be the same management.”
Johnson last week reiterated the Park Service’s plans to put a temporary concession contract on the boathouse property up for bids, but said the property must first be vacated.
All the recent renovations at Jack’s Boathouse have been paid for out of pocket by Simkin, who liquidated his retirement pension and invested about $350,000 into overhauls. The efforts to make his patch of the waterfront a desirable hangout have paid off enormously, he said. In one year, the number of customers jumped from 4,000 to about 72,000.
Even if he’s allowed to bid on the concession contract, Simkin said any eviction, however temporary, would devastate him. Not only would he have to let go of his 27 employees, but he would also have to sell off the entire facility — which includes more than 300 boats and a dock he paid for himself — this month.
“If I have to go, I can’t come back,” he said. “I’m done, Jack’s is done.”
Simkin said he has been working with a lawyer, and still hopes for another resolution with the agency.
“We’ve never wanted anything … special in rent,” he said. “I’m just brokenhearted and crushed.”
This article appears in the Jan. 2 issue of The Georgetown Current newspaper.
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