Construction Begins Next Week on Park at 3rd and L Streets NE

The NoMa Parks Foundation is seeking community input to name two parks in the neighborhood, the 2.5-acre green space north of New York Avenue, and a smaller park at 3rd and L streets NE. More than 50 people attended the NoMa Parks Community Conversation held earlier this week to kick off the process.

Neighbors and community members are encouraged to propose names via the Foundation’s engagement website,ImagineNoMaParks.com, through August 25. Suggested names will be narrowed to four or five options, then released again for a final community vote. The final selections will be recommended to the D.C. Council and Mayor Muriel Bowser, who will make the ultimate decision.

“Over the last five years, we have worked tirelessly to find available land, gather input from neighbors about what they want in NoMa parks, and create beautiful, well-used, and well-loved public spaces,” said the Foundation’s president, Robin-Eve Jasper. “It’s really exciting to work with the neighborhood to propose lasting names for these two parks.”

Construction mobilization starts next week on the 8,000-square-foot park at 3rd and L streets NE, which was the first parcel purchased by the Foundation. The park will include plantings and gathering spaces; a vertical play structure designed for children ages 5 and up; and a space for dogs to run and play. About the construction:

Blue Skye Construction, a District-based small business, was selected as the general contractor for its notable experience with parks in D.C., including Kalorama Park, Volta Park, and Francis Dog Park.

During construction, the site will be closed, but the sidewalks will remain open. The construction entrance will be on 3rd Street NE, and pedestrians should be aware of construction traffic at that entrance.

Construction is expected to conclude this fall. Upon completion, the park will be owned by the District government and maintained by the Friends of NoMa Dogs.

Conceptual designs were released in April 2017 for the larger park, which has been referred to as “NoMa Green” during the planning process. Construction is expected to begin in 2018. For renderings of each park, visit nomaparks.org.

About NoMa Parks

The NoMa Parks Foundation was formed in 2012 to establish permanent, public outdoor spaces in NoMa that are attractive, sustainable, and welcoming — places for people to refresh, play, and connect, now and for generations to come. The rapid transformation of this part of Washington, D.C., just blocks north of the U.S. Capitol, into a mixed-use urban neighborhood has highlighted the importance of creating great public spaces. Currently, more than 36,000 people live within 4/5 of a mile of First and M streets NE, and that population is projected to double over the next decade. Additionally, 54,000 people work here, and more than 100,000 pedestrians are out and about in NoMa’s commercial core every day. In 2014, the NoMa Parks Foundation, which is an affiliate of the NoMa Business Improvement District, and the D.C. Government began a public-private partnership to build parks and great public spaces in NoMa. We have acquired three public park sites to date and have plans for publicly accessible parks on private spaces. In addition, two major art installations are planned for the M Street NE and L Street NE underpasses beneath the train tracks. To learn more about the work of the NoMa Parks Foundation, visitnomaparks.org. Follow us on Twitter (@NoMaParksDC) and like us on Facebook.