Posts by Martha McIntosh
Construction on Schedule – Addition Going Up!
As we finish our first year of Murch@UDC, it is a good time to check in on construction of the renovated and expanded Murch@36th Street. Excavation and remediation are complete. The project has all permits necessary and has cleared all major administrative reviews. The construction site is busy with cranes helping to erect steel supports for…
Read More(De)construction Begins!
Many community members have noticed increased activity at the Murch @ 36th Street site. From the outside you can only see small developments, such as the construction offices set up in the Kaufman Wing and the removal of the basketball and soccer goals. But on the inside, demolition and abatement work has begun! Below is just a sample…
Read MoreDOH letter on School Nurse Plan
Mayor's Budget Still Underfunds Murch Renovation
Mayor Bowser released her Fiscal Year 2017 budget proposal on Thursday, March 24. The budget proposal includes $78 million for the Murch modernization, which still leaves the project $10 million underfunded for the design that was developed last year. In an email to Murch HSA and SIT leaders, Deputy Mayor for Education Jennifer Niles stated,…
Read MoreUDC and DCPS Reach Formal Agreement on Swing Space
At a meeting on March 22, the University of the District of Columbia (UDC) Board of Trustees and DCPS reached agreement on plans for UDC to host Murch for the next two school years. The Murch community is very grateful to the UDC staff and Board of Trustees for their hard work to give Murch students…
Read MoreLetter on Murch Renovation from Deputy Mayor for Education
Third Redesign Presented & Community Meeting Scheduled
DCPS and DGS will hold their next community meeting on the renovation on Thursday, March 24 at 7 pm in the gym/cafeteria “bubble” at Lafayette Elementary, 5701 Broad Branch Rd NW. They will present the latest plans at that time and will take questions and comments from the community about the plans and the status of the project. We…
Read MoreCompare the Design Plans for Murch
In July 2015, the SIT and the Murch community gave their support to a design plan for modernizing and expanding Murch. This design was also given preliminary approval by the Historic Preservation Review Board, the federal Commission of Fine Arts, and the National Capital Planning Commission. That original design, which the community believes best meets the…
Read MoreModernization Redesign Continues, Still Misses the Mark
DCPS has asked Principal Cebrzynski to share the attached letter from Dr. Nathaniel Beers, Chief Operating Officer of DCPS. The Murch School Improvement Team (SIT) and HSA and outraged by the way that he portrays the cuts to the project in this letter. In the letter he minimizes the effects of the cuts on our children. Here…
Read MoreMurch testimony at DC Council on DGS
On February 25, Murch HSA Co-President Martha McIntosh testified at the DC Council Committee on Transportation and the Environment’s Hearing on performance oversight of the Department of General Services. Read the testimony here.
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