Local Architect Plans Garden Where Rats Now Roam

Architect Robert Bell grew weary of looking out the windows of his newly built property on O Street at an alley populated by only the hardiest of weeds and the happiest of rats, so he decided to do something about it.

Bell has plans to banish the rats and weeds and replace them with additional store space and rooftop gardens behind 1328-1336 Wisconsin Ave. and he has received Advisory Neighborhood Commission and Historic Preservation Board approval to do so.

As the owner of two O Street properties that recently had large rear and below grade additions built, Bell knows what it takes to transform a neglected space into something to brag about. Since he just finished revamping his own properties, to businesses like and , he has cast his eyes to the rear of the 1300 block of Wisconsin Avenue.

Bell's plan is relatively simple. He calls for one-story rear additions to each of the properties, closing off an already inaccessible alley and then adding rooftop gardens. The gardens will go a long way toward improving his view from O Street and upgrading a space, that, though unseen from Wisconsin Ave, is still an eyesore in the historic neighborhood.

Sam Ramedani owns , one of the stores included in the plan.

"It was a dumpster, the space back there...but no one sees it," he said.

After seeing what Bell did on O Street, Ramedani said he looked to his neighborhood architect to find a solution.

Robert Clark is the general manager at the , which neighbors the space getting a makeover.

Bell's proposal "eliminates all the unused area back there, where people used to throw garbage...it would just clean that whole area up," said Clark.

With the garbage, came the rats.

"That was the biggest issue- it’s just getting worse and worse and worse," said Ramedani, "every two months I have to spend $300 or $400" on an exterminator for the rats.

To fix that, "We’ll spend the money," said the store owner.

The other store owners have been supportive of the plan as well, he said, "because all of us are suffering from this issue."

When giving Patch a tour of the back space, Bell eagerly talked about installing a line of cherry trees along the border of the Georgetown Inn parking lot and the property line of the Wisconsin Avenue shops.

But, Clark was adamant that the trees were not an option. In fact the tree that Bell had already planted there caused some flooding in the below-grade parking garage when someone watered it, according to Clark.

Clark explained that there had previously been a row of trees in the very space where Bell wants to plan the cherry trees and they were removed, at a cost of $10,000 or $15,000, because the root systems became problematic below grade and the limbs were a liability for cars parked on the lot.

"He's a great neighbor, he’s got great visions, but we won’t be adding any more trees on our property lines," said Clark.

Cherry trees or not, Ramedani is looking forward to when work can commence, "The neighborhood needs a lift."