The concrete plaza at 4250 Connecticut subject of 10/16 community meeting

It’s large. It’s gray. It’s certainly not “livable.” But the stark, empty, concrete plaza at 4250 Connecticut Avenue has the potential to be transformed into a beautiful, public art-filled gathering place. And with a grant from AARP and your help, it will be.

As Van Ness Main Street told us in a recent update, it was one of 88 U.S. grant winners in AARP’s Community Challenge. The challenge’s goal: to “make communities livable for people of all ages.”

Van Ness Main Street is seeking your input at a community meeting on Monday, October 16th, 7 to 8 p.m., at Soapstone Market (4455 Connecticut Avenue). Artists will collect your ideas and comments and include them in their planning for the culminating event: Create Van Ness Day on October 28th.

Light snacks will be served. RSVP to [email protected] or simply join the fun!

DC planners have wanted to improve the 4250 Connecticut Avenue streetscape for some time. (2014 image courtesy of the DC Office of Planning)

A 2013 vision for 4250 Connecticut Avenue. (rendering courtesy of Street Sense)