Bloomingdale Buzz

by
Ellen Boomer
Making Housing Affordable
Dantes Partners does more than just negotiate and manage real estate deals. It helps
DC residents get a foothold in the increasingly unaffordable housing market.
Founded in 2006 by Bloomingdale resident Buwa Binitie, Dantes Partners combines
real estate development and management with mission-driven work.
Binitie and his team get a sense of fulfillment by creating affordable and workforce
housing opportunities rather than simply churning out another market-rate product.
With an area median income (AMI) of $109,200, DC is one of the countrys most
expensive places to live. In order to finance their projects and offer housing options for
people such as Hill staffers, nonprofit employees, and teachers, Dantes Partners looks
for unconventional ways to finance projects.
Knowing how to leverage public resources is key, Binitie explained, so we utilize
various public financing sources, including low income housing tax credits, community
development block grants, new market tax credits, and tax exempt bonds, along with
conventional financing, in order to bring these developments to fruition.
Binitie, who served as the Director of New Communities for the Deputy Mayor for
Planning and Economic Development under Mayor Adrian Fenty in 2007, discovered he
had a head for business at an early age while growing up in Nigeria.
My sisters and I came to the U.S. and bought clothes, Binitie remembered. My friends
back home liked them and offered me stupid amounts of money for them. [I realized]
money in my pocket is more valuable than clothes on my body.
Dantes Partners recently completed a 37-unit condo conversion in Eckington, a project
that was a classic example of taking a building that has been vacant for over 30 years
and transforming it into affordable condos.
Binitie is also using his financial acumen to mentor children in DC through Wise Young
Builders, a program for children ages 8 to 12 designed to teach math skills through
construction principles. Dantes Partners invites students to sites to show how they can
use their math skills in real life and have real, long-lasting impact on the community.
Contact Dantes Partners at 701 Lamont St NW, Suite 11 or via
www.dantespartners.com.

Bloomingdale Buzz
by
Ellen Boomer
Bloomingdales Bicycles
Thanks to artist Tom Noll and his bicycle fence, Bloomingdales busiest corner is always
well-decorated. Nolls art installation has motorists on Rhode Island Avenue hoping for a
red light so they have time to admire his repurposed art installation.
Originally from Ohio, Noll spent about 20 years in Manassas before moving to
Bloomingdale in 2009. He brought his interest in repurposing found objects, his
commitment to recycling and his bicycle fence with him.
I had some friends [in Bloomingdale] and loved the architecture, said Noll, whos done
research on the doors and transoms around the neighborhood. I wanted to bring a
sense of community, and the bicycles gave me the means to do that. They bring a
homey atmosphere.
Noll works as a landscape designer and noticed the small park at 1st Street and Rhode
Island avenue was in shambles a few years ago. By cleaning it up and adding some
planting, Noll enhanced the park and then worked with local businesses to decorate the
space with his bicycle fence as the centerpiece.
One Bloomingdale resident told Noll, Youre a blessing to our community because you
brighten up our days. Noll hopes that the bicycle fence will make people commuting to
work smile. In the four years since Noll put up the fence, its never been damaged and
only one thing was stolen which was not part of the fence itself.
I grew up recycling before it was called recycling, Noll shared. I teach kids to reuse
and repurpose. There are different ways for kids to recycle.
Noll has channeled his passion for and knowledge of recycling into writing two childrens
books, entitled The Bicycle Fence and Selling Eggs. I try to teach kids how to think
outside the box, Noll, whos continuing to write childrens books, said. At the end of
each book, there are recycling tips.
The author does readings at local libraries and is accompanied by a friend who does a
puppet show. Keep an eye out for Nolls new books and the fences summer theme,
Going to the Pool.
Contact Tom Noll via his publisher and publicist, Alberto Ucles at jucles@hotmail.com
or via greenkidspress.com.

Bloomingdale Buzz
by
Ellen Boomer

Noshing with Neighbors

Wednesdays on the Porch offers an opportunity for community members to get to
know their neighbors over dinner. Hosted bi-weekly, this event helps make friends of
strangers and strengthens peoples connection to their neighborhoods.
Wednesdays on the Porch is an event that started in May of this year and is hosted by
local companies NextGen Development and SynRG Hospitality. Residents from
Bloomingdale, Shaw, LaDroit, NoMa, Eckington and Truxton Circle come together to
share good food, drinks and an inviting porch in Bloomingdale.
At a recent Wednesday night dinner Paul Reitz, who works for SynRG Hospitality,
overhead someone comment, I think theres something about a porch that just stops
you from stressing. You cannot be tense on a porch.
Since the first get-together in May, attendance has been as few as 30 and as many as
150 people. Reitz shared that he learned about everything from neighborhood
restaurants to the Bloomingdale Farmers Market to local events, all which shape the
community.
Reitz, who recently moved from Ohio to Eckington, started the event to
bring the community together. By learning about everything from urban garden
initiatives to community leaders helping to keep people informed, I have been able to
understand the personality of this community.
With so many new faces moving in its hard to keep a sense of community, though the
event is open to anyone and everyone around the District, Reitz remarked. We wanted
to provide a chance for people to meet their neighbors and start making the connections
that keep everyone strong.
Contact Wednesdays on the Porch at www.wedontheporchdc.com.