XM Radio & Economic Development in NoMA

Today's papers report that XM Satellite Radio, located at the intersection of Florida Avenue and Eckington Place NE, has achieved more than 4 million customers, and is on track to reach its goal of 5.5 million customers for the year. (I may not be one of them. I like the service, but since they dropped the Rock en espanol channel, I have less reason to subscribe.)

A few blocks away from XM's headquarters lies the Washington Coliseum/Uline Arena, at 2nd (technically Delaware Avenue NE on that particular block) and M Streets NE.

This building, now owned by Doug Jemal*, was the site of the first Beatles concert in North America. The building is an important site of the city's social and cultural history, ranging from the site of the first professional basketball team, to a number of important milestones in the struggle for integration (Paul Robeson concert, a full year picketing campaign to protest the lack of a clear pro-integrated events policy, the Washington Capitols being the first team in what is now the NBA to play an African-American in a game).


One of my ideas with regard to adaptive reuse of the Uline Arena/Washington Coliseum would be to recast it as the "XM Satellite Radio Coliseum" and link concerts and other music extravaganzas to the various programming channels, which range from jazz to world music.

Given that it is now steps away from the red line New York Avenue station, the Uline Arena is primed with great public transportation access, something it never had before.

The DC Office of Planning is about to embark upon a new planning study for the "NoMa" area. Hopefully this idea can make it into that plan. It also makes a lot more sense to put a "music museum" (something big on the agenda of the Federal City Council, click on "our current projects" for more information about the FCC's proposed "National Music Center") here rather than to try to come up with $200 million+ to put it somewhere else.
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* Monday's Richmond Times-Dispatch tells us that Doug Jemal has been buying buildings in Richmond. Hmm, I guess the opportunities in DC are starting to decline...