Local
ANC to vote on Whitman-Walker project
Redevelopment of Taylor building sought


A rendering of the proposed redevelopment of the Elizabeth Taylor Medical Center.
The Logan Circle Advisory Neighborhood Commission, ANC 2F, was scheduled to vote Wednesday night on whether to accept a recommendation by one of its committees that Whitman-Walker Health scale back the size of its proposed redevelopment of the site of its Elizabeth Taylor Medical Center at 14th and R St., N.W.
Last week, Whitman-Walker and its partner in the joint venture project, Fivesquares Development, released details for plans to convert the site into a 155,000-square-foot, six-story structure that would include retail shops and restaurants on the ground floor, underground parking, 60,000 square feet of office space, and at least 80 residential apartments.
Whitman-Walker, which would retain majority ownership rights in the project, would use about half of the office space for its community health programs, according to Whitman-Walker spokesperson Shawn Jain. Whitman-Walker would use its share of the revenue generated by the project to sustain and help finance its longstanding mission as a community health center with a special outreach to the LGBT community, Whitman-Walker officials have said.
ANC 2F member Kevin Deeley, who chairs the ANC’s Community Development Committee, told the Washington Blade that after receiving a presentation on April 27 from representatives of Whitman-Walker and Fivesquares Development, the committee adopted a resolution with recommendations that it was to present to the full ANC meeting on May 4.
Deeley said the committee’s resolution supports the overall design concept and endorses the project’s plans for the historic preservation of the Elizabeth Taylor building and a separate building on the site. Whitman-Walker purchased the existing buildings and surrounding land in the early 1990s before the 14th Street, N.W. corridor exploded into the bustling entertainment, retail and upscale residential destination it has become.
“They approved the general concept with a few reservations,” Deeley said of the ANC committee. “They thought the concept was a little too monolithic,” he said, adding that the committee would like the project to be “somewhat less massive” in size.
Since the project was designed to be within the size and height limits mandated by the city’s zoning restrictions for that section of the city, Whitman-Walker and the developer do not need to apply for a zoning variance from the D.C. Board of Zoning.
What they do need is the approval of the D.C. Historic Preservation Review Board, which is charged with making sure all new buildings in historic districts, such as the 14th Street district, are designed in a way that they respect and preserve the character of the district “without exactly duplicating” nearby existing buildings, according to a HPRB pamphlet.
Under D.C. law, city agencies must give “great weight” to ANC recommendations, but the agencies, not the ANCs, make the final decision on a proposed project such as Whitman-Walker’s.
Andy Altman, managing partner of Fivesquares Development, who attended the ANC committee meeting on April 27, said he was pleased with the committee’s response to the project.
“I actually thought it was a very positive meeting,” he said. “I thought it was a good discussion. I thought the people were very supportive.”
Altman said his development firm, Whitman-Walker officials and nationally known architect Annabelle Selldorf of New York, who designed the proposed new structure, will take into consideration all comments and suggestions by ANC 2f and the Historic Preservation Review Board, which he said has already been given copies of the plans for the redevelopment project.
“There are modifications that can be made to this design,” Altman said. “I think we’ll wait to get all the comments from the preservation office and the preservation review board and then look at what changes to make at that point,” he said.
“I think the fundamentals of the project in terms of its historic buildings and the way of the architect’s concepts are very, very strong,” Altman said.
Photos
PHOTOS: Helen Hayes Awards
Gay Men’s Chorus, local drag artists have featured performance at ceremony

The 41st Helen Hayes Awards were held at The Anthem on Monday, May 19. Felicia Curry and Mike Millan served as the hosts.
A performance featuring members of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington and local drag artists was held at the end of the first act of the program to celebrate WorldPride 2025.
The annual awards ceremony honors achievement in D.C.-area theater productions and is produced by Theatre Washington.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)


























District of Columbia
Laverne Cox, Reneé Rapp, Deacon Maccubbin named WorldPride grand marshals
Three LGBTQ icons to lead parade

WorldPride organizers announced Thursday that actress and trans activist Laverne Cox, powerhouse performer Reneé Rapp, and LGBTQ trailblazer Deacon Maccubbin will serve as grand marshals for this year’s WorldPride parade.
The Capital Pride Alliance, which is organizing WorldPride 2025 in Washington, D.C., revealed the honorees in a press release, noting that each has made a unique contribution to the fabric of the LGBTQ community.

Cox made history in 2014 as the first openly transgender person nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in an acting category for her role in Netflix’s “Orange Is the New Black.” She went on to win a Daytime Emmy in 2015 for her documentary “Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word,” which followed seven young trans people as they navigated coming out.
Rapp, a singer and actress who identifies as a lesbian, rose to prominence as Regina George in the Broadway musical “Mean Girls.” She reprised the role in the 2024 film adaptation and also stars in Max’s “The Sex Lives of College Girls,” portraying a character coming to terms with her sexuality. Rapp has released an EP, “Everything to Everyone,” and an album, “Snow Angel.” She announced her sophomore album, “Bite Me,” on May 21 and is slated to perform at the WorldPride Music Festival at the RFK Festival Grounds.
Deacon Maccubbin, widely regarded as a cornerstone of Washington’s LGBTQ+ history, helped organize D.C.’s first Gay Pride Party in 1975. The event took place outside Lambda Rising, one of the first LGBTQ bookstores in the nation, which Maccubbin founded. For his decades of advocacy and activism, he is often referred to as “the patriarch of D.C. Pride.”
“I am so honored to serve as one of the grand marshals for WorldPride this year. This has been one of the most difficult times in recent history for queer and trans people globally,” Cox said. “But in the face of all the rhetorical, legislative and physical attacks, we continue to have the courage to embrace who we truly are, to celebrate our beauty, resilience and bravery as a community. We refuse to allow fear to keep us from ourselves and each other. We remain out loud and proud.”
“Pride is everything. It is protection, it is visibility, it is intersectional. But most importantly, it is a celebration of existence and protest,” Rapp said.
The three will march down 14th Street for the WorldPride Parade in Washington on June 7.

2025 D.C. Trans Pride was held at Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library on Saturday, May 17. The day was filled with panel discussions, art, social events, speakers, a resource fair and the Engendered Spirit Awards. Awardees included Lyra McMillan, Pip Baitinger, Steph Niaupari and Hayden Gise. The keynote address was delivered by athlete and advocate Schuyler Bailar.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)










