A group that wants to build an underground art exhibition hall below Dupont Circle will take a major step forward Wednesday when it shows its plan to the public.
The Arts Coalition for Dupont Underground, formed more than two years ago, is seeking to transform two long tunnels that were once a bustling streetcar station below Connecticut Avenue into a 100,000-square-foot arts exhibition and performance space.
Julian Hunt, a local architect and director of Dupont Underground, said the next few months are critical for the project’s future. If no action is taken by the new city administration under presumptive Mayor-elect Vincent Gray, it could mean the end of years of hard work.
“It could be that the Gray administration … shelves it and we end up waiting two, three, four more years and the energy goes away,” Hunt said. “We do not want that to happen.”
Wednesday’s presentation is scheduled to be held at 7 p.m. at the Dupont Hotel. The deputy mayor’s office for planning and economic development, which issued a request for proposals for the trolley station in March, will host the event.
A 30-day public comment period will follow the meeting, after which the office will decide whether to enter into an exclusive rights agreement.
“We want to move forward with a bid that’s going to be embraced by a large cross-section of this community,” said Jose Sousa, a spokesman for the office. “It’s important to get people aware of what’s being discussed.”
But the office’s endorsement does not include funding — it will have to be privately financed, Sousa said.
Hunt said the group has raised $25,000 to pay for the proposal. The group also has a financing plan, should the project go forward.
Hunt would not give details on the total project cost but he did say elements such as artist space rentals and concessions would help pay for the exhibition hall.
“This was no fly-by-night proposal,” he said. “It’s something we’ve been working on for years.”
Dupont’s trolley station and tunnels have gone unused since the last streetcar left the station in 1962. Today, the only remnant of the station is the covered staircases surrounding the traffic circle.
Attempts over the years to reopen the space have been short-lived. In 1995, a proposal to turn the station into a food court quickly failed.
In 2003, the Dupont Circle Advisory Neighborhood Commission discussed potential uses including a movie theater, storage for nearby residents or retail, but no action was taken.
