Posts about Development
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Dinner links: We can do better edition
Cheh comes out against Tenley library plan: NIMBYs and smart growth advocates have common ground on the LCOR development proposal for the Tenley-Friendship Library: they all hate it. A mixed-use building with housing and shops along with a library is a good idea for that high-traffic corner, but sources who know about the proposal say it’s a bad one, and Councilmember Mary… Keep reading…
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Dinner links: Elected officials behaving badly edition
Don’t they have better things to do? According to DC Wire, Council Chairman Gray found Dan Tangherlini parking in his spot, so he parked in Tangherlini’s spot, and then the mayor’s office threatened to tow Gray’s car. Having a playground spat over parking spaces is unseemly enough, but when elected officials make parking space pecking orders a major perk… Keep reading…
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Does Silicon Valley need a new city?
Silicon Valley is not so unlike Fairfax and Montgomery Counties: a mostly very wealthy area, many jobs in addition to housing, and suburban sprawl as the main building form. But around Washington DC, both counties have in recent years (more recently in Fairfax’s case) been pushing denser, somewhat walkable, often transit-oriented development, including “town center”… Keep reading…
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The era of big commute is over
The “end of the exurbs” trend narrative story has hit the Washington Post front page, with a very good article by Eric (”War on Drivers”) Weiss. As we well know, families just aren’t moving out to the fringe of the metropolitan area for cheap housing yet grueling commutes; “the days of building giant houses on former soybean fields on the outer… Keep reading…
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Gateway Market: “Chicago-projects quality”
In the triangle bounded by New York Avenue, Florida Avenue, and Gallaudet University, near the Metro station named for all three, is the city’s largest wholesale food market, a key link in the economic system for restaurants and small grocery markets. Along Florida Avenue, in front of the market, is a vacant lot with a sign: “Pretty soon, you won’t recognize the… Keep reading…
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Lunch links: Bad land use decision edition
Like lawn gnomes in the nation’s front yard: The Examiner looks at “mall sprawl”, the constant pressure from interest groups (and caving by Congress) to put more and more memorials on the Mall despite a 2003 law that said they wouldn’t do it. Newer ones aren’t just a simple statue or wall, either: they come with visitors’ centers, that explain… Keep reading…
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Evans-Silverman: two worlds, two boxes of tools
Interviewing Jack Evans and Cary Silverman, the candidates for the Ward 2 DC Council seat, one could think the two are running for completely different offices. Evans seems to be running for reelection as the Council version of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, devoting his energy to financing deals that will stimulate development throughout DC. Meanwhile,… Keep reading…
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Ask GGW: where should an auto-minimizing family live?
Reader Mark and his family are moving to the Greater Washington area. They are, in many ways, a typical area family: the parents are in their 30s, own dogs, want good schools and a safe area for their kids, and can spend about $500-800,000 for a house. Keep reading…
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Delay scuttles affordable housing at 14th and U
In 2005, the Zoning Commission adopted, and the DC Council approved, an inclusionary zoning law. It gave developers the right to build just a little higher in exchange for including affordable units in the development. Then-Ward 4 Councilmember Adrian Fenty strongly supported this law, and used it as part of his platform for Mayor. Keep reading…
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Breakfast links: Supply and demand edition
Parking parking everywhere and not a drop for bikes: Despite a city law mandating bike parking, there’s just not enough, leaving racks bursting at office buildings from Friendship Heights to the U.S. Senate, writes the City Paper. And as WashCycle found out, Metro won’t even return calls about renting bike lockers at New Carrollton. Meanwhile, Chicago is building… Keep reading…