Posts about Development
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Oops, we forgot the transit
Who didn’t see this coming? After building a convention center out in a pretty empty area served by lots of highway lanes and almost no transit, the Gaylord Resort and Convention Center at National Harbor is discovering that being far from everything with poor transit service is a problem. Ryan Avent has more. Keep reading…
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The many definitions of a “modern library”
Marc Fisher summarizes the ongoing issues with DC’s neighborhood libraries. Four years ago, the city tore down Keep reading…
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Wisconsin Ave Giant is a great project
I’ve been picking on bad projects a fair amount lately, so it’s time to highlight a good project: the proposed redevelopment of the Wisconsin Avenue Giant in western Cleveland Park. This project will replace bland, single-story buildings and large surface parking lots along Wisconsin Ave and Idaho Ave with an appropriately scaled mixed-use project that will engage… Keep reading…
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Non-conforming goats
An Arlington homeowner bought two goats to serve as pets and as cleaner, quieter lawnmowers. Only problem is, goats are not allowed by zoning. BeyondDC asks why goats are necessarily worse than dogs or motorized lawnmowers. Maybe there are other public health reasons, but we also have many zoning laws without a compelling basis. Keep reading…
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Fort Rotten design
At right is an apartment complex built in 2006 in a meadow out in Price William County. Wait a minute, no. This was actually built right next to the Fort Totten Metro station, about five miles from downtown and on three Metro lines. Nevertheless, this apartment complex got built on WMATA land with about half the lot occupied by parking. There do appear to be a couple of shops facing the Metro… Keep reading…
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Open space versus parks
And Now, Anacostia rebuts Marc Fisher’s criticism of a soccer stadium at Poplar Point. ANA and my commenters make several points, including that the money would be for infrastructure like roads rather than for the stadium itself (unlike with the ballpark), or that Fisher simply prefers baseball to soccer. Ryan Avent, though, is still skeptical. Keep reading…
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Soccer stadium won’t stimulate the economy
Marc Fisher argues that a soccer stadium in Poplar Point won’t generate the same level of economic development as the basketball arena or the ballpark for the simple reason that the arena hosts 200 events a year, the stadium 100, while Major League Soccer stadiums are active only 35 times a year (and football stadiums least of all with only 8 games a year). Keep reading…
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Two sets of obstacles for Tysons
The Washington Post has an overview of Tysons redevelopment plans and the controversies that are coming. Critics from the urbanist side of things are concerned that keeping Routes 7 and 123 as wide highways instead of “urban boulevards” and running Metro aboveground will create barriers between sections and compromise the potential for an urban feel of the area. Anti-development… Keep reading…
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Union Station Intermodal Transportation Center meeting tonight
DDOT is conducting a study “analyze the feasibility and impact of creating enhanced access to multiple modes of transportation at Burnham Place, Union Station and the surrounding transportation network.” There’s a public meeting tonight from 6-8 pm at the Columbus Club at Union Station, 50 Massachusetts Ave NE. Keep reading…