Posts about Development
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Blank wall of the day
Just what the Penn Quarter needs: another blank wall building with no retail, right next to the MLK Library. The architects even drew in a relatively dead street, with only a few scattered pedestrians and more parked cars than people. At least they know what they are going to get. Via DC Metrocentric. Keep reading…
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DC & Rockville residents: get involved in local planning!
There are a lot of good meetings happening this week in DC and Rockville around local planning, from encouraging the arts and retail through DC’s zoning to improving Rockville Pike. I highly encourage all of you, readers, to attend these meetings in your city or neighborhood. Many of them, especially the DC Zoning Update and the Pike planning, are significant opportunities… Keep reading…
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What about the local businesses?
Tomorrow’s Post has a letter from the owners of Busboys and Poets and Boundless Yoga, arguing that in its economic development work DC is neglecting small local businesses while spending lavishly to attract big box stores. Keep reading…
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Urban-suburban: guess the location
Below are two pictures, taken in the area. Can you identify one or both of them? Click for bigger versions. Keep reading…
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Historic preservation: a blunt instrument for design review
Is historic preservation truly about preservation, or about design review for new and modified buildings? In DC, the historic preservation process has become a little of both. We want to avoid ugly renovations, pop-up eyesores, and awful new buildings, and historic preservation has become the forum for this review. But there is collateral damage. We’ve landmarked numerous… Keep reading…
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Donatelli builds what investors will fund
Prince of Petworth interviews Chris Donatelli, developer behind the Ellington on U Street, Highland Park in Columbia Heights, and the upcoming Park Place in Petworth. Many of Donatelli’s decisions have been constrained by what he can and can’t raise money for. This supports Christopher Leinberger’s assertion that the real estate finance market inhibits… Keep reading…
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DC versus New York
New York on baseball: Gave away the only park in a poor neighborhood so the Yankees could build a stadium next to their old one instead of replacing the old one. Spent $400 million in public money on the stadium, Keep reading…
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No Office Monoculture Area
Richard Layman is concerned that NoMA is developing with too much office space and too little residential. Right now, office space is more valuable for developers to build, and with the housing market cooling, that’s not about to change. Layman and Ryan Avent suggest raising the height limit. Extra floors could make it feasible to build a mix instead of all offices. On the other… Keep reading…
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NoMA Public Radio, not New Parking-Lot Radio. Nice for Pedestrians Radio?
NPR is moving its headquarters to NoMA, the area north of Union Station that is experiencing major revitalization. I just hope their new building is better than their old one in terms of engaging the streetscape, and that the old one can be turned into something that, unlike many of the newer buildings around Mt. Vernon Square, presents something other than a blank wall to passing pedestrians. Keep reading…
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Do offices revitalize a neighborhood?
DC’s Department of Housing and Community Development is moving to Anacostia, to a site about eight blocks from the Metro, in an effort to revitalize the area. Richard Layman thought this was a mistake in 2005 when officials suggested moving WMATA headquarters to Anacostia, and argues that the 1986 Reeves Center at 14th and U doesn’t get credit for U Street’s success. Keep reading…