Tenleytown Safeway plan shows no signs of improving

After the heated debate at the November ANC 3E meeting, you might have expected an even fiercer confrontation this past Thursday. There were even promises of it.

But it wasn’t. Instead, anger gave way to dismay at the lack of substantial improvements in the plans. While Safeway’s regional real estate manager Avis Black attended the meeting, she entrusted the presentation to Brian O’Looney of Torti Gallas. He explained their efforts to make the bulk of the structure as unobtrusive as possible without sacrificing the program of the store.

Yet, that program, the functional concept of the store, is precisely the problem. The grocery store, and all its subsidiary stores, such as a Starbucks, would face inward, contained in one enormous envelope with a unitary entrance instead of creating smaller stores facing outward. Out front, it became clear that Safeway did not want to remove a slip lane between Wisconsin and 42nd St. because they intend to use it for cars to idle while drivers pick up groceries. A reconfigured intersection would be safer for pedestrians, produce a better pocket park, and reduce the amount of speeding on 42nd, but it was not appealing to Safeway. Unfortunately, critics of the store could not put up a consistent front, going off on tangents about a number of minor elements, some of which were created by other halfhearted concessions. Whose interests does the store need to address? Some residents want a smaller store. One teacher at the adjacent Georgetown Day School objected to Safeway’s decision to move the controversial rear walkway, which ran from the school to the store entrance, inside the garage. “We are neighbors too,” he said. And beyond that, how about the residents of a few blocks away — or the region? Safeway entered into a public debate as part of the Planned Unit Development process, and at some point has to address public benefits. Safeway has tried to reduce the impact on adjacent neighbors. However, the store needs to take into consideration public issues, like regional planning, street life, and future growth in the area. A beautiful wall like the one to be built along 42nd is still just a wall. With the currently proposed monolithic store, Safeway cannot be urban.

What did appear was a conclusive sense that dialogue had failed between neighbors and the store. Safeway had made no promises and now promised even less. The neighbors in attendance seemed to not expect any changes. The potential for mixed use and sustainable neighborhood design gets lost, unless Safeway reconsiders their plans or the zoning commission rejects them. The site has much potential, but Safeway is choosing to squander that.

Crossposted at цarьchitect.