Both the headline and Richard Layman's characterization to "make Hine smaller" are so wrong it amounts to a damn lie. The developer has increased the height and size of the project since their original proposal was approved.

by goldfish on Apr 26, 2012 9:01 am • link • report

The craziest part of the Old Georgetown Board/US Commission on Fine Arts debate over Georgetown U's athletic training center is that OGB is actually a subsidiary of CFA, yet by following the recommendations of the former, GU runs afoul of the latter.

by Jacques on Apr 26, 2012 9:02 am • link • report

45 minutes to get downtown? He's either not starting in DC or talking about solo drivers at rush hour

by Chris Adams on Apr 26, 2012 9:28 am • link • report

Instead of painting the trees, why doesn't he just paint the camera? They are a little more thorough in the UK when it comes to speed cams: http://www.speedcam.co.uk/gatso2.htm

by ksu499 on Apr 26, 2012 9:31 am • link • report

@Chris Adams

Vincent Orange mostly represents constituents that live in PG County. Wait...

by Adam L on Apr 26, 2012 9:36 am • link • report

You mean they have roads and speed cameras in Europe? I thought everyone rode bikes and trains :).

Seriously, I love what they're doing to the "Gatso's" in the UK. Wish that would start hwere. Meanwhile, I use a radar detector.

I know, they're illegal in DC. So should be highway robbery.

by ceefer66 on Apr 26, 2012 9:41 am • link • report

@ GU Athletic facility,
There should be a limit as to the authority of these design review groups. It's fine to want new buildings to fit in to an historic neighborhood, but when one architect complains that he dosen't like the massing or when another says “It feels weird that a great big gym doesn’t look like a great big gym,” they've jumped the shark. What the heck is a big gym supposed to look like? It reminds me of a beautiful gym in Clinton Hill Brooklyn designed to look like a gothic cathedral. I wonder would this archtiect be offended by every "lie" in his surrounding or is he just playing armchair designer.

It's costing the client money that could be going into the building. Make your recommendations once and stick to them.

by Thayer-D on Apr 26, 2012 10:05 am • link • report

I imagine that most of the black folk Orange has been hearing from are among the elders. That's the group less likely to look forward to change. Hopefully city pols make efforts to allay some of their concerns in a manner the previous mayor didn't.

I like the idea of temporary uses but the Shipyard Fairground @National Park is awful. They might as well take a bunch of trash receptacles and call it art/entertainment.

Blah

by HogWash on Apr 26, 2012 10:07 am • link • report

I understand and appreciate the need for historical preservation, especially in neighborhoods like Georgetown. I am fond of the neighborhood's aesthetic and feel and the desire to preserve it. The GU Athletic Training Center saga, however, is absolutely ridiculous. The purpose of OGB and CFA review is supposed to be to ensure that proposed developments fit the context, mesh with their surroundings, do not detract from the neighborhood character, etc. What we have here instead is two boards playing a game of "If it were me, I would do it THIS way."

It's gone way beyond the intended purpose of this review. Instead, we have Witold Rybczynski expounding on his views of what a gym should look like - a "shoe box" or a "big box," alternately - and Earl Powell and Diana Balmori complaining that it looks too much like a dorm. On what grounds have they been authorized to determine what gyms and dorms writ large are supposed to look like? Where is that in the authorizing statutes?

by Dizzy on Apr 26, 2012 10:12 am • link • report

So, basically, what Thayer-D said. In most cases, the meddling is limited, because there's only so much you can do with a townhouse. However, (copying myself from another conversation) with a bigger project... one can only imagine what they would do with something like the West Heating Plant. *"This is a kind of made-up language covering a shoe box," said Rybczynski of the proposed Art Deco structure. "That looks like a heating plant. A heating plant is a big box, and you just accept it’s a big box. All those windows don’t do anything."*

by Dizzy on Apr 26, 2012 10:21 am • link • report

"The developer has increased the height and size of the project since their original proposal was approved."

Good.

by Tim Krepp on Apr 26, 2012 10:25 am • link • report

@ksu499 - they paint the trees because the camera units are right behind the trees.

by ah on Apr 26, 2012 10:25 am • link • report

@ceefer66 - Does that work with the speed cameras? I thought you were past them when they sensed speed and took the picture.

by ah on Apr 26, 2012 10:27 am • link • report

@Tim Krepp, you write fighting words. I wish you luck the next time a developer sweeps into your 'hood and welches on a deal.

by goldfish on Apr 26, 2012 10:28 am • link • report

Putting up large, flashing light about 500' before a speed camera saying "speed camera in use" should be mandatory by law.*

Of course the companies that the ones really benefting from the installations don't like that -- but that isn't corruption. Really.

* I believe that it the case in the EU. At least on highways.

by charlie on Apr 26, 2012 10:29 am • link • report

@goldfish - I would love (LOVE) for a developer to come into my hood and add more density then they promised.

By the way, I'm in Hill East, and really love the neighborhood, but if any of you Eastern Market types can't hack the sun being blotted from the sky by the whole six stories of Hine, I'm happy to swap houses. Cost adjusted on square footage alone.

by Tim Krepp on Apr 26, 2012 10:36 am • link • report

@Tim Krepp: seven stories.

By the way, I'm in Hill East... Let me provide a gentle reminder of a how a deal can get broken: How's that Redskin practice facility coming?

by goldfish on Apr 26, 2012 10:46 am • link • report

Pretty sure after the Mayor's abysmal performance at the Armory that thing is deader than dead. Which is good, as it frees up the space for exactly what SHOULD go in on an empty parcel on just feet from two metro lines: a high density mixed use development.

by Tim Krepp on Apr 26, 2012 10:49 am • link • report

And oh my goodness. Seven stories. Day will become night.

by Tim Krepp on Apr 26, 2012 10:51 am • link • report

@TK: so then you agree that the Hine development should similarly be killed, because they broke the deal?

by goldfish on Apr 26, 2012 10:51 am • link • report

Hmmm, I'm rereading what I said and no, that's not it at all. I'm saying that a high-denisty mixed use development belongs on the metro and that Hine (and Res 13) are perfect spots for them. And that Redskins training facilities are not. It's not about deal making, it's about making the best use of limited land area in a growing city.

The "deal" you refer to was simply initial requests for proposals. Not some sort of blood pact.

by Tim Krepp on Apr 26, 2012 10:56 am • link • report

@Goldfish

How did they break the deal? My understanding is that the current Hine proposal has less square footage than the RFP, not more.

Or maybe we have always been at war with Eastasia.

by Alex B. on Apr 26, 2012 10:57 am • link • report

I used to be cool with Rybczynski, but now he sounds like another one of these truth nazis you find all over architecture schools.

"This is a kind of made-up language covering a shoe box," said Rybczynski of the proposed Art Deco structure. "That looks like a heating plant. A heating plant is a big box, and you just accept it’s a big box. All those windows don’t do anything."

Man, how many "big boxes" in history have been sheathed in a pleasant skin? Like Palladio's re-do of the Basillica in Vicenza which every architecture student abroad get's dragged to. A box that got skinned in Roman clothing, and thank god, cause it's beautiful. Or the Tate's new gallery in the old art deco (ironically) heating plant on the Thames.

This is why the early modernists rejected history and forbade their students to study it, becasue if students knew their own history, they'd know how crazy modernist ideology really was and how contrary to human nature it is.

As for NIMBY's taking over what should be a thoughtful process designed to allow for community imput, see this...

http://www.bostonmagazine.com/articles/growing_pains_boston_building_refusniks/

by Thayer-D on Apr 26, 2012 11:09 am • link • report

Hopefully city pols make efforts to allay some of their concerns in a manner the previous mayor didn't.

Hopefully city pols do the right thing to strengthen the city and ignore the prejudices of those who don't have much of a stake in the long-term health of the city.

by oboe on Apr 26, 2012 11:09 am • link • report

@Alex B, see here for a discussion of the before and after situation.
The "before" was to win the competition between proposals between competing developers. So Staton/Eastblank submitted what people wanted to see, but then changed it to make more money. I not opposed to them making money, it's just that they changed the project into something worse than what was submitted. The project has morphed into a large, boring office building, and the flea market will be around 1/3 of its present size.

by goldfish on Apr 26, 2012 11:12 am • link • report

@TK: The "deal" you refer to was simply initial requests for proposals. Not some sort of blood pact.

A deal is a deal. They broke it -- it is taller and provides far fewer things to the neighborhood and commercial square it sits on, than what they proposed. They changed the character of the buildings to something that would not have won the design competition. Or are you suggesting that a developer should be allowed to change its design after it has been vetted to something that would not be acceptable?

by goldfish on Apr 26, 2012 11:18 am • link • report

I'm suggesting you have a different idea of what an RFP is than what it actually means.

by Tim Krepp on Apr 26, 2012 11:21 am • link • report

Thayer - just to be clear, I modified Rybczynski's quote into another context to show how ridiculous it is. His actual quote isn't about the West Heating Plant, which was obviously built long before his was on OGB, but about the athletic training facility:

“This is a kind of made-up language covering a shoe box,” said Rybczynski. “Could we go back to that first slide?” he asked, referring to an earlier design that the Old Georgetown Board didn’t like. “That looks like a gym. A gym is a big box, and you just accept it’s a big box. All those gables don’t do anything.”

by Dizzy on Apr 26, 2012 11:23 am • link • report

And by OGB I of course mean CFA.

by Dizzy on Apr 26, 2012 11:29 am • link • report

@TK" I'm suggesting you have a different idea of what an RFP actually means

I think I know very well what it means -- we all understand flexibility in a changing economy. These changes go beyond that.

by goldfish on Apr 26, 2012 11:32 am • link • report

@goldfish

Can you cite some actual numbers, please?

The project has morphed into a large, boring office building,

The office component has shrunk. The original proposal had 212,000+ sf of office, the current proposal has 160,000 sf.

Many argue that the height has increased. I haven't seen elevations to show that it has (in terms of actual measurements). It was six stories in the RFP and now is seven, but from looking at the design history, it seems the reason for this was that the designer was responding to the neighborhood desire to shrink the 8th and D building height (the sixth floor wrapped around towards 8th street much more, though still with a substantial setback) - therefore you get an extra story on 7th and Penn.

The 'character' of the current proposal and the initial concept seems spot on.

by Alex B. on Apr 26, 2012 11:35 am • link • report

My bad Dizzy.

by Thayer-D on Apr 26, 2012 11:41 am • link • report

Hopefully city pols do the right thing to strengthen the city and ignore the prejudices of those who don't have much of a stake in the long-term health of the city

This "they're irrelevant because we're so much smarter" attitude is one of the reasons why Fenty lost and the class/racial divide is larger than it has been in a very long time.

You all will never get it and then you wonder why many residents look sideways at some of these "progressive" proposals.

Now elderly black folk don't have a stake in the city's long-term health. My oh my. When will the hatred end.

by HogWash on Apr 26, 2012 11:52 am • link • report

Sad to see the PCC Streetcar go from Glen Echo. I often drive past the park in my commute, and the car fits in with the facade perfectly. I've been wondering if they were going to restore it though since it rusted surprisingly quickly the years its been sitting there.

by King Terrapin on Apr 26, 2012 11:53 am • link • report

Whatever, HogWash, cause the clock keeps ticking.

by Matthew B on Apr 26, 2012 11:53 am • link • report

@ah: No, I mean *paint the camera*. It can't take your picture through a layer of paint on the lens.

by ksu499 on Apr 26, 2012 11:54 am • link • report

RE: GSA and the streetcar...

Interesting since Dan Tangherlini is the one generally credited with bringing the streetcar back to DC. Maybe someone can ping him as the new head of GSA to figure out this one...

by Some Ideas on Apr 26, 2012 11:59 am • link • report

Ditto everything Tim Krepp wrote. Hine opponents are ridiculous. We would gladly take that project next to Stadium-Armory Metro..

by rg on Apr 26, 2012 12:35 pm • link • report

@HogWash,

Now elderly black folk don't have a stake in the city's long-term health. My oh my. When will the hatred end.

As though philosophical tension between the young and old is some new thing.

Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don't criticize
What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is
Rapidly agin'
Please get out of the new one
If you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin'.

by oboe on Apr 26, 2012 1:27 pm • link • report

As though philosophical tension between the young and old is some new thing.

You're right it isn't. It's also why I was surprised that you believe the old should be ignored...and that they are prejudiced...and that you don't think they have an interest in the city's future. I think you could reasonably consider them NIMBY's but you didn't. You decided that allaying their concerns were not in the city's (in which they've likely lived most of their lives) best interest.

Again, this is why Fenty lost and why the class/racial divide is what it is.

And to think, people have issues with Barry playing class/racial warfare. Hell, who needs him when we have the "smarts" attacking from the opposite end.

Courtland said it best.

by HogWash on Apr 26, 2012 2:02 pm • link • report

Again, this is why Fenty lost and why the class/racial divide is what it is.

Sure, but demographics change. Or haven't you noticed the radical changes that have taken place over the last ten years. Right now we're at a sort of equilibrium between very old, very conservative voters, and very young, progressive voters. Every indicator points to a continued increase in the number of young progressives.

All this "smarts", "class warfare", "hatred" nonsense is projection. Heck, I haven't even made any comment on whether the changes are good or bad. Just that they're inevitable.

Courtland, who moved to PG County a decade ago, and still presumes to speak for "DC" is nothing but a very visible symptom of the problem. Or maybe not: Since I honestly care about the future health of the city, maybe I should move to McLean and be given a regular column in the Post about the issues that really matter to DC's residents.

As Bugs Bunny once said, "it is to laugh."

by oboe on Apr 26, 2012 2:12 pm • link • report

1. Someone over 70 has no direct, tangible interest in what DC (or anywhere else) is going to be like in 50 years time, since they will almost certainly be dead

2. They may have an indirect interest, since they may care what the city is like for their children and grandchildren, who may stay in the area

3. They may have a desire to see things going in the direction they want anyway - call it a psychic interest

4. In any case, they vote, and out of proportion to their numbers, so assuaging them is probably a sensible thing

5. Whether Gray will actually do a better job of assuaging them AND implementing a green agenda than Fenty did, I do not know.

by AWalkerInTheCIty on Apr 26, 2012 2:23 pm • link • report

That and if you're main goal is to prevent change because you think that you'll be driven out of your home because now you live in a nice neighborhood then I'm not going to coddle you. I'll respectfully explain why thats a short sighted decision and use evidence to explain why that's a short sighted (myopic even?) position. And if after that you still aren't convinced then I kind of have to go ahead without you don't I?

Now Gray may not have done it the way I would have but to say that the principle is flawed because of that is kind of dumb.

by Canaan on Apr 26, 2012 2:28 pm • link • report

Sure, but demographics change. Or haven't you noticed the radical changes that have taken place over the last ten years. ....Every indicator points to a continued increase in the number of young progressives.

Of course I have. And my response is not to ridicule/insult/dismiss young progressives (like me) and think they have little interest in the city beyond their "pet projects." I'll let Barry handle that.

OTOH, I wish people who share your disrespect for old timers would stop making them into your enemy since anyone who lives here has a vested interest. This stuff has to end because it's very, very, unhealthy.

All this "smarts", "class warfare", "hatred" nonsense is projection.

Considering that you're on the receiving end (of sorts) I can see how you can think that. But this "nonsense" is a common response to what many consider as the dismissive attitude many "progressives" have towards them. It's also not new.

The challenge is how we deal with them. I don't support ignoring, dismissing, nor assuming any group of DC residents have no interest in the progression of their city.

But as you've demonstrated, not all "progressives" support this idea.

by HogWash on Apr 26, 2012 2:53 pm • link • report

@Alex, links to the original proposals are all dead now. I am working mostly from memory, but:

See a review of what was originally considered here. Note that the street view pictures of the competing proposals are all 4-5 stories that match the height of the neighboring buildings. The current design is 2-3 stories above nearby buildings. Note also that the great jump in height compared to the historical 2-3 story houses across the square. Stanton has utterly changed the character from what they originally proposed.

by goldfish on Apr 26, 2012 2:54 pm • link • report

@goldfish

All I see from Stanton-Eastbanc is a site plan, not a rendering.

Surely, you're not suggesting that Stanton-Eastbanc be held to what other groups proposed, are you?

by Alex B. on Apr 26, 2012 3:09 pm • link • report

@ksu499: "No, I mean *paint the camera*. It can't take your picture through a layer of paint on the lens."

I'm surprised that anyone, particularly the walkability-loving urbanists on this site, would suggest vandalizing a speed/red light camera. If you're serious, I hope there's a concrete bunk in a prison sometime in your future.

by Aki on Apr 26, 2012 3:24 pm • link • report

Courtland, who moved to PG County a decade ago, and still presumes to speak for "DC" is nothing but a very visible symptom of the problem.

I would offer that Milloy has a unique perspective which allows him to speak "for" DC. I know that poses a real problem for those who seem offended that he doesn't fawn over them and their proposals.

by HogWash on Apr 26, 2012 3:24 pm • link • report

Milloy's constituency is a group of folks for whom DC is a symbol: they want nothing to change since the "good old days." Of course, ironically, the good old days weren't good enough to drown out the siren call of a 3000 sq ft house in the suburbs. He's definitely found a market niche--just as Rush Limbaugh has. I'm sure he's laughing all the way to the bank.

Meanwhile, Milloy's fans see bike lanes and "want their city back" in exactly the same way that elderly white folks in middle-America see a black president and "want their country back." But time marches on.

by oboe on Apr 26, 2012 3:37 pm • link • report

Nice try but that dog whistle has long since lost its ring.

This attack on people who might like Milloy is the same I and others dealt with in our decision to support Gray over Fenty.

We were called prounionists, anti-educationers, racists, and universally considered as people who didn't want to see the city progress. So you lumping all those who might (have the nerve to) like Milloy is of no surprise nor consequence.

You think elderly black residents are irrelevant, should be dismissed and have no concern about the city's future. It's only befitting that you would also consider anyone who likes Milloy in a similar manner and compare their dissent with people who dislike the idea of a black president.

For you, time must have stood still because I don't see people complaining about bike lanes. But they do complain about the idea of having a black president whom they believe dislikes america.

Bike Lanes And a Black President: Two Peas in a Terrible Pod.

by HogWash on Apr 26, 2012 4:00 pm • link • report

I'll hesitate to assume how Oboe feels but its not elderly black residents I disagree with. Its residents that seem to believe that the Mayor outline a plan for sustainibility in DC actually translates to forcibly kicking out residents of their homes and cars.

by Canaan on Apr 26, 2012 4:09 pm • link • report

Fingers crossed that the back-and-forth over Hine continues long enough that DC's height restriction is lifted and Stanton then proposes a 30-story tower. Now that would be an interesting community meeting. I would certainly have to bring the popcorn!

Seriously, I don't understand how my fellow eastern market residents can get in such a tizzy about 6 floors versus 8 floors, etc. There are some honest-to-God problems to worry about in this city and I don't think Hine is one of them.

by MJ on Apr 26, 2012 5:11 pm • link • report

You think elderly black residents are irrelevant, should be dismissed and have no concern about the city's future.

Look we can go back and forth (mis-)characterizing one another's position all night long, but my point is rather simple: we should try to make the case to elderly residents, obviously. They can't be "dismissed" because they vote in disproportionate numbers.

But if they can't be swayed to support good policies, they will be irrelevant in another 10 years. That's not gloating; it's biology.

by oboe on Apr 26, 2012 5:39 pm • link • report

nor assuming any group of DC residents have no interest in the progression of their city.

It's not "assuming" when those residents have, time and time again and in a variety of ways, demonstrated that they have no interst in the progression of the city. Or rather, their only interest is in halting, or reversing that progression.

by dcd on Apr 26, 2012 5:46 pm • link • report

@ metrobus barns

Can't they just build an underground shelter?

by Steve on Apr 26, 2012 7:27 pm • link • report

"Its residents that seem to believe that the Mayor outline a plan for sustainibility in DC actually translates to forcibly kicking out residents of their homes and cars."

Haven't you heard of "The Plan?" I don't know what the Mayor was thinking, actually putting it out in public..

by Phil on Apr 26, 2012 8:11 pm • link • report

1) Hopefully city pols do the right thing to strengthen the city and ignore the prejudices of those who don't have much of a stake in the long-term health of the city.

Those are your words. Words given in response to my statement hoping that city leaders (all-inclusive) do a better job at addressing "some" of their (elderly black) concerns than did Fenty. So I'm not sure what has been (mis)characterized.

I advocated for not dismissing those w/in that demographic. You not only suggested they should be ignored and were prejudiced but likened their disposition to those who are angry that we have a black president. I think you chose the adverb EXACTLY.

Those were the words you typed and while it's likely that you were imploring your usual whit, they represent a mindset consistent with the caricature constructed around this community. So don't be surprised by the response of any group who feels as if they're being dismissed.

Again, that's why Fenty loss which was a shame...for such a young, energetic, once promising hometown hero. Not sure why people want to follow down that dead end.

But Alas,
Denny Crane

by HogWash on Apr 26, 2012 8:38 pm • link • report

It's not "assuming" when those residents have, time and time again and in a variety of ways, demonstrated that they have no interest in the progression of the city.

I do not know the various ways in which the black elderly have demonstrated that they have no interest in the progression of the city. Vincent "Oh How We Hate Him" Orange suggested that we do our best to include them in our vision. It's quite unfortunate that you think they have no interest in DC being a great place for their own future generations.

Can We All Get Along,
Rodney King

by HogWash on Apr 26, 2012 8:53 pm • link • report

@ah,

A good radar detector will warn of a camera - or other speed trap - in plenty of time for the driver to take appropriate action.

Don't waste your money on a cheap one. Spend about $350 and get your money's worth. Once it's nailed 3 cameras, it's paid for itself.

Some people also use a product called Photoblocker website of the same name). It's a spray-on concoction that supposedly creates a glare from the camera flashlight, thereby making the license plate unreadable in the photo. I haven't tried and don't know anyone who hasso I can't vouch for it.

by ceefer66 on Apr 26, 2012 9:01 pm • link • report

Alex B: Surely, you're not suggesting that Stanton-Eastbanc be held to what other groups proposed, are you?

Surely you do not think that the plans as they exit today -- distinctly taller than the neighboring buildings -- would have won out over the competing plans submitted back in 2009? This is the deal that I refer to.

I find it a little suspicious that S/E's older renderings are not available. I suppose they do not want people to get confused.

by goldfish on Apr 26, 2012 11:23 pm • link • report

Goldfish: Then that's no deal at all!

Regarding the Georgetown U gym, - it's a funny day when I agree with Thayer, but a gym can look like anything it needs to look like. After all, the most architecturally important gym is a skyscraper. But, as a Sturmmann in the truth nazi corps, I would like to see a more thorough breakdown of why it's massed out. the way it is.

I'm not really blown away by the design depicted in rendering; but without other drawings, I don't think we can judge the design.

by Neil Flanagan on Apr 27, 2012 7:05 am • link • report

@Goldfish

Surely you do not think that the plans as they exit today -- distinctly taller than the neighboring buildings -- would have won out over the competing plans submitted back in 2009? This is the deal that I refer to.

Surely, I do. Today's plans are very similar to the RFP filing, and the RFP filing won out over the others.

1. That does not make it a 'deal,' however.
2. Even if it were a deal, the plans haven't changed that much!
3. I will proffer a hypothesis as to why this plan won out: a great many people simply disagree with your anti-height position.

by Alex B. on Apr 27, 2012 9:34 am • link • report

@Alex B: take a walk around the neighborhood, and count the right size Hine signs that have appeared since the campaign was launched on 17 April. Consider that ANC 6B and the CHRS are both lining up against it. However S/E sold it in 2009, most people feel that what they are delivering is not what they were promised.

by goldfish on Apr 27, 2012 9:51 am • link • report

@goldfish

Ah yes, yard signs. If yard signs were a true indication of support one way or another, Ron Paul would've been elected President back in 2008.

However S/E sold it in 2009, most people feel that what they are delivering is not what they were promised.

I'm not sure I follow your logic. You're suggesting that all of those people with yard signs actually supported the specifics of the project before? I don't think that's the case. I think those folks are opposed simply because they're opposed, not because of some mythical bait and switch.

by Alex B. on Apr 27, 2012 10:06 am • link • report

@Alex B, thanks for the inspiration. I will talk this up with my neighbors, plant a sign, and volunteer against it. Goddammit.

Nearly all of the people that support this approach it from a "density is good, more density is better" attitude, all other considerations be damned. For example Tim Krepp thinks it is acceptable to break the agreement in order to get more density; you think there was no agreement. This is hubris, and it is not smart growth.

by goldfish on Apr 27, 2012 10:17 am • link • report

It could also be considered "how procurement and development work," rather than the reductive "break the agreement" labeling.

by worthing on Apr 27, 2012 2:02 pm • link • report

@worthing: that is how bait and switch works. It is wrong, even for development.

by goldfish on Apr 27, 2012 3:19 pm • link • report

Yes Hine is fine. I would have keep the Penthouse. The city plan has long incorporated dense development around Metro stops. Buyers might have considered this if they did not want to live nearby. The city faces long term revenue challenges and Metro access to city attractions is one of the few comparative advantages the city has. As a near neighbor I don't know whether this development will increase, decrease of leave unaffected my property value. I know I do not have a right to windfall profits on my house. As a taxpayer and my neighbors have an interest in seeing the city tax base increased if we want city services.

by Sonia Conly on Sep 3, 2012 2:36 pm • link • report