RIP Johnson's -- Now let's move on

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:AU is shooting themselves in the foot. Their students and their students families love how tranquil the neighborhood is when they visit, yet has easy access to downtown. When it looks high density and junky I'm. Sure they will swoon less. I hope those 10 confused elderly show up at every new, future AU development proposal with their Johnsons closing sale purchased pitchforks and give them heck. And to Mary Cheh as well for allowing/encouraging this area to be swamped with rapid development-Fannie Mae, Johnsons, pool, sidwell expansion, shelter. The pace is too fast and she has done nothing to up services to correspond to more density. Despite showing up at every block party and parade to "mingle", she is no advocate for ward 3. Just vote her out. This will not be forgotten.

Oh geez please go take your geritol. And maybe see if one of the AU OSHER classes covers basic grammar and punctuation for the elderly?

There has hardly been any development or change in Upper NW so it is unclear what you are talking about - have you been sniffing some of the fertilizer you got at the going out of business sale?

Why a more attractive and vibrant Wisconsin Avenue would be less attractive to AU students than the junky and disjointed version of today is unclear - but do enlighten us since you seem confused yourself - do you like or dislike AU and its students?

[Anonymous]

Who cares what AU students want? They're here for 4 years, then they're gone. They don't buy homes, they rent rooms. They don't want high end food options, they want liquor stores who will not look at their fake ID from Connecticut too closely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AU is shooting themselves in the foot. Their students and their students families love how tranquil the neighborhood is when they visit, yet has easy access to downtown. When it looks high density and junky I'm. Sure they will swoon less. I hope those 10 confused elderly show up at every new, future AU development proposal with their Johnsons closing sale purchased pitchforks and give them heck. And to Mary Cheh as well for allowing/encouraging this area to be swamped with rapid development-Fannie Mae, Johnsons, pool, sidwell expansion, shelter. The pace is too fast and she has done nothing to up services to correspond to more density. Despite showing up at every block party and parade to "mingle", she is no advocate for ward 3. Just vote her out. This will not be forgotten.

Oh geez please go take your geritol. And maybe see if one of the AU OSHER classes covers basic grammar and punctuation for the elderly?

There has hardly been any development or change in Upper NW so it is unclear what you are talking about - have you been sniffing some of the fertilizer you got at the going out of business sale?

Why a more attractive and vibrant Wisconsin Avenue would be less attractive to AU students than the junky and disjointed version of today is unclear - but do enlighten us since you seem confused yourself - do you like or dislike AU and its students?

I've spoken with AU students and their parents who love the feeling of "suburbs in the city". They can go party on U street or what not, and come home and tuck in among the tree-scape. Frankly, that's why a lot of people choose to live in this area, including young families. There are plenty of developed places in the city to choose from, and AU Park is a nice respite if that's what you're looking for. I gave many examples of recent development projects and proposals, that are on a much more rapid scale than has occurred in this are in the past. Some of it is related to AUs expansion. Nebraska Ave. looks entirely different from ten years ago. Some of it may be coincidence. The Cathedral Commons and library rebuild were a long time in the making, followed by all the proposals I provided. I'm not sure how you missed them, except that you chose to focus on grammar. I don't personally consider somewhat inane message boards like this, where I will interact with folks like you, an art form and will save my editing skills for other spaces and places. Thanks for the feedback though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Who cares what AU students want? They're here for 4 years, then they're gone. They don't buy homes, they rent rooms. They don't want high end food options, they want liquor stores who will not look at their fake ID from Connecticut too closely.

You mean like Papa's Liquors on Macomb, known for its poor eyesight?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AU is shooting themselves in the foot. Their students and their students families love how tranquil the neighborhood is when they visit, yet has easy access to downtown. When it looks high density and junky I'm. Sure they will swoon less. I hope those 10 confused elderly show up at every new, future AU development proposal with their Johnsons closing sale purchased pitchforks and give them heck. And to Mary Cheh as well for allowing/encouraging this area to be swamped with rapid development-Fannie Mae, Johnsons, pool, sidwell expansion, shelter. The pace is too fast and she has done nothing to up services to correspond to more density. Despite showing up at every block party and parade to "mingle", she is no advocate for ward 3. Just vote her out. This will not be forgotten.

Oh geez please go take your geritol. And maybe see if one of the AU OSHER classes covers basic grammar and punctuation for the elderly?

There has hardly been any development or change in Upper NW so it is unclear what you are talking about - have you been sniffing some of the fertilizer you got at the going out of business sale?

Why a more attractive and vibrant Wisconsin Avenue would be less attractive to AU students than the junky and disjointed version of today is unclear - but do enlighten us since you seem confused yourself - do you like or dislike AU and its students?

I've spoken with AU students and their parents who love the feeling of "suburbs in the city". They can go party on U street or what not, and come home and tuck in among the tree-scape. Frankly, that's why a lot of people choose to live in this area, including young families. There are plenty of developed places in the city to choose from, and AU Park is a nice respite if that's what you're looking for. I gave many examples of recent development projects and proposals, that are on a much more rapid scale than has occurred in this are in the past. Some of it is related to AUs expansion. Nebraska Ave. looks entirely different from ten years ago. Some of it may be coincidence. The Cathedral Commons and library rebuild were a long time in the making, followed by all the proposals I provided. I'm not sure how you missed them, except that you chose to focus on grammar. I don't personally consider somewhat inane message boards like this, where I will interact with folks like you, an art form and will save my editing skills for other spaces and places. Thanks for the feedback though.

The taller residential building at Cathedral Commons is basically an upscale AU dorm for students whose rich parents write their rent checks.

[Anonymous]

I want more density and a diversity of housing choices on Wisconsin Avenue. We need a better retail mix, and the only way to do that is to have more potential customers living in the area.

[Anonymous]

We don't need a better retail mix. It's super easy to get to gtown, friendship heights dupont or even the burbs for shopping. We have all necessities at a stone's throw. Also the Fannie Mae site will have new retail. If you want a better mix in current space ask AU to lower the rents. Someone told me they were asking 40,000 a month for the fireplake grill location. If that's true, that's the reason you don't have a better mix.

[Anonymous]

Exactly. $40k a month for Firelake is absurd. Half that would be pushing the limits of what you could expect of a quasi-TGI Friday's/Applebees in a location with better options all around it to offer up in terms of rent.

Between Firelake and Johnsons, it's quite clear that AU doesn't have the slightest clue how to manage retail spaces. Classic ivory tower mismanagement.

Now instead of having two open businesses in operation and generating rent, taxes and jobs, they have two abandoned storefronts contributing nothing to the neighborhood except blight.

[Anonymous]

Why do we need more retail? I find I have pretty easy access to everything I need, and I'm not particularly interested in browsing in shop after shop. Am I an outlier? I'm not opposed to more housing, but I don't really understand this preoccupation with a better retail mix.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do we need more retail? I find I have pretty easy access to everything I need, and I'm not particularly interested in browsing in shop after shop. Am I an outlier? I'm not opposed to more housing, but I don't really understand this preoccupation with a better retail mix.

A lot of economists (and retailers) believe that the U.S., and this area in particular, is over-retailed already with the Internet displacing many brick and mortar stores for certain purchases. Even restaurants, which can't be duplicated online, are under pressure nationally as competition has increased and customers have other options (some via the Web) to dispose of their food dollars (delivery of food, prepared or ready-to-cook meals, etc.). Locally, developers are seeking rent top dollar because they are highly levered or their investors demand credit tenants. The result is an intensified hunt for the same "vibrant," "upscale" fast-casual chains or retail/restaurant groups with deep balance sheets, even as the local serving businesses that aren't easily replicated on-line get caught in a rent squeeze: Johnsons, a shoe-repair store, an independent restaurant with affordable prices, etc. It would seem crazy to have to drive to the suburbs to buy a flat of plants or mulch, or get a pair of shoes repaired, but that is the direction that we are going in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Exactly. $40k a month for Firelake is absurd. Half that would be pushing the limits of what you could expect of a quasi-TGI Friday's/Applebees in a location with better options all around it to offer up in terms of rent.

Between Firelake and Johnsons, it's quite clear that AU doesn't have the slightest clue how to manage retail spaces. Classic ivory tower mismanagement.

Now instead of having two open businesses in operation and generating rent, taxes and jobs, they have two abandoned storefronts contributing nothing to the neighborhood except blight.

That's why we can assume that their plan is to re-develop the building and site. Nearby 4000 Wisconsin is already emptying out in anticipation of being completely rebuilt. Now that Johnson's parking area and nursery yard are emptied, it's clear what development possibilities AU has.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know that there are some who lament the closing of Johnson's Garden Center at Wisconsin and Van Ness, but it's time to focus on the exciting future for Tenleytown that this change makes possible. First of all, their business was likely eroding to "flowers.com" and from the fact that many SFH households use gardening services for their planting needs. Now that Johnson's has closed, the full potential of the site is apparent: between 1 to 2 acres for redevelopment into vibrant, taller and denser mixed use, moving from semi-suburban to creatively urban in character. In fact, when you consider what the Johnson's piece makes possible, it's really exciting and truly transformative: a much denser, more urban core district for Ward 3 stretching for more than a mile nearly from Massachusetts up Wisconsin to Tenley Circle. Cathedral Commons, the Wegmans Town Center at Fannie Mae and 4000 Wisconsin re-do are the essential steps, but other sites including Johnson's and the McDonalds across the street cry out for density. This urban district will have thousands of new residences, with upscale retail and restaurants ranging from fast casual to definite foodie destinations. It can truly transform the central part of Ward 3. The properties north of the Johnson's site also are ripe for redevelopment, and the potential of McLean Gardens could be unlocked with taller, denser infill buildings. Add to that the new development north of Tenley Circle to Friendship and the potential emergence of Van Ness as a true east-west corridor connecting Connecticut Ave redevelopment, the Wisconsin urbanist district and dense development at the old Superfresh site in AU Park. This would be true "Ward 3 Vision."

What a strange, random post. And the bolded part is ridiculous and false. No one wants more density, btw especially not people who actually use the public schools. You sound like you are from a different planet.

It's not true that no one wants more density. I want more density. A lot of my younger neighbors want more density. They're tired of having to drive everywhere for everything.

You should move to the city.

[Anonymous]

Exactly. Move to Columbia Heights or Chinatown or NOMA. You can walk to everywhere you want from the confines of your highrise human filing cabinet.

Me, I like my front, back and side yards, my detached garage, my deck, my driveway with off street parking and being surrounded by nature.

But if being able to walk to overpriced food is a priority for you, by all means, move.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Exactly. Move to Columbia Heights or Chinatown or NOMA. You can walk to everywhere you want from the confines of your highrise human filing cabinet.

Me, I like my front, back and side yards, my detached garage, my deck, my driveway with off street parking and being surrounded by nature.

But if being able to walk to overpriced food is a priority for you, by all means, move.

I don't personally own a car, but appreciate that we also have easy street parking in Tenleytown. No circling the block. Another of my peeves with all this development is the green push to limit parking as a backdoor way of limiting driving . For example, I was told the the Tenleytown library design had an option to be built with more parking (under I believe) but instead parking was seriously. Limited to 2-3 spaces through the influence of the greenies . The greenies want development and no parking - a terrible brew. It often just drives cars to park on residential streets. And Cheh could care less about any of the aforementioned issues... AU being a poor steward, rapid development, parking woes...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Exactly. $40k a month for Firelake is absurd. Half that would be pushing the limits of what you could expect of a quasi-TGI Friday's/Applebees in a location with better options all around it to offer up in terms of rent.

Between Firelake and Johnsons, it's quite clear that AU doesn't have the slightest clue how to manage retail spaces. Classic ivory tower mismanagement.

Now instead of having two open businesses in operation and generating rent, taxes and jobs, they have two abandoned storefronts contributing nothing to the neighborhood except blight.

That's why we can assume that their plan is to re-develop the building and site. Nearby 4000 Wisconsin is already emptying out in anticipation of being completely rebuilt. Now that Johnson's parking area and nursery yard are emptied, it's clear what development possibilities AU has.

I otherwise like AU, but i am super annoyed at how they "landlord". I'm sure AU students enjoy having more than fast express in the neighborhood as well... A mix is a good thing and seeing these businesses sit empty does make me wonder what their scheme is. Unlike the developers of Fannie Mae who at least seem to be communicating well, they are being really poor neighbors. Has the meeting with the president happened?