So much for "vibrant" --boring apt. building architecture going up right and left on the Avenues

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m with you except for Mazza Gallerie. I grew up less than a mile away and walked by it almost every day, and that thing looked like a fancy marble prison from the get go which was always part of the problem. And when eventually it was renovated and the windows were added, the tenants were the ones who paid.

I thought it was weird as a kid, but it grew on me over time and the atrium! The atrium was pretty rocking. The whole thing was awesomely 60s. What will go up--little boxes, made of ticky tacky?

Off Wisconsin Ave NW, across from Sidwell Friends, in 2023? No. Four apartment buildings with 690 units total, a bunch of office space, a bunch of retail space, and an underground garage with 1,300 parking spaces.

And for what it's worth, those "little boxes, made of ticky tacky" in Daly City, California, now sell for $1.1 million or more, because the Bay Area has a severe housing shortage, because they made it really difficult to build more housing.

I don't love the design of most of the buildings in the development at the old Fannie Mae site, but the construction seems of better quality. Contrast that with the project rising next door which is mostly constructed of lumber. The design is boring and tacky and it's not even a little set back from Wisconsin. If it lasts 50 years, it will be a surprise.

Why should it be set back from Wisconsin?

Even a small setback from the lot line would have provided room for another layer of street trees. The former building was set back just a little bit. Most buildings in that area have at least modest setbacks which provide a little greenery and light. It avoids the canyon effect that unfortunately one sees on Wisconsin around Macomb.

The setback is exactly what makes Wisconsin ave so pleasant. I'm not sure what developers have against a smidge of openess and green space. Once its gone, its gone.

Fatter profit margins. That's their motivation. And they're aided and abetted by their Smart Growth lobbyists and flacks who bemoan each foot of setback or green space as "affordable housing" density left on the table. LOL.

Ugh. I hate those GGWash folks and their derangement to turn every last square inch of DC into bland, sterile towers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m with you except for Mazza Gallerie. I grew up less than a mile away and walked by it almost every day, and that thing looked like a fancy marble prison from the get go which was always part of the problem. And when eventually it was renovated and the windows were added, the tenants were the ones who paid.

I thought it was weird as a kid, but it grew on me over time and the atrium! The atrium was pretty rocking. The whole thing was awesomely 60s. What will go up--little boxes, made of ticky tacky?

Off Wisconsin Ave NW, across from Sidwell Friends, in 2023? No. Four apartment buildings with 690 units total, a bunch of office space, a bunch of retail space, and an underground garage with 1,300 parking spaces.

And for what it's worth, those "little boxes, made of ticky tacky" in Daly City, California, now sell for $1.1 million or more, because the Bay Area has a severe housing shortage, because they made it really difficult to build more housing.

I don't love the design of most of the buildings in the development at the old Fannie Mae site, but the construction seems of better quality. Contrast that with the project rising next door which is mostly constructed of lumber. The design is boring and tacky and it's not even a little set back from Wisconsin. If it lasts 50 years, it will be a surprise.

Why should it be set back from Wisconsin?

Even a small setback from the lot line would have provided room for another layer of street trees. The former building was set back just a little bit. Most buildings in that area have at least modest setbacks which provide a little greenery and light. It avoids the canyon effect that unfortunately one sees on Wisconsin around Macomb.

The setback is exactly what makes Wisconsin ave so pleasant. I'm not sure what developers have against a smidge of openess and green space. Once its gone, its gone.

Fatter profit margins. That's their motivation. And they're aided and abetted by their Smart Growth lobbyists and flacks who bemoan each foot of setback or green space as "affordable housing" density left on the table. LOL.

Ugh. I hate those GGWash folks and their derangement to turn every last square inch of DC into bland, sterile towers.

Wow, those deranged GGWash folks must be incredibly powerful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m with you except for Mazza Gallerie. I grew up less than a mile away and walked by it almost every day, and that thing looked like a fancy marble prison from the get go which was always part of the problem. And when eventually it was renovated and the windows were added, the tenants were the ones who paid.

I thought it was weird as a kid, but it grew on me over time and the atrium! The atrium was pretty rocking. The whole thing was awesomely 60s. What will go up--little boxes, made of ticky tacky?

Off Wisconsin Ave NW, across from Sidwell Friends, in 2023? No. Four apartment buildings with 690 units total, a bunch of office space, a bunch of retail space, and an underground garage with 1,300 parking spaces.

And for what it's worth, those "little boxes, made of ticky tacky" in Daly City, California, now sell for $1.1 million or more, because the Bay Area has a severe housing shortage, because they made it really difficult to build more housing.

I don't love the design of most of the buildings in the development at the old Fannie Mae site, but the construction seems of better quality. Contrast that with the project rising next door which is mostly constructed of lumber. The design is boring and tacky and it's not even a little set back from Wisconsin. If it lasts 50 years, it will be a surprise.

Why should it be set back from Wisconsin?

Even a small setback from the lot line would have provided room for another layer of street trees. The former building was set back just a little bit. Most buildings in that area have at least modest setbacks which provide a little greenery and light. It avoids the canyon effect that unfortunately one sees on Wisconsin around Macomb.

The setback is exactly what makes Wisconsin ave so pleasant. I'm not sure what developers have against a smidge of openess and green space. Once its gone, its gone.

Fatter profit margins. That's their motivation. And they're aided and abetted by their Smart Growth lobbyists and flacks who bemoan each foot of setback or green space as "affordable housing" density left on the table. LOL.

Ugh. I hate those GGWash folks and their derangement to turn every last square inch of DC into bland, sterile towers.

Wow, those deranged GGWash folks must be incredibly powerful.

Echo chambers can seem powerful when the taxpayers have been funding them. FOIA requests have revealed that DC tax funds -- paid through the Office of Planning have been funding Greater Greater Washington, which then turns around and lobbies for OP's development priorities. The assumption is that OP also is funding Smart Growth astroturf groups. DDOT has funded WABA, which lobbies for dedicated bike lanes on Connecticut Avenue. It's sleazy, and you're paying for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m with you except for Mazza Gallerie. I grew up less than a mile away and walked by it almost every day, and that thing looked like a fancy marble prison from the get go which was always part of the problem. And when eventually it was renovated and the windows were added, the tenants were the ones who paid.

I thought it was weird as a kid, but it grew on me over time and the atrium! The atrium was pretty rocking. The whole thing was awesomely 60s. What will go up--little boxes, made of ticky tacky?

Off Wisconsin Ave NW, across from Sidwell Friends, in 2023? No. Four apartment buildings with 690 units total, a bunch of office space, a bunch of retail space, and an underground garage with 1,300 parking spaces.

And for what it's worth, those "little boxes, made of ticky tacky" in Daly City, California, now sell for $1.1 million or more, because the Bay Area has a severe housing shortage, because they made it really difficult to build more housing.

I don't love the design of most of the buildings in the development at the old Fannie Mae site, but the construction seems of better quality. Contrast that with the project rising next door which is mostly constructed of lumber. The design is boring and tacky and it's not even a little set back from Wisconsin. If it lasts 50 years, it will be a surprise.

Why should it be set back from Wisconsin?

Even a small setback from the lot line would have provided room for another layer of street trees. The former building was set back just a little bit. Most buildings in that area have at least modest setbacks which provide a little greenery and light. It avoids the canyon effect that unfortunately one sees on Wisconsin around Macomb.

The setback is exactly what makes Wisconsin ave so pleasant. I'm not sure what developers have against a smidge of openess and green space. Once its gone, its gone.

Fatter profit margins. That's their motivation. And they're aided and abetted by their Smart Growth lobbyists and flacks who bemoan each foot of setback or green space as "affordable housing" density left on the table. LOL.

Ugh. I hate those GGWash folks and their derangement to turn every last square inch of DC into bland, sterile towers.

Wow, those deranged GGWash folks must be incredibly powerful.

Echo chambers can seem powerful when the taxpayers have been funding them. FOIA requests have revealed that DC tax funds -- paid through the Office of Planning have been funding Greater Greater Washington, which then turns around and lobbies for OP's development priorities. The assumption is that OP also is funding Smart Growth astroturf groups. DDOT has funded WABA, which lobbies for dedicated bike lanes on Connecticut Avenue. It's sleazy, and you're paying for it.

GGWash and WABA provide services to DC in exchange for grant money. There's nothing nefarious about it.

As far as the Office of Planning funding astroturf groups, LOL. I bet you think there's a basement in Comet Ping Pong too, huh?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m with you except for Mazza Gallerie. I grew up less than a mile away and walked by it almost every day, and that thing looked like a fancy marble prison from the get go which was always part of the problem. And when eventually it was renovated and the windows were added, the tenants were the ones who paid.

I thought it was weird as a kid, but it grew on me over time and the atrium! The atrium was pretty rocking. The whole thing was awesomely 60s. What will go up--little boxes, made of ticky tacky?

Off Wisconsin Ave NW, across from Sidwell Friends, in 2023? No. Four apartment buildings with 690 units total, a bunch of office space, a bunch of retail space, and an underground garage with 1,300 parking spaces.

And for what it's worth, those "little boxes, made of ticky tacky" in Daly City, California, now sell for $1.1 million or more, because the Bay Area has a severe housing shortage, because they made it really difficult to build more housing.

I don't love the design of most of the buildings in the development at the old Fannie Mae site, but the construction seems of better quality. Contrast that with the project rising next door which is mostly constructed of lumber. The design is boring and tacky and it's not even a little set back from Wisconsin. If it lasts 50 years, it will be a surprise.

Why should it be set back from Wisconsin?

Even a small setback from the lot line would have provided room for another layer of street trees. The former building was set back just a little bit. Most buildings in that area have at least modest setbacks which provide a little greenery and light. It avoids the canyon effect that unfortunately one sees on Wisconsin around Macomb.

The setback is exactly what makes Wisconsin ave so pleasant. I'm not sure what developers have against a smidge of openess and green space. Once its gone, its gone.

Fatter profit margins. That's their motivation. And they're aided and abetted by their Smart Growth lobbyists and flacks who bemoan each foot of setback or green space as "affordable housing" density left on the table. LOL.

Ugh. I hate those GGWash folks and their derangement to turn every last square inch of DC into bland, sterile towers.

Wow, those deranged GGWash folks must be incredibly powerful.

They are - GGWash regularly hosts "workshops" for planners and ANC members and others to indoctrinate them in their weird cult of "new urbanism" or whatever fresh nirvana of concrete hellscape.

[Anonymous]

Wait until FBI/DOJ blow the lid off the favors-for-developers scheme scheme that Bowser’s former deputy mayor and associates allegedly have been running.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m with you except for Mazza Gallerie. I grew up less than a mile away and walked by it almost every day, and that thing looked like a fancy marble prison from the get go which was always part of the problem. And when eventually it was renovated and the windows were added, the tenants were the ones who paid.

I thought it was weird as a kid, but it grew on me over time and the atrium! The atrium was pretty rocking. The whole thing was awesomely 60s. What will go up--little boxes, made of ticky tacky?

Off Wisconsin Ave NW, across from Sidwell Friends, in 2023? No. Four apartment buildings with 690 units total, a bunch of office space, a bunch of retail space, and an underground garage with 1,300 parking spaces.

And for what it's worth, those "little boxes, made of ticky tacky" in Daly City, California, now sell for $1.1 million or more, because the Bay Area has a severe housing shortage, because they made it really difficult to build more housing.

I don't love the design of most of the buildings in the development at the old Fannie Mae site, but the construction seems of better quality. Contrast that with the project rising next door which is mostly constructed of lumber. The design is boring and tacky and it's not even a little set back from Wisconsin. If it lasts 50 years, it will be a surprise.

Why should it be set back from Wisconsin?

Even a small setback from the lot line would have provided room for another layer of street trees. The former building was set back just a little bit. Most buildings in that area have at least modest setbacks which provide a little greenery and light. It avoids the canyon effect that unfortunately one sees on Wisconsin around Macomb.

The setback is exactly what makes Wisconsin ave so pleasant. I'm not sure what developers have against a smidge of openess and green space. Once its gone, its gone.

Fatter profit margins. That's their motivation. And they're aided and abetted by their Smart Growth lobbyists and flacks who bemoan each foot of setback or green space as "affordable housing" density left on the table. LOL.

Ugh. I hate those GGWash folks and their derangement to turn every last square inch of DC into bland, sterile towers.

Wow, those deranged GGWash folks must be incredibly powerful.

Echo chambers can seem powerful when the taxpayers have been funding them. FOIA requests have revealed that DC tax funds -- paid through the Office of Planning have been funding Greater Greater Washington, which then turns around and lobbies for OP's development priorities. The assumption is that OP also is funding Smart Growth astroturf groups. DDOT has funded WABA, which lobbies for dedicated bike lanes on Connecticut Avenue. It's sleazy, and you're paying for it.

GGWash and WABA provide services to DC in exchange for grant money. There's nothing nefarious about it.

As far as the Office of Planning funding astroturf groups, LOL. I bet you think there's a basement in Comet Ping Pong too, huh?

If Comet Ping Pong has a basement it will be leveled soon for more vibrant, dense, urbanist, mixed-use, Smart Growth generica.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m with you except for Mazza Gallerie. I grew up less than a mile away and walked by it almost every day, and that thing looked like a fancy marble prison from the get go which was always part of the problem. And when eventually it was renovated and the windows were added, the tenants were the ones who paid.

I thought it was weird as a kid, but it grew on me over time and the atrium! The atrium was pretty rocking. The whole thing was awesomely 60s. What will go up--little boxes, made of ticky tacky?

Off Wisconsin Ave NW, across from Sidwell Friends, in 2023? No. Four apartment buildings with 690 units total, a bunch of office space, a bunch of retail space, and an underground garage with 1,300 parking spaces.

And for what it's worth, those "little boxes, made of ticky tacky" in Daly City, California, now sell for $1.1 million or more, because the Bay Area has a severe housing shortage, because they made it really difficult to build more housing.

I don't love the design of most of the buildings in the development at the old Fannie Mae site, but the construction seems of better quality. Contrast that with the project rising next door which is mostly constructed of lumber. The design is boring and tacky and it's not even a little set back from Wisconsin. If it lasts 50 years, it will be a surprise.

Why should it be set back from Wisconsin?

Even a small setback from the lot line would have provided room for another layer of street trees. The former building was set back just a little bit. Most buildings in that area have at least modest setbacks which provide a little greenery and light. It avoids the canyon effect that unfortunately one sees on Wisconsin around Macomb.

The setback is exactly what makes Wisconsin ave so pleasant. I'm not sure what developers have against a smidge of openess and green space. Once its gone, its gone.

Fatter profit margins. That's their motivation. And they're aided and abetted by their Smart Growth lobbyists and flacks who bemoan each foot of setback or green space as "affordable housing" density left on the table. LOL.

Ugh. I hate those GGWash folks and their derangement to turn every last square inch of DC into bland, sterile towers.

Wow, those deranged GGWash folks must be incredibly powerful.

They are - GGWash regularly hosts "workshops" for planners and ANC members and others to indoctrinate them in their weird cult of "new urbanism" or whatever fresh nirvana of concrete hellscape.

At those workshops, do they explain what a "nirvana of hellscape" is?

[Anonymous]

Ugly architecture has nothing to do with the Height Act. It is the willingness of our leaders (and the people who elect them) to cave to developers and not demand anything of them. Of course a developer will put up the cheapest, ugliest building if they are allowed to do so. We need to demand more for our city and elect people who will demand more. DC used to be a great place to live and it is getting uglier by the day.

[Anonymous]

What services does GGWash provide to the city?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ugly architecture has nothing to do with the Height Act. It is the willingness of our leaders (and the people who elect them) to cave to developers and not demand anything of them. Of course a developer will put up the cheapest, ugliest building if they are allowed to do so. We need to demand more for our city and elect people who will demand more. DC used to be a great place to live and it is getting uglier by the day.

You think our leaders should be allowed to approve or disapprove of a new building based on their personal opinions about the aesthetics of the building?

[Anonymous]

I think our leaders should demand the best for our city, not the best for developers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think our leaders should demand the best for our city, not the best for developers.

I think more housing is the best for our city.

[Anonymous]

Is it a binary choice? Can't you have more housing that's reasonably attractive?

[Anonymous]

The number of DC residents is declining right now. Do we expect it to rebound now that so many people are able to work remotely? I watch as young people who grew up in the city are choosing to live in the suburbs for better schools and lower rates of crime.