Wisconsin Ave Development Project

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://planning.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/op/page_content/attachments/Wisconsin%20Ave%20Development%20Framework_web.pdf

What do people in the community think of this? How do you think it will impact property values?

I love the idea of developing from Friendship to Tenley as it's a bit of a ghost town for such an affluent area.

People don't care as much about property values as the look and feel of a place where they want to live. They like "small village," trees and sky, not suburban massing that is a city trying not to look like a city.

That's 1000% nonsense. We don't live in a "small village"...it is a fantasy that a strip of CT avenue with a gas station, bus turnaround and 1970s bunker library/community center resembles anything like a village. It offers convenience which is nice.

However, we aren't even talking about Upper CT Avenue. We are talking about FH which has never been a "small village". I have lived in the area for 30+ years and a major reason was FH offering a Macy's/Hechts, a Linens n Things, Border, Filene's, an AMC 8 movie theatre...that was in the early 2000s...let's revive the area and make it better and more dynamic then before.

Yeah, I also care about property values...which 99% of all homeowners care about.

Calm down. No one is saying it's lovely and perfect now. But do you really need 50 industrial looking high rise buildings blocking out the sky to accomplish that? You can make beautiful retail and keep the village scene.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://planning.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/op/page_content/attachments/Wisconsin%20Ave%20Development%20Framework_web.pdf

What do people in the community think of this? How do you think it will impact property values?

I love the idea of developing from Friendship to Tenley as it's a bit of a ghost town for such an affluent area.

People don't care as much about property values as the look and feel of a place where they want to live. They like "small village," trees and sky, not suburban massing that is a city trying not to look like a city.

That's 1000% nonsense. We don't live in a "small village"...it is a fantasy that a strip of CT avenue with a gas station, bus turnaround and 1970s bunker library/community center resembles anything like a village. It offers convenience which is nice.

However, we aren't even talking about Upper CT Avenue. We are talking about FH which has never been a "small village". I have lived in the area for 30+ years and a major reason was FH offering a Macy's/Hechts, a Linens n Things, Border, Filene's, an AMC 8 movie theatre...that was in the early 2000s...let's revive the area and make it better and more dynamic then before.

Yeah, I also care about property values...which 99% of all homeowners care about.

If you cared about property values you would demand a clear and credible plan on how DC will educate the hundreds/thousands of new DCPS students in already overcrowded schools. This plan is ready, fire, aim.

There's no aim, just ready, fire, take the money and leave town.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gee, I've always wanted to live in Ballston -- and now Ballston is coming to me! Yuck.

Anyway, the person who keeps using the word 'activate' in every paragraph in that planning doc must be silenced

"Activate" is the new Smart Growth industry buzzword, now that "urban vibrancy" has become a term of ridicule.

Do you think FH should stay the way it is now with a bunch of empty buildings and surface parking lots? What is your development solution for a high transit hub on a major corridor?

I can't stand the smart growth people. They remind me of locusts.

So you want FH to remain as it is now, with closed storefronts, empty surface parking lots and a whole lot of nothing going on?

Because that didn't answer the question, and simply calling out a planning movement as "locusts" doesn't really advance the dialogue.

Why do you jump to false dichotomy? People can say they don't like a plan without meaning they want no change at all. Make a better plan on scale with the area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, Trader Joe's is coming to Chevy Chase Pavillion.

FH could be incredible if it was connected on the MD side. You could create another Reston Town Center or whatever they call the area in Rockville/North Bethesda with the REI and LL Bean.

You have a wasted surface lot behind the new Mazza replacement, wasted surface lot at the Saks in CC MD. You have the Lord & Taylor site...it seems crazy to turn that into the new bus depot...although I guess that opens up development of the current bus depot.

It needs to be far more mixed-use...apartments, retail, entertainment (Dave & Busters, Pinstripes type places), etc.

Turning Friendship Heights and AU Park into some high rise city with Dave & Busters? No thanks.

That would be awesome. Right now it is basically nothing and wont be converted into a SFH or open space area…so what would you suggest?

BTW…I don’t care nor even understand what Smart growth is. I want a fun, dynamic destination with lots for everyone to do.

You don't need a concrete forest and lots of high rises to accomplish that though. You can revamp the area and make it a dynamic destination without turning it into Reston.

Great...so what's your plan? All I hear is I don't want Ballston, or Reston, or Pike & Rose...but then no alternative plan is offered.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Turning the Lord and Taylor into a WMATA bus garage is nuts. Makes me question the credibility of the entire plan.

The busses have to go somewhere and they need to be repaired/maintained. It's the end of the line for a lot of busses and connects to the Metro.

What they should be doing is building a bus garage and having some sort of mixed use 8 stories high above the garage - shopping, indoor playland, a big gym, etc. A stand-alone bus garage is dumb. Maximize use of air rights.

Have you ever smelled the exhaust from a bus garage?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://planning.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/op/page_content/attachments/Wisconsin%20Ave%20Development%20Framework_web.pdf

What do people in the community think of this? How do you think it will impact property values?

I love the idea of developing from Friendship to Tenley as it's a bit of a ghost town for such an affluent area.

People don't care as much about property values as the look and feel of a place where they want to live. They like "small village," trees and sky, not suburban massing that is a city trying not to look like a city.

That's 1000% nonsense. We don't live in a "small village"...it is a fantasy that a strip of CT avenue with a gas station, bus turnaround and 1970s bunker library/community center resembles anything like a village. It offers convenience which is nice.

However, we aren't even talking about Upper CT Avenue. We are talking about FH which has never been a "small village". I have lived in the area for 30+ years and a major reason was FH offering a Macy's/Hechts, a Linens n Things, Border, Filene's, an AMC 8 movie theatre...that was in the early 2000s...let's revive the area and make it better and more dynamic then before.

Yeah, I also care about property values...which 99% of all homeowners care about.

Calm down. No one is saying it's lovely and perfect now. But do you really need 50 industrial looking high rise buildings blocking out the sky to accomplish that? You can make beautiful retail and keep the village scene.

There is no village scene...anywhere. Certainly there is no village scene in FH.

If you want a village scene you go to Old Town or Georgetown or Leesburg.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Turning the Lord and Taylor into a WMATA bus garage is nuts. Makes me question the credibility of the entire plan.

The busses have to go somewhere and they need to be repaired/maintained. It's the end of the line for a lot of busses and connects to the Metro.

What they should be doing is building a bus garage and having some sort of mixed use 8 stories high above the garage - shopping, indoor playland, a big gym, etc. A stand-alone bus garage is dumb. Maximize use of air rights.

Have you ever smelled the exhaust from a bus garage?

The new garage will be servicing an all-electric bus fleet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Turning the Lord and Taylor into a WMATA bus garage is nuts. Makes me question the credibility of the entire plan.

The busses have to go somewhere and they need to be repaired/maintained. It's the end of the line for a lot of busses and connects to the Metro.

What they should be doing is building a bus garage and having some sort of mixed use 8 stories high above the garage - shopping, indoor playland, a big gym, etc. A stand-alone bus garage is dumb. Maximize use of air rights.

Have you ever smelled the exhaust from a bus garage?

Agree that is very unrealistic and probably not healthy or safe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://planning.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/op/page_content/attachments/Wisconsin%20Ave%20Development%20Framework_web.pdf

What do people in the community think of this? How do you think it will impact property values?

I love the idea of developing from Friendship to Tenley as it's a bit of a ghost town for such an affluent area.

People don't care as much about property values as the look and feel of a place where they want to live. They like "small village," trees and sky, not suburban massing that is a city trying not to look like a city.

That's 1000% nonsense. We don't live in a "small village"...it is a fantasy that a strip of CT avenue with a gas station, bus turnaround and 1970s bunker library/community center resembles anything like a village. It offers convenience which is nice.

However, we aren't even talking about Upper CT Avenue. We are talking about FH which has never been a "small village". I have lived in the area for 30+ years and a major reason was FH offering a Macy's/Hechts, a Linens n Things, Border, Filene's, an AMC 8 movie theatre...that was in the early 2000s...let's revive the area and make it better and more dynamic then before.

Yeah, I also care about property values...which 99% of all homeowners care about.

Calm down. No one is saying it's lovely and perfect now. But do you really need 50 industrial looking high rise buildings blocking out the sky to accomplish that? You can make beautiful retail and keep the village scene.

Unless I am missing something...we are getting a bunch of high-rise buildings. Isn't that what the Wisconsin Corridor plan is promoting? That ship has sailed.

So, it's no longer a question of getting the high-rise buildings, but maybe how they are configured, what kind of retail/restaurants/entertainment is provided, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, Trader Joe's is coming to Chevy Chase Pavillion.

FH could be incredible if it was connected on the MD side. You could create another Reston Town Center or whatever they call the area in Rockville/North Bethesda with the REI and LL Bean.

You have a wasted surface lot behind the new Mazza replacement, wasted surface lot at the Saks in CC MD. You have the Lord & Taylor site...it seems crazy to turn that into the new bus depot...although I guess that opens up development of the current bus depot.

It needs to be far more mixed-use...apartments, retail, entertainment (Dave & Busters, Pinstripes type places), etc.

Turning Friendship Heights and AU Park into some high rise city with Dave & Busters? No thanks.

That would be awesome. Right now it is basically nothing and wont be converted into a SFH or open space area…so what would you suggest?

BTW…I don’t care nor even understand what Smart growth is. I want a fun, dynamic destination with lots for everyone to do.

You don't need a concrete forest and lots of high rises to accomplish that though. You can revamp the area and make it a dynamic destination without turning it into Reston.

Great...so what's your plan? All I hear is I don't want Ballston, or Reston, or Pike & Rose...but then no alternative plan is offered.

Why do I have to be the one to make the plan? It's not my area of expertise. Show me a plan, and I'll tell you what I think as the consumer and home owner. This one? Not crazy about it. Scale it down, open it up some more. Don't shift traffic into school yards and residential neighborhoods. Pay attention to the realities of people who need physical access points.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://planning.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/op/page_content/attachments/Wisconsin%20Ave%20Development%20Framework_web.pdf

What do people in the community think of this? How do you think it will impact property values?

I love the idea of developing from Friendship to Tenley as it's a bit of a ghost town for such an affluent area.

People don't care as much about property values as the look and feel of a place where they want to live. They like "small village," trees and sky, not suburban massing that is a city trying not to look like a city.

That's 1000% nonsense. We don't live in a "small village"...it is a fantasy that a strip of CT avenue with a gas station, bus turnaround and 1970s bunker library/community center resembles anything like a village. It offers convenience which is nice.

However, we aren't even talking about Upper CT Avenue. We are talking about FH which has never been a "small village". I have lived in the area for 30+ years and a major reason was FH offering a Macy's/Hechts, a Linens n Things, Border, Filene's, an AMC 8 movie theatre...that was in the early 2000s...let's revive the area and make it better and more dynamic then before.

Yeah, I also care about property values...which 99% of all homeowners care about.

Calm down. No one is saying it's lovely and perfect now. But do you really need 50 industrial looking high rise buildings blocking out the sky to accomplish that? You can make beautiful retail and keep the village scene.

Unless I am missing something...we are getting a bunch of high-rise buildings. Isn't that what the Wisconsin Corridor plan is promoting? That ship has sailed.

So, it's no longer a question of getting the high-rise buildings, but maybe how they are configured, what kind of retail/restaurants/entertainment is provided, etc.

So if this is a done deal, why put it out for questions like this? No one cares what we think.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://planning.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/op/page_content/attachments/Wisconsin%20Ave%20Development%20Framework_web.pdf

What do people in the community think of this? How do you think it will impact property values?

I love the idea of developing from Friendship to Tenley as it's a bit of a ghost town for such an affluent area.

People don't care as much about property values as the look and feel of a place where they want to live. They like "small village," trees and sky, not suburban massing that is a city trying not to look like a city.

That's 1000% nonsense. We don't live in a "small village"...it is a fantasy that a strip of CT avenue with a gas station, bus turnaround and 1970s bunker library/community center resembles anything like a village. It offers convenience which is nice.

However, we aren't even talking about Upper CT Avenue. We are talking about FH which has never been a "small village". I have lived in the area for 30+ years and a major reason was FH offering a Macy's/Hechts, a Linens n Things, Border, Filene's, an AMC 8 movie theatre...that was in the early 2000s...let's revive the area and make it better and more dynamic then before.

Yeah, I also care about property values...which 99% of all homeowners care about.

Calm down. No one is saying it's lovely and perfect now. But do you really need 50 industrial looking high rise buildings blocking out the sky to accomplish that? You can make beautiful retail and keep the village scene.

Unless I am missing something...we are getting a bunch of high-rise buildings. Isn't that what the Wisconsin Corridor plan is promoting? That ship has sailed.

So, it's no longer a question of getting the high-rise buildings, but maybe how they are configured, what kind of retail/restaurants/entertainment is provided, etc.

So if this is a done deal, why put it out for questions like this? No one cares what we think.

Because DC Government is very performative...they ask for input on school boundaries, but they already basically know what they are going to do...they ask for input on development, but they already have a plan. I would prefer they just stop asking.

I absolutely agree...we elect officials and they do what they do. You can get angry, but you just need to accept it is happening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Turning the Lord and Taylor into a WMATA bus garage is nuts. Makes me question the credibility of the entire plan.

Where do you want the buses to park, then?

[Anonymous]

What's the problem with a bunch of high-rise buildings on Wisconsin Avenue, exactly? I see people complaining about turning AU Park into Pike & Rose, but Wisconsin Avenue is already a commercial corridor, and there's no plans to change the zoning for the actual residential parts of the neighborhood at all.

I live in an SFH less than a block from Wisconsin Avenue and across the street from an area that' slated for new zoning, and I think this plan seems great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What's the problem with a bunch of high-rise buildings on Wisconsin Avenue, exactly? I see people complaining about turning AU Park into Pike & Rose, but Wisconsin Avenue is already a commercial corridor, and there's no plans to change the zoning for the actual residential parts of the neighborhood at all.

I live in an SFH less than a block from Wisconsin Avenue and across the street from an area that' slated for new zoning, and I think this plan seems great.

Your property value is going up, up, up.

Example: price history of SFHs just adjacent to Clarendon and Ballston development corridors and walkable to Metro. Land values are some of the most expensive in NoVa on a per square foot basis.