New Cleveland Park library is a missed opportunity

[Anonymous]

The good news is that the new Cleveland Park library is open and is quite nice. The bad new is that this was a missed opportunity to add dense housing, including affordable housing, to this desirable, transit-accessible location. DC-owned sites present an opportunity for taller and denser multi-family housing and mixed use development. This not only creates vibrancy and inclusive zoning housing, but the revenue to DC can fund more social spending priorities.

[Anonymous]

One thing I like about Cleveland Park is that it isn't crammed full of tall apartments. I don't live there and will never be able to afford to buy a house there, but like the character just as it is.

[Anonymous]

A missed opportunity??? So we should have got rid of a library, a place where all community members, young and old, gather to connect and learn and put in MORE housing?

I hope I don’t know you. I’m pretty sure I don’t.

[Anonymous]

Keep the library there but build 10 or 12 floors of flats, mixture of upscale and affordable. A win-win.

[Anonymous]

Naw...mixed use is overdone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One thing I like about Cleveland Park is that it isn't crammed full of tall apartments. I don't live there and will never be able to afford to buy a house there, but like the character just as it is.

If there were more apartments in Cleveland Park, you might be able to afford to live there. If there were apartments above the library, you might be able to afford to live above the library!

[Anonymous]

There is a lot of wasted space in the library as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The good news is that the new Cleveland Park library is open and is quite nice. The bad new is that this was a missed opportunity to add dense housing, including affordable housing, to this desirable, transit-accessible location. DC-owned sites present an opportunity for taller and denser multi-family housing and mixed use development. This not only creates vibrancy and inclusive zoning housing, but the revenue to DC can fund more social spending priorities.

You should try the echo-chamber GGW comments section if you're looking for validation.

You ever notice the large apartment buildings that dot that stretch of Connecticut? Guessing no.

[Anonymous]

Literally Conn. Ave is lined with buildings from the White House to Chevy Chase. I’ll even hazard a guess and say it’s the most densely populated thoroughfare in DC so you need to recognize.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Literally Conn. Ave is lined with buildings from the White House to Chevy Chase. I’ll even hazard a guess and say it’s the most densely populated thoroughfare in DC so you need to recognize.

The so-called Smart Growthers/GGW echo chamber call Comm. ave. a “density hole.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Keep the library there but build 10 or 12 floors of flats, mixture of upscale and affordable. A win-win.

this. But of course CP will argue its about character, never mind that most of Conn Avenue has apartment buidlings. They easily could have added at least 4 stories or housing but then a lot of it would have been affordable and no way are the limo liberals in CP allowing that to happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Keep the library there but build 10 or 12 floors of flats, mixture of upscale and affordable. A win-win.

this. But of course CP will argue its about character, never mind that most of Conn Avenue has apartment buidlings. They easily could have added at least 4 stories or housing but then a lot of it would have been affordable and no way are the limo liberals in CP allowing that to happen.

You might be surprised that the second highest number of rent controlled units in the entire city are in Ward 3, and many of them are in or near Cleveland Park, along Connecticut and Wisconsin Avenues. The older apartment buildings definitely provide a lot of more affordable units. The irony is that the GGW/Smart Growth crowd wants to upzone the avenues further for downtown height and density. This would mean that these affordable buildings and rent controlled units would be replaced by upscale condos and flats, with relatively little 'inclusive zoning' units (which by the way are NOT the same thing as affordable or RC units) to compensate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Keep the library there but build 10 or 12 floors of flats, mixture of upscale and affordable. A win-win.

this. But of course CP will argue its about character, never mind that most of Conn Avenue has apartment buidlings. They easily could have added at least 4 stories or housing but then a lot of it would have been affordable and no way are the limo liberals in CP allowing that to happen.

You might be surprised that the second highest number of rent controlled units in the entire city are in Ward 3, and many of them are in or near Cleveland Park, along Connecticut and Wisconsin Avenues. The older apartment buildings definitely provide a lot of more affordable units. The irony is that the GGW/Smart Growth crowd wants to upzone the avenues further for downtown height and density. This would mean that these affordable buildings and rent controlled units would be replaced by upscale condos and flats, with relatively little 'inclusive zoning' units (which by the way are NOT the same thing as affordable or RC units) to compensate.

I think their criticism is more that you have SFHs starting immediately behind the first row of large buildings on Connecticut Ave. It's a bit ridiculous that 100 feet from CT Ave you have a sea of SFHs. They should allow upzoning of the SFH blocks immediately adjacent to CT Ave.

[Anonymous]

I know they tried mixed use at the Tenley Friendship library but couldn’t get a developer to reach an agreement. Any other mixed use buildings including a library and apartments?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Keep the library there but build 10 or 12 floors of flats, mixture of upscale and affordable. A win-win.

this. But of course CP will argue its about character, never mind that most of Conn Avenue has apartment buidlings. They easily could have added at least 4 stories or housing but then a lot of it would have been affordable and no way are the limo liberals in CP allowing that to happen.

You might be surprised that the second highest number of rent controlled units in the entire city are in Ward 3, and many of them are in or near Cleveland Park, along Connecticut and Wisconsin Avenues. The older apartment buildings definitely provide a lot of more affordable units. The irony is that the GGW/Smart Growth crowd wants to upzone the avenues further for downtown height and density. This would mean that these affordable buildings and rent controlled units would be replaced by upscale condos and flats, with relatively little 'inclusive zoning' units (which by the way are NOT the same thing as affordable or RC units) to compensate.

I think their criticism is more that you have SFHs starting immediately behind the first row of large buildings on Connecticut Ave. It's a bit ridiculous that 100 feet from CT Ave you have a sea of SFHs. They should allow upzoning of the SFH blocks immediately adjacent to CT Ave.

There are many multi-unit apartment buildings just off Connecticut on Macomb, Porter and Ordway, mixed in with the SFHs. Try again.

It's ridiculous that so many people take GGW's word as gospel without actually fact-checking them.