Anonymous wrote:PPs say that the Planned Unit Development needs to have community amenities to compensate for the additional height and density that is requested. GDS IS the amenity. It is a leading independent school in the Nation's Capital. GDS is making a big bet on Tenleytown, and rather than being ungrateful, the neighborhood should envelop the school in an appreciative embrace. Would the neighborhood rather have a prestigious school and a vibrant, rising neighborhood, or a shi@@y little Safeway and more mattress marts?

Anonymous wrote:GDS has been in Tenleytown for 30 years. The GDS amenity has been traffic, students parked in neighborhood spaces and smoking pot behind our house, and attitude. I want to envelop them in an appreciative embrace for more than doubling the size of that amenity.

Anonymous wrote:PPs say that the Planned Unit Development needs to have community amenities to compensate for the additional height and density that is requested. GDS IS the amenity. It is a leading independent school in the Nation's Capital. GDS is making a big bet on Tenleytown, and rather than being ungrateful, the neighborhood should envelop the school in an appreciative embrace. Would the neighborhood rather have a prestigious school and a vibrant, rising neighborhood, or a shi@@y little Safeway and more mattress marts?

Anonymous wrote:PPs say that the Planned Unit Development needs to have community amenities to compensate for the additional height and density that is requested. GDS IS the amenity. It is a leading independent school in the Nation's Capital. GDS is making a big bet on Tenleytown, and rather than being ungrateful, the neighborhood should envelop the school in an appreciative embrace. Would the neighborhood rather have a prestigious school and a vibrant, rising neighborhood, or a shi@@y little Safeway and more mattress marts?

Anonymous wrote:PPs say that the Planned Unit Development needs to have community amenities to compensate for the additional height and density that is requested. GDS IS the amenity. It is a leading independent school in the Nation's Capital. GDS is making a big bet on Tenleytown, and rather than being ungrateful, the neighborhood should envelop the school in an appreciative embrace. Would the neighborhood rather have a prestigious school and a vibrant, rising neighborhood, or a shi@@y little Safeway and more mattress marts?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

It's a 33% increase in density over zoning, which is why it requires a PUD. That's a big deal. And guess what? If the higher building height is approved in a special process, then the next time a developer comes in and wants to bust zoning, he points to the extra height PUD as the neighborhood baseline. The difficulty for Big Development and their front organizations and partners is that people aren't as stupid as they would like to think.

No, the difference is that some people see doom and gloom around 8 stories but not 6. Some people see the revenue benefits to the city with those extra income taxes that can help pay for pay raises to first responders or teachers. Some people see more patronage of local retail with those extra residents, creating more jobs and opportunities.

Others simply want to exclude anyone else from enjoying what they already have.

Does Tenleytown really need two 8-story luxury private dorms for AU students whose daddies will write big checks every month? Because that's what these towers are going to be. It isn't like the "cool creative class Millennials" are hankering to live in Tenleytown and practically on top of a school, no less. They want the buzz of U St and edgier neighborhoods to the east. No amount of pale imitation is going to bring them to Tenleytown. Other newer buildings along Wisconsin Avenue, including much of Cathedral Commons, have basically become the east campus of AU, and "GDS Commons" will be more of the same, maybe with a Five Guys and a taco bar on the bottom.