Exact same arguments that were made about Tenley Hill, LOL! That stretch of road got a mixed-use project at least as high as GDS wants, and GDS has been there all along, and yet (see bolded below). Oh, but this time it will be different, really. By definition, a single project can't bring cohesion and eveneness to that stretch of Wisconsin.

The auto-centric zoning codes thing is a hoot too. The local GDS boosters keep complaining about efforts to get more GDS students out of their cars and onto transit.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:An impartial perspective on the school's plans is that they are funding needed urban renewal in a pretty blighted neighborhood section. This vibrant win-win could be a game-changer for all concerned: GDS, neighborhood, DC.

While blighted might be too strong a word, the overall point is twofold (I am not this PP):

1) That stretch of Wisconsin Avenue is ridiculously shabby and under utilized as a center of commerce for the people who live there. Having more places to shop and eat would make the area much more attractive and vibrant. From a design perspective, the area is uneven and lacks any sort of cohesion.

2) Despite being a major arterial, there is a lack of density that makes other parts of the city more desirable. For years, neighborhood activists encourage development "over there" as a way to stymie developers in Tenleytown and Friendship Heights. Well, "over there" has been developed now. Look at Navy Yard, U Street, H Street, even Ft Totten. Meanwhile, Tenleytown remains a vestige of auto-centric zoning codes and there is a real tension between long time residents who feel entitled to free and plentiful parking and no changes to the built environment and newer families who use the transit split to shop, work and play and want more amenities to enjoy where they live.

It might be callous, but the older residents will eventually die off and the vitriol and protectionism of these elitists will fade with them.

What Tenleytown needs is Sidwell if it's presidential motorcades that will make the neighborhood "hip."

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Certainly not blighted, but like most of the rest of upper NW, Tenleytown was left behind as the rest of DC has hipped up. The neigbhorhood looks like it was left in a time capsule from the first Bush presidency. The neighborhood associations did such a good job of scaring off developers, and especially higher density apartments, that not much happened as the rest of the city moved east. When's the last time a presidential motorcade has pulled up to a Tenleytown restaurant--while it's a frequent occurrence in Penn Quarter, H Street, Capitol Hill, etc. I'm not sure if this new proposal will help turn things around, but it can't hurt to get more people with more disposable dollars into the neighborhood.

When's the last time a presidential motorcade has pulled up to GDS?

It is kind of finny that one of the leaders of the opponents to GDS recently moved to Woodley Park.

One less person to fight.

Anonymous wrote:An impartial perspective on the school's plans is that they are funding needed urban renewal in a pretty blighted neighborhood section. This vibrant win-win could be a game-changer for all concerned: GDS, neighborhood, DC.

While blighted might be too strong a word, the overall point is twofold (I am not this PP):

1) That stretch of Wisconsin Avenue is ridiculously shabby and under utilized as a center of commerce for the people who live there. Having more places to shop and eat would make the area much more attractive and vibrant. From a design perspective, the area is uneven and lacks any sort of cohesion.

2) Despite being a major arterial, there is a lack of density that makes other parts of the city more desirable. For years, neighborhood activists encourage development "over there" as a way to stymie developers in Tenleytown and Friendship Heights. Well, "over there" has been developed now. Look at Navy Yard, U Street, H Street, even Ft Totten. Meanwhile, Tenleytown remains a vestige of auto-centric zoning codes and there is a real tension between long time residents who feel entitled to free and plentiful parking and no changes to the built environment and newer families who use the transit split to shop, work and play and want more amenities to enjoy where they live.

It might be callous, but the older residents will eventually die off and the vitriol and protectionism of these elitists will fade with them.

What Tenleytown needs is its own Cathedral Commons. So upscale, exciting and hip...

Yup, we want our own generic and banal town center, now!

Presidential motorcades are a terrible way to view a neighborhood's success. Also a weird thing to think

Anonymous wrote:Certainly not blighted, but like most of the rest of upper NW, Tenleytown was left behind as the rest of DC has hipped up. The neigbhorhood looks like it was left in a time capsule from the first Bush presidency. The neighborhood associations did such a good job of scaring off developers, and especially higher density apartments, that not much happened as the rest of the city moved east. When's the last time a presidential motorcade has pulled up to a Tenleytown restaurant--while it's a frequent occurrence in Penn Quarter, H Street, Capitol Hill, etc. I'm not sure if this new proposal will help turn things around, but it can't hurt to get more people with more disposable dollars into the neighborhood.

When's the last time a presidential motorcade has pulled up to GDS?

In 2012.

I for one want GDS to make Tenleytown a safe space for hipsters.

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, that's hip. Pete's pizza with the grandkids. Made my point for me.

Yeah, that's hip. Pete's pizza with the grandkids. Made my point for me.

ZOMG! When was the last time a Presidential motorcade pulled up to a Chevy Chase or Takoma Park restaurant? There's this thing called "proximity," LOL.

But the Veep's home is within striking distance. Joe Biden comes to eat a block from GDS regularly. I guess he couldn't wait for the GDS towers to make the time capsule worth visiting.

https://www.washingtonian.com/2012/10/05/vice-president-joe-biden-dines-at-petes-apizza/

http://newcolumbiaheights.blogspot.com/2012/01/joe-biden-and-granddaughters-eat-at.html

One of Joe's kids and her family live in Tenleytown. Al Franken has a kid who lives here with her family, too. 80% of NPR has kids in public school in Tenleytown. Blah, blah, blah.

If only GDS could save the neighborhood!

Anonymous wrote:Certainly not blighted, but like most of the rest of upper NW, Tenleytown was left behind as the rest of DC has hipped up. The neigbhorhood looks like it was left in a time capsule from the first Bush presidency. The neighborhood associations did such a good job of scaring off developers, and especially higher density apartments, that not much happened as the rest of the city moved east. When's the last time a presidential motorcade has pulled up to a Tenleytown restaurant--while it's a frequent occurrence in Penn Quarter, H Street, Capitol Hill, etc. I'm not sure if this new proposal will help turn things around, but it can't hurt to get more people with more disposable dollars into the neighborhood.

Blighted~



[

quote=Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:An impartial perspective on the school's plans is that they are funding needed urban renewal in a pretty blighted neighborhood section. This vibrant win-win could be a game-changer for all concerned: GDS, neighborhood, DC.

Nah, that's an ideologue's perspective. "Blighted" neighborhoods in DC don't have a Whole Foods (and lots of other retail), coveted public schools, and houses that sell for $800K+.