Anonymous wrote:If GDS insists on closing 42nd street to cars, it will delay the project for several years, build up animosity in the neighborhood which will make them less accepting of other parts of the plan and ultimately fail to change the use of he street. The neighbors' position may or may not be rational but they will have a lot of juice in the approval process.

A lot of us neighbors would love to see 42nd restricted. It would have a postibe impact by cutting thrrough traffic on 42nd between River and Nebraska, which can be like a throughway at times.

If GDS insists on closing 42nd street to cars, it will delay the project for several years, build up animosity in the neighborhood which will make them less accepting of other parts of the plan and ultimately fail to change the use of he street. The neighbors' position may or may not be rational but they will have a lot of juice in the approval process.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The land acquisition did involve debt. And the MacArthur campus's assessed value is less than $20 million, including the buildings. So when that parcel is sold the school will have less money, less land, and fewer facilities than it started out with.

Wow, PP. If the facts are truly as you see them, only an idiot would make that kind of deal!

Not necessarily. The usual rules of economic rationality don't always seem to apply when you're spending OPM (other people's money).

Well, with all due respect, given your post I think is clear that you are not an economist/robust investor/business strategist- consultant/financial adviser.

Regarding the "fact" of buying the land with debt: Given current interest rates I think it would be very unwise not to do so. Only people unable to upbeat the current mortgage rates (historically low rates) will not acquire such an asset with, at least, some level of debt. If I can get a better return investing my savings in something else, why I would not do it?

Moreover, have you heard about "hedonic prices"?

http://www.investopedia.com/terms/h/hedonicpricing.asp

Having the whole campus in one same facility-location might increase the school equity, give the school comparative advantage over other competitors, facilitate economies of scale, synergies, and slope-up LM students learning curve, and/or position the school differently.

Finally, I believe is a little daring to challenge and question an investment without having much info about it, without being an expert on the field, and given that GDS administration and Board of Trustees seems pretty competent -at least on paper.

Why criticizing for the sake of criticizing? I don´t get it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Perhaps a bit but it would redirect some traffic onto other neighborhood streets that have less retail and more residential properties than 42d. I, for one, would still choose to avoid Wisconsin Avenue by taking he backstreets.

I don't really get this argument. The stretch of 42nd street that we are talking about starts at Wisconsin and Ellicott and ends at Chesapeake. This is not a busy stretch of Wisconsin AT ALL - it is busy before this (before the light at Fessenden) and after this (at Brandywine). Staying on Wisconsin for two extra blocks before you turn down Chesapeake and onto 42nd street really doesn't seem like an inconvenience. The far bigger inconvenience is the random ass traffic light at Davenport that is way too long crossing Wisconsin. But i'd imagine with the car dealership closing, that light could be much much shorter.

I agree that this is a pretty easy stretch of Wisconsin. The worst part is north and south of Tenley Circle, from Brandywine all the way down to the Cathedral. The signals are not sychronized and seem to operate in random order, which can lead to traffic jams even during the middle of the day.

Anonymous wrote:Perhaps a bit but it would redirect some traffic onto other neighborhood streets that have less retail and more residential properties than 42d. I, for one, would still choose to avoid Wisconsin Avenue by taking he backstreets.

I don't really get this argument. The stretch of 42nd street that we are talking about starts at Wisconsin and Ellicott and ends at Chesapeake. This is not a busy stretch of Wisconsin AT ALL - it is busy before this (before the light at Fessenden) and after this (at Brandywine). Staying on Wisconsin for two extra blocks before you turn down Chesapeake and onto 42nd street really doesn't seem like an inconvenience. The far bigger inconvenience is the random ass traffic light at Davenport that is way too long crossing Wisconsin. But i'd imagine with the car dealership closing, that light could be much much shorter.

Anonymous wrote:Perhaps a bit but it would redirect some traffic onto other neighborhood streets that have less retail and more residential properties than 42d. I, for one, would still choose to avoid Wisconsin Avenue by taking he backstreets.

That's why DC is putting in mega-speed humps on side streets, where you have to slow down to 10-15 mph to go over them.

Perhaps a bit but it would redirect some traffic onto other neighborhood streets that have less retail and more residential properties than 42d. I, for one, would still choose to avoid Wisconsin Avenue by taking he backstreets.

Anonymous wrote:I see no reason closing 42nd street so GDS can have more space to build on is a good public policy decision. Many residents use 42nd Street too. I am sure you drive on other people's streets. We cannot just keep closing streets, like Fessenden is basically closed now.

GDS wouldn't be allowed to build in the right of way. But closing the one end of 42nd would make for an awesome pedestrian way, bike path and safer campus enviroment. It might reduce through traffic in AU Park as well.

The new campus is going to be spectacular, IMO.

The NW Current reports this week that GDS persuaded Safeway to stay open another two years (although both parties can cancel the lease on 60 days notice). GDS said they didn't envision starting any demolition and construction for at leasat two years and besides, they need their "cafeteria" to stay open.

Yes, but it's not the board members' or administrators' money either. It's like politicians and government funds -- they spend OPM in ways that they'd never spend their own funds. That's not illegal, it's not always wrong (e.g. collective goals or long-term stewardship may argue for investments that seem economically irrational), but it does open the door for the pursuit of individual interests that may be distinct from institutional interests.

At which point, yes, parents have the option of retreating into consumerist mode. And/or, fairly quickly, disgruntled parents will be replaced by parents who are down with the plan, as some families opt or age out and others opt in with a different set of expectations.

Anonymous wrote:Not necessarily. The usual rules of economic rationality don't always seem to apply when you're spending OPM (other people's money).

How is GDS using other people's money? Even if you are a GDS parent, it isn't your money either. We pay tuition so GDS will educate our children. If I wasn't getting my money's worth, my child would be going to another school and I wouldn't be paying GDS (or donating). The GDS board and administration then makes decisions about how they use their money. Even if I disagree with a school decision, they aren't spending my money, they are spending the school's money.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The land acquisition did involve debt. And the MacArthur campus's assessed value is less than $20 million, including the buildings. So when that parcel is sold the school will have less money, less land, and fewer facilities than it started out with.

Wow, PP. If the facts are truly as you see them, only an idiot would make that kind of deal!

Not necessarily. The usual rules of economic rationality don't always seem to apply when you're spending OPM (other people's money).

Pp. that is one of the most absurd mom-fact based posts I have ever read on this board. The neighbors make life miserable for school expansion and GDS knows this as well as any school.

I see no reason closing 42nd street so GDS can have more space to build on is a good public policy decision. Many residents use 42nd Street too. I am sure you drive on other people's streets. We cannot just keep closing streets, like Fessenden is basically closed now.