Anonymous
Post 05/07/2015 22:52     Subject: Big GDS news
Anonymous wrote:
A viewshed to the campus is very different than, you know, the campus.



It's more of a symbolic connection but symbolism can be important. St. Albans and Sidwell are set back from Wisconsin Av also.


Sidwell and the National Cathedral (NCS) are ON Wisconsin Avenue. GDS will have a viewshed through some stores. Don't fool yourself. And the whole 'Wisconsin Avenue Status" thing is laughable.

Anonymous
Post 05/07/2015 22:41     Subject: Big GDS news
Anonymous wrote:God I loathe GDS. Everyone I ever encountered there was a pretentious, self-congratulatory asshole. The school's mission, social justice blah blah blah. It's just a bunch of rich families spending money on their kids instead of donating it to a cause. 35k per year. Can you imagine what all that money would do for Food and Friends? For the displaced in Nepal? For the kids orphaned by Ebola? But keep on patting yourselves on the back for being "progressive" gds parents!


Wow. As they say, haters gonna hate.
Anonymous
Post 05/07/2015 19:04     Subject: Big GDS news
God I loathe GDS. Everyone I ever encountered there was a pretentious, self-congratulatory asshole. The school's mission, social justice blah blah blah. It's just a bunch of rich families spending money on their kids instead of donating it to a cause. 35k per year. Can you imagine what all that money would do for Food and Friends? For the displaced in Nepal? For the kids orphaned by Ebola? But keep on patting yourselves on the back for being "progressive" gds parents!
Anonymous
Post 05/07/2015 17:58     Subject: Big GDS news
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I think that GDS takes quite seriously it's stewardship responsibility for development of the Wisconsin property. It's hard to imagine GDS permitting any retail that does not reflect well on the school's reputation. The early plans are exciting in that the Davenport St "right of way" will be opened as a viewshed, a kind of gateway, from Wisconsin the the front door of GDS, as framed by the new mixed use. No longer will the school be hidden behind a used car lot or blah apartment buildings, as is the case today in Tenleytown and in Palisades. Instead GDS will have a prominent presence on one of the major thoroughfares into DC. People walking or driving by on Wisconsin will be able to see and recognize the campus.


A viewshed to the campus is very different than, you know, the campus.



It's more of a symbolic connection but symbolism can be important. St. Albans and Sidwell are set back from Wisconsin Av also.
Anonymous
Post 05/07/2015 17:42     Subject: Big GDS news
Anonymous wrote:The DCUM NIMBY anonymous rallying call is that GDS should actually build the school on both properties, but they paid a shit ton for the properties, so its never going to happen. The die is cast.


And the "Macher" developers expect a piece of the action....
Anonymous
Post 05/07/2015 17:11     Subject: Big GDS news
Tenley's retail is what it is primarily because there are so many students in the vicinity -- pizza, fast food, smoothies, Starbucks, Best Buy, fro yo, and various martial arts/dance/music/yoga studios cater to that market. GDS's expansion, like the relocation of AU's law school to Tenleytown Circle, seems more likely to reinforce than to transforms retailers' perception of the local market and its distinctive niche in upper NW.
Anonymous
Post 05/07/2015 17:05     Subject: Big GDS news
The DCUM NIMBY anonymous rallying call is that GDS should actually build the school on both properties, but they paid a shit ton for the properties, so its never going to happen. The die is cast.
Anonymous
Post 05/07/2015 15:24     Subject: Big GDS news
Mattressville could certainly use more upscale retail and restaurants. GDS should be applauded for considering how to serve the needs of the community, rather than simply using the whole site just for its own school purposes.
Anonymous
Post 05/07/2015 15:01     Subject: Big GDS news
Anonymous wrote:I think that GDS takes quite seriously it's stewardship responsibility for development of the Wisconsin property. It's hard to imagine GDS permitting any retail that does not reflect well on the school's reputation. The early plans are exciting in that the Davenport St "right of way" will be opened as a viewshed, a kind of gateway, from Wisconsin the the front door of GDS, as framed by the new mixed use. No longer will the school be hidden behind a used car lot or blah apartment buildings, as is the case today in Tenleytown and in Palisades. Instead GDS will have a prominent presence on one of the major thoroughfares into DC. People walking or driving by on Wisconsin will be able to see and recognize the campus.


A viewshed to the campus is very different than, you know, the campus.

Anonymous
Post 05/07/2015 13:47     Subject: Big GDS news
Anonymous wrote:I think that GDS takes quite seriously it's stewardship responsibility for development of the Wisconsin property. It's hard to imagine GDS permitting any retail that does not reflect well on the school's reputation. The early plans are exciting in that the Davenport St "right of way" will be opened as a viewshed, a kind of gateway, from Wisconsin the the front door of GDS, as framed by the new mixed use. No longer will the school be hidden behind a used car lot or blah apartment buildings, as is the case today in Tenleytown and in Palisades. Instead GDS will have a prominent presence on one of the major thoroughfares into DC. People walking or driving by on Wisconsin will be able to see and recognize the campus.


Developer-speak and total BS. If the goal was a prominent presence on Wisconsin Ave, then GDS would be using the Volvo site for educational facilities. The goal is revenue generation. GDS won't own the 90 foot buildings -- someone else will and they'll be doing or delegating the leasing. What kind of retail goes in will depend on who's interested and what use is most profitable (or what leases satisfy the lenders). Yes, some uses (liquor store, porn shop) might precluded by the school and others might be limited in the interests of the residents (especially if one of the buildings ends up condo), but no one (and certainly not GDS) can guarantee the quality/character of the retail tenants.
Anonymous
Post 05/07/2015 10:22     Subject: Big GDS news
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Nothing GDS is doing will make pizza places or the mattress store disappear. And if Starbucks, Panera, and Coffee Nature don't offer sufficiently upscale Chai Lattes already, why does GDS assume it'll attract a more luxe establishment?


Yeah, I bought a mattress at one of those mattress stores recently. Much better than trekking to the suburbs. As long as the mattress stores stay out of my NW DC neighborhood. Tenley has always been a middle class zone of NW DC, what with Sears anchoring the hill and the radio towers.


Let's compare HHI, shall we? I have the feeling PP imagines himself to be of a higher SES today than the basic household living at 45th and Brandywine, because his Bloomingdale/Shaw/Logan partial house does cost more per square foot than a AU park colonial does per square foot. And he has a nice 4th year job at a law firm, which pays a shit ton until it's up-and-out.

Now compare that to TWO of you, husband & wife, who've been at this for 13 years instead of 4. Which household do you think is more in line with "middle class" ?

Anonymous
Post 05/07/2015 10:11     Subject: Big GDS news
I think that GDS takes quite seriously it's stewardship responsibility for development of the Wisconsin property. It's hard to imagine GDS permitting any retail that does not reflect well on the school's reputation. The early plans are exciting in that the Davenport St "right of way" will be opened as a viewshed, a kind of gateway, from Wisconsin the the front door of GDS, as framed by the new mixed use. No longer will the school be hidden behind a used car lot or blah apartment buildings, as is the case today in Tenleytown and in Palisades. Instead GDS will have a prominent presence on one of the major thoroughfares into DC. People walking or driving by on Wisconsin will be able to see and recognize the campus.
Anonymous
Post 05/06/2015 22:57     Subject: Big GDS news
Anonymous wrote:Nothing GDS is doing will make pizza places or the mattress store disappear. And if Starbucks, Panera, and Coffee Nature don't offer sufficiently upscale Chai Lattes already, why does GDS assume it'll attract a more luxe establishment?


Yeah, I bought a mattress at one of those mattress stores recently. Much better than trekking to the suburbs. As long as the mattress stores stay out of my NW DC neighborhood. Tenley has always been a middle class zone of NW DC, what with Sears anchoring the hill and the radio towers.
Anonymous
Post 05/06/2015 21:49     Subject: Big GDS news
Anonymous wrote:GDS should make their mixed use condos into dorms for the kids who need to commute through all that traffic from Potomac and McLean.


The reality is that several of these mixed use projects in the upper Wisconsin area basically have become very upscale dorms for certain AU students who want to live within spitting distance of the AU bus and whose well-heeled dads are willing to Co-sign leases and pay the rent. Several projects are initially aimed at a hipster/professional crowd, but let's face it, that crowd wants to live on U St, not Wisconsin Ave. So they market instead to the richer students at AU who want their own flats. I don't see GDS Towers being any different.
Anonymous
Post 05/06/2015 19:26     Subject: Big GDS news
GDS should make their mixed use condos into dorms for the kids who need to commute through all that traffic from Potomac and McLean.