tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22305958.post4162477117958829587..comments2024-03-13T23:35:16.711-04:00Comments on DCmud - The Urban Real Estate Digest of Washington DC: Tenley Wars III: The Council Strikes BackKenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08295461340042242438noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22305958.post-86382338062174593322008-11-30T08:53:00.000-05:002008-11-30T08:53:00.000-05:00Still eagerly awaiting "The Revenge of the SIT" --...Still eagerly awaiting "The Revenge of the SIT" -- both here and IRL. <BR/><BR/>Despite DCPL's announcement (and the Mayor's confirmation), DMPED is still working on this project and the SIT met with DMPED to see the "latest" designs, despite the SIT's previous announcement that it had withdrawn its support for a PPDP and wanted nothing more to do with this project.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22305958.post-48642429038597009272008-11-24T06:36:00.000-05:002008-11-24T06:36:00.000-05:00Last Wednesday, DCPL's Board of Trustees instructe...Last Wednesday, DCPL's Board of Trustees instructed Ginnie Cooper to move forward with Freelon's design for a free-standing library at the Tenley-Friendship site. When reporters contacted Neil Albert's office, they were unaware of this decision. By Friday, the Mayor's representative had confirmed it, calling ANC Commissioner Anne Sullivan to give her the news.<BR/><BR/>No official word yet on what happens with Janney's modernization. The paper trail indicates that Reinoso kicked the project to the end of the modernization queue to accomodate/incentivize the PPP (arguably, at Cheh's request!). <BR/>One of DCPS's facilities people pointed out that this was in violation of the underlying principles ordering the queue. Hopefully, now that the library has been disentangled from this project, the school will be as well. <BR/><BR/>As for LCOR, they've never budged on their requirements for the project (174 units in a building whose footprint would require about 30,000 SF of land). Any critique is met with a new and more misleading representation of the same old-same old (with, perhaps, a slight shift in massing). No problem-solving skills (or efforts) whatsoever.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22305958.post-67047787371196262782008-11-15T18:39:00.000-05:002008-11-15T18:39:00.000-05:00Funny how the three different developers (each sub...Funny how the three different developers (each submitting multiple plans) who responded to this RFP, as well as two other developers (a few years back) all somehow lack the "creativity" to pull this project off. And those who assert that creativity is all that's required here apparently lack the experience/capital/interest to bid on the deal themselves. <BR/><BR/>People like Mary Cheh, who knows next to nothing about development, routinely make such claims. It's an attempt to absolve themselves of responsibility for pushing this project so long and so hard even after it was clear that the deal would substantially delay the library and deprive the school of the playground space and athletic facilities to which it is entitled. <BR/><BR/>They can't admit they were wrong (especially when the problems that they now see were pointed out to them by the ANC over a year ago), so they pass the buck by blaming the development community for its lack of vision.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22305958.post-84353522774574511622008-11-15T18:28:00.000-05:002008-11-15T18:28:00.000-05:00I know this is hard to believe (and you still have...I know this is hard to believe (and you still haven't gotten it right), but LCOR is not being given the right to build residential units in exchange for rebuilding the library and modernizing/expanding Janney Elementary. <BR/><BR/>LCOR would be paid by DCPL to rebuild the library (in other words, a no-bid construction contact is bundled in with the land lease) and, at this point, LCOR will have nothing to do with the Janney School project. DCPS will undertake that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22305958.post-13346190475955678132008-11-14T15:09:00.000-05:002008-11-14T15:09:00.000-05:00Win-Win could be in the cards if any designers sho...Win-Win could be in the cards if any designers showed some shred of creativity. It IS possible to satisfy the goals of all the constituencies, with the exception of the hard core neigh-sayers.<BR/><BR/>But it cannot happen if the Mayor's office and LCOR can't run an effective community consensus building session.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22305958.post-40298122998041693762008-11-14T12:26:00.000-05:002008-11-14T12:26:00.000-05:00DMPED has certainly been inept, but win-win was ne...DMPED has certainly been inept, but win-win was never in the cards. The push for mixed-use came at a time when it would inevitably delay the library and the site is too small to meet Janney's need for expanded facilities while simultaneously allowing substantial private development. <BR/><BR/>The numbers never worked on this project, but the ideologues keep pushing it regardless.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22305958.post-53960360025477411062008-11-14T08:05:00.000-05:002008-11-14T08:05:00.000-05:00This project should have been a win-win and a no-b...This project should have been a win-win and a no-brainer for the community, but the way the Mayor's office has handled this provides little confidence that the final proposal will be acceptable to anyone.<BR/><BR/>We can hope though.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22305958.post-87568110379264182008-11-12T19:18:00.000-05:002008-11-12T19:18:00.000-05:00Why, when NOBODY in the community wants this, do D...Why, when NOBODY in the community wants this, do DMPED and LCOP persist. This is not win-win! This is lose for the library, lose for the school,lose for the neighborhood because there will be a bare minimum of affordable housing, and probably lose for LCOR when they can't sell their market-rate condos. <BR/><BR/>There are three empty lots across Wisconsin Avenue, equally close to the Tenleytown Metro, that are crying out for development.Carolyn Longhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16027263645331659427noreply@blogger.com