For years, the uninviting block of old stores along Wisconsin Avenue in Cleveland Park (just below McLean Gardens) starting just above Macomb Street and running past Newark Street to Idaho Avenue, NW, has waited patiently for redevelopment while residents in the neighborhood argued over the proper use for the old, abandoned G.C. Murphy Co. store and Soviet Bloc-inspired Giant grocery on the corner. But it appears change is finally coming after all these years, with Giant’s development team proposing to completely build a new 51,000-sf Giant, plus also construct new commercial and residential space along this stretch of Wisconsin Avenue. Eleven new townhouses are envisioned near Idaho Avenue, and a total of 22,000 sf of retail is proposed between Macomb and Newark Streets, plus another 33,000 sf between Newark Street and Idaho Avenue. The development team also plans 34 residential units as well as offices above the Newark-Idaho retail strip. Construction is not expected to start for two years, with completion taking another two years. This proposal is still in its early stages, and will undergo some pretty strenuous public hearings, so changes are certainly in the works. But for now, the future is starting to brighten up for this dark stretch of street.
Friday, December 22, 2006
Redevelopment Finally Coming to Desolate Stretch of Wisconsin Avenue in Cleveland Park
For years, the uninviting block of old stores along Wisconsin Avenue in Cleveland Park (just below McLean Gardens) starting just above Macomb Street and running past Newark Street to Idaho Avenue, NW, has waited patiently for redevelopment while residents in the neighborhood argued over the proper use for the old, abandoned G.C. Murphy Co. store and Soviet Bloc-inspired Giant grocery on the corner. But it appears change is finally coming after all these years, with Giant’s development team proposing to completely build a new 51,000-sf Giant, plus also construct new commercial and residential space along this stretch of Wisconsin Avenue. Eleven new townhouses are envisioned near Idaho Avenue, and a total of 22,000 sf of retail is proposed between Macomb and Newark Streets, plus another 33,000 sf between Newark Street and Idaho Avenue. The development team also plans 34 residential units as well as offices above the Newark-Idaho retail strip. Construction is not expected to start for two years, with completion taking another two years. This proposal is still in its early stages, and will undergo some pretty strenuous public hearings, so changes are certainly in the works. But for now, the future is starting to brighten up for this dark stretch of street.
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10 comments:
pretty biased and slanted word choice in this blurb such as "soviet bloc" and "dark stretch", but I guess it's ok because no one probably reads this web page anyways :)
having lived at or near this corner for the past 20 years and watch it go unchanged the whole time, I'll stand by those words. And if you are posting, that makes at least one person reading, right?
Hey I read this page about 5 times a day because it is an amazing website. Redevelop! DCmud you are amazing.
Love the blog, hope you keep updating it - Blogs I visit seem to dissapear often :(
It will be a change for the better to see this area revitalized. Maybe this time neighborhood activists will come to their senses and realize a mixed-use development could make for a lively gathering and shopping destination that benefits the neighborhood and its residents, as opposed to empty storefronts.
I, too, am a regular reader of your excellent blog. Your reports and updates are very much valued by this reader and, likely, many others.
I read this blog regularly, and have linked to you in my blogroll. You're absolutely right about the Giant there on Wisconsin. I have a friend that lives across the street, and while he's edgy about losing the ability to go across the street to get groceries, he said he'd be happier with a real nice grocery store next door instead of just a convenient one. In addition, it'll be great to see a real, walkable community built there, instead of a weak impersonation of a suburban store in an urban framework.
This is the only page on the blog that has any posts and they are all in reply to a negative comment.
This is the only page on the blog that has any posts and they are all in reply to a negative comment.
I like this blog. I keep tabs on all the DC real estate and urban planning blogs (that I know of so far), and I enjoy yours because you keep it updated.
Don't listen to that first comment. I don't get people that purposely try to offend or hurt the feelings of others. They are a different species :)
I bought a Bob Dylan 45 at that GC Murphy store...seems a shame to tear it down now.
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