Saturday, November 14, 2009

but before everyone gets Too excited...

turns out that those renderings are a few years old, that it will only be 2 stories (as opposed to the five inter-stacked stories seen below), and will be a bit more modest in design. I guess neighbors freaked when it was originally proposed.

I'll update when I get more information.

10 comments:

Nikki said...

Urgh.... that makes me so mad. That is why I am so glad that more people are moving into the neighborhoods - especailly those who are a bit more progressive. That was an excellent design. LOVED IT!

David Garber said...

agreed. ugh.

The Advoc8te said...

The terrible thing is that by pulling back on the design compromised the design. It was "wow" now its going to turn into "okay". That is one of hte major issues I have here - folks afraid to be the first to do something - even if its great.

That design was my dream house!

AnacostiaQUE said...

Time is running out on the naysayers. As more progressive minded people move in, the outcomes will be much different.

I think newer residents, like myself, will demand more in amenities, better architectural designs and so forth...

It's been 5 years for me here, after leaving Columbia Heights and I love it over here. Capitol Hill & NOVA will have to do for now, until we can get better amenities.

The upside is tremendous over here and the economy alone will bring more middle class professionals over this way. Once we get over the stigma of crime, we'll be okay. In myoipinion, the negative stigma of the past is still haunting us.

Lastly, let us not forget the immigrant population. This is a valuable sector that can help stabilize our communitie via changed perceptions. Problem is, they really buy into the "SE" stigma and many would not think twice about moving here, much less actually having been here.

SE still needs a branding campaign to get the word out that will offer folks another chance to consider living here. I think we need more of the middle (and up) to help get the type of changes and amenities that we need.

That being said, I believe that the progressive minds out there are already onto SE/Anacostia. I've seen so many (different)people checking out - and moving into - Grandview estates condos.

Soon, we'll have the numbers to sustain higher end amenities and better designed buildings...

Unknown said...

@AnacostiaQUE, you could'nt have put it any better.....

Brandon Green said...

Okay isn't wow, but it is better than nothing.

The Advoc8te said...

@AnacostiaQUE - You put it PERFECTLY!

Deanwoodenizen said...

Dag, wish the fish place would be a part of the development footprint. That's going to be an odd strip since the fish place is the only one story building.

HA Rez said...

Were we looking at the same building? It's the Salvation Army building all over again. Nice, but completely doesn't fit in with the character of the neighborhood. I guess, however, that a few more modern buildings might make the Salvation Army building more appealing. And by the way, I'm also a young, progressive homeowner 'within' this neighborhood. I'm not a nay-sayer to general progress and development, as long as its a good fit.

Anacostiaque said...

Greetings All,

I think this falls outside of the "historic" parameters for design purposes. That's why the character like Salvation Army seems out of place. If it falls in historic proper, maybe this wouldn't be possible. Maybe that's why all of the newer looking architecture is on the metro side of Morris Road... Everything north of Morris Road is boarded up...or slow to develop....

I too am not really feeling the Salvation Army architecture. It looks like a space ship landed in Anacostia. For sure, a better design could've been created. At the same time, I will take some development over blight. The inside looks better than the outside. At least that's one less area for people to congregate in the middle of the afternoon on a work day.

Unless businesses want to put up big dollars over here, we risk becoming a testing ground for architecture that would not fly in other parts of the city.

I think the fish place will swim or sink on the quality of their food. As the neighborhood changes, the businesses normal clientale could dissolve. Mom and pops with "lock down" facades just won't cut it in this changing market...at least not in the same numbers.

One 7-Eleven with coffee and donuts would wipe out all of the mom and pops around the Anacostia metro....between Howard Road and Good Hope.

Big K is also up for sale so we'll see what happens there.