The Washington Business Journal covers the Florida Market (AKA Capital City Market) situation. Pick up a paper copy for the full (2 page!) story. Also, don't be mislead by that SoHo/TriBeCa reference. Mr. Choi proposes building various things, including: an outdoor ampitheater, a YMCA, an outdoor iceskating rink, office buildings, a movie theater, a bowling alley, and a hotel. So, considering the scope of his proposed planned community, comparing his vision to a suburban shopping center is probably more appropriate than comparing it to any (organically developed) neighborhood in NYC.
**********************
UPDATED
**********************
Someone pointed out the article is currently available for free here (not a reposting).
19 comments:
i didn't know that suburban shopping centers had bowling alleys, ice rinks, hotels, etc.
i need to get out more often!
Perhaps you do, because I certainly know of suburban shopping centers that have these things. The hotels are often nearby, but sometimes they are actually in the same parking lot. But I don't know Poo Poo, perhaps only places like Oklahoma and Iowa (oh, and maybe Canada) do suburban shopping centers actually have all three in one place.
i think manhattan's a fairly on-the-money comparator - it has all of those allegedly suburban features, and more (mmm, hard rolls)
I didn't say those were suburban features. I was trying to say that the overall planned nature of the New Town project is more akin to a planned suburban development rather than urban neighborhoods that developed more organically.
I think it will fit in just fine. It isn't in the middle of a field or next to a giant highway exit: this site is in the fabric of washington dc. Gallery Place has a lot of those features and fits in. (IMO)
I just hope that preservation and some grittiness and real market remains.
wow.
you really have to do a lot to draw the ire of inked, even if it's just sarcasm.
see poo poo...it's official.
everyone thinks you and your attitude suck.
i hope you're more civil when you're dealing with people face to face.
that was funny, inky pooh!
i have to say that i do (yes, i really do!) agree with inked.
i don't think that it's appropriate for a suburban mall type place to happen anywhere in the city. it just doesn't fit w/DC's character.
if any redevelopment goes on there, it's my opinion that it should be guided, and the character of the place really needs to be maintained if at all possible. the farmer's market bldg itself is nothing spectacular, but the other older buildings should probably be considered historic and left alone, or at least maintained to some degree.
i mean, if the market's going to change at all (and it will), i wouldn't want some kind of mall thingee there. that would suck.
we already kind of have that, and they're planning for even more at the rhode island metro station. folks could just take the hike there to get their suburbanite fix.
Maybe we can force all the signs in the market to be in English and Korean. New Town can be as authentic as Chinatown.
please settle down, timothy.
nothing is official unless i get a certificate, or a t-shirt or something.
trust me, you don't want me to get into a bad mood... >:~0
That wasn't ire. It (the Iowa/Oklahoma thing) was just a joking reference to the fact that Poo Poo likes to blame everything one people from states that begin with O of I. Chinatown does have many of the same features. I was going to mention that in the orginal post, but then cut in the interest of time. First, Thom nails it in that there is very little China left in Gallery Place, umm, I meant Chinatown. Second, Chinatown has most of the things Choi wants for New Town,(1) it is already very developed, and (2) it is closer to downtown and parts of the city people are more accustomed to visiting. Why the hell would they come here to get the same stuff (except never as good because Chinatown has better metro connectivity [being on three lines] and some stuff that New Town could never have?
wow. inked makes a very good point!
i totally agree on that one! (the stars must all be aligned properly today, or else someone put something in my water ;o)
I was able to access the full article (directly from the WBJ site) at: http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2007/07/02/story1.html?b=1183348800%5E1483830
This is a tough one for me. I too don't want some sterile boring Tysons Corner type development.
But what we've got there now ain't no prize, no matter how much we pretend it is. It's got a few retail-friendly spots, as others have pointed out, but, honestly, it's mostly wholesale.
And there's a Metro stop one block away. Having dinky little warehouses a block from Metro, within gunshot distance of the Capitol, seems like a waste.
I do feel for the existing merchants. But aren't there similar wholesale 'villages' in other areas in the burbs? And I'd think their rent would be cheaper there.
Maybe there's some sort of compromise that can be worked out here?
As I've said before, this might be an appropriate issue that could be addressed by a subsidy from the District.
I agree that the market needs to be redone/updated/whatever you would like to call it. However, new jobs created should be in addition to those already present, not mere replacements for jobs lost due to loss of the existing vendors.
Now, throwing money at the problem over the long term is not a good idea. However, some sort of assistance for a while to keep rents affordable for the existing merchants strikes me as making a lot of sense. This would allow them time to adjust their business model to include more retail focus, eventually incresing their revenues to the point where rent assistance is no longer needed.
One other aspect that I have long advocated is doing any redevelopment in phases, so that the existing vendors can continue their businesses with as little interruption as possible. Relocate individual merchants (temporarily or permanently, as the case may be), do what needs to be done to their old space, then move them back in if applicable.
Best,
Alan Kimber
ANC Commissioner, 6C05
i hate to admit it, being the contrarian on board, but alan makes a good point as well.
i guess folks just need to be involved in the process.
by the way, very cool picture.
Does anybody know how much land Choi now controls? Does New Town really have a shot at being implemented?
I just went to the market on Tuesday to buy produce (spent only $7!), stop at Litteri's and browsed the African goods shop. It was packed. I had a hard time finding parking. So people calling it a blight aren't exactly being accurate. It's a busy place.
But it's not attractive to yuppies, or something.
no, it's not attractive to yuppies, or folks that don't like trash.
for those that live for a perceived notion of being 'down with the hood', it's a godsend.
go figure.
the future is a compromise.
that's life in the city...
Post a Comment