Here is some info on an upcoming event at the Building Museum. It sounds pretty interesting and the names Karina Ricks and Joe Englert should be familiar enough to us all by now.
February 28
DC BUILDS: What Makes Great Streets?
Thursday, 6:30 – 8:00 pm
Do great streets just happen or are they planned? Four panelists discuss the essential elements and often mysterious alchemy needed to create vibrant, livable streets in Washington, DC. Petronella Muraya, professor of geography at Howard University (moderator) examines the role of affordable housing, both in an international context and locally in Washington DC, as a component to livable streets. Darrel Rippeteau, Rippeteau Architects PC, expounds on the design and architectural elements that create streets as places designed for human interaction. Karina Ricks, associate director with the District Department of Transportation (DOT) draws on her experience in the DC DOT to outline how existing and planned multimodal transportation projects improve streets and communities in Washington, DC. Joe Englert, DC nightclub impresario, discusses the contributions of restaurants, taverns, and arts and entertainment venues in breathing new life into streets.
• 1.5 LU (AIA) / 1.5 CPE (ASLA)/ 1.5 CM (AICP)
$12 Members; $12 Students; $20 Public. Prepaid registration required. Walk-in registration based on availability.
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
This program is supported by a grant from the Humanities Council of Washington, D.C.
11 comments:
Speaking of great streets, I hear a red light is FINALLY being installed at the corner of 5th and H, NE. It won't be right away, but Tommy Wells is asking DDOT to create a more pronounced pedestrian crossing with the "Stop for Pedestrians" sign in the middle of the intersection (like on 8th Street SE).
Thanks to Alan Kimber for getting the word out.
Yes, I just saw this and I think a light is really needed at that intersection. It is very hard to cross there and I often see school children crossing H at 5th.
I think any event like this would be a good venue for people to show up and point out practical issues -- like the fact that DDOT is planning to install a street car system on H St. but hasn't allocated funds to purchase more than one actual streetcar. Nor has there been a determination as yet as to whether the streetcar line will go all the way to Union Station.
I think its great that we are finally getting some progress on long promised street scaping. However, it appears that DC still hasn't budgeted or thought through the streetcar side of things.
I would hate to have a trolley system set up on H St. and not have the system go to Union St., or worse, have only one trolley!!!
While I think this sounds very interesting....I am dissapointed that there is no retail/shopkeeping point of view represented. Right now on H Street, you have a few things between 4th and 5th(thank goodness for the street light) and then you have the Atlas District. There are alot of blocks in between that should draw people along if it had the right "shops", cafes, etc.
I think shopkeeping and retail always contributes to the vibrancy of the street(I am not talking just banks and Starbucks).
But I do plan an attending, should be good!
I can't attend this panel, but here's my two cents...
We should require that all major new developments include retail in the ground floor. Not just one tiny little corner for yet another bank branch. A lot of retail. Geared toward the neighborhood, with businesses that are open at night and on weekends. If we want to have a real neighborhood we must insist that these businesses serve the community, not just the 9 to 5 workers, most of whom will flee back to the burbs the second they clock out...
Especially at the giant new development (Burnham Place?) going over the air rights at Union Station. That thing is going to be huge. We must insist that it be integrated into the neighborhood.
It looks like the theaters at Union Station will be closing soon. We should try really hard to get this new development to include movie theaters and other neighborhood-oriented amenities. Otherwise, we will have blown a literally once in a lifetime chance and we'll end up with a massive dead zone instead of a neighborhood asset.
I'm not sure that this is the place to get "specifics" done, but I would encourage all who can to attend and voice their want for meaningful retail. The chorus needs to start being heard. As for the developments Hillman mentioned, it is very important to get in on the ground floor with these....if they are PUDs they need to negotiate community amentites in exchange for certain extras that the development would get. Many think that the communities are not driving a hard enough bargain.
This is especially important in DC, where the attitude to businesses is draconian. And the support for small business is not understood. If we want liveable neighborhoods, I believe alot of jumping up and down needs to start happening.
We sortof have to look at this from the developers viewpoint. Putting in ground floor retail (especially retail that is community-oriented) costs money. Generally speaking the developer makes the most money if he creates a big ugly square box with 100% office space. So any time the developer does anything other than that he loses money.
It's up to us to convince the developer to actually lose money by making the development part of the community.
doesn't how much money the developer makes depend on what kind of leases he/she enters into with the ground floor retailers? i would imagine high end retail pays more per square foot than any ground floor office tenant would. what major corporate entity wants a view of the sidewalk? i can't see an office tenant outbidding high end retail for ground floor space. can you explain the dynamics?
or low end retail, for that matter.
It's my understanding that office rents in DC considerably outpace retail rents, first floor or otherwise. That's why every time a new building go in residents have to fight to get retail. If retail paid more, developers would of course put in retail without a fight.
I was talking with a developer friend about this thread and he told me that retail goes for 3x what office space goes for. As I quizzed him about retail he did say that it would be hard to demand specific retail because it does depend on who wants the lease. My impression is that most of these PUDs(if that is what these projects are) offer retail, but a substantial developer's definition of retail is Starbucks, a bank, etc. They want someone who is 'solid" for the lease. Since we seem to be at opposing opinions on retail rents, I am going to fish some more.
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