Rebuilding Place Responds to DCmud Post

Richard's got a well written post responding to the DCmud post I mentioned yesterday. That post concerned a proposed project at 1242 H Street. DCmud is, as Richard says, a very pro-development/developer blog. People often send me links to DCmud posts. The reason I don't regularly read their posts is because:

1. The posts are basically puff pieces produced off of press releases (or similar info) from developers. This means, for instance, that you can read all about the great stuff Clark is about to build behind the Safeway. Except that Clark isn't building anything behind the Safeway right now. They are playing wait and see the same way they have been for at least four years. Not that I blame Clark, I'm sure they'd rather wait for street construction to wrap up, and the economy to improve. But I don't need to read a bunch of junk about how Clark is about to build something they aren't close to building.

2. Some of the authors seem very ignorant about the neighborhoods, and even the history of the projects, about which they write. Do a little research people.

3. The writing is uneven, and sometimes downright bad/insipid.

In short, I get annoyed. Don't get me wrong, sometimes they turn out some good stuff, and they do have sketches, and plans. I'm just saying that a little quality control might be in order. Until then I can't deal with reading them regularly.

One odd thing in Shaun's post:
1. "An empty lot could become one of the first new commercial enterprises on the 1200 block of H Street NE"

+Maybe Shaun defines "new commercial enterprise" differently than I do. I would have considered the following to fall into that category:
Philadelphia Water Ice, Souk, Stella Bleu (now closed), Palace of Wonders, the Red and the Black, the Pug, H Street Martini Lounge, Doctor Granville's, Merry-Go-Round, and Drew. Maybe Shaun meant new construction.

Overall, the developer is asking for a lot here, and the deviation from the plan is significant. I'll back the ANC on this one and say the project need to be better. Why do they need four stories, again? And the building is just plain. I know it's infill on a vacant lot, but come on. I think we can do better.