March 2, 2006

HOT NEIGHBORHOOD 20015: RESTAURANT CITY.
Another large underutilized tract of land falls within developers' sites. This time its the restaurant food market, known as the Capital City Market where we all have indirectly bought produce, meats etc. when dining out, could be redeveloped as a city unto itself. But first the restaurant vendors must be accommodated, the area must be rezoned, the feud between the developer and his brother must be resolved blah, blah blah.

The 23-acre property at 6th Sts NE and New York Ave. could accommodate condominiums, townhouses, offices, retail, a YMCA and new quarters for the wholesalers and vendors. Everything but the kitchen sink. It already has a nearby Metro stop on the red line.

This site reminds us of the air rights over the center-leg freeway at 2nd St. and Mass. Ave. NW. It's not going to happen now or next year, but it shows how mature DC development is and how creative developers will have to be in the future to find precious land.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

To find precious spots of land???

Sorry but I must question that statement. Why can't we first deal with abandoned/blighted properties? East of CH, these places are just a fact of life. I would love to see the city take these places for affordable housing.

Anonymous said...

These places are too valuable to be used for affordable housing. There are a lot of suburban areas would be much more appropriate for that.