Rape! Murder! in Friendship Heights!

Putting an overwrought debate to rest, the DC Zoning Commission gave initial approval to the 5220 Wisconsin Ave. condo project. The seven story building caused one ANC commissioner assert that moving forward with this project is akin to "fxxxin rape our neighborhood."

Bubble View:
--- Please. Admist the Steak and Eggs and cars, people are actually fighting development. This site is blocks from a Metro station. C'mon people time to step up and say no to baloney sandwichs.

The New Mantra for the Slowing Market

"The market is soft if you don't price it right." Repeat.

Elaborating Jane Fairweather of Coldwell Banker in Bethesda told the WaPo "You're now seeing probably 10 to 15 percent of the sellers out there who are going to see multiple contracts. Two years ago, it was probably 40 to 50 percent of the market that got multiple contracts. And the year before that and the year before that, 60 percent of the market got multiple contracts."

Some real estate agents say that, despite key statistics that show the slowest housing market in years, they are seeing cases of multiple bids and rising prices concentrated in close-in neighborhoods such as Chevy Chase DC and American University Park.

Peter Morici, an economic professor in the University of Maryland, added "with higher prices of gasoline, the preference of living far away is going to diminish, and that is going to make housing within the Beltway more attractive."

"They're Coming In To Fxxxx Rape Our Neighborhood."

Can you believe? Next to the Metro and on a major street people would argue against, "a high rise" building. The outrage! Imagine a seven-story building!

As the WaPo notes, the Maryland side of Western Ave. features Neiman Marcus, Saks; the DC side has dumpy retail and commercial space. (Rodman's though is a great, great store.)

Many of the same activists oppose the condominium project, at 5220 Wisconsin Ave., between Harrison and Jenifer streets. Opponents, such as Coalition to Stop Tenleytown Overdevelopment and the Friendship Neighborhood Association, say too high, too dense. Perhaps they mean too fancy, shamancy.

"They're coming in to rape our [expletive] neighborhood," Carolyn Sherman, an advisory neighborhood commissioner and an opponent, said of developers in the WaPo.

Whatever. Fighting development along the avenue is bad for D.C. (think: tax base), bad for the environment (sprawl adds to global warming etc.) and holds the neighborhood back. We have to wonder if this is a case where an extreme minority is skewing the debate.

Let Ackridge, which has worked with the community, to move forward.

Library, Condo, School Mash-Up in the Works

Horse-trading is going on up in Tenleytown, says the WashExam. Maybe.

Roadside Development, which developed the CityLine condo, is looking to rebuild the Tenley-Friendship public library with a six-story condominium complex on the grounds of Janney Elementary School, which would get new classrooms and parking. Roadside wants to build about 100 condo units roughly 90 ft. from the school, taking a piece of the soccer field in the process — which could be recovered by resodding the existing surface parking lot.

“Conceptually I like the idea,” Ward 3 D.C. Council Member Mary Cheh said. “There’s a lot of advantages that could come out of a combined project." Naysayers abound though. “My initial reaction to it is, I’m wary of it,” said Martha Saccocio, president of Friends of Tenley-Friendship. “I would imagine there are ways it could work. I would also imagine there are ways it could be moderately disastrous.”

We need better schools and libraries, but don't have the money. So why not make a few deals and improve our lives. The anti-development crowd along upper Wisconsin surely will try to stir the pot on this, but development across the street from a Metro station only makes sense to us.