Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Serving Chevy Chase, Colonial Village, Shepherd Park, Brightwood, Crestwood, Petworth & 16th Street Heights
Vol. XLIV, No. 10
THE NORTHWEST CURRENT Assessments up after two-year fall
CHAMPS
■ Real estate: Commercial
growth outpaces residential By CAROL BUCKLEY Current Staff Writer
Newly released property assessments for fiscal year 2012 show a turning point in the city’s fortunes after two consecutive years of declining values: Both commercial and residential property rose over
last year’s levels. Commercial property was the success story of this year’s assessments. Overall, the category is up 16.33 percent. The section of the city that includes the K Street corridor, Penn Quarter and the West End rose by nearly $7 billion, or 19.73 percent. Smaller commercial zones in the area that the city calls Garfield (which comprises the bulk of the Woodley Park neighborhood) and in Kalorama (which includes part of
Adams Morgan) also saw big gains, of 32.49 and 14.16 percent respectively. Georgetown also saw a jump of over $220 million, or 9.47 percent. That gain was expected, said Lance Marine, vice president of retail services for CB Richard Ellis. “There’s been a lot of repositioning this year in Georgetown,” he said. “The economic downturn opened up a lot of new opportunities, and See Assessments/Page 7
AU set on dorms despite ANC’s vote By BRADY HOLT Current Staff Writer
Matt Petros/The Current
The St. John’s Lady Cadets beat H.D. Woodson Monday at the Verizon Center to capture the City Title. The team finished the year with 50 wins and just two losses. See story, page 11.
While neighbors have formally requested that American University not build student housing on the site of its Nebraska Avenue parking lot, university officials say they remain committed to building dorms on the East Campus. The Spring Valley/Wesley Heights advisory neighborhood commission voted last Wednesday to send the university a nine-page letter outlining dozens of requested changes to a draft version of the American University campus plan — with the housing stipulation among them. Neighbors are concerned about noise and the aesthetic effects of putting hundreds of students on a plot that backs to the Westover Place town houses. Many residents have said they would have no complaint if the parking lot were redeveloped into administrative space, See Campus/Page 5
Bill Petros/The Current
Neighbors say that the university should find an administrative, not housing, use for the Nebraska Avenue parking lot.
Mall likely to house Target, Bloomie’s
Appeals court hears debate over Giant redevelopment
By CAROL BUCKLEY
■ Zoning: Neighborhood
Current Staff Writer
The to-be-redeveloped Shops at Georgetown Park is closing in on deals with two large retailers to anchor a revitalized mall, according to sources familiar with the negotiations. Big-box retailer Target and a Bloomingdale’s boutique will occupy large swaths of the long-troubled Georgetown shopping center, say the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Representatives of Minneapolis-based Target and mall management declined to comment on the reports, and a Bloomingdale’s spokesperson did not reply to The Current by deadline. The inclusion of Target may spark a long-running debate over the nature of retail in historic Georgetown.
PA S S A G E S ■ Takoma writer pens Marian Anderson opera. Page 13. ■ Producer nabs two spots in Environmental Film Festival. Page 13.
groups challenge procedures By ELIZABETH WIENER Current Staff Writer
Bill Petros/The Current
Bloomingdale’s “SoHo” concept was slated for the mall before the property changed hands. A survey by the neighborhood’s business improvement district last year revealed that some see the presence of ubiquitous brands such as Starbucks as a drag on the area’s cachet. See Stores/Page 7
SENIOR LIVING ■ New wellness center opens on Georgia Avenue. Page 20. ■ Two ‘senior villages’ take different paths. Page 19.
The decade-long battle over the Giant supermarket site on Wisconsin Avenue is now playing out at the D.C. Court of Appeals, which heard arguments Tuesday that the city Zoning Commission erred when it approved an ambitious retail and residential development for two blocks in 2009. A three-judge panel handling the
SPORTS ■ Roosevelt boys fall short against DeMatha. Page 11 . ■ Local players earn post-season honors. Page 11.
case was clearly interested not only in arcane zoning questions but also in the impact — on both the city and immediate neighborhood — of a new 56,000-square-foot supermarket and other shops, set to go south of Newark Street, and a five-story residential and retail building planned for the low-scale block to the north. Controversy over the project that has divided the community for years may not be resolved until the court rules. “We all want a new supermarket,” said Dan Hecker, who lives across the street from the project See Giant/Page 10
INDEX Business/17 Calendar/28 Classifieds/28 District Digest/4 Exhibits/31 In Your Neighborhood/24 Opinion/8
Passages/13 Police Report/6 Real Estate/23 School Dispatches/14 Service Directory/33 Sports/11 Theater/31