Serving Foggy Bottom & the West End
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Vol. VI, No. 13
THE FOGGY BOTTOM CURRENT Assessments up after two-year fall
FLAPJACK FUN
■ 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
ANC to consider moratorium tweaks By JESSICA GOULD Current Staff Writer
Bill Petros/The Current
The Washington National Cathedral’s annual Shrove Tuesday pancake races drew contestants from the clergy and staff, as well as students from St. Albans, National Cathedral and Beauvoir schools.
The Dupont Circle advisory neighborhood commission is scheduled to vote this evening on whether to support an extension of the West Dupont Circle moratorium on liquor licenses. And the commission’s committee charged with reviewing the policy is recommending that it do so — with tweaks. The committee’s recommendations call for lifting the limit on restaurant licenses while extending the moratorium on other licenses for another three years. “By [proposing to ease] the moratorium and allowing CR licenses, we’re creating a balance,” said commissioner Kevin O’Connor, who spearheaded the review effort. “We accept that the neighborhood is changing,” he went on. “We want to exert some control, while allowSee Moratorium/Page 5
Bill Petros/The Current
The moratorium covers a stretch of P Street west of Dupont Circle. It is scheduled to expire March 23, but the city is slated to consider an extension.
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
EVENTS ■ Shakespeare Theatre presents ‘An Ideal Husband.’ Page 31. ■ German photographer makes art from Google Earth. Page 31 .
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 Foggy Bottom News/11 In Your Neighborhood/24
Opinion/8 Passages/13 Police Report/6 Real Estate/23 School Dispatches/14 Service Directory/33 Theater/31