When land-use historians write the saga of real estate in the District, 2011 will likely go down as the year D.C. managed, yet again, to dodge the collapse that’s been hitting just about every other city in the country since the economic crisis of 2008. Prices for homes were up over 2010, construction continued apace, [...]
Getting all sorts of crazy ideas in the urbanist fantasyland of San Francisco. Thanks everyone for a great year, and I'll see you in the next!
Meanwhile, in the spirit of new years resolutions, if there are subjects you'd like me to explore more going forward, do holler: ldepillis@washingtoncitypaper.com.
Back in July, we noticed that Capital Bikeshare ridership was starting to level off, after its meteoric rise through the spring. Well, it started declining the next month, and kept going, from a high of 143,511 trips in July to 99,552 trips in November. That, even though the system continued to gain hundreds of annual [...]
I don't go looking for this stuff, I swear. It's just that, after I researched the effects of the National Park Service's ownership of so many small chunks of D.C., evidence of the institution's foibles pop up left and right. Since all anyone's doing from now until New Years is rehashing the year that was, [...]
ANCs ask for Mayor to do something on Reservation 13. [Flahaven]
Georgetown may be forced to shift jobs outside the District. [WBJ]
Washington's cars are aging. [CommuterPageBlog]
It's a rowhouse! No, it's a subway vent! [BLDGBLOG]
Washington businesses pissed off at Congress. [Examiner]
Anyone want some expensive office space at Constitution Center? [WBJ]
One of the more amusing reporter-flack exchanges of [...]
I've been chattering a lot about incubators lately, and only just now found out about a new one coming to Anacostia: The Greater Washington Fashion Chamber of Commerce will soon start accepting applications from designers for its flagship workspace at 1225-1231 Good Hope Road SE, to open in July 2012.
Sadly, it's replacing ARCH Training Center, [...]
The city's longest and most acrimonious fight over density has finally been resolved—and the densifiers won.
Not that there was really any question that those proposing to turn the one-story, mid-century Giant Foods on Wisconsin at Idaho Avenue NW into a mixed-use development called Cathedral Commons were right on the merits, when the Zoning Commission unanimously [...]
Another social service for Anacostia. [CHotR]
Building a dorm for deaf people. [Curbed]
Free money for jobs! [DCFPI]
AvalonBay brands for cities, suburbs. [WSJ]
All the solar on Sheridan Station. [BusinessWire]
Eastbanc picks up Old Georgetown Post Office. [Post]
Budget wiggle room soon, but not for long. [WBJ]
Cheh wins for best Council Christmas gift. [DCist]
Bellamy rebuts WABA. To be fair: Shouldn't [...]
Vacant properties are not a sexy topic, and the Government Accountability Office is no Danielle Steele, but the agency's recent report on the matter is a pretty interesting read for anybody who cares about how all those empty buildings came to be that way and their effect on local governments. Even though loan servicers are [...]
Here's a tough question for some of the District's increasingly deteriorated properties: Does anyone actually have what it takes to restore them?
Take the Langston School, at 45 P Street NW, which became a homeless shelter in 1997 but has been vacant for years. The District put out a request for offers from charter schools in [...]
