The misunderstood "learning" about urban revitalization that will not die

D.C. officials and residents gather for the groundbreaking of a $60 million development to be built above the Georgia Avenue-Petworth Metro station. Park Place will feature 156 residences, underground parking and retail space. (Photo By Melina Mara -- The Washington Post)

In the article about the groundbreaking of the Park Place development at the Georgia Avenue-Petworth subway station, Nikita Stewart quotes Councilmember Jim Graham, in "Georgia Ave. Project Stirs Hopes For Long-Awaited Revitalization," referring to an earlier proposal to move the Department of Motor Vehicles office to that area:

District officials believed a government agency would give the neighborhood a boost, said D.C. Council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1). "It was a good idea at the time on the model of the Reeves Center on U Street," Graham said, referring to the government building often credited as the catalyst of U Street's revitalization.

This just won't die, will it? The Reeves Center was built in the mid-1980s. The major reason that people talk about how "great" it is to give credit to the then Mayor at the time, Marion Barry. But the building says f*u to the street, is set back pretty far, hulks over the intersection, and many of the retail businesses on the 14th Street NW side remained in arrears on their rent for years (this is usually the sign of a lack of business...).
Reeves Center. DC Government photo.

The 14th and U Street area did not begin improving until:

1. the opening of the green line subway; complemented by
2. a change in the political adminstration of the city; and
3. the resulting improvement in the risk environment and predictability of the development equation and a marginal increase in demand for urban living;
4. which was supported by private investment and efforts of companies like (and primarily by) Jim Abdo's company, which stabilized and attracted new residents to the Logan end of the area.

Like most urban renewal, for the most part, the Reeves Center is blight. If it was so great, the blocks immediately adjacent would have improved physically and in terms of being leased up. Yet this still hasn't happened even today.
Photo of the Ellington Condominiums by Eye Captain.

Other developers such as Donatelli & Klein have done some new development, such as the Ellington, which is quite sympathetic from an urban design standpoint. Meanwhile, there is still s***** development along U Street NW, by traditional DC developers such as Martin Jawer (the crap right above the Metro and I believe the junky equivalent of a strip center anchored by Rite Aid).

I have been "complaining" to Post journalists easily since 2002 about the frequent repetition of the Reeves Center fallacy, in fact, when the DMV proposal (as well as the DOES proposal for the Minnesota Avenue station) was first made I wrote to Yolanda Woodlee about it.

Generally, I say the same thing over and over again--that this increases traffic and doesn't do much in the way of spillover economic development. My joke is that the only subsequent development spurred by the two partially HUD-funded office buildings on H Street's 600 block south side has been 1-2 hot dog carts Monday through Friday.

This is because the average office worker supports but 2 s.f. of retail and 5 s.f. of restaurant. So you need thousands of workers to have some impact. Generally, the clients of DC government facilities aren't of the type to spend decent amounts of money in the vicinity of the offices (well of the licit sort anyway). Plus the retail needs of the office workers are pretty specific--sundries and services--which doesn't allow for the kind of expansion of offerings that Jane Jacobs wrote about when discussing the advantages of "mixed primary uses."

And last year I wrote a few entries about this around various proposals and projects in Anacostia:

-- Falling up -- Accountability and DC Community Development Corporations,"
-- Office buildings won't "save" Anacostia
-- One more thing about Office Buildings and Anacostia (which discusses the Reeves Myth specifically)
-- Reader comment on perceptions of quality (reprinted from last August)
-- Enclave development won't "save" Anacostia (2/2006)

That being said, the coming development at the Petworth subway station is exactly the kind of catalytic development needed. However, at this is likely to not being done done at the moment, a plan for the rehabilitation and leasing of the extant buildings on Georgia Avenue needs to move forward. I haven't reviewed the Great Streets plan for Georgia Avenue, maybe it's in there, although I tend to doubt it.

Index Keywords: urban-design-placemaking