The department of be careful what you wish for...

The current issue of DC North has a feature on the Brookland Main Street program and commercial district revitalization of the 12th Street NE corridor, "Think Links: Re-inventing Brookland’s Main Street," featuring yours truly.

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Elizabeth McGowan did a nice job as did the photographer, Marny Mallin.

When you read it through fast, it sounds pretty great. If you read it slowly and carefully, everything I say can be seen as pretty challenging and over-direct.

I recommend a quick and easy read...

Some clarifications:

1. I wasn't criticizing the hardware store necessarily. I think it could be better located in order to be able to expand, especially in the gardening area, which Garden District has demonstrated is a gold mine.

Garden District, 14th Street NW. Note how they make use of their side yard--as profitable retail selling space--not parking.

Even so, they can use their side yard space much more profitably in the meantime along the same lines. And in any case, the building facade needs some love and attention (which will happen as part of the forthcoming facade improvement program).


2. The article didn't really discuss my sense about the restaurants in Brookland. Good thing. I think that lack of destination quality restaurants--and they don't have to be Citronelle or Kinkead's but decent (a colleague mentioned eating at Annie's Paramount Steak House the other day, I countered with Dupont Italian Kitchen, and fond memories of Boss Shepherd's, all on the 17th Street NW strip in Dupont Circle)--means that the retail district (there are "only" 13 non-food, non-gas, non-restaurant/carryout retailers) doesn't get the kind of walking and about people traffic that it needs to build patronage.

3. When I say in the piece that a commercial district needs 10,000 to 15,000 people within one half mile to be successful, that doesn't mean I think that massive housing towers need to be built (although some new housing can be accommodated), just that you need to then focus on developing a destination retail and restaurant strategy in order to provide the number of patrons the district needs in order to thrive.