If all goes as planned, two years from now, 150 condominiums, six townhouses, and a handful of new shops will flank the entrance to the Georgia Avenue Metro Station. The $60 million project known as Park Place broke ground on Monday, and is being led by Bethesda-based Donatelli Development Inc., one of the nation’s leading investors in transit-oriented development. So far Donatelli has worked closely on development plans with Petworth residents, promising 20 percent low-income units with a portion of those set aside for people making less than 30 percent of the city’s median income.

As reported in both the Post and Examiner, city officials, neighborhood representatives, and residents alike see the development as evidence that revitalization is finally coming to Petworth. One funny thing about the development — it was almost a DMV. Several years ago, city officials such as Ward 1 Councilman Jim Graham thought that a government agency would be just the thing to help give Petworth the development boost it needed. Their thinking was based on what they saw as the success of the Frank W. Reeves Center in reinvigorating the U Street corridor. But is the Reeves Center really the model we should be striving for?