Former Editor-in-Chief Ryan Avent writes a weekly column about neighborhood and development issues. This week, I (carefully) picked up and began reading The Power Broker, the epic (and massive) Robert Caro biography of infamous New York master builder Robert Moses. Bob Moses, it turns out, was one of the best-trained civil service experts of the age when he first began working for the city. He was, as Caro describes him, a consummate idealist, passionately dedicated…

D.C. has one, Chris Rock joked about them and there are entire books about them: streets named for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Yesterday CNN posted an article about streets named for the civil rights leader, saying there are at least 777 in the country. The article says that Rock’s joke and the stereotype about King streets, that they’re poor and dangerous, may not be true. It quotes Matthew Mitchelson, a University of Georgia…

We’re a bit late on discussing this, because yours truly was on the left coast last week when the news came out, but considering the potential impact of the issue, we’re posting late, rather than never. The Armed Forces Retirement Home made news earlier this year after announcing plans to develop a portion of its large Northwest property. The news was greeted with excitement by many, but neighbors of the property, particularly on the western,…

It’s already been a busy year for development in the corridor of land that stretches from Bryant Street north along North Capitol to Catholic University. DCist has kept a close eye on the debate between residents of the nearby neighborhoods (of Park View, Petworth, and Brookland) and the Armed Forces Retirement Home, which intends to open portions of its massive campus to commercial and residential development. Green space has been a part of that discussion,…

Mayor Williams, along with representatives from the National Capital Revitalization Corporation, the Anacostia Economic Development Corporation and DRI Partners today broke ground on the first new construction in the historic core of Anacostia in 15 years. From the mayor’s office:The building will offer 14,000 square feet of retail space, 49,000 square feet of Class A office and related space, and 112 sub-grade parking spaces. Called Anacostia Gateway, the project is part of a larger scheme…

If you have any interest in the future of U Street and Shaw as a whole, the District’s Office of Planning and Economic Development and the Office of Planning is hosting a forum tonight on the future of planning in the neighborhoods, especially along the U Street and Seventh Street corridors in Northwest. The session will address “the redevelopment of key publicly-owned buildings and land, including the Howard Theatre and Grimke School on Vermont Avenue,…