WASHINGTON, DC | Development News

[hat]

Originally Posted by aquablue

Yes, a displacement of office workers to such an area (or a new area) and a gradual conversion/redvelopment of downtown DC office buildings to mixed-use would probably be the best outcome if height limits are never to be raised.

I would personally up-zone a limited area of DC for skyscraper office development that lies on brown-fields or other blighted land (areas of NE, SE maybe) that is adequately distant from the monumental core so as to not disturb the grandeur of it. I would think of it as a Canary Wharf/La Defense style development of DC. I think the offices would be better off staying rather than going to Virginia so the district can reap the tax benefits. A cluster of tall buidings never hurt London or Paris' monumental core as they are distant enough to not be intrustive. The same could happen in DC. Again, the offices moving to Rosslyn or Crystal City or such place in Virginia would be a major loss for DC's tax base.

NOMA could have been upzoned to taller towers. Not skyscrapers, but decent 100m towers. I think that was rather short sighted. The height limits being raised in a limited area like NoMA wouldn't be a problem, they are far enough away from the Capitol and the Mall IMO to not cause major issues with destruction of the monumental grandeur.

Perhaps upzoning or height limits changes in some areas is a part of the solution. But there are plenty of other variables that make DC a really difficult city to enjoy. Walk around downtown and find places where people want to hang out. Many Europeans cities have the same height restrictions or have even lower structures throughout.

The street design of DC means crossing 6 or 4 lane boulevards often (waiting sometimes 99+ seconds). For people who live outside the city, this is great to drive. For people actually living in DC, it makes the experience really awful.

What Canary Wharf or La Defence has and DC does not is single lane streets and pedestrian-only thoroughfares. This creates both an atmosphere where mixed use buildings housing restaurants etc. are feasible, and places where people want to be.
DDOT has stats on crashes that involve pedestrians. 919 in 2012.

DC has a lot of space to fill and tons of potential. Until streets are designed for people it will be an unsafe and unpleasant place to live.