Comments on: Douglas Development Wants Whole Foods In Penn Quarter! Needs Residents’ Help

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 13:56:25 +0000

You must be kidding to think Whole Foods is going to make a business decision on their “dedication towards healthier living.” Business cares about one thing, the bottom line, the rest is PR and a marketing image. Reading this board, I think some of you must forget we live in a capitalist society.

As for population density, Penn Quarter is a sparsely populated neighborhood in terms of residential population. The majority of the buildings are entirely commercial space, residential population is an afterthought.

By: anonymous

anonymous — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 13:53:13 +0000

If Whole Foods considers this site, it will also draw from other adjoining communities..ie..the Hill and because of it’s proximity to the metro vs the P street location…residents from Dupont Circle and surrounding areas.

I for one dread the parking lot on P street and go out of my way to the Whole Foods at either Clarendon or Alexandria.

We could consider contact some of those neighborhood blogs.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 12:41:52 +0000

Excellent point PQN! I drove by Whole Foods this past weekend in New York and noticed how wonderfully it blended into the neighborhood. Also, there was no nearby dedicated parking that I could see. I know that someone will respond “yeah, but D.C. is not New York.” However, I think given the number of residences in the neighborhood and the number of metros nearby, parking should not be an issue. Also, given Whole Foods dedication towards healthier living, I would think they would welcome an opportunity to increase peoples reliance on having to walk to their store or use public transportation. I don’t think parking should be the deal breaker for bringing Whole Foods to Penn Quarter.

By: PQN

PQN — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 11:07:08 +0000

Has anyone been to the Whole Foods in NYC? Reserved parking was not a deal breaker there. Perhaps they want to expand into denser city neighborhoods and the requirements for parking are not the same as residential areas.

By: jason

jason — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 23:56:50 +0000

OK, I realize this is getting off-topic, but Dan Tangherlini is a really competent City Administrator (and was great as Metro’s interim director), so I take some offense at Lansburgh_guy’s “slick young politico” comment. He could rattle off the exact number of various emergency vehicles in the city, list how many new computers were going to which first responders, and clearly had a grasp of the city’s homeless services, but it’s shocking he doesn’t know the exact statute of what constitutes aggressive panhandling? Give me a break.

Great to see the grocery petition is getting so many signatures! 2K was an ambitious goal, but we’re well over halfway there. Totally agree with #46 about Jemal’s motives.

By: anonymous

anonymous — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 23:06:32 +0000

Maybe someone should contact all the apartment dwellers in the area…it may get you to your goal.

By: dave

dave — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 21:33:40 +0000

Just to address this parking concern . . . Scanning thru the comments on the signed petition, seems the reason most people want a grocery store there is that they don’t want to drive.

Landsburgh_guy, there is alot of law in DC. Do you really expect him to know it? I don’t think he was on notice that he’d be discussing agressive panhandling. I think his answer of getting back to us was appropriate.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 20:15:26 +0000

Landsburgh_guy: I’m surprised Big Brother did not censor your comment about the discussion on vagrancy and panhandling at the meeting. Such words are typically not kosher for this blog.

By: Lansburgh_guy

Lansburgh_guy — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 19:43:19 +0000

I just love to see the grocery store groupies get so excited. I’ve lived in Penn Quarter for 10 years and every time there is a rumor about this the foodies go nuts. It’s so cute. But the space sizes and parking situations just don’t make sense from a business perspective.

I am also a bit surprised, given the interest of a few weeks ago, that there is no coverage or comments here about the discussion of vagrancy and panhandling at the Oct. 9 DNA meeting. I for one was a bit shocked that the City Administrator, who seemed to be an amiable, slick young politico, claimed not to know the law regarding these matters when a resident asked him about it.

By: Whole Foods fan

Whole Foods fan — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 17:42:03 +0000

We’ve cracked 1000 names on the petition, and are getting names at a decent pace – but we need more. Please, if you want a Whole Foods in Penn Quarter, forward the info to more and more people you may know in the neighborhood. Let’s rally, folks! If you know anyone in the MPD, get them to sign up and pass the word around inthe 1st district – it will help make the neighborhood safer, too,