Comments on: Is Balducci’s Back In Gallery Place/Penn Quarter?

By: gpliving

gpliving — Mon, 10 Jul 2006 20:37:00 +0000

Anon: The Safeway will be housed in the “V” building of the City Vista development. While the “L” is scheduled to be completed in 2007, the “V” won’t be completed until 2008. We’re looking at 1.5 years minimum until the Safeway opens. It will probably more on the order of exactly 2 years from now until the Safeway opens.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 10 Jul 2006 20:32:00 +0000

This is mildly off-topic, but related to the Safeway comment above. Does anyone know what the timeframe is on the 5th & K development? More to the point: When I will be able to walk over there and buy groceries?

By: pqresident

pqresident — Fri, 07 Jul 2006 18:30:00 +0000

Hi Anon 07/06 – 09:53:27,

This blog was set up by GPLiving and he deserves the credit for getting it going. I, PQResident, provide ancillary support and contribute regularly. Glad you like it and please tell your friends.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 07 Jul 2006 17:50:00 +0000

Whew! That is great news!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 07 Jul 2006 03:13:00 +0000

The proposed Balducci’s spot is zones exclusively as a grocery store. So they can’t use it for anything else w/out petitioning the zoning commission.

By: PennQuarter

PennQuarter — Fri, 07 Jul 2006 01:53:00 +0000

This is a neat site, who set it up?
on zoning; there are also height limits and the Pennsylvania Avenue Plan governs development on Square 457, where JPI developed the property. Last, residential units need light and air, so don't expect additional development on the site despite the section cited in the zoning regs.

On balducci's no decision has yet been made but they are reconsidering their decision to drop this site. if you didn't know, they dropped all sites not yet open to concentrate on their existing portfolio.

obviously, one factor will be how much it costs to finish the work and various construction crews have been checking things over to submit bids. that's all.

if you live in the Penn Quarter and want to recieve invitations to our breakfast meetigns and evening events and announcements of what is happening around the 'hood, email PennQuarter@ncpc.gov and in the body of the text type in:
your name
the building you live in
your email address
a home phone number or
an office phone number or
a local cell number and say which it is.

Cheers from Penn Quarter.

By: jason

jason — Thu, 06 Jul 2006 18:57:00 +0000

Hmmmm... an interesting tidbit from section 1706 of the DC zoning regulations covering our neighborhood: "In Housing Priority Areas B and C, each square foot of grocery store use shall earn two square feet of bonus floor area." (The Lafayette building is in area C.)

Essentially, developers are only allowed to construct buildings of a certain size (floor area) in our neighborhood, but can earn "bonus" square footage by setting aside space for preferred uses (an arts facility, a grocery store). I'd bet the developer of the Lafayette (JPI?) took advantage of the bonus square footage by promising that a grocery store would fill the space.

The zoning regs (especially the shopping and arts district regs) are a fairly interesting read if you're into that sort of thing.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 06 Jul 2006 14:33:00 +0000

I agree that Balducci’s would be horrible corporate citizens if they took one of the only spaces in our neighborhood large enough for a grocery store and turned it into a lunch place. Especially after promising us a grocery store. I would not hesitate to get elected officials and the zoning board involved if they renege on the store. I presume a change to High Noon would require a change in zoning?

By: Andy in PQ

Andy in PQ — Thu, 06 Jul 2006 14:09:00 +0000

I doubt they would use that enormous space for a High Noon. It would be ridiculously large for a cafe.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 06 Jul 2006 06:22:00 +0000

High Noon is a terrible idea. the last thing we need is for a reastaurant to go into that space and prevent us from ever getting a groccery store in the area (and no I don’t count the safeway going in in two years…first off its in two years…and secondly it’s a safeway, go to one in the city and you’ll know what I mean). I say the same letter campaign that caused the Balducci’s to come back should be used to prevent a High Noon….so I hope they aren’t silly and go for that in lue of a Balducci’s.