Category Archives: Uncategorized

1500 block of Wisconsin Ave.

A development taking shape just north of Georgetown is demonstrating what should have been done with the Safeway.

In the former Holiday Inn on Wisconsin and Whitehaven, JBG is proposing to build a mixed use project. DC Urban Turf describes:

UrbanTurf has learned that the development firm and Eric Colbert & Associates will redevelop the former site of the Holiday Inn at 2101 Wisconsin Avenue NW (map) into a by-right mixed-use development with 225 residences and 20,000 square feet of retail. The Holiday Inn closed late last year, and JBG acquired the leasehold interest in the property from 2101 Wisconsin Associates LLP in June.

As GM has argued in the past, this stretch of Wisconsin could use more residents. Safeway could have built condos on top of the store when they rebuilt it in 2010, but chose a plan less likely to create a fight. And the immediate area is probably worse off for this lost opportunity. Storefronts have remained vacant for years, and the stores that remain open face a struggle due to the low foot traffic.

The new proposal should help bring more life to the area. GM has long heard rumors that the anchor tenant of this building will be a Trader Joe’s. This would make sense. A “normal” grocery store (e.g. Giant) would directly compete with the Safeway. A higher end grocery store would struggle with Whole Foods so close. But Trader Joe’s is sort of in a category of its own and could probably succeed here.

Regardless, while losing an affordable hotel so close to Georgetown is a loss, gaining so many new full-time residents will surely help lift the prospects of upper Georgetown.

Photo by V. Pickering.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• The Four Seasons is not afraid of competition from the MGM casino.
• How an independent Georgetown boutique thrives.

Tudor Place

Photo by Mike Maguire.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Sherman Pickey closing. Greedy landlord blamed.
• Cafe Milano is now older than most of the dates of the diplomats that eat there.
• GM’s on a business trip for the rest of the week, so posting is going to be light until next week.

Tudor Place

From now until January 1, Georgetown will be host to the annual GLOW art installation organized by the BID. This is the most wide-spread edition of the event yet, with pieces installed across almost the whole of the BID boundaries. You’ve probably seen some, but use the map above to find them all.

For more information on each piece, check out the BID’s site.

Photo by M.V. Jantzen.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• The 2500 block of P St. got hit with a gas leak yesterday. Man, that block just can’t catch a break.
• What’s the difference between a “Georgetown Cocktail Party” and a cocktail party in Georgetown?

3300 block of P St.

Using the map program that GM wrote about yesterday, GM pulled together the GIF above showing how Georgetown developed since 1790.

A caveat: This shows when buildings that are still standing were built. So it fails to capture most of the 18th century and very early 19th century buildings that once stood in Georgetown.

That said, this does demonstrate that as much as Georgetown gets a reputation for “colonial” architecture, the vast majority of buildings that are still around were built in the late 19th century, i.e. Victorian.

Nonetheless, it’s somewhat mesmerizing to watch the neighborhood swell up over the time lapse.