National Harbor - News, Events, Updates, Questions and Developments Etc. (Fort Washington: short sale, foreclosed)

[UrbanScholar]

The NH resident speaking now that is against the illumination of the signage is making some great points.

[adelphi_sky]

Originally Posted by UrbanScholar

The NH resident speaking now that is against the illumination of the signage is making some great points.

Yeah. But it's mixed use. And National Harbor isn't exactly a farm. I get it. There will be more light. I hate to say it, but the casino could have been built on the Virginia side and they wouldn't have anything to say. It's on the edge bounded by a river and 495.

I dunno. It's hard to have more development without more light.

[UrbanScholar]

Originally Posted by adelphi_sky

Yeah. But it's mixed use. And National Harbor isn't exactly a farm. I get it. There will be more light. I hate to say it, but the casino could have been built on the Virginia side and they wouldn't have anything to say. It's on the edge bounded by a river and 495.

I dunno. It's hard to have more development without more light.

True. I guess the point that I honed in on was, understanding that there would be more light, that more thought be put into how that light is managed. I also got his point about walkability and making sure that pedestrians have safe way to move back and fourth from the property to the National Harbor and Tanger. One point I wasn't on board with was his comment about their being enough parking for guest and staff. MGM projected in their proposal the number of employees that they would have at any given time. They will also have employee only parking and shuttles to and from the metro. That said his point was a little weak there. I also think that the woman that spoke after him did not consider the change in traffic patterns on Harborview and National (both will be 4 lanes and one way). Now there will still be traffic but it may not be as bad given the new traffic pattern that they will employ.

[adelphi_sky]

What was the vote? I stopped watching.

[UrbanScholar]

Originally Posted by adelphi_sky

What was the vote? I stopped watching.

They deferred the vote until next Monday since some of the council was not present.

[$mk8795]

Originally Posted by UrbanScholar

The NH resident speaking now that is against the illumination of the signage is making some great points.

Actually he is not making sense and if he has problem with the direction the NH is heading then he can always move back across the river.

[airymind]

Will it open entry/exit to Kerby Hill Road in National Harbor?

[justtitans]

Originally Posted by airymind

Will it open entry/exit to Kerby Hill Road in National Harbor?

I honestly don't know what you are saying, but I think I know what you're trying to ask. The construction that is going to take place for Kerby Hill Road has nothing to do with National Harbor even though it will impact the traffic in the area. It's going to be an overpass that will eventually turn 210 to an express way. They are going to completely redo that whole intersection and also get rid of the light at Wilson Bridge Drive. This has been in the works before National Harbor was even built. They have struggled with and continue to struggle with funding for that project.

[UrbanScholar]

Interesting commentary about the MGM project. IMO Courtland comes out of the pocket in his perspectives and he follows suit with this op-ed. He notes that Patterson feels that MGM has not done enough to address the potential traffic issue that will arise which may be the case but it would be interesting to know what the county will do regardless of MGM's presence. If MGM didn't come there would still be intolerable traffic issues. Something tells me that if this wasn't on the horizon they would downplay this traffic issues in the area. The county needs to take a play out of other counties that have been more successful at getting businesses to move to the county by investing in themselves first. For example, Arlington is self-financing their own street car system. This was after they were denied from the government. If Arlington can make that type of commitment so should PGC if they want to participate in the game. My point is that, although PGC should expect developers to contribute to infrastructure cost etc, they should not expect for anyone to take over there responsibility completely. If that option did not exist, they would still need to pay for it themselves and should be proactive in doing so (as they would with school improvements, etc.). IMO, businesses would be more apt to come when they see that the county is putting forth an earnest effort to make improvements and not waiting for someone else to foot the bill in its entirety.

“I don’t think the county has been forceful enough in getting MGM to provide relief for the traffic problems that will result from this,” Patterson said.

I also wasn't crazy about the fact that he pointed out that minority also included v

various disadvantaged groups: women, Hispanics, Asians, Native Americans

. It almost as if he is saying that the only minority group that should count in this situation is African American or that it should be spelled African American businesses should get the lion's share of the set aside business. That's not cool. Although I believe in set aside and preference programs, I don't think that it should be inferred by the county that the majority of that business go to the majority group in the county.

But the minority set-aside game is played with loaded dice. “Minority” covers various disadvantaged groups: women, Hispanics, Asians, Native Americans. And some white males claim that the very existence of minority set-asides makes them part of a disadvantaged group.

Courtland Milloy: Pr. George

[$mk8795]

Originally Posted by UrbanScholar

I also wasn't crazy about the fact that he pointed out that minority also included v. It almost as if he is saying that the only minority group that should count in this situation is African American or that it should be spelled African American businesses should get the lion's share of the set aside business. That's not cool. Although I believe in set aside and preference programs, I don't think that it should be inferred by the county that the majority of that business go to the majority group in the county.
Courtland Milloy: Pr. George

So what, its not like there are a lot of African American owned Businesses in Montgomery County. There are more African American Businesses in Fairfax County than there are in Montgomery County.