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Which neighborhood do you think has the most potential for growth and development?
H Street Corridor
NOMA
Columbia Heights
Navy Yard
These seem to be the areas where a lot of money is being concentrated. Which one do you think will be the best (nightlife, housing options, crime, diversity, affordability, etc) in the next 10 years?
Columbia Heights, then the Navy Yard, then NOMA and then H Street.
CoHo already has tons of development. All that's left really is improvement of crime.
Navy Yard is also developing nicely, and there really wasn't much there before so there wouldn't be as much difficulty gentrifying it (would love to see the person claiming they shouldn't tear down a former strip club because it's "historic")
NoMa has a lot of the nice office buildings already, and Archstone is going to build an apartment building there as well. I think a Harris Teeter will be popping up as well. Basically it just needs some nice retail and restaurants and it'll be done.
H Street is still up-and-coming. While it has an eclectic collection of restaurants and bars and a great entertainment venue (Atlas Theater), it's still a ways to go in terms of accessibility (no Metro, streetcars are a while away from being completed) and it's rough around the edges. And past the edges it's even rougher.
Columbia Heights, then the Navy Yard, then NOMA and then H Street.
CoHo already has tons of development. All that's left really is improvement of crime.
Navy Yard is also developing nicely, and there really wasn't much there before so there wouldn't be as much difficulty gentrifying it (would love to see the person claiming they shouldn't tear down a former strip club because it's "historic")
NoMa has a lot of the nice office buildings already, and Archstone is going to build an apartment building there as well. I think a Harris Teeter will be popping up as well. Basically it just needs some nice retail and restaurants and it'll be done.
H Street is still up-and-coming. While it has an eclectic collection of restaurants and bars and a great entertainment venue (Atlas Theater), it's still a ways to go in terms of accessibility (no Metro, streetcars are a while away from being completed) and it's rough around the edges. And past the edges it's even rougher.
I think H Street has the most potential of them all. Aside from the fact that there's no Metro stop nearby, the street already has a lot of densely-packed store fronts. The other neighborhoods don't have that and I think that significantly disadvantages them. For example, I don't see how NOMA or Navy Yard can have any semblance of a nightlife with nothing but big, shiny glass office complexes all around. And in NOMA's case, there certainly will not be any clubs going anywhere near the new DOJ building or the ATF building.
Plus, H Street has the new street car coming and that should be a nice attraction. If I had to put them in order, I'd say H Street, Columbia Heights, Navy Yard, and then NOMA.
Good points. I didn't think much of the various criterion you had posted, but yes I'd say in terms of diversity and night life those would be the highest. I think H Street and NoMa will remain affordable and then eventually H Street will be something like what CoHo is now, leaving NoMa and Navy Yard tied for housing prices.
Navy Yard has gone from Sanford & Son to Tyson's Corner in about five years, it feels very sterile, especially compared to Barracks Row across the freeway
long-term potential is still good, and Justin's was a big advancement, but it's still got a ways to go
I think Navy Yards will be the place to be in 5 years, hopefully less. I remember visiting that area in '05 and when I returned in '09 the area had changed drastically. It has a nice mixture of modern and historic charm, and if developers could just use the waterfront to it's full potential (instead of crappy seafood places) then that area would be a great tourist area. Col Heights. is pretty much almost there in terms of development, they just need to get ahold of the petty crime problems...
Definitely H Street. It's the only one that, in the end, won't have the manufactured feel that will no doubt remain in Navy Yard and NoMa for a very long time. Columbia Heights has probably reached its potential except for crime. Certainly won't be growing much more.
I just wish H Street was growing more organically as part of the existing community like U Street's revival and less like "White Kid Funky Land!" themepark was dropped in.
I'd say Shaw with the huge asterisk of the concentration of subsidized housing complexes.
It's the last affordable neighborhood within walking distance of the golden triangle and it's incredibly underdeveloped.
It's location seems a lot more advantageous than the NoMa/H Street Corridors. It's not far from the Hill or the White House and it's anchored by a metro station.
Columbia Heights has seen its big boom. Navy Yard is stocked with new half filled mega condo/rental buildings. So, I don't think they have as far to go as Shaw. Not that they aren't great neighborhoods, it's just that Shaw still has that potential to tap, whereas it's been tapped to a large degree already in these neighborhoods.
There is a ton of proposed construction. Despite the infinite delays that Shaw has seen, some of the big ones, like O Street Market and Convention Center Marriott are actually breaking ground. The new Shaw library looks awesome.
If Addison Square, the Shaw north metro development (not sure what they're calling it right now since Radio One dropped out and the UNCF stepped in), Howard Theater get moving, then it's really going to be a fairly changed neighborhood. Those aren't done deals yet though.
9th Street and 7th street have a ton of empty retail space. With U street bars extending to 9th street and little ethiopia anchoring the north and the new Marriott anchoring the south, I suspect that those will gradually begin filling in over the next 5 years (hello Mandalay).
Literally the only thing holding it back is the concentration of public/subsidized housing. Affordable housing is important, however concentrating 16 complexes (yep) into one neighborhood (and a tent village next to 4 of them advocating for a 17th.. brilliant) is ignoring decades of lessons learned from a failed social model.
So as far as location and potential, I think Shaw wins in a landslide, with an asterisk.
Really? I don't think it'd fit you know? I'd like to see a Barnes and Noble in my neck of the woods in Shirlington. Too bad the Books a Million closed there.
Yeah Shaw would need to transition to Barnes and Noble not just build one overnight. Now a neighborhood that Barnes and Noble would fit in a little better might be Capitol Hill or maybe Columbia Heights.
Pottery Barn is def too upscale for Shaw right now.
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