Lucky Us, Another Parking Lot

DCMud has reported that The Arts at 5th and Eye is officially (at least temporarily) dead:

• "The District and the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED) are, at least for now, giving up on the Arts at 5th and Eye, the Donohoe Companies and Holland Development project, and installing a parking lot on the undeveloped District-owned site. Though the project team won the right to develop the promised high-end hotel, retail outlets and jazz club in September of 2008, no final agreement has been reached on the land exchange with the District Government since that time."

So I guess the community is left with a pretty website and, soon, another surface parking lot.

There was a great deal of competition for this site with some fine proposals.  Even in the wake of the credit and real estate collapse, the bidders pledged that they had the financing to move forward.  Many neighborhood residents attended the public meeting on the site and provide their input.  I attended the outdoor press conference at which Mayor Fenty and Councilmember Kwame Brown announced the winning bid.

The community did a lot of work to clean up the 900 Block of 5th Street NW -- shutting down Fun Fair Video, working with detectives to substantially reduce drug dealing and prostitution -- it enabled the 5th and Eye Project. 

Hell no.  That would have been the answer had the DC government asked the community whether it would support using the now grassy, secured lot as a surface parking lot - even on a temporary basis.

Either move the project forward, revisit the previous proposals, or reopen the RFP.