Edens & Avant hires development coordinator, outlines approach to Florida Market

According to the article, "Capital City Market to Get Pop-Up Restaurants?" from DCMUD, and after an announcement that the lead property owner at the Florida Market, hired Richard Bradenburg from Jose Andres' operation ThinkFoodGroup to coordinate the development of food-related businesses at the market as "director of culinary strategy" (see "Richard Brandenburg leaves ThinkFoodGroup" from the Washington Post), it's good to know that development of new food-related business is now the focus there.

Especially as lately I have been concerned as the inexpensive Korean restaurant ("Florida Deli") has been shuttered for the past few weeks--apparently because it has changed hands, as La Villa Distributors closed, even after a recent expansion, and the supermarket-wholesale operation MS3000 appears (I haven't confirmed it) to have changed hands as it is now called David's Farms (or David Farms, depending on which sign you see).

Even if Edens & Avant ends up using the "old" ideas are expressed both in the 2003 "Economic revitalization" plan for Cluster 23, which suggested that the food-related character of the Florida Market be extended, and in the document I prepared outlining a broadened "retail mix" for the Market ("Retail planning and the Florida Market") in 2008, it's good to know that these concepts have staying power.

This is also a good sign considering that in January the Washington Post reported that one of the key property owners suggested the site would be good for a soccer stadium ("D.C. United keeps hunting for a stadium").