Councilman shifts market legislation timetable

From the Washington Business Journal:

Legislation to shrink the footprint of a proposed Florida Avenue Market redevelopment won’t be considered Sept. 16 in an emergency vote, as previously suggested by Councilman Harry Thomas Jr., D-Ward 5.

Though Thomas filed the paperwork for an emergency filing, which would not require a hearing or committee vote on the bill, his spokeswoman, Vicky Leonard-Chambers, said after seeking support from council colleagues he had reconsidered.

“We’re going to introduce it as permanent legislation,” she said. The bill will likely be sent to the D.C. Council’s economic development committee.

New York-based Apollo Real Estate Advisors LP and landowner Sang Oh Choi, were selected by the council in 2006 to transform what is now a 24-acre mix of wholesale food distributors and warehouses into a more dense mix of housing and hundreds of specialty shops, but are required to first acquire 50 percent of the land.

Shrinking the project’s size could help the developers reach that mark, but some of the property owners complained to council members in a letter from attorney Paul Pascal that the issue get a hearing so it could be “thoroughly reviewed and comments received by all those impacted.”

Another community meeting scheduled

Deborah Crain, the Neighborhood Planner for Ward 5, told us that there has been another public meeting scheduled for the Florida Market study--current conditions and possible recommendations for going forward.

Date: May 14, 2007
Time: 6 - 8pm
Place: Galludet University, Student Center, 800 Florida Avenue

She said the meetings last week were very well attended, with about 200 people at the first meeting, and 150 people at the second.

In Shaw: Florida Market Meeting

From the Frozen Tropics blog:

Mari from In Shaw's got a post re: the Florida Market meeting last night. Check out her view, and I'll post something on the topic later. We had a good turnout last night, but there were still lots of empty seats (I attended the second meeting). I think the Office of Planning did a great job of getting the word out. Lots of people stood up to ask questions/give comments. I heard that around 10 people gave comments at the first meeting. It is really terrific that they are doing a study like this.