Who’s Afraid of a 4 Story Building?

Courtesy of Google StreetView, here’s 1242 H Street NE in the District of Columbia:

The owners of this vacant lot in this economically depressed retail corridor currently undergoing a bit of a renaissance would like to build a building here. You’d think people would welcome such a move since, you know, a vacant lot is not very helpful to anyone. But the owners want to build—wait for it—a four story building which the local Advisory Neighborhood Council seems to regard as beyond the pale:

According to ANC records, the organization sees the property as an opportunity to embrace the H Street Overlay and continue to develop uses favored by the community; they are unlikely to change their mind. The group strongly opposed the four story height arguing “all the other structures on the block are two stories.” The ANC also objects to the overall design of the project stating “it does not reflect any of the architectural elements found on H Street.” The ANC further objects to the planned ground floor use [professional services], preferring retail. Though the ANC’s approval is not required, the Zoning Commission will give weight to the ANC’s position.

The architectural point may have some merit. The other points, not so much. The H Street corridor already has plenty of narrow empty storefronts that someone or other could rent for a retail business. The best way to bring more retail to the area is to bring more demand to the neighborhood. For example, a four story office building would presumably bring workers to the street who would be potential customers for local businesses. Insisting that the only thing that can be done to the block is add a two-story building with retail space for lease to a corridor that’s already full of two-story buildings with retail space for lease is only going to lead to more vacant storefronts. Or possibly to the continued presence of a blight-inducing vacant lot since it may not be profitable to build.

Sadly, you see this in pretty much every developing neighborhood in DC. People want more retail options. But they don’t seem to want to let anyone build anything. The District, however, currently has several hundred thousand fewer residents than it did at its peak population point (present-day people have bigger houses) and the current population is more mobile thanks to car ownership and the construction of Metro. So to create a viable vibrant retail environment, you need a denser population of residents and office workers—taller buildings. And mind you, we’re talking about a four story building here, not a skyscraper.