NYT: 14th Street Gets All Fancy
Development at 14th and Belmont Streets NW. (Luis Gomez Photos)
By Michelle Lancaster. You can follow her and let her know your news on Twitter @MichLancaster. Email her at michellel[AT]borderstan.com.
The New York Times recently took note of 14th Street’s transformation in a piece entitled, “A Street’s Grit Gives Way to Glamor.” While The Times loves to deliver backhanded compliments to our fair city, this one gets to the heart of a brewing neighborhood debate: How many luxury apartments and expensive restaurants are too many?
While no one is really mourning the loss of liquor stores or pawn shops (well, a few are), there are many area residents we’ve spoken to that worry about how high rents are climbing for real estate and retail in the area. The Times credits the area’s explosive growth to the opening of Whole Foods in 2000.
In case you don’t feel like reading the Grey Lady, the article does get around to this question at the end of the article, asserting that many residents are happy with the transformations but there are a few that miss the grit. You may recall a Q&A piece with national journalist (and Borderstan resident) Julie Mason in which she mentioned how she missed seeing the transvestite prostitutes in the ‘hood.
What about you? Are you happy to trade Central Mission, hookers and a pawn shop for the possibility of ‘little’ big box stores?
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