Announcement Set for Fla. Ave. Market Proposal
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ON TUESDAY, D.C. Council member Harry Thomas Jr. is expected to announce some big news related to the planned redevelopment of the Florida Avenue Market, the sprawling wholesalers district near the New York Avenue-Florida Avenue-Gallaudet University Metrorail station.
We've written about the area, also referred to as the Capital City Market, quite a bit in the last year and have noted the controversy that has divided market vendors. (Many vendors oppose the "New Town" development being pushed by market man Sang Oh Choi and fear that the market will be leveled and their businesses will be forced out.)
Thomas believes a redevelopment agreement is "very close," according to The Examiner, which also reports that New York-based investment firm Apollo Management will finance the project. During the D.C. Council's lame duck session in December, the New Town plan was given a preliminary OK but the city still has to approve a final proposal before the project moves forward.
Some predict that the market will essentially be gutted and many vendors will be forced to relocate, possibly to Jessup, Md., home to a regional wholesalers complex.
The potential development follows moves in several urban centers to shed similar markets. In recent years, New York moved the historic Fulton Fish Market to a spot in the Bronx. Tokyo, too, plans to relocate its legendary Tsukiji fish market by 2014. As David Pilling writes in this weekend's Financial Times:
Supporters of the move argue that Tsukiji is cramped and dilapidated, incapable of meeting modern hygiene standards. It also sits on prime real estate; outside its gates glitzy department stores and overpriced hostess bars jostle for space.Sound familiar? (Except for the glitzy department stores and hostess bars.) The new office blocks of NoMa are inching closer and closer to the Florida Avenue Market. The area, once isolated, is booming.
» "Ward 5 to Announce Major Investment in Florida Market Urban Renewal Project" [RPITUS]
» "For Florida Ave. Market, Future Is at Crossroads" [Free Ride/Express]
» "Capital City Market to Be Redeveloped by Apollo" [Examiner]
» "The Morning News: D.C. Council Is No Lame Duck" [Free Ride/Express]
» "The Long Haul" [FT]
Photo by Melina Mara/The Washington Post
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