Down in Penn Quarter Douglas Jemal’s comany is asking residents for their support to attract a Whole Foods on 7th between E and D Street NW. So if you want to sign their petition click here.
I’m torn about support because Douglas Development, also the cause of nasty commerical tax increases in Shaw.
9 thoughts on “Torn but supportive”
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i am very supportive of their quest for a supermarket but the problem is this: all those condo owners were told by the developers who sold them the properties it was going to be a highend grocery store. then it didn’t happen, so now everybody is in a pickel and the new owner, Douglas Development, wants tax relief. is douglas going to run the bus service down 7 to service the consumers at Gibson Plaza who will be without a Giant for 2 years?
Maybe i am informed but why do they always need tax relief? 1. jemal is getting beaucoup relief by paying class 2 rates on much class 3 vacant property. 2. these stores always treat DC as such a high risk venture that they have to be compensated for. WF on P is packed & profitable. so is trader joes in west end. PQ seems ripe to me especially since there is so much non-resident traffic mixed in.
ill informed 🙂 not so informed..very forgetful for sure.
“is douglas going to run the bus service down 7 to service the consumers at Gibson Plaza who will be without a Giant for 2 years?”
– Is Douglas involved with the deal to redevelop the Giant at the O Street market? I thought it was a different developer?
-What kind of subsidy/ tax relief is being asked for in the Whole Foods deal?
-A
Anon
the devil is in the details
“I’m torn about support because Douglas Development, also the cause of nasty commerical tax increases in Shaw.”
Since when does a developer make assessments on property values and assign tax rates to businesses?
By buying several lots on the same block or nearby blocks at huge amounts around about the same time thus giving the impression that a certain amount may be market rate for that location. Whereas, it would be another thing if various inviduals were buying up several properties as they would probably try to get the property at the lowest price and turn away if the price is too much. Whereas, Douglas trying to get a big enough cluster would be more willing to spend more to make the clustering possible. Having the preceived value, which might not resemble the true market value (determined by various unconnected entities), jacked up, which the city assessor then determines the assessment (using the recent sales prices) thus increasing the taxable assessment 5x, 10x the previous year’s amount. Sorry for the run on sentences. But some businesses, non-profits don’t bring in enough to cover the increases. So, if they own the property they have a huge incentive to sell, possibly to Jemal, who may like the addition to his other cluster of properties. A slight problem with Jemal’s company is that it seems that he can afford to sit on commerical properties for a long time. Possibly waiting out till he can add another piece?
It’s in Douglas’s interest to get the lowest price possible, even when he has to pay a premium for contiguity.
Even still, tax rates are the responsibility of the city, which has the ability to cap the rate of increase one must pay each year. You can’t blame taxes on Douglas; it’s entirely the city’s responsibility.
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