\u201ca single unified site that still maintains its original boundaries and site organization.\u201d Like the proposed demolition of the underground cells, the subdivision of Lot 801 \u201cinto multiple parcels for the purpose of redevelopment is not . . . compatible with the goal of retaining and enhancing the landmark.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Looking for precedents in rulings by the Mayor\u2019s Agent on subdividing historic sites that were \u201csingle unified site[s] that still maintain [their] original boundaries and site organization,\u201d Mr. Callcott comes up with only one, Tregaron, the 20-acre early 20th-century estate in Cleveland Park that, like McMillan, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. But there any similarity between plans for the two properties ends.<\/p>\n
The Mayor\u2019s Agent approved the development of Tregaron, according to Mr. Callcott, because \u201cthe conceptual proposal was exemplary in terms of its architecture and land use planning.\u201d<\/p>\n
At Tregaron, the 20-acre landmark was divided into two large lots: One lot, of six acres, is home to the several buildings of the Washington International School. On the remaining 14 acres are three single-family residences built on established streets (two on Macomb Street; one on Klingle Road), clustered on a single acre hugging the property\u2019s edge; and 13 acres never to be developed, where the historic parkland is being restored.<\/p>\n
Thus 65 percent of the original 20 acres is preserved as contiguous green space; the remainder is subject to low-density development. Now that\u2019s a project of special merit consistent with the Preservation Act and the Comprehensive Plan!<\/strong><\/p>\nAt McMillan, about 6 contiguous acres out of 25 acres of open space (less than 24 percent) are retained, at the southern end of the site. One does not need training in historic preservation or architecture to see at a glance by comparing VMP\u2019s renderings with photographs of McMillan as it stands, largely unchanged except for the absence of trees (shorn by our city government), that the intensive development of the remainder of the McMillan Sand Filtration site obliterates the site\u2019s defining characteristics above ground, and\u2014as has already been established–below ground.<\/p>\n
\u201c[T]he subdivision of the McMillan Sand Filtration Site is incompatible with the character of the landmark ,\u201d to again quote Mr. Callcott\u2019s report, and furthermore, it is inconsistent with the purposes of the Historic Landmark and Historic District Protection Act, which are \u201cto retain and enhance historic landmarks in the District of Columbia.\u201d To first demolish more than 80 percent of the subterranean structures that won the protections of the Preservation Act, and then to build on almost 80 percent of the open space that is a defining characteristic of the 25-acre greensward, cannot be \u201cconsistent\u201d\u2014or in Zoning Commission-ese, cannot be \u201cnot inconsistent\u201d–with the Preservation Act. To describe it as such would be Orwellian. The Board should take a field trip to McMillan and kick a ball across an acre or so. The great open spaces are pure exhilaration, and not to be replicated or even sensed at VMP\u2019s 1960s-era planned community.<\/p>\n
So I must take issue with Mr. Callcott\u2019s recommendation that despite the incompatibility with its character of subdividing the landmark, the HPRB ought to reconfirm to the Mayor\u2019s Agent that design choices mitigate this incompatibility.<\/p>\n
Such a position strikes me as akin to admiring the clothes of the naked emperor. It seems that only in the tripartite division of the site, consisting of, from south to north: (1) lawn; (2) low-, medium-, and now, high-rise buildings; and (3) high-rise \u201cmedical\u201d office buildings, can real-estate development boosters use jargon to paper over the fact that nothing will be left of the historic McMillan site. (As someone trained in Art History, I know how verbiage can be convincing even when it\u2019s empty.) Our HPRB apparently considers the continued use of such terminology a real triumph in historic preservation. But those who know the iconic place now will not recognize it after VMP is done with it. People who have not had a chance to visit will have no clue what preceded VMP’s suburban outcropping.<\/p>\n
The HPRB should not act as an arm of DMPED, despite its misbegotten position in the hierarchy of that office. I urge the Historic Preservation Review Board to remember its regulatory function as steward of the District of Columbia\u2019s tangible history and to deny the subdivision of McMillan Sand Filtration Site.<\/p>\n
“In their own words…”<\/h1>\nGuest columnist: Andrea Rosen<\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
“In their own words…” Guest columnist: Andrea Rosen Topic: McMillan Park & the Historic Preservation Review Board On January 29, the Historic Preservation Review Board held hearings on two matters concerning historic landmark McMillan Park: one, regarding its subdivision (HPA 15-133); and the other pertaining to a new, larger design for a residential mixed-use building […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-all","category-itow"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.dc4reality.org\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.dc4reality.org\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.dc4reality.org\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.dc4reality.org\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.dc4reality.org\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.dc4reality.org\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26,"href":"http:\/\/www.dc4reality.org\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24\/revisions\/26"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.dc4reality.org\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.dc4reality.org\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.dc4reality.org\/updates\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}