Georgetown and the once-and-future Apple Store
Posted by: Molly Redden in News, Vox Populi, tags: ANC, Apple Store, Georgetown Neighborhood, Old Georgetown BoardEager to have had their designs for the new Apple Store approved by the ANC, the owners of the (we hope) future site of Georgetown Apple Store skipped off the the Old Georgetown Board to get its approval, too—only to be rejected a fourth, yes, fourth time.
That’s right kids, Georgetown, which God willing will someday be home to D.C.’s first Apple store, may never get an Apple store in your time here. Georgetown Metropolitan has the scoop on just how egregious OGB’s rejection is, democratically speaking:
The Old Georgetown Board consists of three architects appointed by the U.S. Fine Arts Commission. Currently the OGB consists of the following individuals: David Cox, Anne Lewis, and Stephen Vanze.
And guess what? Only one of them actually lives in “Old Georgetown”. Cox lives in Kent (although his architecture firm is located in Georgetown) and Vanze lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland (although he also has a firm located in Georgetown). Anne Lewis (wife of ANC Commissioner Ron Lewis) lives just within the border of “Old Georgetown” at 34th and Reservoir.
The D.C. blogosphere is currently alight with outrage, even suggestions that Apple take its business elsewhere in the District. From We Love DC:
Hey Apple! So the Old Georgetown Board hates your store designs. I have a suggestion to make your Georgetown problems go away.
Why even bother with Georgetown? The traffic is awful, there’s no parking, the sidewalks are too narrow, the shops are too pricy, Wisconsin and M Streets form one of the worst intersections for cars and pedestrians alike …. Forget Georgetown. There’s a perfectly good, bright, shining location, aching for a new Apple Store just a few miles down the road: Union Station.
Sorry Lovers, but according to ANC 2E’s Aaron Golds, Apple has already paid upwards of $13 million for the property, formerly a FCUK store. “I think that means they’ll stay where they are. They don’t want to just sit on that, especially in a recession.”
Store designs from Georgetown Metropolitan
Entries (RSS)
[...] morning, we told you about the kerfuffle surrounding the Apple store planned for Georgetown. Having already sunk a cool $13 million already [...]
[...] Georgetown’s own Aaron Golds (COL `11) talking about GUTS buses, kegs, and the now-infamous saga of the Georgetown Apple Store. He’s represented University students since January, and his [...]
[...] After sending Apple back to the drawing board four, yes four times, rejected plans for a Wisconsin Avenue Apple store in hand, the Old Georgetown [...]
[...] (by the way, how did that pass Advisory Neighborhood Commission muster when the Apple Store’s first design concept was rejected?) and your skull-and-roses t-shirts, but at least local bodegas still carry your [...]
[...] Georgetown Board would slow down a company’s entrance into the neighborhood? That’s never happened [...]