I guess attachments don't work. Here it is: Cleveland Park Citizens Association Statement for Release Monday, Nov. 5, 2001 Cleveland Park Citizens Association Announces Historic Landmark Application for Wisconsin Avenue Giant Food Store Properties The Cleveland Park Citizens Association announced today that it has filed an Historic Landmark designation application covering the Wisconsin Avenue Giant Food Store and related properties. The Association filed its application with the District of Columbia Historic Preservation Review Board on Friday, Nov. 2, 2001. The Friendship Shopping Center, built in 1953, consists of Giant's two buildings that are located along Wisconsin Avenue on either side of Newark Street, northwest. "This development was an early venture by Giant into the creation of a large balanced shopping center," according to CPCA spokesman Peter Espenschied. "The design of the buildings combined a 'Main Street' storefront streetscape along Wisconsin Avenue, oriented to pedestrians and those arriving by streetcar, with accommodation of shoppers arriving by automobile," Espenschied said. According to CPCA president Isabel Furlong, the application explains that "in both form and function, the Friendship Shopping Center can be seen as a bridge between Main Street and suburb, between the pre-War streetcar era and the post-War automobile age." In physical terms, this bridge is embodied by the two principal sides of each building. On the front side, facing Wisconsin Avenue to the east, a variety of retail shops has long served pedestrians, in the compact "urban" or "Main Street" manner. But in the rear, large parking lots behind the stores serve automobile traffic, a more typically "suburban" concept. Fittingly, the entrance into the food store is in between, on the north side of the store facing Newark Street. There, one door opens east to welcome Giant's pedestrian and public transportation customers. A second door provides entry and exit to the west, where the parking lot is located. Giant has stated that some 50% of the store's shoppers come on foot. "There is wide community support for Giant's desire to expand its present Wisconsin Avenue store," Furlong emphasized, "but its current plan would eliminate this important 'bridge' concept. Instead, Giant's suburban-style supermarket would be completely oriented to the parking lot." "It would be very wrong for this local neighborhood shopping center to turn its back to Wisconsin Avenue's pedestrian and public transportation traffic," Furlong declared. "We're certain that Giant could develop a design that would accommodate both their marketing needs and the community's demand for a pedestrian-friendly Wisconsin Avenue," Furlong said. "We asked them to set up a working group so we could seek solutions. But instead of agreeing to work with the community, Giant's spokesmen told us last August that we're at an impasse." "We don't know why Giant is being so inflexible," Furlong added. Under Giant's plan, there would be little or no access to the building from the long Wisconsin Avenue side of the building. "That would eliminate retail activity from what has been the heart of our lively little shopping district," Furlong complained. "It would deaden an area almost the length of a football field." The application describes the initial Friendship Shopping Center as consisting of three anchors-Giant, a Peoples Drug Store, and G.C. Murphy, a variety store-along with smaller shops in the two buildings. All of the shops in the south building except Giant's own store have now been closed. In the north building, Giant has replaced the previous drug store with a Giant pharmacy. Giant has not yet filed applications for permits for the new project, but it has shown its plans to the community and the DC Office of Planning. Community activists have pointed out that the present design concept clearly violates the DC Comprehensive Plan. Office of Planning officials have also indicated concern over the current project plans. Espenschied, noting Giant's unyielding plan to eliminate retail activity on its 270-foot stretch along Wisconsin, declared that "many of us came to see that a legitimate historic preservation issue is at the heart of the community's resistance to what Giant wants to do." The Landmark application "seeks to preserve the essential character of the streetscape and to subject the coming projects to high standards of architectural review," Espenshied remarked. "We believe that through this approach, a constructive balance can be achieved, preserving the two vital functions of the Friendship Shopping Center-pedestrian and automotive-- to meet the practical needs of the community." He concluded that the Association "looks forward to working with the appropriate government agencies, with all of this community, and with Giant." Data: Friendship Shopping Center consists of two low buildings, one triangular (the north building) and one essentially rectangular (the south building), and parking lots adjoining each building. The south building is bounded by Wisconsin Avenue, Newark Street, the parking lot west of the building, and an adjoining building at 3300 Wisconsin Avenue. It occupies Lots 56, 57 and 58, in Square 1920. The north building is bounded by Wisconsin Avenue, Newark Street, the parking lot west of the building, and the driveway of a freestanding bank building at 3440 Wisconsin Avenue. It occupies Lot 2 of Square 1920-N. Both parking lots extend west to Idaho Avenue. The area of proposed landmark designation is the four aforementioned lots. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]