I agree 100 percent with Stephanie Mencimer’s critique of the Potomac Yard shopping center in Alexandria (“Strip Mauled,” 9/29). It truly is an anachronistic monument to “Eisenhower-era land-use planning” with its huge setback from the street, vast parking lots, and pedestrian-unfriendliness. As a District resident, I am concerned that the newly announced shopping complex to be anchored by Giant, Home Depot, and Kmart in Northeast D.C. could end up looking like Potomac Yard. That would be a tragedy, because the proposed location is a short walk from the Rhode Island Avenue Metro station. We should cross our collective fingers in the hopes that the designers of this new shopping center do a better job than the architects of Potomac Yard.

Woodley Park