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Bisnow did its best to draw out Douglas Jemal yesterday at its retail summit, and the glib megadeveloper didn’t say much beyond soundbites (so charming: “I like old buildings and young girls,” he quipped at one point). But towards the end, he gave some insight into how he sees his turf (which it appears he rarely leaves) developing: F Street is “fashion street,” now with Anthropologie, Zara, H&M, and assorted smaller stores, many of which are tenants of his company Douglas Development. Quite a change from the club-and-music-hall-filled avenue of yore.
It’s nothing compared to the New York equivalent, of course. And probably no more justifiable than Connecticut Avenue south of Dupont, for example. But it’s an interesting aspect of the vision held by a guy who has the real estate to make a lot of things happen.