Entitled to Answers

I am writing regarding the imbroglio in the downtown redevelopment area along F Street, wherein a developer, Terry Nash, as been denied the ability to build a six-story office building by the City Council for apparent political reasons only.

Councilman Mike Gotch summed up his argument in voting against Nash’s project by saying something like this: “In 20 years, people will wonder what this six-story building is doing on this block.”

After doing some checking, I found that Mr. Gotch’s crystal ball is flawed. The block currently contains Horton Plaza, three to five stories; the Federal Building, six stories; the Senator Hotel, four stories, and then, an anomaly, the 27-story Meridian Tower. Nash’s six-story proposed project would seem to fall right in line with the neighborhood. If Nash’s project were 27 stories, would it have received City Council approval? Would 10 stories have been proper? How about 15 stories?

The Nash project received the support of the Board of Directors of Centre City Development Corp. Why, then, is it being stymied? The answer is politics. That’s all right, but politics is a system of compromise. Where is the compromise on this issue?

DICK LICCARDI

San Diego