Offside Chat Archives (2014-2021)

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Matthew Young35 said:So, they’ve finally come up with a "solution." Apparently, the plan is to offer residents of those downtown buildings marked for demolition some alternative property somewhere else. Is that really supposed to satisfy anyone?
It’s going to happen—one garage and one mall at a time. Just like that.
If it weren't for the earthquake, those obnoxious tenants in the city center would still be there, wouldn't they?

Yeah, exactly. It's just a matter of time before they open some massive Mall right in downtown Washington, D.C. Investors just love throwing money into a literal void.

A friend of mine lives in one of those units, just a few blocks from the mosque. That building probably needed a total overhaul fifty years ago, but it was useless—most of the residents don't have two cents to rub together, even though on paper, they own prime real estate in a killer location. Once you actually step inside and try to climb those stairs, it feels like you're filming a low-budget Eurotrip documentary.

Paul Sanders5 said:Yeah, exactly. It's just a matter of time before they open some massive Mall right in downtown Washington, D.C. Investors just love throwing money into a literal void.

A friend of mine lives in one of those units, just a few blocks from the mosque. That building probably needed a total overhaul fifty years ago, but it was useless—most of the residents don't have two cents to rub together, even though on paper, they own prime real estate in a killer location. Once you actually step inside and try to climb those stairs, it feels like you're filming a low-budget Eurotrip documentary.

Oh, absolutely. I still remember how much Horvatincic resisted building that garage and shopping center over on Flower Street. They practically had to drag him into it; he wasn't interested at all.
In the end, they finally talked him into lighting his money on fire.

Since I was recently looking for an apartment in Washington, D.C., I spent quite a bit of time researching all the different neighborhoods, building styles, and everything else. We eventually settled on a massive concrete high-rise from the 80s; we’re pretty high up, which was a bit nerve-wracking, but I guess we didn't really suffer any damage. We might need to check a few partition walls, maybe about $333 worth of repairs. Those thick reinforced walls definitely seem to make a difference, though. My partner lives in one of those century-old buildings downtown, and because of that, we practically had to move out along with our dog. You can always renovate a place, but you probably have to wait for this whole hysteria to die down before you can find a contractor and deal with the costs. Two large units in that building recently sold for a fortune, and even more money was poured into a total gut renovation. It would be a shame if the earthquake broke all of that in just ten seconds. Most of the historic downtown area is either facing complete reconstruction or total demolition. Not to mention, people often change up the walls during renovations—some friends of ours almost accidentally brought a building down because a young structural engineer messed up the blueprints. In my opinion, the city should probably stop expanding into the outer suburbs and instead encourage residential and commercial investment right in the center. They build a little hotel or a small building here and there, but it feels like it's just not enough.

That building over on Flower Street is easily the best thing built in downtown Washington, D.C. in the last 15 years. Okay, fine, I’m lying—it’s the *only* thing worth mentioning in the urban core. I guess D.C. just isn't ready for glass skyscrapers in the center; there’s this very specific architectural vibe they cling to, you know? They have all these strict criteria they insist on following. If you think that's an issue, you should see Vienna. Those buildings right across from St. Stephen's will blow your mind, not to mention how close that underground Garage is—the entrance is practically ten meters from the church. 🤣

Seriously, though, it feels like they're just racing to build yet another Mall. There's this insane obsession with putting more retail hubs in downtown D.C. while the Gallery is already running at full capacity, and even that Casci place is absolutely drowning in shoppers.

Paul Sanders5 said:That building over on Flower Street is easily the best thing built in downtown Washington, D.C. in the last 15 years. Okay, fine, I’m lying—it’s the *only* thing worth mentioning in the urban core. I guess D.C. just isn't ready for glass skyscrapers in the center; there’s this very specific architectural vibe they cling to, you know? They have all these strict criteria they insist on following. If you think that's an issue, you should see Vienna. Those buildings right across from St. Stephen's will blow your mind, not to mention how close that underground Garage is—the entrance is practically ten meters from the church. 🤣

Seriously, though, it feels like they're just racing to build yet another Mall. There's this insane obsession with putting more retail hubs in downtown D.C. while the Gallery is already running at full capacity, and even that Casci place is absolutely drowning in shoppers.

I don't think you quite grasp the situation.
The whole Mall concept is just a front to masquerade as being in the "public interest."
In reality, they make their money off the luxury apartments and garages that wouldn't be permitted otherwise.
And let's not ignore the classic money laundering happening right under our noses.

Even with all those pandemic restrictions in place, this little cafe in Karlovac was still running full tilt, and when the police raided the place, they actually caught the owner and two customers right in the middle of it.

So you've got the owner and two patrons just hanging out in a closed cafe, and the inspectors basically decided it was definitely open because all the machines were powered up and humming away.

Honestly, that’s just how things work in this country—everything is supposedly under control, and they'll jump down your throat to penalize even the tiniest little infraction the second they see it. 🙏🙏🙏

Press conference. 🙏 🙏 🙏

God, I wonder if that meteor is actually going to hit. 🤦

Matthew Young35 said:I don't think you quite grasp the situation.
The whole Mall concept is just a front to masquerade as being in the "public interest."
In reality, they make their money off the luxury apartments and garages that wouldn't be permitted otherwise.
And let's not ignore the classic money laundering happening right under our noses.

Look, Garages are a huge public interest, especially in Washington, D.C., where parking is a total nightmare. It's actually more important than some damn Mall. I'm not saying everyone has to agree with me—some people are gonna jump on the bandwagon about banning cars from the downtown core entirely. I won't say I disagree with them, but that just opens up a whole different can of worms.

This is great. Honestly, everything is always the same, no matter how many years go by. 😁

restlesssurfer97 said:Even with all those pandemic restrictions in place, this little cafe in Karlovac was still running full tilt, and when the police raided the place, they actually caught the owner and two customers right in the middle of it.

So you've got the owner and two patrons just hanging out in a closed cafe, and the inspectors basically decided it was definitely open because all the machines were powered up and humming away.

Honestly, that’s just how things work in this country—everything is supposedly under control, and they'll jump down your throat to penalize even the tiniest little infraction the second they see it. 🙏🙏🙏

Press conference. 🙏 🙏 🙏

God, I wonder if that meteor is actually going to hit. 🤦

Watch the structure—they were actually working. 🤣 Aside from the coffee maker—which, let's be real, makes zero difference whether it's plugged in or not—what else are we even talking about here? Fridges? Like, were we actually supposed to unplug those too? 😁

Man...

Paul Sanders5 said:Look, Garages are a huge public interest, especially in Washington, D.C., where parking is a total nightmare. It's actually more important than some damn Mall. I'm not saying everyone has to agree with me—some people are gonna jump on the bandwagon about banning cars from the downtown core entirely. I won't say I disagree with them, but that just opens up a whole different can of worms.

This is great. Honestly, everything is always the same, no matter how many years go by. 😁

That Mall is absolutely not a matter of public interest.
If they actually cared about the public good, they would have prioritized building a movie theater there instead.
As for traffic and garages? It makes zero sense to funnel even more cars into a downtown area originally designed for horse-drawn carriages. Instead of adding more congestion, shouldn't we be banning through-traffic from Draskovicev to Frankopanske and Vodnikove, and then just creating parking lots around that roundabout?

Queena's mother-in-law just moved in.

I honestly can't believe you guys didn't bother to report this.

A charger and a dog. Probably some tiny little thing that runs on batteries.
Can't complain.

urbanhawk17 said:Queena's mother-in-law just moved in.

I honestly can't believe you guys didn't bother to report this.

Let's be real though, maybe he actually likes her more than his wife? I know I do—not everything's bad out there.🤷

urbanhawk17 said:Queena's mother-in-law just moved in.

I honestly can't believe you guys didn't bother to report this.

He didn't quite grasp the part about actually using soap when washing his hands, did he?☕

urbanhawk17 said:Queena's mother-in-law just moved in.

I honestly can't believe you guys didn't bother to report this.

🤣🤣🤣

Now, instead of acting like a total know-it-all on the forum, she'll be busy walking the little pup around and picking up all its crap.
Total Win-win for the mother-in-law and for all of us here on the forum. 😂

brightpilot6 said:He didn't quite grasp the part about actually using soap when washing his hands, did he?☕

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brightpilot6 As specified by:
It seems he didn't quite grasp that crucial part about using soap to wash your hands... ☕

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brightpilot6 said:He didn't quite grasp the part about actually using soap when washing his hands, did he?☕

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I almost died. 🤣
Now she’s going to turn into a total drama queen.

brightpilot6 said:He didn't quite grasp the part about actually using soap when washing his hands, did he?☕

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brightpilot6 said:He didn't quite grasp the part about actually using soap when washing his hands, did he?☕

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