Local
3 Minute Interview-Dupree
By: Kytja Weir
Examiner Staff Writer
February 4, 2009
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When you started JDLand, what did the Southeast waterfront area look like?
Public housing. Taxi cab companies. Garages. Strip clubs. Asphalt plants. Abandoned buildings. Overgrown lots. And I have the pictures to prove it!
How did the opening of Nationals Park in April change the neighborhood?
First and foremost, it made most of the D.C. area aware that this neighborhood a mile from the U.S. Capitol, along the waterfront, actually existed. But the tremendous land rush that followed the decision to put the ballpark there is the obvious change -- more than 150 buildings that were standing when I started taking photos have been demolished. It’s mostly unrecognizable.
As the economy has soured, how have you seen the landscape change?
The physical landscape doesn’t really look any different — it’s not like there are incomplete skeletons of buildings standing abandoned. There are projects that were supposed to have gotten under way that are stalled, but someone just driving through wouldn’t realize there was a slowdown.
How many construction cranes are up there at this point?
Not as many as there were in 2007! Only three of them right now.
What do you expect for D.C.’s development in 2009?
I’m certainly not expecting too many groundbreaking ceremonies this year. But so much has been built in such a short time — it’s like when you have a growing child, and you buy their shoes a little too big so that they can grow into them. Right now the city needs to spend some time growing into what it’s got.
What will mark the turning point for you when Southeast has fully redeveloped?
When people complain about what a zoo Half Street is on a Saturday night.
