I hope you’re right about the last paragraph too. As long as there’s some balance, I think that some viable, stable businesses will be good for the neighborhood. Mystikal Garden wasn’t exactly a draw (and it was replacing a Gap store); so I can see this as o.k. progress.

I’m ambivalent about the new store. It’s very posh and contains an amazing variety of stuff — everything from the old QFC and Fred combined, plus more and better. I am hopeful that this will be a good thing for Broadway and that this “anchor” store will help to play a part in the revitalization of the neighborhood. On the other hand, I miss the quirkier mish-mash of stores in the old Broadway Market. The QFC is lovely and well-stocked, but it feels very corporate. And, yes (le grand sigh!), there is a Starbucks inside, as well as a sushi-bar.

As I watch one funky old Capitol Hill building after another being torn down to make way for high-rise condos and corporate retailers, I just keep repeating to myself, “Infill is good. Viable businesses are good.” — hoping against hope that higher population densities and stable retailers will provide support for the funky, quirky people and businesses that make living on Capitol Hill so much fun.