With the approval of the 700 block project on K street, developers Bay Miry and Ali Youssefi are closer to realizing their long-awaited vision. But that vision has changed in some unexpected ways since its initial proposal. First, that vision “got a lot bigger,” Miry said. When Miry and Youssefi were awarded the project in July 2010, they didn’t have access to the interior of the buildings at the project site. “The initial proposal was very conceptual in nature,” Youssefi said. “We knew that if our team was selected we'd have the opportunity (later) to refine the project design based on a thorough inspection of all the buildings.” Once they were handed keys in late August, they had a

The city’s Development Services Department has a new name. It’s now known as the Community Development Department (CDD). City records manager and acting spokeswoman Wendy Klock-Johnson explained that the new department brings together long-range planning staff and development services staff. The administrative change is an efficiency, she said. The city’s 2009/2010 proposed budget includes a plan to move Planning Department employees. Under the plan, the Planning Department would move 26 full-time positions and $2.4 million to the new CDD “as part of the consolidation of planning services,” the budget states. Of the 26 positions, one is not funded and the remaining 25 are funded. The ne