There is no disputing that dropping over six hundred million bucks into the area spurred on other private development efforts. The question is whether that pile of cash would have been more effective if it had been spread around a bit.
I would argue that most of the time DC blows cash on stuff there isn't the opportunity for good returns that exist with this project. If you mean that in theory, if the money were spent with the utmost of efficiency, timing and for the greatest impact, then yeah, I'm sure it could have been spent better. But that's a theoreticall what-if that is pretty far from what anyone could expect.
