Community Unites in Opposition to Public Land Deal in Tenleytown

From email:

ANC Commissioners in the Tenleytown/Friendship Heights area sent a letter to DC officials last week, strongly urging them to cease negotiations with LCOR over a public-private project that would involve the construction of a mixed-use residential building on school and library land at the corner of Wisconsin and Albemarle Street.

The letter, which has thus far gone unanswered, was addressed to Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh, Mayor Adrian Fenty, and Deputy Mayor Neil Albert, was signed by 4 of the 5 Commissioners in ANC 3E and leaders representing eight local stakeholder groups. The ANC may consider a resolution regarding this issue at the October 16 public meeting.

Citing the letter sent last week to Mayor Fenty by the Janney Elementary School SIT withdrawing its support for further consideration of a deal that would deprive this already-overcrowded campus of land needed for its expansion and outdoor athletic facilities, community leaders argued for an immediate end of negotiations with LCOR and for the already-funded, designed, and approved reconstruction of the Tenley-Friendship branch library to proceed at once as a stand-alone project. The letter also urged that Janney Elementary School be moved forward in DCPS's modernization queue (back-up to #8), to relieve its overcrowding and expand the capacity of this Metrorail-accessible Blue Ribbon school so that it could accommodate more of the 155 students currently on its waitlist for admission.

On July 10th, Mayor Fenty announced his selection of LCOR as a development partner for the site. Subsequent negotiations have failed to yield an agreement which the DMPED had anticipated would be announced on October 1st. At this point, the District is legally entitled to walk away from the deal. Both before and after the Mayor's announcement, Councilmembers Cheh and Brown wrote to the Mayor expressing their dissatisfaction with existing proposals for the site, but neither has yet called for the abandonment of this project.

Councilmember Cheh has stated she would not accept any undue delay in the rebuild of the library. Now, three months after the Mayor's announcement the community has become even more antagonistic towards this project. It is clear that a PPP will inevitably cause a multi-year delay in getting a library and will hinder rather than speed the modernization of Janney School.

Click here for a statement/explanation of the Janney's SIT's position on the project.

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Meanwhile, the Florida Market eminent domain-urban renewal project continues apace. See "Florida Avenue Market project altered again" from the Washington Business Journal.

I keep making the point that an urban renewal-like focus/police powers (eminent domain) perspective to land and DC government properties is deeply rooted. Some people believe that some councilmembers will begin to see the light. (I'm extremely doubtful, based on my observation of various Council hearings.)