DC: Professional Tennis and a new football sports complex | The missed connection for good planning, transit, and intensifying uses where appropriate

Rock Creek Tennis Center, Washington DC.

The National Park Service has put forth a tender to rehabilitate the William Fitzgerald Tennis Center in Rock Creek Park ("Feds seek private money to upgrade tennis center that hosts DC Open," Washington Post).  From the article:

The National Park Service this week issued a request for proposals seeking a long-term lessee to renovate and operate the aging tennis complex in Rock Creek Park, calling for at least $25 million in private investment and setting an unusually compressed timeline for bids.

The request was posted late in the day [December 17th]. Proposals are due Jan. 20, just 34 days later, with the agency indicating it hopes to have a lease in place as soon as March.

The short term of the tender makes people think the project is dialed in for venture capitalist Mark Ein, who runs the tennis tournament there.

Area resident Binta Robinson had the great idea of marrying the tennis center to the plans for the development of a new football stadium at the RFK campus, based on the example in Miami and the tennis complex integrated into the Hard Rock Stadium there.  I thought it was a great idea, and wrote about it ("You get what you plan for: the multi-use Miami Hard Rock Stadium versus typical football stadiums | Washington Commanders").

I also submitted public comments on the stadium project ("Public comment period: Redevelopment at the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Campus | Closes December 19th").  Those comments were due two days after the release of the Tennis RFP.

But obviously, these two projects are not seen as potentially complementary but located the stadium. Although Ein owns a stake in the NFL Commanders football team as well.

Google Earth view of the Rock Creek Tennis Center in between Rock Creek Park and the residential neighborhoods east of 16th Street NW.

A big problem with the tennis center and the Mubudala Open there is that it's located in a neighborhood, not in a place with multiple transportation options--definitely not Metrorail access, and limited parking.  It's not the kind of use that's congruent with neighborhoods.

Of course, given it's DC and that it's the Park Service, lack of vision shouldn't be a surprise.

This is what I call "designing conflict in," when the purpose of planning (not that there is planning going on here, more like project management) is to "design conflict out."

It's not that I don't believe in mixed use places.  But placement of uses ought to use the Dutch method where uses with high transportation demand are put into places where the infrastructure (road, transit, bike, pedestrian) already exists ("ABC Zoning: An Integrated Approach to Mobility Planning," Dutch Cycling Embassy).

In the Netherlands, there is a decades-long tradition of steering the cars to the highways in order to create more safety and more room for other users on the subordinated networks. In the Utrecht SUMP, the strategy aimed strongly for cars to use the ring road around the city in order to free up space for cyclists in the heart of the city. And the mobility strategy is not only about the routing of cars, but also about the strategic planning of parking places and traffic management. This all can help to create more space for other modes in the heart of the city.

While the Dutch, unlike the US, are focused on maximizing the shift of trips from motor vehicles to sustainable modes, the general point pertains.  Put high demand for traffic uses in places where the infrastructure already exists, to leverage existing public investment.  

This is doubly true given the amount of public investment for infrastructure that will be going into the RFK site. (Sadly, DC has already truncated the possibility of adding streetcar service within the RFK campus, "s.")

You get what you plan for: the multi-use Miami Hard Rock Stadium versus typical football stadiums | Washington Commanders

Upper Northwest DC resident Binta Robinson has a letter to the editor of the Washington Post, "How to fix D.C.’s crumbling sports infrastructure," making the point that even with renovations ("Rock Creek Tennis Center set for repairs, but neighbors have questions") the Rock Creek Park tennis courts aren't a great place for the Mubadala Citi DC Open, a stop on the professional tennis circuit as they are embedded in a neighborhood with limited parking and transit options and owned by the National Park Service, which isn't positioned well to run such an event in the facility, even though there is a "public-private partnership" which manages the facility.

She suggests the forthcoming Commanders football stadium ("Mendelson reaches deal with Commanders on RFK site amid growing pressure") as a better alternative, based on how the Miami Open tennis tournament plays at the Hard Rock Stadium ("How The Miami Open Is Repositioning Itself At Hard Rock Stadium And Increasing Ticket Sales," Forbes).

I am embarrassed to write that I didn't know that Hard Rock Stadium is a huge exception in football stadiums ("Framework of characteristics that support successful community development in association with the development of professional sports facilities," ) in that they deliberately plan to have multiple events, partly by additional tenants, so that they are likely to have 4x as many events as a typical stadium, making public financing at least tolerable ("Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium: A Modern-Day Multi-Purpose Venue," Forbes).

The home of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins and University of Miami Hurricanes football team, Hard Rock Stadium has turned into an example of using both the stadium and the site for mega-events far beyond just one sport. Even after the stadium adds a marquee football event to its roster, hosting the Orange Bowl Jan. 9, one of the College Football Playoff’s semifinals, the 265-acre site will transform as the regular home to one of the largest tennis tournaments on the sport’s calendar, hosting the Miami Open each spring since 2019, and one of the newest stops on the worldwide F1 circuit, hosting the Miami Grand Prix since 2022.

That’s not all. Hard Rock Stadium will also host FIFA World Cup games in 2026, eight FIFA Club World Cup matches in 2025, the College Football Playoffs national championship game in January 2026 and plenty of additional concerts, such as Shakira, Post Malone and Cold Play.

... “I think we are fortunate to have an owner who had a vision to make this a global entertainment destination,” Boyan says. The site has hosted the Dolphins for over three decades and also welcomed MLB for 19 years. The venue once resembled a more traditional multi-purpose stadium. That all changed when the baseball team moved out and a 2015 major overhaul set the stage to host new events to bring in a diverse mix of fans.

... The 17 practice courts and nine competition courts outside the stadium get resurfaced every year. The stadium court, inside Hard Rock Stadium, is built on the football field with a 6,000-seat temporary structure with suites, a press box and luxury seating all pushed against the south sideline of the stadium to create a 14,000-seat stadium within a stadium. It takes a couple of months to build the structure ahead of the roughly two-week event.

This 23-acre tennis complex is situated around Hard Rock Stadium, featuring 18 practice courts, 10 tournament courts, a 5,000-seat grandstand court, and a 14,000-seat stadium court inside the stadium structure. The tennis campus seamlessly connects to the existing stadium via a centralized plaza and public squares

At the same time, outside bleachers are going up around the courts and sponsor activation areas, food and beverage spaces, hospitality and plenty of décor takes shape. “Our group does a good job of trying to evolve and improve every year,” Boyan says, “and the design of what we do we try to take up a level every year.”

While each stadium and each market come unique, Boyan says the international flavor of Miami with the site and climate allows the venue to really embrace such a range of events on its calendar. “We have found content we think is great for south Florida,” he says. “Each city needs to look at what their assets are and what makes sense for them.”

Formula 1 racing in Hard Rock Stadium. 

That’s how stadiums can build a modern-day multi-purpose event space. “Multi-purpose facilities are not different types of content in the seating bowl,” Boyan says, “but what else can you do to generate content on the property? Each stadium is a little bit different.” For its part, Hard Rock Stadium has created an internationally flavored blueprint.

My original blog entry "Framework of characteristics that support successful community development in association with the development of professional sports facilities" (2021) is a continuation of a thread that dates to the mid-2010s, and in particularly was spurred by a minor league ballpark area planning initiative in Salt Lake, which made the point that when the stadium was built in the early 1990s claims for revitalization were made, but nothing happened.  But there was a reason, the stadium wasn't built with a purposive area development plan.  Any benefits would be "trickle down" if at all as a result.

In the piece, football stadiums are criticized for having few events, which means even more minimal contribution to the city and regional economy.  

RFK campus

You could take that for granted, or as the Miami Dolphins NFL team shows us, you could require a "programming plan" as part of the original contract, in return for financial contributions, and as part of stadium planning and zoning more generally.  Although maybe the Miami location is better for its appeal to South America, and the related ability to market to a greater audience.  Basically, programming plans for football stadiums will vary considerably, depending on potential opportunities. 

Note that the concept of a broader programming action plan dovetails nicely with the statement expressed by former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk that arenas can be thought of more broadly as performing arts centers ("Good quote on arenas and stadiums as "performing arts centers" attractions for cities" [2024]).

And that's the problem with the Commanders stadium proposal for DC.  There's no time for planning.   It's a bum's rush.  I haven't written about it but meant to do so.  

First, I am against public financing for such ventures, which are purely profiting for the team owner, with only scraps for the local jurisdictions.  Second, despite opposition, in most cases public financing is approved, unless local laws require a vote of citizens for final approval.  Third, that's why I have the "Framework" entry, to help communities make the best of a bad situation.  

Especially because fourth, at least in DC, you can augur development in the RFK stadium site without a football team ("Yes, modify and extend the RFK Campus lease; No, don't do it for the Washington Redskins football team" [2018], "Capital One Arena, Wizards and Capitals may move to Alexandria | Why not the RFK campus?" [2023], "I wonder if Mayor Fenty hadn't dissolved the Anacostia Waterfront Initiative in 2007, merging it into another city agency, if development would have happened faster?" [2024]).

But the Commanders thing is even worse than that because the city is under an artificially strict deadline for an agreement, which means THERE'S NO TIME FOR PLANNING of any sort, at least to get items into the preliminary agreement.

An example is how most of the Mayor's arguments in favor of a stadium are incomplete and wouldn't stand up to an impartial review.

DC Mayor Bowser claims that only a football stadium can bring about new development to that site, a point about which most people disagree ("Arguments in defense of a stadium at RFK fall short of a first down," and "Alternative anchors for RFK await." GGW, and my entries).

Binta Robinson's idea of co-location of professional tennis at the Commanders site is brilliant and a great way to improve the benefits to the city, as well as improvements in tennis facilities, and the ability to host a top-notch tennis tournament, as opposed to a half-assed program at the Rock Creek Tennis Center.

No time for negotiation.  No time to bring the parties together.  Even though the party behind the is Mark Ein, a minority investor in the football team.

Another item that should be negotiated for but there is no time, is Nick Stementelli's point, at Greater Greater Washington ("Whether or not it gets a stadium, RFK needs a second Metro station"), that another Metrorail station could be added to the site at the northeast, the station that was originally proposed for the system at Oklahoma Avenue.  (I've suggested that too, in various posts about "east of the river" revitalization.) 

Another problem with professional sports teams is that communities have no input into the ownership.  They aren't necessarily good partners ("Public entities ought to be more careful of whom they do business with" [2016]).

In that vein, Josh Harris, the Commander's managing partner, screwed over Philadelphia in negotiations of a possible relocation of the 76ers basketball team ("Fool me once, fool me twice: Mayor Bowser has it all wrong about the Washington Commanders football team," 2025).  DC needs to strongly negotiate upfront, or it won't get these "nice additions" of ancillary development unless the team agrees.  

For example, the Washington Nationals don't pay extra for Metrorail service past system closure.  It should have been a requirement as part of the contract, as part of transportation demand management planning for the site.

DC should not make the same mistake twice.

"Can Cities Fill the Swimming Pool Equity Gap?" is too narrow a question. The question is how can we plan systematically for community amenities.

Bloomberg CityLab has a story, "Can Cities Fill the Swimming Pool Equity Gap?," about inequitable distribution of civic assets, specifically swimming pools, with examples from Long Beach, California. 

Belmont Pool complex on the Pacific Ocean in Long Beach, California.  Photo: Orange County Register.

It mentions that the city aims to spend almost $100 million to rebuild and expand its Belmont pool on the beach ("What will the new Belmont Pool look like? That’s up for debate," Orange County Register) while low income areas of the city have no outdoor pools at all.  That process has been underway for 7 years.

But it's really two questions. Equity.  And systematic parks and recreation planning.

The first is the equity question.  That communities either provide more resources to more well off areas and/or that well off areas consume "privatized amenities" at community swim clubs, etc., and fail to ensure equal access and provision  ("An outline for integrated equity planning: concepts and programs," 2017).

The PG Pool isn't an upscale club.  It has community areas and a down home vibe.

Having access to civic amenities like parks, libraries, recreational facilities, etc., is a key element of the "social urbanism" approach ("On the ‘Medellin Miracle’ and the ‘Social Urbanism’ Model," LabGov).

And was a key element of one of Britain's only successful regeneration approaches, called New Deal Communities, under the Blair Labour Government ("Reviewing the New Deal for Communities programme," Guardian, 2001, Turnaround: How to regenerate Britain's less prosperous communities by helping them take back control, webpage, Onward).

Exclusion isn't strictly about wealth, it's about money.  Prince George's and Montgomery Counties have a number of "community swim clubs" that are very grassroots, which many DC residents join.  But you pay to join--$500 for a family of four, less for seniors, an additional fee for caregiver access, temporary passes, and a deposit; Adelphi costs more).

For example, if you live in Mount Rainier, Maryland, one of the first things people say when they meet you is get on the waiting list for the PG Pool.  I know there are other community pools, like in Adelphi.

I thought one way that the Armed Forces Retirement Home in NW DC could build community support would be to provide some land for a similar kind of operation.

Most communities charge for recreation center access.  Montgomery County does have a no fee pass on an income basis, called RecAssist.  DC ended its fees for facilities after determining that the cost of collecting and processing payments wasn't worth it.   

Another equity question is when and how long the facilities are open.  For example, in DC when it can be hot into October, why is it that most pools are closed by the end of August?  If anything, with climate change, pools will need to be open more, not less.

Decades ago, Tacoma had a waterfront bus service called the Bayliner ("25 years later, is Tacoma ready for waterfront bus service?," Tacoma News-Tribune, 2017)

The Bloomberg article mentions that Long Beach has three pools, none of them easily accessible by transit.  (And Long Beach has a decent public transit system!)  

They can start by addressing that.  And making transit access a key condition in their capital improvements and master planning processes -- that all civic amenities should be easily accessible by transit.

"Explore Forest Park by public transportation" (Portland), Forest Park Conservancy, discusses transit access to area parks in Portland. An NHK program on Sapporo showed how people could take transit to a campground in a public park, where you could rent the equipment for your campsite in advance.

Weekend Wheels to the Waterfront, Port of Everett WA special weekend bus transit service, Port of Everett, Washington

Some communities add special transit services for parks in the summer ("Take a hike! Metro summer bus service to Cascade trailheads," Greater Seattle on the cheap)

Again, DC could do a better job of this for National Park Service facilities ("A gap in planning across agencies: Prioritizing park access for pedestrians, bicyclists and transit users compared to motor vehicle access," 2015).  For example, back in the day, Capital Transit ran a weekend bus service for East Potomac Park--no such service exists now.  (Washington Park in Portland has an intra-park shuttle.)

1946 Capital Transit Map.  The V1 bus was exclusively for weekend service to East Potomac Park.

The second and deeper question is that of systematic planning for amenities.  Regardless of equity questions, many communities don't do a very good job with this.  DC definitely doesn't.  

-- Parks and Recreation Master Planning, Complete Communities Toolkit, University of Delaware

In 2008, I argued that DC should plan for parks and recreational facilities at four scales: city-wide; quadrant (although DC divides the four quadrants into ten "areas" for planning purposes; districts (multiple-neighborhoods); and neighborhoods ("Prototyping and municipal capital improvement programs").

For example, you don't need an outdoor pool in every neighborhood, they need to be planned at the district scale.  Or a city like DC only needs one or two exposition centers for the entire city, the same with indoor tracks.  (Arlington's Thomas Jefferson Community Center has an indoor track building that doubles as a site for large events.)

The way to think about this is the "integrated public realm framework" by parks planner David Barth.

And it would be helpful to coordinate access to school-based facilities as well, like Baltimore County, Maryland's agreement between its Department of Recreation and Parks and the school system. (Salt Lake County sometimes combines senior centers, recreation centers, and libraries in one facility.)

It's not helped by the failure to have a DC public parks and recreation master plan for more than 20 years ("Five examples of the failure to do parks and public space master planning in DC").  By contrast, Maryland requires all counties to have such a plan, and a process for regular updates.  For example this is what Montgomery County's website says about pools: 

There are 26 Swimming Pools in Montgomery County, Maryland, serving a population of 1,039,198 people in an area of 493 square miles. There is 1 Swimming Pool per 39,969 people, and 1 Swimming Pool per 18 square miles. In Maryland, Montgomery County is ranked 7th of 24 counties in Swimming Pools per capita, and 2nd of 24 counties in Swimming Pools per square mile.

But there isn't a map showing distribution, and by income. And these are a mix of public and private facilities.

The places with requirements for regular parks master planning tend to have a system for allocating facilities in a fair manner across the city.

But even then, communities often have big holes in the parks and recreation planning process, which is one of the reasons that I argue community master plans for parks and recreation need to include a census of private facilities, like golf.

Photo by Mike Near.

WRT pool planning more generally, I've argued that a public art dimension can be incorporated too ("A design idea for public outdoor swimming pools").

While the pool pictured is private, why not do similar public art treatments at public pools?

And have spaces for parties and lounging like the "community pools"?

More bicycling #3: Bike sharing stations in parks especially because of the pandemic

Bike sharing systems are designed to support utilitarian bicycling, that is transportation, mostly to and from work, and errands.

That works in Europe and especially Asia, where mobility systems are more balanced and not designed primarily for automobility.  In the US, bicycling is still seen as primarily for recreation and bikes are seen as toys.

Given the rise in bicycling that has been reported as one of the responses to the pandemic (personally, here in Salt Lake I don't see it), and how many communities have created new spaces for pedestrians and cyclists from roadways, I think that recreational use of bicycles needs to be recognized by US bike share systems and sharing stations need to be placed in or by large parks where people may wish to cycle.  (I seem to recall the Bixi system in Montreal tends to place large stations by parks.)

The stations should be specially set for hour long use periods (normally trips are set for 30 minutes; although some systems provide 30 minute trips for occasional users and 45 minute trips for regular members).

One of the early bike share programs, Tulsa Townies, was set up not for transportational cycling but to support recreational cycling for health and other benefits, within the park and trail system along the Tulsa River.  Various systems do seem to include parks in their station footprint.

Washington Park, Albany.

For example the bike share system for Albany and Troy, New York has stations in at least 8 parks.

The parks department in Mercer County, New Jersey negotiated with Zagster to deploy bike share in three parks.

Montgomery County Maryland Parks also did a Zagster-based implementation in some of their parks.  Although I don't understand why they didn't do this through the existing Capital Bikeshare system, of which the county is already a member.

Using CoGo bikes on a trail in Greater Columbus.

The CoGo bike sharing system in Columbus, Ohio is unusual in that its website promotes destinations and attractions "that you can reach by bike," including Centennial Park in the Downton.

Balancing cost recovery versus access.  The parks department in Johnson County, Kansas, part of the Kansas City metropolitan area spanning Missouri and Kansas, has just inked an agreement with the RideKC program to add bike share stations to some of their parks.  Although to me, the pricing isn't favorable, basically $7 for one hour

Some parks agencies have special pass programs based on the ability to pay (Montgomery County, Maryland).  I'd suggest such programs be extended to bike access in parks.

Additionally, many bicycle sharing programs already have special pricing for low income residents.

Summer hours for parks, libraries, pools, and recreation centers

Parks.  CityLab has an article, "Why Do Parks Close at Night?"," and coverage on Paris' response to the current European heat wave reports that a number of pools are staying open til 10 pm, temporary pools are being opened in underserved neighborhoods, and some parks will be open 24 hours ("Paris prepares pools, parks and 'cool rooms' for predicted heatwave," Guardian). From the CityLab article:

It was just another Saturday when I stumbled across a busy park in Seoul last year. The Gyeongui Line Forest Park, a 4-mile strip of greenery built atop a former rail line, was packed. Couples, families, and groups of friends planted themselves throughout the park, picnicking as buskers belted out songs.

It was midnight, and from the look of things, the night had just begun.

In many ways, it wasn’t an unusual scene at all. Nightlife is a fixture of vibrant urban parks all around the world. But it’s a rare thing to find in the U.S., where parks often close after sunset—even if there’s nothing stopping you from walking in if you really want to. …

In 2018, the Trust for Public Land surveyed parks in the 100 largest U.S. cities and found that most close from dusk to dawn, while some others are open until 11 p.m. A few remain open later into the night, but they’re the exception to the rule: The National Mall in Washington, D.C., is open 24 hours, for example, and New York City’s Central Park closes at 1 a.m. Still, aside from a handful of joggers and late-night strollers, you’re unlikely to find a lively crowd in either park at night.

Libraries.  For years, I've thought that public libraries should be open later hours, particularly on the weekends, and throughout the year not just in the summer.  But it's rare that this is the case.

The National Library and Archives of Quebec, which in Montreal functions as the central library, does stay open til 10pm, Tuesday through Friday (the library is closed on Mondays).

Five of Montgomery County, Maryland's branch libraries located in conurbations: Bethesda; Germantown; Gaithersburg; Rockville; and Silver Spring; stay open til 9pm on Fridays and Saturdays during the summer.

(Many of DC's public libraries are now open on Sundays, and til 9pm most nights Monday-Thursday.)

Langdon Outdoor Pool, DC.  WTOP-radio photo.

Pools.  Most outdoor pools seem to be open during the summer, and close around Labor Day, even though in southern cities and cities like DC, it can remain hot all through September and into October. For summer hours, the latest that DC's outdoor pools operate is 8pm. This should be extended.

As mentioned in the Guardian article about Paris, they are keeping pools open til 10pm and perhaps later during the heat wave.  Shouldn't pools be open later in the summer anyway?

Also see the 2016 Washington City Paper article, "It Feels Like 108 Degrees, But D.C. Pools Start Closing Sunday," which discusses how DC starts closing outdoor pools in August, with most closed by Labor Day.  Even though August and September are some of the hottest months in the summer.

Recreation Centers.  For years, I've argued they should be open later on weekends year round, and later still during the summer.  To be fair, DC's rec centers are open til 9pm, Monday-Friday, although the Chevy Chase Community Center is open til 10pm.  But all rec centers close early on the weekends, and some aren't open on Sundays.

Night-time basketball leagues are frequently suggested as a summer time activity for inner city youth, but not if rec centers and basketball courts are closed.

Looks like the Land and Water Conservation Fund is likely to be reauthorized, on a permanent basis

While the LWCF is known for land purchases and related improvements for large parks and forests, it also funds urban projects like playgrounds as well as shared use paths for cyclists, pedestrians, and sometimes equestrian uses.

The Denver Post reports that Colorado Senator Cory Gardner has been key to getting the bill towards passage ("Cory Gardner shepherds massive public lands bill toward vote, but Michael Bennet wants more for Colorado").

Each day the fund is not reauthorized costs $2.4 million in foregone revenue, which comes from offshore oil royalties.

-- The Land and Water Conservation Fund Coslition

Another example of the need for more formal and open capital budgeting planning practices (in DC)

I have written a lot about how DC (and the federal government, from which it inherited the practice) doesn't have a capital planning and budgeting comparable to most cities and counties.

-- "Capital/civic asset planning, budgeting and management processes," 2015
-- "The FBI Building as another example of 'I told you so'," 2015
-- "Town-city management: 'We are all asset managers now'," 2015
-- "Update on DC's plans to build a new United Medical Center," 2018
-- "Municipal Natural Assets Planning Initiative, British Columbia," 2018
-- "Yes, modify and extend the RFK Campus lease; No, don't do it for the Washington Redskins football team," 2018

For example, in Montgomery and Baltimore Counties in Maryland, they run a capital budgeting process separate from the annual operating budgeting process.  Typically it runs on a six year time frame and is constantly updated.

By contrast, while DC does capital budgeting planning on a mult-iyear time frame, with a section dedicated to it in both the Mayor's Office and the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, it's not an ongoing public process with hearings and such, and capital projects are then inserted for approval into the annual budget process.

It's abetted by the fact that compared to most cities, at least these days, DC is wealthy.  But as I was reminded by a post in Urbanophile a couple years ago about innovation in the water industry ("Water and Midwest Strategic Thinking"), too often abundance promotes waste rather than parsimony or innovation.

This building for Dunbar High School was constructed in 1917 and demolished in the 1970s.  Over the past 40 years, it's been replaced by two buildings at considerable cost.  

For example, I've written about how DC didn't need to rebuild Dunbar High School, because of relative small enrollments in most of the city's high schools ("DC high school that wasn't needed and rebuilt at a cost of $122 million wins sustainability award," 2015.

When you spend capital money on projects you don't need, eventually you run out of money.

The Dunbar piece quotes from a Washington Post article, "D.C. schools chancellor recommends overhaul of capital planning process":

D.C. Schools chancellor Kaya Henderson is calling for an overhaul of the process for mapping out school modernizations in the coming years, saying that the renovations have become overly political and prohibitively expensive.

“My very honest assessment is that the whole CIP process is jacked up,” she said, referring to the Capital Improvement Plan, a six-year capital budget and construction plan that outlines the timing for school modernizations.

The queue for renovations is included in the mayor’s budget and submitted to the D.C. Council each spring. It gets rearranged annually, with some projects moving up or back or growing in scale and price tag. It also typically gets adjusted again halfway through the year.

The point about "jacked up" processes that are overly political comes up with a recent decision to pull money away from a renovation of the Fort Dupont Ice Arena ("This is shameful: In a wealthy hockey town, DC kids have nowhere decent to play," Washington Post) to pay for emergency repairs to East of the River school HVAC systems ("School repairs vs. ice rinks: D.C. mayor’s choice inflames passions," Post).

(Although apparently something is in the works to come up with a different source of money, in response to organizing by supporters of the Ice Arena.)


Allen Lew, when he was Executive Director of OPEFM.

What happened to the $3.5 billion to fix DC schools?   In 2007, the DC Public School system created the Office of Public Education Facilities Modernization, charged with executing a 15-year program and $3.5 billion capital budget--on average about $235 million per year--to rehabilitate, repair, and rebuild schools ("Huge Modernization Campaign Transforms D.C. School System," Washington Diplomat).

I don't understand why there isn't enough money to do both since the school system has spent billions of dollars on capital improvements in the past 15 years, and in fact former City Administrator Allen Lew was lauded for his work in his previous job managing this program where he focused on "systems" rather than individual schools, such as HVAC improvement across the property portfolio as a whole ("Meet the New Boss, Allen Lew," Washington City Paper).

Conclusion.

1. DC needs to adopt a public process for capital budgeting that is separate from the annual budgeting process.

2. It needs to be based on decision making that is less political and more economic out of a recognition that even in a wealthy city, you have to make choices.

Not to mention there's clearly a need to evaluate the success and/or failure of the $3.5 billion schools modernization process.

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From the Montgomery County Capital Improvements Planning webpage:

The Montgomery County Charter (Section 302) requires the County Executive to submit a comprehensive six-year program for capital improvements, called the Capital Improvements Program (CIP), not later than January 15 of each even-numbered calendar year. The Charter requires that the annual capital budget be consistent with the six-year program. In odd-numbered calendar years, the approved CIP, together with any amendments, continues to guide capital investment.

The CIP includes all capital projects and programs for all agencies for which the County sets tax rates or approves budgets or programs. The CIP includes:

• a statement of the objectives of capital programs;
• the relationship of capital programs to the County's long-range development plans;
• recommendations for capital projects and their construction schedules; and
• estimates of costs, anticipated revenue sources, and impacts of the capital program on County revenues and the operating budget.

The County Charter (Section 302) also provides that the CIP may be amended at any time. In practice, amendments to the CIP are limited to conform to the requirement for a biennial, or every other year, CIP. Criteria for amendments generally include: use of funds from external sources; projects which address significant health or safety requirements; and economic development opportunities.