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Duryea C. Smith, Department of Housing and Community Development
Testimony to the Council Committee on Economic Development Regarding PR 12-888
July 6, 1998

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TESTIMONY OF DURYEA C. SMITH ON BEHALF OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

REGARDING PR 12-888

“REDEVELOPMENT LAND AGENCY PUBLIC OFFERING DOCUMENT TO RECEIVE PROPOSALS TO DISPOSE OF FOURTEENTH STREET URBAN RENEWAL AREA PARCELS 15, 24, 26, 27, 29 AND 35 EMERGENCY APPROVAL RESOLUTION OF 1998”

MONDAY, JULY 6,1998
11:30 A.M.
COUNCIL CHAMBER, ONE JUDICIARY SQUARE

GOOD MORNING CHAIRPERSON JARVIS, MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, AND COUNCIL STAFF. I AM DURYEA C. SMITH, CHIEF OF THE NEW HOUSING AND COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT DIVISION IN THE DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT.

I AM PLEASED TO APPEAR BEFORE THE COMMITTEE THIS MORNING TO REQUEST COUNCIL APPROVAL OF PR 12-888, “REDEVELOPMENT LAND AGENCY PUBLIC OFFERING DOCUMENT TO DISPOSE OF FOURTEENTH STREET URBAN RENEWAL AREA PARCELS 15, 24, 26, 27, 29 AND 35 EMERGENCY APPROVAL RESOLUTION OF 1998.”

FOUR OF THESE PARCELS — 15,26,27, AND 29 — ARE DESIGNATED AS THE MAJOR COMMUNITY SERVICE CENTER BY THE 14TH STREET URBAN RENEWAL PLAN. THE REMAINING PARCELS — 24 AND 38 — ARE DESIGNATED AS SPECIAL COMMUNITY STREET. THESE SITES HAVE A COMBINED AREA OF APPROXIMATELY TWELVE (12) ACRES AND ARE ALL WITHIN THREE BLOCKS OF THE COLUMBIA HEIGHTS METRO STATION, WHICH IS SCHEDULED TO OPEN ON JANUARY 1, 2000.

DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS TO ALL OF THESE SITES WERE PREVIOUSLY HELD BY OTHER ENTITIES: THE DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION OF COLUMBIA HEIGHTS HAD DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS TO PARCEL 38, PARCEL 15 WAS TO BE A REPLACEMENT SITE FOR NEW POST OFFICE TO BE DEVELOPED BY THE UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE, AND PARK CENTRAL ASSOCIATES CORPORATION HAD AN EXCLUSIVE RIGHT AGREEMENT (ERA) FOR PARCELS 24, 26, 27, AND 29.

WHEN THE REDEVELOPMENT LAND AGENCY BOARD OF DIRECTORS TERMINATED THE ERA WITH PARK CENTRAL, IT REQUESTED REEVALUATION OF DEVELOPMENT GOALS FOR THESE SITES PRIOR TO ISSUING A PUBLIC OFFERING. IN NOVEMBER 1997, THE DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, IN COOPERATION WITH THE DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION OF COL13IBIA HEIGHTS AND THE WASHINGTON ARCHITECTURAL FOUNDATION, HELD A TWO-DAY WORKSHOP TO DEVELOP A COMMUNITY PLAN FOR THESE PARCELS.

THE OFFERING DOCUMENT THAT IS BEING CONSIDERED TODAY REFLECTS AND INCORPORATES THE COMMUNITY’S DEVELOPMENT GOALS FOR THIS IMPORTANT AREA OF OUR CITY. THE PROPOSED PUBLIC OFFERING WAS APPROVED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE REDEVELOPMENT LAND AGENCY ON MAY 21,1998, AND FOLLOWING COUNCIL ACTION THE PUBLIC OFFERING WILL BE ADVERTISED IN LOCAL AND NATIONAL PUBLICATIONS.

CHAIRPERSON JARVIS, THIS CONCLUDES MY FORMAL REMARKS. WE LOOK FORWARD TO AFFIRMATIVE ACTION BY THE COMMITTEE AND THE COUNCIL TO APPROVE PR 12-888. I WILL BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE AT THIS TIME.

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[Enclosure 1 is missing]


7/1/98

ENCLOSURE (2)

POTENTIAL ISSUES RELATING TO THE RFP FOR THE FOURTEENTH STREET MAJOR COMMUNITY SERVICE CENTER

The Columbia Heights Urban Design Team requested that the Council take affirmative action on the following items:

  1. strengthen the RFP to make compliance with the Community-Based plan an integral requirement;
  2. Include a firm time requirement for development;
  3. Award parcels simultaneously;
  4. Assign a staff member to the Community-Based design team.

DHCD’s position relative to these matters is as follows:

  1. The Redevelopment Land Agency Board of Directors have mandated that the RFP encourage the maximum development; that can be economically supported; the Community-Based plan design guidelines encourage development at less than the maximum permitted density. In spite of this contradiction, the Community-Based plan is incorporated into the RFP and is included as part of the Developer’s Kit for potential redevelopers consideration.
  2. One of the selection criteria contained in the RFP is “provide for the scheduling and timing of the development in a manner which will assure the earliest possible development of the sites.” Inasmuch as different parcels will have varying predevelopment time requirements, no finite schedule can be contained in the RFP; upon developer selection, however, an Exclusive Right Agreement will be negotiated for each parcel which will require development to occur within a specific period of time, generally between 270 and 365 days, depending upon the complexity of the proposed undertaking.
  3. It is DHCD’s intention to award all of the parcels simultaneously; if however, no acceptable proposal is received for one or several of the parcels, or if one proposal requires greater due diligence, DHCD will not delay awarding development rights for acceptable proposals.
  4. One staff person, Mr. James Thackaberry, has worked with the community-based design team since its inception.

One additional issue that may arise is the desire by Bell Multicultural High School that the RFP require the developer of parcel 27 to integrate its need for a cafeteria and gymnasium into the redevelopment plan. It is DHCD’s opinion that there may be alternative means to address Bell’s needs, and for that reason provides the following language in the RFP as a “special consideration” of the selection criteria:

Bell Multicultural High School, a District of Columbia public school, abuts parcel 27. The school, which has a student population of approximately 700 students, is in need of facilities for a cafeteria, gymnasium and auditorium. considerable weight will be given to proposals that address this need.


Enclosure (3) — Map of the Tivoli parcels

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