They will build it, do you care?

Over the last few years many new projects have taken off and are close to being completed in and around Edgewood. In each of those cases a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) was negotiated years ago and let's face it many of them do not truly benefit the community despite their name. Now as I have mentioned H Street Community Development Corporation (HSCDC) is now ready to move some dirt on the empty lot they have been sitting on for quite a long time. They have owned the property for at least 8 years according to the DC Property Tax Database and it does not say how much if anything they paid for it while it is currently valued over 2 million dollars. The amount of taxes that they have paid over the years had varied greatly from thousands to hundreds of thousands and I am not sure why it changed so much. They currently owe $42,483.92 in taxes. I pulled their payment history and pasted it below.

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Source ID**	Transaction ID**	Tax Year	Deposit Date	Tax Collected	Interest Collected	Penalty Collected	Total
2110977135014	2110977135014	2011	04/06/2011	$19,399.05	$.00	$.00	$19,399.05
2103087141001	2103087141001	2010	09/15/2010	$19,399.05	$.00	$.00	$19,399.05
2100917105016	2100917105016	2010	04/01/2010	$19,399.05	$.00	$.00	$19,399.05
2092647131024	2092647131024	2009	09/17/2009	$117,570.00	$.00	$.00	$117,570.00
2091177105019	2091177105019	2009	03/31/2009	$117,570.00	$.00	$.00	$117,570.00
2082837117057	2082837117057	2008	09/15/2008	$48,987.50	$.00	$.00	$48,987.50
2080927146036	2080927146036	2008	04/01/2008	$48,987.50	$.00	$.00	$48,987.50
2070897031008	9100023910267	2007	03/30/2007	$41,717.75	$.00	$.00	$41,717.75
2070897031008	9100023910265	2006	03/30/2007	$.39	$.03	$.00	$.42
2062757011079	9100020718934	2006	09/29/2006	$25.70	$2.31	$2.57	$30.58
2062757011079	9100020718935	2006	09/29/2006	$32,096.50	$.00	$.00	$32,096.50
2060977038054	9100017007769	2006	03/31/2006	$32,070.80	$.00	$.00	$32,070.80
2060977038054	2060977038054	2004	03/31/2006	$.00	$25.70	$.00	$25.70
2052637055007	2052637055007	2005	09/19/2005	$14,491.70	$.00	$.00	$14,491.70
2050977032112	2050977032112	2004	04/05/2005	$1,448.23	$154.38	$.00	$1,602.61
2050977032112	9100011127180	2005	04/05/2005	$12,825.15	$217.38	$1,449.17	$14,491.70

They have gone as far to schedule a hearing before the Zoning Board for zoning exceptions that they would like to have made for their project. That said they have only come to one community meeting and I was there and not impressed.

They are proposing a a six story building with 40 off-street parking spaces. The building will have 155 affordable residential units available for rent to tenants that make between $40,000 and $60,000 a year and the rents will be from the $400s to the $1200s (Units are studios (5) One Bedroom (85) and Two Bedrooms (65)). They are only proposing 3,000 square feet of retail space and over 30,000 square feet of underground parking space. They do not have financing at this time and no timeline for the project. They do have a zoning hearing scheduled for Tuesday, June 26th at 441 4th Street NW, Suite 220-South from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. I asked them and the DC representative from the Office of Planning/Real Estate why there is so little retail in the plan and so much more space given to parking. I was told "we're just happy that something is getting built." I am sorry, but that is not an acceptable answer. We should make sure that whatever is built in our neighborhood is the best possible project for the best possible addition to Edgewood. We do not just have to be happy that a vacant lot is being developed. That is demeaning and destructive to the community that is already here.

This building is being built in the shadow of the Edgewood Terrace complex that encompasses almost 800 affordable housing units which range from Section 8 to to people earning 80%-115% of the area median income. This is a very high density of affordable housing in the Edgewood neighborhood and the trend now seems to be to build mixed-income housing instead of 100% affordable housing projects like Edgewood Terrace was built in the past. My question is why is this project bucking that trend.

That said I am not against it being affordable housing if it adds to our neighborhood. I do know that some neighbors I have talked to would prefer it to be mixed income and if that is your opinion you should let the people listed at the bottom of this email know. I think the small amount of retail space is ridiculous as retail is a missing commodity in Edgewood and that section of 4th Street should have street facing retail. I also think that while I am okay with subsidizing housing I am not okay with subsidizing parking. Their plan calls for over 30,000 SF of parking and only 3,000 SF of retail!!! The parking would be for the tenants in the building and would create more traffic on a road that already has more than its share of commuter traffic and accidents. If people need affordable housing to live in DC then why should they get affordable parking as a bonus? The building is directly in front of a bus stop, a short walk to the metro station and across the street from a bikeshare station. Many other buildings on the corners of Rhode Island Ave and 4th Street NE do not have any parking- Mint Condos for example- and they are market rate buildings. It makes no sense to me why we should be creating so much more parking space instead of retail space!!

The other item that is important to me is the addition of a green roof to the project. Anyone who lives in this area knows the dangers of flooding that we have in low-lying areas. Currently this lot allows for some of the storm water to be absorbed and that will change when the lot is fully developed. I think it is important that this is added to the design of the building to ensure the least possible impact to our current flooding problems.

In the Rhode Island Avenue Great Streets plan it was recommended to change this location on 4th and Rhode Island NE into C-2-C zoning from its current zoning of C-3-A.

Here are the definitions of those in DC:

C-2-C

Permits matter-of-right higher density development, including office, retail, housing, and mixed uses to a maximum lot occupancy of 80% for residential use and 100% for all other uses, a maximum FAR of 6.0 for residential and 2.0 FAR for other permitted uses, and a maximum height of ninety (90) feet. Rear yard requirements are fifteen (15) feet; one family detached dwellings one family semi-detached dwellings side yard requirements are eight (8) feet.

C-3-A

Permits matter-of-right medium density development, with a density incentive for residential development within a general pattern of mixed-use development to a maximum lot occupancy of 75% for residential use and 100% for all other uses, a maximum FAR of 4.0 for residential and 2.5 FAR for other permitted uses and a maximum height of sixty-five (65) feet. Rear yard requirements are twelve (12) feet; one family detached dwellings and one family semi-detached dwellings side yard requirements are eight (8) feet.

The plan also recommends minimal parking to encourage public transit use, mixed-income developments and mixed-use developments. I am not sure why we are not using this plan to help steer the development that is now starting on Rhode Island Avenue NE.

So, what can we do to make sure that we are getting the type of development that we want in our neighborhood? We need to speak up and write the following people to let them know what you want and why it is necessary for our community!!! We do not have to take whatever is given to us!

Here are all the people to copy on your emails:

Eric P. Jones, HSCDC - eric.jones@hstreetcdc.org

Vincent Gray - eom@dc.gov

Kwame Brown - kbrown@dccouncil.us

David Cantina - dcatania@dccouncil.us

Phil Mendelson - pmendelson@dccouncil.us

Michael A. Brown - mbrown@dccouncil.us

Vincent Orange - vorange@dccouncil.us