Inside the DC Bubble

Shaw, NOMA and Logan Circle are plauged by more than 100 vacant, dilapidated properties the Mount Vernon Square Neighborhood Association complained to DC, the WashExam reported.

MVSNA wants the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs to devote more resources to fix the problem, to ensure vacant properties are assessed at the appropriate real estate tax rate — five times the standard levy — and to better maintain government-owned properties.

No word on whether Shiloh Baptist owns any of these properties. The church is in the habit of letting the buildings it owns in the area rot. MVSNA identified 71 were vacant buildings and 29 were empty lots. The area the group focused on is the area bounded by New York Ave. NW to the south and N St. to the north, between 1st and 7th St.

Why do landlords sit on these buildings when the city is reviving? Can you say condos? Too bad much of the property is probably in the hands of DC, which is in the habit of letting property it owns go underutilized.

After years of delays and bad luck, Roadside Development is getting ready to move ahead with a development at the 8th and O Market, reported WashBiz.

Shiloh Baptist Church owns numerous buildings along quickly revitalizing 9th St., in Logan Circle/Shaw. Which of course the church would want to leverage and help its congregation and community, right? Wrong.

Their properties are eyesores and breed crime. And many, many electrons have been spilled on the net describing how awful the situation is.





Finally, the city has done something by condemning three of the properties, reports WJLA. Alexander Padro, an ANC Commissioner, says he has been trying for years to get Shiloh to do something about the dozen or so vacant properties the church owns around the hood." It should be embarrassing but you can't even get them to talk to you face to face," he said.

Shiloh Baptist has been unhappy about some new development in the hood, so what do they want? As for the property, we're not sure what the next step is and have a feeling this will be part of a very long process knowing our lovable city.

The Wash Exam reports if Shiloh does not make the necessary improvements, DC will be authorized to do the work and then file a lien against the properties for the cost. In 2006, the
church paid more than $68,600 in real estate taxes, including penalties, on the condemned buildings, which together are valued at more than $2 million.

Update: Now the church says it will make repairs.

It's a battle that has been fought over the years, decades and centuries. Even the title, landlord, sounds older than dcbubble or even older than the Internet.

In the latest round, the Tenacity Group is battling the tenants at the Norword Apts. in Shaw at 5th and P Sts. "When we started complaining about the conditions in the building, they (the owners) said, 'Oh, it's time to go condo,'" Norwood tenant Randy Green told the AP as reported by the WashExam. Yikes!! This sounds truly awful for those that live there.

As for the property owners, its about maximizing thier investment. Most of whom are fat cats, but some are old widows on fixed, albeit probably high, incomes. Besides this is a capitalist country remember.

Tenacity obviously knows its game. They probably call themselves Tenacity for a good reason.

Given the financial collars placed on DC (no commuter tax, height limit), its hard to forgo tax revenue for low-income apartments, especially when others want to pay double and triple per square foot. Afterall, Shaw is gentrifying too.

Almost gone. Metro received an unsolicited offer for property in Shaw, so it issued an RFP. We not sure if this is related to the proposed Broadcast One center.

The three parcels are situated two blocks northwest of the Shaw Metro station on the south side of Florida Avenue, NW btwn 7th and 9 streets. The largest is parcel three, which contains about 16K square feet and has 124 feet of frontage on Florida Avenue, NW and 177 feet of frontage on 8 Street, NW.

In the RFP Metro notes "This area is considered one of the most attractive real estate markets in the Washington metropolitan area." One has to wonder why then did Metro wait for an unsolicited offer to solicit bids. Metro has a revenue shortfall and developing the site would boost ridership.

The deadline for making a proposal is May 31.

Ten years ago one would stand at the corner of 16th and U Sts. and wonder about a walk to Union Station. Given the dangers and the lack of attractions, such an urban hike would have been left to those who crave adventure for adventure's sake. With the revitalization of U Street and the construction of the New York Ave. metrorail stop, however, the divide narrows each year and the desire to see what's out there grows.

Pushing this process along, a development team fronted by Chip Ellis plans to build a $100 mil, mixed-use project next to the Shaw metro stop at 7th and S Sts. NW, reports the WaPo. The project, called Broadcast Center One, would include a 100K SF office building for Radio One, which plans to move its headquarters from Lanham. It also will feature 23,000 SF of shops and restaurants and 182 condominiums that will range in price from $400K to the mid-$500K. Construction is planned to begin by year-end and be completed in early 2009.

Ellis also would like to redevelop the Howard Theater (below) at 620 T St. NW as part of his vision. The city accepted offers from developers April 13 and expects to take up to five months to select a winning proposal, said Derrick Woody, a coordinator in the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development. More on that project here and here.



With all this activity the lines are between where its ok and where is not are fading. Though gentrifaction undeniably has some negative aspects, the positive impacts are there for all to see as well. As we once advised Dupont Circle resident not to cross 16th St., we may someday tell those same people to met Capitol Hill friends halfway, near a renovated Howard Theater.

PARCHED IN SHAW

As development continues to push eastward in DC, friction between older established residents (mostly African American) in Shaw and newer affluent residents (many white, some gay) continue to erupt. Parking is one source of disagreement in Shaw and nearby Logan Circle, but so are liquor license requests.

For starters, Vegetate at 1414 9th Street NW in Shaw has been trying to get a liquor license for some time. Shiloh Baptist Church at 1500 9th protested the request, noting the vegetarian restaurant is within 400 feet of Seaton elementary. Under DC law an establishment serving alcohol cannot be within 400 feet of a school. Case closed? Not really.

As Vegetate tells it, "the city investigator did a measurement that -- we assert is ridiculous -- from the corner of the garage behind our building, which we don't use, to the corner of the school's baseball field and it was 334 feet." A door-to-door measurement is more like 900 feet says Vegetate. Here's what the WaPo has to say.



Similarly, the Queen of Sheba, Ethiopian restaurant (above), is in a similar tussle with Shiloh Baptist over its request to sell booze at its location at 1509 9th St. NW. Thirdyly, Be Bar at 1318 9th St. also has run into difficulties. ANC 2c voted against granting it a liquor license after the pastor from the Scripture Cathedral, a nearby church, provided the commission with allegedly false information about the bar's planned operations, according to the Northwest Current and the Blade. (Thanks for the tip from the alert reader.)

Shesh. Can't a guy get a drink around here?

pix by DC Rob

DOUBLE PARKING FOR JESUS: Double-parked cars along Vermont Ave. between R & S streets toady June 8. The neighborhood has been up in arms about the danger, inconvenience and lack of a level enforcement playing-field in the application of parking laws. Meanwhile the parishioners say where were you complaining two decades ago when we first resorted to creative parking. The ANC chairman asks for tolerance, and the DC Bubble says there must be some middle ground.

Up On The Curb	Triple Parked Cars Notice The Green Light