3000 block of Q St.
Problems Seen in the Surplussing of the Hurt Home
For the first time here at the Georgetown Metropolitan, GM is publishing a contributer’s piece. It comes from John Zirinsky, a neighbor of GM’s and someone who is concerned about the manner in which the District has gone about surplussing the Hurt Home at 3050 R St:
I live on R Street, two blocks down from the Hurt Home for the Blind. I’m a newcomer who is not active or well-known in the neighborhood, but after attending last Wednesday’s pointless meeting on the proposed surplus designation of the Hurt Home I was steamed enough to do some more research about this issue. I also wasn’t at the December meeting so much of this is new to me, but I’ve tried to get up to speed as quickly as possible.
To start, let me be clear: I fully agree with the consensus that we need to find a good use for the Hurt Home so it is no longer left derelict. I also acknowledge that selling the property for residential development may in fact be the best use–indeed, it probably is.
But one thing that brought my wife and I to Georgetown was the chance to live in a historic, residential neighborhood with an ideal density due to an appealing mix of single- and multi-family housing. I also understand that there are a wide range of opinions on the size and scope of the proposed Argos redevelopment and I believe that is an important conversation to have–but not yet. That’s because we’ve skipped over an important public safeguard that is written into the law. Continue reading
Filed under Real Estate
The Morning Metropolitan
Photo by Sashi Bellamkonda.
Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:
- Yet another update on the Georgetown mall saga.
- WeLoveDC previews a few new Georgetown offerings.
Filed under The Morning Metropolitan
Georgetown Has Apartment Buildings Already
As discussed yesterday, GM attended a community meeting Wednesday night to discuss the surplussing of the Hurt Home. And as will be discussed here shortly, the process by which the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development is surplussing this property does not appear consistent with the spirit and perhaps even the letter of the new Public Land Surplus Standards Amendment Act of 2009.
But today, GM wanted to address a statement made by the DMPED representative that appeared to be accepted as true by the audience: namely that Georgetown is a neighborhood of single family homes. Continue reading
Filed under Development
The Morning Metropolitan
Walking through Dumbarton House by Thisisbossi.
Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:
- Fox5 files a surprisingly well informed report of the Georgetown liquor license moratorium.
- The Georgetowner’s David Roffman honored with lifetime achievement award.
Filed under The Morning Metropolitan
Box Checked on Hurt Home
Last night representatives of the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development met with a small group of Georgetown residents to discuss the proposed surplussing of the Hurt Home at 3050 R St. (the group was small because the DMPED didn’t do a particularly good job advertising the meeting. Although, GM will point out he did two separate posts on the meeting.)
As predicted by GM, this meeting essentially was a check-the-box procedure required by the recently effective Public Land Surplus Standards Amendment Act of 2009. In short: the DMPED office decided to surplus the Hurt Home last year, an RFP was issued, and only one party, the Argos Group, came forward with a bid. The process to dispose of the property to Argos was moving forward until this new law kicked in.
This new law is an attempt to decouple the decision to surplus a property from the process to actually dispose of the property. Thus, in the future properties will be identified for surplussing, the DMPED office will, among other steps, hold a public meeting to see if the public has any ideas for a public use for the building, and then recommend to the Council that it identify the property as surplus. Then, theoretically, DMPED would move forward with the RFP process and the ultimate disposition of the property will be determined. Before the law became effective, the surplus and disposition processes were joint.
Unfortunately, for this project (and other high profile projects like the West End Library and the Hine School in Eastern Market) the disposition has for all intents and purposes been determined already. Namely, the building will be sold to Argos Group to be converted into condos. In fact, Argos’s Best and Final Offer proposal has already been accepted by DMPED. Continue reading
Filed under Development
The Morning Metropolitan
Georgetown cookie by BoopBoopBoopBoop.
Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:
- Georgetown Wing Company (i.e. the second floor of Crepe Amour) opened this week.
- Less-so Morso.
Filed under The Morning Metropolitan
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