Here's a short introduction to the proposed public-private development project in Tenleytown. It is designed to describe the deal and to explain why so many community groups are opposed to it. The description of the project is based on the most recent site plan available (dated January 21, 2009). This page will be updated as new/different/additional information is made public.
If there is a public-private project (PPP) at this site, what would the private developer (LCOR) build?
A mixed-use building with 165 rental apartments (13 priced as workforce) and the public library on the bottom floor(s) as well as a 200+ car garage. District of Columbia Public Library (DCPL) will pay for the construction of the library.
The building’s footprint covers the entire library lot as well as 11,000 SF of the soccer field above ground. The garage will continue underground for another 60 feet, with excavation ending about 30 feet from Janney’s historic building.
LCOR will not be building any facilities for Janney Elementary School.
Why is this project objectionable?
1. IT WILL FURTHER DELAY THE LIBRARY: Negotiations have already delayed the reconstruction of our library by nine months. The deal itself would delay its re-opening by at least an additional two years because it will require a radical redesign of the library and a series of new/independent regulatory approvals including environmental impact assessments. LCOR will also have to get construction financing for the private residential component before the library can be built. By contrast, DCPL’s stand-alone design is fully-funded and already approved. Without a PPP, we could have our library back by fall of 2010. If the LCOR deal were to go through, and all goes well, it would be 2013 before we have a full-service neighborhood library again. Our library has already been closed for more than four full years.
2. THE ONLY THING JANNEY GETS OUT OF THIS DEAL IS A SMALLER CAMPUS: Allowing private development on Janney’s campus will deprive the school of land needed for its expansion. DCPS’s modernization plan for Janney will relieve overcrowding and expand the school’s student population to 550. To do this, Janney’s interior space needs to double. Exterior facilities (a multipurpose playing field and various age-differentiated hard and soft scape playspaces) need to be preserved and expanded as well to serve a larger student body. By depriving Janney school of the use of its most versatile campus land, the LCOR deal virtually guarantees that the exterior facilities that DCPS’s own educational specifications mandate for a campus this size cannot be provided. The 11,000 SF it will consume above ground is significant – it’s equivalent in size to the footprint of the new wing. And the land above the underground garage is largely lost to campus planners as well – it can’t be built upon and it will no longer be large enough for a playing field. Janney’s SIT opposes this public-private project, which would shrink the school’s campus without providing more or better facilities, and which now risks delaying the school’s modernization. In a recent poll, Janney parents were opposed to the project by a margin of over 5:1.
3. THE PPP WILL HOLD OUR PUBLIC FACILITIES HOSTAGE TO THE VAGARIES OF CAPITAL AND HOUSING MARKETS: DCPL has the money in hand to build our library. LCOR does not have the money in hand to build its apartment building. If the two projects are combined, nothing gets built unless/until LCOR gets financing. DCPS has the bond authority necessary to raise the money to modernize Janney and it is eligible for additional stimulus funding targeted for school construction. But until the LCOR project is completed (or cancelled), DCPS can’t move forward on Janney’s addition. In these economic times, public financing is oriented toward getting things built as quickly as possible, whereas privately-financed projects are being delayed, postponed, or abandoned.
4. ALLOWING PRIVATE DEVELOPMENT ON THIS SITE LIMITS FUTURE USES OF THIS PUBLIC LAND: The construction of a nine-story multi-million dollar apartment building would prohibit any major expansion or reconfiguration of the library to meet future needs. Nor could the library ever be relocated and its land added to Janney’s campus to meet the school’s needs. Nor could complementary public facilities (e.g. a teen center) be co-located at this site.
5. ADDING 165 APARTMENTS AND A 200+ CAR GARAGE AT THIS LOCATION WILL OVERBURDEN THE SITE, ADD TRAFFIC AT AN ALREADY PROBLEMATIC INTERSECTION, AND POSE A VARIETY OF SECURITY AND SAFETY ISSUES. We already have 700 schoolchildren on this block (at Janney and St. Ann’s), moving between schools, playgrounds, and the library. Their safety is the community's paramount responsibility. There's no shortage of underdeveloped privately-owned land along upper Wisconsin Avenue. And housing built on those sites wouldn't compromise our school and library facilities.
What’s the financial benefit to the City?
A one-time payment that is unlikely to do more than cover the cost of providing school and library parking , subsidize the workforce units, and provide some compensation for losses associated with delay and redesign of the library. DCPL will still be paying for the construction of the library; DCPS will still be paying for the construction and renovation of the school’s facilities. There’s no free school or free library in this deal.
