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On Friday, Loose Lips obtained a letter [PDF] to the D.C. Council from outgoing deputy mayor for planning and economic development Neil O. Albert. In it, he outlined his problems with several proposals in the budget legislation scheduled for a second and final vote on Tuesday. LL plucks out the highlights, republished here:*

Two of the issues involve the fates of onetime public schools. For one thing, the council is proposing that the Grimke School, across Vermont Avenue NW from the east entrance of the U Street Metro stop and current home of the Fire and Emergency Medical Services department headquarters, to be reserved for the African-American Civil War Museum. That’s a project headed and championed by former Ward 1 Councilmember Frank Smith. The problem, Albert writes, is that several developers have entered into a bidding process on the property, incurring “significant expense” to do so. He asks that the council allow the bidding process to continue.

Read More “Albert to Council: Leave Grimke, Backus School Developments Alone” »

Empower DC has already rallied and protested against the sale of D.C. public property twice in the  last few months.

Last week, activists joined together in front of the Wilson Building. And in late March, they gathered by the office of Neil Albert, head of the city’s office of planning and economic development.

Now, it looks like they’re going for round III: This evening, a group from Empower DC will stand with signs in front of the Washington Hilton at the start of the D.C. Building Industry Association’s awards ceremony, according to the Washington Business Journal.

Their target doesn’t seem to be building community in general, but more specifically the honorees of the evening. Read More “Empower DC At It Again” »

Today’s Washington Post’s District Extra has a happy story about how developers are still forging ahead with projects, and “banking on D.C.,” as the headline states. It’s almost surreal to read considering what I’ve heard and seen in other publications. Here are few examples of why the optimism seems questionable:

The Post’s story says:

Even with the economic downturn, dozens of developers showed off plans for projects this month at an annual showcase sponsored by the Washington, D.C., Economic Partnership.

Harry Jaffe of the D.C. Examiner says:

With much fanfare and hyped prognostications, the D.C. Economic Partnership held its annual meeting at the convention center two weeks ago…More than a few of the real estate pros were thinking to themselves: What planet are these people living on? They knew that many of the projects in the “development showcase” were dead in the water because the money to finance them had dried up.

The Washington Post:

Neil O. Albert, deputy mayor for planning and economic development, says “the city’s role as home to the federal government makes it a solid bet for long-term investors. ‘You’ve got a number of things coming together,’ he said. ‘People are looking for places that are close in, and the federal government is here, which is our biggest employer.’

The Washington Business Journal says:

At least 15 office buildings in D.C.’s prime corridors are under construction or renovation without a single tenant booked, according to Cushman & Wakefield’s second-quarter Development Pipeline report…It is unclear how many of those projects have financing — developers are reticent to discuss their financing publicly. Of course, that probably would not be the case if they had deals line up.

The Washington Post also cites the transformation of the Park Morton housing project as another example of forward momentum. In September, the District asked developers to submit proposals for building 500 units of housing along with a 10,000-square-foot park and community center.

Yet, I recently talked to a housing advocate who said that he just went with a woman to check out a new unit in Park Morton—like to move into soon. So, if they’re still allowing new tenants in the project, when are they going to start kicking people out to rebuild?