DC residents question proposal for U Street development

WASHINGTON (7News) — A site housing the 3rd District headquarters for D.C. Police and D.C. Fire's Engine Co. 9 could be transformed into a high-density mixed-use development.

The two-acre public site at 1617 U Street, Northwest is under consideration to be upzoned for the project that would offer hundreds of market-rate housing units and a percentage of affordable units.

It is seen as one way to address the desperate need for housing in the District.

Ward 1 Councilmember Briane Nadeau is behind the proposal.

Still, some residents, including Gregory Adams who lives next door to the site, question the impact it would make.

"There are a lot of people in this neighborhood who are not speaking up because they can’t," Adams said. "They’re not in a position to and somebody asked to do it."

Adams, who moved in in 1984, wants to know how market-rate, high-density housing with mixed-use would do anything but squeeze even more lower-income residents out of the neighborhood.

He said he's one of the last remaining Black homeowners in the area.

"When I moved into this neighborhood this block was teeming with black households," he said. "There are very few now and it happened because of rising rents."

The proposed development is still in the early stages. Zoning is being considered now and was taken up by the DC Zoning Commission Thursday.

"We always hear from the residents who have opposition but, as the mayor says, there are 700,000 residents in the city and we've heard from some," said Commission Chair Anthony Hood during Thursday's meeting. "I'm not discounting, but where are the other 698,000?"

The zoning commission ultimately decided it would like to hear from more of those residents in a meeting next month. They said they need additional input in a limited scope.

They are working to find out what kind of upzoning would be appropriate for the neighborhood, and what they can afford to sacrifice if they need to shift from high-density (MU-10) to a smaller development (MU-8) that would be more consistent with the current zoning.

They also know that a smaller mixed-use project would reduce the number of units and the amount of affordable housing they could offer.

"I have a lot of concern with MU-10 zoning for this neighborhood, but I also know what the district is trying to achieve," said Zoning Commissioner Tammy Stidham.

"If we minimize it somebody is going to be left out and that's probably people who look like me," said Hood who is Black.

"Also, what will happen to the emergency facilities there? Will that go away too because that's not what the public wants," Hood added.

7News reached out to the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development Thursday.

A spokesperson said the District is committed to making sure service is not interrupted. They also said the District would likely relocate services in phases so that fire and police are not moved away at the same time.

There are also at least a dozen residents who offered their support in writing as part of the proposal.

Adams said he is open to a scaled-down MU-8 development, but said he also would prefer social housing, which sets aside much more affordable housing.

"There’s an emphasis in the Office of Planning and in the city in general for racial equity, and it looked to me as if they didn’t take that into account when they were making this recommendation," said Adams. "My concern is that if you have a law that says you look at things through a racial lens you need to do that."

Adams said, if he's allowed, he plans to speak out at the next meeting.