Recording in progress.

Good afternoon.

I am Matt Freuman, Ward 3 Councilmember and Chairperson of the Committee on Human Services.

Today is Monday, July 13th, 2026.

We are meeting in person in room 412 of the John A.

Wilson Building and virtually via Zoom.

The time is now 118 p.m.

Today I will be joined shortly by my colleague chairperson Janice Lewis George of the Committee on Facilities.

Today we are conducting a public hearing to discuss B 26-121, the St.

Elizabeth's East Parcel 13 extension of disposition authority amendment act of 2025, B26-466, the St.

Elizabeth's East Parcel 13 Term Sheet Amendment Act of 2025, B-26-425, the St.

Elizabeth's East Parcels 7, 8, and 9 surplus declaration and disposition approval act of 2025, and B-26-530, the St.

Elizabeth's East Parcel 6 surplus declaration and disposition approval act of 2025.

The St.

Elizabeth site is a National Historic Landmark located in Congress Heights and comprised of East and West campuses.

In 1987, the federal government transferred ownership of the East Campus to the District.

The St.

Elizabeth's East Redevelopment Framework Plan and subsequent and the subsequent St.

Elizabeth's East Master Plan and Design Guidelines establish the vision, scope, and details of how the district would revitalize the East Campus.

The measures we are hearing today would make that revitalization a reality, bringing hundreds of units of new housing, dense walkable cityscape defined by multi-purpose development, and millions of dollars of economic activity toward aid.

Two of the bills, B26-425, and B26-530 were jointly referred to the Committee on Facilities and the Committee on Human Services, while the two bills related to St.

Elizabeth's East Parcel 13, B-26-121, and B26-466 were solely referred to the Committee on Human Services.

I will turn to my colleague, Councilmember Lewis George in just a moment, but finish off the introduction for those portions, those of the bills that are referred exclusively to the Committee on Human Services.

Located on 1100 Alabama Avenue Southeast, Parcel 13 consists of approximately 138,162 square feet of vacant land abutting the new St.

Elizabeth's Hospital.

The St.

Elizabeth's East Parcel 13 Surplus Declaration and Disposition Approval Act declared Parcel 13 as surplus and allowed its disposal for private development.

The district's authority to dispose of the property, however, was in effect for only two years from the bill's effective date through March 10th, 2025.

B26-121, the St.

Elizabeth's East Parcel 13 extension of Disposition Authority Act of 2025 would extend the district's authority to dispose of the parcel by two years through March 10th, 2027.

The Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, or DEMPED contends that the previous disposition authority expired because of several unforeseeable factors, including the chosen developer neighborhood development corporations ceasing operations due to market conditions and challenges with the pre-existing WOMATA infrastructure on the property.

Demped has shared that the design work continues to progress with the identified challenges being carefully managed to ensure project feasibility and safety.

Under section 10-801 of the DC Code, substantive changes to the business terms of the transaction described in a term sheet must be submitted to the council in a proposed resolution.

Bill B26-466, the St.

Elizabeth's East Parcel 13 Term Sheet Amendment Act of 2025 would authorize specific amendments to the term sheet for parcel 13.

First, the name of the developer will be amended to reflect the new developer for the property, Dante's Partners Acquisitions LLC.

Second, the amount of the proposed gallery and retail square footage included in the original proposal will be reduced from 21,000 square feet to 5,000 square feet, and the number of housing units to be built will be reduced from 421 to 241.

Third, the period for closing on the parcel will be extended from two years to six years following the council's initial approval of disposition.

Finally, the period for substantial completion of the parcel will be extended from 36 months to 42 months following the start of construction.

I look forward to learning more today about why these revisions to the term sheet are necessary.

It is not clear to me, for example, why it is necessary to reduce the number of housing units, and we must ensure we are putting all district-owned land to its highest and best use to create opportunity for our residents.

And for her to chair the portion of the committee related to the bills under her purview.

And with that, I will turn to Councilmember Lewis George.

Thank you so much, Matt, and good afternoon.

I am Ward for Councilmember Denise Lewis George, Chair of the Committee on Facilities, and thank you to Chairperson Frumett for co-chairing this hearing with me.

B 26530 related to parcel six and B24425 related to parcel seven, eight, and nine are surplus dispositions that were sequentially referred to the committee on facilities and the committee on human services.

To start, I'll provide some background on the St.

Elizabeth campus and these parcels.

The federal government transferred the 183-acre St.

Elizabeth East Campus to the district in 1987.

The campus is a National Historic Landmark and a local historic district in Congress Heights.

The district's 2012 master plan calls for more than 5 million square feet of mixed-use development on the campus, pairing new construction with the reuse of historic buildings.

Some of that vision is already built, and though the two bills before us will continue development by building out four parcels totaling about 12 acres.

Bill 26425 covers parcels seven, eight, and nine, roughly 7.4 acres at 1100 Alabama Avenue Southeast.

Parcel 7 hold two vacant historic buildings, buildings a hundred and a surface parking lot.

The executive's case for surplus rests on facility condition assessments from 2010, which found that rehabilitating the historical buildings for district use would be cost prohibitive, and on the master plan, which designates these parcels for mixed use redevelopment rather than government facilities.

The executive held surplus hearings on January 9, 2019 for parcel seven, and November 7th, 2019 for parcels eight and nine, and disposition hearings on March 4th, 2021 for parcels eight and nine, and September 9th, 2021 for parcel seven.

The goals of this disposition are to produce affordable housing, return two long vacant historic buildings to use, and bring office and retail activity to the campus.

Following a 2021 request for proposals that drew two responses, a selection panel unanimously recommended, St.

Elizabeth Legacy Partners, a team of 13 local certified business enterprises or CBEs led by the Manchini Group.

The plan includes about 212,000 square feet of office anchored by a new Department of Behavior Health headquarters that the Department of General Services was leased back about 29,000 square feet of retail and rehabilitation of building 100 as a community and innovation hub.

The housing program is 277 rental units, all of them affordable, serving households between 30 and 80% of area median income, with half the units uh at two bedrooms and a fifth at three bedrooms, plus eighteen for sale townhomes, five price for households at 50 to 80% of AMI, and the rest capped at 120%.

Bill 26530 covers parcel six, about 4.7 vacant acres along 13th Street.

That's the master plan designated for residential, commercial, and retail use connecting the campus to the ravines green space.

The parcel has no structures and no current district use.

The executive held the surplus hearing on January 9, 2019, and the disposition hearing on April 10th, 2024.

Following a 2023 request for reposals, a selection panel unanimously recommended parcel six community group community partners led by Bank Banneker communities with district development group and RBK construction.

The plan is two mixed unit buildings, the Martin with 220 rental units, ground floor retail, parking and a public park, and the Malcolm with 286 rental units and retail.

This is a 507 rental unit serving households between 30 and 100% of AMI plus nine for sale townhomes priced for households at 80 to 100% of AMI.

Together, these bills would put nearly 800 income restricted rental units and 27 townhomes on land that produces nothing for the district today, with all CBE development teams and ward 8 hiring commitments.

Those are real benefits, and I want to acknowledge them.

The district is conveying about 12 acres for nominal consideration.

The independent appraisal for parcels 7, 8, and 9 valued the land at 13.9 million as is, and at negative 87.2 million under the proposed development plan, meaning the plan's costs exceed its market value and the projects depend on public subsidy, including $37.7 million from the housing production trust fund and federal and local income housing tax credit.

Because the district's return comes through housing, jobs, and taxes rather than land proceeds, that return exists only if the project delivers.

The attorney general noted for both transactions that no draft ground lease was provided for review.

Each bill gives the mayor four years to close, and residents asked as early as 2021, what performance metrics and callbacks would protect the public investment.

We will now turn to the public witness portion of today's hearing before hearing from the government witnesses with the Department of Planning and Economic Development.

Our first panel of witness and witnesses include Letitia Short, Public Witness, Monica Ray, the president of the soul of the city, Marcus Corngay, public witness, and Elias Abubager, public warehouse okay so Letitia Short uh Monica Ray when you're ready Councilmember Bruce George pop back up but um when you're ready Ms.

For a moment as I go give a a speech and return I will be giving it over to you uh Chairman Permanent.

All right thank you very much we'll watch for you to come back greetings uh Chairwoman Lewis George Chairman Freuman and other members of the council it is my distinct honor to offer my strongest support for the three development proposals presented here including parcel six for the community partners proposal for St.

Elizabeth's Parcel 6.

I write from three perspectives president of the Congress Heights partnership founding chair of the soul of the city bid and perhaps most importantly a proud Congress Heights resident I've watched this community over decades um evolve I could spend this opportunity highlighting the historic accomplishments that have brought us to this moment you might hear about unprecedented one point five billion dollars of investment you may hear how under the extraordinary stewardship of Latrina Owens parcels that stood vacant blighted and fenced off have become thriving centers of housing commerce recreation and opportunity you may even hear how parcel 15 has supported three small businesses 13 small businesses create opportunities for scores of black women owned businesses through the Blackbone project and welcomed nearly two million visitors since opening these are all remarkable accomplishments worthy of celebration but today I want to speak about something even more important I want to speak about the power of place based equitable development for decades I've driven past the Saine's campus as it sat behind locked gates deteriorating disconnected from the community and serving as a painful reminder of promises deferred generation after generation of Congress Heights residents have looked at these fences wondering whether meaningful investment would ever reach our neighborhood then something remarkable began to happen the campus began to come alive buildings were restored businesses arrived residents returned public spaces were activated hope became visible again I watched the neighborhood surrounding the campus begin to transform alongside it and today through the creation of the Solar City bid our community has an organization dedicated to ensuring that this momentum continues and that revitalization benefits the very residents and businesses who have sustained this neighborhood through decades of disinvestment that transformation did not happen by accident it happened because the district made a conscious decision to invest in equity to create opportunity for local developers notably small businesses community owned and based organizations to become business owners builders and partners in our city's future that is why today's project represents such a historic milestone for perhaps the first time we're celebrating three development teams that are all minority led because of coincidence but because the district intentionally invested in equity and built pathways for diverse developers to compete and succeed at the highest levels this achievement alone deserves recognition but what makes these parcels especially compelling is that they reflect the very principles our community has long advocated for I'll talk about Parcel six as an exemplar proposing not simply two buildings but proposing a model of community center development that aligns with aspirations that residents have expressed for years their vision includes more than 500 mixed income apartments deeply affordable housing for families earning 50% or AMI below opportunities for home ownership through live work townhomes neighborhood serving retail public green space and an active public plaza that will further connect the Saint's campus with the Congress Heights commercial corridor.

Equally as important is how this development will be delivered.

The proposal emerged from sustained engagement with community and reflects collaboration with ANCHC, neighborhood organizations, residents, business owners, and local leadership.

That engagement resulted in unanimous ANC support, not simply because of what will be built, but because residents recognize themselves in the vision.

As president of the Congress Heights Partnership and chair of the bid, I am particularly encouraged by the project's commitment to supporting local entrepreneurship.

The proposed retail spaces, opportunities for small businesses displaced, workforce development initiative, job fairs, financial planning programming, and meaningful contracting commitments all recognize that successful development is measured not only in square feet constructed, but in lives improved.

Perhaps most important, this development demonstrates what true economic inclusion looks like.

The community partners brings together five minority-owned organizations, including three certified business enterprises and a nonprofit community development corporation with a development team that is 100% CBE and DBE equity-owned.

Their commitment to directing at least 35% of country dollars to district and ward eight businesses and prioritizing those residents through first source hiring represents exactly the type of wealth building and economic participation our community has sought for generations.

As someone who has spent more than three decades in advancing equitable development east of the river, I cannot imagine a more fitting place to celebrate this moment than here.

On the nation's most historic campuses in one of Washington's most resilient communities, Congress Heights has waited generations for this investment.

Today, we're not simply witnessing new construction.

We're witnessing proof that equitable development can work.

We're witnessing proof that intentional investment in minority developers produces extraordinary outcomes.

We are witnessing proof that public land can generate public good while creating pathways to ownership, wealth creation, affordable housing, and opportunity for the communities that have waited the longest.

On behalf of the Congress Heights Partnership and the BID, and a proud resident of Congress Heights, I enthusiastically support Parcel States Community Partners and propose the companion projects are pressed to completion.

Together, they represent more than development.

They represent a new chapter in the story of Congress Heights, one where investment and inclusion move together, where community is not displaced but strengthened, and where community who have called this neighborhood home finally have the opportunities to shape its future and benefit.

I'm available for any questions.

Thank you very much, Ms.

Ray, for your testimony and for your work in the soul of the city bed.

I don't believe we have a copy of your testimony, so if you could submit it, that would be that would be great.

We'll do.

Thank you.

Marcus Cornegan.

Yes, good afternoon, Councilmember Lewis George, Council Member Fruman, Council.

My name is Marcus Cornegan.

I'm an executive director of Prosperity Alliance, a Boutique residential development firm, and a proud owner of Holiday Liquors in Congress Heights.

The only African American owned liquor store at East of Anacostia River.

And one of only four black owned liquor stores in the District of Columbia.

Yeah, out of 212.

That distinction is not something I say with pride because it should be rare.

I say it because it should no longer be rare.

For generations, too many doors to ownership, development, and wealth creation have remained closed to entrepreneurs who look like me.

My own journey has been one of perseverance, resilience, and being fortunate enough to receive opportunities that have not historically been extended to many men of color.

That is why today's conversation is so important.

The Equity Development Initiative at St.

Elizabeth's is more than another real estate transaction.

It represents a different way of thinking about development, one that intentionally creates pathways for local minority-led firms to compete, build, own, and grow.

The fact that three minority-led development teams have emerged through this process is quite historic.

It demonstrates that when opportunity is intentionally designed to be inclusive, excellence follows.

These are not symbolic partnerships.

These are capable developers, experienced professionals, and committed community leaders who understand this neighborhood because they have invested in neighborhoods like this for many years.

As someone who has built businesses east of the river, I know firsthand that communities cannot thrive on promises alone.

They need investment.

They need housing.

They need neighborhoods serving retail.

They need places where residents can shop, work, gather, and build wealth without leaving their own community.

The need for affordable housing has never been greater.

As a developer of affordable housing, I see the need firsthand every day.

Families deserve quality homes they can afford to remain in as our neighborhoods grow and change.

Likewise, our commercial corridors deserve vibrant retail that creates jobs, keeps dollars circulating locally, and gives residents across residents access, excuse me, to the goods and services every community should enjoy.

Development is at its best when it creates opportunity, not just buildings and structures.

The work happening at St.

Elizabeth's has the potential to become a national model for equitable development if we continue to move it forward with urgency and intentionality.

I encourage every stakeholder to stay committed to this vision.

So let's continue creating opportunities for no minority developers like myself and others in this room.

Let's continue expanding affordable housing.

Let's continue building retail that serves our neighborhoods.

Let's continue proving that inclusive economic development is not charity, it is smart economic policy.

The decisions we make today will influence who builds wealth, who owns assets, and who has opportunity for generations to come.

This is one of those moments.

Let's not miss it, please.

Thank you.

Thank you for your testimony.

And that was a statistic I was not aware of, and I am grateful for you bringing it to my attention.

That is really something that needs to be addressed.

I don't think we have a copy of your testimony, so if you can be sure to uh upload it so that it can be a part of the record.

Absolutely.

And then I think Elias Abu Bakar.

Um, if when you're ready.

Okay.

Good afternoon, Chairman Person and uh panel's members.

My name is Elias Abel Baker.

I reside at the St.

Elizabeth East and also owns a business called Bunatol Cafe with my wife.

So I'm here to offer strong support for selected development teams for parcel six, seven, eight, nine, and thirteen.

My support is personal.

Our business did not exist until parcel 15 was developed.

And the development did not just put build something, it is create created opportunity for us and bring in new customer economy activities, jobs, and hopes.

And we have hired multiple employees now, and the neighborhood ward eight.

And we have like three right now.

And as I say this proof that is equality, equitability development works when it is done intentionally.

It is strengthened in neighborhood and helps businesses grow alongside investment.

The progress we have seen is meaningful.

Vacant buildings are becomes active, stress, the streets are becomes destinations, and residents are beginning to feel that is investment has finally reached the community.

But we cannot stop now and emphasize that momentum is matter, and the stalling redevelopment creates uncertainty and discourages further investment.

I encourage, I encourage the district to prove, approve this teams and stay committed until the remaining parcels are transformed, continuingly to extend support and opportunity toward eight.

I close by asking everyone to keep moving forward so St.

Elizabeth can be restored into vibrant and thriving destination.

It was meant to be.

Thank you for your time and commitment and for future of order or date.

Thank you very much for your testimony.

I don't believe we have a copy, if you could upload it.

Then I'm not gonna have questions for this panel, but I very much appreciate your testimony.

I think part of what is happening here is a development project that can create opportunities once completed for a community.

But part of what is striking from your testimony is that the process of developing the property can also create opportunities and is also an act of equity.

So uh really appreciate your testimony message received.

Uh our second public witness panel is Bo Menchetti and Charles Baddell.

Um I know that Boabente is online, and I'll call him up separately.

We'll do the in-person witnesses first.

Is there any other public witnesses people who would come to testify as public witnesses who have not yet been called on?

Okay, looks like we're good.

And Mr.

Binte, um, we'll we'll get to you after we finish these two witnesses.

Um, Ketty, when you're ready.

Uh good afternoon, uh Chairperson Fruman, uh, Chairperson Lewis George and the members of the committee.

Uh my name's Bo Man Keady, and I'm here today representing uh St.

Elizabeth Legacy Partners or SELP, as we like to call it.

Uh, a team led by the Minkeiti Group alongside an incredible network of local minority business partners that include H2 Design Build, HEP Construction, ProLightened and United Investments.

Uh, we stand before you today in strong support of the Surplus Declaration Disposition Approval Act for Parcels 7, 8, and 9.

This means that DC tax dollars spent here will directly provide housing, retail, and community services for the community, while at the same time building local capacity, maximizing certified business enterprises and CBE participation, and generating local jobs.

Our team was selected by DEMPED with a clear historic mandate to transform the 7.4 acres of this critical transit-oriented site into a welcoming equitable gateway that seamlessly weaves the Congress Heights community into the fabric of the St.

Elizabeth's East campus.

We feel strongly that local long-term ownership and leadership will not just drive equity and diversity, but also ensure durable and lasting opportunity and impact for local Ward 8 residents and small businesses.

We've started our approach on empowering Ward 8 residents and small businesses through four pillars.

The first is accessible housing and homeownership opportunities for Ward 8 residents.

The development program delivers around 200 multifamily, 100% affordable rental apartments, and 30 for sale workforce townhomes.

We're dedicated to creating stable long-term options for working families and keeping wealth local by embedding a diverse mix of housing and homeownership opportunities that are attainable for members of the community.

Number two is a focus on jobs.

We're making a clear commitment to Ward 8, providing hundreds of training opportunities, and are striving to reach a goal of at least 100 jobs filled by Ward 8 residents.

The third is to create a vibrant neighborhood gateway.

We'll be creating over 43,000 square feet of community serving retail, and our retail strategy prioritizes legacy ward 8 entrepreneurs and small businesses, creating an active corridor along Martin Luther King Jr.

Avenue southeast at the entrance to this East Campus.

The fourth pillar is historic preservation and community continuation.

We take our stewardship of this historic landmark seriously.

We're committed to the meticulous adaptive reuse of building 100, parcel eight, and building 102, parcel nine, into innovative educational workforce development and business hubs.

Furthermore, we recognize how essential the current RISE Demonstration center is to the community, and this center will be included in the restoration of Parcel 8.

Once we assembled our development team and committed to an approach that's centered on supporting local residents and businesses, we engaged and received commitments from 13 exclusive programmatic tenant partners who'll be part of the St.

Elizabeth's Legacy Partners team.

These programmatic tenants are based around five disciplines: neighborhood serving retail, arts and culture, child care and family empowerment, intergenerational community services, and innovation and workforce development.

We believe our experience will allow us to create a legacy through this project by executing a plan that maximizes what the site has to offer and creates opportunities for the local community.

Our project design and programming are rooted in the history of Ward 8, the master plan for St.

Elizabeth's and the current context of the campus.

Our plan plays homage to the past and the restoration of two beautiful historic buildings, as well as delivering new mixed-use construction.

Programming creates an additional opportunity east of the river for residents to live, work, and play.

Through this project, we continue to scale our commitment to Ward 8 with benefits that strengthen the Congress Heights community, the soul of the city.

Enhanced access to goods and services for the Congress Heights neighborhood that further connect the community to St.

Elizabeth's campus, affordable housing for Ward 8 residents, homeownership and wealth building opportunities for Ward 8 residents, local business growth, and construction and permanent jobs for Ward 8 residents.

We want to thank Mayor Bowser, Deputy Mayor Nina Albert, Director of Real Estate Latrina Owens, the DIMPED team, ANC HC, and the residents of Ward 8 for their extensive collaboration during the RFP process.

We respectfully request that the committee approve this disposition act so we may move forward with this project that will deliver the neighborhood assets that Congress Heights residents have long championed.

Thank you.

I'm happy to answer any questions.

Thank you very much for your testimony, Mr.

Mr.

Battle.

Good afternoon, Chairwoman, George, Chairman, members of the committee, human services, and someone now.

Sorry.

Good afternoon, Chairwoman Lewis George, Chairman Fruit, and the members of the committees on human services and on facilities and family services.

My name is Charles Battle, Development Director for Banner Communities.

I am honored to testify on behalf of Parcel 6 Community Partners, a joint venture of three certified business enterprises and a nonprofit community development corporation that will lead the transformation of this important site.

Banner Communities, a CBE development and construction firm headquartered in Ward 8, leads this partnership, and I'm proud to represent our team today.

I'm here in strong support of B-26530, the St.

Elizabeth's East Parcel Six Surplus Declaration and Disposition Approval Act of 2025.

Legislation that will turn four acres of vacant land into a living example of what community-driven equity-centered development can achieve for the district.

If this act is approved, our team will build two mixed-use mixed income buildings totaling approximately 507 apartments with ground floor retail along both buildings and a generous public plaza between them and the district-owned garage, a true place making opportunity with room for one or two retail kiosks, eight for sale live work town homes will align the 13th Street, creating a rare and direct path to home ownership on the St.

Elizabeth's East Campus while extending the retail corridor toward the Care First Arena and the Congress Heights Metro Station.

This is transit oriented development in the truest sense.

By maximizing density consistent with the district's comprehensive plan, we will deliver new affordable and workforce housing steps from a metro station with unit sizes ranging from efficiencies to three bedrooms.

At least 30% of apartment units will be affordable to houses earning 50% of AMI or less, and 25% of the live work townhomes will be affordable at 80% AMI or less.

This is exactly the kind of deeply affordable transit connected housing this council has fought to protect and expand, and it is exactly what Ward 8 and District families need to stay in the neighborhoods they have built.

We'll also be bringing 17,000 square feet of new retail space that activates the 13th Street Corridor for the neighborhood.

This proposal did not come from a boardroom, it came from the community.

It reflects sustained engagement with ANC HC community groups, Ward 8 Councilmember Trayon White Senior, and direct conversations with Congress Park residents, business owners, and advocates.

That engagement earned our team a unanimous vote of support from ANC HC, a mandate we take seriously and tend to honor at every phase of construction.

Community input shaped a program that includes a significant expansion of affordable housing for Ward 8 and district residents, a half acre of new parks and green space designed to improve quality of life in Congress Heights, retail opportunities for local entrepreneurs, including small business owners currently at Sycamore and Oak who will need space during that building's redevelopment, and substantial contracting opportunities for small black and brown firms and CBE certified firms across design, construction, and operations.

Our transportation plan reflects this council's value around sustainability and access, cover parking for every rental building, bicycle parking, EV charging for residents, and direct connectivity to the adjacent public garage for retail customers.

Building amenities will include fitness room, community lounge, landscape courtyard, and the dedicated on-site property management, the kind of everyday infrastructure that helps families and seniors alike put down roots and age in place in the community call home for the long term.

In recognition of this site's place in Ward 8's history and identity, we are naming our two buildings, the Malcolm and the Martin, honoring Michael Max and Dr.

Martin Luther King Jr., two of the most consequential leaders this nation has produced.

Both buildings will meet the district's green community standards and reflect the architectural quality this campus and the council deserve.

The project's deepest commitment is to Ward 8 residents and Ward 8 businesses with real structural opportunities to participate, not just benefit from the sidelines.

We're committing 35% of contract dollars to the district base and ward 8-based CBEs and SBEs.

And first source hiring will give priority to Ward 8 and district residents for every job this project creates.

Process 6 community partners is composed of five minority owned organizations, four of them district-based, three of them CVEs, alongside one community development corporation.

Every partner of this venture is committed to expanding CBE inclusion, hiring district residents and honoring first source.

Our local hiring program will draw on the resources of our partner, Congress Heights Community Training and Development Corporation to include the job training, employment support services, and contracts to local, small and minority and women-owned enterprises and in turn hire locally.

And here's why I'm most proud to report CBE and DBE equity ownership across this development team is 100%, not a fraction, not a set aside, the entire ownership structure.

This is what it looks like when the district's minority business development goals are not an afterthought, but the foundation of a deal.

For single shovel breaks ground, we will run small business capacity building workshops and job fairs for Congress Park, Ward 8, and district residents and businesses, a model our team has delivered successfully on other projects across the district.

Once construction is complete, we expect to generate more than $2 million annually in new wages and contracts that stay in Ward 8 in the district.

And after residents move in, we will keep showing up with financial literacy workshops, household budgeting support, and financial planning services for our new tenants and neighbors.

Chairwoman Lewis George and Chairman Fruman, this council has spent this budget season fighting to protect the residents who need the district support most, seniors, families facing housing instability, and workers trying to build a foundation for their future.

Parcel 6 is a chance to build exactly that kind of deeply affordable, community-owned, transit connected housing that reduces the need for that fight tomorrow.

It is also a chance to prove once again that the district's minority business development goals produce real ownership, real wealth, and real jobs for the people who call Ward 8 home.

At a moment when district's autonomy and the home rule are under real strain, projects like Procel 6 are proof of something important that district residents, district businesses, and the District of Columbia government working together can turn public land into public good with local ownership and local jobs at the center of the deal.

That is self-determination made tangible, one building, one job, one family at a time.

We're grateful for the opportunity to bring this vision before you, and we respectfully ask for the committees and the council's support of B 26530.

Thank you for your time this afternoon and for your continued partnership for the people of Ward 8.

Thank you very much for your testimony, Mr.

Battle.

Um we will now turn to uh Boo Binti who is online.

Mr.

Binti, um, if I see you've been elevated as a panelist.

If you um are ready, if you can turn on your camera and your microphone.

Um, if there are any issues that arise while you're testifying, you can send a message to the host who's labeled as the Committee on Human Services, but it looks like we should be good to go.

As far as I know, are there any other virtual witnesses?

No.

Okay.

So then Mr.

Vinti, when uh when you're ready.

Oop, you need to unmute yourself.

There you go.

Uh, good, you're good.

Nice to see you.

Awesome.

Thank you.

Can you hear me fine?

Yep, sure can.

I think everyone can hear me.

Yep, we can hear you.

Good afternoon.

Councilmember Fullman and Councilman's George, thank you for the opportunity to participate in today's hearing.

My name is Bua Beniti, and I'm the founder and CEO of Dumas Collective, a black owned Washington DC firm, committed to creating and preserving affordable housing.

Our companies have probably served the district for the past 20 years.

I'm here today to request support from you and your colleagues in advance in Parcel 13, a project with a legacy deeply rooted in the work of Neighborhood Development Company.

As you may know, NDC has signed this development rights to Dante's partners, and we are fully committed to building and seeing this project through with your support.

Moving forward on Pastor 13 would mark Dante's Partners 12th Project Partnership with the district and the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Development.

Like Post 242, and we don't take these responsibilities lightly.

We also appreciate that both Mayor Bowser and the Council continue to recognize the importance of investing scarce district-owned resources and housing that serves the public good, particularly for residents of modest income.

Our current vision is to divide Parcel 13 into two residential components, one housing for seniors as well as housing for working class families.

Based on our preliminary research, there are currently no senior housing options on the St.

Elizabeth campus or in the immediate surrounding area.

We are honored to introduce what would be the first new construction to the site, our experience in developing affordable and working on workforce housing is extensive, including the development of Delta Towers located to what far.

The word um so we are now proud, we are proud of that accomplishment, and we intend to bring the same quality intention to Post 13.

Again, thank you for your leadership and support of Glack Own Locally based firms as we work to build and own the Peace of DCS future, and I welcome any questions you may have.

Thank you.

Um thank you.

Really appreciate your testimony.

Um we will now turn to questions for this panel.

Um Mr.

Battle, um, with respect to the residential units in Parcel 6.

Can you can you confirm go over the affordability breakdown for the four rent units?

Sure.

And the number for each level of affordability.

Sure.

Uh currently we're projecting uh let's start with the Martin that has 221 units.

17 of those units uh will be at 30 percent AMI, but it makes up five studios, four one bedrooms, four two bedrooms, and four three bedrooms.

Uh then we have 51 total at 50% AMI, which would comprise of 12 studio, 13 one-bedrooms, and through three bedrooms, 13 each of those.

For the Malcolm building, which is comprised of 286 units total, uh it's 22 units at 30% AMI, six studios, six one bedrooms, five two bedrooms, five three bedrooms.

Uh there's sixty-six at 50% AMI, 16 studios and one bedrooms, uh 17 two bedrooms, and the like for three bedrooms.

So and that lines up with the total uh at least 30 percent of the units are affordable at 50% AMI or less.

Yes, sir.

So when you add up the 50% and the 30%, then you're all those are below.

Correct.

You're roughly 7.8 7.7% at 30% AMI and 23% change at the 50%.

Gotcha.

Okay.

And then 17,000 square feet of retail space that activates 13th street case.

Yes, sir.

Help me envision that.

So what what kind what what's the configuration?

Is that in the same building?

Yes, like podium uh on the ground floor is what we're imagining as the retail space with wood frame construction above, which would be the apartments, uh, but they the 13th street side would be the retail facing uh options with additional opportunities and the green space for maybe one or two small retail kiosks uh there.

Okay, and wood frame construction?

Yes, sir.

So how many stories will it be?

Uh five, up to five above the podium.

Above the six total.

Concrete podium?

Yes, sir.

And then five stories of of stick above?

Correct.

Okay.

All right, and so and between the two buildings it's five hundred and seven units.

Correct.

And the breakdown, I asked you the breakdown on affordability.

Now the breakdown in terms of studios, one bedrooms, two bedrooms, three bedrooms.

Can you speak to that?

Uh I do I don't have that total mix in front of me, but I'm happy to send that separately.

Uh if you don't mind, I'll just have the affordability breakdown in front of me right now.

Okay.

And the for sale town homes?

Yes.

What are the levels of affordability for those?

Uh we're thinking one at 50% AMI, one at 80%, and the balance at 120.

Okay.

And then in terms of the sizes of the units, so the a studio, one bedroom, a two-bedroom, three-bedroom, they may differ.

But what's what's the studio is generally around 500 square feet, one bedroom, six fifty, two bedrooms, eight hundred, and three bedrooms, eleven hundred square feet.

And then when you get into a three bedroom the bedrooms themselves, how big are those?

Uh we like to generally like to program a 10 by 10 bedroom in our configurations.

So some might 10 by 11, 10 by 12.

Bigger units tend to have bigger bedroom options.

But it's about 100 square feet for the bedroom.

Yes.

Okay.

And what about the town homes?

What's the square footage for the town homes?

Uh around 700 to 720 square feet.

I'm sorry, probably per level.

Per level.

So, and how are they two-level townhomes or what?

Uh actually they're they're live work, so we're envisioning the the first level is partially like uh a chiropractor or a doctor or a statistician or something, and have a business on the 13th street facing side uh with two to three levels above uh with a possible roof terrace at the top.

So the the top levels kind of set back a little bit.

And is the idea that the owner of the townhome would work on the first floor?

Correct.

And have you seen a lot of interest in that?

Uh we've gotten a few uh interested.

Yeah.

And 720 square feet on a level, so it could be like 25 to 2800 square feet when you total, but it's if it's four levels.

Correct.

And then perhaps a deck on the top.

Yes.

Yes.

Envision the top level being slightly smaller than the below ones because it's you know, allow room for the for the deck.

Gotcha.

What, if any, are the environmental considerations and protections being taken with respect to the ravine which runs along parcel six?

Oh, uh, we plan to follow district guidelines when it comes to stormwater management uh and DOE guidelines, but initial soil reports show like no contaminated soles or anything in the area, but we will control the runoff.

And then is the current roadway infrastructure sufficient to provide access for construction teams and equipment for development of the parcels?

Is there something that we're the city's gonna have to do or you're gonna have to do in order to improve?

We don't anticipate that at this time.

Uh we will have to expand some utilities uh probably on the on our side of the parcel, if you will, to reach the townhomes and such, but uh we don't anticipate having to improve the road at all.

And then do you have any tenants lined up yet for the retail spaces or expressions of interest in the retail space?

Not yet.

Not yet.

Those are still in flux.

Okay.

And then what's what's your target for beginning construction?

Should we should this go through smoothly and what what's your hope here?

I think a fiscal year 2028 for the first building.

For the first building.

Yeah, so that one would get built, then we would roll right into the second.

Because you still have to do all of the do you have you do you have construction drawings and waiting for the approval of disposition before we engage the architect fully and start design process?

Okay, so you're gonna it's gonna take months to do that, it's gonna take months to do permitting, so you're hoping early 2020.

Correct.

There's still some market study that needs to be done to your point for the retail tenants of what's the right mix for that shell.

What should we be planning for?

And then if it were going to start at the start of fiscal 28, what's your target for completion?

Is this uh construction is roughly 24 months for each one, 22, 24 months for each building?

Uh so as we finish one, we roll into the next one.

And we today are going to be talking with folks about a a lot of different development that'll be happening in the area.

To what extent are you concerned about ongoing construction nearby becoming an impediment to filling places?

Uh no concern at all.

This is what we do.

We play nice in the sandboxes, I like to say.

And this is the thing we had the we had the Hill East uh in front of us a couple of weeks ago, and it's a tough environment out there uh to get things built, and there's a lot of vacancy out there.

And yet, do you f you feel bullish about that if you proceed with this thing there's gonna be a market for it?

We do.

Uh the response from the community to date has been overwhelming and happy to see such a product coming or being proposed for the for this parcel in the district.

Uh so I think yes, the demand is there uh for everything that we're proposing from all these parcels today.

Uh and we had market study during the RFP process that supported that.

Uh so I think this is a great opportunity to enhance this this area of the board.

And any other projects the the things that have been done at Saint E's already, have they filled?

I'm not sure.

I would defer to Director Owens.

Maybe she knows a little more about that.

All right.

Uh let me watch for him trying to try to make sure I give time for Councilmember Lewis George.

Should she return, but I don't see her yet.

Um so let's turn to uh Mr.

Menkiti.

And uh Mr.

McKetty, with respect to the residential rental units in Parcel 7, uh we've seen some different numbers.

Uh there's there's a reference in the land disposition and development agreement and the affordable housing plan that there will be 160 units for rent and 18 for sale townhomes.

Your testimony indicated 200 multifamily affordable units and 30 for sale workforce townhomes.

The disposition analysis, I think says 277 multifamily rental units and 18 for sale townhomes.

What's the right numbers here?

And why would there be different numbers in different places?

Maybe it's been a moving target, but um what what are we talking about?

Yeah, so the um the uh there are sort of have been multiple uh options and optionality around our response and moving forward this project.

The um RFP that was originally released from the district um included a new office building for the department of behavioral health, and so we have an option that includes uh office building for department of behavior health, or if the district had another use that they want to put there.

Um it became uh our understanding during the processes we've been waiting for this hearing that the Department of Behavioral Health has like dent is renewed its lease where it is, and so um we created or has another option for where they're gonna be housed, and so we have created an optionality to up the number of townhouses and increase some of the units to fill the space to provide a option that did not have the office component in it.

So that's and so that would have taken what that did was uh provide for an affordable rental building that would have approximately 200 units in it, and it increased the number of workforce for sale townhomes from 18 to 30.

I see.

So it is it's a moving target.

All of these numbers have been true once, but not where we are now is 230 and 30, yes.

And what about the 277 that was in the disposition analysis?

I think that that that may be an errant number from an earlier from very, very early uh.

Okay, so where we are is 200 rental, 30 town homes, for sale townhomes, um, and and in terms of what's led to the change, it's this, it's the department of behavioral health that they were in the mix, then they're out of the mix, and you uh increase the amount of housing.

Um, what's then going through as I did um just before what's the mix of affordability?

Maybe you testified to this, but remind me again.

So the uh the affordability, so at the in the rental um component, the affordability is that 30% of the units are at 50% and below.

It's a 7.5% at 30%, 22 and a half percent at 50 percent.

Uh the remainder of those 200 units um go up as high.

It's a mix of AMIs that go as high as 80, but blend overall to be lower than 60 percent AMI across the whole building.

So it's a hundred percent affordable building, uh, 30% at 50 and below, and 70 percent ranging from 50 to 80 with an average that's below 60.

But 80 is the the peak, yeah.

And then what about the town homes?

Uh the townhomes uh are designed to be done through uh HFA's hip program.

So they have um a maximum uh affordability sort of they have a income cap that is set by hip that changes but usually targeting about 120 percent AMI with a few at a lower, with a few at a lower AMI.

And then back on the rental units, I don't know if you have it handy, but what's the breakdown of unit sizes?

Yeah, so um still finalizing the exact unit breakdown, uh, but what we have is over 50 percent of the units as family-sized units as two and three bedrooms, uh, and and 20% of the units as three bedrooms.

And then the remaining 50% would be ones and studios.

Ones and studios, okay.

Um, and then your square footage is it how how what typically what is your studio, what is your one bedroom, what is your two-bedroom, three-bedroom, and then the same question that I'd asked before is: how big are your bedrooms?

I I asked this question because I we see out there folks who are building three-bedroom uh apartments with teeny bedrooms, and it matters.

So, what are you what's your vision for the bedroom?

Yeah, typical a typical studio in our programming would be 450 to 500 uh square, 550 square feet.

Um a one bedroom would range from you know basically 600 to 750 square feet, two bedrooms are eight hundred uh square feet to just under a thousand square feet, and the three bedrooms would be sort of 900 to 1100 uh square feet.

Um we don't do bedrooms under 10 by 10, so that's sort of you know uh what we believe is the minimum functional sort of bedroom size, which is which is a good size to 10 by 10 is a good size.

You may, if you have a weird space, end up, you know, 9 by 10 or something like the 9x11 or something like that.

But that sort of dimension of about 100 square feet um is sort of um from our experience um where you have a functional actual bedroom, yeah.

And we have CP, you can technically go as low as you know, people do.

I'm not saying that we wrote this go as low as 70 square feet, um, but I think that 100 square feet is you know from my experience where you get functional uh bedroom sizes, my dad built our house, and the bedroom I grew up in was probably closer to 70.

I don't know what the regulations were, but but you don't want that to be in for every every room.

Okay.

Um you spoke to the eligibility criteria for the workforce townhomes.

Um the disposition analysis for the parcels, uh, the idea was that it they the construction could lead to 200 2600 construction jobs and 900 permanent jobs.

Are those numbers still accurate?

Is that right?

Those seem like high numbers for something of that.

So they're slightly they they are slightly they're gonna be high be um when you take out the office component.

It will take out some of the the permanent jobs and um we do have uh a number of we have 13 uh programmatic partners that would be bringing uh community serving um organizations to the site, so there'll be a number of jobs um you know that'll move and that will be created through that.

Um and the construction jobs are probably about right, maybe it's a little high when you take out the office.

And and then you both spoke about um creating jobs for residents of ward eight, and in some places there are references to first source as a as a reason for doing that, but I don't know the first source has a ward-based requirement, but what is it uh how how will you what steps will you take to achieve your goals for ward eight hiring and allow for accountability of your goals, transparency of how you've done on that.

Yeah, a lot of the um a lot of the work with DOES allows for real reporting and uh transparency around where those goals are, but I think the actual key to ensuring that local residents get jobs goes well beyond that.

Um it it extends to you know the work with um Congress Heights Community Development Training Center, it extends the work with UDC and the workforce development center, and it gets all the way specific.

You know, we've have a lot of experience in working through these opportunities, and um it goes so far as how we build the contracts with our general contractor and the subcontractors that work on the site.

Um oftentimes you'll have a subcontractor coming onto the site who has a set of skills, they might be working doing a specialist work.

They're doing steel fabrication or something like that, and they're they want to just use the people that they've always used and the employees that they already have.

And so um one of the things that we've done on all our jobs is encourage every subcontractor to hire at least one local person.

Uh they all have some piece of their work that they're doing, um, and we have often partnered with folks like Charlie Whitaker and Ward 8, who have been great resources at working with local folks to prepare them to those jobs.

And so we'll often uh encourage those contractors if there's not an opportunity for you to put someone onto your permanent staff, then contract with this local organization to ensure that some of your job site cleanup, some of your traffic management, some of the pieces that are part of your contract can be handled by local ward 8 business, knowing that there's a pipeline there of talent from the district, whether it's ward 8, whether it's Ward 7, whether it's somewhere else in the district to be able to take advantage of those opportunities and those jobs.

So I think it requires it requires more than job fairs, it requires uh more than some global sort of conceptual commitment to it.

It requires the real nitty-gritty of working with the organizations, the small businesses, and the people that are doing this work every day in the community.

Um, and it requires some some push and backbone from leadership to encourage um the general contractor and subcontractors you don't have direct control over to ensure that they actually follow through uh on those commitments.

Okay, and then on the the RISE Center, I think you addressed this on in your testimony.

You're gonna leave it in place.

So the RISE Center is gonna relocate.

Um, so the RISE Center currently sits uh on parcel seven, and parcel seven is the new construction component of this project.

Um so as part of this project, it'll be done in phases.

Uh parcels eight and nine, so the two historic buildings and the townhouses would be the first phase, which allows those to be completed, and then the RISE Center would move into parcel eight, and so we've worked with the district to understand the specs and requirements of the RISE centers.

The RISE Center would be relocated from its current location and would become part of parcel eight and would have a permanent home in parcel eight.

It's not that you're gonna pick up and move the RISE Center, you're gonna build a new Rise Center.

Yeah, we will we will renovate part of the historic building to accommodate the Rise Center's.

Yes.

Okay, and the the Rise Center building itself is not historic.

I see.

So you the you're gonna preserve the RISE Center functions, but in a different place.

Correct.

Um you have a retail component?

Yes, we do.

And do you have anybody lined up or how's that going?

Yeah, this is um, you know, one of the things that's really interesting here that we were really excited about uh on parcels 7, 8 and 9, and you know uh I want to give a uh acknowledgement to to Natasha Thompson from her team who took this upon herself.

Um when we were awarded this project as we were approaching the RFP.

We reached out to a number of programmatic partners that would occupy the building.

We understood that we had these unique historic buildings, and we also have what becomes the gateway and the connectivity between the St.

Elizabeth East Campus and the community along MLK Avenue, and so uh there was real intentionality about normally you don't bring retail partners or or tenants onto your development team prior to being awarded an RFP.

And in this case, we did.

So there's 13 programmatic partners that fall into those areas of innovation and workforce development, intergenerational community services, uh neighborhood serving retail, arts and culture, and children and family empowerment.

And the community serving, so the workforce development, the intergenerational community services, arts and culture, and child care and family empowerment will be part of uh eight and nine, the historic buildings, where most of these organizations had a footprint of people that they served that was heavily concentrated uh close to the St.

Elizabeth's campus and had an excitement about being physically located there.

On the retail side, we have four uh retail partners as part of those 13.

Uh the DC Credit union, um which would be putting a branch there and bringing financial services into the community, uh, real desire by the DC Federal Credit Union to be closer to a lot of its um its its account holders.

TGI Fridays has signed a you know an attempt to occupy the property.

And that came out of a lot of work with folks in the community who wanted to have a more established brand, but that could also bring a sit-down restaurant and a place for gathering and having sort of drinks and pulling together more of a happy hour.

Creative Grounds DC will open a uh coffee shop on the place, and Grub Rockstar, which has been a successful um catering business, would be opening um a retail location for a restaurant.

We also have the ability and have worked really closely to uh design the retail space so that it can accommodate a small box retailer.

Um that was, you know, in prior iterations, that had been the plan.

And so we preserved that ability should one be able to be identified that would be interested in the site.

You said small box retailer, but was it small box groceries?

Small box would be would mean like a 20,000 to 25,000 square foot user that could be a grocer, could be uh um uh home goods or a other larger format retailer.

Uh many of the large format retailers have scaled down small box versions, and then there are specific small box grocers that do that.

That's what they do.

Right.

And what's your target for this goes through and when what's your target to I guess break ground still works because the townhomes you break ground otherwise, but what's your target for construction?

Yeah, so our target for phase one, which would include the uh adaptive reuse and historic renovation of parcels eight and nine, and the town could include the townhome portion as well, would be to target a fiscal year, uh sort of not fiscal calendar year 28 start.

Um, probably a 24-month construction process.

So you'd be looking at a 2030 delivery date, and for parcel seven, you'd be starting parcel seven around the time you're completing the other parcels that gives time for the rise center to move.

So a 2030-ish start for parcel seven.

And the same, and that's because you need this to be approved, then you got to go to construction drawings, permitting, it's gonna take.

And the capital stack, you know, if you think about how, you know, one thing that is a little unique in our project, you know, it's quite an honor to be with these other, you know, really impressive firms.

I think one of the things that has always been uh, I'm grateful to be in a city that has created a dynamic where I can stand alongside other folks that look like me that built their businesses here and have the capacity to deliver on projects like this.

Um but one thing that is unique about our project is we have historic, we have some historic buildings, and so the way those are financed is gonna be through new market tax credits and historic tax credits, and unfortunately, the district does not have a real state historic tax credit.

This is something I've been on for a while.

I think with all of our wonderful historic buildings, it behooves us to look at this very deeply and how we could better support the development of historic buildings in the district.

We work in many other states, all of which have significant state historic tax credits uh for the real rehabilitation of historic buildings in the district does not.

So it's just side note, but that that getting the new market tax credits lined up, so it's both a design piece and you have a lead time to line up new market tax credits and historic tax credits and be able to move through that process.

So it's interesting.

I had chaired the board at the Lisner home, and we'd renovated the Lisner home, and we looked hard at historic tax credits and decided that it wasn't worth the candle.

And so maybe if there's a uh state tax credit that goes with it, maybe that might have changed it.

But it's a lot of work to do a historic preservation tax credit.

You become, you know, you in the historic, when you're doing historic tax credit, you go through a process with National Park Service and the Historic Commission, and so you have to renovate to a certain historic standard.

Um, typically, in in like the generic state in the United States has a 20% credit at the federal level and a 20% credit at the state level.

Some states have as much as a 40% credit at the state level.

So in when you add the federal and the state that could equal 40% to 60% or sometimes even more percent of your overall capital, uh approved costs, that becomes a very, very uh strong component of helping to drive that level of historic pressure.

At 20%, you're 100% right.

At just the federal, it it may not be worth the, it could very easily not be worth the additional requirements that we put on you, the time and the cost it would take to do the historic tax credit.

And so I think you know, for a project like this, this is such an important consideration.

Districts full of beautiful historic buildings, and one of the reasons why it doesn't make sense to do historic tax credits in the district of Columbia is because the lack of a state credit that's in any way able to add on to them.

All right, well, interesting, interesting digression.

So the same questions that I asked to the last witness, and the environment is tough, and there's a lot of vacancy out there, but you feel what what is it that makes you optimistic bullish about plunging forward with this these projects now?

Well, I think that anybody who's in this um industry and space right now has to be, you know, would would I think needs to be thinking and needs to have a little bit of caution because this is a very challenging time in development uh as a whole, and it's a challenging time in the district of Columbia.

Um, our environment, especially around rental housing, is is not financeable.

Like we've created an environment here where whether it's down to even tax credits, you have major institutions that won't buy low-income housing tax credits in the District of Columbia because of the environment we have here.

So I think we have to be circumspect about that, and we have to be thoughtful about that.

Um, when we think about this project, I think there's two components of risk uh that we have to deal with in moving this forward, and um we think that they're they're manageable.

Um, the biggest one in parcels eight and nine is finding a way to support these nonprofits that have been hit hard with budget cuts and pullback and funding to be able to sustain their operations and be credit worthy to pay their rent over time.

Um, we are um helping to address that by pulling in new market tax credits uh using the historic tax credits to try to bring down the basis, um, but that still is the piece that we're trying that's best supported when we can get some more established organizations like the University of Columbia, which is one of those 13, um, to come into the place and to provide some credit and and some backstopping of the overall portfolio of tenants that are in there.

Um, so that's like the first piece.

Uh the second piece uh relates in our project.

We are building uh affordable housing, 100% affordable housing, and town homes.

Um, one of the products that has continued to actually work in the District of Columbia has been townhouses, um, and the opportunity for people to, if we we can effectively navigate some of the restrictions and machinations of our programs that help get folks into uh affordable uh townhomes, that continues to be real demand for homeownership in the District of Columbia and from uh the community in in Ward 8.

Um the affordable housing is gonna hinge on the availability of housing production trust fund dollars to close the gap in addition to the 4% credits.

So our project doesn't have market rate rental housing.

Um, if it did, I would be concerned.

Um, I think these other pieces uh will require a lot of work um and are by no means easy.

I would not sit here and say, you know, guns ablazing is the easiest thing to do right now, but that's that's what we've done for 22 years here in the district is do the hard stuff um and cobble together the capital stack and the capital sources in partnership uh with the district uh and with other partners to make this to make this happen.

And so we're confident that this project can go forward, and we have uh extensive experience uh pulling together some of these uh complex financing sources that are necessary to make it happen.

So, two things here.

I mean, one, I asked this question, I think I mentioned before to the Hill East folks who felt like, well, there's a lot of activity at RFK, and so we think that we'll benefit.

And it may be that St.

Ease is a locus of activity where it reinforces itself, and so that can increase your confidence in the success of something here.

Does that figure into it?

I I look at it as these projects combined bring Saint Ease to life in in an additional way that as they execute, um, will create a a place that it add to the destination that's already been created and as a place to live.

It creates a residential sub-market, and it brings a diversity of housing options, right?

So some of these projects, you know, are a mix of market rate and affordable housing.

There's a mix of homeownership in a couple of the projects, and so I think you're gonna start to see the diversity of housing stock that would allow for that would represent the diversity of the community that exists in Congress Heights and bring life to St.

Elizabeth.

I think that is that is something that I think we can believe in long term.

The question is how long?

And then the other thing which I thought was interesting is your reference to townhomes and a high demand for townhomes.

And I'm wondering like as I look at the multifamily sector, and I see there's a lot of vacancy in the multifamily sector, but where is the demand?

And are you seeing this more?

These projects include townhouses, and is that a coincidence, or is that an indicator of how folks in your world are perceiving the long-term demand or the the uh the market that we haven't quite addressed here in the district?

Do you follow me?

I I think that there's um as someone who's spent um a good part of my 25 years running a business here in the residential sales world as well.

There is significant demand in the district of Columbia for affordable or attainable homeownership.

I think that has always been there and has continued to be strong.

The market is not great for single-family homes in the District of Columbia right now, especially in the mid-uh price points, but that should create an opportunity potentially to advance home ownership in that space.

When it comes to the economics of development, you can deliver townhouses, it takes hard work, but it's possible to deliver townhouses with the appropriate programs in place to allow people to purchase them and for you to break even on your investment and and potentially even make a profit.

If you look at the history of some of these sites, which is probably worth a deeper dive, and probably not my area of experience, but if you were to look, you asked the question earlier about what's happened on the St.

Elizabeth's campus.

I think you would see a very stark difference between the success of the townhouses and the success of the rental apartments at St.

Elizabeth's.

And that's not that's not a coincidence.

That's because when people buy and own their home, they're responsible for it and they take care of it.

And we have we have created an environment that's made it harder and harder to appropriately tend to rental housing, and that has, I think, created some challenges for our city.

So we're covering lots of stuff that's not necessarily about your your surplus and disposition, but is interesting.

Uh when you say the success, that's not success from ribbon cutting, that's success in maintaining operations that the townhouses have thrived, whereas in the rental housing setting, here's what I'm hearing, it's been more difficult because perhaps in part because of non-payment of rent, making it harder to.

Is that what you mean when you talk about the success?

Yeah, I think if you were to look, and I think I love the question because I think success exists at many levels.

I think if you were to look at many of the townhouse developments in Washington, DC, the folks that took the risk to invest and build them, they were able to sustain their businesses, and they were able to make a profit from the work they did.

However, success is way beyond that.

The people that moved into them were able to maintain those houses, stay in them, and they got equity appreciation, increasing their wealth.

So to me, the the pro the intended policy outcome has been achieved.

We were able to use the private sector to deliver a good for people, people are able to acquire that good, it benefited their lives, and it helped them create wealth.

So if you look at that from the full range of success, it wasn't just commercially successful for the developer, it was successful for the person who moved in.

And I think on the other hand, not only has it been uncommercially successful for the developer of the rental housing, it's been unsuccessful for the resident of the affordable housing who's had to live in oftentimes less than adequate conditions and deal with a whole bunch of issues.

So I think we have to look at that full spectrum of housing, and and it's not just that those things are connected when you can have them work symbiotically where both parties involved are winning and creating something that works over time.

Um and I believe that townhouses are one of the few places where we've seen that actually work.

Not always, but you've seen that work.

Well, uh, again, very helpful and interesting digression, and now I'm gonna turn to Mr.

Binti, but thank you for your testimony.

Um Mr.

Binti, this is uh your stepping in and and hopefully saving the day on what has been a troubled project.

Um, the are there other factors um that have impacted the progress of the development other than your the need to take over from NDC?

We hear a lot about the capital markets today and uh its impact on development, for example.

So um, you know, my uh I thought it wasn't a very important condition of the market at all.

So I'm not gonna bore you for the detail, but it's just uh, but it's not in you know the only developments and additional funding that have been pretty straightforward, I would say, um, or or you know this project is an issue of designation, so you would have to work with the um the agency that's the task to have done would be to proceed with um, pretty well activity to the requirement and hopefully be lucky enough to identify that requirements to want to continue to invest in.

So um other than um you know a lot of the things that uh says we've done um before we could trust.

Um I can't tell them right now.

I can't tell if there are going to be any of the speech issues that may arise.

But if you did do arise, you'd be working with them on the problems.

And and is your target on this project?

What's your target for construction on this project?

Well, um I I mean I would love to split tomorrow.

Um after the HDW like animation, we anticipate that would uh say, you know, people in one of the 12 months and after that, to the bottom of uh nine to the 12 months to secure appointments.

So we're hoping that um we'll be in the ground.

Um, to the six months, 24 to 30, 24 to 36 months.

So sometime in 2028 would be the goal.

That would be okay and a number of things have changed in this project.

Um the retail goes down from 21,000 to 5,000, and I guess the number of housing units goes from 421 to 241.

Can you explain to me what what drove those changes and why they were necessary?

Yes, sure.

So number one of the sizes is significantly challenged due to uh easement from um I want to say TC one of the fight had to be configured to be able to accommodate and address that easement.

Um secondly we we um we have uh we have um other mechanical issues, uh HI system that needs to be addressed, and again, you know, broadly speaking from a marketability standpoint, we wanted to be able to introduce units that one could be on top, and two are not cannibalizing the other projects that um are also going to be developing on the site.

So by doing that, we had to think of a purpose build development that um provided you know a good ecosystem of housing, which is why we decided to introduce a senior component of house, because there aren't any housing to accommodate our our pillars of society, so we decided to produce the house of the house, and we also um introduced um housing for the factory as well.

So we basically bifurcate the site are not including market factors and putting us in a position to do successfully.

And is it how many buildings are on the site that you're gonna have to renovate and bring to life?

We are proposing two separate buildings.

Um the senior building would essentially be 90 units of senior housing at the 50% of AMI range, 100% of those units would be up to that, and the family building would be 151 units, and I'm happy to keep it a breakdown of that AirPod.

Sure sure.

If you give me the breakdown of the AMI and then when you say the whole building is family, so there weren't no one bedrooms or studios in that building, all two and three bedrooms.

So the things are approximately 750 square feet.

The two buildings are nine hundred and fifty square feet, and the three bedrooms are uh twelve fifty square feet.

So we would be looking to introduce a total number of um, yes, a total number of 24 three bedrooms, 33 two bedrooms, and 94.

Okay.

And the AMI breakdown is essentially 46 units at 30% of AMI.

Um 52 units at 50% of the MI, and lastly 52 years at 60% of the last.

Okay, and I mean when it was gonna be 421 units, were they gonna was it gonna fit in the same two buildings or was there gonna be additional buildings?

That was the original plan with NCMC, which is basically building one, you know, you know, massive building of 470, 400 and you know, 400 plus units, and in this particular case, we are doing a total of, we're doing a hundred and fifty-one units, so that brings it down to approximately two hundred and thirty one units.

Okay, and then the retail.

Why does the retail the set aside for the retail space come down as much as it does?

So again, because the ones in the large footprint, the building of building footprint changes differently, so that's number one.

And number two, unlike my parents, I'm not as bullish when it comes to retail.

So then I don't necessarily want the tilt to have the dog.

Uh is essentially why we shock the uh size of the result.

Okay.

The term sheet amendment also adds a hundred and eighty days to the period for completion of the parcel once construction begins.

Can you talk about why did you feel that was necessary?

So your typical developer project do not require any HPOE review or approval, which this project will, and there is a lot of uncertainty as far as that sound known is concerned.

So we have been involved in HDRV transactions that have lasted between 12 to 24 months alone.

So we need to make the necessary accommodations for that.

And obviously, subsequent to that, we will have to, you know, work with DOV to secure and all the other agencies to have handled of all their projects to secure the necessary approvals or this you can call while um um washing, you know, washing guys on and so forth.

So they will have a say uh, you know, the problem of of the environment, uh it will all have to say as far as this transition is concerned, and most importantly, it is our whole and and I'm sure it's the same for my peers on the bench, that the market forces would have sworn um dramatically by the time we're ready such that the investor confidence is is um is is high, and and uh willing to execute my back in and do more deals with it.

Okay, and then in terms of construction, is the re the retail and the residential are they in the same buildings or is it a freestanding retail building?

Uh it's in the same building.

Okay, so so once you start the residential construction, you're starting the retail construction.

Uh and is it both buildings?

Is it like the first floor of both buildings is going to be retail, or is it just one of the buildings?

Just one of the buildings, just the most important thing.

Okay.

Um, help me understand you said I mean one of the challenges that you faced in addition to NDC going out of business was this covenant or easement that DC is it DC water has the covenant.

Yes, there's an input on the property right now that um that essentially cuts the site in half.

And is um go ahead.

I mean, is that like there's a DC water pipe that goes underneath and you can't do construction and disrupt that pipe?

So the big building might have gone over that pipe.

Yes, so that building wasn't possible.

Instead, you have to do two buildings, one on each side of the pipe with a big enough clearance.

I see.

So that's that's super helpful.

That I had not understood that.

So that's what's happened here.

And an alternative is DC water moves the pipe, but that's got to be incredibly expensive.

So you just have to work around the DC water pipe, and that's what's the yeah, and all of this was identified way after now if we actually want to so you know, once you do all your title search and so on and so forth, and you'll see what engineer's um investigations that you do a kind of all of these uh additional factors that you know forces us to adapt or for NDC to adapt, which they didn't really adopt.

Okay, and that actually I'm really glad that we got at that because I didn't the reduction from 200 from 421 to 241 units.

You heard me in my opening statement say like regret to see that we want to see more housing, not less, but that's not that could in part be a business decision because you don't want to oversaturate, but it's actually driven by physical conditions.

You couldn't build a 421 unit building, you need to do the two separate buildings, so that's that's super helpful.

Um I think with that, I'm done with my questions.

If any of you had anything that you wanted to add, I give I'll give you this opportunity to do so.

Only I do have the total unit count for you.

I can hand you this document so that you have it for reference.

All right, great.

If you hand it to us, that would be wonderful.

Well, thank you all for your testimony.

Really appreciate it, and we will move on to our government witness.

Thank you.

Okay.

We are now joined by Ms.

Latria Owens, Director of Real Estate at Demped.

It is the practice of this committee to place our government witnesses under oath.

Please write raise your right hand.

Do you swear or affirm under penalty of law that the testimony you are about to provide to the committee on human services is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

Thank you.

Uh Ms.

Owen, you may begin your testimony.

Good afternoon, Chairperson Lewis George and Chairperson Fruman, as well as members and staff of the Committee on Facilities and the Committee on Human Services.

My name is Latrina Owens, and I serve as the Director of Real Estate within the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, led by Nina.

Deputy Mayor Nina Albert.

I am here to testify in support of the following bills.

B26-0121, St.

Elizabeth's East Parcel 13 extension of Disposition Authority Amendment Act of 2025, B26-0466, St.

Elizabeth's East Parcel 13 Term Sheet Amendment Act of 2025, B26-0425, St.

Elizabeth's East, Parcel 78 and 9, Surplus Declaration and Disposition Approval Act of 2025, and B 260530, St.

Elizabeth's East Parcel 6 surplus declaration and disposition approval act of 2025.

These bills support the comprehensive redevelopment of St.

Elizabeth's East, a campus rich in economic promise, historic significance, and federal adjacency.

The campus represents one of the la last major redevelopment opportunities in the district, a chance to transform 183 acres into thriving mixed use, a thriving mixed use destination for housing, health, wellness, innovation, and community benefit, located just under three miles from the U.S.

Capitol and served by the Congress Heights Metro Station.

The site offers strategic access for development that serves residents, federal tenants, and regional demand.

First, I would like to thank you for holding this hearing and acknowledge the invaluable contributions of the community, particularly the past and present members of ANCHC, the residents of Congress Heights, Ward 8, and the many other stakeholders who have helped to make revitalization at Historic St.

Elizabeth East a reality.

B 26-0121, St.

Elizabeth East Parcel 13 extension of Disposition Authority Amendment Act of 2025, B26-0466, St.

Elizabeth's East Parcel 13, Term Sheet Amendment Act of 2025.

Approval of the parcel 13 extension would extend the legislation authorizing the mayor to dispose of district owned real property known as Parcel 13.

Located behind the Care First Arena on 13 on the newly constructed 13th Street Southeast Washington DC, and identify for the taxation and assessment per for taxation and assessment purposes as lot 850 in square S5868.

Approval of parcel 13 of the parcel 13 Term Sheet amendment would effectuate moderations to the project that would allow it to be economically feasible.

This extension is necessary because the original legislation B24-0466, the St.

Elizabeth East Parcels 13 Surplus Declaration and Disposition Approval Act of 2021, which declared the property surplus and authorized the disposition expired on March 10, 2025.

Without an extension, the district would lose the legal authority to move forward with the disposition, jeopardizing years of planning, investment, and community collaboration.

On the term sheet amendment, I like to provide the background behind the need for the changes.

Parcel 13 is a 4.2-acre, unimproved parcel identified for mixed use development in alignment with St.

Elizabeth's East, the St.

Elizabeth's East 2012 master plan.

It is situated directly across from the U.S.

Department of Homeland Security at Consolidated Headquarters and adjacent to the Care First Arena.

Following a competitive solicitation process, Demped selected the neighborhood development company, NDC as the Parcel 13 developer in November 2021 2020.

Despite strong community engagement and selection through a transparent process, progress on the disposition has been delayed.

We respectfully request an extension of the mayor's authority to dispose of the Parcel 13 property as NDC has faced significant financial headwinds.

As of September 30, 2024, NDC was required to reduce its development portfolio to unpaid rents and ongoing negotiations with traditional financial institutions.

These challenges that many small and minority-led developers have historically faced, particularly when relying on conventional lenders that may lack the flexibility or commitment to support community focused projects in complex capital markets.

The project held particular meaning meaning for NDC's founder Adrian Washington.

A respected figure in the real estate development community for over 25 years.

Adrian grew up in Congress Heights and leading this transformational development in his childhood neighborhood represented a full circle moment, a dream project that someone deeply committed to equitable growth in the district and rooted in Congress Heights.

In accordance with the land disposition and development agreement, NDC has executed an assignment and assumption agreement with Dante's partners for the redevelopment of Parcel 13 with the district's concurrence.

Dante's Partners is a mission-driven affordable housing developer with a long-standing track record of delivering equitable community-serving projects across the district.

This transition ensures that the original vision of Parcel 13 remains rooted in community-centered development with the capacity and experience to bring it to fruition.

The term sheet amendment effectuates this change and modifies the project due to a complex site conditions involving, so we talked, you talked about them earlier, but um involving the WOMATA Transit Authority infrastructure on the rear of the site is where their HVAC system for the Congress Heights Metro is located, and a utility easement on the newly constructed 13th Street Southeast.

The proposed development will now include approximately 241 housing units, including units dedicated for senior facilities and 5,000 square feet of gallery retail space and gallery gallery and retail space.

We remain confident that Dante's partners can carry this vision forward in a manner consistent with the community's expectations and the master plan's intent.

The project is still expected to bring significant benefits, including mixed income housing creation, job creation, tax revenue, and the activation of a currently underutilized site.

B260425, St.

Elizabeth's East Parcels 7, 8 and 9 surplus declaration and disposition approval act of 2025.

Approval of Parcels 7, 8 and 9 Surplus Declaration and Disposition approval act would declare district owned real property known as St.

Elizabeth's East Parcels 7, 8 and 9, located at 2730 Martin Luther King Jr.

Avenue Southeast, and known for tax and assessment purposes as Lots 822, 839, and 856 in square 5868S are no longer required for public purposes and authorized its disposition by the mayor.

DIMPER completed a competitive solicitation process to select a development team, which included a community engagement process to obtain public input from the community.

To review the proposals, DIMPEG convened a selection panel, which unanimous unanimously recommended the development team of the St.

Elizabeth's East Legacy Partners led by the Menke Group and comprised of other local businesses, including H2 Design, H2 Design Bill, HEP Construction, and ProLightened.

Approval of this bill will allow the development, will allow for the development with a mixed use concept including 211, 888,000 square feet of office, 29,300 square foot of retail, and 18 townhomes, which for clarification purposes earlier.

That is the component that included the housing.

So right now, be 30 town homes, 200 apartment units, and then retail, which faces MLK Avenue.

The development team will create over 2600 construction and 900 permanent jobs, generate over 125 million of new tax revenue for the district, and provide pathways to opportunity for residents and businesses in Ward 7 and 8.

We are excited that this project that this project is moving and that momentum continues to build at the St.

Elizabeth East campus.

And lastly, B 260530, the St.

Elizabeth's East Parcel 6 Surplus Declaration and Disposition Approval Act of 2025.

Finally, approval of the Parcel 6 Surplus Declaration and Disposition Approval Act will declare district owned real property known as St.

Elizabeth East Parcel 6, located at the rear of the development on the corner of the newly constructed 13th Street and Pecan Streets Southeast, and the known as tax and assessment purposes as lot 968 and square 5868S as no longer required for public purposes and approve its disposition.

Demped completed a competitive solicitation process to select a developer, which included issuing and request for proposals to create mixed use commercial retail development and commercial retail development.

To review the proposals, DENPEG convened a selection panel, which unanimously recommended the Parcel 6 Community Partners proposal as the Parcel 6 developer.

Approval of the bill will allow for 202,758 square feet of development with a mix of residential, retail, and community serving spaces designed to support vibrant inclusive, vibrant, inclusive neighborhood, a vibrant and inclusive neighborhood.

The project will deliver 17,700 square feet of retail space across two buildings.

The residential component includes 515 units, thoughtfully designed to meet the wide range of income levels.

This includes 507 apartment units across the Malcolm, the Martin and the Malcolm, along with eight live work townhomes located in St.

Elizabeth East Parcel 6, Disposition Analysis Building 1.

The development will be supported by 185 parking spaces, providing accessibility while encouraging walkability and community interaction.

Across all of these projects, the district will support a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create housing, economic opportunity in vibrant neighborhoods consistent with the St.

Elizabeth's East Master Plan.

St.

Elizabeth has become a national model for transforming public land into housing, economic opportunity, and vibrant community spaces.

I just like to add that I was invited by the U.S.

Council of Mayors on last week because this is has been recognized as a national model.

So the district, other people around the country are looking at what we're doing at this project with, and I'm trying to learn how they can scale it in their jurisdictions as well.

The decisions before you today extend far beyond approving development agreements.

They represent an investment in people, possibility, and the future of the city.

Together, we have the opportunity to transform land into legacy and vision into lasting impact for generations of district residents.

Years from now, residents will remember the home they were able to afford, the business they were able to open, and the job they were able to secure.

In the community, they were proud to call home.

We respectfully ask the committee to move these bills forward in the fall legislative session and allow these vital projects to proceed.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

I'm happy to answer any questions you may have.

Thank you very much for your testimony, Ms.

Owens.

Um trying to understand timeline and all the different things that need to get done before we have people moving into homes, and one of the issues is infrastructure.

When will the St.

Elizabeth's East Campus stage two infrastructure and utility improvement project be completed?

So that's slated to be completed in 2027.

Okay.

So well in advance of delivery on these projects, actually, frankly, before any of them, we're talking about starting construction.

Correct, but the infrastructure needed for these projects have has already been delivered.

Okay.

And then for the parcels themselves, I think that you've talked to you talked about the timeline for the RFPs in your testimony.

How many bidders did you have for each of these?

Do you recall?

Um, so for seven, eight, and nine, there were two.

No, for six, there were two.

For seven, eight, and nine, there were also two for each.

And then 13.

It's a while ago.

Yeah.

I'm sorry, I can't recall.

I'll have to look.

Okay.

And then the community engagement process for each, like there's a reference to that.

There's been community engagement on each of these, but what did that look like?

So community engagement at St.

Elizabeth's happens all the time for every project.

And that was a commitment I made to the people of Ward 8 into Congress Heights when I started that they would never be on the other side of the fence trying to figure out what's going on.

So community engagement happens whenever there's an event, not just at your normal ANC meeting that happens monthly.

Because I am of the belief that not every neighbor attends an ANC meeting.

So there's outreach at Sycamore and Oak.

We have GoGo Santa, there's outreach there to neighbors.

We have weekly workouts.

Everyone sets up a table.

There's outreach there, as in addition to the ANC outreach as well.

And how long have you been working on these St.

Elizabeth projects?

I have been, I was named in March of 2019.

Okay, that's a bit.

You have to be excited to see shovels hit through.

I am.

And then we've heard different things about the job projections for individual projects.

But what is Dempencing is the job projections for these projects together?

Um together, we it'll probably be we're looking at probably about 5,000 temporary construction jobs, and then permanent jobs, um, probably about 500 permanent jobs, with the addition of the retail, um, on MLK, some of the retail, and some of the retail on um 13th Street Southeast.

So, and when you say on MLK, so as you're coming up on MLK, there's the there's like a lawn area, and then there's the building, there's the kind of service drive, right?

So that's the gateway pavilion.

So if you're coming on MLK and you're passing the hospital, so you're traveling coming on MLK, and then you make a left onto Cypress Avenue, you have the Rise Demonstration Center, which as Mr.

Menkiti told you, will be relocated into parcel eight.

So when you say on MLK, there is retail long-standing retail on MLK who has sustained the community for years.

So on the other side.

So in the master plan, what's across from that should also be additional retail.

So it would be a retail um hub.

Oh, that's where the retail is.

Correct.

I was wondering whether the retail was in the buildings on the other side of the service drive, but no.

No, no, no, no.

It's right on MLK where the parking lot is.

Correct.

On the service drive, a road, there's there'll be additional roadway construction which will connect Sycamore Avenue to Pecan Street, and that will complete the roadway network.

Okay.

Um, on the topic of jobs, what are the different CBE requirements for parcels six through nine?

Um well, the CBE requirements, all of those six through six through nine, most of these, well, all of these projects are CBE led, um, and they make up the entire development team is an all CBE led team.

And I think what we have noticed is that when you have CBEs and CBE-led teams, they hire from the community.

Um St.

Elizabeth's East has been able to be as aggressive as it has been with the development.

We've we've constructed about six buildings in seven years because we have relied on the on the CBE market to deliver for us.

So when we talk about St.

Elizabeth's, there is a firm belief in our small businesses, our small local businesses that they hire local, but that they're also there, they are there to work, and they've helped us get these projects across the finish line.

And then you heard me ask before there was a reference to small box retail, something like 20,000 square feet, and I think everybody when that comes up wonders grocery store.

Yeah, working hard.

So what and what does that mean working hard?

So um out at ICSE this year, we have um engage some retailers, and we'll be um I'll be going out the end of the month to look at a retailer who's interested in coming to the district, and they're very interested at 2730 MLK, which is the address for that parcel, the current address for that parcel.

Uh okay.

Uh glad to hear it.

So you heard me ask about the target dates for construction and completion from each of the developers.

All right.

And I mean, I think it was pretty consistent early FY28.

Yeah, so some early FY28, which could be a calendar year 27 date, some calendar 28.

So, but is that your general sense for all of these projects that much of it will could get started at the end of FY of calendar year 27 or early in calendar year 28?

Yes.

And then 24 to 36 months for construction.

So the surplus hearings for parcels six, seven, eight, and nine happened a long time ago.

I don't know if it predated you or it's I believe as far back as 2019.

So you might have come in shortly after or while these things were happening.

So that's when I I did those surplus, I conducted those surplus, yes.

So what were the factors?

Why is it taken as long as it has?

Well, with surplus in 2019, we released some of these solicitations in 2020.

So it's not, you know, we were going parcel by parcel.

In the interim, we had the Care First Arena open.

We've also had um a hospital open along with the 801 East Men's shelter.

We've constructed a 750 space parking garage.

So there were things still happening while we were um releasing RFPs.

And I hear you.

And there was also a little thing called COVID that happened.

Well, we were able to accelerate during COVID.

Really?

Correct, because you didn't have to deal with traffic.

Um there were a lot of uh circumstances that allowed us to accelerate um during during the COVID environment.

So COVID was not one of the things that slowed it down, but it's just phasing.

And when we finish with these parcels, how much left will there be to do at St.

East?

So with when we finish with these parcels, we have we're reviewing parcel one now.

That will just leave parcels three, four, and five.

And how many people live on the Saineese campus right now?

I would say right now we have about 600 people living there.

And what's the vacancy rate on the Saint East campus?

Do you have a sense?

No, we we're not dealing with vacancies at the moment.

And a lot of people who live there, they also work at the Care First Arena.

They also work at the Whitman Walker um Max Robinson Center, or they also they're employed at Sycamore and Oak, as you heard Mr.

Elias say earlier the earlier this afternoon.

Okay.

Um regarding parcel six specifically, the development analysis stated that the development plan did not meet the affordability requirements under DC Code 10-801.

The analysis stated the project needed a at a minimum 38 apartment units set at 30% MFI, or 36 per apartment units set at 30 percent MFI and two town homes set at 50 percent MFI.

Will this project be updated in order to conform with the legislative requirements?

It it does the apartments do meet the affordability requirement, so I'm not clear.

But I I can take a look at it.

But yes, it'll meet um the 10801 regulation.

It does.

Yes, it does.

As it stands.

Okay.

Well, there apparently there's something in the development analysis stated that it that it did not, but maybe it's been adjusted or maybe that was wrong.

But let's let's circle back.

Um I asked already whether the current road infrastructure is sufficient for access for parcel six.

Is the introduction package for parcel six stated that the parcel requires a zoning map amendment prior to commencement of construction?

Is that right?

Has anything been done for this?

Um in the master plan, all the sites have already been zoned.

Um I think the only thing, and then the requirement for housing in front of the garage is a requirement from the Commission on Fine Arts and Historic Preservation.

Uh-huh.

Uh so we will, you know, I can look into that, but I'm not sure that a map amendment uh is required.

Okay.

I think the introduction package suggests that it might be.

So let's let's harmonize the thing in the development analysis and the and the um introduction package.

I'm leafing through because I asked about unit sizes to the developers and don't need to ask you again.

Um is the is the residential aspect of Parcel 7's development in conformity with the affordability requirements of DC Code 10-801?

Yes.

Parcel 7's office component depends on a DGS lease back for the Department of Behavioral Health headquarters, but that's out.

That is out, so that's why we sent it with if not, then this is the option, and that's the 200 units and the 107.

I mean 200 units in the 30 town homes that Mr.

McKetty spoke about.

So one option was with DBH would require a lease back without DBH instead of 160 units, 200 units, and 30 town homes.

And we're in the without DBH world, so there's no DGS lease back.

Turning to the specific term sheet amendments for parcel 13, can you comment on the six-month extension to the period for completion following the start of construction?

Why?

Um that's a it's a I really can't um put it into context.

That's why I would love for you to come out so we can give you a tour of the site, but just to understand the complexity, especially for that site.

Um and in addition, Mr.

Minkity, I mean, um Benitier told you about the historic preservation, the Commission on Fine Arts requirements for review to make sure that it meets the historic requirements, but then also just the where the parcel is located in the ravine.

Um and a portion of parcel uh six and also a portion of this site, the Congress Heights Metro is runs underground.

Um so that's a that's pretty um a pretty complex site.

Okay, so I hear you on that.

I mean, actually, some of those other things, fine arts, historic preservation, it takes time.

But those are all before construction starts.

So this is an extension after construction starts.

But I see what I'm hearing you say is there are physical reasons about the site that make it particularly complicated that it would be reasonable for someone to say, ordinarily I can I can promise you in two years, but this one I need an extra six months because of the ravine, but the Wamata running below ground.

Correct.

Okay, um, I mean, this has been this has been difficult, and the the closing of the neighborhood development corporation is in really a loss for the city and and a terrible indicator of the state of the market and non-payment of rent and uh but to what extent did Dempad had tra have transparency into the transaction between NDC and Dante's parties, what what partners?

What what was that handoff?

So we I am not in tune to their business negotiation, but just that they presented someone who we know could feasibl with the project, but that would be something if, you know, about their deal um you would have to talk to Mr.

Um Benetier, but NDC had expense, I mean, had spent quite a bit on pre-development prior to going out of business.

And but had they had NDC come to you and said we're we're we want to transfer this project to a new party, you would have done an analysis of that party to determine whether or not that party would have the capacity to do this project.

Correct.

And we did so they can they had a a right to assign it in their land disposition agreement, and they exercise their assignment within the LDDA.

And was that was that an unrestricted right of assignment or did assignments subject to your approval?

Assignment subject to approval.

And then did you do any kind of community engagement around the change in the partners?

How did how did you manage the change in the in your partner in terms of community engagement?

So there's some outreach, there's always outreach um with the Congress Heights community, and then with the ANC, but not that any type of written support is required.

Okay.

And is anybody from NDC involved in the project still?

Um I am not sure.

Um they may be some project management components, but miss you would have to, you know, I don't know who's the actual staff is.

And in terms of the timeline of the handoff between the two, that's not so much.

They would come to you with an assignment you would approve or not approve that assignment.

Correct.

When did that happen?

That happened in September of 2024.

Let me just double check if it was 25 or 24, and I'll get back to you with that.

Okay, and you heard me in my opening statement where I was, I thought it was unfortunate that we went from 421 to 241.

And you want to get as much housing as is reasonably possible on these sites, but and am I correct?

It I think I've come to understand that it's the physical constraints on the site that keep it.

And so, and then when you looked at that um 241, do you think that's the most you can do on this site reasonably?

It is so when the RFP was released, the site was 4.2 acres, um, which is what I read in my testimony.

But at that time, um 13th Street had not been constructed.

So when it was constructed and the utility easement created an additional set back on the site is shrunk the amount of um buildable area that you had on the on the site.

So I think this is sufficient.

Um I do think the the product that's being offered is needed because we do have quite a few uh seniors in the in the Congress Heights community, and it complements um what's the other housing offerings on the site, and then the decrease from 21,000 in gallery and retail space to 5,000, why?

Well, um, so that's part of their component, but I will say we are between parcels 13 and parcel 7, 8, and 9, and then you also have parcel 15 um because Sycamore and Oak is just a temporary um use of the site, you also have additional retail coming there.

We are DENPED in conjunction with the Office of Planning, we are looking at those, especially um 13th Street to just make sure it's not over-retailed.

So you don't want to get all these retailers there, and then they're not, um, you know, they don't have the sufficient foot traffic that's needed to stay in business.

So we are looking at that just to make sure it's not over-retailed.

So it's fine to offer um a gallery space because we have a lot of retail and the live work component, and then also on the ground floor of the Martin and the Malcolm, additional retail on MLK, and then additional retail on the ground floors of the commercial components on Parcel 15.

So we go from no retail to lots of retail and congress sites.

Um, how do the senior units differ from an ordinary one bedroom?

Or are they one bedrooms?

Are they going to be studios, one bedrooms, two bedrooms, and how would they differ from?

So I would have to get the breakdown.

Um, the units differ, it's just that you're in a building with a like group of people, which are seniors, and then there'll be services, additional services for seniors in the building as well.

It's more what happens inside of the building as opposed to the walls, although it may be that the bathrooms are all done in ways with bars and things like that.

Maybe if it's a handicap accessible unit.

And thank you to all of our public witnesses.

So thank you.

All right, well, thank you.

This concludes today's public hearing.

Yes, checking to make sure that we're good.

Uh, if you plan on submitting written testimony for the record, please do so by uploading it to the council's electronic hearing management system before the close of business on Monday, July twenty seventh, twenty twenty six.

The time is now three thirty p.m.

and this round table is adjourned.