Public Land Should Be Used for Public Purposes/ Dupont Circle Citizens Association Opposes Upzoning of Police/Fire Station Land

DCCA Membership Says: Public Land Should Be Used For Public Purposes

Last night at its June 5, 2023 Monthly Meeting the Dupont Circle Citizens Association (DCCA), following debate, overwhelmingly adopted the attached Resolution opposing the City’s attempt to upzone the site of Third District police headquarters and fire station.

 The City proposes demolishing the existing police station and fire station at 1617 U St/1620 V St NW in order to sell or lease these 2 acres of valuable public property to private developers. The City’s auditor currently values the police station and fire station, just the buildings not the land, at $16.5 Million Dollars. The Office of Tax and Revenue (OTR) says land and buildings together are currently worth $32 Million Dollars.

These buildings would be demolished under the proposal supported by both Councilmembers Nadeau and Pinto.  The land would then likely be given away to developers, a 99 year lease likely, for little or nothing (like the West End fire station was 12 years ago).

By upzoning the property from MU-4 to MU-10, the developer, as a matter of right, would be able to construct a building 100 feet high (plus a penthouse story) and fill almost the entire lot. Taking into account the topography, the building could be as high as 125 feet along U St. The January Office of Planning report assumes a developer could construct a 650 unit apartment building on the site, plus commercial establishments.

OP is also saying the developer would be required to build a new police station and a new fire station on the site at the developer’s expense. Many people don’t believe it and think the taxpayers will pay for the demolition of their own police station and fire station, pay the huge cost of temporarily moving their police and fire stations somewhere else; and, then thru tax giveaways, subsidies, and taxpayer funded grants, etc., end up paying, several times over, the cost for constructing a new police station and fire station (somewhere).

The houses in the 1600 Block of V Street and on Seaton Street are small 2 or 3 story row houses and will be completely overshadowed by a huge 650 unit, 100 to 120 foot high building, across the street.

Most importantly, the Resolution adopted by the Members of DCCA opposes the sale or long term lease to private developers of this valuable public land. The Resolution states: 

“The entire 2-acre site should remain public for public uses and to meet public needs. For example, for the construction of new MPD and DCFD stations, a local public library,

neighborhood community center, low-income housing with support services, and other public services either currently needed or that might arise in the future.”

 Below is a sketch of what such a tall dense building could look like.

 The ZONING HEARING has been continued to January 29th, 2024 at 4pm  You can sign up to testify virtually at:  https://dcoz.dc.gov/service/sign-testify.  

 Thanks,

 ED Hanlon