“Dose of Humility”

— Forwarded message —

From: William Jordan
<whj@melanet.com>
Date: Mon, Dec 18, 2023
Subject: [adamsmorgan] 1619 U St Upzone: Leonsis, Bozzuto, & Crime Exposes New Urbanism Fraud (part I)

In a Washington Business Journal article, “Dose of ‘Humility“, Toby Bozzuto president and CEO of the Bozzuto Group confesses that in our economy  building more with projects such as 1619 U St., as proffered by CM Nadeau and other new urbanist,  WILL NOT lead to lower rents due to natural market forces as they claim.  He goes on to explain that higher rents are needed to attract the capital needed from banks, life & health insurance companies need to construction more housing.  In fact, he explains that his friends and competitors in the industry are sitting on deals.  And further states that there is both an oversupply of housing, a renters market, and a housing shortage at the same time.

When CM Nadeau used the most esoteric and least transparent public processes, zoning and council amendments, to first upFLUM and then upZone 1619 U St., she locked Ward 1 into firms such as Bozzuto based on the very growth/regulatory “hubris” that Mr. Bozzuto is warning against.  In other words, the very path to more affordable housing being claimed by Nadeau, OP and others with 1619 U St. doesn’t really exist. 

Mr. Bozzuto’s firm is also one of 14 being sued by DC’s AG because they  “illegally colluded to artificially raise rent by participating in a centralized anticompetitive scheme, causing District residents to pay millions of dollars above fair market prices”.  Bozzuto’s property management group was also pushed by DMPED as a go to manager for developers looking for tax abatements as the city emerged from the housing bubble recession.   In fact, several of the firms being sued by the AG are go to DMPED partners, yes, the same DMPED which will issue the 1619 U St. RFP which will produce so much affordable housing per the UpFLUM, upZone supporters.

I know we tend to beat up on developers, but they are often more forthright that our political class and their new urbanist supporters wo are selling growth and trickle-down supply and demand.  Note this same new urbanist approach is going to save downtown and is the center of our approach to crime and safety. Mr. Bozzuto is hinting that this New Urbanist approach is rooted in hubris and a lack of discipline.

Almost everything in OP’s report on 1619 U St. which depends heavily on the Bozzuto’s of this world, contradict the dose of humility Mr. Bozzuto is recommending.

William