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SOLD!
Salvation Army gets $25 million as foundation sells Casey mansion site
(Published May 3, 2004)

By KATHRYN SINZINGER
Staff Writer

The Salvation Army has received $25 million to complete philanthropist Betty Brown Casey’s donation of the Foxhall Road property that she originally hoped to transform into a mayoral mansion.

The Casey Mansion Foundation completed the sale of the 16.5 acres in Northwest Washington on April 20 to Friends of St. Patrick’s, a group of about a dozen parents whose children attend the nearby St. Patrick’s Episcopal Day School. The purchase price was not disclosed, although the $25 million donation is believed to be the remainder of the proceeds from the sale after all transaction deductions.

"It’s an absolutely wonderful gift – it funds our project," said an elated Maj. Todd Smith, general secretary of the Salvation Army for the National Capital and Virginia Division.

Smith said $15 million will be invested in construction and furnishing of the Salvation Army’s planned 46,000-square-foot East of the River community center to be built at Morris Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE in Anacostia. Construction of the center, which will primarily house social services and job training programs, is expected to begin early next year.

"That leaves $10 million for a possible program endowment," Smith said. "We were originally looking for $3 million to $4 million [for the endowment], so this is a great day."

Casey announced last Dec. 12 that she had abandoned her $50 million plan to build and endow an official residence for the District’s mayor. At that time, she announced donation of the property to the Salvation Army, but that plan was altered to save the charity the costs involved with selling the property. Instead, the Casey Mansion Foundation decided to sell the property and donate the proceeds to the Salvation Army.

The proposed mayoral mansion – which Casey announced in February 2001 and planned to name in memory of her late husband, Eugene B. Casey – had been criticized for some for its location in one of the city’s wealthiest neighborhoods, while it was embraced by most Foxhall neighbors. However, neighborhood good will was strained by a contentious transfer of adjacent National Park Service parkland to the foundation and suspicions by some that the property was destined to be subdivided for townhouses.

The property’s new owners say they hope eventually to build the District’s first co-educational Episcopal high school on part of the land. St. Patrick’s currently operates two campuses, with 440 students enrolled in nursery through 6th grade classes at 4700 Whitehaven Parkway NW and 40 students attending 7th and 8th grade classes at 4925 MacArthur Blvd. NW.

"The school had been considering a high school expansion [when the Casey land became available]. ... Placement [of students] after 8th grade is getting challenging," said Kate Fralin, a parent on the school’s board who was involved in the land deal.

A press release issued by the Friends of St. Patrick’s said the group will retain ownership of the property "until successful rezoning is accomplished in order to protect the school from costs and risks inherent in the rezoning process."

Fralin said the new owners plan to seek "a lot of input from all the neighborhood groups" about the property’s use.

"It’s extremely early in the planning process," she said. "We intend to take our time and explore all options."

Preserving as much green space as possible is high on the list of priorities, Fralin noted.

"There is some very specialized landscaping that we plan to respect," she said.