Originally, the hearing on the government’s request for development proposals was scheduled for July 6 but announced immediately before the July 4th holiday, sparking anger within the neighboring community over the last-minute scheduling.

Councilman Frank Smith, D-Ward 1, received angry letters and phone calls from neighborhood activists and Advisory Neighbor-hood Commissioners complaining they were not given enough notice about the hearing. Smith asked the council to postpone the hearing.

The hearing will begin at 10 a.m. in the Council Chamber at One Judiciary Square, 441 Fourth St. NW.

The council’s Committee on Economic Development, chaired by Ward 4 Councilwoman Charlene Drew Jarvis, will discuss the D.C. Redevelopment Land Agency’s request for proposals to develop six parcels on 14th Street NW between Monroe and Irving streets. The parcels range from empty lots to sites currently used for Metro construction. One lot is the site of the old Tivoli Theater, a historic landmark.

Five parcels are owned by the D.C. government. One parcel on the 3200 block of 14th Street is privately owned. The lot on the southwest corner of 14th and Irving streets is the site of the La Casa Transitional/Treatment Center. That parcel will be the site of the entrance to the Metro station.

"We have known for some time that it was an at-risk property," said Michael Ferrell, executive director of Coalition for the Homeless, which runs La Casa.

Ferrell said he hopes to be able to keep the treatment center in the neighborhood but acknowledged it will be a struggle to convince neighbors of the need to keep the center in the area.

"I’d like to be optimistic, but it’s not going to be easy," Ferrell said. "The problem with La Casa is that it’s not something you can relocate easily because of community resistance."

Last November, nearly 300 Columbia Heights residents gathered at Lincoln Multicultural Middle School for a two-day community planning session sponsored by the Development Corporation of Columbia Heights (DCCH) and the D.C. chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

At the public meeting, residents’ concerns about future development were summarized in an 18-point development plan. It said that future development in the area should benefit residents first, and community-oriented stores and services should be given priority.

The plan also addresses the appearance of new buildings, parking and traffic flow and calls for restoration of the Tivoli Theater.

The larger concept for the community plan calls for two distinct areas of development. The south end of the developments that surround the new Metro station would be commercial. The north end of the development at Monroe and 14th streets would be a civic area. The Tivoli Theater would anchor the north end of the development.

"The issues and design proposals that came out of the work groups evidence in-depth thinking and a general consensus on many issues," said Geoff Griffis, a DCCH representative.

The six parcels are currently valued at more than $9.5 million and total just over 10 acres of undeveloped land.

In the late 1970s, most of those parcels had been awarded to Herbert Haft for development. After years of citizens protesting Haft’s decision not to develop those sites, the District government canceled the agreement with Haft in 1996 and re-opened the parcels for development.

Copyright 1998, The Common Denominator