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Unfinished Business
The owner of this house on G Street NE was issued a building permit in 2002. Neighbors say work stopped a year ago.
(By Katherine Frey For The Washington Post)
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For example, the half-done Chevy Chase mansion is now the subject of a Maryland District Court case filed by the Montgomery County housing code enforcement unit.
The county unit issued a civil citation in 2003 against owner Kwok Li, a onetime big player on the Washington technology scene, because no construction had occurred for more than a year. (The half-done house was the subject of a Washington Post report in August 2003.)
The county suit sought an abatement order listing work that Li needed to do before starting to build again, said Linda S. Bird, manager of the county enforcement unit. "When he failed to meet that," the county sought a hearing on whether he was in contempt of court, she said.
But, the judge decided not to charge Li with contempt, Bird said, "because he didn't have the money to complete the project."
Instead, in February the judge continued the case until mid-May to allow Li and the builder "to figure something out," Bird said. "The builder has been talking about taking over the property" in exchange for giving up a lien on the house for unpaid construction bills.
The May hearing has been delayed because the judge has a heavy schedule, she said.
Owner Li said in a recent interview that "it would be better to talk to the builder" about the future of the house.
He expressed sympathy for the neighbors, but indicated that it was tempered by financial considerations. "We always feel like we have an obligation to our neighbors, but you can only do what you can, you know?"
Builder George Collins of Peterson and Collins Inc. said the property has not yet changed hands, although he would love to find someone willing to pay him to complete the project.
Collins doesn't rule out the possibility that the house, with its exotic materials -- stone quarried in China, a roof made in Argentina and windows waiting to be installed that were manufactured in England -- could be torn down and the land resold. But that would not be his first choice.
"If we end up acquiring the property, our first goal would be to pursue all avenues to completing the home. We have a vested interest of 2 1/2 years of building there," Collins said. "If there is not a buyer out there, I'm not sure what will transpire at that point."
