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Federal Funding for Mall in SE Falters
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"This conversation didn't just start. We started this conversation several years ago," Jackson said. "We felt that we now had a track record that should give them some confidence that we are no longer the organization of the past."
City officials hope to bring a big-box store -- Target Corp. has expressed interest -- as well as smaller national retailers and sit-down restaurants to a neighborhood dominated by carryouts and liquor stores.
But the project has sparked strong opposition from several storekeepers and property owners at the Skyland center, which dates to the 1940s. They said the city should not be allowed to force them to sell their properties to make way for a larger, more upscale center. They are fighting the effort to take the land through eminent domain and questioning whether the Skyland project would create enough new jobs and benefits to justify the use of federal funds.
"There's already jobs there now. The jobs that are there would be lost," said Elaine Mittleman, an attorney for a property owner.
Mittleman said HUD should refuse to fund the project because it involves land taken through eminent domain. Although the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion this spring allowing such seizures for commercial redevelopment projects, Congress is considering legislation that would prohibit federal funding for such endeavors.
Officials at the redevelopment organization and in the D.C. government said they are not deterred by those hurdles but are deepening their search for private financing as an alternative. In order to make the project attractive to private investors, Brown said, the city is considering adding plans for condominiums, which are in extremely high demand in the District.
In the past, residents of the neighborhoods near Skyland have been wary of calls for residential development there, fearing traffic and a decrease in retail space.
Anthony Freeman, chief executive of National Capital Revitalization Corp., would not comment on the specifics of private financing proposals.
But he said his organization's dedication to the project has not wavered.
"We're committed with the community. We're committed with the council member," Freeman said. "Skyland is moving forward."
