Battle Brewing for Stadium Tracts

"It was a dungeon," said Ghiglino, who toured it with District officials. "There's nothing there. It's full of trash. And what about ventilation? I heard they had ventilation problems, and I have art projects that need a good ventilation."

The asphalt plant faces difficult circumstances because after it opened, the city passed laws prohibiting new ones. Carol Mitten, director of the property management office, said officials have lobbied the zoning commission to allow the plant to be moved to another place in the city. The case is pending.

The District has a pressing interest in maintaining the asphalt plant, which sells products to the city's Department of Transportation. But even if the commission allows the plant to move within the District, city officials have determined just one location for it: D.C. Village, a sparse campus in Southwest. Owners of the plant have objected, saying the site is too remote.

For Kenneth B. Wyban, a retired Army officer, the prospect of losing his property is particularly personal because he is the only homeowner living on the site.

His property was assessed last year at $241,000 for tax purposes, and Wyban was offered about $1.2 million. But he said he intends to go to court because the property was meant to double as his retirement business. He has worked for years to restore his pre-Civil War house with a view of the U.S. Capitol dome, and he had hoped to turn it into a bed-and-breakfast.

"I feel like they're ripping something out of me," Wyban said. If he gets enough money, he plans to buy houses in Florida and Ohio, where his parents live.

"I used to think I'd always live here," he said. "Now I don't really want to stay. I haven't been treated very well."

Staff researcher Bobbye Pratt contributed to this report.