Rent Contract at Temple Courts Complex to End

Federal Officials' Plan Would Remove Hundreds From Their Homes, the Owner of the Building Says

Federal housing officials plan to terminate a contract that pays the rent for the 211 families at the Temple Courts housing complex 10 blocks north of the U.S. Capitol, the building's owner said, a move that would oust hundreds of people from their homes and complicate an ambitious neighborhood redevelopment plan.

Andrew A. Viola, vice president and regional manager for Bush Construction Corp., announced the plan last night at a town hall meeting on the city's redevelopment proposal, dubbed the "New Communities" initiative. Residents of the complex, which includes a high-rise and a number of townhouses, have not been notified, Viola said.

The complex houses very poor families who qualify for rent assistance from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The residents pay a third of their income to live there, and HUD contracts with Bush to cover the remainder of their rent.

In recent years, however, the building has repeatedly failed federal health and safety inspections, prompting HUD to notify Bush two weeks ago that it would terminate the rent contract and empty the building "in the next 90 to 120 days," Viola said. Displaced residents would be given Section 8 housing vouchers and told to find homes elsewhere.

The news startled those at the meeting, at city housing headquarters on North Capitol Street, including Ward 6 ANC Commissioner Lena Ann Brown, who has lived in Temple Courts for 21 years.

"I had to regroup for a minute. I thought, 'Am I really hearing what I'm hearing?' " Brown said. "We need to get the residents involved so we can go to HUD and get some answers."

The announcement also startled city officials, who had been negotiating with Bush over their plan to raze Temple Courts, Sursum Corda and several other low-income buildings in the rapidly gentrifying neighborhood and replace them with new apartments and townhouses designed to attract families from all income levels. Under the plan, Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D) is proposing to preserve affordable housing amid rampant development.

Deputy Mayor Stanley Jackson accused Bush of letting the property deteriorate so HUD would terminate the rent contract and free the company to develop the property, which sits at a prime location near K and North Capitol streets NW. With the poor tenants gone, Bush could tear the building down and replace it with luxury condominiums, Jackson said.

"I'm sure they would be more than happy to pay off the [HUD] mortgage and use that asset in the manner in which they choose," Jackson said.

Viola denied that assertion, saying Bush has spent millions renovating the property only to have it ripped apart by residents. "I'm sorry, but there's a bad element in this building," Viola said.