Hungry for Whole Foods

(By Bill O'leary -- The Washington Post)

The racial composition of the neighborhood has also been changing, with blacks moving out and whites and Hispanics moving in. In 1990, 66 percent of residents were black, 11 percent were white and 21 percent Hispanic, according to Census figures. By 2000, the most recent figures available, the share of blacks had dropped to 53 percent, while whites and Hispanics increased to 13 percent and 30 percent, respectively. Longtime residents say that trend has accelerated since 2000.

"A lot of the blacks are having to move because they can't afford to stay here," said Fran Robertson, 52, who has lived on Monroe Street since 1979. "These are people who have owned their own homes but have had to leave because the taxes are going up. The affluent is coming in, and the have-nots are moving out, and it's not right."

Robertson knows the pressures firsthand. She took out a $50,000 mortgage two years ago to pay increased real estate taxes. "It's a shame I had to go into debt to keep my house, but you have to do what you have to do," said Robertson, who lives on fixed disability payments.

She considered selling and moving to Prince George's County but did not want to leave the city.

"I like the Whole Foods, I really do," Robertson said. "I go to the Whole Foods on Wisconsin Avenue sometimes with my daughter. I like the cheeses and the fruits. But they have to stop thinking about having so much high-end stuff. They need to think about the little people who've been here all these years."

The discussion about Whole Foods reveals an underlying tension over the pace and shape of development in Columbia Heights.

"It's hard, because I know a lot of people who have lived in this neighborhood for a long time, people of all races, that are interested in Whole Foods," said Anne Theisen, an advisory neighborhood commissioner. "The perception is that Whole Foods leads to gentrification. It speaks to what is already happening in the community and it might accelerate it."

Words are weighed carefully.

Lauren Tobias, 29, a communications consultant who lives at 14th and Chapin streets, spoke glowingly about the prepared foods at Whole Foods and how young professionals want the convenience of picking up a quick, healthy dinner. Then she caught herself. "I don't want it to sound like I'm one of the new people and I need all these services," she said. "But a Whole Foods is just needed."