By David Nakamura
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
D.C. Democratic mayoral nominee Adrian M. Fenty is pushing a plan that he said would resolve a long-standing dispute with the Washington Nationals by building two aboveground parking garages near the new baseball stadium in time for Opening Day 2008.
Fenty said his plan would maintain the city's $611 million cost cap on the project, although it would require tens of millions of dollars in additional stadium-generated revenue that the city otherwise would be free to spend on other needs.
The plan has the support of the city's chief financial officer, and Fenty aides said they expect support from several D.C. Council members, including Vincent C. Gray (D-Ward 7), the nominee for council chairman. Fenty also met yesterday with the Nationals ownership group, which was receptive to the plan, according to Fenty aides.
Fenty intends to offer the plan at the council's legislative meeting today as an amendment to Mayor Anthony A. Williams's proposal, which would alter the stadium cost cap and add as much as $75 million for parking. Fenty is scheduled to brief Williams this morning. Either option, offered as emergency legislation, would need support from nine of the council's 13 members to be approved.
Under the plan, the garages would be completed by April 2008, when the stadium is scheduled to open under the city's agreement with the Nationals. It would cost $56 million and could be funded through existing stadium revenue, Fenty aides said.
A critical aspect of the proposal would require the council to override a D.C. Zoning Commission decision from July that bans free-standing parking garages. Fenty aides said the council can sidestep zoning regulations for government projects.
If adopted, the plan would end months of bickering between city officials and the Nationals ownership group, headed by Bethesda developer Theodore N. Lerner. Williams has pushed for the garages to be built below ground, leaving space to construct a mix of condominiums, shops and restaurants as an entertainment hub. The Lerner group has lobbied for free-standing garages because they would be cheaper and easier to build and could be completed in time for the 2008 season.
The garages under Fenty's plan would have only a team store on the first floor by 2008. But the structures would be reinforced to accommodate additional development on top in later seasons, his aides said.
Fenty and the Lerner group declined to comment yesterday.
Mayoral spokesman Vince Morris said Williams is open to hearing Fenty's plan.
"We do not have pride of ownership," Morris said. "If we get to the same place, that's fine. There's not any disagreements in this building that we should try to protect development rights."
Other council members said that they needed to know more about Fenty's plan before endorsing it but added that the legislation would be helped by support from Fenty and Gray, both expected to win the general election Nov. 7 because Democrats make up three-quarters of the city's registered voters.
"I want to take the time to examine everything that's coming before the council . . . to see which makes the most sense," said Jack Evans (D-Ward 2).
Council member Sharon Ambrose (D-Ward 6), who represents the ward where the stadium will be built, said she will support Fenty's proposal if she is convinced that the city will be able to build mixed-use development on top of the garages.
"That's my bottom line," she said. "We have an obligation to create a revenue center. . . . Whatever I agree to support, that's going to be paramount."
Under the proposal, the city would build two three-story garages aboveground on the north parcel of the stadium site near South Capitol Street and the Navy Yard, along the Anacostia River in Southeast Washington. A smaller underground garage would be built on the south side.
The city's financial chief, Natwar M. Gandhi, helped develop the Fenty proposal and sent a letter to Fenty yesterday confirming his support for the financing of the garages.
There is $25 million for parking in the council's $611 million cap, meaning the city would need an additional $31 million.
Under the plan endorsed by Fenty and Gandhi, the city would use $17 million in additional stadium-related taxes generated from local businesses during the stadium's first two baseball seasons; $8 million in stadium contingency funds; and $6 million in bonds that could be paid off by revenue made by the city by parking cars in the garages during non-game days.
Gandhi said he is willing to back that financing arrangement as within the stadium cap approved by the council in April. Conversely, Gandhi had ruled that Williams's plan, under which the garages would cost $100 million, would violate the cap and require a legislative amendment to the cap.
Under Fenty's bill, the council would have to override zoning rules but would not have to amend the stadium cap, aides said.
Staff writer Thomas Heath contributed to this report.
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