Critics Fear Damage To Historic Vista
By Kirstin Downey
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, September 13, 2007
The National Park Service has told Alexandria officials that it wants them to reject a developer's plan to build a 14-story building in the city's southeast corner, on a plot of land that juts into the Potomac River, near Old Town and the Woodrow Wilson Bridge.
The plan, proposed by Arlington-based IDI Group, calls for the redevelopment of Hunting Terrace, a 116-unit apartment complex in the Hunting Creek area. IDI, whose president and chief executive is prominent developer Giuseppe Cecchi, is seeking permission to erect a 150-foot building in an area with a 50-foot height limit. In exchange, Cecchi has promised to buy nearby Hunting Towers, which has 530 rental units, and maintain it as "workforce" housing -- but as condominiums, not rentals.
Park Service officials say the building, if allowed to be constructed, would damage the vista of the path that George Washington rode from his Mount Vernon home.
"The proposal at hand is significantly flawed and should be rejected," wrote David Vela, superintendent of the George Washington Memorial Parkway, in a letter distributed at a work session last Thursday at which city officials discussed plans for the site.
The renderings presented by city staff members depict tall buildings looming over the Wilson Bridge and the George Washington Parkway.
IDI officials were not permitted to speak at the meeting, which was billed as a work session at which city staff members could brief planning commissioners on the plan.
Alexandria officials also criticized the proposal. "The massive scale is overwhelming," said Arthur Keleher, a member of the city's Board of Architectural Review.
"It will change the skyline," board member James Spencer said.
In an interview, Carlos Cecchi, vice president of IDI and son of the chief executive, said that the height is not as dramatic as the renderings depict and that the buildings most visible on Washington Street would be 50 feet high. Only buildings farther back on the parcel would rise to 150 feet. The development would include 367 luxury condominium units, many with sweeping views of the Potomac River.
"The commanding views will generate top dollar, and that will let us save the tower," Cecchi said. He said IDI would use the money it makes to do a condominium conversion at Hunting Towers, in the same way the firm handled a conversion at Parkfairfax. There, renters were offered financial help to become condominium owners, and many did so.
The Virginia Department of Transportation bought the two complexes -- Hunting Terrace, which has garden apartments, and Hunting Towers, a set of 1940s-era nine-story high-rises -- when construction on the new Wilson Bridge began in 2001, because it needed some of the land to widen the Capital Beltway at the bridge approaches. The state bought the two properties for $96 million and used about one-third of the land, then put the remainder up for resale.
Last year, IDI bought Hunting Terrace for $25 million with plans to tear it down for redevelopment, and executives told residents they intended to buy Hunting Towers as well, saying that money made on that parcel would subsidize affordable units in Hunting Towers. That plan was attractive to many residents who worried about the loss of affordable housing in the city. The two complexes together comprise the second-largest parcel of affordable housing in the city, after Southern Towers on Seminary Road.
But IDI was unable to reach agreement with VDOT on the purchase price for Hunting Towers. VDOT wanted $85 million; IDI offered half that. The dispute went to court, and VDOT removed Hunting Towers from the market. IDI is continuing to negotiate to buy the property, and Cecchi said the company expects to succeed because it has a right of first refusal on the purchase. He said IDI has promised the city a good-faith payment of $20 million toward affordable housing, an amount that could be used at Hunting Towers when the purchase is completed or elsewhere in the city.
Cecchi said that if the city rejects the proposal, IDI is ready with an alternative plan that would not require a special permit. The company would build more densely up to the 50-foot limit, filling much more of the property and leaving less room for lawns and greenery than the proposed high-rise would.
"We need to move forward on this," Cecchi said, noting that IDI needs to begin making money on its investment. He said the company intends to tear down Hunting Terrace because it is outdated and its heating system is failing.
"If we're denied, we'll move ahead with a by-right project," Cecchi said, adding that the city will have squandered the chance to maintain a large complex as moderate-income housing.
The National Park Service's criticisms of the proposal carry weight because the city agreed in 1929 to maintain the "memorial character of Washington Street" as part of the George Washington Parkway, which was built in the 1930s. Under the Washington Street standards, new development is supposed to be compatible in scale with the historic buildings that line the boulevard. The proposed development would change the streetscape significantly.
Dozens of residents packed council chambers for the work session, which brought together the city's Planning Commission and Board of Architectural Review, even though there was no opportunity for public comment.
People who live at both complexes have pleaded with the city to maintain the units as affordable housing. IDI has evicted the Hunting Terrace tenants, and the last ones are expected to move out Sept. 30. They are getting some relocation assistance and $3,500 toward moving costs, but they aren't happy about having to go.
"I'm personally very frustrated," said Michelle L'Heureux, who was among those recently evicted. She said that when she left last month about 10 units were occupied, compared with about 90 two years ago.
L'Heureux said she thought Cecchi was making the city pay, in the form of additional density, in exchange for providing some affordable housing at some point.
"It is essentially blackmail," she said.
L'Heureux said city officials are not working fast enough to find innovative solutions that would allow more residents to remain in the Hunting Creek area.
"While I respect many people on the council, there's a lack of political will," she said. "I think more can be done."
Mayor William D. Euille (D) said residents who have complaints about how the city has handled the project may be unaware of all the things the city has done, including passing a resolution asking that the affordable housing be preserved. "There's not a lot the city can do," he said. "We don't own the property.
"This all has to get fleshed out through the planning process," Euille said. The criticism of the IDI proposal, he said, shows that the developer has "a lot more work" ahead to come up with a plan that will gain the city's approval. He said the city has to balance two competing issues -- maintaining the character of Washington Street and preserving affordable housing -- and it is not clear which path will be best.
Herb Cooper-Levy, executive director of RPJ Housing, a nonprofit organization that favors building low-cost housing on the site, said it is premature to empty the buildings now in preparation for demolition when no building plans have been approved. He also said the city has not been given specific guarantees about the amount of affordable housing that would be provided.
"There's nothing concrete or enforceable to ensure that the housing will be affordable," he said.
The issue is expected to go to the City Council for consideration in November.
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