By David A. Vise
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, April 7, 1999; Page B1

The Future of UDC UDC President Julius F. Nimmons Jr. (Frank Johnston – The Washington Post) March 30: Two Views of UDC Plan March 19: UDC Head Blasts Relocation Plan March 16: Mayor Rolls Out Budget Amid Criticism March 15: Mayor Proposes Selling UDC Site 1997 Post Series: A City School Lost in the Wilderness A University Kept Marching in Place

D.C. Mayor Anthony A. Williams has given up on his proposal to sell the University of the District of Columbia's 25 acres in Northwest Washington and now is considering a plan to lease the UDC site to private interests to fund a new campus east of the Anacostia River.

Williams, who will meet with the university's Board of Trustees today, initially proposed selling UDC's Van Ness campus and using the proceeds to move the university to a campus that also would include a new technology high school and offices for the city's Department of Employment Services.

But the mayor made that proposal last month without knowing that the federal government, and not the District, actually owns the UDC campus; the city cannot sell the land without being granted ownership by Congress. In discussions with Capitol Hill lawmakers and aides in recent days, Williams has turned his attention to a potentially more attainable version of his idea: having the city lease the prime real estate at Connecticut Avenue and Van Ness Street NW to other tenants.

Under the terms of a 1972 agreement supported by President Richard M. Nixon, the federal General Services Administration granted the city "administrative" control of the UDC site for educational purposes.

Williams said yesterday that leasing the campus would generate economic development and jobs in the District, while providing money for construction of a university in a low-income area east of the Anacostia River. He also said he would like small businesses to play a role in any new construction and management opportunities created by his proposal.

"I believe there are a number of ways to capture the value of the land, and a lease is one option," Williams said. "It is something a lot of people find some merit in. Whatever we do, we want to be able to sell it to the UDC community and do it with their support."

That support won't come easily.

UDC President Julius F. Nimmons Jr., who opposed Williams's initial plan to sell the site, doesn't like the leasing idea any better. Nimmons said yesterday that he welcomes the chance to meet with Williams but is adamantly opposed to the sale or leasing of UDC's campus.

He said the mayor's proposals have created uncertainty surrounding the struggling university, which has about 8,300 full- and part-time students, and could hurt enrollment. He also said any campus east of the Anacostia should be funded as a satellite to UDC's existing campus.

"I would welcome any abandonment of discussions concerning the sale, lease or renting of this campus," Nimmons said. "I would expect that if all of the energies and intelligence were focused on . . . providing educational opportunities to District residents east of the [Anacostia], that palatable ways by which that can be done would certainly emerge."

Nimmons also said UDC ought to be treated like any other major university. "Just look across the country," he said. "You don't see them selling off their main institution. You see them expanding."

The mayor said he did not know whether the GSA would allow the District to lease UDC's Northwest Washington campus to businesses and organizations. But President Clinton has directed federal officials to work with Williams in coming up with innovative ideas to stimulate the city's economy.

Yesterday, officials at the GSA, which handles real estate for the federal government, said they would await a firm proposal from the mayor and D.C. Council before giving a definitive response to any UDC plan.

"GSA does not engage in speculation, but continues to cooperate with the District of Columbia government when it makes decisions that require GSA's involvement," spokesman Hap Connors said.

In recent weeks, Williams has discussed his initial UDC proposal with Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), a senior member of the House subcommittee that oversees the GSA. While providing Williams with details on the federal ownership of the UDC tract, Norton has taken no formal position on his much-debated proposal to move the campus.

Norton said the mayor's UDC proposal is a "home rule" issue that ought to be decided only after hearings by the council, a study by a post-secondary education committee that Williams intends to appoint, and consultation with UDC officials.

Under Williams's latest idea, the city would raise tens of millions of dollars by selling bonds to finance construction of a UDC campus east of the Anacostia. The debt would be paid off over time with rent generated by leasing the university's current campus, which includes about 1.3 million square feet of office and classroom space.

The UDC property would remain off the city's tax rolls because it still would be federal land, but Williams said any lease rates could include an estimated cost of what the city would receive in real estate taxes. He also said he would not pursue the idea unless it made economic sense and was endorsed by others.

"I'm not really campaigning for the proposal," he said. "I'm campaigning for the idea that it be explored."

Williams has been criticized by UDC students, administrators and some local politicians for not consulting with them before proposing to relocate the university and possibly curtail its curriculum. His plan also includes a $5 million contribution to the university's endowment.

Yesterday, the mayor defended his handling of the UDC matter and said he would ask the university's trustees today for suggestions as to who should serve on the higher education panel that will study the school.

"The school has to focus its mission," Williams said. "That doesn't mean you relegate it to a vocational school. Every school is focusing its mission in the technology age."

Nimmons said he will settle for nothing less than UDC remaining a full-fledged university with undergraduate, graduate, vocational and other programs that serve full-time students and working adults at its current site.

Tommy Duren, a UDC senior, said Williams's proposals are "reminiscent of how they did the Indians. They were sitting on valuable land, so officials said, 'Let's move them.' . . . This is ludicrous."

Staff writer Valerie Strauss contributed to this report.