Time is apparently running out on Herb Miller’s grand design for a mixed-use project next to the Washington Nationals’ new stadium.
Miller, president of Western Development Corp., appears to have only days left to come up with documentation proving he’s ready to move the development forward. Mayor Anthony Williams and other city officials said this week the city is considering other options in case the project — two above-ground parking garages masked by a condominium complex, street-level retail and a boutique hotel — falls through.
“[Chief Financial Officer Natwar Gandhi] needs to see certain confirmation as it relates to title, as it relates to the equity in the deal and as it relates to the debt,” Williams said Wednesday. “And [Miller’s] saying he can provide that, which I actually believe he will. … We ought to proceed with our commitment to Mr. Miller.
“On the unlikely event he’s unable to provide those materials,” the mayor continued, “then we have fallback plans.”
Under a deal with Major League Baseball, the District agreed to provide the Nationals’ 1,250 parking spaces at the South Capitol Street ballpark. The city prefers underground parking; team owners want less expensive, easier-to-build above-ground garages. The Miller proposal was designed as a compromise.
Miller’s project quickly won the support of Williams, the D.C. Council and Zoning Commission. But the D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission and Gandhi have yet to sign on.
A Sports Commission source familiar with the negotiations said Thursday the commission’s board of directors is examining “whether legally and financially we can move forward with theMiller project, or how we divorce ourselves from that process and what the other options may be.”
The board is expected to make a decision next week.
