A hotly contested development project near the Brookland Metro station has been deemed too controversial by a city zoning panel to move forward just yet. The 61-foot-tall, mixed-use development that would demolish Colonel Brooks’ Tavern as well as five neighboring houses on a block directly east of the Metro station has been vehemently opposed by adjacent neighbors who say the project’s size would destroy the character of the neighborhood.
Most recently the Advisory Neighborhood Commission nominated the tavern and adjacent houses to be designated as historic, a move that — if accepted — would sink the project for good.
The debate over the site, which would include up to 230 residential units with about 12,900 square feet of ground-floor retail along Monroe Street in Northeast, led the District Zoning Commission at a meeting last week to delay setting a public hearing on the project. The commissioners also expressed concerns that the development didn’t have enough public amenities and asked for more materials for their review.
The Historic Preservation Review Board hearing on the ANC’s nomination is scheduled for Thursday. The zoning commission will take up its review the following week.
David Roodberg, CEO of the building company Horning Brothers, said he didn’t believe the properties warranted historic designation.
“We think it was just done as an anti-development action, which is not the purpose of historic designations,” he said.
Roodberg is part of the 220,000-square-foot project’s development team that includes tavern owner Jim Stiegman and the Menkiti Group of Brookland.
Several ANC commissioners, including the commissioner who resides in the project’s district, did not return requests for comment.
One letter from the Brookland Neighborhood Civic Association said it was concerned that the project’s requested zoning would allow for 90-foot buildings when the developer is planning on shorter heights. The public amenities, which include a parking garage and bike racks, also don’t reflect the community’s input, the letter said.
At the zoning hearing, city planner Steve Cochran said support at community meetings seemed to be evenly divided. However, the bulk of written responses to the planning office were opposed.
“There have been more e-mail exchanges on this prior to a [public hearing date] than almost any other project I can think of,” he said.
