An Arlington County plan to move a homeless shelter into a Courthouse Metro area high-rise has angered some residents of the apartment complexes around the site, who claim the move will drive down property rates and create dangerous conditions for residents.
County officials have long eyed the seven-story office building at 2020 14th St. N. for purchase, and they’ve indicated that they’re not averse to acquiring the property through eminent domain — the government practice of seizing private property for public use — if they can’t arrive at an agreement with the building’s owners. They’re planning on using the building for county office space as well as the homeless shelter.
<br/><small><a href=”http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&t=h&vpsrc=6&ll=38.889404,-77.083388&spn=0.000835,0.001068&z=18&source=embed” style=”color:#0000FF;text-align:left”>View Larger Map</a></small></div> <p><span class=”BodyCopy”>But a group of concerned citizens say they’re prepared to fight the county’s plan. They’ve registered a website, protectcourthouse.org, and say they plan to protest the plan at a public hearing Tuesday.</span></p> <p><span class=”BodyCopy”>The main concern for Courthouse residents, said Jeffrey Miller, a resident of the Woodbury Heights condominium complex, is safety.</span></p> <p><span class=”BodyCopy”>”It’s going to have implications for street safety,” he said. “It doesn’t mean people are necessarily violent — just in terms of the ability of people to walk on the streets, to feel comfortable and not have to be constantly looking over their shoulders, not harassed, not subjected to panhandling.”</span></p> <p><span class=”BodyCopy”>A homeless shelter wouldn’t mesh well with the neighborhood and could lower property rates, he said. Residents are also concerned because they feel the county hasn’t done enough to inform them of its plans for the building.</span></p> <meta http-equiv=”content-type” content=”text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1″/><title/><table style=”float: right; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: aliceblue; padding: 5px 0pt; margin: 5px 15px 5px 0pt; width: 277px; font-family: arial; font-size: 11px; line-height: 12px; border: 1px solid rgb(239, 225, 171); box-shadow: 5px 5px 5px rgb(204, 204, 204); height: 56px;” border=”0″ cellpadding=”0″ cellspacing=”0″><tbody><tr style=”font-size:14px;line-height:15px;color:darkred;”><td><strong/><strong> </strong><strong>Related stories<br/></strong></td> </tr><tr style=”font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;”><td> <li><a style=” font-weight: normal;” href=”https://wexwpdev.washingtonexaminer.com/local/dc/2011/11/arlington-eyeing-high-rise-homeless-shelter”><span style=”font-weight: bold;”>Arlington eyeing high-rise for homeless shelter (11/26/11)</span></a><br/></li> </td> </tr><tr style=”font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold;”><td> <li><a style=” font-weight: normal;” href=”https://wexwpdev.washingtonexaminer.com/local/virginia/2011/11/va-legislators-seek-limit-taking-private-land”><span style=”font-weight: bold;”>Va. legislators seek to limit taking of private land (11/26/11) </span></a><br/></li> </td> </tr></tbody></table>
