The District agreed to pay triple the assessed value for a dilapidated apartment building in Columbia Heights that the government plans to preserve as affordable housing, infuriating one D.C. leader who described the structure as little more than a shell.
But Neil Albert, D.C.’s deputy mayor for planning and economic development, put a temporary, last-second hold on the deal Tuesday after The Examiner raised questions about the price tag.
“We’re taking a closer look in the office to make sure that the price and the appraisal adds up, given the current market conditions,” said Sean Madigan, Albert’s spokesman.
The Department of Housing and Community Development struck a deal to pay $3.1 million for a vacant 32-unit building at 1483 Newton St. NW that was recently valued by the city’s tax office at nearly $1.1 million. Another appraisal, this one performed for DHCD, put the market value at roughly $2.9 million.
“That is an extraordinarily high price for a building that it’s not even clear that there are usable walls,” said Ward 1 D.C. Councilman Jim Graham, who represents Columbia Heights. “The roof is probably beyond reliable use. You’re barely talking about a shell.”
Graham said he is “desperate for rehabilitation,” but the price tag “crosses the limits.” He called Albert, who agreed that the District should take a second look.
“Clearly that’s the right course right now,” Graham said.
The building, owned by Wilma and Roberta Ong Roumel, has been cited by the District roughly 80 times since May 2003 for excessive trash, debris and weeds, for being “open and accessible,” and for a lack of basic upkeep.
“I think it’s been slowly deteriorating for years now,” said Calvin Woodland, who lives doors away and serves as the neighborhood’s advisory neighborhood commissioner. “It’s been vacant as long as I can remember.”
A woman who answered the phone at the Roumel home in McLean declined comment. The council passively approved the sale Jan. 1 to Graham’s dismay: The resolution was submitted Dec. 22, one day before members left for recess.
Mayor Adrian Fenty targeted the Newton Street building for redevelopment into affordable units, part of his promise to preserve 500 units citywide. The government has paid a premium to fulfill that pledge — it paid $3.1 million last April for a decrepit building in Brightwood, considerably more than both its market and tax appraisals.
