Real estate mogul and D.C. United owner Victor MacFarlane has cut key personnel from his District office in a restructuring move as the legal and financial obstacles mount to a possible soccer stadium on parkland just east of the Anacostia River.
MacFarlane Partners, the San Francisco-based real estate investment firm, has laid off 14 people nationwide as the company returns to its “core investment management business of urban mixed use,” MacFarlane spokeswoman Julie Chase said. Included in the restructuring were two D.C. employees — principal investor Brad Dockser and his administrative assistant.
A third employee, Linda Greene, was relieved of her role as MacFarlane’s vice president for community affairs and public relations, a job that included pursuit of a new soccer stadium. Greene, former chief of staff to Ward 8 D.C. Councilman Marion Barry, was offered a similar position with D.C. United as a liaison to both the District and Prince George’s County — the team’s possible future home.
D.C. is pondering a $150 million to $225 million public subsidy for a new soccer stadium on the 110-acre Poplar Point. But talk of a handout quieted this month when it became clear that neither Mayor Adrian Fenty nor any council member, except Barry, was willing to publicly support the deal. The council is not expected to consider stadium legislation before adjourning next month for the summer.
Facing a reticent District government, MacFarlane is in talks with Maryland and Prince George’s to possibly move the team. A feasibility study undertaken by the Maryland Stadium Authority is slated for release next month.
Several hurdles stand in the way if the District is to stay in the stadium game. One of the more notable hitches is that the transfer of Poplar Point from federal to D.C. control is unlikely to occur before fall 2009, while its development could be slowed by environmental issues, according to a recent federal analysis. The District also faces a lawsuit over contamination there.
And D.C. Chief Financial Officer Natwar Gandhi has warned that the District’sbond rating could slide if the city’s borrowing exceeds 10 percent of its operating budget, a line threatened by the Poplar Point development. Gandhi is expected to issue a follow-up letter soon reiterating that concern.
Prince George’s, meanwhile, recently reveled in its new AAA bond rating from Standard & Poor’s.
Examiner Staff Writer Bill Myers contributed to this report.
