The D.C. Preservation League is taking a broad tack this year with its list of the most endangered historic properties and places in Washington: In general, if it’s owned by the District government, sought by the federal government or desired by developers, then it’s imperiled.
“Basically, D.C. land is under siege by the federal government,” said Rebecca Miller, the league’s executive director.
The Potomac Annex, home to the U.S. Naval Observatory, is being discussed as a site for the headquarters of the Director of National Intelligence. The East Campus of St. Elizabeths Hospital is the likely future home of the Coast Guard and the Department of Homeland Security. Both sites offer panoramic views and both could be cut off from the public if the feds move in, the league contends.
“DCPL and other preservation organizations have been adamant that 6.3 million square feet of new development on the site would destroy the historic significance of the campus …” the league said in its report of the St. Elizabeths project.
Most frequently cited on the league’s 2007 list are properties owned by the D.C. government, including the Franklin School, currently in use as a downtown homeless shelter, numerous historic D.C. public school buildings and much of the 1900 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue Southeast.
The buildings in Southeast were “left vacant and abandoned for years,” the league claims, and “are a clear case of the District government failing to comply with its own laws with regards to demolition by neglect.”
In a statement, Mayor Adrian Fenty said the city “must find creative ways to preserve and utilize our historic architecture so that it enhances the quality of life for all District residents.”
For the first time, the league is cataloguing entire row house neighborhoods as most endangered, among them Columbia Heights, Hill East and Eckington. All are under pressure from developers for either “ill advised alterations” or “insensitive infill,” according to the league.
But promoting and protecting historic neighborhoods is critical to a developer’s success, countered Brian Jackson, vice president of Bethesda-based EYA development.
“You talk about neighborhoods like Columbia Heights and Eckington, for a long period of time there was disinvestment, disrepair and neglect there,” Jackson said. “It’s not about whether or not to redevelop, because if you don’t develop, the neighborhoods just fall in on themselves.
