A prominent District of Columbia developer filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against Metro over the transit authority’s decision to sell 2.2 acres near the Washington Nationals’ new ballpark to a competitor.
Monument Realty, which is expanding Metro’s Navy Yard station and is building other projects in Southeast, is asking the U.S. District Court to invalidate the sale andaward $100 million in compensatory damages. City planners expect commercial and residential units will be built on the M Street property.
The suit argues the decision by Metro’s board of directors last month to sell the system’s Southeast Bus Garage to D.C.-based Akridge Development Co. for $69.3 million was “arbitrary, capricious, irrational, and without basis in the law.”
Metro spokesman Steven Taubenkibel said the authority had no comment on the lawsuit.
Monument Realty submitted a $60 million bid for the garage. The submission also included an escalator clause that would have automatically raised the bid to $250,000 more than that of any competitor.
Though escalator clauses are common in the real estate industry, Metro’s general counsel, Carol O’Keefe, said the system’s procurement rules require a specific price.
Metro is selling the property because it does not want heavy bus traffic to mix with fans walking to and from games. Proceeds from the sale are earmarked for a new $130 million facility in Southwest, which will also house its police training operations.
During baseball season next year, the Nationals plan to set up 350 parking spots on the property because Akridge is not scheduled to begin construction for a year.
