DC for Reasonable Development Appeals McMillan Demolition Permits

• November 6, 2019

by Nena Perry-Brown

Another appeal has been filed against the planned development at the McMillan Sand Filtration site. 

Chris Otten, acting as representative of DC for Reasonable Development (DC4RD), has filed a Board of Zoning Adjustment application appealing the issuance of a partial demolition permit and a permit to lay a foundation for a new community center.

"DCRA has erroneously issued a demolition permit and foundation construction permit risking imminent and permanent harm to the historic resources at McMillan Park, a national landmark on the historic register," the appeal states. The document alleges lack of clarity around a determination from the zoning administrator, lack of information about the financial feasibility of the project and the environmental impacts of work on the site, and the lack of due diligence as it relates to historic preservation.

An appellate court decision this July affirming approval of a planned unit development at the McMillan Sand Filtration site at Michigan Avenue and North Capitol Streets NW (map) seemed to put the project back on course, although it was shortly followed by accusations and denials of premature demolition at the site.

Whether or not demolition was occurring on the site at that time, however, the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) had issued permits for work on the site by then, and it is these permits that are currently the subject of an appeal.

In addition to the community center, the project calls for 146 townhouses, 531 apartments, medical office buildings, eight acres of open space, and retail including a Harris Teeter grocery store. 15 percent of the residential square footage will be set aside as affordable housing. The development is helmed by Vision McMillan Partners, a team comprised of Jair Lynch Real Estate Partners, EYA, Trammell Crow, and architects MV+A Architects, Shalom Baranes and Perkins Eastman.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/dc-for-reasonable-development-appeals-mcmillan-demolition-permits/16110