Has the Fight to Redvelop St. Thomas Parish in Dupont Circle Finally Come to an End?

• July 6, 2018

by Nena Perry-Brown

The long-running saga of the redevelopment of a Dupont Circle church appears to have come to an end. 

A few months ago, the appeal of the zoning approval for a mixed-use redevelopment of St. Thomas’ Parish Episcopal Church had seemingly reached its peak, with the DC Court of Appeals ordering a work stoppage at the active construction site and Superior Court siding with the church to allow construction to resume. Now, it seems that the saga has reached its conclusion.

On Thursday, church development partner CAS Riegler issued a statement announcing that a settlement had been reached with the complainants, Dupont Circle Citizens' Association (DCCA) and Church Street Neighbors (CSN). The Hickok Cole Architects-designed redevelopment involves reconstruction of the four-story church at 1772 Church Street NW (map) alongside seven stories containing 51 residential units.

Under the settlement, the affordable apartments mandated by inclusionary zoning will be more steeply affordable and DCCA will select one or more nonprofits for the development team to donate toward efforts to assist those on the verge of homelessness. Conversely, DCCA and CSN have agreed to stop opposing the size of the residential portion of the redevelopment.

“DCCA is pleased that this agreement provides for more affordable housing in our neighborhood than required by law and will help, along with the donation, to address serious needs in Dupont Circle,” Robin Diener, president of DCCA, said in a statement.

“I’m delighted we found solutions that benefit our neighborhood and the wider community," said Reverend Alex Dyer, Priest in Charge at St. Thomas’ Parish.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/has-the-fight-to-redvelop-st-thomas-parish-finally-come-to-an-end/14196