Restraining Order Allows Work to Resume at St. Thomas Church Development in Dupont Circle

• May 15, 2018

by Nena Perry-Brown

Two weeks ago, a court-imposed work stoppage at the St. Thomas’ Parish Episcopal Church redevelopment in Dupont Circle had the church worried about the specter of bankruptcy. Now, those fears have been temporarily alleviated.

St. Thomas partnered with CAS Riegler to rebuild the four-story church at 1772 Church Street NW (map) along with a new seven-story, 55-unit multi-family building designed by Hickok Cole Architects. The project was approved by the Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) years ago and construction began in March 2017.

Last month, however, the DC Court of Appeals sided with a small group that appealed the zoning decision, remanding the approval back to BZA. The Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) issued a stop work order shortly thereafter; the church then appealed the decision of the Appellate Court.

That appeal was accepted by DC Superior Court on Monday, which issued a temporary restraining order against DCRA to allow construction work to resume while the challenge is being considered.

“It was unfortunate we had to use the District Court system to seek relief for the Stop Work Orders that had been improperly issued by DCRA," Rev. Alex Dyer of St. Thomas Parish said in a statement. "St. Thomas Parish remains committed to working with District officials to resolve the over‐all issues in a productive way.”

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/work-resumes-at-st-thomas-parish/13983