The temperature continued to rise as a crowd gathered inside the 5th & K Street Busboys and Poets on Monday, July 20. Over 100 local tenants, business owners and other active community members heeded Busboy’s owner Andy Shallal’s call to fight for affordable housing.
“Museum Square stays! Museum Square stays!” the excited crowd chanted.
Museum Square, a 302-unit subsidized housing complex located at 401 K Street NW, has had an uncertain future since the property’s developer, Virginia-based Bush Companies, decided it would not renew the complex’s Section 8 contract that expires in October of this year. In June 2014, Bush Companies informed the residents of Museum Square that the company would no longer be accepting government subsidies for low-income housing.
According to Christine Goodman, a spokesperson for the D.C. Housing Authority, residents that face displacement, due to Bush Companies opting out of its Section 8 contract and pursing the development of multi-family housing and market-priced apartments, will receive Enhanced Housing Choice Vouchers that may provide more opportunities for relocation. The D.C. Housing Authority will also offer unit search assistance for families upon request through its Housing Choice Voucher Mobility Counseling Program.
Monday’s event at Busboys and Poets was co-sponsored by Think Local First DC and Jews United for Justice, to celebrate Museum Square tenants’ combined efforts with the community to advocate for the protection of their homes. Residents of Museum Square were given the opportunity to speak out in defense of their homes, and were met with overwhelming support from all in attendance.
Jasmine, a young resident of Museum Square, pleaded for support in protecting her home. She expressed her hopes of remaining in the home she’s grown up in all her life.
“Do not underestimate our resilience!” another Museum Square tenant encouraged.
Omeed Tabiei, who worked closely on this event for Think Local First DC, mobilized the local business community in support of the event. Sweetgreen, Mandu, and Baked and Wired each made large donations of food. They were eager to help their neighbors in the fight to maintain their home in the community, explained Tabiei.
“The goal of this event was really to bring the residents together, and through love among the greater community, empower [Museum Square residents] to stand up for themselves and take it from there,” Tabiei said. “It’s events like this that we hope will push the tenants along and help form the solidarity they need.”
Monday’s event showed that the Museum Square residents are not alone in their fight against this case of gentrification. Museum Square has been in the public eye because of its location, diverse tenant population, and standing as one of the last fully subsidized housing complexes in the area. But it is far from the only property in the District facing this issue. Chinatown’s Wah Luck House also offers affordable housing, but has a Section 8 contract that is up for renewal this year, while the Columbia Heights neighborhood is facing rapidly increasing gentrification as well.
District law obligates Bush Companies to first offer the property for sale to the residents under the Rental Housing Conversion and Sale Act of 1980, specifically regarding the defined Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA), before pursuing plans to raze the property. TOPA requires that owners of a housing accommodation must provide tenants with an opportunity to purchase the accommodation at a price representative of a bona fide offer of sale.
Bush Companies offered Museum Square at a price of $250 million—equating to more than $800,000 per unit—a sum well surpassing the current market value and any projected near-future value. In 2014 the property was assessed at just over $36 million, according to the D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue. The value of the Museum Square property did increase to $42 million in a 2015 assessment, and is projected to receive an assessment of $43 million in 2016, which remains well below the Bush Companies offer.
The $250 million offer of sale was based on a projected value for potential redevelopment plans, determined by Bush Companies—who could not be reached for comment. The real estate market trends in the area raise the question of whether or not the $250 million offer was indeed genuine. In the Mount Vernon Square, Chinatown and Penn Quarter areas, the median listing price for real estate is $520,000—with only few listings reaching above $800,000.
Tenants have found success in court. In April 2015, the D.C. Superior Court ruled that the rights of the tenants—regarding TOPA—were violated due to the extravagant offer price. Bush Companies is in the process of appealing that decision.
An emergency resolution to improve TOPA was proposed by D.C. Councilmember Anita Bonds on July 13, and passed unanimously by the Council. The legislation clarifies what a bona fide offer is and defines tenants’ right to seek independent appraisals if they believe a proposed offer is too high. Barry Weise, Councilmember Bonds’ legislative director, explained the resolution as a response to interests within the city that actively seek out loopholes in laws and regulations such as TOPA. Now in effect, the emergency resolution is in the process of being processed into permanent law within the District.
“What is really great about [Museum Square] is that it has become a symbol for keeping people in their homes,” said Weise. “[Councilmember Bonds] will do whatever she can within the powers of her office, that is legal and ethical, to help save this building.
