The Suntrust/Truist site’s current vacancy and its blighted condition are contributing factors to the rise of violent crime in the near vicinity, are not in the interests of the public or the community, and likely are not in the interests of the bank.
Honorable Mayor Muriel Bowser
Executive at the John A. Wilson Building
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W
Washington, DC 20001
March 6, 2023
Dear Mayor Bowser:
December 22, 2022, marked a critical turning point in the community’s efforts to preserve and renew Adams Morgan Plaza. On that date, the District’s highest court determined that community organizations may enforce public easements and that the determination of a public easement at this special corner of our neighborhood should be made by our peers through a jury trial.
And, our community has since unearthed a large, undeniable body of historical evidence about the key role this corner and the community agreement to allow construction of the bank branch has played in national history. But Suntrust/Truist has limitless funding to appeal and keep appealing adverse decisions.
Your direct assistance this budget season will finally end the legal controversy and will allow us to quickly revitalize the plaza and repurpose the bank building to propel public safety resources at what can be a central neighborhood activity hub.
We urge you to earmark $8 to $10 million (about 1% of the District’s budget surplus from FY 2022 of $834 million or just .05% of the overall $20 billion budget for FY 2024) to purchase the entire parcel at 1800 Columbia Road NW (the plaza and bank building) so that we can end the longstanding legal controversy and ensure full public control of this vital site as soon as possible.1
If we do not act to end the legal controversy, the biggest losers in the continued delay would be our community and the residents of Ward One.
The Suntrust/Truist site’s current vacancy and its blighted condition are contributing factors to the rise of violent crime in the near vicinity, are not in the interests of the public or the community, and likely are not in the interests of the bank.
This important corner at 18th and Columbia Road can retain its public plaza and also contain other public facilities to fill social service gaps and meet vital community needs. If the District purchases the site, you and the Ward One community will be able to undertake a broad-based collaboration to identify the best public uses for the space and shape the future of this site.
We, along with the community strongly believe this site at the very heart of our community should be put back into public use as quickly as possible after being reimagined and given new life.2
The undersigned respectfully request that you take the first step in ensuring the sooner-than-later revitalization of public use of this centrally located site in Adams Morgan by including funds in the District's budget for FY 2024 (estimated to be $8 to $10 million).
These funds will be used to purchase the property in toto and thus end the legal controversy. And then, with the help of the community, we can promptly undertake a broad-based community effort to reimagine and repurpose this parcel to ensure that the site is developed in a way that provides public space and facilities that meet identified community needs.
For the above reasons, we would greatly appreciate your leadership this budget season in ensuring that this sacred space is preserved for public use and revitalized in a way that best meets community needs determined by the community with your help.
We look forward to helping you and the city’s planners deliver on this proposal and would welcome further discussions and feedback from you and your team as to how to proceed.
Signers (letter signed shared with CM Nadeau):
- Kristin Adair
- David Backer
- Valerie Begley
- Eric Blodnikar
- Cara Blumenthal
- William F. Carroll II
- Vikram Surya Chiruvolu
- Olivia DiNucci
- Richard Duckworth
- Gretchen Ellsworth
- Elizabeth Falk
- Lily Foglio
- Virginia Johnson
- John Jones, Incoming ANC 1C09
- Perry King
- Ronnie Jill Kweller
- Ren Lee
- Wendy Schaetzel Lesko
- Matthew Lesko
- Cesar Maxit
- Jeffrey McManus
- Keith Melchers
- Tracy Meehleib
- Chris Otten
- Mitchell Polman
- Cynthia Pols
- Sandra Reischel
- Joel Michael Reynolds, Ph.D
- Zachary Schauffler
- Nancy Shia
- Margaret Staines
- Tara Vassefi
- Jay Waxse, P.E.
- DC Poor People's Campaign
ENDNOTES:
1 “D.C. Chief Financial Officer Glen Lee told the D.C. Council on Thursday [February 2, 2023] that the city saw a ‘substantial growth’ in revenue over the year prior, with a 17% increase in income tax revenue, a 27% percent increase in deed tax revenue, and a 39% spike in sales tax revenue. All of that additional cash contributed to the $834 million budget surplus . . .” https://twitter.com/maustermuhle/status/1621191241894449160.
2 To date, more than twelve hundred petition signatures (the vast majority by Ward One residents) have demonstrated the need to protect and preserve the Adams Morgan Plaza and the desire for public investment for continued use of the space. Additionally, an ongoing survey of community members dating back to 2017 shows that “Keeping the Plaza as public space is: ‘Important’ or ‘Very Important’” to 80% of respondents. This data is available to be shared upon request.
Adams Morgan for Reasonable Development (AdMo4RD)