For Release: Monday, August 2, 2021
Contact: Nick DelleDonne ,
delledonne.n@comcast.net, 703 929 6656
Masonic Temple/Developer Seek to Rush Approvals –
DECAA to Challenge Construction Permit
In a brazen move to circumvent ongoing court and regulatory approval, the Masonic Temple, acting through its developer Perseus TDC, has applied for a building permit (application B1907507) to begin construction of their oversize, community-destroying project at 15th and S Streets, NW, while the case is pending in the DC Court of Appeals and the DC Board of Zoning Adjustment. Acting for the community, the Dupont East Civic Action Association (DECAA), in a letter dated July 31st, put the parties, Perseus and the Masons, on notice that DECAA will appeal any construction permit.
“If Perseus and the Scottish Rite Temple decide to begin construction knowing the permit will be challenged, they do so at their own financial and legal risk. They are now on notice,” said DECAA Board Member Ed Hanlon. The parties include the District Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA), the developer Perseus and the Scottish Rite Masons of the 33rd Order.
DCRA is already bending-over-backwards for this development. It is on record as calling a 46-foot high, 332-ton roof on the Temple an 'ornament' so that it doesn’t count towards the height of the building. Also, DCRA let the developer’s attorney write the ‘zoning determination letter’ that DCRA adopted without change as the DC Government's approval for the project. The letter was subsequently deleted from the DCRA website after the Inspector General initiated an investigation. And the Historic Preservation Office (HPO) changed its position from opposition to approval when the developer called HPO to ask for the change.
“What started as concerns over historic preservation and community engagement has become a concern for administrative corruption,” said DECAA president Nick DelleDonne. The Masons/Perseus want to build a five-story building, with two subterranean levels of apartments 15 ft below ground, plus a two-level underground parking garage and a rooftop swimming pool and “amenities” deck.