Barry to Take on Fenty
For those of you looking for a good heavyweight political fight you are about to get one.
Former four term DC Mayor Marion Barry is taking on the new popular (he won every precinct) Mayor Adrian Fenty in the fight to develop Poplar Point in Southeast.
Barry backs new DC United owner Victor McFarland, the San Francisco developer who thought he had a deal with the previous Tony Williams administration. The deal would see McFarland build the stadium with private financing in exchange for the rights to develop much of the rest of the area with new housing, shops and restaurants.
Barry's former Chief of staff Linda Green heads McFarland's DC office and the "United" owner fired another local heavyweight Robert Bobb (School Board President) when it appeared that Bobb's quarrels with Fenty were jeopardizing the project. Turns out the deal was being pulled anyway.
Fenty's people never liked the McFarland plan and felt the city gave away too much. Remember that while still a Ward Four Councilman, Fenty staunchly opposed the Tony Williams publicly financed baseball stadium project.
Barry told me by phone today "He's (Fenty) going to lose this one because any developer he chooses will have to come before the DC Council for approval". The Ward Eight Councilman who represents the Poplar point area added that "McFarland held 30 to 40 community meetings on this and he (Fenty)didn't attend a single one".
At large DC Councilman Kwame Brown heads the powerful economic development committee and he is siding with Barry. Word is Chairman Vincent Gray is also lining up against Fenty.
This fight will be huge as there will be no bigger development prize in that part of the city. It's a chance for Fenty to test just how much political capitol he has in his tank. The takeover of city schools was almost to easy. It may also be Barry's last chance to prove he still has a lot of political clout, especially east of the river.
posted by Bruce Johnson @ 1:26 PM
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14 Comments:
here's hoping marion barry still has some political clout! as far as stadium plans go, this one is really a good one-- privately financed, includes a large percentage of affordable housing, parkland, and will use local minority construction firms.
denis
Bruce, thanks for your continuing coverage of this.
I think the Washington Post's previous article paid short shrift to the outreach efforts that DC United have conducted in order garner community support for this project. Additionally, what's been left out of the discussion regarding the project, is the fact that there will also be a number of improvements to the land set aside for parks and recreation space, in addition to the stadium, hotel, housing, and retail space development.
This story is going to be fun to watch unfold! Another battle royale in DC politics.
As some have said, it could very well be that this is just another stage in the negotiating process with Fenty seeking to burnish his "no freebies" credentials. If this is the case, and if the land really is that valuable for development (which I think it is)McFarland and company will be forced to give a little. If they put in another 100million and the city coughs up the other 100million, Fenty looks better, McFarland gets his prize and ward 8 gets a huge shot in the arm as far as community development. From what I've read the McFarland/DCU plan and commitment to the community are solid.
-Dan
Thanks for the information!
I hope that you will be able to continue covering this issue as it develops.
DC United has worked closely with the community--including local community leadership--to understand and address their concerns. It seems clear that at the local level (Ward 8), there is support for the McFarland development plan.
Fenty is late to the dance, and now he wants to change the music. It will be interesting to see who wins--the old school pols (with deeply-embedded, local roots) or the new kid onthe block.
Good to see someone is going to take on this "mayor" who acts like a dictator. This is a good plan of develeopment Fenty threw away.
This will be very interesting to see how it turns out. I don't know too much about the Soccer stadium plan, but I'm inclined to think if Barry supports it for his constituency than it's probably a good thing for Ward 8. I hope you keep us updated, as that part of the city has gone far too long without some positive development.
Thanks for following this story, obviously D.C. United supporters are VERY interested as we've been waiting for this for a long time.
Just a small edit, please note that it's Victor MacFarlane (and not McFarland).
I hope Barry and co. prevail on this one. The last thing Ward 8 needs is for this land to go to some greedy out-of-area company. DC United has impressed me with there commitment to the community, and the fact that they arent a bunch of millionaire athletes like the rest of DC's sports teams.
I hope this stadium plan goes through. There is too much to gain for Ward 8. DC United has been very good to the community and will continue to do the right things to better develop the community. Fenty is trying to kill the deal because of personal gains and not looking in the best interest of the city. This stadium already has a lot of private money devoted towards it, a rarity in pro sports. It could be a huge development with a lot of tax revenues (not just a stadium). The stadium will bring in tourists from all over the globe. Thanks for the updates
Thanks for this information. I for one am extremely disappointed with Fenty on this score. When Fenty says he wants the redevelopment to go to "open bidding", what I read from that is that he has his own developers that support him that want this project instead. And if Fenty's claimed issue is "no freebies", then how is this project a "freebie"? The land will come to DC basically free from the Federal government. Add to that the fact that he approved $50 million of free city money to Abe Pollin for the Verizon Center (which Abe Pollin owns privately) and Fenty's stance is looking more tenuous by the minute.
All I can say is that I fear what would happen if this development does not go forward with DC United. McFarland already has the access to financing at a time when there is a credit crunch. If Fenty does decide to take this out to an "open bidding" process, the only thing I expect will happen is someone will be chosen and then they will not get the financing (unless they attract a government agency, like DHS (who are considering moving to St. Elizabeth's) as a long-term tenant and just as these things go in DC, the property will remain undeveloped for years. Or it will just get turned into a secured campus for DHS and the public will not be able to access any of the waterfront. Everything that happens with development in this city always ends as a shame.
It's amusing that the mayor beats his way to front of the line for multi-million dollar investments in Eastern Market, Penn Quarter and Georgetown, but, as far as he's concerned, the "other" folk east of the Anacosta can do without any sort of investment in infrastructure.
I'm a DC United fan, so I am biased to their stadium proposal, but I'm really proud of the community involvement they put in. They just gave $50,000 to support the vendors who have lost their income due to the fire at Eastern Market, and note that is in their current neighborhood, not east of the river. So I'd like to think that their community interest isn't solely to garner support in Anacostia, but with their neighbors whereever they are.
Also, one thing that has gotten lost in all of this is the amount of lobbying that DC United did with the federal government to get the land swap to go through, this whole thing may not have happened without them.
Excellent point Patrick, and even more reason why MacFarland and Co. should be given the right to purchase the land and work in part with the district to develop it. Let's be honest here... no matter what plan is chosen there will have to be a stadium included in it's design. Financially what else will serve as an equal catalyst for the area? Money needs to come in from somewhere? What else would bring in as much of it on a regular basis as a United stadium? ... I'm sorry but DCU's proposal is just too financially good for the Anacostia for Fenty to turn down. I personally think that right now (if what is being reported in the news is true) we are whitnessing a political power struggle between MacFarland/Barry, and Fenty. It's clear that Fenty just like any new politician in office wants to put his stamp on the city. He wants to make it known that he is in control and not be bullied by the AWC, city school system, or DC Council. He in my opinion is so set on this task that he is even willing to turn down good opportunities for the district, like DCU proposal for Poplar Point.
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