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| rendering of proposed towers |
La Casa, the closest shelter to Mount Pleasant, is closing. I first read about the possible closure a few weeks ago in a copy of Street Sense. Obviously they editorialized against the closing noting that as of last year, there were over 6,000 homeless in DC per the annual count. They anticipate that number to increase for 2010.
La Casa, at 1436 Irving St NW, is a 90 bed facility, houses only men, offers bilingual services and is open 7pm until 7am daily. According to the Street Sense article, there are currently 72 men in the shelter and the adjacent trailers. It will close as of October 15, 2010.
The paper trail on the new project spans a few years and is somewhat contradictory and incomplete. However, this is my understanding:
After La Casa closes, it will be torn down and replaced with two new buildings: an addition to Donatelli Development's Highland Park Apartments and a community based residential facility.
Highland Park was originally built as a condominium building and went rental, like many other DC projects during the economic downturn. Apartments there currently rent from $1,800-$3,900 per month.
After La Casa closes, it will be torn down and replaced with two new buildings: an addition to Donatelli Development's Highland Park Apartments and a community based residential facility.
Highland Park was originally built as a condominium building and went rental, like many other DC projects during the economic downturn. Apartments there currently rent from $1,800-$3,900 per month.
The land under La Casa shelter (and adjacent lot) is owned by the District of Columbia. They have a deal with Donatelli to allow an extension of Highland Park, but also to build an 82 bed community based residential facility (CBRF) on that land. What is a CBRF? From the proposal: "Community Based Residential Facilities (CBRFs) are single room occupancy facilities for homeless residents in the District. These facilities combine living quarters with job training, housing placement, case management, and other needed services that promote self-sufficiency."
La Casa is currently operated by the District and the DC Coalition for the Homeless, a non-profit. No indication of who would run the CBRF (the city, another non-profit, a private entity?) or if it would serve any of the same people housed at La Casa.
The CBRF would be in the rear of the property (see rendering). The new apartment tower --dubbed Highland Park West (HPW)-- would front on Irving Street and be physically connected to the original Highland Park, sharing a courtyard. Both CBRF and HPW were proposed as seven floors tall. They would be separate structures.
Originally, Highland Park West was supposed to have 69 units, top out at 86 feet and have a 64 space underground garage. There would be a penthouse level rising 9 feet above the roof line as well.
That may change soon. The developers have a zoning hearing on September 30 in order to propose several changes. They want to increase the number of apartment units from 69 to 143. They want to increase the roof line from 86 to 90 feet (plus 9 foot penthouse level above). And finally, they want to eliminate the parking garage and alter the façade from what you see in the rendering to an aesthetic that more closely matches the existing Highland Park.
It is not clear if Highland Park West will include ground floor retail like the original building does. They are just about to fill out that retail space with a sports bar (allegedly). Highland Park is already home to a bank, coffee shop, sandwich shop, pizza parlor, burger joint and gastropub.
What will happen to the beds eliminated by the closure of La Casa? Street Sense suggests the additional beds will be made available in empty spaces of the DC General Hospital site (near Stadium Armory Metro stop).
Will the CBRF help ease the transition for some of its residents from homelessness to permanent housing? That is the plan. Will the elimination of beds for the homeless in Ward One make for a more difficult winter for those men (and homeless women, children and families) who will have to travel further for the same services? I hope not. If I find out more about this story I will keep you posted.
For updates on this story and more, follow The42 on Twitter.
For updates on this story and more, follow The42 on Twitter.
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| Highland Park Apts (left) and La Casa shelter |
16 comments:
"Will the elimination of beds for the homeless in Ward One make for a more difficult winter for those men (and homeless women, children and families) who will have to travel further for the same services? I hope not."
Really? Can anyone be so naive? Not only will this be a burden on our homeless neighbors being required to travel half way across the city as metro continues to raise prices, they will directed to a shelter that is known for unlivable conditions and poor service provision. I am shocked that this community is not demanding a better solution to this shortfall in emergency beds.
please don't call me naive.
i think this post and the street sense article are the only press out there for this closure.
the washington post isn't writing about it,the times isn't writing about it, and i haven't seen it on tv.
look, from now on people, if you don't have anything constructive or at least funny to say, spare me.
Thanks for the information! Do you know anything about the CBFR (as in who is building it?) I assume it's not the Highland Park folks. That's actually very good news, and a positive replacement for the shelter. It would be preferable to wait until after the winter to begin construction instead of shutting down the shelter October 15. We'll see what happens...
hey anon318,
based on the ncpc report, it's donatelli who is building the cbrf.
"This property is owned by the District of Columbia which has partnered with Columbia Heights Ventures Parcel 26, LLC - a subsidiary of Donatelli Development."
http://www.ncpc.gov/DocumentDepot/Actions_Recommendations/2008May/PUD_Map_Amend_1444_Irving_StreetNW_recommendation_ZC0702_May2008.pdf
First, I would like to apologize for taking out my frustrations on this situation on you directly. Name-calling (referring to the comments in the article as naive) is never appropriate, and for that I apologize. I was, in fact, very happy to see that someone was bringing this news to light. However, I'm finding it a bit frustrating that many people in this neighborhood are taking a very positive position on this news, and ignoring the fact that we are essentially displacing 70-90 of our most vulnerable neighbors immediately before hypothermia season. It seems like a viral case of the NIMBYs has been spreading through Columbia Heights, a neighborhood that often prides itself on being socially conscious.
However, I am disappointed in your beliefs that 1. telling the other side of the story is not constructive and 2. that one should only post a response if it is humorous in nature. I suppose I mistook The 42 as an interactive median for public discourse, but instead realized that not all opinions are welcomed on this site.
Why can't we please both parties. Build the nice new building (which I am sure everyone living in the area would be happy about) and have Donatelli front the cash to renovate or build a new CRFT facility in another location. DC donate the land, Donatelli builds. Done. Obviously more difficult/red-tape/economics etc - but we need community leaders that are looking for unique and innovative solutions and we can certainly find a win-win for all. However this prime real estate would certainly better serve a high tax payer base (that can afford the metro and shop at the Target, etc) which in-turn will provide funds for more city services (including homeless shelters). Big supporter and I can't wait until they break ground.
anon 546,
thanks for the apology.
and you are right. the42 site is not a forum. it is a web log. i try to write about what's interesting to me. sometimes i call it like i see it, mostly though i try to offer multiple sides, or at least a rational version of what happened or is about to happen.
sometimes the blog is the one place i can say "hey, this is what i though was worth mentioning." and that's it. i don't necessarily want feedback.
and i almost deleted the original comment, but that didn't seem fair at all.
occasionally i won't even open comments to avoid this sort of thing. so i probably should have done that this time around. my bad.
that being said, i will write a comment policy to set expectations for the future.
thanks for clarifying. doesn't happen often like that on the blogs.
It is always a shame when facilities to help others has the possibility to be torn down, however, I feel as if La Casa has become more of a problem then solution in the Columbia Heights area and would be better situated in another location. I have lived next to La Casa for 2 1/2 years with my window facing toward their building and trailers. (Not at the nice Highland Apartments, but the ones on the other side of La Casa). The follow are reasons why I feel it is has become more of a problem:
1) On average the police and firefighters come to La Casa 3-4 times a week due to various calls including violence.
2)I have personally seen on multiple occasions the school children being harassed and grabbed while leaving school and walking to the metro from those standing in line to enter around 4pm.
3) The residents have loud, drunkeon and violent arguments daily which end around 1am and restart around 6am when they are forced to leave the facilities.
5) I am harrassed almost every day when I walk by and have had instances that the men have tried to follow me into my building. Granted harrassment occurs around the DC area, but this has gotten to a point the police have actually offered to escort me to my apartment after midnight b/c the homeless who weren't let in a yelling, screaming, or sleeping right outside of la casa.
6) I have seen drug deals within the facilities.
7) Every now and then there are women in the facilities and I have had to call the cops due to their screaming of sexual abuse.
8) They are flat out not good neighbors. Itd be one thing if they mind their own business and kept their lives a normal tone, but in general it is an awful neighbor experience.
Good luck with your advocacy to keep the facilities open, but I hope that you also keep in mind the outside consequences.
To change the subject a bit, by eliminating the parking garage, are they eliminating all parking for the new building? If they plan on putting in 143 units instead of 69, I'm wondering where those cars will go. Parking is already a nightmare in the neighborhood....
And yes, it's upsetting that they are closing a homeless shelter without any plans to find a place for these men in the neighborhood, but I'm not surprised.
this is a guess, because i don't know how much parking is already on site...
but, maybe there are excess spaces at the original building that they want to sell or rent to the new residents.
Hi Tim and anyone else reading,
First of all, thanks to Tim for picking this up--it's a really important story that's been undercovered. I hope to end that by writing about it in next week's issue of the City Paper. If you've got particular insight or knowledge, please feel free to get in touch.
All best,
Lydia DePillis
Reporter, Housing Complex
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/housingcomplex/
206-399-5876
ldepillis@washingtoncitypaper.com
thanks lydia, looking forward to the article.
I hope this is a win for all. I also live right in that area, and hope that this would finally clean up the alley between Columbia and Irving. Homeless have been using this as a squatting settlement to be near the shelter, and like someone else has posted, the waste, trash and late night noise that result are a constant drain on the area. If a cleaner facility with greater capacity is built I hope this addresses much of the problem. I see others have said they're closing the facility without a plan for sheltering the homeless over the winter. Is this really the case or an assumption?
Thanks for covering La Casa Shelter. For a while it looked like the homeless were getting moved out and no-one cared.
thanks for writing about this Tim. i remember reading/writing about it a couple year ago for DC
North. and thanks for the blog, it's helping me feel up to date on my home while in spain for 6 months. take good care!
hey darby, thanks! glad to see you before you left. and keep checking back, i think it's going to be a busy fall here.
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