The Washington Post this morning reported that a settlement has been reached regarding the American Legion Building at 224 N. Fayette Street.Readers will remember that real estate investor Boyd Walker had challenged the Council's decision to let developer William Cromley tear the old building down to make way for new development. Now it appears that Mr. Cromley will have to wait another two years to see if a buyer can be found to take the building off his hands (as is) before he is finally allowed to demolish the structure.
It remains to be seen whether or not anyone will come forward with the money to buy and renovate this eyesore by using it for day care or some similar commercial activity.
36 comments:
swell like walker's ice house is swell?
The City has waived Mr. Cromley's property taxes for two years, and rightly so. About $10k per year. Mr. Walker should have to make up the difference.
So basically we gave Cromley 20,000 dollars for his trouble of dealing with the screamers and yellers.
Lovely, no wonder we cant grow our economy. We cant even build or develop anything. Now a building sits there for 2 years that might have generated some job growth or tax revenue.
This is sad and I feel bad for Mr Cromley. He should be able to build on that land. I feel bad for the neighborhood since we all now must stare at that eyesore of a building and lot for 2 more years. Anybody who supported the naysayers should remember this moment if Nicole's, for example, should close during the next 2 years and if those buildings across from Nicole's (across Fayette and across Queen) sit partly vacant and fully ugly for the next 2 years. Boy am I glad I live nearer to the new houses on Wythe and Alfred; aka progress!
It is a waste but now we get to see if all the self-titled "preservationists" really meant what they said when they wanted this building preserved and made part of a "history" trail. Lets see them make an effort to buy and refurbish the building, to make it truly historical.
Most of us aren't holding our breath
This is such a shame. The City's response to screamers is to try to compromise with them, even though their demands are inarguably unrealistic and unsustainable, nor do they benefit the City as a whole.
I've seen this happen over and over - i.e. with Braddock East, Chatham Sq, Pot Yard, and the Braddock Road charade. I would be OK with compromise, yet it has never leads to a better product in the end. Design by committee never works.
All I want for Christmas is for the City leadership to grow some balls.
A farce this is!
"The City has waived Mr. Cromley's property taxes for two years, and rightly so."
Those who brought the lawsuit and/or a buyer (if one is found) should also have to pay back Mr. Cromley's carrying cost (mortgage) for the property over this period. It's ridiculous that he is not being allowed to develop the property. It was up for sale; if the preservationists had wanted it, they should have bought it. It's a shame the property will have to languish for another two years before something positive can be done with it.
The reporter was obviously spoon fed!
By Carla Branch
alexandrianews.org
Last night Alexandria City Public School Superintendent Morton Sherman submitted a ten-year capital improvement program budget of $370 million to the Alexandria School Board.
ACPS Superintendent Morton Sherman. (Photo: James Cullum)
“This CIP budget is for ten years as opposed to five, at the request of the City,” Sherman said. “Also, we have prepared two CIP budgets: a needs-based CIP budget of $381,731,653, which reflects the investment we believe is needed to pay for our capacity and maintenance needs over the next ten years and a resource-constrained budget of $370,028,783, which reflects the economic realities and available City funding.”
Deputy Superintendent Margaret Byess explained how the CIP budget was prepared. “This budget request contains three primary drivers: investment in additional facility capacity to accommodate anticipated enrollment growth; regular maintenance on school buildings, and a new category, shared program priorities,” she said. “These three areas account for 83% of the ACPS resource-constrained CIP request.”
Since FY2007, student enrollment has increased by 1700 students, “which is the equivalent of four elementary schools or three middle schools,” Sherman said.
This means that more classrooms are needed. “Next year, we have 33 available classrooms systemwide,” Byess said. “Over the next five years, if enrollment continues to increase at the projected rate, we will need an additional 93 classrooms, resulting in a deficit of 60 classrooms.”
Most of this increased enrollment is occurring at the elementary level. “However, as these students go through the system, that means a need for additional space at the secondary level,” Byess said.
Sherman is proposing new K-8 buildings at Patrick Henry, Cora Kelly and Jefferson-Houston. “We plan to keep the current school open on the Patrick Henry site and build an additional school there,” Sherman said. “We would consider having one building as a Pr-K-5 school and the other a 6-8 school, connected by the recreation center, which could provide support services.
“We would close the current Cora Kelly facility and replace it with a new school and we are planning a new facility at Jefferson-Houston to accommodate the K-8 program. Also, we need to look at where we might build an additional K-8 school,” Sherman said.
Funding for Jefferson-Houston would be needed in FY2012 if the new school is to open as planned in the fall of 2014. The construction project, complete with furnishings and equipment will cost $39 million.
“We have taken the public/private partnership for the Jefferson-Houston site off the table so this funding would come from the City as part of our CIP proposal,” Sherman said.
The average age of ACPS facilities is 54 years. “It costs significantly more to maintain an old building than it does to maintain a new one,” Byess said. “However, we cannot continue to defer things like painting walls and re-finishing floors or we begin to have a negative impact on the learning environments of our students. We aren’t going to put a lot of money into Cora Kelly because we plan to close the school but there are some basic things we must do.”
As to the new category, Shared Program Priorities: “These are projects that we believe will benefit the entire community,” Byess said.
It seems that any time people of color voice an opinion about what should happen in the city, they are labeled screamers, etc. I'm not a screamer or a yeller but I have researched enough to know that several historical factors serve to make preserving the American Legion a worthwhile endeavor. Were those who wanted to keep the Torpedo Factory and do something creative with it called screamers?? Were those who wanted to keep the Apothecary open referred to as yellers?? How about the Friendship Fire House?? Why is trying to hold on to something of historical significance in the Black community such a travesty...
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and so is historical significance. Thank God there are those, Black and White, who see the importance of keeping some of the historical visuals that are important to those who lived or live in the community. Our history is important and worth preserving too.
Trust me, screamers come in all stripes.
The only common denominator is that they want something to happen, but don't actually want to get off their asses to work for it and make it happen. They'd rather just moan, call themselves victims, and cry that someone ELSE should do something about it. Usually something wholly unrealistic and unsustainable.
I appreciate folks wanting to preserve the Legion. It is, and has been, available for purchase from Mr. Cromley. Yet, the screamers haven't done anything other than whine about how somebody ELSE should do it.
The fact remains that it was just sitting there rotting until Mr. Cromley purchased the property and proposed to do something productive with it. A project this neighborhood overwhelmingly supports.
You want to preserve it? Fine. Open your wallet. And, please, shut your mouth.
"It seems that any time people of color voice an opinion about what should happen in the city, they are labeled screamers, etc"
It was inevitable, the race card....sigh
"hy is trying to hold on to something of historical significance in the Black community such a travesty..."
I think a lot of people find irony in the fact that only when someone proposes to redevelop a building does preservation become such an important topic.
There has been no fervor to build memorials for Samuel Tucker or the old Parker Gray school.
I am all for the preservation and celebration of African-American history in Parker Gray. In fact, I find it one of the strange dichotomies of this area; for all the talk of this being a majority-black area, there is precious little history "preserved" anywhere around the neighborhood.
If everyone in Parker Gray was "racist", then why was no one labeled a "screamer" when the community center was named for Charles Houston?
People don't oppose the preservation of historical sites in Parker Gray.
People oppose a building sitting there for years while no one does anything and then all of a sudden showing up after having moved away years ago and demanding it be preserved.
"Funding for Jefferson-Houston would be needed in FY2012 if the new school is to open as planned in the fall of 2014. The construction project, complete with furnishings and equipment will cost $39 million."
Is there any detail about where this money will come from?
Huh? Boyd Walker is white, he is the primary "screamer" people are speaking of.
All these "wonderful" ideas swimming around in his head with no way to pay for them.
But he figures if he yells loud enough, he will get his way.
Please remove the race card argument, it just cheapens the discourse.
There must be some mechanism, either extant or devised, that would allow the charade that the 'new' ACPS has become, to be exposed. Perhaps someone can convene a group of retiring teachers, along with several tenured, veteran teachers and, offering them immunity from retribution, have them explain the inanity that Sherman has both wrought and envisions.
"It seems that any time people of color voice an opinion about what should happen in the city, they are labeled screamers, etc. I'm not a screamer or a yeller but I have researched enough to know that several historical factors serve to make preserving the American Legion a worthwhile endeavor"
Could you share what those factors are?
"It seems that any time people of color voice an opinion about what should happen in the city, they are labeled screamers, etc."
And I am not sure why you have to resort to the race card, it just totally cheapens the debate.
I see no evidence for what you speak of. The City seems to go out of its way to make sure minority opinion is heard and considered in all contexts.
I think the word "screamer" comes from some of the outrageous behavior that Parker Gray residents witnessed during the Braddock planning meetings, when certain non-residents decided that loudness of voice was more important than the truth.
Teachers are a passive lot...it takes a very brave and respected educator to proclaim that Emperor Sherman has no clothes. Until one steps forward, we will cower and complain in private.
"Huh? Boyd Walker is white, he is the primary "screamer" people are speaking of.
All these "wonderful" ideas swimming around in his head with no way to pay for them."
Know of no other dork to receive a $25,000 fine from Council and then succeed in pulling this stunt. The Ice House sucks and so his behavior with this. The city attorney must be on other than the city's payroll.
Re the Carla Branch article on Sherman's Capital Improvement Project, the budget materials have been posted on the ACPS website at http://www.acps.k12.va.us/budgets/cip/. Based on my quick review, they seem to have abandoned the idea of putting an extra floor on any new Jefferson Houston to hold the Central Office facilities now on Beauregard Street near the BRAC monstrosity. Instead, they are seeking $717,500 to put the central offices on the third floor of George Washington, and to build a separate entrance for the administrative offices.
"The city attorney must be on other than the city's payroll."
Staff's got a lot of explaining to do on this one. Like another daycare operation is needed. I heard the next one is moving into The Monarch a modern already renovated building. Nothing more than a pipe dream. Boggling can the city really require someone to pay on what is now a nonproductive mortgage without additional compensation?
Dear Not a Screamer or a Yeller: The KEY difference between the Legion and the Torpedo Factory, Apothecary and Friendship Fire House is that the latter were preserved AND restored. That Legion building sitting there in a decrepit state is an eyesore, a safety hazard and (in it's current state) an embarrassment to the black community.
While I agree with others that our local history should be preserved I also agree with capitalism. I wholly disagree with leaving the Legion as it is under only the premise of preserving local history. Mr. Cromley purchased the property fair and square and has every right to redevelop it within the guidelines set by the city, planning dept., etc. I would say the same exact thing should another individual have purchased the building and land and decided to renovate the existing building. On top of this the building has set vacant and has been rotting away for many, many years.
If all of the houses and buildings in PG that have strong ties to our local black community were left alone, in the name of preservation, then most of us commenting on this blog wouldn't be living here today. But that's not the case because we - white, black, latino, asian, etc. - have invested in the community and made the neighborhood an inviting, safe and beautiful place to call home and raise our families.
"Our history is important and worth preserving too."
So where were you when it was suggested - to no avail - memorializing the boyhood home or law offices of Alexandria native Samuel W. Tucker? He did so much more than mastermind a sit-in.
Maybe his work to integrate our schools was too effective for the old South to honor.
have invested in the community and made the neighborhood an inviting, safe and beautiful place to call home and raise our families.......
that's the problem; there are some who left this neighborhood long ago who somehow think it's wring for you to have moved here to make it a better place.
The Legion fight seems to be all about getting back at you
"has every right to redevelop it within the guidelines set by the city, planning dept., etc."
You exempt the planning department? Why?
"The KEY difference between the Legion and the Torpedo Factory, Apothecary and Friendship Fire House is that the latter were preserved AND restored."
The Legion's history does not compare favorably to the above? The Torpedo Factory was not only saved it has a readapted use. I agree with whoever said Tucker's history is ignored and Walker's ice house sits unimpressively.
From alexandrianews.org If it includes Ward's firing then maybe it's a good plan.
"This spring, plans will be finalized for the creation of a new Alexandria Department of Code Administration. The Office of Building and Fire Code Administration will be separated from the City Fire Department, which will streamline neighborhood preservation efforts and land use and building construction permits. The Multi-agency Permit Center will provide access to representatives from the departments of Transportation and Environmental Services, Code Enforcement and Finance."
I have a suggestion to those who feel the Legion Building should be restored and used as a community space. Do it! If there are so many folks who believe in this building, hold fund raisers, empty your pocket books, put your money where your whining is and actually make it happen. I am sure the owner would take a reasonable offer for the building a land (ie at least as much as he could get if he developed the land)
If the community truly wants to renovate and use the building, this is a way to make it happen. Otherwise, step aside and let progress clear the way for something new in the future.
Ms. Morris should read up, Trey Hanbury man up. From today's Washington Post go to the Post for whole story.
Calif. parents reclaim a failing school - and make history
By Arnold Schwarzenegger
Thursday, December 16, 2010
History is usually made by a small group of passionate people. On Dec. 7, history was made by a small group of parents in Compton, Calif.
Their children attend McKinley Elementary School - a school that has been defined as failing for the past 10 years. Using a new power known as the "parent trigger," which I fought for and state legislators approved last year, these Compton parents banded together to demand change. The legislation allows parents of students at troubled schools to demand such significant reforms as closing a school, replacing a school's management or most of its staff, or reorganizing a school into a charter, if 51 percent of parents sign a petition.
McKinley Elementary is being reorganized and will soon be transformed into a charter school run by Celerity Educational Group, which is successfully operating three other schools in California.
Some have called this action "the shot heard across the country" - and they're not overstating the case.
MORE
In this town, trying to propose alternatives when it comes to failing schools is bound to get you two things:
1. A screed on how the schools aren't actually failing at all but are just peachy
2. Probably a race card thrown at your head because you must be implying minority children are making the school fail
3. An additional race card for suggesting that parents should "band together" because that might imply white parents only.
I agree that this is a heartwarming story but don't believe ACPS or the City Council have any desire to "man up" anytime soon when it comes to the under-performing school system.
The supporters of the Legion don't understand what urban renewal is or what it does for this City:
http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/article.asp?article=346994&paper=59&cat=104
FIRST ELECTED IN 1970, McConchie was part of the first wave of Republicans to take power in Alexandria since Reconstruction. Because of his young age, he became known as "the baby with a brain." This was a time when the political machine built by U.S. Sen. Harry Byrd was beginning to fall apart, and McConchie was one of the Republicans challenging the Democratic establishment known for supporting racial segregation and using the levers of power to keep themselves in office. Along with Republicans George Cook and Wiley Mitchell, McConchie became part of a three-man Republican juggernaut at City Hall.
"In some ways, we had a majority because (former Mayor) Chuck Beatley would side with us a lot of the time even though he was a Democrat," said Cook. "Win was a good listener some of the time and appropriately aggressive at other times, which is what I think makes a good politician."
As a member of the City Council, McConchie built a reputation as a progressive Republican by working against the Byrd machine and advocating causes such as public housing and racial integration. He pushed to scatter public-housing sites throughout the city rather than keep them clustered in one part of town. He also advocated the controversial program of "urban renewal" that refashioned much of King Street into the way it looks today. He was reelected in 1973, although he did not seek a third term in 1976.
From alexandrianews.org Check the last paragraph.
Today, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood was at the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments to sign $58.8 million in Transportation Investments Generating Economic Recovery grants for the National Capital Region. The TIGER grant program, created under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, funds innovative transportation projects that have significant benefits for the economy, the environment or increase the safety and efficiency of existing infrastructure.
The $58.8 million in Recovery Act money for the metropolitan region will improve bus transportation along priority corridors in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia, and create connections between buses and other forms of transportation in the region.
“This $58.8 million investment is an excellent example of the Obama Administration’s commitment to modernizing transit systems and creating economic opportunity,” said LaHood. “Thanks to TIGER Recovery Act grants like this one, people are benefiting from better transportation opportunities and an improved quality of life in communities across the country.”
National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board members and staff, and the staffs of member governments, state departments of transportation and area transit agencies worked to generate the grant application. .
“This required a team effort and it really paid off. Every citizen in the region is going to benefit from this funding,” said TPB Chairman and Falls Church Vice Mayor David Snyder. “This really is a victory for regionalism.”
Of more than 1400 projects submitted in the first round of TIGER grants, fewer than three percent were chosen for funding. “Winning these TIGER funds is an achievement we can all be proud of,” said COG Chairman and D.C. Councilmember At-Large Kwame Brown. “Our region’s grant was the only one awarded to a metropolitan area for a large-scale, multi-modal regional project.”
Over $26 million of the funding will go to improving bus transportation along priority corridors in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia. Improvements to these corridors include dedicated bus lanes, traffic signal priority, skip stop service, enhanced pedestrian access, real-time passenger information and enhanced bus stops. The purpose of these improvements is to increase ridership and reliability in corridors with the highest regional ridership.
More than $19.9 million was awarded for multimodal improvements to enable priority bus transit connecting Prince William and Fairfax Counties and the City of Alexandria with the District of Columbia. The aim is to provide high quality transit options for commuters and relieve pressure on the Metrorail system. Also, $12.3 million of the funding will be used for the construction of a multimodal Takoma/Langley transit center in Prince George’s County, which will improve safety and intermodal access to priority bus corridors.
Anonymous 12/17/10 @ 10:20 and who are the supporters of the Legion other than Lois Walker's son, Boyd?
"who are the supporters of the Legion other than Lois Walker's son, Boyd?"
If you look at the list of those who tesified against him at City Council the opposition is mostly the Historic Alexandria Foundation and the city's Office of Historic Alexandria. They are probably the same idiots who repeatedly come on this blog and tell us the Legion situation is not unlike Friendship Firehouse or the Apothecary Shop. Hardly!
"The aim is to provide high quality transit options for commuters and relieve pressure on the Metrorail system."
And we're the area that has to suffer to relieve pressure from out-of-control developments in Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William, and Arlington. Smart growth is great if you can dump all of your problems elsewhere, like the Route 1 corridor, and leave others with the consequences!
It's bad enough that the fast-tracked, horribly-planned Dulles rail project is going to end up lessening the numbers of trains (which are already jammed to capacity during morning and evening rush) servicing Alexandria's Metro stops. Now, the plan is clearly to dump the overflow commuters who can't deal with the impending Yellow and Blue Line issues onto either bus or rail transit through the Route 1 corridor at the further expense of our quality of life.
If they really want and need a fix, then they need to offer a "high quality transit option" with new, sweet-smelling buses that use the HOV and HOT lanes back and forth from DC to the outlying suburbs. That's what we need to fight to make happen, because this article again makes it clear that the lazy and hypocritical planners plan to dump their problems on us if we don't stand up for ourselves.
Thanks Boyd Walker. Maybe you garnered enough support NOW to get elected to the City Council. Your "caring" actions were so, so apparent. Nobody wanted to preserve this building (not even the "old school" Parker Gray residents) unitl you came along. That's why I refused to sign your petition. Most people in Parker Gray for sure won't vote for you now! Way to go dude.
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