Update & Survery on Plan to Redevelop Old Hebrew Home Property
(The Hebrew Home for the Aged building, 1125 Spring Rd., NW)
The Department of General Services sent out an email on the evening of July 7th as a follow up to the surplus process for the Old Hebrew Home property. The message (in its entirety below), informed recipients that DGS has posted the Surplus Hearing presentation from June 17, the Meeting Minutes, and a copy of the Sign-In Sheet on their Web site, available here: http://dgs.dc.gov/page/1125-spring-road-project.
Equally important as a follow up from the meeting, DGS has also created a survey to get resident input on what should happen to the property, available here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/1125springrd
The survey ends at the close of business on July 18th, so please share broadly and quickly. It asks which ward you live in, which neighborhood you identify with, and then gives several definitions of types of affordable housing and asks participants to select how much they would like at 1125 Spring Road.
In related news, and not mentioned in the email below, the DC Housing Authority issued an RFP on July 2nd with a closing date of July 9th seeking Real Estate Legal Services in relation to potential development of 1125 Spring Road. The property is still owned by the District of Columbia and will need to get Council approval prior to being officially surplussed. This likely won’t happen until Fall as the Council will begin a two month summer recess starting July 15, 2014.
Below is the full email from DGS:
Dear 1125 Spring Road Community,
Thank you for attending our, The Department of General Services (DGS) and DC Housing Authority (DCHA), community meeting concerning the redevelop of the 1125 Spring Road site. The Surplus Hearing was held on Tuesday, June 17, 2014 and was the first step in the disposition process which allowed us engage residents and to receive public comments.
We understand there are a number of concerns referencing this project to include the appropriate mix of income levels to include in this project. It is important to note that once the surplus of the Hebrew Nursing Home and the Paul Robeson School is completed, the site will be made available for DCHA to develop.
At this time, a Housing Development comprised of mixed income levels that include Workforce Development, Permanent Supportive, and likely Market Rate Housing as well as senior housing is being considered. The exact mix of housing has yet to be determined. As the project continues to develop there will be future opportunities for community members to provide additional input.
In the interim, DGS has developed a survey to gather residents feedback on the percentage of mix income housing units residents would prefer be developed at the site. We ask that you take the survey by the cob Friday, July 18, 2014 and please feel free to share this link with your family and neighbors https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/1125springrd
We have also posted on our DGS website the Surplus Hearing presentation from June 17, Meeting Minutes and a copy of the Sign-In Sheet. http://dgs.dc.gov/page/1125-spring-road-project.
We continue to encourage constituents in both Wards 4 + 1 to forward any concerns they may have regarding this project to our attention.
Explore posts in the same categories: Development, Historic Landmarks, Housing
Tags: Columbia Heights, Development, historic landmarks, Park View, Petworth
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Park View, D.C. 
July 8, 2014 at 9:36 am
DGS needs to send a few people to canvas the blocks in the area to collect survey responses. Otherwise the survey results will be skewed to those with internet access who follow your blog, twitter, or neighborhood listservs. I appreciate your efforts to keep the community informed and hope you will communicate concerns about non-response bias to DGS.
July 8, 2014 at 11:06 am
This is the first I’m hearing of plans for permanent supportive/transitional housing types. I think I have a pretty good idea of what DGS/DCHA is planning for the Robeson site now.
These usage types were not presented at the community meeting. DGS reps stated that plans were for low income subsidized housing, senior housing, or a market-rate subsidized mix. Given the concentration of social services in Columbia Heights and nearby on Taylor Road, these are not appropriate uses of this property.
July 8, 2014 at 12:59 pm
The survey is (as expected) a joke. It’s multiple choice with some impossible choices. It’s resondents are self-selected. There’s nothing to stop anyone from filling it out as many times as they want. I do hope that the results are not ever presented to anyone for any purposes other than amusement.
July 8, 2014 at 1:20 pm
As a nearby resident, I will only support a development with majority market-rate units. I would support mixing in senior housing as well. To me, we need to help those seniors who are being priced out of the neighborhood.
July 13, 2014 at 2:37 pm
Larry, how can you simultaneously say that you want majority market rate housing and you want to help seniors being priced out of the neighborhood? Most seniors can’t afford market rate. What you’re proposing–majority market rate–would further push them out.
July 15, 2014 at 10:11 am
Why can’t you have both. Say 60% market rate and 40 % senior housing. Wouldn’t that serve both purposes?
August 11, 2014 at 1:02 am
[…] a follow up to the public surplus meeting and the community survey, Councilmember Bowser has scheduled a community meeting for Tuesday, August 12th, at 6 p.m. to […]