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North Capitol dream turns to rubble
(Published March 21, 2005)

By STEPHANIE BRINSON
Staff Writer

The building on the corner of North Capitol Street and Hanover Place in Northeast Washington looks like it was bombed.

Only a few jagged pieces of wall and an eerie, skeletal wood frame still stand after the destruction inflicted upon the site some time ago. The rest of the structure lies in a massive, splintery heap of bricks, branches, plaster and wood that spills out onto the sidewalk and forces people to walk in the street.

Ironically, the demolished building is owned by North Capitol Neighborhood Development Inc., a community development corporation (CDC) geared toward improving the community by stimulating housing and economic development.

The organization's leaders say they are aware of residents' complaints that the destroyed property has been an eyesore and an invitation for crime in the neighborhood for more than six months. But cleanup of the rubble may be long in coming as members of North Capitol Neighborhood Development Inc. struggle to revive the nonprofit debilitated by years of financial debt.

Peter Easley, president of the North Capitol CDC, said the corner property "was in bad shape" and "pretty much a shell" when the organization bought it more than a decade ago. He said the organization saw buying the building as an opportunity because it was next door to its other properties along North Capitol Street, just off New York Avenue.

But the building, which the nonprofit never renovated, deteriorated beyond repair and was partially demolished last year.

Joyce Robinson-Paul, a former advisory neighborhood commissioner for ANC 5C, said the destroyed building has been that way for about nine months and attracts "derelicts" by giving the impression that nobody cares about the community. If it were located in Georgetown, the city would have immediately found an agency to clean it up, she said.

"A lot of things can go on in a neighborhood that...has the appearance that" nobody cares, Paul said.

Chad Williams, executive director of North Capitol Neighborhood Development, agreed with residents' complaints, saying that "they are right, we do need to do something." But at the moment, the organization does not have the money to clean up the mess, he said.

The rubble lies adjacent to a row of homes on Hanover Place that North Capitol Neighborhood Development built and renovated in recent years for low- to moderate-income families.

The Hanover Place residences and construction of the Perry Town Homes in the mid-1990s, just off New York Avenue between New Jersey Avenue and First Street, are touted by residents and organization members as successes of North Capitol Neighborhood Development in its heyday.

At the time, the organization was still community-oriented, filtering money into the neighborhood by hiring local residents to work on projects through the Community Building Initiative, said Paul, who headed the program 10 years ago.

She said "things started to change" when the organization eliminated the Community Building Initiative less than a decade ago and became more profit-oriented by selling renovated properties at market rate. Paul said she does not think the organization, which acquired money through city grants from the D.C. Department of Housing and Community Development, should be able to sell properties at market rate for its own profit.

Williams said the nonprofit was required to spend city funds on low- to moderate-income housing, but privately funded restorations could be sold at market rate.

However, it's been two years since the nonprofit has received city funding, after defaulting on several grants in 2003, Williams said. Additional failed grants and loans, coupled with poor management, resulted in the organization accumulating approximately $1.5 million in debt.

With the lack of funds, North Capitol Neighborhood Development was forced to discontinue its Main Street program last summer and cut the executive director position to part time. It is currently not involved in any programs.

"We have had some significant financial difficulties...so as a result we are basically trying to get back on our feet," Easley said. "As an organization, we are looking at what do we do next."

One option the nonprofit is considering is to sell its unused properties along the 1300 block of North Capitol Street. The six properties at 1320 to 1330 North Capitol St., which include the demolished heap on the corner of Hanover Place and the organization's office, are priced at $434,000 individually and $2.6 million combined.

Members of North Capitol Neighborhood Development hope the revenue it gains from the properties will help it regain its mission to rejuvenate the community.

Paul, who is seeking help from the D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, said for now she would be happy with just a fence around the debris that litters the street in her neighborhood.