The National Capital Revitalization Corp. has filed six condemnation complaints through eminent domain in order to seize six properties used by merchants in the Skyland Shopping Center in Southeast.
The District has targeted the run-down strip mall, which sits on an 18.5-acre tract where Alabama Avenue, Good Hope Road and Naylor Road meet, as the ideal site for a large, urban town center that would feature large national retailers and sit-down restaurants.
But opposition from some of Skyland’s longtime merchants forced the hand of the NCRC, said Peggy Armstrong, a spokeswoman for the corporation, which filed the complaints Friday.
“We’ve worked very carefully on this. … We feel we gave the property owners a substantial opportunity to come to an agreement with us on the price of the land,” Miss Armstrong said. “We said all along we’d prefer not to do it, but here we are.”
All 16 property owners at Skyland received purchase offers from the NCRC in February. Miss Armstrong said the NCRC now controls 30 percent of the land through purchase agreements, and negotiations are under way with merchants who control another 10 percent to 15 percent of the land.
The NCRC’s latest move is bolstered by the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that local governments can seize private residences or businesses against the owners’ will for private economic development.
Elaine Mittleman, an attorney representing several property owners at Skyland, said she has filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging the due process of the NCRC’s attempt to purchase the land and its assertion that workers at Skyland who may be laid off as a result of the purchase will be compensated.
Joseph C. Rumber, who owns Skyland Liquors and leases the property at Skyland, said those living in nearby communities such as Hillcrest are calling for a new town center and the amenities it would bring.
“Nobody in the immediate community wants to see this liquor store move,” said Mr. Rumber, 59. “Of course, I want to stay here.”
“This is the shopping center that’s convenient for this neighborhood,” said Rico Seabrooks, 39, standing inside the SpinCycle coin laundry at Skyland. “We don’t need a Target, a Shoppers Food Warehouse; we don’t need anything else in this area that’s not here.”
But resident James Minson, 29, said a makeover of Skyland would benefit the area.
“New businesses mean more jobs, often better jobs,” he said. “It’s time for a change.”
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