Martin Austermuhle
Oh jeez.
In a letter dated May 11 and directed to District CFO Natwar Gandhi, pictured at right, Councilmember David Catania (I-At Large) accused Gandhi of shortchanging the land cost assessment for a new Nationals stadium by $30 million — a number, which if true, would make the Southeast location too expensive for the city.
Under legislation passed by the City Council in December, the cost of land acquisition, environmental assessments, and infrastructure development could not exceed $165 million. Gandhi’s estimates, released in late March, came in at $161 million, just short of the cap and leaving little wiggle room in case troubles emerged — which they have. Less than a week later, members of the City Council were criticizing him for underestimating the cost of buying up the necessary 14 acres (divided into 63 parcels owned by 33 different owners), a charge Gandhi denied.
