American business titan John D. Rockefeller once quipped, “A friendship founded on business is a good deal better than a business founded on friendship.” Following the Post’s in-depth look at the negotiations between the District and the Lerner Group over the direction of the new stadium’s construction and development in surrounding Anacostia, it seems D.C. might have put too much faith in the Lerners’ friendship.

When the city inked the sale of the Nationals to the Lerner Group, it was widely thought that the Lerners’ strong local ties would lead them to buy into a vision of revitalization east of the river. However, one failed negotiation after another has led to a crisis situation in which both Mayor Anthony Williams and the D.C. Council are maneuvering to break their own spending cap a mere 6 months after the $611 million plan was approved in order to accommodate the Lerners.

Based on a series of interviews with several local business partners of the Lerners, the Post article goes into deep detail about the family’s negotiation history, painting them as a hard-nosed, savvy, detail-oriented group that asks for exactly what it wants and accepts nothing less. It is no surprise, then, that the cause of the deteriorating stadium situation centers around the city’s failure to provide the Lerners with precisely what they had envisioned. As District officials have proposed several compromise solutions, the Lerners have steadfastly stuck to their original vision, down to the smallest detail. Shouldn’t the city have expected as much from a developer with a long track record as a tough negotiator and demanding business partner?

The Lerners’ decision to enter into a contract with the city and Major League Baseball was based upon certain conditions. It was those contractual details that led the Lerner Group to consider the investment of $450 million a sound one. Should stadium and city officials have expected the Lerners to be more flexible with this deal, treating it differently than their past investments because it involves public money? Do the Lerners have some sort of civic duty to work to bring vitality to an area that previous redevelopment efforts have passed over? Whatever anyone thinks, it is safe to assume the Lerners will go on doing exactly what they think is best.

Photo by Furcafe