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Councilmember Anita Bonds (D-At Large) today passed legislation aimed at helping the tenants of Museum Square—who were told to pony up at least $250 million to buy their housing building or get the hell out—and any tenants who could potentially find themselves in similar situation.
Last summer, the tenants of the Chinatown apartment building—most of whom are elderly Asian Americans and all of whom are living on Section 8 housing subsidy from the federal government—were told by their building’s owner that they would be forced to move if they couldn’t buy the building for $250 million. The owner, the Bush Companies of Williamsburg, Va., wasn’t intending to sell it but instead demolish the building.
And thus, Bush was able to skirt some of the rules of D.C.’s Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act, which gives tenants the opportunity to buy their home—either themselves or through a developer—at the price that another prospective buyer is offering. Because there was no “prospective buyer,” Bush instead slapped a hefty $250 million price tag on the building, which, as Housing Complex reported, is a lot more than the $36 million dollar value it was appraised at last year.
In response, then-Councilmember David Catania passed emergency legislation to save the tenants from being evicted, followed by a temporary companion bill, which would prevent a situation like this from happening again. Bush sued Catania and then-Mayor Vince Gray alleging that the two pieces of legislation unfairly targeted Museum Square. Additionally, the bill Catania passed proved problematic for developers, has it was making it too difficult for them to receive title insurance.
Now, Bonds has passed similar—albeit amended—legislation in hope that will clear up the Museum Square issue while keeping property owners happy. The TOPA Bona Fide Offer of Sale Clarification Amendment Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2015 aims to fix the problems of Catania’s bill, mainly by making it so property owner’s can’t try and base a sales price on anything other than its current value. If tenants were to find the sale price excessive, they can request it to be independently appraised.
“I am proud that we were able to bring stakeholders together to solve this issue” Bonds said in a statement. “Tenants must be protected and developers must have the ability to continue their work so we can continue to fully fund the Housing Production Trust Fund. This bill will accomplish both goals.”