At its meeting Wednesday night, ANC 1C passed a resolution in support of a new library in the neighborhood. That might be a mostly uncontroversial suggestion, if it weren’t for the long-standing battle over the plot of land the Advisory Neighborhood Commission recommended house the new facility.
The SunTrust Plaza in Adams Morgan has been the subject of intense community debate since 2017, when developers were set to begin building a mixed-use complex on the site that would have reduced the size of the plaza, which is often used as public space. Community groups filed a lawsuit to stop the development on the grounds that the plaza is public space, which has worked so far: there has been no movement to commence construction since a Superior Court judge issued an injunction in August 2017.
Now, the ANC appears to be in support of a different kind of facility on the site, encouraging D.C. Public Libraries to consider the space for a new library.
Commissioners Bridget Pooley, Michaela Wright, and Damiana Dendy put forth the resolution. Dendy added the amendment specifying that DCPL should consider SunTrust Plaza as the library’s potential site. Both Pooley and Dendy emphasized the impact that libraries have on the communities they serve.
“[Libraries] provide communities with space … access to internet, computers” and more, Dendy explains. She says that it could be a great addition to the plaza, which she also says is “vital” to keep in the neighborhood.
Commissioner Japer Bowles says that Adams Morgan exists in a “library desert”—the nearest library in the area is in Mount Pleasant and a 16 minute walk, a trip that is often difficult for older residents and young kids.
Other community groups, however, are a bit more reticent about the idea. The Kalorama Citizens Association, one of the plaintiffs in the 2017 lawsuit over the SunTrust Plaza development, says it was caught unawares by the resolution. President of the KCA, Denis James, tells DCist, “I think it’s presumptuous to say what the end of [the site] should be.”
James adds, however, that he is “not against a public library” on part of the site, so long as it does not shrink the public plaza. He hopes that the plaza will eventually be sold to the D.C. government, firmly preserving it for public use.
The KCA sued private developer PN Hoffman and Potomac Development Properties in 2017 over its plans to develop a complex that would have reduced the size of the plaza. The suit contends that a former owner of the SunTrust building, Perpetual Federal Savings and Loan, had dedicated the land to public use in 1976, when it wrote in a letter to residents stating that it would build a plaza for public use as part of an agreement with federal authorities to dismiss a complaint about its lending practices.
In August 2017, Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman ruled that KCA and other groups had “shown a substantial likelihood of success on their claim that a common easement by public dedication exists.” He issued a Preliminary Injunction to stop the developers from commencing construction until an investigation into the public easement of that location had concluded.
The developers hope to build a six-story condominium there, and their plans include a total of 52 residential units, as well as potentially two commercial units on the ground floor. According to D.C. Urban Turf, this would likely include “a cafe or restaurant with outdoor seating.”
After the 2017 Injunction, the case was eventually moved to federal court, according to James. The new judge could issue a ruling at any time. “Both sides have briefed him,” James tells DCist. But he also says that “it’s conceivable that it could be decided without any proceedings.”
The Chair of ANC 1C, Ted Guthrie, says the possibility of housing a library at the site “depends on litigation.”
