A D.C. judge on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit seeking to stop the construction of a condo building on a concrete plaza in the heart of Adams Morgan, dealing another setback to a pair of community groups who argued the plaza is actually public space.

Paul Zukerberg, a lawyer for the two groups — Adams Morgan for Reasonable Development and the Kalorama Citizens Association — said they are weighing all their options, and could appeal the case to the D.C. Court of Appeals.

The case dates back to 2017, when the groups sued to stop SunTrust Bank — now known as Truist — from selling the 4,000-square-foot plaza at the intersection of 18th Street and Columbia Road NW to a group of D.C. developers who wanted to construct a 54-unit condo building there.

The two groups argued in the lawsuit that in 1976 the plaza’s then-owner — another bank — had dedicated the space to public use as part of a negotiation over ending a lawsuit in which the bank was accused of not offering mortgages to minority homebuyers. Since then, they said, the plaza had become a central gathering point for Adams Morgan, hosting a weekly farmers’ market and other occasional public gatherings.

SunTrust and the developers argued that, while an informal arrangement existed to allow community groups to use the plaza, no public easement was ever legally recorded, meaning the plaza remained privately held land that could be sold and developed.

A judge agreed in August 2017 to stop any plans for construction while the legal and historical issues could be hashed out in the courts, but this week D.C. Judge Hiram E. Puig-Lugo ruled that evidence did not exist to support the argument that the plaza was public space.

His ruling follows a similar decision from Sept. 2020, when a federal judge ruled that the two groups lacked standing to even bring the lawsuit. That judge said that if the plaza were actually public space, only the D.C. government could sue in court to prevent developers from building on the land.

“This judge got the record wrong, seems to misapply the law, and has single handedly disrespected the history and people of Adams Morgan,” says Jessica Neagle, and Adams Morgan resident and plaza history booster, in an emailed statement. “His capricious decision today about the future of our town square should be challenged.”

“We’re evaluating all of our options, one of which would be an appeal to the D.C. Court of Appeals,” says Zukerberg, noting that any appeal would have to be filed within 30 days.

An email to one of the developers, PN Hoffman, was not immediately responded to. Initial plans for the seven-story condo building had called for some public space to remain, though only a fraction — some 380 square feet.