Councilman Tommy Wells Calls for an End to the Discussions

From Tommy Wells' Office (Ward 6)

Councilmember Tommy Wells Issues Statement to Protect Committed Community Development Funding in Southwest and Southeast Neighborhoods (Washington, DC) –

Councilmember Tommy Wells issued a statement today regarding the recent reports of the District’s interest in delaying committed community development dollars to publicly fund a downtown Convention Center hotel.

Stated Councilmember Wells, “I am asking the Chief Financial Officer and my Council colleagues to cease discussion about the possibility of delaying the TIF and PILOT funds promised to the Southwest and Capitol Riverfront communities and incorrectly stating the projects are not on track. It is unwise for the City to even suggest going back on its commitment at the exact moment the project is moving forward to attract private financing.
If attempted, it would create uncertainty and jeopardize the jobs, affordable housing, retail amenities and public investment that have been promised to our residents.”

“The District has just finished the Land Disposition Agreement and a Memorandum of Understanding between all lease holders, allowing the Southwest development team to move ahead with the amenity based project,” added Wells.

Wells concluded, “Diverting funding away from the Southwest and Southeast neighborhoods at this time in favor of a fully government funded mega hotel breaks the promise we made to our residents that we are ready to move forward.”

UPDATE 4:00p.m.: WBJ reports that a new deal is close to being made for financing the Convention Center Hotel which will not involve diverting any existing subsidies. Of Councilmember Kwame Brown, the article states: "He said the possibility that existing subsidies could be transferred to the hotel project had understandably raised the ire of developers and residents. 'Any way we can make sure we don’t bust our [12% debt] cap while making sure we keep neighborhood projects on course is a win-win for the city,' [Brown] said."
We hope that the whole affair has not caused a case of the jitters concerning funding issues with possible lenders for those neighborhood projects.