Equity Residential/Neighborhood Development Group’s plan

Oh the gall! The sheer impudence of it all!

This is just a funny little tidbit I read this morning. As I blogged in late September, West End neighbors are in an uproar over the city’s selection of developer Equity Residential to transform the Stevens School downtown.

The locals wants the building redeveloped into something extra special to reflect the fact that Stevens, with its amazing history and location, is deserving of more than just the usual classrooms-to-bedrooms treatment.

Equity Residential has proposed apartment living. Boo! BooooOOOOoooOOOooo! say the locals, who are pushing for a hotel.

And one West End leader,  ANC commissioner Asher Corson—-who also happens to be Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh‘s spokesperson—-took it upon himself to essentially dismiss the developer, despite the fact that the company had already been awarded the contract, according to the Washington Examiner. I’ve never heard of any neighborhood leader offering such a confident ‘adieu!’

[Corson] sent a letter to Equity executive Greg White Monday night urging him to bow out gracefully.

“The deal is dead,” Corson told The Examiner. “At this point, there’s nothing left to talk about. Hopefully, this will give the city and Equity an out.”

…Equity, which markets its apartments to young singles, canvassed no support because many neighbors saw the project as a “luxury dorm,” Corson said.

(For some reason, as I read this, reality televisions lines—-“Please pack your knives and go” and “You are the weakest link, goodbye!”-—keep echoing in my brain.)

Naturally, Equity Residential says it continues ” to look forward to meeting with the community.”